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After telecasting exit polls extensively, Times Now decides to not telecast election results on 2nd May: Details of their statement

OpIndia Staff
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After telecasting exit polls extensively, Times Now decides to not telecast election results on 2nd May: Details of their statement

English news channel Times Now has suspended its election results coverage for 4 states and 1 union territory on May 2 and beyond. A statement was released on Twitter in which the channel said that it is suspending the election results coverage keeping in view with the COVID-19 emergency in the country. Counting for recently held assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal will take place on May 2.

“Viewers, our nation faces biggest health emergency in recent memory. Times Now in keeping with the ethos of tracking the biggest national story has decided to keep COVID news at its main priority, suspending our special election coverage on May 2 and beyond,” the statement issued by the Times group channel said.

It further added, “As a part of our coverage, viewers can expect COVID related news reports, the latest on the status of the universalised vaccination drive, information on helplines and can interact with healthcare and mental wellness experts on the channel.” However the channel clarified that it is only suspending the special election broadcast, but the English news channel will broadcast the election results during its regular news programs. “For our viewers looking for election results from the 4 states and 1 UT where polls were conducted, we will carry regular news updates,” the channel added.

Times Now had earlier conducted comprehensive election programmes for the recently held elections. It is pertinent to note that a couple of days ago, Times Now had conducted exit polls for the recently held elections. In West Bengal, the Times Now-C voter exit poll predicted that Mamata Banerjee might come back to power in West Bengal. However, the polls of the poll forecasted BJP victory in the state.

In Tamil Nadu, Times Now’s exit poll predicted the return of DMK-Congress to power while in Kerala it said Pinarayi Vijayan-led government is set to retain power in the state. In Puducherry, on the other hand, the Times Now exit poll prophesied a BJP government coming into power. In Assam too, the BJP is going to emerge as the biggest party and will form a government in the state, the Times Now exit poll predicted.

The curious case of ‘Help India Breathe’: An Islamic organisation, changing donation goals and ties to Hizbul Mujahideen

OpIndia Staff
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The curious case of ‘Help India Breathe’: An Islamic organisation, changing donation goals and ties to Hizbul Mujahideen

India has been grappling with the worst health crisis as the second wave of COVID-19 spreads frantically. The sudden spike in cases has brought the nation’s healthcare system to its knees. There is an extreme shortage of hospital beds, oxygen and medicines. In these trying times, many brands and organisations have stepped forward to help India.

While there are many organisations that are genuinely pitching in to help in the time of need, there are many fraudulent organisations that have also mushroomed up. Such organisations are craftily prying upon ordinary people and scamming them in the name of Covid relief work. One such NGO in question is an America-based NGO Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA) Care.

IMANA Instagram page

IMANA gained immense popularity in India overnight a few days ago. The organisation is said to be targeting the youth of the country by running paid advertisements on Instagram and even coughing up money to paid influencers and promoters on the platform to share its posts and stories. The Indian youth, in turn, have been donating mindlessly to the NGO’s fundraiser campaign ‘Help India Breathe’ making it an overnight success.

Interestingly, IMANA is an ‘NGO’ that is devoted to the betterment of Muslim society alone. The organisation clearly mentions in its bio that “it is a leading resource and network for American-Muslim healthcare professionals in North America”. It specifies that its aim is to best serve its Muslim patients.

This American NGO recently initiated a fundraising campaign called ‘Help India Breathe’ to supposedly help uplift India from the recent COVID crisis. Within a short span of time, IMANA has managed to collect funds worth crores.

IMANA fundraising page

On the face of it, the intentions of this American NGO seemed extremely righteous. However, within no time, social media users started questioning the genuineness of this NGO and its fundraising campaign.

As it turns out, there is more than one reason to believe that the NGO and its fundraising campaign is nothing but a sham.

The NGO and its changing donation goals

Firstly, IMANA Cares has been caught changing its targets on the Instagram fundraiser, not once but thrice. According to the information provided by a social media user, the NGO, initially, aimed for Rs 1.8 crore as the total amount to be collected, which on the same day was increased to Rs 3 crore and later to Rs 5.6 crore by the organisation.

Interestingly, every time the set goal was being achieved, the organisation quietly increased its target. This in itself is quite dubious because, generally, all fundraising campaigns have specific deadlines and ends after their pre-set goal is achieved.

‘Help India Breathe’ and its links with Hizbul Mujahideen

Secondly, IMANA on its official website, mentions that it has ties with another NGO named Islamic Society of Northern America (ISNA).

About Us page of IMANA

IMANA on its official website says that they have been established as a branch of MSA, which later evolved into the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).

Interestingly, ISNA has been caught funding Islamist terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to a 2017 India Today report, the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA), which began auditing the NGO in 2011, revoked ISNA’s charity status over suspicion of funding Islamist terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir with alleged links to Hizbul Mujahideen. 

In a letter to ISNA, the Canadian authorities had then written that they had uncovered links between ISNA Islamic Services and Jamaat-e-Islami, a Pakistani fundamentalist group also the parent organisation of the Hizbul Mujahideen.

According to the audit findings, the Canadian Revenue Agency had found that one Jami Mosque in Toronto was involved in collecting funds for which it issued ISNA Islamic Services tax receipts. These funds were then routed to the Relief Organization of Kashmiri Muslims (ROKM), through the ISNA Development Foundation.

ROKM, the CRA said, is the charitable arm of Jamaat-e-Islami which in turn is the parent organisation of the Hizbul Mujahideen.

“Our research indicates that ROKM is the charitable arm of Jamaat-e-Islami, a political organization that actively contests the legitimacy of India’s governance over the state of Jammu and Kashmir, including reportedly through the activities of its armed wing Hizbul Mujahideen,” the CRA had then said, adding that “Given the identified commonalities in directorship between ROKM and Jamaat-e-Islami and the Hizbul Mujahideen executive committee, concerns exist that the funds collected and disbursed as part of this relief fund may have been used to support the political efforts of Jamaat-e-Islami and/or its armed wing Hizbul Mujahideen”.

Considering these facts, there is a huge possibility that Indians have been duped by this Islamic NGO, whose primary aim is to serve only Muslims in the United States.

After coming under scrutiny post Barkha Dutt’s father’s death, the ambulance driver says that there was ample oxygen

OpIndia Staff
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After coming under scrutiny post Barkha Dutt’s father’s death, the ambulance driver says that there was ample oxygen

On Thursday (April 29), journalist Barkha Dutt was hit with the tragic news about her father SP Dutt. Barkha Dutt took to Twitter to inform that her father had tragically died after being tested positive for COVID-19. The former Air India official succumbed to the Coronavirus infection on Tuesday (April 27).

Barkha Dutt has been on the road, reporting the dire conditions as India faces its toughest challenge yet – the deadly second wave of the Wuhan Coronavirus. It was in the midst of this that Barkha lost her father.

A couple of days after the death of her father, in an interview with Kim Brunhuber of CNN, Dutt stated, “My father’s last words to me were I am choking. Please give me treatment. And I tried my best. Even being a journalist, who knows doctors and can pay for the best private medical treatment. The private ambulance that ferried him to the hospital had an oxygen cylinder that did not work.”

She added, “It got delayed because there is no green corridor for the ambulances in the city in the Capital eve now. By the time we reached the hospital because the oxygen (cylinder) had failed/faltered, his levels had fallen precipitously. He had to be taken into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). He never made it back.”

Barkha Dutt further continued, “It has not been a few days and not even 48 hours. When we went to cremate him, there was no space at the cremation ground. There was a physical fight that erupted between multiple families. We had to call the police to cremate my father. And yet in this moment of loss, it was difficult to articulate and put together a bunch of sentences.”

“I speak because I realise that despite my devastation, I was luckier than most Indians. Today, I think about the orphans of the Indian state,” the journalist concluded. She also said that she was heartbroken at the state of families waiting outside hospitals or the deceased waiting to be cremated. Dutt also claimed that the brother of one of the Coronavirus patients told her that the family was left at the mercy of God.

After coming under fire from employers post Barkha Dutt revelations, the ambulance driver gives clarification

After the revelations made by Barkha Dutt, we are told that the driver and the caretaker of the ambulance came under heavy fire from their employers. It was then that the driver had explained that he is pained every time a life is lost. He had also said that perhaps claims made during times of distress might not be entirely true.

Following this, the ambulance driver and its owner have denied the allegation that the oxygen cylinder in the vehicle was not working.

Sonu, the ambulance driver, said that the oxygen cylinder was full and Barkha Dutt herself had checked the supply. The audio conversation was published by The Pulse. He recounted that the journalist had inquired about the oxygen supply in advance. According to him, she had checked both the mask and the flow of oxygen before ferrying her father to the hospital.

(Video Courtesy: Youtube/The Pulse)

“She interrupted me during the journey and repeatedly asked me to check the oxygen supply. I assured her that it was working fine. We had reached the hospital without any issues. We were accompanied by two of her vehicles. The patient’s caretaker was also with him. I had even stood outside the emergency department for 15-20 minutes. The patient also got down from the ambulance without any difficulty,” Sonu claimed.

“I had personally carried the patient from the first floor of his house to the ambulance. Why is she lying? I had shown her that the mask, oxygen cylinder were working properly. There were several witnesses including Barkha Dutt’s two drivers and a security guard. I am not lying,” he reiterated. Sonu further stated that the claims of missing oxygen cylinder in the ambulance was untrue and that he had given a demo of the same to the journalist.

Essentially, the driver of the ambulance said that before the patient (Barkha Dutt’s father) boarded the ambulance, Barkha asked to check the large oxygen cylinder in the ambulance. The driver claims that Barkha had even asked if the cylinder is a small one or a big one and questioned why there was a big cylinder in a small ambulance. Nevertheless, after that was checked by her, the driver asked Barkha if she was carrying an oxygen mask for her patient. Barkha then asked the driver why he did not have one, to which, the driver said that they carry one too but several patients prefer to use their own. If she did not have one, the ambulance has one nonetheless.

He further said in the middle of the journey, the ambulance was stopped and the working of the cylinder was again questioned. At that time, the driver had demonstrated that the oxygen cylinder was indeed working. He even claimed that Barkha Dutt was lying and that if she really was telling the truth, she would have taken a photograph then and there.

The Pulse informed that they had got a copy of the audio conversation with Sonu via journalistic sources in the interest of balanced reporting. While Barkha Dutt told CNN that her father became critical due to a faulty oxygen supply, the ambulance driver reiterated that the patient was normal when he deboarded the ambulance. At the same time, he explicitly mentioned that Dutt had herself checked the oxygen supply and the functioning of the mask prior to the journey from her father’s residence to the hospital.

Moving toward establishing criteria about which govts are ‘objectionable’: What Russian Security Council chief said on George Soros, role in USA unrest

OpIndia Staff
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Moving toward establishing criteria about which govts are ‘objectionable’: What Russian Security Council chief said on George Soros, role in USA unrest

On Friday (April 30), the Chief of Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev has accused the notorious billionaire George Soros of shaping ‘political discourses’ and creating unrest in the United States and other countries, reported Sputnik News.

Nikolai Patrushev warned, “As you know, he who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind. The same Soros Foundation (involved in colour revolutions abroad and the protests in the US) has no plans to scale down its projects. Moreover, it is working to give them a systematic character.”

He pointed out that the Open Society Foundations (OSF) of George Soros has been behind the violence and unrest in the US in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing by a white police officer. It must be mentioned that the notorious billionaire has invested his wealth in several ‘civil society initiatives’ in a bid to interfere with the governmental policies in other countries. As such, his NGO was banned in Russia in 2015.

Notorious billionaire had been influencing government policies

The Russian Security Council Chief added, “Soros and his surrogates are moving toward independently establishing criteria about which governments are declared objectionable, with all the ensuing consequences of such a designation. I think the time is not far off when the West begins to impose sanctions or even launch military strikes against sovereign states on the basis of recommendations made by the reports of non-governmental organisations.”

George Soros had begun his political interference in Eastern Europe in the 1980s and provided support to anti-Communist forces in Poland, Hungary, and Eastern Bloc. Sputnik News reported that through his NGOs, Soros had funded ‘colour revolutions’ in Ukraine and Russia during the 1990s. These revolts then spread to former Soviet countries by 2000s and 2010s. The notorious billionarie had also tied up with 50 other organisations in a bid to dethrone US President Donald Trump.

How is George Soros undermining the US political system?

Sputnik News said that George Soros had supported the failed election bid of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party in 2016. In this regard, he had donated over $10.5 million to the campaign. Soros had also provided funds to Republicans, who were against the Trump campaign, such as the McCain Institute. The notorious billionaire had pledged tens of millions of dollars to Joe Biden to further his ambitious 2.3 trillion infrastructure spending plan.

Nikolai Patrushev cited the example of US bombing in Syria on the basis of fake reports of ‘gas attacks’ by White Helmets ‘rescue group’. These reports were peddled by the Open Society Foundation. “Today, the prevention of such lawlessness is one of the key tasks for sovereign nations which are not ready to live by rules imposed from the outside,” he emphasised. He pointed out that Soros along with others has been amplifying ‘Russophobic attitudes in the West.’

George Soros and the Open Society Foundation

At OpIndia, we have extensively documented the work of NGOs that have received donations from Soros’s Open Society Foundation (OSF). These organizations are extensively involved in shaping the mainstream narrative and they often engage in ‘judicial activism’ that seeks to use the Courts in order to undermine Indian national interests. Prominent among them are the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) and the French NGO Sherpa

Some of the efforts HRLN has been involved in include the campaign against ISKCON’s Akshaya Patra, a campaign against Indian sedition laws, and it has been providing free legal aid to Rohingya Muslims in India. It has also been engaging in activism for the implementation of the RTE Act that works against Hindu-run institutions. Furthermore, it is also linked to a plethora of organizations across the country that seeks to undermine India’s territorial integrity.

Members of the Right to Food Campaign (RFC), an organization HRLN is linked to, were also involved in the protest against then CJI Ranjan Gogoi that sought to undermine the legitimacy of the Indian Judiciary. The French NGO Sherpa that filed a complaint against the Rafale Deal in France is also partners with George Soros’s Open Society. The complaint was also used by malcontents in India to pursue their agenda against Narendra Modi during the run-up to the General Elections last year.

At Davos, George Soros, in his speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF), Soros committed $1 billion towards fighting nationalism and nationalists. George Soros claimed that the “biggest and most frightening setback” was in India and accused Narendra Modi of “creating a Hindu nationalist state.” Recently, even the links of George Soros to the Greta Thunberg ‘toolkit’ had emerged, where the entire plan to foment trouble in India was documented. The document also rallied global support for the planned insurrection by Khalistanis in the national capital.

Former RJD MP and mafia don Mohammad Shahabuddin dies of COVID-19, had drenched two brothers in acid before killing them

OpIndia Staff
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Former RJD MP and mafia don Mohammad Shahabuddin dies of COVID-19, had drenched two brothers in acid before killing them 
Former RJD MP and mafia don Mohammad Shahabuddin dies of COVID-19, had drenched two brothers in acid before killing them

Former RJD MP and mafia don, who used to once be a close aide of convicted criminal and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav was reported dead after being infected with COVID-19. Arrested and imprisoned for life, Shahabuddin was shifted to Tihar from Siwan only in 2018. He was facing trial in over 3 dozen criminal cases. His 2015 conviction and life sentence in the 2004 double murder case was upheld in 2019.

However, soon after the news surfaced, there were counter reports about the news of his death being unconfirmed. It was then reported that he was being treated for COVID-19 for the past week.

Now, however, Tejashwi Yadav has confirmed that the gangster is indeed dead. He added that the gangsters death was a loss to the party.

Siwan district was the fiefdom of four-time Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammad Shahabuddin aka Saheb (as Shahabuddin is referred to in Siwan), who had ruled Siwan with fear, especially during the days of Lalu Yadav’s Jungle Raj. Shahabuddin has an ancestral bungalow located in Pratappur’s Terdighat. It is said that there can be no count of how many people have been killed and buried in the backyard of the Siwan’s strongman’s ancestral house.

Shahabuddin, known as “Sultan of Siwan”, was serving life imprisonment in the Tihar jail in connection with several cases including the kidnapping and murder of CPI (ML) leader Chandrashekhar Prasad aka Chhote Lal Gupta in 1999 and a double-murder case. Chanda Babu’s three out of four sons were the victims of Shahabuddin’s atrocities. His two sons – Girish Raj (20) and Satish Raj (25) – were drenched in acid before being killed at Pratappur by henchmen of the mafia don, while his third son Rajeev Raushan, who was the only eyewitness in the double-murder case, was later murdered in Siwan on June 16, 2014.

In 1997, Shahabuddin had also murdered Chandu, a JNU student, an AISA leader who had established the CPI (ML) students wing in JNU. After pursuing his higher studies from JNU, Chandu had gone back to Siwan to become a full-time party worker. It was there that Chandu was gunned down by the goons of Shahabuddin in broad daylight while addressing a public meeting. While Shahabuddin has killed many from the Left, interestingly, the Left had allied with RJD in 2020 for political gains.

Hid reign of terror, however, is also marked by the dreaded Pratappur encounter in Siwan. In 2001, one day, Shahabuddin’s men attacked Siwan DSP Ashwini Kumar. In a few days, Siwan Sadar’s DSP Sanjeev Kumar was at one of the matriculation exam centres. Sanjiv Kumar had come with a force to comply with a warrant against local RJD chief and a wanted criminal Manoj Kumar Pappu. Shahabuddin and his supporters were also present. Shahabuddin had come to provide “assistance” to one of his ‘boys’ taking the exam. When DSP Sanjeev Kumar tried to nab Manoj Kumar Pappu, in the presence of ‘MP Saheb’, the infuriated Shahabddinu slapped DSP Sanjeev Kumar in front of the public. This news was not covered in the media because of the terror of the mafia don.

That time Bacchu Singh Meena was the SP of Siwan, under whom the police showed unbelievable courage and decided to raid Shahbuddin’s house in Pratappur.

The MP’s supporters were already sitting prepared. The police didn’t even imagine that so many people would start firing with AK-47 and assault rifles at them simultaneously from inside the MP’s house. It is known that Shahabuddin was also leading the attack and firing at the police.

Besides the Bihar Police, teams of Uttar Pradesh police from Deoria were also deployed on SP Meena’s request. After a 10-hour long gun battle and more than 4000 rounds of bullets fired, 3 policemen and 8 of Shahabuddin’s accomplices were shot dead while several police vehicles were burnt down. When police eventually entered the gangster’s home, to their shock, they found a considerable amount of weapons, including Pakistan-made assault rifles, AK-47s, grenades, several 9 mm pistols, and ammunition in Shahabuddin’s home.

The immediate fallout of this episode was the transfer of SP Bacchu Singh Meena, and the DM the very next day. The matriculation exams were postponed for three days. Siwan came to a standstill.

The RJD MP managed to escape and reappeared from nowhere a few hours later and declared: “अगर बच्चू सिंह मीना को राजस्थान तक भी दौड़ा कर मारना होगा तो मारेंगे, लेकिन मारेंगे ज़रूर” (I’ll kill Bacchu Singh Meena even if I’ve to chase him to Rajasthan. No one can save him now.) 

Police claimed to have recovered an AK-47 rifle, a 9mm pistol and some hand-grenades from the MP’s house. The then Director-General of Police RR Prasad and other top police and administrative officials had then camped in the village. Chief Secretary Mukund Prasad had then confirmed that two columns of the army from Ranchi and one column from Danapur (Patna) had been deployed in Siwan. Besides, three companies of central paramilitary forces had also been rushed there. According to official sources, the state government had also deputed four additional district magistrates and four executive magistrates in Siwan.

As the COVID-19 crisis engulfs India, China moves to strengthen its positions at friction points in Ladakh: Report

OpIndia Staff
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As the COVID-19 crisis engulfs India, China moves to strengthen its positions at friction points in Ladakh: Report

Amidst the worsening COVID-19 crisis in India, China is quietly hardening its stance in the depth areas of eastern Ladakh, India Today journalist Shiv Aroor reported.

According to the sources quoted by Aroor, far from reducing its presence in Ladakh as previously agreed, China has reinforced its positions with permanent accommodations and depots, a sign of hardening stance even as the talks between the two sides continue.

The images with the Indian military establishment and the ground intelligence have hinted that China is in no mood to vacate from its aggressive positions along the line of control in eastern Ladakh.

The grim details of China’s treachery were uncovered on a day when the Chinese Premier Xi Jinping expressed her commiserations to PM Modi over the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in India.

“The Chinese side stands ready to strengthen cooperation with the Indian side in fighting the pandemic and provide support and help in this regard. I believe that under the leadership of the Indian Government, the Indian people will surely prevail over the pandemic,” Xi Jinping said.

However, if the evidence on the ground is to be believed, the Chinese Army has strengthened its positions to support the friction areas if necessary.

The imagery shows that China is vigorously building permanent structures, accommodations and military buildings in a long arc through the Aksai Chin bulge, including depth areas from the friction points of the India-China standoff.

The areas include Xaidulla in the southwestern part of Xinjiang Autonomous Region, a strengthened Chinese radar site at Piue which is just across from Ladakh’s Chip Chap valley, and the military outpost at Kyrmmgo Traggar across the LAC from Hot Springs and Gogra Post.

Earlier, 10,000 permanent Chinese PLA troops were stationed at Kangxiwar and Rudok. India Today cites an intelligence report to assert that the posts have been reinforced with 10,000 additional temporary troops.

Besides, the map of the spring 2021 reinforcement has also buttressed the view that China has no intention of tamping down its aggressive posture across from the Depsang and Daulat Beg Oldie areas of northern Ladakh.

Additionally, even in the depth areas of Spanggur Tso, the south of the Pangong lake, China has increased its presence and erected up permanent accommodations. This is close to where India had gained a tactical advantage in the Kailash Range last August, which forced China into a stalemate.

As a part of the February pullback, Indian forces had to abandon some of their positions. However, it is given to understand that Indian armed forces still hold advantageous positions in other sectors at this time.

The recent evidence once again highlights China’s inherently treacherous behaviour. Though the Chinese troops moved beyond Finger 8 in the north Pangong sector, a large section of the forces continue to remain stationed in the rear areas, with elements of the 4th, 6th and 11th Motorised Divisions still present in those areas.

The report also states that no reinforcement or strengthening of Chinese positions have been witnessed on the frontlines in any of the sectors, as that would be considered as immediately belligerent.

It is worth noting that China’s aggressive reinforcement along the border comes weeks after its stout refusal to discuss any pullback from the Gogra Post and Hot Springs friction points during the last rounds of talks that were held on April 9.

Covid facilities, food, donations: Temples rise up to help the nation again as second wave hits

OpIndia Staff
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Covid facilities, food, donations: Temples rise up to help the nation again as second wave hits

As India struggles with the second wave of the coronavirus, several temples across the nation have come forward to offer aid and assistance to fight this battle.

As new cases of Covid-19 surge in Gujarat, BAPS Swaminarayan Temple of Vadodara has converted its Yagnapurush Sabhagruh to a Covid-19 facility. The Covid-19 care centre is equipped with 500 beds, oxygen facilities like liquid oxygen tanks and piped oxygen lines, ICU beds and ventilators. 

The facility that has been operational since April 13 has so far admitted 45 Covid-19 patients from a nearby hospital for further treatment.

The Covid-19 facility at BAPS Vadodara. Image Source: Desh Gujarat on Twitter

Gyan Vatsal Swami of the Shri Swaminarayan Temple informed, “We are providing all the non-medical facilities for patients. We have arranged for oxygen and ventilators including the ICU rooms apart from fans and air-coolers. Currently, 300 beds are operational and 200 will be added soon.”

TV9 Gujarati’s coverage of the newly built Covid care facility

Puri Shri Jagannath Temple

Puri’s Shree Jagannath Temple Administration has decided to convert its Nilachal Bhakta Nivas into a Covid-19 Care Centre. This facility with 120 beds will also act as a dedicated centre for servitors and officials associated with the temple infected with the coronavirus.

Apart from this, the temple had pledged a donation of Rs 1.51 crore towards the Chief Minister Relief Fund to aid the government in this fight. A letter by the temple registration read, “As per the decision of the Managing Committee of Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri, an amount of Rs.1,51.00.000/- (One crore fifty-one lakh) is contributed towards Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for COVID-19 from Temple Administration.”

Along with Jagannath Puri, 62 other smaller temples in Orissa had donated to the CMRF.

Pawan Dham converts its 4-storey building

The Pawandham Temple in Mumbai’s Kandivali has once again converted its four-storey building into a Covid-19 quarantine centre equipped with 100 beds. Out of the 100, 50 beds are equipped with an oxygen concentrator unit, oximeters, pulse metre, portable BP apparatus, monitor machine among others. Additionally, more than 50 medical staff including 10 doctors are deployed in the facility.

Santosh Singh, a Managing Committee Member of the temple says, “We have so far got 50 beds ready, we have tied up with Apex Hospital for healthcare support like doctors, medical staff. All we are waiting for is the critical oxygen supply before that comes we can’t start. Assurance has been given by some suppliers but let’s see.”

India TV’s coverage of the Covid-19 facility built at Pawan Dham

The temple which was converted into a covid centre last year as well, had treated more than 2000 patients.

Mahavir Temple, Patna

The Mahavir Temple at Patna is providing free oxygen cylinders to the infected. It started its work of providing free oxygen on the 30th of April.

Jain Temple, Mumbai

A Jain Temple in Mumbai has been converted to a Covid care center. A 100-bed pathology lab was built here last year and 2000 patients were treated.

Sant Gajanan Temple, Maharashtra

Sant Gajanan Maharaj Temple, located in Shegaon of Buldhana district in the state, is one of the largest religious centers in the state. Here, separate isolation complexes of 500 beds have been built for Covid suspects and patients. It has a community kitchen that prepares food for 2,000 people. This food is given to everyone for free.

Shri Swami Narayan Temple, Mumbai

In view of the deteriorating Covid condition in Mumbai, the temple was converted into a Covid Hospital some time ago. The temple chief assured that the treatment of the patients here would be taken care of by the temple committee.

ISKCON Temple

Arrangement has been made by the ISKCON Temple for free food for the elderly, children, patients and pregnant women. A helpline number 9717544444 has been issued by ISKCON. A separate kitchen has been started by the Temple for the purpose.

Radhaswami Satsang Vyas, Indore

It has been made the second largest Covid care center in the country. It has been named “Maa Ahilya Kovid Care Center”. A maximum of 6000 beds can be arranged here.

Ram Mandir, Ayodhya

‘Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra’ announced the setting up of an oxygen plant in view of the Corona crisis . The trust will bear the expenses of Rs 55 lakhs. This oxygen plant will be set up at Dasharatha Medical College.

Tirupati Temple

The Tirupati Temple is often at the top of the list in terms of charity. Last year amidst the Corona crisis, migrant laborers were accommodated here.

Other temples

Kashi Vishwanath Temple which is one of the holiest shrines for Hindus had been feeding the patients suffering from Covid-19. 

The famous Sarangpur Hanuman Mandir In the Botad district of Gujarat, had converted its Dharamshala into a 100-bed hospital to tend to the coronavirus patients last year.

Last year too, when the pandemic’s first wave had hit the country, many Hindu temples had poured in crores of rupees in donations, had provided food and shelter for the needy and had stood up to support the nation through the crisis.

Maharashtra: Pregnant tigress with 4 unborn cubs killed by poachers in Yavatmal, death toll of tigers in this year reaches 17 in the state

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: Pregnant tigress with 4 unborn cubs killed by poachers in Yavatmal, death toll of tigers in this year reaches 17 in the state

Another incident of the brutal killing of a tiger has come to the fore in the state of Maharashtra. The forest and police department of the Pandharkawada division on Sunday, i.e April 25, found a four-year-old pregnant tigress in the Mukutban forest region.

The matter was kept under wraps for an entire day after which the local agencies got wind of the incident and the news of the death of the tigress finally came out. According to the authorities, unidentified poachers killed the tigress, who was pregnant with four fetuses in her womb. Four days after the incident, the authorities are still clueless about the poachers responsible for the death of the tigress.

The autopsy report of the tigress revealed that the fetuses were 60 days old, and considering the 3-3.5 months pregnancy period of tigers, the tigress would have given birth to cubs in the next month. It was reported that the body of the tigress was found 3 to 4 days after her death. It bore seven injury marks and the poachers had chopped two front paws with an axe.

“It is highly likely that the death of the tigress is the handiwork of some locals engaged in bamboo mats. The tigress was choked to death first by the igniting fire as the pictures show burn bamboo pieces at the cave entrance. She must have tried to come out but the poachers may have blocked the entrances. Later, the poachers must have entered the cave and removed the paws with an axe. Injuries on her body reveal that she was attacked by sharp-edged weapons,” said Subhash Puranik, Pandharkawda DFO (wildlife).

The forest department said they have launched an investigation into the killing of the tigress but so far they have not stumbled upon any clue that could lead to the culprits. “As of now, there are no clues. On Wednesday, the superintendent of police Dilip Patil Bhujbal will himself visit the spot to know about the crime scene. We will soon zero in on the culprits,” said SV Ramarao, the Yavatmal chief conservator of forest (CCF).

This has been the 17th tiger death incident in Maharashtra in the first four months in the year. Out of these 17 deaths, 11 have been due to poaching or under mysterious circumstances not proved yet. The total number of tiger deaths in Maharashtra in this so far is more than the total number of deaths in the year 2020, which was 14.

In the Pandharkawda division itself, this is the third incident of poaching reported in a month. On March 23, another four-year-old tigress had been found ensnared in a wire trap at the Maregaon forest range.

However, the highest number of tiger fatalities have been reported from the Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary, where a tigress and her cubs were found dead after a suspected poisoning earlier this year.

The Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, which is home to a sizeable Tiger population, has a history of laying wire snares by locals. As per the statistics by the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), 7 tigers and 15 leopards have died due to wire snares in Maharashtra in the last decade.

Wildlife expert Kishor Rithe laments that despite a long history of laying wire snares to kill wild animals in the entire Pandharkawda division, no lessons have been learned by the government.

Wildlife photographer Sarosh Lodhi says that after so many tiger deaths in the state, no accountability has yet been fixed.

Issues and solutions for Veda Pathashalas: What ails our traditional education and how to solve it

Suren
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Issues and solutions for Veda Pathashalas: What ails our traditional education and how to solve it

Indians across various walks of life bemoan the loss of traditional knowledge and skills – whether it is arts, crafts or the traditional professions. A big obstacle is the difficulty for younger children to be exposed to these traditional skills at an early age as part of their education itself. There are so many of these skills across India – patachitra, shilpa shastra, Kuchipudi, ghoomar – innumerable to be listed here, which are dying out simply because children are unable to learn these young.

An important constraint is that children have to learn these skills from practitioners, which takes time away from regular 5+3+2+2 education, thereby putting these students at a disadvantage in later life.

One stream of learning which has been continued unbroken through the 70 odd years of independent India is Vedic learning in pathashalas. Let us look at the experience of these pathashalas and possible suggestions to solve them.

Funding

Veda Pathashalas are integrated environments that include boarding, lodging, cooking arrangements, teachers and a goshala with cows to supply essential needs of a Vaidika lifestyle.

At present, the Maharishi Sandipani Rashtriya Ved Vidya Pratishthan, Ujjain, operating as an independent body under the Ministry of HRD, has a budget to pay stipends to teachers and students, conduct seminars and symposia and conduct examinations and give certificates of Veda Bhushan and Veda Vibhushan for students at 10th std & 12th std level.

However, donations to Veda Patasalas and Goshalas are not eligible for tax rebates under 80(G). Neither is any corporate donation to such institutions eligible to be characterized as Corporate Social Responsibility according to Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013.

Making these two sources of funding available, by simple clarifications in the form of GOs, will make it easier for Veda Pathashalas to raise funds without having to rely on public funding. Rs 18,000 crore + funds are available for CSR each year, on average. A small fraction – Rs 72 crores annually – is sufficient to put 12,000 students through a high quality residential education in a Veda Pathashala system.

Career Options

Currently, the MSRVVP provides a certificate of Veda Bhushan, equivalent to X Standard and Veda Vibhushan, equivalent to XII Standard, which can be used to obtain admission to college.

However, the only courses that are available relate either to Veda, Vedanga or Sanskrit studies. This restricts career options. Students who wish to opt for other careers have to additionally prepare for the NIOS secondary and senior secondary certificates on their own.

There is a proposal for a Bharatiya Shikshan Board, which has been in the works for several years now.

A solution would be to make two Boards available

  1. A Board functioning directly under Ministry of HRD, which will teach Maths, Science, Social Sciences, Languages primarily and allow students to choose Vedic Studies, Pauranika Studies, Yoga, Ayurveda, Music, Dance, Crafts and other traditional Indian knowledge studies as a curricular option. For example, a student can take Maths, Science, Social Science, English and Yoga instead of a second language. Another student would finish school with Maths, Science, Social Science, Telugu and Kuchipudi as subjects.
  2. A Board functioning under MSRVVP that would include Maths, Science and reduced course loads in English and Social Science. This will help students finishing Veda Bhushan and Veda Vibhushan have a wider choice of options when studying in college. Degrees and careers in Science, Economics, Commerce then become possible for these students.

Formal Board creation and offering Board affiliation for larger Veda Pathashalas would help in making the Veda Bhushan certificate as valid as a X Standard School Leaving Certificate. Without this validity for official purposes, it is difficult to have the Aadhar metrics updated at the 15th year of age for these students and they exist as persona non grata in our society.

Balancing Needs of a Modern Society against demands of Vedic Learning

In order to function in today’s world, all students need to know basic mathematics, science and social sciences. A Secondary School level proficiency is all that is required. So, it is essential that all students completing their studies from Veda Patahshalas are equipped with this level of proficiency.

However, the NIOS examinations are conducted as per expectations for students studying in a regular school for 10 years.

A full Vedic education for a student from the 7th year to the 18th year to train them as a Krishna Yajur Veda Ghanapathi involves at least 10 full years of preparation, with not more than 20 days of breaks per year. Each day of learning starts at 4:30 AM and goes on until 9 PM. Breaks are usually given only for basic ablutions, food and the three fold prayers or sandhyavandanam. Children do not have more than 1 hour of rest and recreation on an average day.

Examinations at each stage are conducted on the full corpus of the specific branch of Vedas that the student is specializing in, which the student is expected to have committed to memory in its entirety. Combining both systems without coordination places a load on students that many baulk at. It is due to this reason that many students of Veda Pathashalas completely avoid these subjects, setting them up for difficulties in navigating a life in modern society later in life.

If the responsibility of testing and certifying X Std level proficiency is given to MSVRRP, they might conduct examinations at a higher frequency and at an appropriate level. Also, giving these as an option will help traditional Patahshalas to get affiliated with regular schools and teachers to make the learning process smoother.

Even after all of these reforms, the learning load for a Vedic student will be higher than regular school-going children, but that can be one of the aspects that parents and students accept.

Administrative Ease

There is only one office for the MSRVVP in Ujjain. The sole website is in English and Hindi alone. Meetings of the Board are held in Ujjain or in Delhi.

We would suggest that branches for the MSRVVP be set up in cultural capitals across the country in Pune, Kanchipuram, Ayodhya and in Kolkata. This will help in creating regional databases of institutions, conduct operations in different Indian languages and be accessible to people in each region.

These reforms and suggestions have been made after deliberation by experts in Vedic education and parents of Veda Pathashala students.

These reforms, if applied to Veda Pathashalas, can be successfully replicated to many traditional subjects – Agama Schools, Shilpa, Natya, Sangita and traditional crafts.

Note: The above article was co-authored with Prof Venugopalan, Sanskrit Scholar, Vedic Pundit, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya University (SCSVMV), Member, Projects Committee, Governing Council & General Body, Maharishi Sandipani Rashtriya Ved Vidya Pratishthan.

As Allahabad HC issues notice over Covid-19 deaths in UP panchayat polls, read how the same court had ordered the polls, dismissed PIL to postpone them

OpIndia Staff
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As Allahabad HC issues notice over Covid-19 deaths in UP panchayat polls, read how the same court had ordered the polls, dismissed PIL to postpone them

On 27th April, the Allahabad High Court issued to a notice to Uttar Pradesh State Election Commission over the reported Covid-19 related death of around 135 teachers engaged in the recently concluded panchayat elections in the state. A Division Bench comprising of Justices Siddhartha Varma and Ajit Kumar blamed the state poll panel for the deaths during the panchayat polls, saying that it didn’t do anything to protect the people engaged in election duty.

“It appears that neither the police nor, Election Commission did anything to save the people on election duty from getting infected by this deadly virus,” the bench noted, and issued a notice to the State Election Commission asking to explain as to why it failed in checking non-compliance of Covid guidelines during various phases of the panchayat elections. The court also asked the Commission to show cause why action should not be taken against it and its officials for such violations.

The bench alleged that the UP govt was involved in other activities including the Panchayat elections instead of combatting the pandemic. The order said, “it is now an open secret that government had gone complacent due to weakening of virus impact by the end of 2020 in the state and the government got more involved in other activities including Panchayat elections.”

The court was hearing a public interest litigation after news reports saying that large number of teachers, shiksha mitras and Investigators, who were posted for the election duties, died due to Covid-19. While the reports has said that 135 persons have died, later the Teachers’ union in the state claimed that 577 persons died from Covid-19 while on panchayat election duties.

While the court is blaming the state poll panel and the state government for the deaths, left-liberals and Islamists are demanding the resignation of chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

Even though the High Court said that UP govt was more interested in polls instead of Covid-19, the fact is that the state government didn’t even want to conduct the polls, and it was forced to do so only due to an order by the same Allahabad High Court.

Allahabad High Court had ordered to conclude the polls by 30 April

On 4th February, a division bench of justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal of the Allahabad High Court had ordered that the panchayat elections should be concluded by 30 April.

The elections were to be held in December last year as the term of the previous gram panchayats and village panchayat heads had expired on 25th December, but it was postponed due to the Covid-19 situation. On February, the poll panel had proposed to conclude the polls by May, but hearing a petition by a former village pradhan in Hathras district in UP, the court had rejected that scheduled and passed an order to conclude the polls by April 30.

The court had said, “as per the mandate of the Constitution, the election of the Panchayat should have been held on or before January 13, 2021,” and had said that they cannot accept the schedule given by Election Commission to complete the polls by May 2021.

Accordingly, the UP State Election Commission had announced  a four-phase election for the panchayats in UP, which were scheduled on April 15, 19, 26 and 29, and the results are scheduled to be declared on 2nd May.

Allahabad High Court had dismissed a petition to postpone the panchayat polls

Not just the Allahabad High Court had ordered to complete the polls by April, it had also dismissed a petition seeking to postpone them when the Covid-19 cases had started to rise. On 7th April, a Division Bench comprising of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery had refused to postpone the elections. Dismissing a petition, the bench had said that adequate health protocol for Covid-19 has been notified to be followed at the election booths, and therefore, there is no need to stall the electoral process. The petitioner had said that as there was a massive surge of Coronavirus cases in the state, it will lead to enormous injuries to the public, however, the court had refused the arguments.

A petition seeking an interim stay of the HC order was filed at the Supreme Court on 19th April, but the polls have already concluded before the matter was heard by the apex court on 30 April. The SC has issued to notice to the UP govt and the state election commission in this regard

It may be noted that UP had around 50,000 active cases on 7th April when the PIL was dismissed, up from around 5,000 on 7th February when the court had ordered the polls.

UP govt says it was forced by HC to conduct the polls

Following the criticisms of the state govt following the death of teachers during poll duties, the UP govt has also clarified that it was forced by the court to hold the elections. On 26th April, the UP govt said that it didn’t want to conduct the panchayat elections in the state in view of the coronavirus pandemic, but had to do so following the Allahabad high court’s order to conclude the polls by 30 April.

“The elections were due in December last year. The pandemic led to delay in reorganization and delimitation of panchayats. The writ petitions and subsequent decision of the high court compelled the state government to hold the election,” a state government spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said that the state government initiated the process of the election in compliance of the High Court order. The govt also said that the polls were conducted following all Covid-19 protocol issued by the election commission.

In hindsight, it can be said if the HC order to hold the polls by 30 April was not there and it was scheduled for May as proposed by the poll panel, the elections could have been postponed. India’s Covid-19 numbers were low in February when the HC had issued the order, but it started to rise from the end of March. Therefore, seeing the rise in Covid-19 numbers in many states including Uttar Pradesh, it would not have been difficult to reschedule the polls to a later date, but the poll panel was forced to hold the polls due to the High Court order.

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