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Covid economic crisis: How left wing experts wanted to nationalize assets and impose a maximum salary cap

Abhishek Banerjee
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Covid economic crisis: How left wing experts wanted to nationalize assets and impose a maximum salary cap

In January of 2021, GST collections rose to an all time high of Rs 1.2 lakh crore. Even more significantly, this is up 8% compared to January of 2020. Note that there was no fear of Covid and no lockdown back in Jan 2020 and therefore no cushion of a low base effect. Despite 2020 being a year of unprecedented global economic disaster, FDI into India rose sharply by 13%. This was not just the highest among all major economies, India was among just two countries to see positive growth in FDI inflows. The other country was of course China, which lagged far behind at 4%, but showed positive growth nevertheless. For this year, the IMF projects India’s GDP growth around 11%, again the highest in the world.

We can always disagree about the extent, but you cannot deny the fact that India has posted a smart economic recovery. By all accounts, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has presented a bold, reformist budget. Privatization of two public sector banks, FDI limit in insurance hiked to 74%, a massive infra push by means of a Development Finance Institution (DFI) and a “bad bank” to gather up stressed assets and clean up the balance sheets of our banks. The market has cheered it too, going up 7% by the time of writing. Now, markets go up and down, but 7% is definitely an outlier.

As India gets on the road to recovery and reform, here is just a small reminder of how the great liberal intellectuals of India wanted to tackle the Covid situation. Who remembers how liberals wanted to use this opportunity to impose a 1930s style Stalinist collectivization on the Indian economy?

Here is the liberal plan for tackling the Covid induced economic crisis, in writing.

7-point agenda of ‘liberal economists’

Read point no. 7.1: They wanted to treat *all resources* (cash, real estate, property, bonds, etc) with citizens or within the borders of the country as “national resources.”

Chilling. Absolutely chilling. Do you remember who came up with this?

Those who endorsed this ‘Mission Jai Hind’

What a star cast! Those are some of the most “brilliant” economists in the world, who have worked at places from JNU to NYU to the London School of Economics. On any average day, you can find media liberals demanding that we pay homage to these experts and their supposed expertise.

Then, there was an outcry. You and I may have only studied at Whatsapp University. You and I were never “Associate Professor of Journalism” at Harvard. But when we heard that the big experts want the state to take away our cash, property, real estate everything (however little we may have), we protested.

We said NO! Comrade Stalin, go back! Not here. Not today.

One by one, the experts backed out. Apparently, there was some confusion. Some said stuff like they didn’t get to see the proposal or did not mean it that way. The great Yogendra Yadav backtracked too. He explained they were just talking about raising taxes. I suppose it was too hard to use the three letter word “tax” in a sentence.

This entire proposal was barely the length of a high school essay. Even if you give them the benefit of doubt, you have to accept that a bunch of the world’s leading economists could not compose one single page properly on a subject of their own expertise. And media says we should bow down before these experts?

Better go to Whatsapp university and learn how to compose tweets at least. What use is the London School of Economics if you cannot write even a coherent one page proposal on economic policy?

By the way, the government did not raise any taxes in the Budget yesterday. Let alone nationalize people’s property and cash, they have decided to privatize public sector banks. And India is still recovering sharply. In other words, folks like Yogendra Yadav did not know the way forward. What a surprise!

This was by no means the only time when liberals suggested using the pandemic to turn India into a nation of 1930s Soviet style collective farms. Have you seen this opinion piece in The Wire?

The Wire’s hot take on economics

Turning businesses into trusts working as non-profits? Yes, it is exactly as terrifying as it sounds.

“All private companies could be converted to trusts with a board of trustees replacing the board of directors and a managing trustee replacing the owner. Everybody working for the company could be paid salaries decent enough for survival. “

It gets worse. They event wanted to set a maximum salary limit for individuals.

“If the minimum daily wages under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is Rs. 202 in UP, then the maximum salary anybody should draw in government or private sector in UP should not exceed Rs. 2020 per day or Rs. 60,600 in a month.“

A salary limit of Rs 60,600 per month for any person. And what happens to profits?

“Any profit above total expenditure of private companies for the next three years  should go to the government treasury and the government could waive income tax for this duration. “

Can you imagine what would happen if the government actually tried to seize the profits of all private companies. Investors would flee India immediately. The stock market would collapse in half a second, turning everyone into a pauper. Whoever had any capital would try to escape and would never come back.

Ah, but I’m almost sure the authors of this brilliant proposal have factored that in. I suppose they would want the policy implemented by surprise, putting capital controls. In an instant, I guess the workers would seize the “means of production.” And the kulaks — counter-revolutionaries trying to protect their cash, assets, homes, chickens, anything .. would have to be rounded up and arrested. Did I guess correctly?

Who are the authors of this proposal, by the way? Apparently, they are “Lucknow based activists” Arundhati Dhuru and Sandeep Pandey. Could this be the same Sandeep Pandey who received a Ramon Magsasay award in 2002? I have no idea.

What I do know is that I am glad that India is run by the elected government of Narendra Modi and not by left wing experts like these. Are you?

Rajasthan: Burglars lock sleeping priest to steal several 500-year-old idols from Jain temple in Jaipur

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: Burglars lock sleeping priest to steal several 500-year-old idols from Jain temple in Jaipur

In a startling incident, about 30 ancient idols have been stolen from a Digambar Jain temple at Ghat Ki Guni area in Jaipur in Rajasthan, reported The Times of India.

As per reports, the incident took place on Monday during which burglars broke into the Parshavnath Bohara Ji temple premises and locked the room where the priest was sleeping. They then stole ₹65,000 cash, silver items and took away the idols that are said to be about 500-years-old. The priests of the temple have now registered a complaint with the police.

On learning about the incident, the temple’s working committee members rushed to the crime scene along with the police. They also demanded immediate arrest of the culprits and requested the Rajasthan government to protect the Jain temples in the State.

A police officer informed, “At least 30 idols which included some made up of ashtadhatu (eight metals) were stolen. Some of these idols are nearly 500 years old. We visited the spot and took the statements of priests and others.” Another officer said that a preliminary probe indicated the hand of an organised gang in the incident. The cops are also probing the CCTV camera footage to establish the escape route of the perpetrators.

22 idols stolen from 800-year-old temple in Odisha

This is not the first time that such an incident has come to light. In December last year, around 22 antique idols worth crores of rupees have been stolen from a 13th century Shiva temple in Odisha’s Khurda district. Police confirmed that some unidentified miscreants barged into the sanctum sanctorum of the 800-year-old Daksha Prajapati temple in Banpur town of Khurda district in Odisha by breaking open the locks of three doors and fled with the precious idols.

Among the stolen idols were statues of Maa Kanaka Durga, Gopinath Dev, Kaliyugeswar Dev and Chandrasekhar Dev. Some of the idols were made of ashtadhatu (an alloy of gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, tin, iron and mercury).

Hollywood: Evan Rachel Wood accuses Marilyn Manson of grooming and ‘horrifically abusing’ for years

OpIndia Staff
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Hollywood: Evan Rachel Wood accuses Marilyn Manson of grooming and ‘horrifically abusing’ for years

Hollywood actress Evan Rachel Wood on Monday took to social media to level serious allegations of sexual abuse over the years on rockstar Marilyn Manson. Wood and Manson started dating in 2007. They got engaged in 2010 and broke up after few months. In the past, Wood had said that she is a rape and domestic abuse survivor but did not take any name. However, on February 1, Wood decided to tell the name of the abuser for the first time via an Instagram post.

‘My abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson’

Wood started by naming her abuser as Brian Warner, popularly known by the name Marilyn Manson. She said, “The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson.” Wood claimed that Manson started grooming her when she was a teenager and abused her for years. “I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives,” she added.

Showing solidarity with other victims of Manson, she said, “I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.” Her post brought a storm of similar allegations on the social media platforms, and several others joined in narrating their allegedly horrific experiences with the American singer-songwriter Manson.

‘Many nights, I feared for my safety’ – Ashley Walters

Soon after Woods, other women also came up and spoke up against alleged sexual abuse on hands of Manson. Ashley Walters, who worked for Manson full-time as a personal assistant, alleged that he was violent and often threw heavy objects and glass plates.

She said Manson reached out to her in 2010 for a photoshoot. After about six months, he asked her to join him full time. “He was very skilled at gaslighting his inner circle,” she alleged. Walters further said that Manson was extremely interested in mind control and spy devices to gather information and manipulation.

“Many nights, I feared for my safety or the safety of others. Sometimes I was too scared to tell management everything. Sometimes I was told it was my fault because I wasn’t setting enough boundaries,” she added. Walters ended her professional relationship with Manson a year later, after which she alleged that he continued to harass her and smear her reputation for a long time.

‘I was emotionally abused, terrorized and scarred.’ – Sarah McNeilly

Model Sarah McNeilly alleged that Manson lured her with ‘love bombing.’ She said as he was wooing her, she came to know that he had tortured others.

“I was emotionally abused, terrorized and scarred. I was locked in rooms when I was ‘bad,’ sometimes forced to listen to him entertaining other women,” she added. McNeilly further added that she was not allowed to have male friends.

“I was thrown up against a wall, and he threatened to bash my face in with a baseball bat he was holding for trying to get him to pick out a pair of pants prior to a music video,” she said. She further added that she suffered from mental health issues and PTSD that have affected her personal and professional life.

‘I was tied and raped repeatedly’ – Gabriella

Artist Gabriella who is known as SourGirrrl on Instagram, alleged that Manson repeatedly tied and raped her. She said she met Manson in 2015 when she was 22 and he was 46.

“The first thing that he ever said to me was that he was ‘going to bite me.’ He immediately love-bombed me telling me that he felt like he’d known me for years and I felt similarly.” He invited her to his tour bus in which he offered her cocaine. Then he asked her to take off her clothes and take a shower in front of him, she alleged.

She further said that when she met him the second time, he broke a wine glass and demanded to make a blood pact. “Things went 0 to 100 at full speed. In the beginning stages of a relationship, he worked a kind of magic on me.” Later he invited her to a tour where he would repeatedly tie her and raped her, she alleged. “I sobbed for hours on the floor in the hotel room and when I looked at him, he was smiling,” she added.

‘I have night terrors, PTSD, anxiety, and mostly crippling OCD’ – Ashley Lindsay Morgan

Model Ashley Lindsay Morgan said that she was contacted by Manson while she was modelling overseas in Bangkok in 2009-10.

“He seemed intelligent, authentic and caring. After a long time of talking and texting, he flew me out of Los Angeles to be a part of a film and photo series,” she said. Morgan said that he was like many musicians she had met but with cocaine and absinthe. She went from the Roosevelt Hotel to living with him, after which things went south quickly.

Morgan said she was given rules, and she got “in trouble” for any behaviour he did not approve of. “There was abuse, sexual violence, physical violence and coercion. I still feel the affects every day. I have night terrors, PTSD, anxiety, and mostly crippling OCD,” she said. She further added that there is much more that had happened, and she does not want him to do it to anyone else.

‘He would go from charming to complete monster behaviour’ – Scarlett Kapella

Stripper model and photographer Scarlett Kapella said that Manson pursued her in 2011 in Mexico City.

Source: Scarlett’s Instagram Stories

“He would go from charming & loving to complete monster behaviour, subjecting me to emotional, physical and sexual abuse,” she said. Kapella further alleged that Manson would control when she was allowed to speak and what outfits and colour lipstick she could wear.

‘A mentally & physically abusive drug addict’ – Dan Cleary

Dan Cleary, guitarist and radio co-host, wrote a long thread on Twitter in September 2020 in which he narrated what had happened with Wood when he had worked for Manson in 2007-08. He alleged that Manson turned Wood into a different person in just one year. In 2014-15 he saw how Manson abused his-then girlfriend, Lindsey. “He would threaten to kill her, cut her up, bury her, embarrass her to the world. Making her cry & fear him made him feel good,” Cleary wrote.

Cleary further said that Manson is a brilliant musician, an incredibly smart & funny man.

“But he’s also a mentally & physically abusive drug addict that has the ability to be super kind & emotional. It’s hard to wrap your head around,” he added.

Marilyn Manson fantasized about smashing Wood’s head with a sledgehammer

Though Manson’s representatives have not replied to any of the allegations made against Manson, they had previously said that there are numerous articles in which Evan Rachel Wood had spoken very positively about her relationship with Manson. They said, “Unfortunately, we live in a time where people believe what they read on the internet, and feel free to say what they want with no actual evidence. The effects can be catastrophic and promoting non-fact-based information is wholly irresponsible.”

In 2019, when Wood’s Phoenix Act was passed and came into effect in January 2020, she testified to Congress that her abuser had hidden drug and alcohol addiction from her. She alleged that his addiction resulted in wrecking her home, cornering her in a room and threatening her. At that time, Manson’s representative denied replying to the allegations stating it would be “inappropriate to comment” on personal testimony.

In a 2009 interview with Spin, when Manson was asked about his relationship with Wood, he said that he had fantasies every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer. Mentioning his song “I Want to Kill You Like They Do in The Movies,” Manson had said that the song was about his fantasies. He added, “I have fantasies every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer.”

Following the allegations, Manson has been officially dropped from his record label and wo television appearances. Denying the allegations, he claimed that they are ‘horrible distortion of reality’.

Protesters want Delhi Police to stop playing ‘Sandese Aate Hain’ at Singhu Border: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Protesters want Delhi Police to stop playing ‘Sandese Aate Hain’ at Singhu Border: Details

‘Farmer protesters’ at the Singhu Border have demanded that the Delhi Police stop playing patriotic music on loudspeakers. There are multiple videos on the internet which show the massively popular song ‘Sandese Aate Hain’ from the movie ‘Border’ being played at Singhu Border.

The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Samiti demands that as a precondition for talks with the central government, the loudspeakers playing the songs must be shut down. There are two music systems that have reportedly been installed.

The Police maintained that the loudspeakers were meant to address the forces and ought to be tested. Meanwhile, security has been enhanced heavily at the protest. The Indian Express has reported that two heavy layers of metal barricading, a layer of large stone boulders, a layer of nails, and a layer of concrete barricades have been installed at the protest sites in addition to even more security measures.

The protesters are complaining that it has created a lot of difficulties for them but such security measures have been adopted following the Republic Day riots when the protesters ran rampage and caused massive destruction to public property as well as injuring hundreds of policemen.

Ex-TMC leaders expose the grim state of ‘Muslim appeasement’ in West Bengal: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Ex-TMC leaders expose the grim state of ‘Muslim appeasement’ in West Bengal: Read details

Ahead of the upcoming Vidhan Sabha polls in West Bengal, ex-TMC leaders Suvendu Adhikari and Rajib Banerjee exposed the grim state of Muslim appeasement in the State. On Friday, Adhikari, who is now a BJP leader, addressed a public gathering from the stage of ‘Sanatan Brahman Trust’ in Kolkata.

He pointed out the discrepancies in the honorarium given to Muslim clerics (Imams) and Hindu priests (purohits) in the State. The BJP leader asked, “You tell me why honorarium for Imams is ₹2500 per month while that of Purohits is just 1000 per month? Why is this difference? I am not asking to reduce the honorarium for Imams. Increase their pay if you want (in the whole of West Bengal) But, we (Hindus) should also receive the same amount as them.”

“If you want to receive an honorarium for being an Imam, you do not require any local or permanent residency of the State. It implies that even Rohingyas and Bangladeshis are also eligible to receive the payment. But, for Purohits, permanent residency and Aadhar card is a must. Only 8000 Hindu priests get the honorarium while 60,000 Muslim clerics get benefitted,” Suvendu Adhikari emphasized.

He further stated that while all Imams have been receiving their payment, a majority of Purohits are being denied even the meager allowance. The BJP leader alleged that Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders have been siphoning off the honorarium, meant for Hindu priests, under the pretext of being one.

“Those who aren’t even Brahmins have received the grant from the government in the South 24 Parganas district. I have seen that on TV. Their only identity is that they are TMC leaders. They are not associated with the Sanatan Brahman Trust in any way. They are taking your money,” Adhikari concluded.

Former TMC Minister exposes Mamata Banerjee government

Former Forest Minister in the West Bengal Cabinet, Rajib Banerjee, had recently joined the BJP after quitting his Ministerial post and resigning from the party. Banerjee, who shared the stage with Suvendu Adhikari informed, “We have seen that those who aren’t even Brahmins or purohits have received the honorarium. This is a peculiar situation. I am making it clear from this stage of Sanatan Brahman Trust that as long as all Purohits in the State do not get their due share, we will continue our democratic agitation against the government.”

Mamata Banerjee, minority appeasement scheme and the balancing act

After just a year in office, the West Bengal government under Mamata Banerjee introduced the scheme of honorarium for Muslim clerics and muezzins. In a notification released on April 19, 2012, by the Department of Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education, the government announced, “The District Magistrate will also requisition funds for a period of 2(TWO) months, initially, on the basis of the number of imams of the District @ Rs. 2500/- per IMAM per month.”

However, in February 2016, the Imams demanded a 100% hike in their monthly honorarium from ₹2500 to ₹5000. The agitation was led by All Bengal Imam Muezzin Council, which also demanded an increase in the honorarium of muezzins from ₹1000 to ₹2000. While speaking about their matter, Secretary Maulana Akhter Hossain said, “We had presented a deputation with our demands comprising a revision of honorarium of imams, health facilities for their families, and education for their children.”

8 years after the honorarium scheme for Imams and Muezzins came into force, Mamata Banerjee announced an honorarium for Hindu priests in September last year. It is important to mention that the number of beneficiaries was just 8000, compared that to 55,000 Imams. Moreover, their pay was a nominal ₹1000 per month, which was ₹1500 less than that of Imams. The move was seen as an attempt to draw Hindu voters after BJP began making inroads in the State.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma ‘missing’ again, finds no mention in list of entrepreneurial leaders published by Chinese state newspaper

OpIndia Staff
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Alibaba founder Jack Ma ‘missing’ again, finds no mention in list of entrepreneurial leaders published by Chinese state newspaper

Months after Alibaba founder Jack Ma ran afoul with the Chinese Communist Party for his unflattering remarks for Chinese regulators, the business tycoon has been conspicuous by his absence in the list of Chinese entrepreneurial leaders published by the state media—the snub underlining the deteriorating relationship between Jack and the CCP.

Jack, arguably China’s best-known businessman, found no mention in an effusive front-page article published by the Shanghai Securities News, showering praises on the leading lights of technology. Instead, the state-media newspaper lauded archrival Pony Ma as “rewriting the mobile age” with Tencent Holdings Ltd. The list also included BYD Co. Chairman Wang Chuanfu, Xiaomi Corp. co-founder Lei Jun and Huawei Technologies Co.’s Ren Zhengfei.

The editorial was published on Tuesday, the same day when Alibaba was slated to report its quarterly earnings. The absence of Jack Ma in the Shanghai Securities News, one of the most important business publications, is a telltale sign of how the business baron has fallen out of favour with Beijing.

Jack Ma’s disappearance was prompted by his critical remarks for the Chinese Regulatory System

The cause for Ma’s current predicament was an October 24 speech in which slammed the Chinese regulatory system, accusing them of stifling innovations. Ma had gone on a tirade against China’s current banking system, the financial regulatory structure of the Communist-ruled country and how it was unsuitable for his fintech giant, Ant group. Ma’s critical remarks for the Communist regime, which demands nothing more than complete and utter obedience, terminated the planned IPO of his fintech giant, Ant Group, on November 3, just two days before it was scheduled to begin trading.

Following his disparaging remarks for the Chinese regulatory system, Ma, who has rarely shied away from the public glare, disappeared for almost three months, giving rise to a host of speculations about his whereabouts and well-being. He re-emerged last month with a 50-second video appearance.

Ma is not the only prominent personality to have raised the hackles of the Chinese Communist Party by raising unpopular opinions. Many other billionaires too, had made critical remarks of the Party and had similarly disappeared from the public eye for a few months. Be it Chinese businessman and investor Guo Guangchang or Chinese actor Fan Bingbing, Former Interpol chief Meng Hongwei, or Ex-real estate tycoon Ren Zhiqiang—all had to bear the brunt for not conforming to the CCP directives.

2021 has peaked already: Scientists have taught spinach to detect explosives and send emails

OpIndia Staff
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2021 has peaked already: Scientists have taught spinach to detect explosives and send emails

This may seem straight out of the famous animation show named the ‘The Popeye Show’ but scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States have reportedly managed to engineer spinach plants making them capable of sending emails.

Spinach to detect explosive materials

According to reports, engineers at MIT have used nanotechnology to transform spinach into sensors capable of detecting explosive materials. The spinach plants can transmit the information back to scientists wirelessly. Whenever the presence of nitroaromatics, a compound often found in explosives like landmines, is detected by the spinach roots in the groundwater, the carbon nanotubes within the leaves of the plant emit a signal. This signal is then read by an infrared camera that sends an email alert to the scientists.

Professor Michael Strano, who led the research, told that plants are good analytical chemists.” They have an extensive root network in the soil, are constantly sampling groundwater and have a way to self-power the transport of that water up into the leaves”, said Professor Strano. The experiment is reportedly part of wider research involving engineering electronic components and systems into plants. The technology is called ‘plant nanobionics’ which is a process of giving plants new abilities. “This is a novel demonstration of how we have overcome the plant/human communication barrier”, he added.

Experiment useful for warning researchers about pollution and other environmental conditions

The purpose of the experiment was to detect explosives. However, scientists, including Strano, believe that the experiment could be used to alert researchers about pollution and other environmental conditions. Plants are said to be ideally suited to monitor ecological changes because of the large amount of data that they absorb from their surroundings. Professor Strano reportedly used nanoparticles to make plants into sensors for pollutants in the initial phases of the research. By changing the process of photosynthesis in the plants, Professor Strano made them capable of detecting nitric oxide, a pollutant caused by combustion.

According to Professor Strano, “Plants are very environmentally responsive. They know that there is going to be a drought long before we do. They can detect small changes in the properties of soil and water potential. If we tap into those chemical signalling pathways, there is wealth of information to access”.

Spinach can help make metal-air batteries

In addition to this, scientists have reportedly found that when spinach is converted into carbon nanosheets, it can function as a catalyst to help make metal-air batteries and fuel more efficient. Professor Shouzhong Zou, who led the research paper, said, “This work suggests that sustainable catalysts can be made for an oxygen reduction reaction from natural resources”. Metal-air batteries have more efficiency as compared to lithium-ion batteries that are commonly found in commercial products like smartphones. “The method we tested can produce highly active, carbob-based catalysts from spinach, which is a renewable biomass. In fact, we believe it outperforms commercial platinum catalysts in both activity and stability”, said Professor Zou.

The reason behind selecting spinach was that it has plenty of iron and nitrogen which are important elements in compounds that act as catalysts. In order make spinach suitable for the process, researchers turned it into nanosheets.

Jharkhand: Christian priest targets and converts family members of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group to Christianity

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: Christian priest targets and converts family members of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group to Christianity

A priest from Bihar had been allegedly living in Dhurki, Jharkhand since past one year, and along with two of his aides converted at least three Korwa tribal families of to Christianity.

The Korwas are officially categorised as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group. As per the villagers, in past one year, around two dozen families from the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste communities have converted to Christianity in past one year.

As per reports, the Korwa tribal families were allegedly beaten up and fined by villagers.

The Korwa community

Prime Minister Modi in his December 27, 2020 radio address Mann Ki Baat, had hailed Hiraman Korwa, a resident of the remote village called Sinjo under Ranka police station in Garhwa district. Hiraman, who is a para-teacher in local school, had compiled a dictionary in Korwa language. It took him 12 years to finish it.

The Korwa language is on the verge of extinction and there are only 6,000 Korwa tribals left in Garhwa district.

Russia: ‘Anti-cult’ activist Alexander Dvorkin accused of harassing Hindus, Russian Hindus appeal for help

OpIndia Staff
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Russia: ‘Anti-cult’ activist Alexander Dvorkin accused of harassing Hindus, Russian Hindus appeal for help

Much has been written about the struggle of the Hindu minority in Russia. Interestingly, the number of Hindus in Russia is 14 times more than the number of Indian citizens in Russia. In fact, almost 140,000 Russians call themselves Hindus. However, in Russia, over the last two decades, Orthodox Christianity has become somewhat synonymous with Russian nationalism, allowing the Russian Orthodox Church’s extremist fringes to actively persecute Hindus.

Six years ago is when the spotlights were turned on to this existing crisis in Russia, after reports emerged suggesting how a radical Christian organisation led by Orthodox Christian ‘anti-cult’ activist Alexander Dvorkin had executed a systematic smear campaign against Prasun Prakash, the Director, Public Affairs, Centre for Conservation of Indian Culture, of a Hindu Ashram in Russia, ‘Shri Prakash Dham’.

In the year 2019, Prasun Prakash had reached out to PM Modi for help, narrating how the radical Christian group led by Alexander Dvorkin was not only harassing, spreading fake propaganda and threatening but also carrying physical attacks on the Hindu devotees of Shri Prakash Dham, impeding their activities.

We at OpIndia have closely followed and reported the issue. On January 18, we wrote the story of a Russian businessman by the name of Denis Stepanov, who had illustrated a very unsettling aspect of Dvorkin and his organization. Denis had in the year 2016 come in close contact with the Hindu scriptures that are available in Russian. After that at the end of the same year, he decided to take on the life and path of a devoted Hindu. He had shared how, since then, he was being mentally and physically traumatized and pressurised by Dvorkin and his people to change his religion.

Dvorkin is a Russian anti-cult activist who labels everything except Orthodox Christianity as sects and cults. He is infamous for slandering and attacking everything that is Hindu and even in the ballpark of Hinduism. In the year 2011, he was the one to initiate the ban on the Bhagavad Gita. He had then called the Hare Krishna movement, which was legalized in Russia in 1988, a “totalitarian sect” that had no ties with mainstream Hinduism. More recently at the beginning of the year 2017, Dvorkin’s effigy was burnt in front of the Russian Embassy in Delhi for attacking the family of Prakash. The matter was also discussed in the walls of the UN and the OSCE.

Hindus being targeted in Russia

Speaking of his organisation’s modus operandi, Alexander Dorkin and his goons first target the Hindus in Russia, then spread rumours and false news against them. They then begin harassing the Hindus by filing police complaints based on the false allegations propagated by Dorkin and his goons. He then compels his mentally torn victims to give up Hinduism in order to weed out of the quandary.

OpIndia has now got in touch with one other such victims named Sergei Kevshin. Sergei is a Russian citizen who has been a Hindu devotee since 2006. Sergei came to know about Dvorkin’s forum on the internet where he writes slanderous statements about Hinduism, defaming Hindu god and goddess and slandering the religion.

He has allegedly written things like all Hindu Gods and Goddesses are demons, Hindu meditation is hypnosis, Hinduism is not a religion, it’s a wild cult, Karma is the law of evil, Mira Bai is sectarian, the Hindu idea of God is evil, Shrimad Bhagavatam is not at all holy, so on so forth.

Concerning this, Sergei has written numerous complaints against Dvorkin, following which the Russian authorities have in 2020, also conducted some investigations against the anti-cult activist. Numerous investigations are still going on. However, Dvorkin has been evading the investigations and questioning. Now, Dvorkin has filed a counter-complaint against Sergei Kevshin.

Troubled by the harassment, Sergei recently uploaded a video on his Youtube channel where he asks the international Hindu community, especially his Hindu brothers and sisters in India to support his fight against injustice perpetrated by Alexander Dvorkin.

Speaking to OpIndia, the Russian highlighted that Dvorkin has been after him to evade the investigations going on against him. He has been trying to mislead the Russian authorities against him and his beliefs, alleged Sergei.

Sharing the link of the video and his social media handles, Sergei appealed that if anyone has any sort of information or proof that could aid the Russian authorities in their ongoing investigation against Dvorkin, then they could directly send it to him on his social media handles or through email.

Sergei’s appeal

Sergei began his appeal by introducing himself and briefing the viewers about the plight of Hindus in Russia. “Hello everyone. My name is Sergei Kevshin. I was born and raised in Moscow, Russia. I have been a devout Hindu since the year 2006. In Russia, there are only 140,000 Hindus and I’m one of them. I appeal for help to my Hindu brothers and sisters in India and worldwide, through this video. How would you react to the fact that there is someone who calls our Hindu gods and goddesses evil entities? How would you react to the fact that there is someone who calls Hindus primitive and wild people?

He vociferated that Alexander Dvorkin is one such persecutor who, for the last 20 years has been systematically slandering and attacking Hinduism in his lectures, articles and interviews. Alexander Dvorkin is not only insulting Hindus in Russia and worldwide but also threatening them. Dvorkin is forcing Hindus in Russia to leave Hinduism or otherwise be prepared to get out of Russia and face other negative consequences, said Sergei. 

He continued that he has filed numerous complaints against Alexander Dvorkin with the Russian authorities, who are conducting their investigations. However, Dvorkin has been fleeing the investigation.

In his attempt to safeguard himself, Alexander Dvorkin has instead been writing baseless and false complaints against Sergei, said the disconcerted Russian. “By doing this he is creating misunderstandings with regards to the Hindus in Russia and running away from the investigations of the authorities. But I have complete faith that I will get justice for myself and other Russian Hindus because the truth is on my side.”

“During one of my interactions with the Russian authorities, I was told that in order to make Dvorkin’s case foolproof, more documents concerning his radical actions would be required. Saying this he appealed to all Hindus around the world, especially in India to pass on any information they might be having against Dvorkin.

“My dear Hindu brothers and sisters all over the world. If you have any information on Alexander Dvorkin or his organisations than please send it to me via email or my social sites – [email protected]. This would be a huge victory for Hindus in Russia and all over the world. Only united we can make the ardent hater of Hinduism and radical Alexander Dvorkin legally responsible for his actions carried out with the aim of slandering and attacking Hinduism and Russian Hindus. Namaste and Jai Shri Ram!, said Sergei in his video appeal. 

#Inspiration4: Space X to launch its first commercial civilian mission to space in 2021. Read details

OpIndia Staff
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#Inspiration4: Space X to launch its first commercial civilian mission to space in 2021. Read details

On Monday, Elon Musk’s SpaceX announced that they will carry 4 civilians to the Earth’s orbit by the fourth quarter of this year.

Dubbed as ‘Inspiration4’ by SpaceX, it is the first commercial civilian mission to space. “The mission will be commanded by Jared Isaacman, the 37-year-old founder and Chief Executive Officer of Shift4 Payments and an accomplished pilot and adventurer,” the website of Inspiration4 stated. The multi-day mission will be launched from Kennedy Space Center’s historic Launch Complex 39A and travel across the low orbit of the Earth.

Jared Issacman will donate the remaining 3 seats to the general public. Reportedly, the names of those individuals will be announced in the upcoming weeks. Only a legal US resident is eligible for the mission. One can join the historic flight either by supporting either the fundraising goal St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (Generosity seat) or by starting a Shift4Shop and posting one’s inspirational business story on Twitter (Prosperityseat).

“Inspiration4 will have four seats representing the mission pillars of Leadership, Hope, Generosity and Prosperity. You have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join this flight to space by securing either the Generosity or Prosperity seat,” the SpaceX mission emphasised. It further stated, ” Winner of each must be physically & psychologically fit for training and spaceflight, and must meet the requirements to be admitted into related government facilities.”

Details about the Inspiration4 mission

The mission will be carried out via Falcon 9, a reusable rocket designed to carry people to Earth’s orbit and beyond. It is also the first orbital-class reusable rocket in the world. The rocket will be topped by the Dragon Spacecraft, which is capable of flying up to 7 passengers to orbit and beyond. According to SpaceX, Dragon is the only spacecraft capable of returning a significant amount of cargo back to Earth.

Reportedly, the civilian crew chosen for the commercial space program will undergo training in orbital mechanics, stress testing, operating in zero gravity and microgravity. They will also be prepared for spacecraft and spacesuit ingress, partial and full mission simulations, and egress exercises. The journey will be monitored by SpaceX mission control. On completion of the mission, the spacecraft will land off the coast of Florida on its conclusion.

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