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From joining ‘farmers’ protest to converting Rohingyas for Indian citizenship: How Christian groups have exploited the pandemic

Akshita Bhadauria
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From joining ‘farmers’ protest to converting Rohingyas for Indian citizenship: How Christian groups have exploited the pandemic

Over the years we have been made to think of the role of an evangelist or a missionary to be that of pulling the poor out of poverty, helping the destitute and in turn asking them to their God. 

They entered lands far and wide otherwise unknown to us to provide food, shelter and education. But now the evangelicals are between you and me. Spreading the ‘word of God’, supporting farmers’ protest, planting churches, floating companies on paper, even using official posts to preach their faith and now seeing the pandemic as a ‘golden opportunity’ to convert the gullible. 

To simplify the read, let’s divide their activities into five domains: preaching and conversion by evangelists, joining hands with the Break India forces, ‘cure’ and ‘healing’ methods to battle the pandemic, indulging in illegal activities and holding official positions to further their mission. 

Let’s start with how the missionaries, evangelists or preachers however we may like to call it are fueling angst against the country. 

Christian bodies support farmers

At the beginning of the year, several Priests and heads of various Christian organizations in Punjab protested against the Centre for not repealing the Farm Bills. The protest saw the presence of ArchBishop of Pentecostal Diocese of Punjab PJ Soloman, chairman of Rashtriya Masihi Sangh Fares Masih, Punjab Christian United Front chief George Soni, Punjab Christian Movement chief Hamid Masih, Pastor Ashok Masih and Pastor Surinder Gill of the United Pastors’ Association. 

Chairman of the Indian Farmers Movement (INFAM), a church-backed body based in Kerala Father Joseph Ottaplackal said that the government needs to take “a more lenient view towards the demands of the farmers because the reforms spell disaster for the farming community.”

Rohingyas taking up Christianity

A report in July 2020 brought to light how a large number of Rohingya Muslims residing in India prior to 2012 were turning to Christianity while claiming to be from Bangladesh. The activity saw an increase post the Government of India introduced the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in the Parliament prompting many Afghan and Rohingya Muslim refugees to convert to Christianity to become eligible for Indian citizenship.

An official estimate suggests there are nearly 40,000 Rohingya Muslims across India, with the highest number in Jammu and Kashmir. 

Next, let’s look at how the evangelical organizations have thrust into the pandemic making the most of the suffering and helplessness.

Pandemic is ‘Godsend’

As the country is reeling under the aftermath of the pandemic, evangelists across the nation seem to be rejoicing the advent of the calamity. Otherwise empty churches have now found devotees as the evangelists managed to supply food kits to the ones in need.

Sharing their success story Isaac Shaw a senior pastor of Bible Bhavan Christian Fellowship in an interview to Christianity Today said gleefully, “When churches started streaming their services online, they were surprised at the audience they received. I know of small churches that normally had less than 100 people attend on an average Sunday now have more than 700 viewers online. Our own church, Bible Bhavan Christian Fellowship, which has been live streaming for more than four years, saw a 300 percent increase in viewership.”

Taking undue advantage of people’s sufferings, “As the Indian church is expressing its love for those who are suffering the most, previously antagonistic neighbors are partnering with the church in our expressions of help. This marks a new day,” added Isaac.

Isaac revealed that the churches with the imposition of lockdown refused to follow the protocol saying “churches cannot close their doors, believing that the Bible mandates weekly group worship in buildings and that God grants health to the faithful.” He said the churches took three weeks to come up with an alternative that ultimately proved to be fruitful.

Preaching in the garb of help amidst the pandemic

When the nation was staring into the unknown, taking precautions to restrict the spread of the coronavirus, preachers were out on the streets conducting Gospel campaigns. Pastors from the South of India while in an interview to Christian Chronicle revealed, “When the initial lockdowns were lifted in 2020, members of the Anna Nagar Church of Christ in Chennai conducted gospel campaigns and did street preaching. Even children as young as 7 proclaimed the Good News to their neighbors.

“Recently, church members launched a new campaign to deliver the gospel — and masks — to 30 villages in the area,” a minister added.

Pagidipalli, a physician and evangelist who works with multiple Churches of Christ remarked, “Covid is increasing exponentially here in India, but the number of souls who are turning to Jesus as their Lord is also increasing every single day.”

This comes amidst 600 preachers of Churches of Christ who succumbed to the Chinese virus last year and more than 900 preachers’ families affected in Kakinada Andhra Pradesh. Paul Renganathan, the director of World Bible College revealed that he knows of nearly 500 deaths among members of Churches of Christ in just the Chennai region, including several evangelists he worked with closely.

Missionaries say pandemic opened gates to India

Mission India, an evangelical organization working in India with a clear motive is currently working to equip its ministry partners in relief efforts to save lives and enhance their evangelism, discipleship, and church planting efforts. “Our partners see this as a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate the love of Christ in their communities,” they flaunt on their website.

The organization is simultaneously running a Children’s Bible Club introducing them to Jesus through engaging activities, songs, and prayer during either a 10 day or a year-long experience and creating new Church planters to introduce a “community to Jesus”.

Christian hymns in the form of kirtans

The conversion wave in Punjab is a well-known reality and is being widely talked about especially during the pandemic. The lesser-known fact is the modus operandi of the missionaries in the region.

The target for conversions in Punjab are people from the lower strata of society, particularly Sikh Dalits who are shunned by the upper caste Sikhs; who they entice by offering everything from money to healing chronic illnesses, free education, healthcare, compensation, and fulfillment of other needs in return for converting to Christianity.

To Indianize the experience, evangelists have gone to the extent of portraying Jesus doing Yoga and wearing a saffron robe. Churches are being built in resemblance to temples and Gurdwaras, with Christian Hymns being sung in the tune of a “kirtan”. The Christian community in Punjab and these organizations have begun to name themselves as ‘Shromani Church Parbhandak Committee’.

Raising funds for bikes and Bibles

As the common Samaritans raise funds to feed the ones affected due to the lockdown, an evangelical organization is raising funds to procure bicycles that will help their preachers wheel to hinterlands with Bibles. This year they aim to gather enough funds to be able to purchase 1,000 bikes, 100,000 Bibles, construct 6,000 new Churches in India and equip a new Church planter.

The strategies of these organizations are based on a huge database entailing details of the entire population sliced and diced basis caste, groups, ethnicity, languages and more. India Evangelical says 88% of the population is yet to be reached in India.

The Christian groups and affiliated organizations have also advocated self-healing and miracle cure quite aggressively to fight the Covid-19 virus.

A Hindustan Times article from 2016 had revealed how “faith heals, but only if one continues medication.” The article described how people developed life-threatening complications, some even lose their lives after stopping the medication and hoping their faith will cure and heal them.

Vaccine a mark of the beast

As the government relentlessly is urging people to get inoculated, a 24-hour free-to-air Christian evangelical channel Angel TV, run by a pastor Sundar Selvaraj who calls himself a ‘sadhu’ warns people against the vaccine saying ‘is a mark of the beast prophesied in the Bible.’

Selvaraj claims that the vaccines contain a chip and that his ‘prophecy’ of the chip-fitted vaccine to be given to the masses through government programs and free camps has come true.

Preaching while on Covid duty

We had reported earlier on how a nurse on government duty in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh was caught in the tribal-dominated development block of Bajala with publicity leaflets preaching Christianity on the pretext of informing people about dietary plans amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

Moving on to evangelists using official and influential positions to further their religion while on government/ official duty.

IMA Head wants to use the association as a springboard to convert

In an interview to Christian magazines, recently appointed Dr Johnrose Austin Jayalal confessed to using the Indian Medical Association as a springboard to share the “love of Jesus Christ” and be a “living witness to God and encourage young medical students and doctors to receive Jesus as their personal saviour”.

According to Dr Jayalal, it was “Christian compassion” and Christian doctors and churches who relieved the world from lethal maladies such as leprosy, cholera and other pandemics in the past. He believes the coronavirus pandemic has provided “the urgent need of the proclamation of the Gospel to people who are suffering from the virus has allowed us to share the Gospel even in secular institutions”.

Using influential positions to preach Christianity

In a report released by Swarajya in June 2020, it was revealed that Mr. D.P. Haokip a senior official in the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) confessed in an evangelist convention to being an evangelist even while on duty. He also boasted to have summoned Rahul Dravid, former captain of the Indian cricket team to his office and did proselytizing maneuvers for an hour, preaching him Bible. Haokip’s visiting card too contains a verse from the Gospel.

In another shocking revelation a Jesuit clergy, Joe Arun, Director of LIBA (Loyola Institute of Business Administration) claimed that when the state government of Tamil Nadu asked him to be one of the mentors in the board for revising the social science syllabus from the first standard to 12th standard, the first thing he did was to introduce Jesuit ideology into the syllabus.

Heading to the last pillar, several evangelical organizations have come under the scanner for flouting fake companies, unaccounted cash and hawala.

Rampant conversions

Taking undue advantage of the lockdown imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, missionaries in India converted as many as 1 lakh people and adopted 50,000 villages in a span of one year. Need for medical aid and two squares meals amidst the financial crisis, pushed the economically weaker section into the trap of missionaries. The missionaries also built a record number of churches in thousands of villages where none existed before.

Pastor Praveen Chakravarty a popular name in Andhra Pradesh was arrested by the police for kicking idols of Hindu Gods. He was also booked under various sections related to creating enmity among religious groups, committing a crime at religious places etc. The pastor flaunted the creation of 699 Christ villages in the state.

In January this year, Shahjahanpur (Uttar Pradesh) police have lodged an FIR against five people, including two from Tamil Nadu, under the new anti-conversion law for allegedly convincing people to convert to Christianity. Quoting the complaint, the police informed that a few of them were seen convincing people to convert to Christianity with the promise of “good job and good education to children.”

It is imperative to understand how evangelism in India is no longer a single prong business. The organizations and individuals have camouflaged themselves in every aspect of society making it difficult to escape their grip.

PETA India wants to shut down the entire dairy industry to prevent cow slaughter, but there is another solution

Akshita Bhadauria
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PETA India wants to shut down the entire dairy industry to prevent cow slaughter, but there is another solution

Gain for one does not necessarily have to result in the loss of another. However, this is exactly what PETA India recommends. In the recent controversy raked up by the alleged animal welfare organization, PETA India wants to shut the flourishing dairy industry under the garb of ‘veganism.’

So much so, that the organization issued sermons to Amul India, one of the largest contributors to the dairy industry to start producing ‘vegan milk’ instead. The campaign being run by PETA India is not only ignorant but a direct attack on the country’s economy. 

The organization had to be schooled by Amul’s MD, RS Sodhi who questioned if the NGO will give livelihood to 100 million dairy farmers, 70% of whom are landless. “Who will pay for children school fee, how many can afford expensive lab-manufactured factory food made out of chemicals, and synthetic vitamins”, he asked.

The organization continuing with its campaign indulged in virtue signalling by claiming that no one needs milk after infancy and if at all one wants to consume, one should go for non-dairy milk, like the ‘milk’ made from soya, coconut and other nuts. When questioned about the affordability by one Twitter user, the organization advised the user to produce plant-based milk at home. 

When probed by the netizens about its selective targeting and inaction on animal slaughter/ cruelty during Islamic festivals, PETA India quickly took shelter of a topic sensitive to the Hindu community. In a bizarre insinuation, the organization pinned the blame of cow slaughter on the consumption of dairy products. 

PETA India remarked that dairy consumption remains the major reason why the ban on cow slaughter in India has been inefficient and on the contrary encouraged beef consumption.

Image Source: Twitter

To justify their bizarre hypothesis, PETA India has been sharing a video from 2010 shot at a stable with no facts, figures or statistics to support the claims but simply implies that animal cruelty for milk production, abandoning milk-producing cattle and artificial insemination is prevalent across the dairy industry. 

But here’s the catch. We need not shut an entire industry to safeguard animals from cruelty. We have a better campaign plan for the organization should they choose to pay heed.

Animal shelters and gaushalas

Since PETA India claims that dairy consumption has led to an increase in cow slaughter as agriculturists are forced to sell their cattle when no longer profitable, the organization can instead encourage building gaushalas and animal shelters.

In fact, as an animal welfare organization, PETA India must start its own gaushala to rescue the cattle allegedly abused by the dairy industry. 

The organization in fact can also run extensive online campaigns urging people to support organizations like Dakshin Vrindavan, Peepal Farm, Bhaktivedanta Swami Goshala and Gau Nandi Seva which work towards rescuing cows from slaughter and giving them a home and treatment if needed. 

Image Source: PETA India website

The aforementioned gausadans do not in fact milk cows and just act as a shelter home where they are given proper care, medical attention and love. 

Some gausadans instead make use of cow dung to create products in demand to help sustain themselves. A little help from a world-renowned organization will surely help them take care of more cows and cattle thus contributing to their cause of animal welfare. 

So instead of snatching away the livelihoods of 8.4 million diary farmers and jobs of millions, the organization can promote animal shelters, thereby opening new avenues of animal welfare, employment as well as income in the nation. 

Why shutting down of dairy industry can prove lethal

The dairy sector not only provides employment to millions of rural households but also contributes to the economy accounting for 67.2 per cent of the livestock sector. As per a report, 8.4 million farmers depend on the dairy sector for their livelihoods annually, out of which 71 per cent constitute of women. Empowering the farmers, around 60 per cent of the consumer price from milk goes to the farmer in India. 

While a dairy company may be able to switch to plant-based products from milk, the dairy farmers won’t be able to. As already pointed out by the Amul MD, most of dairy farmers are landless, which means they can’t cultivate the crops that can be used to produce ‘vegan milk’. While cows can be reared almost anywhere, the specific crops that can produce milk alternatives may not be suitable for all climates and land types. This means, even the dairy farmers with land may not be able to grow them.

Another important fact is that contrary to claims by PETA India, ‘vegan milk’ may not be safe like dairy milk. This is because, the ‘plant-based milk’ is produced from soya, nuts, rice etc in food processing industries where the crop goes through extensive processing, and where several chemicals are used to extract the ‘milk’. It also means that while at present the Amul is owned by millions of farmers, only few big corporates having such processing plants will control the ‘milk’ market, if the market moves from dairy milk to ‘vegan milk’.

Sexual violence, targeted attacks and use of state machinery: Report on Bengal post-poll violence documents horrific crimes by TMC cadres

OpIndia Staff
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Sexual violence, targeted attacks and use of state machinery: Report on Bengal post-poll violence documents horrific crimes by TMC cadres

The Group of Intellectuals and Academicians (GIA) has submitted a report on the post-poll violence in West Bengal where they have documented the concerted campaign against opposition party workers by the cadres of the Trinamool Congress.

The report has been authored by Monika Arora, Advocate, Supreme Court of India, Delhi High Court, Prof. Vijita Singh Aggarwal, Professor, GGS IPU, Ms. Sonali Chitalkar, Assistant Professor, Delhi University, Dr. Shruti Mishra, Assistant Professor, Delhi University and Ms. Monicca Agarwaal, Entrepreneur.

In the report, the GIA states that the victims primarily belong to the very marginal sections of Hindu society which have voted for the BJP in the assembly elections. The report says, “The main modus operandi of the TMC is to debilitate political opponents by targeting their bodies, economic resources and their psychological wellbeing. This involves physical and sexual attacks, destruction of living spaces, property and means of production however small they are.”

“Thus shops will be taken over and released back only after payment of a hefty amount to the local TMC cadre. This brings the political opponents to their knees. Almost all our respondents mentioned having to pay up large amounts of extortion money to TMC after the election results came out,” it adds.

The report adds further, “Women have been singled out for most horrific terror and intimidation. Our data reveals many incidents of grievous bodily harm, threat of rape, stripping and sexual violence. The streets were sites of dehumanization of women of all ages. The horror is compounded by most of the victims being from marginal SC-ST communities or from Below Poverty Line (BPL) and extremely fragile economic sections in West Bengal.”

The report documents several instances of sexual assault on women by TMC cadres due to political motivations.

According to the report, victims say that their Ration cards and Aadhar cards have been stolen by the TMC cadres, landing them in a severe crisis. Children were exposed to the severe violence as well. It also says that state machinery was employed to target political opponents.

Recommendations on West Bengal post-poll violence

The report recommends an SIT investigation into the post-poll violence in West Bengal as well as an NIA investigation as the violence could very well have a cross border angle. It also recommends compensation for the victims and fast tracks for speed justice.

The report suggests action against police officers as well who failed to perform their constitutional duties. It also recommends inquiries by the National Commission for Human Rights, National Commission for Protection of Children, National Commission for women, National Commission for Scheduled Castes and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.

Sikh refugees from Afghanistan express happiness after Modi government invites applications for Indian citizenship

OpIndia Staff
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Sikh refugees from Afghanistan express happiness after Modi government invites applications for Indian citizenship

Hours after the Modi government invited applications from non-Muslim refugees for granting them Indian citizenship, Sikh refugees from Afghanistan have expressed their happiness over the decision.

While speaking to ANI, a persecuted Sikh by the name of Amrik Singh said, “I came here from Kabul (Afghanistan) in 2013. We were being forced to convert to Islam. We thank the govt for this decision.” Singh currently resides in the Ludhiana district of Punjab. The elated Afghan Sikh refugee, who has been living in India for the past 8 years, showed his passport to the media.

It must be mentioned that the applications are open for persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Jains, and Buddhists belonging to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan and residing in 13 districts in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, and Punjab.

The Union Home Ministry issued a notification asking people belonging to six persecuted communities to apply for a certificate of naturalisation under the Citizenship Act 1955 and the citizenship rules framed under the law in 2009. Even though the centre passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019 to grant citizenship to these persecuted non-Muslim minorities belonging to three neighbouring countries, the centre is yet to frame the rules. The fresh order is in no way connected to the Citizenship Amendment Act enacted in 2019.

The notification said that the application for registration as a citizen of India through naturalisation under the said rules (Citizenship Rules, 2009) would be made by the applicant online. Under naturalisation rules, a person can acquire citizenship by naturalisation if he/she is ordinarily resident of India for 12 years and fulfils all qualifications in the third schedule of the Citizenship Act.

New book details how the New York Times peddled Nazi propaganda in 1939 and relied on Nazi publications as main sources in its reports

OpIndia Staff
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New book details how the New York Times peddled Nazi propaganda in 1939 and relied on Nazi publications as main sources in its reports

A new book, ‘The Gray Lady Winked’, that was released earlier in May 2021, details the manners in which the New York Times’s journalistic failures altered the course of history. Author Ashley Rindsberg details the manner in which the newspaper engaged in journalistic malpractices, and its general incompetence, at critical junctures of history.

In a publicly available excerpt, the book elaborates the manner in which the New York Times almost served as the propaganda wing of the Nazi Regime in Germany. The newspaper regurgitated Nazi propaganda of a Polish attack on Germany, which was furthered to justify by the regime to justify its invasion of Poland.

The author writes in the book, “The New York Times bought the Nazi dupe without flinching. Underneath its famous banner, “All the News That’s Fit to Print,” the paper reported that, according to “Chancellor Hitler,” Germany had been attacked. Already in the second paragraph of the Times’s frontpage article, the reporter, Otto Tolischus, went on to reprint verbatim Hitler’s infamous war speech to the Reichstag, which the Führer used to justify to the world, as much as to the German people, his invasion of Poland.”

How the NYT regurgitated Nazi claims without questioning any of it

The NYT had reported, “At 8 P.M., according to the semi-official news agency, a group of Polish insurrectionists forced an entrance into the Gleiwitz radio station [in Germany], overpowering the watchmen and beating and generally mishandling the attendants. The Gleiwitz station was relaying a Breslau station’s program, which was broken off by the Poles.” The author writes that all such details were Nazi fabrications written in NYT’s “characteristically deliberating and objective tone”.

Ashley Rindsberg says of reporter, “Tolischus printed the entirety of the proclamation in his front-page article and then went on to report German military restrictions and warnings. He never once mentioned the possibility that the Nazis, so well versed in propaganda and so ready to use that weapon, as they had proven many times by 1939, might be lying. For his error-ridden, propaganda-friendly reporting, Tolischus was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 “for his dispatches from Berlin.”

In one NYT report soon after the false flag operation in 1939, it was mentioned that “according to the semi-official news agency, a group of Polish insurrectionists forced its way into the Gleiwitz radio station.” Rindsberg says that the “semi-official news agency” mention here was a Nazi propaganda organ and it was cited as the report’s main source.

In another instance, the NYT relied on the official mouthpiece of the Nazi Party to report that the Gleiwitz incident referred here was supposed to serve as a signal for a wider all-encompassing Polish attack on Germany. In reality, the attack was orchestrated by Nazi officials who directed Polish-speaking Nazi officers to dress up as Polish guerrillas and kill prisoners dressed up as German guards.

The entire charade was part of Adolf Hitler’s propaganda initiative aimed at global audience and more specifically, at the American public who were not extremely enthusiastic about the prospects of USA joining what they saw as a European war. At the time, there was serious debate between the anti-war factions among the American public and those who were willing to march against Hitler’s Germany.

“Hitler knew that American production capabilities, resources, and military. His ultimate aim was to keep the US out of the war for as long as possible and then turn the wrath of the German military, backed by the natural resources, ports, fleets and arms of conquered Europe, to the Americas. For Hitler, American delay meant German victory,” Rindsberg writes, elaborating on the objectives of Hitler’s propaganda initiative.

NYT did not have meager circulation at the time

The NYT was not a small time newspaper in 1939 with meager circulation. By 1917, the NYT news service had become the biggest in the United States. By the 1920s, it had emerged as “the most prominent position in foreign reporting, since its communications chief had built a super-heterodyne receiver for direct reception of press dispatches from Europe.” Thus, NYT’s journalistic malfeasance had significant impact on the public perception of the Nazi regime at the time.

The author concludes, “For nearly ten years, the New York Times reported many of these stories by simply reprinting Nazi claims, particularly when it came to Hitler’s peaceful intentions. There was very little journalistic counterbalance in the Times’s reporting on Germany and even less editorial outrage when it came to the Nazi regime’s early crimes. But a closer look at the Times’s coverage of Germany during the Nazi era—especially when compared to the accurate and incisive reporting of other American papers—raises more questions than it answers.”

The book by Ashley Rindsberg is available at Amazon and can be purchased here.

China censors bits from ‘Friends: The Reunion’ featuring BTS, Lady Gaga and gay fans

OpIndia Staff
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China censors bits from ‘Friends: The Reunion’ featuring BTS, Lady Gaga and gay fans

China’s top streaming platforms snipped 6 minutes of the debut episode of HBO Max’s ‘Friends: The Reunion’ censoring footage of artists like BTS, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and shots of Friends artists for vague reasons.

The sitcom which amassed a huge dedicated following in China over the years left the fans bewildered with the random cuts in the episode made by major streaming platforms with rights to officially broadcast the show iQiyi, Alibaba’s Youku and Tencent Video.

Upset with the censorship, a fan on the Weibo social media platform commented, “Are we reverting to the isolationist Qing dynasty, closed off to the rest of the world?”

However, some expressed support for the censorship, as the scenes scrapped belonged to artists who have allegedly slandered or upset China previously.

Censoring global artists 

A scene featuring BTS artists expressing their love for the show was snipped for a completely bizarre and unrelated reason. Last October, BTS allegedly insulted China by not mentioning the sacrifices of Chinese soldiers in the Korean War in an acceptance speech for a prize celebrating the group’s contributions to U.S.-Korea relations.

Lady Gaga’s 3-minute rendition of ‘Smelly Cat’ with Lisa Kudrow (Pheobe) faced censorship as she has been an unwelcomed personality in China since her meeting with the Dalai Lama in 2016 who the Chinese consider as a dangerous separatist. The duet in which Lisa sang for about 45 seconds was relayed as-is.

Next to be censored was Justin Bieber who appeared in David Schwimmer’s (Ross) much loved ‘Sputnik’ costume. Bieber irked China by photographing himself in 2014 at Tokyo’s Yasukuni war shrine, a site that honors Japanese World War II war criminals alongside other casualties of war. The Canadian singer was finally banned by China in 2017 from performing in the country citing “a series of bad behaviors”. 

Justin Bieber Image Source: worldnewsera.com

These cuts were made by all three Chinese platforms thereby evoking mixed reactions from the fans.

LGBTQ community faces censorship

In an absolutely uncalled-for censorship, all three platforms deleted the testimony of German ‘Friends gay fan Ricardo, who described how the show gave him a sense of belonging.

Image Source: variety.com

A lesbian couple was also censored in which the woman pulling her girlfriend on camera said, “Like every Chandler, I found my Monica.”

Bizarre scene cuts

Youku one of the streaming platforms decided to cut the scene in which Matt LeBlanc (Joey) opens his bathrobe to reveal himself with a picture of Ross stuck to the front of his underwear.

On the other hand, iQiyi and Tencent both censored a popular scene from the series in which Courteney Cox (Monica) recounts how Matthew Perry (Chandler) and Joey helped her by peeing on her leg when she was stung by a jellyfish at the beach, as the rest of the gang squeaked at the narration.

While Youku kept the pee reference scenes, it snipped the next scene where the cast discussed what were they wearing the first time they met.

China wants to purify the ‘immoral industry’

Chinese platforms have been given a free hand to execute their own censorship and are currently approaching online entertainment, celebrity “morality” and fan culture with great caution. 

The social and governmental pressure to clean up and “purify” what is described as a wayward, immoral industry has been on a rise. The heavy censorship is also because this year also marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Communist Party. 

Earlier in May, a handful of BTS Weibo fan accounts were put on a month-long ban to avoid any undesirable fan fervor.

Many viewers in China have begun to download pirated copies of the HBO Max version to bypass local streamers. Many have turned to unauthorized, uncensored versions posted on other digital platforms such as Bilibili.

Fed up with heavy censorship, a user of Bilibili wrote, “What does a Korean group appearing on here have anything to do with us? It’s not like we can actually stop them.”

The episode, however, received a positive response in China, leaving the fans teary-eyed. 

Italy: Pakistani girl goes missing, suspected to be murdered by the family for refusing to marry her cousin

OpIndia Staff
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Italy: Pakistani girl goes missing, suspected to be murdered by the family for refusing to marry her cousin

The Carabinieri initiated an investigation after an 18-year-old girl Pakistani girl named Saman Abbas went missing in Novellara in Italy. It must be mentioned that Carabinieri is a Gendarmerie-like military corps with police duties.

Reportedly, Sanam Abbas had rebelled against her family for trying to get her married to her cousin in Pakistan. Given that she was a minor, the girl informed the social services and they relocated her to a shelter home. She also filed a complaint with the police against her parents. However on April 11 last month, the victim was placed again in the custody of her parents.

Miffed by it, the family members are believed to have killed the girl. According to Lt. Colonel Stefano Bove, the girl’s parents, uncle, and two cousins are suspected of murdering the victim. He informed that the Carabinieri has been inspecting farmlands, wells, greenhouses, and irrigation canals in search of the 18-year-old.

The girl is believed to have been missing from May 5 onwards, when the police did not find anyone at her house. This prompted the Carabinieri to initiate an investigation into the case. The police learnt that the girl’s family had left for Pakistan without her. Besides, the CCTV footage showed the 5 family members leaving the house on the night of April 29 with a shovel, crowbar, and a bucket. They returned home only after 2.5 hours.

The police now suspect that the 5 family members murdered Sanam Abbas and disposed of her body in nearby farmland. A solidarity march was conducted by hundreds of protestors for the missing victim on Friday night. While speaking about the matter, Novellara Mayor Elena Carletti said, “Saman, tonight you are not alone and you will never again be alone.”

Parents of a Pakistani Muslim girl give death threats for dating an Indian Hindu boy

On April 8, the Italian police rescued one Pakistani Muslim girl after she was put under house arrest for dating an Indian Hindu boy, reported ANSA. The incident took place in Tuscany in Arezzo city of central Italy. As per the report, the girl had been dating the boy for about a year. However, everything went downhill after her parents found out that the boy is a Hindu. According to her, she was placed under house arrest.

The girl’s parents had confiscated her mobile phone and would only occasionally allow her to step outdoors under the supervision of a guardian. They had threatened to take her back to Pakistan if she did not stop seeing the boy. The Pakistani girl and her Hindu friend were also threatened with murder by her parents if they did not comply with their diktat. Reportedly, the girl had access to her computer which she used for distance learning.

Tormented by the death threats and the house arrest, she sent an email to Carabinieri. On receiving information, the police reached the residence of the girl and rescued her. She was then sent to a children’s home. Meanwhile, the cops initiated a probe into the matter and said that they might charge the family members including the girl’s brothers and father.

It is not yet clear whether both the girls are same.

Mumbai model accuses photographer Julian Colston of rape and molestation, FIR filed at Bandra police station

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai model accuses photographer Julian Colston of rape and molestation, FIR filed at Bandra police station

A Mumbai based photographer by the name of Julian Colston has been under fire after a 28-year-old model Apernah Dubey filed a complaint of molestation and rape against him. The model has also filed a case against 8 others at the Bandra police station on Wednesday (May 26).

In an Instagram post on April 12, Apernah revealed how she was she was physically and emotionally abused by Julian Colston during a work assignment. She narrated, “(Colston said) You have a lot of potential! You’d do great in Indian market and even better internationally like New York and Miami .. because you have boobs .. not London they prefer stick figures. I prefer your body type and you have the face as well and a charming personality, most models I meet are like dead .. let me shoot some pictures of you and put them in some magazines .. and I can even see you doing the kind of commercial work I do”

She further added how the photographer manipulated her into believing that he can make her a model. “.. but you’re too nice models are supposed to be fake and pushy (LIKE I AM ) and you live too far away .. let me work on you ! I’m sure you’ll be a big hit here ! ..f*ck your agency I can make you a model .. come over let’s watch a movie and talk about this, don’t worry I see enough naked women around I won’t touch you, be comfortable…”


Apeernah emphasised that Julian Colston had sexually assaulted multiple women in a similar fasion but everyone is scared to speak out against him. “Forget the physical assault what about the mental and psychological trauma that he has caused over the years? Mother f*cker blocked me a long time ago and has never posted any of my pics let alone put them in any magazine so I thought maybe it’s time to appreciate his “boobs” and whatever all that is,” she pointed out.

The 28-year-old model concluded, “I had to stop attending fashion events and parties…because he’d approach, harass, and tell me to not talk to this guy, that guy… I can’t believe at some point I had respect for him. Now I could watch him get run over by a truck and not feel bad because that’s what he deserves. I have all the proof and messages and emails. It’s a little late for me but I am trying to protect the next girl.” She had shared pictures where Julian Colston could be seen naked in her room.

Apernah reveals how he was assaulted by the photographer

While speaking to Mid-Day, Apernah said, “We met [in Mumbai] in February 2015, and by April, he had started forcing himself upon me. He would constantly try and get physical. I was with Inega [Model Management] then and wasn’t getting much work. He would slap me around, demoralise me by saying, ‘Get rid of your mole, your features are not looking good’. He was emotionally and physically abusive, and would try to crush my confidence.”  

She informed that Colston tried to kiss her and when she pushed him away, he slapped her and she fell to the ground. Although Apernah had cut ties with him, he would call her at odd hours and drive by her house in the hopes of a ‘patch up.’

Case lodged against Julian Colston at Bandra police station

Reportedly, the Bandra police have lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against Colston on May 26. While speaking about the matter, Mumbai police spokesman DCP Chaitanya Siriprolu informed that a probe has been initiated into the case. As per the FIR, the accused had raped the victim and took advantage of her between 2014 and 2018 under false pretext. A case was also lodged against 8 others under Sections 34 (common intention), 354 (molestation), 376N (committing rape repeatedly on the same woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Accused cries foul, claims accusations are false and spiteful

In his defence, the photographer said, “Dear all, it has come to my notice that a social media post and news article with entirely false and spiteful accusations are making certain claims against me. My lawyers are following the official process and are responding to the situation legally.”

He further added, “I am grateful to all colleagues, friends, clients and well-wishers who reached out and extended their Faith, trust, and support at this time.” The 28-year-old model had earlier written to DCP (Andheri East, Zone X, and MIDC) on May 10, seeking registration of FIR against Julian Colston.

PETA India’s latest wisdom – Cows are killed for beef because you are drinking milk and eating cheese

OpIndia Staff
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PETA India’s latest wisdom – Cows are killed for beef because you are drinking milk and eating cheese

PETA India is once again making the headlines for all the wrong reasons, this time for attacking the flourishing dairy industry of India by absurdly linking it to “illegal slaughterhouses.”

PETA India on May 26 lectured the dairy giant of India, Amul Corporation to shift to producing ‘plant-milk’, thereby wanting to make crores of families employed in the dairy sector jobless. The attack was carried under the garb of promoting ‘veganism’ and suggesting that humans have no right over animal milk.

Despite receiving a fierce response from Amul’s MD, the organization is still busy issuing sermons to stop animal milk consumption.

Netizens soon registered their protest against PETA India for its selective targeting and choosing to remain silent around animal slaughter on Eid. Copy-pasting the one article they did on opposing animal slaughter on Eid, the organization is now trying to insinuate that the consumption of beef and an inefficient ban on cow slaughter is rather because of the dairy industry completely dodging the real issue. It is imperative to note that this claim has not been supported by any factual data by the organization.

On Sunday, PETA India again indulged in virtue signalling by claiming that no one needs milk after infancy and if at all one wants to consume, one should go for non-dairy milk, like soya, coconut and other nuts. To the unwanted sermon, a Twitter user asked PETA to take on cow slaughter as passionately.

Image Source: Twitter

PETA India claimed that it supports cow slaughter bans but they are not having practical effect because the beef and leather industries are supplied with cattle to kill from dairy sector only.

To justify their bizarre hypothesis, PETA India has been sharing a video from 2010 shot at a stable with no facts, figures or statistics to support the claims but simply implies that animal cruelty for milk production, abandoning milk-producing cattle and artificial insemination is prevalent across the dairy industry. 

In an attempt to hide from the obvious hypocrisy, the organization is also busy sharing a release on their website in which they demand complete closure of only “illegal slaughterhouses” running in states. Wonder why was the demand for a blanket ban on every slaughter not made by the organization.

PETA India which claims to have a global presence is also discouraging consumers from consuming all kinds of dairy products citing ill effects based on the statements of just two doctors. As an alternative, PETA promotes plant-based milk which is not only expensive but also not suitable to all, thereby exposing consumers to greater health risks.

In its latest Tweet and replies, the organization is wanting consumers to “make milk at home” exposing their unknowing of India, its people and the economy. 

To put things in perspective, PETA India only opposes ‘illegal’ cow slaughter. It does not root for blanket ban on cow slaughter the way it wants entire dairy industry be shut down. It also squarely puts the blame on ‘ineffective’ illegal cow slaughter ban on dairy industry.

FSSAI proposes to ban use of ‘milk’ for plant based products

While PETA wants Amul to use ‘vegan milk’, the draft regulation of FSSAI for dairy products published last year says that non-dairy products like soya and almond ‘milk’ and non-dairy cheese and ice-cream won’t be allowed to use the word ‘milk’.

The National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India (NCDFI) has also filed a plea with Delhi High Court requesting to prevent the manufacturers of beverages or products derived from soya, almonds etc from using the term ‘milk’ and milk products such as paneer, curd, yogurt etc.

Rana Ayyub claims she didn’t get the money raised by her on Ketto, but here is what the Ketto rules say

OpIndia Staff
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Rana Ayyub claims she didn’t get the money raised by her on Ketto, but here is what the Ketto rules say

On May 29, it was reported that alleged journalist Rana Ayyub ended her fundraiser and refunded foreign donations after potential illegalities were exposed in her campaign. It was mentioned in the reports that the money will be received by her in her personal account. The controversy had erupted after it was learnt that Ayyub was receiving the donations in her personal bank account, including foreign currency donations. It was a clear violation of law only FCRA registered NGOs can receive donations from other countries.

But after ending the campaign, she has denied that the money was being received in her personal bank account. As a rebuttal, Ayyub claimed that the account mentioned on Ketto’s fundraiser page is not her bank account, but it was Ketto’s account that they create for every fundraiser.

Rana Ayyub claimed money went to Ketto’s account

In her fundraiser, the beneficiaries were mentioned as “Migrant Workers”. The bank account that Ketto created for the fundraiser said, “Migrant Workers-Ketto”. However, when Twitter user Parixit raised concerns about the fundraiser, he added a screenshot of the payment made to the fundraiser. The receipt clearly stated that it was a ‘Personal’ fundraiser, and the owner of the fundraiser was Rana Ayyub. Also, the payment was not eligible for tax exemption under 80G.

Now, coming to the next point, where would she withdraw the funds? There cannot be an account by the name of Migrant Workers that she has opened in any bank. She would either withdraw in her personal account (savings or current), or she would withdraw it to her NGO account. If it was to be withdrawn to her NGO’s account, why its name was not mentioned anywhere?

When we scrolled her profile, there were videos and photographs of relief work she has been doing. She is collecting funds for the said work, so we can safely assume she has withdrawn some funds from the Ketto account so far. If she has withdrawn the funds, they would have gone to some bank account. That bank account would be her personal/current/NGO account, but that should have been mentioned in the campaign itself. Otherwise, the money she collected will stay in the fundraiser unused if she is not withdrawing it to any of her accounts.

Assuming Rana Ayyub is not aware of what Ketto says about the donations a fundraiser receives, we are reproducing the norms how fundraising campaigns. Please note that the information stated below is available on Ketto’s website, it is accessible to the public.

The bank account displayed with a fundraiser

First of all, let’s talk about the bank account on the fundraiser page. Rana Ayyub is correct that the account mentioned there does not belong directly to her, and it is Ketto’s account. In the FAQs section on Ketto, it says, “The account number is a virtual UPI account created for your fundraiser through which donors can donate via NEFT mechanism it is not a bank account.”

The bank account shown at fundraiser page is a virtual account. The money then goes to the associated bank account.

It further adds, “It is just another method to transact–all donations via this method will show up on your donor list and dashboard. Please note the UPI account is only valid for the given fundraiser and is not a new bank account created with yes bank, it is only a virtual account created on Ketto for your fundraiser to accept donations via NEFT. “

It is logical that Ketto won’t open a new bank account for every single fundraising campaign launched on its platform, that won’t be feasible and practical. Therefore, they are using the provision of virtual UPI. Ketto has tied up with Yes Bank to provide such virtual accounts.

How money is withdrawn

While the donated money is collected in the virtual UPI account created by Ketto, the fundraiser platform does not hand over the money directly to the beneficiaries. The operator of the fundraiser has to transfer the amount from Ketto’s account to their own accounts, from where they can use or distribute the money as per the objective of the campaign.

According to Ketto, the money goes directly into the bank account associated with the fundraiser. In this case, that would be Ayyub’s personal or current account depending on which account’s information she provided to Ketto. In Rana Ayyub’s case this means, Ketto won’t transfer the money directly to Migrant Workers, she or her organisation will have to get the money transferred to their own account.

There are two types of fundraisers on Ketto. One created by individuals and the other created by NGOs or for NGOs by individuals. If the campaigner and the beneficiary of any campaign are the same, the person can withdraw the funds based on the “available funds for withdrawal” in the dashboard. It has to be noted that any local funds received via Ketto will take two to three working days to be available for withdrawal. In the case of foreign funds, it may take up to seven working days for the same.

Ketto says the money goes directly to the account associated with the fundrasier.

Ketto says to proceed with the withdrawal, it is mandatory to upload all the necessary documents related to the bank account. As Migrant Workers in the said campaign do not have a single bank account, and they won’t have access to the campaign to upload their documents on the website, Ayyub must have withdrawn them to her personal or current account. After all, her team can be seen packing and delivering relief material in the photos and videos, which means she had encashed the amount and used that to purchase relief materials.

Ketto’s explanation how money is withdrawal to the bank account of the beneficiary

In the other case, if an NGO has been chosen as a beneficiary, the fundraiser can only send a reminder to the NGO who would provide the necessary documents and withdraw the funds. Now, either Ayyub has created an NGO with the name Migrant Workers where she would withdraw the funds, or she would withdraw it in her personal or current account. In any case, Rana Ayyub will need to transfer the fund from the accounts of Ketto to her own bank account to use it. It is not possible that she does not know these rules of Ketto, as she has run multiple fundraising campaigns, and had used the money collected.

Allegations on OpIndia of derailing relief work

Some of her followers have alleged that OpIndia is trying to derail the relief work. At OpIndia, we believe that everyone should get a fair chance at life. During a pandemic, many people have lost their jobs or lost savings due to medical bills or could not manage the situation properly. These people deserve help, support and love from everyone who can provide them anything in any way. We are not discouraging anyone from doing relief work.

However, we also believe that on the pretext of relief work, no one should be allowed to break the law. Ayyub might not be aware of the FCRA norms, and we appreciate she refunded the amount. However, it seems she is confused about how Ketto works. Thus we would like to request her to get complete information on how Ketto or any fundraiser works.

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