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AAP rising in Gujarat at expense of Congress? The good, bad, and ugly aspects of it

Nirwa Mehta
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AAP rising in Gujarat at expense of Congress? The good, bad, and ugly aspects of it

Six civic bodies in Gujarat went to polls on Sunday: Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bhavnagar and Surat. While BJP is comfortably set to clean sweep the polls, what has caught everyone’s attention is how the Aam Aadmi Party, which is notorious for losing even the deposits in most of the elections it contests out of Delhi, has managed to win at least 23 seats in Surat Municipal Corporation.

At the time of writing this report, BJP is headed for a clear win in Surat with lead/victory in 90 out of 120 seats. On the other hand, the Aam Aadmi Party has got as many as 27 seats.

People on the ground believe that Aam Aadmi Party winning these many seats is not really BJP’s loss as it is only filling in the void left by Congress as it fades into oblivion. That the Patidar votes, who were angry with the BJP over Patidar agitation, shifted to AAP after Hardik Patel joined the Congress. However, whichever way you see, AAP making inroads in Gujarat should alarm the BJP.

The Good

Congress in Gujarat has been the pioneer of caste politics. It was under Congress’ Madhavsinh Solanki rule that Gujarat witnessed one of the worst communal riots in the 80s. Solanki introduced how to divide votes as per his ‘KHAM’ (Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi, Muslim) vote bank. That it was under him the likes of don Latif thrived in Gujarat. Did you know Latif won in five municipal wards in local body elections of Ahmedabad in 1986-87? He was in jail at that time. Congress’ Amarsinh Choudhary was the chief minister of Gujarat at that time.

In the mid-80s, when anti-reservation protests (a prelude to anti-Mandal protests that India would see later) erupted in some parts of Gujarat, especially Ahmedabad, it is said that the then Congress government used Latif to target the protesters, which caused the anti-reservation protests to turn into communal riots. Many other communal skirmishes and riots in Ahmedabad saw an active participation of Latif’s gang in this duration. Hindus of Gujarat, especially those in Ahmedabad, started looking for a saviour who would save them from Latif.

It is no wonder that after 1995 state assembly elections, Congress has not managed to form a majority government in Gujarat.

On one hand it is a good sign that the Congress, with all its divisional politics is on its way out in Gujarat. However, the bad part is that AAP is no better.

The bad

You see, under Aam Aadmi Party, Delhi has seen months and months of roadblocks under the pretext of protests which have culminated into violent riots. In fact, today will be the first anniversary of the 2020 anti-Hindu riots that rocked the national capital. AAP has made promises in Delhi but always finds others to blame for the lack of fulfilment of those.

However, what is worrying is that the analysts saying that the Patidar vote, which formed a major chunk of Congress vote bank, went to AAP. Gujarat has moved beyond caste politics and now it cannot afford to go back to the ugly mess of divisive caste politics.

Furthermore, despite Gujarat having a sizeable tribal population, it has not fallen into the trap of Naxal and extreme left-wing violence. With AAP, which has a tendency to lean towards the left, one never knows.

One would think how bad could AAP be as against Congress. Short answer: Worse.

The ugly

You see, AAP is the primary opposition party in Punjab, a border state. Soon after the 2017 Punjab elections, AAP supporter and leader Gul Panag revealed that Kejriwal had flirted with the Khalistani elements during the 2014 elections. She had said that she had warned Kejriwal against courting the separatist elements but his team had paid no heed to her.

Does that mean Kejriwal and his team know the gravity of their associations? That they were warned about the dangerous territory they were playing on, but still went ahead? 

Gujarat, too, is a border state. Pakistani province of Sindh is situated on the north-west side of the state. Approximately 506 km of the total border India shares with Pakistan is in Gujarat.

Gujarat has a turbulent history with communal violence. Did you know that before the 1989 Bhagalpur riots that rocked Bihar, the 1969 Gujarat riots were the worst communal riots after the partition? Congress’ Hitendra Desai was the chief minister of the state. There were many subsequent communal in the state, the last one being in 2002 after a train bringing Karsevaks from Ayodhya was set on fire by a Muslim mob in Godhra.

However, since then, the communal riots in Gujarat have been things of history. If one were to draw parallels between Gujarat and Punjab, the separatist Khalistan movement, backed by Pakistan, was also long forgotten in Punjab. Since AAP came into the political landscape, the Khalistan snake has raised its poisonous hood, as can be seen in the recent Republic Day riots.

Communal riots, too, cannot be seen in isolation. Gangsters like Abdul Latif and Dawood have exploited these very communal fault lines to threaten our national security. For example, in retaliation to the 2002 Gujarat riots, Indian Muhajideen had carried out serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad in 2008. But in past few years, Gujarat’s communal violence has also been a thing of the past.

This is why Aam Aadmi Party gaining ground in Gujarat is bad news.

Greta toolkit case: Delhi court grants bail to accused Disha Ravi

OpIndia Staff
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Greta toolkit case: Delhi court grants bail to accused Disha Ravi

The Patiala House court in Delhi on Tuesday granted bail to Bengaluru-based ‘climate activist’ Disha Ravi, who was arrested in connection with the toolkit case.

Granting interim protection to Ravi, the court said, “Considering the insufficient and sketchy evidence on record, We do not find any credible reason to breach the rule of bail for a 22-year-old girl who has absolutely no criminal antecedents.”

The court granted her bail on the condition of two sureties of Rs 1 lakh each. Though Disha’s lawyer asked for reducing the surety amount to Rs 50,000, the court did not relent.

Ravi was accused by the Delhi Police of being one of the creators of the Toolkit—a Google document that was created to organise a widespread anti-India campaign under the pretext of the farmer protests. The police had also accused Ravi of being a part of the global nexus to ferment unrest and trigger violence under the pretext of supporting the demonstrations against the three newly introduced agriculture laws.

On Monday, Ravi was sent to one-day police custody after a three-day judicial remand and spending five days in police custody. Ravi was arrested by Delhi Police on February 13. In a closely-guarded operation, the Special Cell of Delhi Police detained 21-year-old ‘climate activist’ and founding member of Greta Thunberg’s Fridays For Future’s India chapter, Disha Ravi.

The police had sought her custody again yesterday stating that they want to confront Ravi with other accused in the case—Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluk. She was brought to the Delhi Police Cyber Cell for the same earlier on Tuesday.

Muluk and Jacob were both charged for sedition along with Ravi but they manage to get transit bail from the Bombay High Court. The duo was, however, interrogated at the Delhi Police’s Cyber cell office in Dwarka.

Greta Thunberg toolkit case

A few days back, activist Greta Thunberg accidentally released a toolkit that her supporters could use to propagate misinformation about farmer protests. Since then, security agencies are investigating the toolkit and searching for people who created and distributed the documents. A leaked WhatsApp chat between Disha Ravi and Greta Thunberg revealed the international conspiracy behind creating chaos in the country in the guise of supporting the demonstrations.

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. Upon realising the blunder Greta had made, she deleted the original tweet and uploaded an edited file claiming the old file was outdated.

Toolkit exposes nexus between NGOs, overseas network, political parties and Khalistanis

The toolkit Greta posted on Twitter opened Pandora’s box revealing deep-knitted nexus between international celebrities, NGOs, media houses, and terrorist organisations directly linked to Khalistani movement. There was enough propaganda material in the toolkit to run widespread campaigns against India.

Praveer Ranjan, Special Commissioner (Crime Branch), Delhi Police had said that initial investigation revealed the toolkit was linked to Poetic Justice Foundation which has close links with Khalistani movement and has been termed as a pro-Khalistani organisation. The founder of PJF has openly supported Khalistani movement and had claimed these protests are just a beginning. “The ‘toolkit’ exposes the conspiracy by an organised overseas network to instigate the farmer protests,” Ranjan added.

Delhi anti-Hindu riots anniversary: ‘No regrets, will repeat what I did on 23 February 2020 if I could,’ says Kapil Mishra

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi anti-Hindu riots anniversary: ‘No regrets, will repeat what I did on 23 February 2020 if I could,’ says Kapil Mishra

BJP leader Kapil Mishra on Monday said that he has no regrets for what he said a day ahead of the Delhi anti-Hindu riots and would repeat the same if the need arises. “I will do what I did again. I don’t have any regrets, except that I couldn’t save the lives of Dinesh Khatik, Ankit Sharma (Hindus who fell prey to the anti-Hindu riots in Delhi) and many others,” he said during the launch of the book “Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story”.

The BJP leader lashed out at the leftist ecosystem for comparing the Greta ‘toolkit’, which intended to defaming India on the global platform, to his call for a “Hindu ecosystem”. We said that unlike the Greta ‘toolkit’, which envisaged that the world cuts off all its trade relationships with India and wished to “Disrupt yoga & chai image of India” in general, the Hindu ecosystem is merely an effort to unite all the Hindus in India.

It is well known that PM Modi had once worked as a tea seller. Also, he had put Yoga on a larger international platform that resulted in the inception of International Yoga Day in 2014. These two aspects of the Greta toolkit’s objectives have nothing to do with the farmers, but it is about causing damage to India’s image on an international platform.

Chai aur Yoga toh tumhaara baap bhi nahi khatam kar sakta: BJP leader Kapil Mishra

Slamming the toolkit leaked by Swedish protestor Greta Thunberg on February 3, 2021 which exposed several organizations, celebrities, and leaders for conspiring against India, Kapil Mishra exclaimed: “Chai aur Yoga toh tumhaara baap bhi nahi khatam kar sakta”, (Even your fathers and forefathers cannot destroy Chai and Yoga image of India) adding: “chai wala toh tumse jhela nahi jaata, yoga wala tumse jhela nahi jayega” (you’ll are not being able to tolerate the ‘chai wala’, and it will be impossible for you’ll to tolerate the ‘yoga’ wala).

It is important to note here that by ‘chai wala’ the BJP leader means PM Modi and “Yoga wala” is the reference he uses for Yogi Adityanath.

One year after the brutal anti-Hindu riots which happened in Delhi, the BJP leader recounted how Hindus were slaughtered, their houses destroyed and properties were vandalised by Islamist mobs, yet, the leftist media coterie, national and international, tried to paint these riots as a “pogrom against Muslims”.

“Whenever roads will be blocked, and people would be prevented from going to work, or children to school, there will always be a Kapil Mishra to stop that. Whenever a Chidambaram or Kapil Sibal stands up to advocate lies, a Monica Arora will expose them. Whenever a Rajdeep, Barkha or Nidhi Razdan comes forward to spread propaganda or lies, an Ashok Srivastava will stand up to bust the propaganda. Whenever you try to incite the youth by spreading lies about India’s past or present, there will be a Prerna Malhotra who would destroy your efforts”, the BJP leader said.

On the book launch, Kapil Mishra highlighted how left-wing ‘activists and Islamists had bullied Bloomsbury India into withdrawing the publication of the book ‘Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story’.

One year into the brutal Delhi anti-Hindu riots, Kapil Mishra criticises the leftist media for spreading lies and rumour about the incident

The BJP leader furthered that though it’s been a year after the violent riots in northeast Delhi claimed at least 53 lives and damaged properties worth crores, the leftist ecosystem and its friendly media like NDTV, has not stopped spreading misinformation about the deadly riots.

They have constantly tried to degenerate India and Hindus on the global platform. Despite knowing that it was the Muslim who ran amok, unleashed violence in the National Capital, the national and international media have resorted to blatant lies while painting these riots ‘Anti Muslim pogrom’.

It is anything but that. These riots have been created by a relentless attack on anti-Hindu sentiments amongst the Islamists. They were further enabled by a narrative peddled by self-declared liberals, who fueled Hinduphobia in name of ‘saving constitution’.

Delhi riots was well designed and well executed

He said that though the 24th and 25th of February violence was treated as a stand-alone, isolated case by the Left media and the Islamists who were participating in the violence, the truth is that it began much before.

The violence began on the 15th of December when Muslim mobs rampaged through the national capital. Amanatullah Khan, a prominent MLA of the Aam Aadmi Party, and Delhi’s Sunni Waqf Board chief was spotted leading the riots in Jamia Nagar. Chants of ‘Hinduon se Azadi’ were raised in the same area that very day. Buses were also set on fire during those violent protests. On the same night, the Delhi Police cracked down on the violent rioters hiding in the Jamia Millia Islamia University and entered the campus to flush out the miscreants. Two days later, massive riots broke out in Seelampur. Delhi turned into a war zone.

The BJP leader asserted that Hindus have always been in the radar of these bloodthirsty Islamists, be it the December 16/17, incident in the Seemapuri area of Delhi where the Islamists almost killed IPS officer Rohit Rajbir Singh (IPS) or the incident where a car was set on fire in Daryaganj outside the police station, or the Uttar Pradesh riots, it was evident that every cluster of violence had been planned carefully and executed, almost masterfully said Mishra. 

Here, the former Delhi MLA recounted the name of several Hindus, like Ankit Sharma Rinku Sharma, Ankit Tyagi, constable Ratan Lal, Nikita Tomar and many others who have been felling prey to this hate and expressed his disbelief at the leftist media which has somehow shut its eye to these atrocities on Hindus and continues to shift blame from the Islamists to the government and Hindus at large.

We at OpIndia have also extensively covered the Delhi anti-Hindu riots which the national and international media painted as an “Anti-Muslim pogrom”.

“On February 23/24/25, Umar Khalid openly declared that they would do something big when Donald Trump arrives in India. On February 22, Tahir Hussain, the AAP leader who spearheaded the Delhi riots in which IB staffer Ankit Sharma was murdered brutally by his mob and several Hindu properties were burnt to ashes, collected bombs, acids, stone on his rooftop… was this done after my speech? asked Kapil Mishra, irked by the leftist who had described him as the ‘whistleblower’ in the Delhi riots.

It is pertinent to note here that several media outlets and journalists – from NDTV to propaganda outlets like The Quint had propagated that the charge sheet filed by the Delhi police probing the anti-Hindu riots had termed Kapil Mishra as a ‘whistleblower’. However, we had reported how these claims were unwarranted and a futile attempt to shift the real focus from the perpetrators of the crime.

“What other way is there to issue an ultimatum in a democracy? I did that in front of a police official. Do people who want to start a riot give ultimatums in front of the police?” Mishra asked while defending his speech.

Mishra asserted that the anti-Hindu riots which took Delhi by the storm, was a carefully crafted and well-planned attack. The Islamists, incited by the narrative peddled by self-declared liberals, who fueled Hinduphobia in name of ‘saving constitution’, had been preparing for a mass massacre, the likes of which the country has never seen before. Otherwise, how do you think they got arms and ammunitions, bombs, acids in such large quantity. It cannot be procured overnight, exclaimed Mishra.

“A leftist media portal named The Wire had tried to whitewash Tahir Hussain’s crimes. At the time when he was absconding and the Delhi police and various media houses showed evidence againt the AAP leader, Arfa Khanum Sherwani, the senior editor at The Wire made a video of Tahir Hussain in a masjid and asked the media house to run it to evoke public sympathy for the AAP MLA”, claimed Mishra.

Delhi riots was a pilot project which is being replicated

He added that the Delhi riots was a pilot project to set an example. It was replicated in August 2020 during the Bengaluru riots and now too, efforts are being made to replicate it (referring to the farmers’ protest and the ensuing Republic Day violence), that too on a much larger scale, said Kapil Mishra, adding that the Hindus should stand united to end the Islamic Jihad.

“It’s been a year since Jihadi forces engineered the riots in Delhi, last year. Exactly the same pattern is being seen even now, like what happened on Republic Day. The so-called fringe elements are trying to sabotage the peace in the Capital, aided and funded by anti-India forces, both within and outside the country. Pradarshan se danga tak model is very much evident. That is why we need to talk about what happened last year and also the book, which exposed the forces behind them,” he said.

Talking about the book authored by lawyer Monika Arora, and Delhi University teachers Sonali Chitalkar and Prerna Malhotra, Mishra said it was an ummeed ka diya (a ray of hope) against the “dangerous propaganda against him” that has been blaming him for the riots.

BJP leader Kapil Mishra’s full speech at the book launch cane be viewed here:

‘Rubber kis se maanga hai? Mummy se ya didi se?’: Hilarious video of Bihar exam candidate fully prepared to cheat goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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‘Rubber kis se maanga hai? Mummy se ya didi se?’: Hilarious video of Bihar exam candidate fully prepared to cheat goes viral

An undated video of Bihar exam candidate who had come fully prepared to cheat for an exam has gone viral on social media.

As can be seen in the video, during the pre-exam frisking of candidates, the official while patting down one candidate discovers answer sheets stuck on various body parts of the candidate. “Who gave you the rubber (to tie the answer sheet on his ankles), mummy or didi? Or wife?,” the official asked. “He has brought the entire book,” another one commented. “Must’ve thought let us take the entire sea, will drink whatever quantity water I need to drink,” another said.

The officials then asked to check his undergarments to see if he is hiding answer sheets in them and not to everyone’s surprise, a paper chit was found in his underwear too. Embarrassed, he then went ahead for the exam after he was stripped of the chits.

It is not yet clear what exam the student was appearing for but from the masks worn by other candidates, it is quite likely it is one of the recent exams.

Bihar and cheating in exams

Last week, the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) commenced the class 10 Board exams. About 82 students were expelled on the first day for resorting to unfair means during the exams.

Bihar board exams, in recent years, have won notoriety because of fake topper scandals. About four years ago, one Ruby Rai had topped Bihar Board exams only to be exposed that she had not even appeared for the exams she had allegedly ‘topped’.

As can be seen, 2016 Bihar Board topper Ruby Rai did not even know the subjects she had appeared for. Subsequently, she was arrested after she even failed the reexamination.

A year later, another Bihar Board exam topper was clueless about his subjects.

Similar cheating was found during 2017 graduate exams in Bihar.

In 2015, parents were caught on camera helping their children cheat in Bihar Board exams.

‘He was cooking passionately’: The staggering defence of Naushad, who was spitting on Rotis while cooking for a wedding

Jinit Jain
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‘He was cooking passionately’: The staggering defence of Naushad, who was spitting on Rotis while cooking for a wedding

A couple of days ago, a man named Naushad alias Sohail was arrested by the police after his video of spitting on Rotis while cooking for a wedding went viral on the internet. Sohail was apparently cooking at a wedding in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut where he was filmed spitting on the Rotis before cooking them in a tandoor.

As soon as the video went viral on the internet, social media users, repulsed by the visuals, called for exemplary action against the man and urged police to probe the matter. Several organisations, including Hindu Jagran Manch, demanded the police to arrest the man for spitting on Rotis while cooking at a wedding. An FIR was filed by the Hindu Jagran Manch against Naushad alias Sohail. In the wake of social media outrage and a formal complaint, the police rounded up the cook.

Hussain Haidry, Deepal Trivedi among others to defend the cook’s misconduct

However, soon after Naushad was arrested by the police, a certain section of social media users took to Twitter to defend the cook’s disgusting actions and allege communal bigotry as a reason for the corrective action taken by the law enforcement officials to apprehend the cook. One such user passionately defending the cook was writer-lyricist Hussain Haidry, who has long been an apologist of perverse Islamists.

In a Twitter post, Haidry came in support of Naushad, exonerating him of any wrongdoing and instead accusing right-wing supporters of indulging in communal hatred for targeting the cook for spitting in tandoori Rotis.

Another Twitter user Deepal Trivedi, who is an editor, writer and speaker as per her Twitter bio, posted a tweet in defence of Naushad. Trivedi alleged that Naushad is in jail because he was passionately cooking tandoori chapatis at a wedding.

Others too joined in to defend Naushad’s actions. Alleging that Naushad is a victim of allegedly pervasive Muslim hatred, one Twitter user launched a racist attack against the Gujarati culture, asserting that hating Muslims and jailing them was normalised in Gujarat and in the entire country following the 2019 elections.

Yet another Twitter user tried to defend Naushad’s actions by claiming he was informed by his Muslim sister-in-law that the cook was not spitting on the rotis but was blowing away extra flour from them, which he claimed was a standard practice.

For the usual suspects, the fact that Naushad may have actually been spitting in tandoori Rotis was an inconsequential nugget of information. The fact that his faith was Islam was enough for them to absolve him of any wrongdoing. The likelihood that Naushad might have actually spat in Rotis is insignificant for them. Instead, the usual suspects attempted to understate his misconduct by unjustifiably attributing the controversy to his religion and alleging the accusers of exhibiting communal bigotry.

Past instances when usual suspects defended miscreants simply because they were Muslims

However, this is not the first time that Muslims accused of gross misbehaviour have been given a free pass by the usual suspects. During the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, a fruit vendor, ostensibly a Muslim, was seen in a video applying saliva on the fruits he was selling. The video instantly went viral, following which an FIR was registered against the fruit vendor.

At a time when hygiene was paramount as the COVID-19 outbreak was spreading inexorably, many individuals peddled the theory that the fruit vendor was targeted just because he adhered to Islam. In doing so, the usual suspects tried to play down the serious offence of the man salivating the fruits while painting those who demanded strict action to be taken against him as intolerant bigots.

Contrastingly, the usual suspects who are quick to dismiss criticism of wrongdoers belonging to the Muslim fold as religiously motivated slammed the Hindu vegetable vendors for overtly manifesting their Hindu identities. After reports of Muslim vegetable vendors and fruit vendors applying saliva on their produce started making the rounds, Hindu vegetable vendors started sporting Bhagwa flags and photos of Hindu Gods on their carts. However, the usual suspects did not extend their support to the Hindu vegetable vendors for exercising their Freedom of Expression. Instead, they blamed the Hindu vegetable vendors for being communally provocative by demonstrating their Hindu identities.

Besides, the usual suspects also defended the Tablighi Jamaat miscreants when several reports claimed that the members of the Islamic seminary were found spitting on the roads of Delhi while they were being shifted to quarantine centres, during their stay at the quarantine centres. There were reports which claimed that many Tablighi Jamaat members also spat on nurses, doctors and ward-boys and some defecated in open. However, all these unpleasant facts were swept under the carpet by left-leaning liberals, who alleged that members of Tablighi Jamaat were targeted because they belonged to the Muslim community.

Kerala govt signs MoU with US company for deep sea fishing, backtracks and shifts blame after opposition uproar

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala govt signs MoU with US company for deep sea fishing, backtracks and shifts blame after opposition uproar

The Kerala government has been accused of trying to sell deep-sea fishing rights to a US-based company. As per reports, the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation, (KSIDC) had signed an MoU with EMCC International Pvt Ltd, a US-based firm, for deep-sea fishing rights off the Kerala coast.

As per reports, on February 28, 2020, the Kerala Industrial Development Corporation (KIDC) had signed an MoU with US-based EMCC for “Fisheries research and development for the up-gradation and promotion of deep-sea fishing in Kerala”. EMCC had stated that the total outlay for the project was Rs 5000 crores. EMCC was to develop 400 deep-sea fishing trawlers, 5 modern vessels with state-of-the-art technology, 14 fishing harbours in Kerala as per Europian standards, 50 seafood processing plants, and aquaculture farms.

As reported by the Indian Express, the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation, a public sector entity under CM Vijayan, had signed a new agreement with the same EMCC firm on February 2, 2021, for the development of 400 deep-sea fishing trawlers.

After the opposition’s protest that the Kerala government led by communists is trying to sell the vast maritime wealth of the state to foreign companies, the Pinarayi Vijayan government woke up and tried to backtrack. As of now, Pinarayi Vijayan’s government is saying that they had no idea about the MoU and the subsequent agreement and is trying to blame it on the officials of KSINC.

RSS leader J Nandakumar has shared copies of the MoU in his Twitter handle, saying that the Kerala government is now claiming that they are against capitalist after their ‘secret’ pact with the US company was exposed in the public.

Vijayan govt blames officials, tries to wash its hands off the deal

It is notable here that the central government had in 2017 withdrawn the permission given to foreign trawlers for deep-sea fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the country. India’s EEZ extends up to 370 KM (200 nautical miles) from the coastline as per international laws. Illegal fishing by foreign vessels in India’s EEZ is a punishable offence.

In Kerala, the communist government’s own fisheries policies had stated that they are opposed to foreign and Indian corporate vessels in the Kerala coast, projecting that they are doing it to promote local fishermen. However, this deal with EMCC has exposed the communist government.

As per reports, Vijayan has stated, “Neither the state government nor any of its departments have signed any MoU in this regard. KSINC is a public sector undertaking. It is normal for such undertakings to sign MoUs in any conferences or investment meets. It would come for the consideration of the government only later. A policy decision in this regard would be taken only then,” Vijayan said.

Vijayan further claimed that the officials at KSINC should have brought the so-called MoU to the government’s notice, but they failed to do so.

Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala has called it the communist government’s fisheries scam and has demanded a detailed investigation. He alleged that Vijayan’s ministers had met EMCC officials and have been involved in the deal.

Speaking to the media, fisheries minister J Mercykutty Amma denied meeting EMCC officials in New York and claimed that the LDF government had formulated its fisheries policy in 2019 and under it, no Indian or foreign corporate entity is allowed to engage in deep-sea trawling.

Attacking the Congress back, Vijayan stated that it was the Congress government under PV Narasimha Rao which had allowed foreign trawlers to engage in deep sea fishing in India’s seawaters.

Kerala’s LGBT conversion therapy: The extremely damaging attempts to ‘cure’ homosexuality in the name of Jesus

Anurag
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Kerala’s LGBT conversion therapy: The extremely damaging attempts to ‘cure’ homosexuality in the name of Jesus

Kerala is often called God’s own country. A state with a 100% literacy rate, Kerala is hailed as open-minded and compassionate about the marginal section of the society, even if it is against the common perceptions of society. However, education and literacy have failed to bring a desired change in the deep-rooted orthodox mentality. Kerala is one of the leading states where controversial LGBT conversion therapies happen.

Sexual orientation in today’s time is one of the most talked-about subjects. In 2018, when India decriminalized homosexuality, it was termed as a historic moment for the LGBT community. Yes, there are differences between people’s mindset about sexual orientation, but that does not mean sexual orientation can be termed as a disease.

On the other hand, there are problems in the LGBT community that include unnecessary hatred towards Hinduism and attempts to impose LGBT related studies in schools, which led to controversies that screamed for attention. However, that does not give a right to anyone to try to ‘cure’ homosexuality.

The not-so-hidden world of ‘Gay Conversion Centres’

When we talk about correction facilities or rehabilitation centres, it is often related them to jails or de-addiction centres. However, in Kerala, there are correction centres for homosexuals as well. At these centres, the members of the LGBT community are allegedly ‘cured’ so that they become heterosexual. In the last few years, several reports have come out that talked about such centres in the state of Kerala where the homosexuals or the ‘sinners’ were treated.

The controversial history of ‘conversion therapy’

‘Conversion therapy’ is an illegal practice that people from the LGBT community are often subjected to in order to ‘cure’ them of their sexual orientation. In 2020, Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (IESOGI) published a report [PDF] on ‘conversion therapy’.

It said, conversion therapy can be defined as “an umbrella term used to describe interventions of a wide-ranging nature, all of which have in common the belief that a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity can and should be changed. Such practices aim (or claim to aim) at changing people from gay, lesbian or bisexual to heterosexual and from trans or gender diverse to cisgender.”

Conversion therapy is a lucrative business, and it is often promoted by Faith-based organizations and religious authorities across the world. There are three main approaches that such therapies follow are Psychotherapy, Medical and Faith-based.

Psychotherapy: Based on the assumption that homosexuality is a product of an abnormal upbringing, several methodologies are used in psychotherapy to allegedly cure ‘gayness’, such as psychodynamic, behavioural, cognitive and interpersonal therapies. According to the IESOGI report, “a recurrent method used is aversion (electric shocks, nausea-inducing or paralysis-inducing drugs) through which a person is subjected to a negative, painful or otherwise distressing sensation while being exposed to a certain stimulus connected to their sexual orientation.”

Medical: Based on the assumption that sexual orientation is an inherent biological dysfunction, several methodologies to ‘correct’ the problem is used in medicine-based gay-correction’ such as medication or hormone or steroid therapy.

Faith-based: Based on the assumption that sexual orientation can be a by-product of something evil inherited by the ‘patient’, a spiritual advisor subjects the person to different programs to overcome their ‘condition’. It may include beating, shackling and food deprivation.

In some cases, it was noted that such patients were subjected to corrective rape therapy to correct their ‘gayness’. In India, the recorded [PDF] history of conversion therapy dates back to 1970s. The study had claimed to show ‘progress’ as the patients showed ‘heterosexual’ tendencies.

Effect of correction therapy

According to IESOGI’s study, such therapies can result in physical and psychological damage. The group contacted over 8,000 survivors, out of which 98% from 100 different countries reported physical and psychological damage. Around 5.9% of the participants reported they suffered from depression. 4.5% said they get suicidal thoughts. 2.9% alleged they had attempted suicide. 1.8% had reported permanent physical damage.

In 2020, Raj Mariwala, director of Mariwala Health Initiative, said that there is a history of violence against the members of LGBT community. Asylums and Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) have been part of conversion therapy. He added, “Psy-disciplines and practices classify things as normal and abnormal. If you start with pathologising something like homosexuality as abnormal, it leads us to the place where treatment is required.”

The haunting stories of the ‘sinners’ of Kerala

In its recent report, The News Minute narrated stories of few members of the LGBT community that attended these centres in different parts of the country, including Kerala. Alex (changed name) had joined one such centre in 2019. He was one of the thirty inmates who were admitted to the Parithrana retreat centre in Adichira that is located on the Kottayam-Ettumanoor highway in Kerala. The centre was established in 1990, and the Vincentian Congregation of India maintains it.

In July 2019, one of Alex learned about the centre through his friend. Alex believes that his deep-rooted homophobia had urged him to get admitted to the centre for ‘correction’. After getting in contact with the officials, he was permitted to join a 21-day course and asked to bring a copy of the bible, a notebook and a white shirt.

Alex paid a hefty fee of Rs.25,000 and was made to sign a consent form. The conversion centre was located on an offshoot location in an auditorium which was in a secluded location miles away from the actual retreat centre. He said, “We were required to tell our name, age, location, sexual orientation (whether gay or bisexual) and conclude with the sentence, I am a sinner.” There were men and women between the age of 18 to 27 years from different religions in his group.

While recalling his horrifying experience at the centre, he said that no one could interact with each other. They were advised to pray with rosaries in front of a photo of Holy Mary during our free time. Every day, a new pastor would come for a counselling session. He recalled that they claimed to be qualified psychologists or psychiatrists and alleged that they were formerly homosexual. They alleged that they were ‘corrected’ when they chose the path of Jesus.

Every day between 8:15 AM to 9:30 AM, the male inmates were instructed to do “masculinity boosting and confidentiality exercises.” Alex said, “During the private counselling sessions, they would talk about our sexual preferences, sex positions and would advise us to watch lesbian porn. Lesbians were advised to watch gay porn.”

The aftermath of the retreat

Once Alex finished the course, he suffered from guilt and often broke down. He tried to live as a heterosexual but failed. He alleged that the retreat centre officials asked the inmates to administer testosterone in the future. In the next few months, Alex tried to track down his fellow inmates only to find out that some of them had run away from their homes, and a few had committed suicide. One of the inmates was allegedly jailed for killing his parents. He said, “The course left a trauma in many people’s minds, leaving us with the idea that there is a devil inside us, and we all are sinners.”

The traumatising story of Ann Marie

Ann Marie (name changed) is a trans woman who was forcefully admitted to a rehabilitation centre for addicts in Thiruvananthapuram for a three-month treatment in 2014. Her family admitted after believing a rumour that she joined a Hijra community in Bengaluru and started using drugs. The rehabilitation centre in its website claims that it gets a grant from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.

Ann alleged that the centre was designed to torture vulnerable individuals. He said, “Four male staff tied my hand and legs and forcibly sedated me. I felt dizzy after the injection. I slept most of the days and woke up only for food. I felt exhausted, dizzy and my body was imbalanced. I was in a half-conscious state and injected with lots of medicines.”

An elder inmate advised her to act as an obedient inmate to ease her treatment. At first, she was not taken even once for a consultation with a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist. After insisting repeatedly, she was able to meet a clinical psychologist who ignored her gender identity. Recalling her traumatising experience, she said, “I was just being angry with everybody and broke random things at home. Most of the days, I woke up with a start.”

The trauma left her unemotional, and she lacked confidence for months to come. It became hard to feel emotionally attached or excited for anything for more than six months.

The death of Anjana Harish put conversion therapy in the limelight

On May 13, 2020, 21-year-old Anjana Harish alias Chinnu Sulfikar committed suicide at Goa’s resort. Before committing suicide, she did a Facebook Live session. She narrated her ordeal of the forced conversion therapy for two months in 2019 at Dr NS Mony’s Clinic in Coimbatore, Shalom Institute of Mental Health and Research in Palakkad, and Karuna Sai Institute in Thiruvananthapuram.

In the video, she said, “Owing to the medications and injections forced into me, the person named Anjana Harish has now ceased to be.” In March 2020, she managed to escape her home, after which her family filed a missing-person report. She appeared before the magistrate and stated she wanted to stay with friends. She was in Goa when Covid-19 lockdown was imposed. The trauma of excessive medication and torture during the conversion therapy left her broken, and she killed herself.

The legal battle against conversion therapy

The Indian Psychiatric Society and the World Health Organisation never classified homosexuality as an illness. The World Psychiatric Organisation had stated, “There is no sound scientific evidence that innate sexual orientation can be changed.”

In 2020 Independent Forensic Experts Group stated, “conversion therapy is ineffective and harmful. The likely harm of conversion therapy cannot be outweighed by any clinical benefits, as there are none. Offering conversion therapy thereby constitutes a form of deception, false advertising, and fraud.”

In 2020, the Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS) issued a statement and asserted its 2018 statement on homosexuality. Further commenting on conversion therapy, it said, “All forms of ‘treatment/therapy’ (including individual psychotherapies, behaviour therapies like aversive conditioning etc., hypnotherapy, group therapies, pharmacotherapy, physical treatment methods like ECT etc. or milieu treatments) to reverse sexual orientation are based on the premise that is erroneous: that such orientations are diseases. Moreover, there is no scientific evidence at all that attempts to convert a person’s orientation succeed in any manner.”

In both NALSA and 377 judgments, the Supreme Court had categorically called conversion therapy illegal. The NALSA stated, “No person may be forced to undergo any form of medical or psychological treatment, procedure, testing, or be confined to a medical facility, based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Notwithstanding any classifications to the contrary, a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity are not, in and of themselves, medical conditions and are not to be treated, cured or suppressed.”

Anjana Harish’s death triggered discussion over conversion therapy in Kerala. Ahana Mekhal, the program coordinator of Sahayatrika, had filed a complaint urging police to investigate Anjana’s claims about conversion therapy. Still, it is unclear if any progress happened on the complaint. Queerala, an LGBTQI community organisation, and Raghav, a trans man and activist, filed a petition in Kerala High Court. In the petition, they sought a ban on conversion therapy and action against those who practice it.

The connection between religion and conversion therapy

In the majority of the cases where LGBT people were subjected to conversion therapy are linked to one or the other religion. In one of the cases where a 37-year-old Sebastian (name changed) was taken to Dr Joseph P Anto, a clinical psychologist at the Thrissur Elite Mission Hospital in Kerala, claimed that homosexuality is considered a sin in Christianity. He further alleged that he had ‘cured’ many people earlier. Sebastian said, “When I requested the doctor to convince my family about my sexual orientation, he refused and asked me to change as I was the one who deviated from the normal path.” Anto was also a priest.

Muhammed Unais, a gay Muslim activist, was confronted by a Muslim cleric who also claimed to be a psychologist. He told Unais that homosexuality is a sin and narrated Islamic principles to support his claims. The cleric mentally harassed Unais with accusations and questions. He claimed that according to the Bible and the Quran, God had destroyed the cities of Gomorrah and Sodom because the inhabitants were guilty of sins, including homosexuality. When Unais tried to counter his claims based on alternate interpretations by modern Muslim scholars, the cleric called those scholars “Kafirs,” or non-believers.

In Anjana Harish’s case, Hindu Democratic Front had aided her parents in alleged conversion therapy. On several websites, she was described as, “Anjana Harish, hailing from a traditional Kerala Hindu family, used to pursue BA in Malayalam literature from the Government Brennan College, Thalassery, Kannur. 

The starry-eyed girl had a passion for literature and used to attend literature festivals. The gullible girl fell into a bad company of anarchists, Urban Naxals and jihadists. Activism had gone into her head. She openly declared that she was a queer person and participated in the ‘Kiss of Love’ campaign sponsored by the Left.”

Using burqa to gain sympathy’: Netizens amused as gangster Ravi Pujari spotted in a burqa as his police custody gets extended

OpIndia Staff
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Using burqa to gain sympathy’: Netizens amused as gangster Ravi Pujari spotted in a burqa as his police custody gets extended

On Tuesday, gangster Ravi Pujari was produced before a Mumbai sessions court in connection to a firing case at a restaurant in Vile Parle on October 21, 2016. He was brought to Mumbai from Bengaluru and has now been remanded to police custody till March 9.

In February 2020, Ravi Pujari was extradited to India from South Africa after absconding from Indian authorities for several years. He was lodged at a jail in Bengaluru, Karnataka. A team of Mumbai police left for Bengaluru on February 20, following an order by a Karnataka court that allowed Ravi’s handover to the Mumbai police. A case was registered against him following the firing incident under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

Netizens wondered about the ‘purpose’ of burqa

While he was being taken to the court today, Ravi Pujari was spotted in a neon green T-shirt and a black veil. Netizens became amused and wondered whether he had been sporting a burqa to stir sympathy. One Vaibhav Bhandari inquired, “Using burqa to gain sympathy, very thoughtful.”

Twitter user, Anu Audichya wrote, “Neon t-shirt with a burqa, great combo, one should imitate this dressing style.” Another user took potshots at Ravi Pujari and tweeted sarcastically, “Don in Burqa.”

Other users were left wondering as to why the gangster was sporting a Burqa.

Another user claimed, “Dawood once told that he will make ravi pujari wear burqa.”

Ravi Pujari was brought to Mumbai by road on Tuesday morning. The anti-extortion cell produced him before the special Sessions court. He was then remanded to police custody till March 9 by Special Judge D.E. Kothalikar. The police had earlier informed that his 7 aides have already been arrested. Pujari hails from Udipi in Karnataka and ran an extortion racket. He had earlier threatened actor Shah Rukh Khan in 2014 and had also warned industrialist against messing with actress Preity Zinta.

Allahabad High Court acquits Brahmin man who spent 20 years in jail on false charges of rape and SC/ST Act due to ‘sorry state of affairs’: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Allahabad High Court acquits Brahmin man who spent 20 years in jail on false charges of rape and SC/ST Act due to ‘sorry state of affairs’: Details

The Allahabad High Court has set aside the conviction of a Brahmin man booked under allegation of rape and provisions of the SC/ST Act after it observed that the trial court had ‘materially erred’ while convicting him. The Court acquitted the man who had spent 20 years in prison on false charges of rape. Bar and Bench first reported the matter on the 8th of February.

The Court also expressed sadness over the ‘sorry state of affairs’ that contributed to the man’s two decade imprisonment, observing the government’s failure to recommend his case for remission of sentence or to commute his sentence under sections 432-434 of the CrPC.

The Bench, comprising of Justices Dr Kaushal Jayendra Thaker and Gautam Chowdhary, observed, “Most unfortunate, aspect of this litigation is that the appeal was preferred through jail. The matter remained as a defective matter for a period of 16 years and, therefore, we normally do not mention defective appeal number, but we have mentioned the same. This defective conviction appeal was taken up as listing application was filed by the learned counsel appointed by Legal Services Authority on 6.12.2012 with a special mention that accused is in jail since 20 years.”

“We are pained to mention that even after 14 years of incarceration, the State did not think of exercising its power for commutation of sentence of life imprisonment of the present accused and it appears that power of Governor provided under Article 161 of the Constitution of India are also not exercised though there are restriction to such power to commute sentence… His case should have been considered but has not been considered…The factual scenario in the present case would show that had the Government thought of taking up the case of the accused as per jail manual, it would have been found that the case of the appellant was not so grave that it could not have been considered for remission / commutation,” the Allahabad High Court said.

The Court’s acquittal was based on the medical examination report which said that no sperm or injuries were found on the prosecutrix, who was five months pregnant at the time. Her testimony also indicated that she was not a ‘stellar witness’.

The Allahabad High Court noted, inter-alia, “In examination-in-chief he (father-in-law of the victim) states that the parties called for Panchayat but there is nothing on record that who were the persons called for Panchayat. If the pregnant lady carries fifth month pregnancy is thrashed forcefully on the ground, then there would have been some injury on her person but such injuries on her person are totally absent.“

According to NeoPolitico, the prosecution case had contended that the accused Vishnu, son of Rameshwar Tiwari, had raped her when she was on her way to the fields. He was also claimed to have threatened her with murder should she report the matter to the Police. The report says that the Court also observed that there was a land dispute between the two families.

“In our finding, the medical evidence goes to show that doctor did not find any sperm. The doctor categorically opined that no signs of forcible sexual intercourse were found. This was also based on the finding that there were no internal injuries on the lady who was a grown-up lady,” the Court observed. Consequently, his conviction was overturned.

Congress’ protest in Germany against Indian farm laws had Pakistani flag unfurled, says BJP

OpIndia Staff
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Congress’ protest in Germany against Indian farm laws had Pakistani flag unfurled, says BJP

BJP Mumbai Spokesperson Suresh Nakhua has alleged that a Pakistani flag was unfurled at a protest against the Indian farm laws organised by the Indian Overseas Congress in Germany. The event in question was organised in the month of December 2020.

Suresh Nakhua had highlighted the name of Raj Sharma, who is allegedly an office-bearer of the Indian Overseas Congress. Nakhua had also said that the IOC had recently donated Rs. 1 crore to the ‘farmer protests’.

The IOC, for its part, claims that their members were not present when the Pakistani flag was unfurled and that they had left much before it. However, Nakhua claims to have video evidence of their participation which he says he will release soon.

The ‘farmer protests’ had provided an opportunity to India’s detractors across the globe to jump on the bandwagon to undermine Indian national interests and tarnish India’s reputation abroad.

The toolkit that was shared by Greta Thunberg had revealed the intricacies of the global campaign against India. Popstar Rihanna has made a tweet as well, which earned the endorsement of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a recent rally.

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