A huge controversy erupted recently when Baba Ramdev’s video declaring allopathy as a hollow practice exploitating people went viral. The Indian Medical Association jumped into the frey, taking a strong objection to his remarks and threatening to move court if the Union Health Ministry does not take cognizance of the remarks made by Ramdev.
The Health Ministry promptly expressed its disapproval over Ramdev’s remarks, issuing a letter to the Yoga Guru to retract his statements. Ramdev complied with the request made to him by the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and withdrew his statements against allopathic medicines.
However, the war of the words between the Indian Medical Association and Baba Ramdev did not seem to abate. In fact, it only became shriller and more intensified. Functionaries of the Indian Medical Association, most notably the former IMA chief Dr Rajan Sharma and IMA secretary Dr Jayesh Lele, hauled Baba Ramdev over the coals in a TV debate after the Yog Guru shot 25 questions at them, highlighting the shortcomings of allopathy and asking them for permanent solutions to some of the most common diseases.
In the debate, Baba Ramdev was seen striking a conciliatory tone with his opponents, asking them to acknowledge the salutary effects of the Ayurvedic method of treatment, just like he recognised the contribution of the allopathic system in life-saving situations, grave surgeries and serious ailments. However, he was subjected to contempt and disdain by Dr Lele as he lost his cool over the Yog Guru. Dr Jayesh Lele’s angry outburst was celebrated by the left-leaning liberals, who hailed him for hitting out at Baba Ramdev and trashing his Ayurvedic system of treatment.
As the IMA received support from the liberal quarters, it continued with its intimidation tactics to bully Baba Ramdev into submission. The IMA then sent a Rs 1000 crore defamation suit to Baba Ramdev, asking him to withdraw his statements against the allopathic medicines. Baba Ramdev retorted back by sharing a video clip from Aamir Khan’s show ‘Satyameva Jayate’, where a guest named Dr Samit Sharma was seen explaining the huge price difference between generic and branded medicines. Posting the video clip on micro-blogging site Twitter, Ramdev dared ‘medical mafias’ to sue the actor if they can.
इन मेडिकल माफियाओं में हिम्म्त है तो आमिर खान के खिलाफ मोर्चा खोलें-
Tussle between IMA and Baba Ramdev spawns allopathy vs Ayurveda debate
The confrontation between Baba Ramdev and the IMA has inevitably sparked a debate between which is the better way of treatment—Ayurveda or allopathy. Several people have jumped into the debate, either in support of the Ayurveda and against the allopathic way of treatment or vice versa. The conversation surrounding the medical treatment has polarised to such an extent that it has turned seemingly binary—either you are with Ayurveda or allopathy—there is no room for people who possibly think either of the methods is beneficial in their own right.
The conflict between allopathy and Ayurveda is centuries old. It is widely believed that the use of modern medicine started in India in the 16th century. During that time and before that, there were hardly qualified doctors and patients were treated by millennia-old Ayurvedic methods. Ever since the advent of modern medicines, there is an enduring debate over which is the more effective way of treatment.
Ayurveda, one of the oldest methods of treatment, is made up of two words from the Sanskrit language Ayur and Veda. Ayur means life and Veda means science. That is, Ayurveda means the science of life. allopathy is said to have its roots in Greece about 2400 years ago.
While the Allopathic way of treatment has made tremendous leaps and bounds in terms of progress, especially in the 19th and the 20th century, the Ayurvedic treatment also made significant advances, providing cures for seemingly pervasive and common diseases that Allopathy has so far failed in finding permanent solutions to. The Ayurvedic system has proven to be effective, and there are cases abound where the patients have been cured of their chronic diseases through Ayurvedic treatment.
The recent tussle between Baba Ramdev and the IMA has reignited this centuries-old debate between the two methods of treatments. Allopathy is opposed by the Ayurvedic faction mainly because of the side effects the doses of medicines have caused among patients. While the Allopathy faction has rejected the Ayurveda method of treatment, calling it quackery and accusing it of lacking scientific evidence.
Baba Ramdev, for his part, has been critical against allopathic treatment and medicines, partly because of the allopathic doctors’ arrogant disregard of the Ayurvedic method of treatment. His comments against allopathy, which spawned the debate in the first place, were uncalled for and unwarranted. While he has been placatory since then and has acknowledged the advantages of modern medicines, the continuing criticism of allopathic treatment does not bode well for the morale of the doctors who are involved in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ayurveda and allopathy both can coexist, without having to discredit the other
It is a fact that allopathic way of treatment has contributed significantly to cure diseases and save ailing lives. A host of vaccines, surgeries, and treatment methods developed to ward off a multitude of maladies is a testament to modern medicine’s success. Even in the current pandemic, the doctors are doing their best to help people fight and recover from COVID-19, a respiratory illness that has proven to be highly infectious and staggeringly lethal.
The IMA and the allopathic doctors, on the other hand, are unnecessarily prolonging the debate, continuing to attack Baba Ramdev even though he has already retracted his comments on the allopathic medicines and doctors. Perhaps, the IMA sees the controversy as leverage to save its head Dr John Austin Jayalal, who is mired in a case for talking about converting COVID-19 patients to Christianity.
The vilification of Ayurveda and Yoga as quackery is unjustified, given that for centuries these methods were used by our ancestors to treat the diseased and help people lead a long life. In fact, the same Ayurveda and Yoga, which are scorned by the allopathic doctors in India, are now gaining traction in western countries. While in India, Ayurveda is subjected to ridicule, the western pharmaceutical giants are making a beeline to patent its methods and medicines for treating patients.
As India grapples with the resurgent coronavirus outbreak, both the Ayurveda and Allopathy practitioners and supporters need to realise that both treatments can coexist simultaneously, without the need to discredit the other. Both Ayurveda and Allopathy have unique characteristics that distinguish one from the other. It, however, does not mean that there should be a debate over the supremacy of one treatment over the other. Each of them has proven beneficial in treating patients, and therefore they both deserve to exist in their own right.
The coronavirus outbreak has proven to be an intractable contagion, even for the allopathic way of treatment that prides itself on being successful in fighting modern diseases. In such difficult times, India should use all its resources and expertise to stave off the threat emanating from the ferocious second wave of the coronavirus outbreak, instead of sparring over which is the more effective method of treatment amongst the two.
The coronavirus outbreak will not be the first time that India would fend off a contagion. For centuries, the Ayurvedic method of treatment had helped the country sail through the devastating bouts of plagues, flu outbreak and other severe diseases. At a time when the allopathic doctors are overburdened with COVID-19, a smidgen of humility towards Ayurvedic treatment would do them good and help the country combat the pandemic more effectively.
The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a ‘motivated’ plea filed to stall the construction of Central Vista project which is of national importance. Moreover, the petitioner- Sohail Hashmi a “historian”, writer and filmmaker was also fined Rs 1 lakh by the bench for filing a plea that was ‘not genuine’.
Who is Sohail Hashmi?
A filmmaker and writer, Sohail Hashmi is the brother of Shabnam Hashmi- founder of a so-called NGO Anhad and Safdar Hashmi- a communist leader who was killed by Congress goons in 1989.
Going by his Twitter handle @Dilliwal, the filmmaker seems to be a favorite of the Congress mouthpiece National Herald to which is contributed regularly and is also a staunch Modi despiser.
Don’t reward fascism. The Butcher of Gujarat, Modi, doesn’t deserve an award from the Bill Gates Foundation- sign the petition #StandwithKashmirhttps://t.co/Sy11ZsX26T
From supporting his sister who says “unfurling the flag of Palestine in India is no crime” to calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a fascist and a butcher, the writer has definitely written some callous pieces.
Image Source: Twitter
The history buff as known by many and a ‘heritage enthusiast’ famous for carrying out heritage walks in Delhi, Hashmi has also featured in a YouTube series stripping India of every achievement and belonging.
“Most things we deem Indian are not originally from this land we perch our derriere on,” says Hashmi while asking “Yeh Hindustani kis chidiya ka naam hai?” Not sparing even the language, Hashmi questions, “Remove Urdu words such as agar, magar, mushkil, andar, bahar, teer, talwar, auzaar and wazan, what will remain in our speech?”
Hashmi also contributes regularly to The Wire where he wrote about Centre’s Central Vista project, encroachment by Hindus and the right to dissent.
Hashmi who seems to be a part of the ‘India intolerant’ brigade, in an interview talking about his brother Safdar remarked, “There weren’t lynch mobs (that time). Today, it is a crime to be born Muslim.” It is to be noted that Safdar Hashmi was lynched to death in 1989 by Congress goons and Congress leader Mukesh Sharma was convicted of the murder amongst others.
Sohail Hashmi’s daughter
Sania Hashmi, daughter of Sohail Hashmi is also a member of NGO Anhad, a vocal activist and a filmmaker.
She is a part of Anhad Films that made two films on Muzaffarnagar riots, Mirchpur attacks and Bol Ke Lab Azaad Hain Terey on sexual harassment for Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT), an organisation run by veteran film personalities. She had also assisted director Subhash Kapoor on the 2007 Sanjay Suri-starrer cricket film Say Salaam India.
The duo not only appears to be an Aurangzeb sympathizer but also seems to be vocal to label India intolerant which was evident in an interview to the Indian Expres.
Hashmi had said, “If he was a temple destroyer, why didn’t Aurangzeb demolish the Buddhist, Jain and Kailasa (Hindu) temples in the Ellora caves near Aurangabad, where he stayed? Majority of Aurangzeb’s army had Rajput commanders just as Shivaji’s artillery was commanded by Muslims.”
It is to be noted that Aurangzeb not only destroyed Hindu temples but also ordered beheading of Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur for refusing to convert to Islam. The apologists, however, continue to whitewash his crimes and glorify the barbaric Mughal emperor.
Shabnam Hashmi and ANHAD
Shabnam Hashmi, Sohail’s sister, has worked as an ‘activist’ since Gujarat’s 2002 riots formed an NGO ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy) in 2003. Its FCRA license was recently canceled by the government based on inputs from intelligence agency for misusing foreign funds and working against the public interest.
Shabnam Hashmi, often helps Congress leaders in spreading falsehoods and lies and eventually ends up blaming ‘well intentioned trusted person’ for sending her a ‘misleading’ WhatsApp forwarded message.
It is interesting to note how both the Hashmi siblings, Sohail and Shabnam, appear to be going out of their way to spread the narrative of the very party whose leaders killed their own brother.
KP Yohannan, the founder and the Archbishop of Believers Eastern Church, is a controversial religious figure in Kerala. Accused of diverting funds collected for charity for religious proselytisation, he has been under the scanner of the Income Tax Department. Yohannan is believed to be the richest evangelist in Asia with assets over $175 million. Besides heading the Believers Eastern Church, he also runs a Texas-based trust by the name of Gospel for Asia.
Yohannan had founded the Believers Christian Church in 2000 at Thiruvalla in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala. He declared himself as a ‘Bishop’ and had appointed Bishops from North India and the Church of South India for his coronation as a ‘Bishop’. Later, he declared himself as an ‘Archbishop’ and hired 6 junior Bishops under him.
Charity funds used for buying real estate
In June 2015, the Kerala government had issued orders to recover land illegally owned by the Believers Eastern Church. Reportedly, funds procured by Gospel for Asia for the purpose of improving the lives of orphan children were used to buy real estate. The Believers Eastern Church, headed by Yohannan, bought one of the estates named Cheruvally Estate from the charity funds. Under the provisions of the Land Conservancy Act, the government had directed that the property be recovered from the Church and other groups.
It had purchased 2,263 acres of rubber plantations from Harrisons Malayalam Limited for ₹85 crores in 2005. Although Yohannan had claimed that the revenue from the real estate was to make the Church self-sufficient for running orphanages, it was found that the evangelist spent more than ₹300 crores on the property. A government probe found that the documents presented by Harrisons Malayalam Limited for the sale of the rubber estate were forged. As such, the Kerala government issued orders for its recovery. An earlier probe in 2008 had revealed that Yohannan had received ₹1044 crores from the United States.
IT Department raided Believers Eastern Church in November last year
In a major crackdown in November 2020, the Income Tax Department had raided the premises of Believers Eastern Church in Thiruvalla in central Kerala. The I-T Department had unearthed a major financial scam and recovered a whopping ₹8 crores in cash. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier cancelled the FCRA licence of Believers Eastern Church for carrying out evangelic activities using charity funds. This was despite the fact that the Church had claimed received the donations through proper channels.
Believers Eastern Church reportedly received over ₹7,000 crores in the past 8 years, through other trusts. The Church had also used its funds in real estate dealings and the construction of institutions. In fact, the Believers Church reportedly continued to get funds from various trusts even after their license was cancelled. The Believers Eastern Church also funded several political parties. The IT department has been looking into the transactions of over 10 years.
Yohannan established a huge business empire in the name of Christian Mission: Christian leader
For his larger-than-life and cult status, Yohannan had drawn the ire of the members of the Christian community. One lay Christian leader named Shaiju Antony said, “The Believers’ Church and its self-declared Archbishop KP Yohannan amassed huge wealth through foreign donations and purchased land and estates of thousands of acres in several parts of the country.”
He added, “One rubber estate it purchased in Kottayam [district in Kerala] alone is close to 2,500 acres. How can an individual make so much money in less than two decades? Yohannan and his accomplices in the name of a Christian mission established a huge business empire…(Modern Church leaders) are after money and have lost the sense of religion and God, and justice and love, that Jesus taught us. Most churches have lost track.”
Yohannan uses his ‘clout’ to evade legal and public scrutiny
However, everytime Yohannan had been in trouble, he was quick to shrewdly use his political and religious influence to get away from public accountability. In January this year, about 25 Christian leaders came forward to vouch for the ‘credibility’ and ‘integrity’ of his Texas-based Trust named Gospel for Asia. They lauded the evangelist for serving the Lord ‘faithfully’ in 18 South Asian countries.
In his defence, Sermon Index founder Greg Gordon claimed, “I have seen firsthand the work in Asia, the training of ministry leaders, churches, and Bridge of Hope centers. Frugality, simplicity, and godly wisdom are obvious in all the work. Everything is done for an eternal purpose with the longevity of a church in mind where millions are experiencing Christ’s love who have never heard the name of Jesus. Dr. KP Yohannan has emulated this example of sacrifice and commitment to Jesus.”
Bollywood actor Kartik Aryan has lost yet another project after Karan Johar’s Dostana 2 and Shah Rukh Khan’s production, Freddie, Hindustan Times reported. He was reportedly roped in for an untitled gangster movie but is no longer part of the project.
“Kartik was in advanced level talks with Aanand, and had read the script and heard the narration, too. But, before he could sign on the dotted line, things fell apart,” Hindustan Times quoted sources as saying.
Karan Johar’s decision to drop Kartik Aryan from Dostana 2 could have influenced the decision, the source speculated. The source said, “The fact that Karan dropped Kartik seems to have influenced others. So, this could be the third instance where Kartik maybe losing out on getting to work with an established filmmaker like Aanand.”
“Aanand is now considering Ayushmann Khurrana for this film with who he had earlier collaborated on Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (2017) and Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020), so it’s not a surprise if he may have readily come on board,” the source further revealed.
Filmmaker Aanand L Rair, however, said that nothing was formalised with Aryan. He told HT, “As a production house, we work on several scripts and pitch it to actors — that’s the process. Actors keep meeting you, you keep telling them what you are working on, they express their desire to collaborate. And then, depending upon the subject, you decide if you should approach them. But that doesn’t mean you have signed them.”
“I have a story, which we would soon make with Ayushmann,” he added. Earlier, Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions had announced that they will not be working with Kartik Aryan in the future after dropping him from Dostana 2 due to ‘unprofessional behaviour’.
Kangana Ranaut had said, “Kartik has come this far on his own, on his own he will continue to do so, only request to papa jo and his nepo gang club is please leave him alone like Shushant don’t go after him and force him to hang himself. Leave him alone you vultures, get lost chindi nepos…”
She also advised Kartik that there was no need to scared of these “chillars”. Kangana Ranaut also drew parallels with the manner in which stories of unprofessional behaviour and drug addiction were peddled regarding Sushant Singh Rajput.
On May 30, claims of Tamil Nadu’s current Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan being a United States citizen went viral. Saravanaprasad Balasubramanian, Editorial Member of News Portal Mediyaan, alleged in a Twitter post that on scanning American Citizenship Records, it was found Thiagarajan is a US citizen. Thiagarajan had replied to similar allegations on May 20 and used ‘cow urine’ jibe to answer the netizen who had raised the allegations.
In the post, Balasubramanian said, “American Citizenship Record scan shows that the current Tamilnadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan as a US Citizen. According to Indian law, it is illegal for a foreign citizen to contest in any election or vote.”
It looks like Palanivel Thiagarajan violated the Indian law and it needs to be probed.
In a follow-up post written in Tamil, he wrote, “It is commonly possible to know information such as a US citizen or a green card holder or an H1-B visa. If you pay for it as already said. The information I have taken about a Tamil Nadu Finance Minister was also taken from a similar company. I’m stopping with this though I can get more info than that.” He detailed out how someone can take US citizenship and added, “Further minister can prove himself like that. The truth is that it doesn’t even take five minutes. But let’s wait and see if he does.”
When we tried searching the American citizenship database on instantcheckmate.com, we found one record associated with the name Palanivel Thiagarajan. Though two people can have similar names, what attracted our attention was the name of possible relatives that included “Margaret Rajan”.
Source: instantcheckmate
It has to be noted that Thiagarajan is married to a US citizen named Margaret and has two children. Thiagarajan had lived in the US for 20 years after he left India in 1987. Margaret was his classmate and later married him. In 2007, after his father’s demise, he returned to India. In 2011, he moved to Singapore for a job and stayed there for four years. In 2015, he returned to India for good and contested the election in 2016 under DMK.
Thiagarajan had laughed at the allegations
This is not the first time Thiagarajan is facing allegations associated with his citizenship. On May 20, an anonymous Twitter handle made similar allegations in which the user had claimed Thiagarajan hold an OCI card.
TN minister had used cow urine jibe to counter allegations of him being US citizen
He quoted the tweet while using the ‘cow urine’ jibe and said, “Filtered idiots have become insane from drinking too much cow urine – alleging I am on OCI cardholder (who cannot even vote).” The anonymous account has since been suspended.
The district health committee probing Aligarh empty syringe case said that since ANM (auxiliary nurse midwife) Niha Khan has been found guilty of misconduct and medical malpractice and negligence, she has been expelled from her job with immediate effect. Confirming that Niha Khan has been booked, the committee gave its consent for conducting judicial inquiry against the ANM.
The FIR has been registered against Niha Khan under Section 203, 176, 465, 427, 120 B 3/4 of IPC at Civil Lines police station of Aligarh. Niha Khan has been booked based on a complaint from the chief medical officer (CMO), Aligarh, Dr Bhanu Pratap Kalyani, stating that 29 COVID vaccines loaded syringes were thrown away in garbage & the beneficiaries were marked as ‘vaccinated’ at Jamalpur PHC. Dr Afreen, in-charge of the Centre, accused of covering up the treacherous act, has also been named in the FIR.
On a complaint from CMO stating that 29 COVID vaccine loaded syringes were thrown away in garbage & the beneficiaries were marked as ‘vaccinated’ at Jamalpur PHC, an FIR has been registered against ANM Niha Khan & Dr Afreen Zehra: Aligarh CO (Civil Lines) Vishal Chaudhary (30.05) pic.twitter.com/xUOyzjOSbs
In her statement recorded on May 25, Niha Khan confessed to inserting injections inside the body of the vaccine recipients but taking them out without releasing the vaccine. She then threw the loaded vaccines in the dustbin.
Dr Afreen also confessed that at around 4:30 pm she received a call from Arvind Pharmacist informing her about the incident. Arvind Pharmacist also sent Dr Afreen pictures which clearly showed the loaded AD syringe cut from the hub (plastic part at base of needle) with the help of a hub cutter.
Dr Afreen Khan said in her defence that before she could inform the higher authorities, she only received a call from the chief medical officer (CMO) inquiring about the incident. She said she regrets that she did not inform the authorities about the incident.
According to reports, Dr Afreen was aware of this, but still, she did not bother to inform her superiors about Niha’s act. Reports had suggested that Dr Afreen Khan could be transferred from the Jamalpur Urban health centre to her original posting in Harduaganj.
Terming the entire incident as ‘vaccine Jihad’, Sudarshan News claims that Niha Khan carried out this inhumanely act purposely as she did not want the Covid-19 pandemic to end. She was also doing it intentionally so as to discredit the BJP government led by Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh, claims Sudarshan News.
Shocking beyond belief@myogiadityanath ji, this merits serious investigation all over the state, not just onto conduct of just one nurse. She can’t be alone in this. pic.twitter.com/JZPmblDUK7
— Madhu Purnima Kishwar (@madhukishwar) May 31, 2021
The matter came to light on May 24 (Monday) when 29 syringes loaded with Covaxin were found in the dustbin at Jamalpur urban primary health centre in Aligarh. The ANM on duty Niha Khan was suspected of purportedly throwing away the syringes.
All the beneficiaries of the vaccine that the ANM cheated, were in the age group of 18-44 years. Their details were updated on the COWIN portal saying that they have received the doses.
It is pertinent to note that the incident of binning loaded Covid-19 vaccine injections in the trash took place at a time when there is a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines across the country, and emphasis is placed on the judicious use of vaccines and minimizing their wastage.
Note: An earlier version of the report included a video wrongly attributed to ANM Niha Khan administering the vaccine. The copy has been updated and error is regretted.
Bollywood Actress Juhi Chawla has filed a lawsuit against the implementation of 5G technology in India. According to the actress, if 5G technology were to be installed, then people and humans will be exposed to radiofrequency radiation (RF) at a rate of 10 times or 100 times the current figure.
Juhi Chawla said in a statement, “We are not against the implementation of technological advancements. On the contrary, we enjoy using the latest products that the world of technology has to offer, including in the field of wireless communications. However, whilst using the latter kind of devices, we are in a constant dilemma, because after doing our own research and studies regarding the RF radiation from wirefree gadgets and network cell towers, we have sufficient reason to believe that the radiation is extremely harmful and injurious to the health and safety of the people.”
“The accumulated clinical evidence of sick and injured human beings, coupled with experimental evidence of damage to DNA, cells and organ systems in a wide variety of plants and animals, further coupled with epidemiological evidence which supports the conclusion that the major diseases of modern civilization – cancer, heart disease and diabetes – are, in large part, caused by electromagnetic pollution, stems from a literature-base comprising of over 10,000 (ten thousand) peer-reviewed studies, a number much, much, much too large to be ignored,” the statement says.
Juhi Chawla also said that the 5G network will cause “serious, irreversible effects on humans and permanent damage to all of the Earth’s ecosystems”. The race to develop 5G technology has “somewhat distracted our nation from taking into due consideration some alarming factors to the health of present and future generations,” the actress argued.
A spokesperson for Juhi Chalwa said on the lawsuit being filed, “The present suit is being instituted in order to seek a direction from this Hon’ble court to the arrayed Defendants, to certify to us and, therefore, to the public at large, that 5G technology is safe to humankind, man, woman, adult, child, infant, animals and every type of organisms, to flora, to fauna, and in support thereof, to produce their respective studies regarding RF radiation through mobile cell towers, and if not already conducted, to also conduct an efficient research, and without participation of private interest, and to subsequently furnish the report and declare whether or not the implementation of 5G in India would be safe, keeping un regards the health and safety of the present and future citizenry on India, including little children and infants, as well as infants of generations to come.”
Conspiracy theories about 5G technology have skyrocketed in recent times, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. A great many conspiracy theorists have blamed 5G network for the disease even after repeated clarifications by experts that it has nothing to do with the disease.
An FIR has been registered against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor from Matiala ward, Ramesh Matiala, for allegedly misbehaving with one of their woman party workers and physically assaulting her with the help of two other party workers.
The action against the AAP councillor was taken following the incident that reportedly took place on May 28. A video of the victim narrating her ordeal has also surfaced on Twitter. In the video, the victim says that Ramesh Matiala called two women party workers and directed them to slap her in front of him.
This is HOW Women are treated in AAP – Listen to this Lady who had organized covid testing camp & her allegations against Ramesh Matiala of Aam Aadmi Party who allegedly got her slаррed by party workers. “I want to ask Arvind Kejriwal WHY women are NOT SAFE in your Party??” pic.twitter.com/lkDWsvyZv6
According to the victim, who is also an Aam Aadmi Party member, she had organised an RT-PCR testing camp with the help of the Delhi government in Matiala. Since she had single-handedly worked to organise this camp, a banner with her picture had been placed there. When Ramesh Matiala went there on the day of the purported incident and saw the banner, he was infuriated.
Irked by the fact that the victim organised the camp without his consent and put her own photo on the banner, Ramesh Matiala called on two women party workers and asked them to slap her in front of him. She claims that she was on a call with an officer of the Delhi Jal board when she was assaulted.
The FIR was registered at Delhi’s Bindapur police station. Sections 323 (causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), and 506 (threatening) of the Indian Penal Code has been invoked against the AAP leader.
“We had received a complaint from their party worker and have also conducted an enquiry before lodging the FIR. Further investigation is underway to ascertain what exactly happened,” DCP (Dwarka district) Santosh Kumar Meena was quoted by The Indian Express as saying.
Ruing that she had quit her job as a regional head to join the Aam Aadmi Party she questioned Arvind Kejriwal “why women are not safe in your Party”?
Meanwhile, the Delhi police said that it will be will be calling the victim in the coming days to record her statement before the magistrate under Section 164 of CrPC before making any arrests.
When contacted, Ramesh Matiala said: “I am not aware about any complaint or FIR. I will comment only after I see this complaint myself.”
The SARS-CoV-2 virus, or SARS2 in short, that caused the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the lives, businesses and economies around the world. The death toll is closing down to the 3.5 million mark, but the origin of the deadly and highly contagious virus is still unknown. The political agendas of the governments and scientists have created an opaque bubble around the information that no one has been able to pierce so far.
Nicholas Wade, a former science editor for the New York Times, detailed out two hypotheses based on the information available about the origin of the virus. In a detailed article, one hypothesis discusses the possible origin in nature, the other talks about its possible origin in a lab in Wuhan. The bits and pieces collected by scientists, researchers, and investigators amidst strong attempts to hide the available information about SARS2 by the Chinese government give a somewhat clear picture about the possibilities of its origin.
Before we begin discussing the origin of the virus, it has to be kept in mind that every virus that jumps from species to species leaves a trail that helps in assessing how it reaches its current target. Even in the case of viruses that get accidentally leaked from labs, there clues about their origin hidden in the virus genome, codes for restructured protiens and traces of enhancing its function. However, in the case of the Covid-19 virus, it has been almost 18 months since it was first reported on the international platform, but the clues about its origin are either bleak or non-existent.
In a recent interview with Fox News, Wade had slammed US media for not doing enough to question the relevant authorities about finding the origins of the pandemic.
The two theories of ‘Origin of Covid’
Wade, in his detailed article, valued both sides of the argument, by carefully evaluating the claims of ‘natural origin’ and ‘laboratory origin’ on the basis of existing evidence and asserted that the ‘blame’ extends far beyond just the Chinese government.
In December 2019, the Chinese authorities reported that several cases of Covid-19 occurred in the wet market in Wuhan. Wet markets are the places where wild animals are sold for meat. Wet markets have been associated with the spread of deadly viruses in Humans. Two prominent examples are the SARS1 epidemic of 2002, in which a bat virus jumped to civets and then to humans. Civet meat is easily available in Chinese wet markets. The second similar incident occurred in 2012 when the MERS virus made a jump from camels to humans.
Based on the genetic information available of the Covid-19 virus, it has been determined that It belongs to a viral family known as beta-coronaviruses. It is the same family that SARS1 and MERS belong to. The relationship between the viruses gave strength to the idea that the virus jumped from bats to another animal host and then to humans naturally. The wet market connection similar to SARS1 and MERS epidemics gave more strength to the idea. However, later it was found by the Chinese researchers that the cases of Covid-19 in Wuhan were not directly linked to the wet market. However, the discovery did not put any dent in the idea of a natural shift from animals to humans.
The city of Wuhan has the Wuhan institute of Virology which is a leading world centre for research on coronaviruses. This is the main reason several experts believe that SARS2 could have escaped from the lab in Wuhan.
The experts’ stand that put faith in natural occurrence
In the early months of the pandemic offset, two scientific groups made strong statements in favour of the natural emergence of the virus. Unfortunately, they were not examined as critically as they should have been by the scientific community.
On February 19, 2020, a group of virologists and others wrote in the Lancet, “We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin.” At that time, it was too early to assert what could have happened. They pushed the theory strongly that the coronavirus originated in wildlife.
Wade said, “A definite mark of a good scientist is that they go to great pains to distinguish between what they know and what they don’t know. By this criterion, the signatories of the Lancet letter were behaving as poor scientists: they were assuring the public of facts they could not know for sure were true.”
‘Conflict of interest’ hidden in the Lancet letter
Medical journal The Lancet had faced heavy criticism in August 2020 for published a shady ‘research’ done by a fake organisation with fake data regarding hydroxychloroquine. Unfortunately, even in the case of the letter that essentially gave a ‘clean chit’ to Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Chinese govt, a very curious ommission was made. Lancet did not mention that one of the letter writers was involved with that particular line of research in the Wuhan institute and teh letter was basically teh scientist covering up his own culpability.
It was found that the letter was organized and drafted by Peter Daszak. He is the president of the EcoHealth Alliance of New York that funded coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. If SARS2 indeed leaked from there, he would be potentially culpable. The letter, however, concluded, “We declare no competing interests.”
Notably, if it were proven that SARS2 was leaked from a lab in Wuhan, it would cause a serious backlash from the public that would affect virologists everywhere. Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review editor, had said in March 2020, “It would shatter the scientific edifice top to bottom.”
The second theory of the natural origin
On March 17, 2020, an op-ed (not a scientific article) authored by a group of virologists led by Kristian G. Andersen of the Scripps Research Institute was published in the Nature Medicine Journal. It stated, “Our analyses clearly show that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus.”
The theory was based on older methods of cutting and pasting viral genomes that retain the signs of manipulation. If the modern methods are considered, they provide rather a seamless approach leaving no defining marks of any manipulation. However, rejecting the modern methodology completely by not including it in their base for their theory, they said, “It is improbable that SARS-CoV-2 emerged through laboratory manipulation of a related SARS-CoV-like coronavirus”.
Two methods were discussed in their letter. The first in which the virologists would calculate the strongest possible fit between the human ACE2 receptor and spike protein so that the virus could latch onto it, and the second in which scientists would convert RNA genome to DNA and then arrange for the manipulated DNA genome to be converted back into infectious RNA. As they could not find signs of any of the two mentioned methods, they concluded it could not be laboratory-made.
Though both the theories have a flimsy foundation, no one in the science community cared to call out Andersen Group’s argument for its potential absurdity, Wade asserts. The reason? Wade believes that calling out such an influential group can cost careers. Those who challenge the community’s declared view always face the risk to have the next grant application turned down.
China has no proof to prove the natural emergence of Covid-19
SARS1 and MERS viruses had left traces in the environment that led the investigating scientists to find the intermediary host species in less than a year. While SARS1’s intermediary host was identified within four months, in the case of MERS, it took nine months. However, It has been fifteen months since SARS2 jumped to the human population, but there is no evidence found so far about the intermediary host species. Based on the lack of such evidence, it is logical to pay attention to the alternative theory that the virus escaped from the lab.
Why scientists create such deadly viruses?
Since virologists gained the modern technology that allows them to manipulate virus’s genes, they have been trying to develop more deadly viruses in the lab. The idea is to prepare the world for a potential pandemic when a virus jumps from animal to humans. Based on the rationale, the scientists had created the 1918 flu virus to show how almost extinct poliovirus could be synthesized from the published DNA sequence and introduced a smallpox gene into a related virus. It is known as “gain-of-function” experiments.
The possible connection between Wuhan lab and Covid
It has to be noted that the researchers at Wuhan Institute of Virology, led by Dr Shi Zgeng-li or “Bat Lady”, have collected over a hundred different bat coronaviruses from bat-infested caves of Yunnan. She teamed up with Ralph S. Baric, an eminent coronavirus researcher at the University of North Carolina and focused on enhancing the ability of bat viruses to attack humans.
During their research, they developed a novel virus codenamed SHC014-CoV. When it was tested against the lab culture of human airway cells, it was found that the virus was able to infect them. The virus was they created is also known as Chimera. If SARS2 was created in her lab, its direct prototype would be SHC014-CoV.
How different events point fingers at Wuhan lab?
Dr Baric had developed a general method to engineer bat coronaviruses to attack other species. He taught the method to Dr Shi. When she returned to her lab at Wuhan Institute of Virology, she resumed the work on genetically engineering coronaviruses to attack human cells.
The theory stands strong as her work was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Her proposal is available in the public record. The grant was assigned to Dr Daszak of the EcoHealth Alliance, who subcontracted Dr Shi. The very same Dr Daszak who had hurried to publish a letter in Lancet giving a clean chit to the Wuhan lab and asserting that ‘lab origin’ theories are fake.
In the grant proposals for fiscal years 2018 and 2019, it was mentioned,” Test predictions of CoV inter-species transmission. Predictive models of host range (i.e. emergence potential) will be tested experimentally using reverse genetics, pseudovirus and receptor binding assays, and virus infection experiments across a range of cell cultures from different species and humanized mice.”
In 2019 it said, “We will use S protein sequence data, infectious clone technology, in vitro and in vivo infection experiments and analysis of receptor binding to test the hypothesis that % divergence thresholds in S protein sequences predict spillover potential.”
As Dr Shi’s records have been sealed by the Chinese government, it is impossible to state if she created SARS2 in the lab or not. However, with the available evidence, it seems she was on the right track. Richard H. Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University and leading expert on biosafety, said, “It cannot yet be stated that Dr Shi did or did not generate SARS2 in her lab because her records have been sealed, but it seems she was certainly on the right track to have done so. “It is clear that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was systematically constructing novel chimeric coronaviruses and was assessing their ability to infect human cells and human-ACE2-expressing mice.”
History has evidence of lab leaks
In several interviews, Dr Daszak stated that the virus could not escape from the Wuhan lab. Even in 2020, he said that the theory that it escaped from Wuhan lab is absurd. However, there are several cases where deadly viruses had escaped from best-run laboratories across the globe. In the 1960s and 1970s, the smallpox virus escaped three times from labs in England, causing 80 cases and three deaths. SARS1 has leaked from laboratories in Taiwan, Singapore and four times from the Chinese National Institute of Virology in Beijing.
It has to be noted that though Wuhan Institute of Virology had a new BSL4 lab, reports suggest that the State Department inspectors who visited it from the Beijing embassy in 2018 were alarmed by its state of readiness. The inspector wrote, “The new lab has a serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians, and investigators needed to safely operate this high-containment laboratory.”
Working in BSL4 conditions is a pain for the virologists as they have to wear a spacesuit and do operations in closed cabinets. Every task takes twice as long as it should take. Before 2020, China allowed SARS1 and MERS to be handled in BSL3 conditions, but all other bat viruses could be handled in BSL2 conditions where minimal safety precautions are required. Notably, the majority of Dr Shi’s gain-of-function work was performed in BSL2 labs which she confirmed in an interview. Wade writes that BSL2 conditions can be similar to a dentist’s clinic.
There were concerns about the safety conditions in the Wuhan lab. According to a fact sheet released by the State Department on January 15, 2021, “ The U.S. government has reason to believe that several researchers inside the WIV became sick in autumn 2019, before the first identified case of the outbreak, with symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses.”
Daszak was also in the WHO team that went to Wuhan to find the origins of Covid
Dr Daszak’s ‘conflict of interest’ in giving a clean chit to the Wuhan lab is mentioned above. However, he was also in the WHO team that had gone to China to find the origins of the pandemic. The WHO report was inconclusive. WHO it sent admitted that the team was not allowed by Chinese authorities fulla access to data and labs. Also, though Daszak and team kept asserting that the virus did not come from a laboratory, they could provide no convincing proof that it was natural either.
Peter Daszak and other WHO team members arrive at WIV on February 3, image via WSJ
Daszak had admitted to developing SARS coronaviruses in China that have no vaccines, just before the pandemic started
Wade writes that in an interview on December 9, just before the pandemic raged, Daszak had himself boasted that they have been conducting research to manipulate coronaviruses and they have developed over 100 new coronaviruses that can get into human cells in a lab, they are untreatable with antibody models and there are no vaccines against them. He also boasted that coronaviruses are pretty easy to manipulate. The relevant part can be seen at the 28-minute mark in the interview below.
The place of SARS2 origin
The closest known relatives of SARS2 were found in the caves of Yunnan, but SARS2 was found infecting people 1,500 KM away in Wuhan. The range of bats is around 50 K.M. it is highly unlikely they travelled from Yunnan to Wuhan.
The theory of an intermediary person or animal travelling to Wuhan does not stand either as no one between Yunnan and Wuhan got infected by the virus. Wuhan is home to China’s top centres of coronavirus research. As noted before, scientists were able to create genetically engineered bat viruses capable of attacking humans.
Evolution from bats to humans
One theory suggests that the intermediary is yet to be found. Those who believe in this theory say that it is possible the jump from bat to human took place outside China. Another theory suggests directly jumps from bats to humans. In that case, the virus should not have changed much. If the virus jumped from bat to humans directly, it should have been able to infect bats as well, which is not the case.
No strong evidence of natural emergence or leak from the lab
There is no direct evidence of either of the theories. Till no definitive conclusion can be reached out, both natural emergence and the lab escape hypothesis have to be factored in. Notably, possibilities do weigh towards a slab leak. It is well documented that researchers at Wuhan Institute of Virology were doing gain-of-function experiments and were working under minimal safety conditions of the BSL2 lab. Thus escape from the virus would not be a surprise.
The lab’s records can make things clearer, but the Chinese government is unlikely to release the documents. The connection to US-based organisations’ funding to experiments in Wuhan labs, conflict of interest in articles published by researchers denying a lab leak and China’s reluctance towards releasing more information on the experiments in Wuhan lab raise a lot of questions about Covid-19’s origin.
The detailed report by Nicholas Wade on the Origin of Covid-19 virus can be read here.
On Saturday (May 29), the Kundarki police arrested a 25-year-old man from Muslim community for the rape of a 15-year-old Dalit girl in the Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh.
As per reports, the accused has been identified as one Vinyamin, son of Shukur. The victim, a student of Class 8 in Kundarki area, had stepped out of her house on Thursday morning to use the toilet. At that time, the accused forcibly took her inside his shop at gunpoint and raped the victim. On realising that the victim was missing, the family members began searching for her. They chanced upon to hear her loud screams from outside a locked shop. The family members knocked on the door repeatedly while the accused managed to flee the crime scene by waving his gun in the air.
Case filed, accused arrested by police
On breaking open the shop, they found the victim lying in a semi-conscious state. The Dalit girl informed them that she was raped by the accused. It has come to light that the accused had threatened to kill the victim, when she screamed for help. She was then taken for a medical examination. The police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the accused under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 376 (rape) and relevant provisions of SC/ST Act and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The cops then recorded the statement of the victim and deployed teams to nab the accused. While speaking about the matter, Circle Officer Desh Deepak Singh informed, “The girl is a minor, who studies in a school, while the accused is around 25-year-old and runs a furniture shop. I have inspected the spot in the presence of the girl’s family. We have gathered evidence from the village and multiple teams have been deployed to arrest the accused.”
Accused coerced victim’s family to withdraw the case
The police have also deployed additional teams in the area to contain the law and order situation that might flare up owing to the rape of a minor Dalit girl by a perpetrator of other community. On Saturday, Vinyamin was arrested and then produced before a local Court. He was then sent behind the bars. The development was confirmed by SO Sandeep Kumar. It must be mentioned that the accused had also tried to pressurise the victim’s family into withdrawing the case. Reportedly, the accused is a resident of Haryana and a carpenter by occupation.
