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Government removes restrictions on mapping, industry experts welcome step: Here is what it means

OpIndia Staff
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Government removes restrictions on mapping, industry experts welcome step: Here is what it means

For any country, maps and accurate geospatial data are crucial for national infrastructure projects including river linkage, development of industrial corridors, deployment of smart power systems and more. Maps with greater precision, depth and resolution provide essential support to Digital India, Smart Cities, eCommerce, autonomous drones, delivery, logistics and urban transport. The applications with high-precision geospatial data help small businesses, farmers, construction companies, mining and local enterprises etc. in formulating a better plan for an economically sustainable future.

The issue with the present mapping system in India

Any Indian company that want to create or disseminate maps need to get the proper license and follow a cumbersome system of pre-approvals and permissions. Compliance with these regulatory restrictions has subjected startups in India to unnecessary red tape, hindering Indian innovation in map technologies for decades.

Radical liberalisation of mapping policy

To ensure Indian companies have unhindered access to the geospatial data, the government has radically liberalised the mapping policy. The government believes that what is readily available globally should not be restricted in India. Thus, as per the new policy, the geospatial data will be freely available for Indian companies. The corporations and innovators will not be subject to restrictions not do they will require prior approvals before collecting, generating, preparing, disseminating, storing, publishing, updating digital Geospatial Data and Maps within the territory of India.

In a series of tweets, PM Modi said, “Our government has taken a decision that will provide a huge impetus to Digital India. Liberalising policies governing the acquisition and production of geospatial data is a massive step in our vision for an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”

The government will trust the startups and mapping innovators to self-certify and apply sound judgement. They will be relied upon to demonstrate adherence to guidelines. The government will take measures to promote the development of Indian geospatial innovations that take advantage of the latest map-making technologies. The new policy will enable Indian innovators to create substantial advances in mapping, ultimately making our lives easier and empowering small businesses.

‘Indian Startups will revolutionise mapping’

The changes in mapping policy are being seen as a welcoming step by the corporate world. Product Nation, a technology think tank said that the Indian Startups will revolutionise mapping and it will create thousands of jobs. It added, “Next-generation hyper resolution maps will happen. $Billions value unlocked, thousands of jobs.”

Sanjeev Sanyal, writer and collector of old maps said that this is the first time since Rennel and the East India Company, this sector is open to private innovation.

The negative list of sensitive attributes

There are some speculations over security concerns with such liberalisation of the mapping system. The government has already considered the sensitivity of selected attributes. As per the guidelines [PDF], there will be a restriction on mapping the restricted regions designated by the Ministry/Department concerned.

This list will contact negative attributes that would require regulation before anyone can acquire or use such attribute data. Department of Science and Technology will publish the negative list of sensitive attributes on its website with stipulated regulations after consultation with departments concerned. No person or entity on the negative list can be marked on the maps as per the regulations.

Made-in-India alternative of Google Maps

Recently, ISRO and MapmyIndia joined hands to build an alternative to Google maps with ‘make in India’ mapping portal and geospatial services. As per reports, ISRO with MMI will develop a fully indigenous, made-in-India mapping portal and geospatial services. ISRO in a statement said: “The collaboration will enable them to jointly identify and build holistic geospatial solutions utilising the earth observation datasets, “NavIC”, Web Services and APIs (application programming interface) available in MapmyIndia, “Bhuvan”, “VEDAS” and “MOSDAC” geoportals.” Through the combined partnership with ISRO, MapmyIndia’s end-user maps, apps and services will now integrate with ISRO’s huge catalogue of satellite imagery and earth observation data.

Half knowledge is a dangerous thing: How Disha Ravi spread misinformation and blatant lies to defame India on a global platform

OpIndia Staff
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Half knowledge is a dangerous thing: How Disha Ravi spread misinformation and blatant lies to defame India on a global platform

21-year-old Disha Ravi from Bengaluru works in a plant-based food startup Goodmylk and is a graduate in business administration, specialising in finance. A course she picked up ‘despite her dislike for capitalism’. In an hour-long interview with writer Gayle Kimball, sometime in mid-2020, Ravi blames ‘patriarchy’ for rapes and paints a picture of doom. Kimball is a US-based writer and Professor Emerita at California State University.

Ravi, in her conversation claims that social evils such as child marriages, dowry, domestic violence and honour killing are common and socially acceptable despite laws against it. She claims that these evil practices are ingrained. She further claims that when some women escape bad marriages and return home, her own family members kill her as ‘honour killing’. “The mercy killing is done by the own family of the women because they feel like she brought dishonour to the family and it is completely acceptable to kill her for that,” she claims about women who are victims of domestic abuse.

On migrant crisis, Ravi blatantly lies about lack of financial support provided to migrant workers and the poor during the pandemic. Various state government as well as central government provided various forms of assistance to the poor including free ration all the way till November 2020. She even spread lies that migrant workers were put on trucks with dead bodies of those who passed away due to coronavirus and were being sent home.

Speaking on the Modi government, the interviewer questions Ravi why did the Indians select and re-elect him despite ‘Hindu nationalism’ and him having a wife ‘people hardly know about’. To this Ravi claims that the Modi government is a very right wing party and he was able to make people understand about his aims. “He convinced the larger population that Muslims for some reason are, somehow they are doing something wrong and the press is controlled by him. So most of the press is right wing. My parents support him, I don’t. Everyone who does not support him is silenced in the most horrific way and it is not shown in mainstream media. You have to go to alternative press,” she claims.

She claims there is ‘next to no freedom of the press’ In India. She claims that because of this ‘no freedom of the press’, PM Modi has ‘convinced’ everyone that what he is doing is good. She claims India is slipping on human growth. The lady taking the interview interjects and claims that PM Modi’s prime goal seems economic development and does not seem to be caring about consequences.

In her obvious hate towards the Modi government, Ravi claims that during US former President Donald Trump’s visit to India last year, there was a huge human right violation. She insinuates that the Modi government had gathered a paid crowd to pull off the huge rally to welcome Trump to India. She furthers that students of a particular college, predominantly Muslims, were attacked, then. However, the mainstream media had covered Modi welcoming Trump, as Modi had spent too much money on it, says Ravi.

The fact, however, is that the campuses of a few colleges like Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University turned violent after the provocative speeches during the anti-CAA protests. The CAA fast-tracks Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities in three neighbouring Islamic countries: Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. It does not affect Indians, irrespective of their religion. Despite that, huge mobs gathered, mostly consisting of Muslims, to protest against CAA. Eventually, these protests turned violent and culminated into riots just when the then US President Donald Trump was visiting India.

Surprisingly, in her interview to the foreign lady, Disha talks about farmers and depleting ground water levels and erratic weather conditions because of which farmers have had to commit suicide. She says how climate change has affected the lives of Indian farmers. Ironically, few months later when the union government passed the new laws which aims to help farmers with better storage facility, crop mix and subsequently help fight climate change while increasing their incomes, she has decided to protest against these very laws!

Speaking on Aadhaar card, the climate activist claims that the government has exploited the marginalised people for their lack of knowledge. She claims that though the cost to acquire a Aadhaar card is minimal, the government has fleeced the poor by charging them way too much than the prescribed cost. This is a blatant lie. Aadhaar can be made only at Aadhaar centres and enrolment as well as mandatory biometric update is absolutely free of charge. You can check the rates here [pdf].

While discussing how the ‘activists’ connect for various protests, she mentions how they rely on emails, Zoom calls, Telegram and apps like Slack to coordinate. She says that the ‘activists’ share “toolkits” on various channels and discuss what is happening in each others countries, and on how they can support each other. She says that there are various teams where they could reach out to ‘activists’ of other countries to get them to talk about these ‘issues’ on their social media channels.

Ravi claims that India does not acknowledge global climate crisis. She claims that one of the demands of climate activists in India is to get the government to ‘acknowledge’ that climate crisis is an issue. However, this, too, is far from reality. India is one of the signatories to the 21st Conference of the Parties 21 (CoP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Paris in 2015 which has the main objective of limiting global warming to below 2 degree, preferably 1.5 degree Celsius.

When the interviewer further asks Disha Ravi as to how optimistic she is about the future of India and its efforts to tackle the climate crisis, she paints an extremely negative picture of India claiming that the amount of environmentally destructive projects, especially the huge deforestation projects during the COVID-19 lockdown, which the Modi government is itself approving, does not give a positive vibe about the country. However, she does not give details on which deforestation programmes approved by Modi government she is talking about.

She furthers that there is an urgent need for a change of the government, but at the same time, there are no existing ruling parties that are also capable of tackling the environmental crisis, says Ravi. She even dismisses Congress being helpful in tackling environment crisis.

The lady taking the interview questions on what Disha Ravi thinks about the “progressive party which got elected in Delhi and then faded out”. The activist helps the interviewer by giving her the name of Aam Aadmi Party. Ravi seconds the interviewer’s opinion. She agrees that the AAP is “definitely progressive”, but the issue is that it is only central to Delhi and not in any other city, so they are not being able to make a political shift in all the cities and states across the country. “There are a few issues with the Aam Aadmi Party, but they are definitely better than the others”, says the activist putting her weight behind AAP.

Comparing India’s political scenario to that of the USA, the interviewer asks Ravi whether situation is similar to that of America “where many liberals do not vote which aids ‘Trump kind of guys’ to get elected”. Ravi claims that there are many people in India also who do not vote, despite being eligible to vote and that is why the Modi government exists. She claims that since PM Narendra Modi has his way with words and is able to capture the audience, that’s why quite a few young people and even some conservatives support him.

Delhi Police has arrested the 21-year old ‘climate activist’ Disha Ravi from Bengaluru in connection with the ‘Greta toolkit’ that exposed global conspiracy to defame India on a global scale.

According to Delhi Police, the so-called activist was the Editor of the Toolkit Google Doc, which was accidentally leaked on Twitter by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. As per reports, Disha created a Whatsapp group and actively collaborated to prepare the ‘Toolkit’ document. The Delhi Police further informed that she worked closely in creating the draft which revealed global conspiracy to defame India.

During the initial investigation, the police found that Disha Ravi also collaborated with Khalistani outfit named Poetic Justice Foundation (PJF). The police informed that the objective was to spread ‘disaffection against the Indian State.’ Reportedly, it was Disha who had originally shared the Toolkit document with the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.

Update: Kimball has since publication of our report made the video private. We have updated the story with the video.

Ashwin shows ex-English captain Michael Vaughan that it is about the ‘performance’ and not the ‘pitch’

OpIndia Staff
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Ashwin shows ex-English captain Michael Vaughan that it is about the ‘performance’ and not the ‘pitch’

After the Indian cricket team bundled up the visiting English side for a paltry score of 134 runs in the 1st innings of the Second Test match at Chennai, former English captain Michael Vaughan decided to blame the ‘pitch’ for the disastrous performance of the team.

“It’s entertaining cricket as things are happening all the time but let’s be honest this Pitch is a shocker,” he claimed on Sunday. Michael Vaughan further alleged that the pitch was not suitable for a 5-day Test match. He further remarked, “Not making any excuses as India have been better but this isn’t a Test Match 5 day prepared Pitch.”

However, Michael Vaughan was up for a rude shock on Monday when Indian spin bowler Ravichandran Ashwin outclassed the English side, with a stellar batting performance, during the second innings. As India headed into the third day of the Test match, it had a healthy lead of 195 runs. But, the ‘dirt’ pitch had begun deteriorating further, making it an ideal bowling condition than what it was already for the likes of English spin bowlers such as Moeen Ali and Jack Leach.

Scorecard of the India’s 2nd innings (Image Courtesy: Cricbuzz)

At the end of 36.1 overs, India was down by 6 wickets with just 106 runs on the scoreboard. And then came Ashwin to bat alongside the Indian skipper Virat Kohli. The duo took the score to 156 runs by the end of the lunch break. Both Kohli and Ashwin completed their half-century with ease. When the skipper got dismissed at 62, the fans believed it to be the end of the Indian innings. However, on a pitch providing dramatic bounce and turn, Ashwin displayed his finesse as a bowling allrounder.

Ashwin comes to India’s rescue

With the support of tailenders holding on the other end, the ace spin bowler beautifully paced his innings, exhibited great defence and played exquisite shots to reach a total of 106 runs in 146 balls. During his majestic innings that diminished the slightest of chances for the English side to make a comeback, Ashwin hit 14 fours and 1 six. He exuberated such confidence that even the 11th batsman Mohammed Siraj pulled off two majestic sixes.

By the time, the Indian team was all out, England was left with a mammoth target of 482 runs. Ashwin thus joined the elite list of Test players, who scored a century in the same match where they took a 5-wicket haul. The Indian spin bowler, who is just shy of 400 wickets, has shown the English side that being able to quickly adapt to the turning conditions could have helped save the Test match.

The England cricket team failed to adapt to the wicket or capitalise on their spin bowling attack. With a target of 429 runs and just 7 wickets remaining at the end of third day’s play, a defeat for the visiting side is inevitable. Ashwin showed that while pitch might be favourable or non-favourable, it’s the performance that matters in the end.

Shane Warne gives befitting reply to Michael Vaughan

While replying to Vaughan, Warne replied, “The toss was more important to win in the 1st test than this one, as it did nothing the 1st 2 days. Then exploded. This one has been a turner from ball one.” He said, “England should’ve bowled India out for 220. No different between spinning or seaming & Rohit showed how to play on this surface.”

He further stated, “Everyone should celebrate the amazing test cricket we are/have witnessed from all countries over the past few months. It’s exciting. The best bowlers/batsman will rise no matter what the pitch conditions or situation of the game. My prediction was (India 359/ England 157=202 run lead) it’s 195.”

From Delhi Riots to Rinku Sharma: How the media blames the victim every time the accused is from the minority community

OpIndia Staff
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From Delhi Riots to Rinku Sharma: How the media blames the victim every time the accused is from the minority community

The Print on Monday published a report that appeared to be an attempt to whitewash the murder of Rinku Sharma. The reporter regurgitated the claims made by the family of the accused in what appears to be an attempt to give them a free pass in the matter.

The family of the accused claimed that it was Rinku Sharma who brought a knife to attack the accused. The report says, “The families claimed Rinku was drunk and had become hysterical, and that his mother Radha Devi had tried to stop him from attacking the five men.”

The manner in which the accused in such are are given a free pass by the media has almost become repetitive at this point. Whenever the accused in such cases happen to be from the minority community, the media jumps into the scene to run interference for them.

There have been many such instances but certainly, there are some prominent ones that spring to mind.

Tahir Hussain: Delhi Riots Case

During the initial phases of the investigation into the Delhi riots, when the role of Tahir Hussain first came to fore, the media and the liberal establishment were overeager to give him a free pass. When a video was circulating that purportedly showed Tahir Hussain soliciting police help, AltNews quickly concluded that the video was genuine and not doctored as many people suspected.

India Today provided a platform to the accused as well in order to peddle his defense. The Wire also regurgitated his defense as well without bothering to highlight the fact that there was video evidence that highlighted his role in the entire chain of events.

In the process, the media and the liberal establishment ignored the monumental evidence against the former AAP Councilor. Since then, the investigation has revealed that Tahir Hussain is one of the masterminds behind the conspiracy to unleash violence at the national capital.

The Hauz Qazi Temple desecration

In July 2019, when a Hindu Temple in Delhi’s Hauz Qazi was desecrated by a Muslim mob, the media rushed to absolve the local Muslim community of all responsibility.

The National Herald furthered the narrative, “It was clear that AAP govt in Delhi genuinely wanted the communal surcharge to be contained swiftly and prudently. Why can’t this happen in other sensitive areas of the country?”

Newslaundry, on the other hand, blamed the media for reporting that a boy had gone missing. NewsLaundry’s claim that OpIndia reported the case of the missing boy “just when everything seemed to be under control” pretending as if OpIndia was responsible for the situation at Hauz Qazi.

Furthermore, it was also claimed that the local Hauz Qazi Muslim community had helped in installing the Murthis later on, a claim that was denied by Hindu activists.

The Kamlesh Tiwari Murder

Hindu activist Kamlesh Tiwari was murdered brutally by Radical Muslims due to comments he had made earlier which were labelled as ‘blasphemous’. Following the murder, the liberal establishment instead of speaking against Islamic fundamentalism, peddled dangerous rhetoric and focused its attention on ‘Hindu intolerance’ instead.

Aatish Taseer, son of former Pakistani Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, said ‘Ordinary Muslims’ should abandon peace and ‘need to organize’. He said that ‘Ordinary Muslims’ shouldn’t be caught off-guard.

‘Communist atheist’ Umar Khalid preached the Glory of Islam and ranted about ‘right-wing intolerance’ instead. It was part of a coordinated attempt to deflect attention from the threat of Radical Islamic Terrorism and blame the ‘Hindutva brigade’ for preaching hatred.

Humanizing the Pulwama terrorist

21 year old Adil Ahmad Dar massacred over 40 Indian security personnel in the Pulwama terrorist attack. After the identity of the suicide bomber became public, the media engaged in a full blown campaign to humanize the terrorist and absolve the family of all blame.

Furthermore, they provided them with the opportunity to blame the Indian Security Forces instead. The mainstream media relied on the family of the terrorist to claim that he had chosen to become a terrorist because he was supposedly harassed by the Indian Army.

One report claimed that the ‘family of the Jaish operative can’t believe he joined militant ranks’. An NDTV employee glorified the attack.

The Rinku Sharma Murder

In the current instance, we see the same pattern play out before our eyes. There’s a culture of victim-blaming that the liberal establishment loves to peddle whenever Hindus are victims of such crimes.

The liberal establishment will go out of its way to pin the blame on the victim himself. It is a disgusting pattern of behaviour that we have only come to aspect from the media. Furthermore, it is claimed that Rinku Sharma allegedly forced one Zahid to consume alcohol at a birthday party which led to the fight.

Consuming alcohol is considered haram in Islam. Thus, it appears the foundation to justify the murder is already being laid.

Bombay HC quashes FIR against Meetu Singh, sister of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, by his ex-partner Rhea Chakraborty

OpIndia Staff
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Bombay HC quashes FIR against Meetu Singh, sister of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, by his ex-partner Rhea Chakraborty

The Bombay high court has quashed the FIR against Meetu Singh, one of the sisters of late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput filed by the actor’s ex-girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty. However, the complaint against the other sister, Priyanka Singh, will continue to be probed, the Court ruled. 

While announcing the order, the Bench of Justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik held: “There is prima facie case found against Priyanka Singh and there should not be any impediment against investigation against her.”

The division bench pronounced orders on the petition filed by SSR’s sisters, Priyanka and Meetu, seeking quashing of an FIR registered against them by the actor’s ex-partner Rhea in September last year.

Rhea Chakraborty files FIR against the sisters of Sushant Singh Rajput, Delhi doctor for forging prescription

On September 7, 2020, Rhea Chakraborty, who was the prime accused in the Sushant Singh Rajput’s case and had spent close to a month in jail over drug-related charges, had filed an FIR against actor’s sister Priyanka, Dr Tarun Kumar (from RML Hospital, Delhi) and others under IPC, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act & Telemedicine Practice Guidelines for allegedly prescribing drugs to the actor without any consultations.

Rhea had alleged in her complaint that Sushant had died just days after ‘obtaining this unlawful prescription’. She had sought an investigation into the role of Priyanka and doctor Kumar for providing the late actor with an unlawful prescription. The complaint was filed based on Whatsapp messages between Sushant and his sister on June 8.

As per some of the chats between SSR and Priyanka, his sister had allegedly suggested him to take Librium for a week, Nexito every day and Lonazep whenever he was afflicted by an anxiety attack.

After saying agencies will ‘probe’ celebrities tweeting in support of India and investigate if ‘Modi govt pressurised them’, Uddhav govt makes a u-turn: Details

OpIndia Staff
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After saying agencies will ‘probe’ celebrities tweeting in support of India and investigate if ‘Modi govt pressurised them’, Uddhav govt makes a u-turn: Details

Days after the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress-led Maharashtra government faced severe backlash for its decision to probe Tweets posted by Indian celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar, singer Lata Mangeshkar, cricketer Virat Kohli and others in the wake of the global conspiracy to defame India, the Maharashtra government has now taken a U-turn.

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, who had last week, ordered the Intelligence agency to probe the celebrities’ Tweets has now come out to clarify that the Maha govt is probing the BJP IT cell and not the Tweets by the celebrities. He said that 12 influencers are under State Govt’s scanner.

Last week, Anil Deshmukh had said that tweets of celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar, Lata Mangeshkar, Suniel Shetty, Virat Kohli, Akshay Kumar, and others will be investigated by the Maharashtra Intelligence agency to ascertain if they were made under some pressure by the Modi government or the celebrities genuinely wanted to support the centre on the Farm Laws.

Deshmukh claimed that there were stark similarities in the tweets posted by the celebrities which hinted that it was a planned and coordinated move. For this reason, Anil Deshmukh had in very clear terms specified that the tweets posted by eminent personalities belonging to various walks of life will be investigated by the state intelligence agency.

Deshmukh made the remarks on an online platform after the Congress, a ruling coalition partner in Maharashtra, sought an investigation into the BJP’s alleged connection with tweets of some celebrities and whether the saffron party “arm-twisted” them.

The decision by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, had, however, faced severe backlash. Apart from BJP leaders like Devendra Fadnavis and Ashish Shelar, several fans of Bharat Ratna recipients Sachin Tendulkar and the singing legend Lata Mangeshkar had come out to slam the Maha Government.

For the uninitiated, on February 3, many Indian celebrities came out to take a stand against the global smear campaign launched against India. Prominent personalities such as Sachin Tendulkar, Lata Mangeshkar, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgan, Suniel Shetty, Karan Johar, Ekta Kapoor, Kailash Kher and several others had extended their support to the Farm Laws and called for unity in the light of comments made by several international figures, including singer Rihanna and activist Greta Thunberg, over the ongoing farmers’ protests. 

The pushback from the celebrities came after the Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement, wherein it said that “vested interest groups” were trying to enforce their agenda on the protests to derail them and said that these groups were trying to mobilise global support against India. The statement also referred to “sensationalist social media hashtags and comments” by “celebrities and others” but didn’t name anyone in particular.

Watch: Haryana Congress leader urges party workers to distribute liquor among protesting farmers ‘to keep them going’

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Haryana Congress leader urges party workers to distribute liquor among protesting farmers ‘to keep them going’

A viral video of Vidya Rani Danoda, Congress leader & former MLA aspirant from Narwana assembly seat, Haryana, is making rounds on social media in which she is seen urging Congress workers to distribute liquor among protesting farmers as a token of ‘support’. Danoda said that the protests had almost lost ground and momentum after the January 26 violence but somehow the supporters have been able to keep it alive.

Danoda said that after surveying the current situation in the state, they should do a march to show support to the farmers. She claimed that it would help Congress party in regaining its position in Haryana. Danoda further said that party workers should ‘help’ the protesting farmers in every possible way let it by giving them money, vegetables, ghee or even liquor.

When someone tried to stop her from mentioning liquor, she justified herself by saying that it is normal to give alcohol to an ailing man. She claimed that there are all type of people in the protests and to make sure they keep on protesting and stay put, it is essential to ‘support’ them by distributing alcohol if it is what the ‘protestors’ need.

As per a report in TV9 Hindi, the meeting had taken place in the Congress Bhavan on Sunday 14 February. When asked by media persons, she later claimed that her statements are being twisted and she had only joked about liquor as sometimes old and ailing persons are given liquor.

Who is Vidya Rani Danoda?

45-years-old Vidya Rani Danoda is a Congress leader from Narwana assembly in Haryana. In 2019 assembly elections, she managed to get only 9.2% votes and lost the seat by a margin of over 65,000 votes.

Reports of free-flowing alcohol at farmer protests

There have been several reports of free-flowing liquor at farmer protests. A conversation between two protesters went viral recently in which one protester admitted that he was camping at Ghazipur border for money and free alcohol. During Republic Day riots, a video of TV9 Gujarat went viral in which a trolley belonging to rioting ‘protesters’ was found laden with liquor bottles and snacks.

Pieter Friedrich, associated with ISI operative, key name mentioned by Police in toolkit conspiracy, ‘fact checkers’ also feature

OpIndia Staff
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Pieter Friedrich, associated with ISI operative, key name mentioned by Police in toolkit conspiracy, ‘fact checkers’ also feature

The Delhi Police in a statement on Monday has highlighted the role of a dubious foreign based activist in organizing the global campaign against India. The Police has said that the role of Pieter Friedrich has come to the fore in the investigation into the Greta ‘toolkit’ conspiracy.

The Police further said that Pieter Friedrich has been under the radar of the Indian security establishment since late 2006, when the UPA Government was in power. He has been under the radar “when he was noticed being in the company of one Bhajan Singh Bhinder or Iqbal Choudhary.”

Bhajan Singh Bhinder has been a very prominent proponent of the ISI’s K2 Desk. Pieter Friedrich got associated with Bhinder who has been running infowar operations or psyops. The Police also said that the toolkit has been prepared with great care.

The Delhi Police also said that the names of established media houses and ‘fact-checkers’ also find a mention in the toolkit. They said that only the accused will be able to say why the name of Pieter Friedrich features in the toolkit.

Earlier, the WhatsApp chats between Greta Thunberg and Disha Ravi also surfaced. After the Swedish activist leaked the anti-India toolkit on social media, Disha is reported to have told her, “Can we just not say anything at all for a while. I am going to talk to lawyers.”

As per reports, Disha Ravi and Nikita Jacob had also participated in an online meeting with Poetic Justice Foundation’s Mo Dhaliwal, who had earlier declared himself to be a ‘proud Khalistani’, to discuss and plan a ‘Twitter storm’ ahead of India’s Republic Day, which saw a massive insurrection attempt and widespread violence by so-called farmers in Delhi.

We had reported earlier on the media houses and ‘fact checkers’ who had been mentioned in the toolkit. Zubair of AltNews was one of them. Disha Ravi is currently in police custody.

Involvement of “climate activists” in so called farmers protest shows climate movement is political, not scientific

Abhishek Banerjee
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Involvement of “climate activists” in so called farmers protest shows climate movement is political, not scientific

Here is an all too familiar ‘bait and switch’ tactic for pushing political propaganda on social media. A handle starts out by being dedicated to something that everyone loves. Such as good food or good sex. People begin sharing it widely and they manage to gather millions of followers. Then, one fine morning, the handle name changes. A page which used to be dedicated to say kittens is now suddenly called “We support XYZ politician.” Now that they have built a huge reach among people of all possible political beliefs, they can use the system to deliver their propaganda. If they had started out by declaring their political affiliations, chances are that they would have been left preaching to the converted. The manipulative ‘bait and switch’ approach is much more effective.

By now, you must have heard about the so called farmers’ protest, Greta’s toolkit and the Indian climate activists who may or may not have helped her. Perhaps you are out there, vigorously debating the issue along familiar partisan lines. If you are doing that, stop for a second and think about what just happened!

Climate activists? What are they doing here?

I thought the matter of farm laws was an economic policy matter. Whether you like the government’s view or not, this much was always clear. How did the climate activists get involved in opposing these laws?

If anything, you would expect the climate activists to take the side of the government here. One of the key demands of the so called farmers’ protest was to allow crop stubble burning. What kind of climate activist is in favor of creating toxic smog over Delhi and the rest of northern India? Also, the current agricultural framework in Punjab and Haryana has created incentives for causing massive environmental damage and water table depletion. Simply not sustainable.

Whatever the economic rationale for or against the laws, the climate science on this issue is completely clear. Stubble burning bad. Water table depletion bad.

So why are the climate activists on the wrong side of this? It suggests that the alleged activism never had anything to do with science. It was a bait and switch tactic for pushing politics. Which scientific study ever concluded that breathing crop stubble is good for us? Show me.

Now, I am not saying that a climate activist cannot be interested in other causes. Sometimes, we need to have trade-offs. Such as having to cut down a forest to build a factory that employs thousands of people. But in that case, the trade-off must be publicly acknowledged. That’s not what is happening here.

Rupi Kaur’s tweet on farmer protest

Did you notice? They don’t acknowledge the trade-off. They are claiming that these protests are part of climate activism agenda! In other words, climate activism can mean whatever political or social elites want it to mean. The classic bait and switch. The science is not even in the picture any more.

This tweet from a UK parliamentarian makes the scam even more obvious.

British Parliamentarian on farmer protest as ‘climate justice protest’

Look closely at the list. I see climate science at the top, which is a real science. But the other items on the list? Human rights? Class protest? Which branch of science is that?

I’m not saying the others are not worthwhile issues. I am saying they belong in a separate discussion. There is no branch of science that studies “class protests.”

But the mixing of issues appears to be deliberate. The strategy seems simple. Put climate science on top because everyone loves that. Once you have gained followers, you make them sign up for whatever view you have on the political agendas in the rest of the list.

Oh, excuse me there! Did I say they put climate science on top? Apparently, I didn’t look closely enough. The first item on the list is not ‘climate science’ but ‘climate justice.’ What exactly is that? Is it part of the natural sciences or the humanities?

It’s a carefully chosen weasel word. Climate change is a real problem. Scientists have confirmed it beyond all reasonable doubt. We all need to sign up and support climate science. But if you look carefully at the sign up sheet, you will notice that it reads ‘climate justice’ and not ‘climate science.’ You are signing up for politics, not science!

It’s a genius marketing tactic, really. The climate activists have gained access to schools, colleges and numerous other forums because they claim to be doing the work of science. Because science is amazing, they have gained an aura of moral authority like no other. Because everyone loves to support science, they have managed to raise enormous amounts of money. But the money won’t go to science. It will go to whatever they consider to be worthy political causes.

Have you ever wondered why Greta Thunberg, the world’s greatest ambassador of climate science, does not care about finishing high school? Think about it. Why would a science nerd not want to open even a Class 12 level science textbook?

Because she isn’t a science nerd. She couldn’t care less about science. She works for whatever political cause that she considers to be justice. And she affixes the word “climate” before everything to make you think she is all about the science.

How would you like to support some Quantumgravity human rights issues? How about Supercomputing socialism? It’s the cutting edge of science. Believe me, I’m starting a fund.

‘We can literally get UAPA against us’: Explosive WhatsApp chats between Disha Ravi and Greta Thunberg surfaces

OpIndia Staff
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‘We can literally get UAPA against us’: Explosive WhatsApp chats between Disha Ravi and Greta Thunberg surfaces

The Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police, which had arrested 21-year-old Disha Ravi on Sunday from Bengaluru, for editing and distributing the contentious toolkit accidentally leaked by Swedish Andolanjeevi Greta Thunberg, has reportedly accessed the Whatsapp chat between the two activists.

As reported by News 18, during the investigation, the police found that the Disha had expressed fears of being charged under the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in her conversation with Greta Thunberg. After the Swedish activist leaked the anti-India toolkit on social media, Disha said, “Can we just not say anything at all for a while. I am going to talk to lawyers.”

News 18 reported that Disha Ravi had made several false claims to the Delhi police to ward off the charges against her. However, when she was confronted with incriminating evidence from her digital devices and the contentious Whatsapp chats with Greta Thunberg, Disha admitted to having been in touch with several such people. Reportedly, the ‘climate activist’ had also tried to conceal details about her acquaintance with accused Nikita Jacob, who has been on the run from law enforcement authorities.

The Delhi Police are also probing Disha’s Gmail to unearth the email conversation between her and other accused. News 18 informed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will soon begin the investigation into any possible overseas transactions made by Disha Ravi through her organisation, Fridays for Future (FFF), in the past 5 years. The National Investigative Agency (NIA) will also intervene in the case, given that several links with Khalistani organisations have now surfaced.

Disha Ravi and Nikita Jacob took part in an online meeting with Khalistani Mo Dhaliwal

As per reports, Disha Ravi and Nikita Jacob had taken part in an online meeting with Poetic Justice Foundation’s Mo Dhaliwal, who had earlier declared that he is a ‘proud Khalistani’, to discuss and plan a ‘Twitter storm’ ahead of India’s Republic Day, which saw a massive insurrection attempt and widespread violence by so-called farmers in Delhi. In the Zoom meeting, the group had formulated a plan to post messages, graphics and videos ahead of Republic Day to spread their propaganda against India in the background of farmer protests.

Zee News reported that during the meeting in which Mo Dhaliwal was one of the attendees, it was planned how they could agitate the farmers and spread violence on the Republic Day. Mo Dhaliwal had said that they have to make the issue visible on the international platform. To ensure they succeed in their plan, they decided to contact celebrities, including Greta Thunberg, Rihanna and others.

Arrested Disha Ravi sent to judicial custody

In a closely-guarded operation, Special Cell of Delhi Police detained Disha Ravi, the so-called ‘climate activist’ and founding member of Greta Thunberg’s Fridays For Future’s India chapter. As per the reports, Disha was picked from her house in Soladevanahalli, North Bengaluru. She is a graduate of Mount Carmel college in Bengaluru and has been working in a company that produces plant-based food. She has now been remanded to five-day custody of the Delhi Police by a Delhi Court

The security agencies are investigating the toolkit and searching for people who created and distributed the documents. On February 4, Special Cell of Delhi Police had registered a case against the creators of the ‘toolkit’ on farmer protests under serious sections including sedition, criminal conspiracy and promoting hatred among groups under Sections 124A, 120A and 153 A of the Indian Penal Code. A Delhi court has also issued non-bailable warrants against Nikita Jacob and Shantanu, another two accused in the case.

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