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‘Took his penis out and asked me to feel it’: Actress Sherlyn Chopra accuses Sajid Khan of sexual harassment

OpIndia Staff
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‘Took his penis out and asked me to feel it’: Actress Sherlyn Chopra accuses Sajid Khan of sexual harassment

Actress-model Sherlyn Chopra has come forward and alleged that Sajid Khan, brother of filmmaker Farah Khan, took his penis out of his pants when she went to meet him in 2006 and asker her to ‘feel it’. The incident occurred a few days after her father’s death, recounts Sherlyn Chopra.

Sajid Khan has been accused of perverse sexual conduct by other women as well. A journalist had accused him of taking out his penis in front of her during an interview in 2018 and molesting her. Actress Rachel White had accused him of sexual harassment as well.

The late actress Jiah Khan was the sixth women from the showbiz industry who have accused the film director Sajid Khan of sexual harassment in the wake of the Me Too movement that took the country by storm in 2018. Karishma, her sister, alleged in a BBC documentary on the deceased actress, that the filmmaker had asked her sister Jiah Khan to remove her top and bra while shooting for Housefull movie.

“When she was asked by Sajid Khan to take her top off, she came home and cried. She told me that I have a contract if I leave they can sue me and slander my name and if I stay I will be sexually harassed. So it’s a lose-lose situation. So she did the film,” Karishma said. Karishma said she was sexually harassed by Sajid Khan as well when she was 16.

Director of ‘Tandav’ issues ‘unconditional apology’ for hurting Hindu sentiments after UP Police registers an FIR: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Director of ‘Tandav’ issues ‘unconditional apology’ for hurting Hindu sentiments after UP Police registers an FIR: Details

Ali Abbas Zafar, the director of the recently released controversial web series Tandav, has issued an “unconditional apology” after an FIR was registered against the same in Uttar Pradesh for hurting religious sentiments. Zafar said in a statement on Twitter that the makers of the web series were contacted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

“We have been closely monitoring viewer reactions to the web series ‘Tandav’ and today during a discussion, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting have informed us regarding a large number of grievances and petitions received on various facets of the web series with serious concerns and apprehensions regarding its content hurting the sentiments of the people,” Ali Abbas Zafar said.

Director of Tandav, Ali Abbas Zafar, apologizes for hurt religious sentiments
Director of Tandav apologizes for hurt religious sentiments

The director said, “The web series ‘Tandav’ is a work of fiction and any resemblance to acts and persons and events is purely coincidental. The cast and crew did not have any intention to offend the sentiments of any individual, caste, community, race, religion or religious beliefs or insult or outrage any institution, political party or person, living or dead.”

“The cast and crew of ‘Tandav’ take cognizance of the concerns expressed by the people and unconditionally apologize if it has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments,” added Ali Abbas Zafar.

FIR registered against ‘Tandav’

The Hazratganj Police in Lucknow has filed an FIR against Ali Abbas Jafar and Gaurav Solanki, the makers of the web series Tandav, for allegedly using derogatory language against Hindu Gods that can lead to religious disharmony. The FIR was lodged by senior sub-inspector Amarnath Yadav.

Amazon Prime’s India head of original content, Aparna Purohit, producer Himanshu Krishna Mehra and others have been named in the FIR. Notably, the Information and Broadcasting ministry had summoned the makers over the alleged Hinduphobic content.

Shalabh Mani Tripathi, Information Consultant CMO UP, said in a tweet that serious cases had been registered against the entire team of Tandav, and they will be arrested soon. BJP leader Ram Kadam has also filed a complaint against the series.

Earlier, netizens had slammed the makers of the show for its Hinduphobic content.

‘Consensual affair’ between minors and adults not a valid defense, says SC: Here’s why it is significant in view of growing Grooming Jihad cases

K Bhattacharjee
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‘Consensual affair’ between minors and adults not a valid defense, says SC: Here’s why it is significant in view of growing Grooming Jihad cases

The Supreme Court on the 13th of January delivered a very significant judgment in a case involving the kidnapping of a minor. The Court observed that a ‘consensual affair’ is not a legitimate defense against the charge.

The Court said, “Perusal of Section 361 of IPC shows that it is necessary that there be an act of enticing or taking, in addition to establishing the child’s minority (being sixteen for boys and eighteen for girls) and care/keep of a lawful guardian. Such ‘enticement’ need not be direct or immediate in time and can also be through subtle actions like winning over the affection of a minor girl.”

“However, mere recovery of a missing minor from the custody of a stranger would not ipso­facto establish the offence of kidnapping. Thus, where the prosecution fails to prove that the incident of removal was committed by or at the instigation of the accused, it would be nearly impossible to bring the guilt home,” it said.

The judgement was delivered in a case where the defendant claimed that there was a consensual relationship with the minor. The apex court observed, “His core contention appears to be that in view of a consensual affair between them, the prosecutrix joined his company voluntarily. Such a plea, in our opinion, cannot be acceded to given the unambiguous language of the statute as the prosecutrix was admittedly below 18 years of age.”

Thus, quite clearly, the Court says that as per law, “winning over the affection of a minor girl” will be considered inducement in a charge of kidnapping.

The Court also stated, “Even more crucially, there is little to suggest that she was aware of the full purport of her actions or that she possessed the mental acuities and maturity to take care of herself. In addition to being young, the prosecutrix was not much educated. Her support of the prosecution version and blanket denial of any voluntariness on her part, even if presumed to be under the influence of her parents as claimed by the appellant, at the very least indicates that she had not thought her actions through fully.”

The judgement is particularly revealing regarding the manner in which the law interprets a relationship between a minor and an adult.

The verdict makes it clear that a minor in relationship with an adult is considered to have no agency, and with good reason, in decisions regarding elopement and marriage. The lack of maturity, which only comes with age, that makes a minor prone to brainwashing by the adult for exploitation and other sinister purposes contributes greatly towards this assessment.

There is also the influence and power dynamics that are to be considered. An adult can feign affection in order to trap the girl in order to exploit her at a later time. These are obvious realities that every sane individual is aware of and understands but liberals choose to disregard the obvious in order to peddle their political agenda at the cost of the safety and security of minors.

The case of the Muslim youth in Uttar Pradesh

Only recently, a Muslim youth from Bengaluru reached the home of a minor girl in Uttar Pradesh with a soft toy, chocolates and sweets. The poor girl could not even recognize him and he was thrashed, deservedly so one might add, before handing him over to the Police.

Our ‘esteemed’ liberals, meanwhile, defended the deranged youth and defended it using some weird ‘consensual relationship’ logic. Islamist Rana Ayyub, a darling of western liberal media, declared India a ‘sh*thole’ country because the Police did not take kindly to the creepy youth. Shehla Rashid, another ’eminent intellectual’, compared Narendra Modi to Saddam Hussein.

Even if there was anything consensual in the particular instance, hypothetically speaking of course, are we to encourage such conduct where the safety and security of a gullible minor is being jeopardized by her relationship with an adult? It is the responsibility of the state to empower parents who want nothing more than to protect their children from creepy adults but our liberals here wish to criminalize parents for wanting to protect their daughters.

‘Consensual relationships’ excuse invented to whitewash grooming of minors

It is the same phenomenon that we witness in numerous cases of Grooming Jihad. Minor girls are lured by feigning affection by Muslim adults and through other enticements with an aim to convert their religion. Liberals clearly wish to legitimize such perverse ‘relationships’ by importing the concept of consent into a situation where it does not belong.

As recent as November 2020, The Wire claimed that in Uttar Pradesh, the SIT formed to investigate such cases found that in 8 of the 14 cases, the ‘romance’ turned out to be consensual. In reality, the Uttar Pradesh found criminality in 11 of these cases and of the 11, 8 involved a minor. The Wire wants us to believe that these minors were involved in ‘romance’ with adults and on the basis, advocated that Grooming Jihad is a hoax when it is evidently not the case.

Quite clearly, there is every reason here for law enforcement authorities to crack down upon such criminal minded individuals. Liberals may not like it because of their perverse communal agenda but their preferences cannot be incorporated in such a manner that it jeopardizes the safety and security of minors.

The Grooming Gang phenomenon in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, scores of cases have emerged where primarily adult Muslim men of Pakistani descent groomed children of a different race or religion and exploited them sexually. It has been observed that these men targeted girls with a troubled background because it was easier to lure them into a trap.

In many of these cases, it became difficult initially to punish the culprits as the age of the minor girls used to be above the age of consent in the United Kingdom which is 13. Under such circumstances, charges cannot be brought in against the perpetrators without a statement of the girls themselves. In many cases, the girls were so traumatized that they could not bring themselves to deliver a statement.

Liberals in India are playing a dangerous game when they seek to import the concept of consent in relationships involving a minor and an adult. It could have devastating consequences and jeopardize the safety and security of children across the country.

BBC ‘Death in Bollywood’ documentary: Jiah Khan’s sister narrates how Sajid Khan harassed the actor, says ‘he asked her to take off her top’

OpIndia Staff
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BBC ‘Death in Bollywood’ documentary: Jiah Khan’s sister narrates how Sajid Khan harassed the actor, says ‘he asked her to take off her top’

BBC had recently come out with a three-episode documentary series titled ‘Death in Bollywood’ that traced the mysterious death of late actress Jiah Khan who allegedly died allegedly by suicide in 2013. The first episode of the docuseries was aired last Monday and subsequently, the other two episodes were released as well. The series has only been released in the United Kingdom.

In the second episode of the series, Khan’s sister Karishma made explosive revelations of sexual harassment of the late actor by filmmaker Sajid Khan. Jiah is the sixth women from the showbiz industry who have accused the film director Sajid Khan of sexual harassment in the wake of the Me Too movement that took the country by storm in 2018.

Jiah was one of the actors to be a feature in Sajid Khan’s Housefull movie which also included prominent actors such as Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Riteish Deshmukh, Arjun Rampal, Lara Dutta, Boman Irani, Randhir Kapoor, Chunky Pandey, and Malaika Arora.

A clip from the series where Karishma is seen narrating the horrifying ordeal Jiah was made to go through by Khan is doing the rounds on the social media websites. Karishma alleged that the filmmaker had asked her sister Jiah Khan to remove her top and bra while shooting for Housefull movie.

“When she was asked by Sajid Khan to take her top off, she came home and cried. She told me that I have a contract if I leave they can sue me and slander my name and if I stay I will be sexually harassed. So it’s a lose-lose situation. So she did the film,” Karishma said.

In the snippet, Karishma, who was just 16 then, also recounts how she was also targeted by the filmmaker. Karishma revealed that when she had gone to Sajid’s house with her sister, the film director had made sexual advances at her.

“I remember going to Sajid Khan’s house with my sister. I remember being around at Kitchen’s table, I was only 16 at that time. I was wearing a strappy top. He leaned on me, and started staring at me. Then he said, ‘Ohh she wants to have sex’. My sister Jiah immediately came in to my defence saying, ‘no what are you talking about’, and he said, ‘Look at the way she’s sitting’. My sister said no She said no she is innocent, she is young, it’s not what she wants. And then we left shortly after that. But I was feeling really cheap and shocked,” Karishma said.

Kangana reacts to the sexual harassment allegations levelled against Sajid Khan by Jiah Khan’s sister

Soon after the snippet started going viral on the internet, renegade actor Kangana Ranaut took cognisance of the clipped and slammed the Bollywood industry for allegedly victimising her, Sushant Singh Rajput, and Jiah. She reiterated her previous claim of the existence of mafia in the industry that is allegedly responsible for the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, actor Jia Khan and had even tried once to kill her.

Sharing the video, Kangana said, “They killed Jiah they killed Sushant and they tried to kill me, but they roam free have full support of the mafia, growing stronger and successful every year. Know the world is not ideal you are either the prey or the predator. No one will save you you have to save yourself.”

Model Paula had levelled similar allegations of sexual harassment against Sajid Khan

The revelations made Jiah Khan’s sister have raised several eyebrows, especially in the wake of the similar allegations of sexual harassment levelled by model Paula against film director Sajid Khan. Just like Jiah Khan was allegedly asked by Sajid to strip off in front of him, the film director had asked model Paula to take her clothes off.

In September 2020, Paula took to Instagram to bring to light Sajid Khan’s sexually predatory behaviour. In her post, Paula stated that he tried to sexually exploit her when she was just 17, under the pretence of getting her a role in Housefull. Paula claimed that Khan had spoken dirty and tried to touch her, asking her to strip in front of him to get a role in Housefull.

Sajid Khan—a repeat offender

Director Sajid Khan is not new to these accusations. In 2018, at least 3 women had come out and accused the Housefull director sexually harassing and preying on them. A freelance Bollywood journalist had taken to Twitter to narrate her ordeal. 

In fact, ace tennis player, Mahesh Bhupathi had also come forward to give his take on the sexual harassment allegations levelled against filmmaker Sajid Khan. In an interview, Bhupati had revealed that his actor wife Lara Dutta had complained to him that her co-star was being subjected to “rude, vulgar” behaviour on the sets of Housefull by director Sajid Khan.

As India starts world’s largest COVID vaccination drive, media organisations resort to spreading lies and fear

Jinit Jain
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As India starts world’s largest COVID vaccination drive, media organisations resort to spreading lies and fear

Days after India commenced the world’s largest immunisation exercise against the coronavirus pandemic, several media organisations have resorted to undercutting the Indian Government’s ambitious move by peddling unfounded and baseless apprehensions regarding the efficacy and the alleged side-effects of the indigenously-developed vaccines.

The apprehensions regarding the indigenously-developed COVID-19 vaccines were fuelled after a man in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district died of heart attack, a day after receiving the coronavirus vaccine. The media organisations tried to insinuate that the man’s death was caused by the vaccines.

Media resorts to deception to undermine India’s COVID-19 vaccination programme

The Times of India published an article titled “UP Man dies after receiving COVID-19 vaccine” which alluded that the man died as a consequence of the ill-effects of the vaccine. It was reported that Mahipal Singh, a ward boy at a hospital in Moradabad, started feeling a bit queasy after taking the jab. 

Source: Times of India

However, he continued with his night duty and complained of uneasiness in chest, breathlessness and cough the next morning. He was rushed to the hospital where he was declared brought dead. 

The Times of India was not the only publication that resorted to sensationalism and attributed the cause of death to COVID-19 vaccine. There were other media outfits, too, which in their bid to provide dramatic content to their readers, proceeded to allege that Singh died because of the complications suffered after being injected with the COVID-19 vaccine. 

Source: India.com
Source: Mashable India

Some of the reports were published after the autopsy report was out, yet the media organisations fell for sensational tricks and resorted to sharing misleading headlines to allege that the man died because of the coronavirus vaccine. For instance, the report titled “COVID-19 Vaccine: Uttar Pradesh ward boy dies after taking a vaccine shot” published on moneycontrol.com led the readers into believing that the vaccine had caused an unintended effect leading to the death of the subject. However, in the body, the article mentioned that the officials have already denied links between the man’s death to COVID-19 vaccine.

Source:moneycontrol.com

Death of ward boy unrelated to COVID-19 vaccine

It was later revealed that Singh’s death was not linked to the vaccine. In the autopsy released by the State Government on January 17, Singh’s death was ascribed to cardiogenic and septicaemic shock due to an existing cardiopulmonary disease. 

A panel of doctors who examined Singh’s body found that his heart weighed 500 gm as against the normal range of 200 gm as the chambers and aorta of the organ were found with blood clots. They also found pus pockets in the lungs.

However, the media organisations, in their attempt to sensationalise the content and thereby attract greater eyeballs, attempted to sensationalist the baseless fears. 

Media organisations joining hands with compulsive detractors to belittle Indian-made vaccines

This attempt to malign the indigenously-developed vaccines comes at a time when certain habitual detractors have fuelled apprehensions over the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines in their bid to smear the Modi government. They have tried to stoke fears among the population by claiming that the vaccines approved by the Indian government have not been adequately tested. 

It is not the first time that certain mainstream media houses have tried to spread fear against the vaccines. Even after repeated assurances from the government, healthcare officials and experts, some sections of the mainstream media and certain individuals have been spreading blatant misinformation against the vaccines.

Nations repose faith in India-made vaccines

On the other hand, the government has doubled down on its efforts to dispel doubts and allay fears of untoward reaction that the vaccine might induce. A widespread campaign is launched by the government to communicate the safety of the vaccine and quell rumours and speculations concerning its inefficacy. 

Not just the Indian government, but the vaccines developed by the Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech have won the endorsement from other governments as well. As India embarked on the world’s biggest vaccination drive, many Latin American countries, East Europian and Asian nations have sought doses of the vaccines for inoculating their population. 

Countries in India’s neighbourhood, such as Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh have already signed agreements with one of the two aforementioned vaccine developers for procuring doses to vaccinate their people. As a goodwill gesture, India will also be sending the first shipments of the doses to neighbouring countries, except China and Pakistan. The vaccines developed by the Indian makers have been proved effective and safe and several countries have already approved their emergency use.

But the Indian media seems to be bent on undermining the inoculation programme that aims to immunise a large population in the world’s second-most populous country. For India to succeed in its battle against the coronavirus, it is not only imperative that people’s trust in the vaccine is reinforced, but it is equally important that the government develops an ‘antidote’ to treat the malaise of peddling lies and deception as exhibited by some of the Indian media organisations.

India Today CFO and Distribution Head being grilled by ED again in the fake TRP case: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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India Today CFO and Distribution Head being grilled by ED again in the fake TRP case: Read details

While Mumbai police continue its witchhunt against Republic TV and the channel’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami in the alleged fake TRP scam, the Enforcement Directorate has once again summoned India Today Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Dinesh Bhatia and Distribution Head KR Arora for questioning in the case. Prior to this, the Office of Joint Director had summoned the Group CFO on January 8, 2021.

Sources known to the case informed OpIndia that both members of India Today’s top management have been facing intense questioning by the agency since Monday morning.

The original FIR in the fake TRP case was filed against India Today with the allegation that the Network was paying households to manipulate TRPs.

This development comes even as the Mumbai Police has continuously been trying to implicate Republic TV in the TRP scam, even though the original FIR based on the Hansa Research Report had implicated India Today in the case.

Recently, the family of arrested former BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta had revealed that that the Mumbai Police was paying someone inside Taloja Jail to torture him mentally and physically to implicate Arnab Goswami and Republic TV in the TRP scam. The Mumbai police have accused Partho Dasgupta of taking money from Arnab Goswami to rig TRP in the favour of Republic TV. 

ED registers ECIR in TRP scam

The Enforcement Directorate had earlier registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), the equivalent of FIRs filed by the Police, in the TRP case. The ED is investigating money laundering allegations and it was reported that all channels mentioned in the original FIR would be probed. It was also reported that along with the channels named in the original FIR, which did not have the name of Republic TV, the Mumbai Police probe could also be under scrutiny. The ED is the second central agency to come into the matter after the CBI. The CBI had earlier registered an FIR over the matter.

Since the ED filed its ECIR in the case, it has been making swift headway in the fake TRP manipulation case. Thus far, the ED has also questioned members of the BARC management which has been under its lens in the context of TRP manipulation.

The fake TV viewership row

On 8th October, Param Bir Singh, Mumbai Police Commissioner, said in a press conference that several channels have indulged in malicious practices to increase their TRP ratings. He alleged that Republic TV is one of the main accused. The complaint was filed by the Hansa group that regulated the devices to record TRP for BARC.

However, the initial FIR did not name Republic TV but named India Today network as one of the main suspects. During the investigation, several evidence and witnesses came forward that alleged Mumbai Police have been intimidating them to speak against Republic TV, including Hansa officials. Hansa has also complained that they are being harassed by the Mumbai Police to give statements against Republic TV.

‘Gaadi se layenge farzi comedian ko’: UP Police reaches Madhya Pradesh to take custody of Munawar Faruqui

OpIndia Staff
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‘Gaadi se layenge farzi comedian ko’: UP Police reaches Madhya Pradesh to take custody of Munawar Faruqui

While there is an uproar among the liberal section on well-justified and much-needed arrest of alleged comedian Munawar Faruqui in Madhya Pradesh, a district judge from Prayagraj gave the order to produce him in front of the court for a case that was filed against him at George Town police station, Prayagraj in April 2020. Prayagraj police reached Indore and submitted the production warrant in from of the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court in Indore and Indore Central Jail, where Faruqui is currently lodged for the last two weeks.

The Wire employee Arfa Khanum Sherwani claimed Faruqui was in jail because of his Muslim identity and tried to make the case communal. Sherwani conveniently forgot the fact that along with Faruqui, five others, Nalin Yadav, Prakhar Vyas, Priyam Vyas, Edwin Anthony, Sadakat Khan were arrested.

Information Consultant CMO UP, Shalabh Mani Tripathi, quoted her and said that UP police has already reached Indore to take custody of Munawar Faruqui for insulting Maa Sita. He added that MP police had completed its work, and now UP police will take care of the rest. He further said that Faruqui would be brought to UP in a car and shared a representational image of the vehicle that police will use to get him.

It has to be noted that UP police will only detain Faruqui as the case in which he has to be produced in front of the court is from April 2020. UP Police has not sought custody of any other comedian arrested in January 2021 by Indore police.

2021 case against Faruqui

On January 2, Faruqui and four other persons identified as Edwin Anthony, Prakhar Vyas, Priyam Vyas and Nalin Yadav were arrested for allegedly mocking Hindu Gods in a stand-up comedy show in Indore based on the complaint of Eklavya Singh Gaur, an activist and the chief of Hindu Rakshak Sangathan. They were booked under IPC sections 295-A (outraging religious feelings), 269 (unlawful or negligent act likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life) and other relevant provisions. Section 269 was invoked for allegedly ignoring COVID-19 safety protocol. Faruqui was sent to judicial custody till January 13 which was later extended to January 27.

2020 case against Faruqui

In 2020, a video of Faruqui went viral in which he was seen mocking Hindu Gods and the Godhra riots of 2002. Later, in April 2020, a case was filed against him by advocate Ashutosh Mishra under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion) and section 65 and 66 IT Act, 2008.

One more case was filed against him by one Shivam Rawat, the founder of Pen of Dharma. He emphasised how the comments made by Faruqui hurt the sentiments of millions of Hindus, including him. Rawat has stated how Faruqui had used Bollywood songs to make crass, disrespectful remarks on Hindu gods and belief systems. Prayagraj Police has now sought custody of Faruqui in this case.

Hinduphobic content on OTT platforms and censorship: The case against it and the ironic case for it

Abhishek Banerjee
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Hinduphobic content on OTT platforms and censorship: The case against it and the ironic case for it

Free speech is like free trade. It doesn’t work unless we can all freely engage in it. One sided free speech, which we currently have in India, is not a kind of free speech at all. It is like the British saying that we must open our market to their goods but have no right to trade with anyone else. Just like colonialism is not a form of free trade, one sided free speech is not a form of free speech.

The debate has erupted again today. In the last few days, a number of people have expressed their anger over apparently Hinduphobic content in a certain web series. Now, the government has summoned top executives of the concerned web platform. All reactions are going to be on expected lines. ‘Liberals’ will scream murder of free speech and rising intolerance. Those on the other side will say it is about time the government did something against a continuing assault on Hindu sentiments.

And then there is of course the nagging irony. The uproar against one web series often ends up giving it more publicity than it would have otherwise got. This in turn creates an incentive for making even more of such content. Both sides know about this. Liberals, while screaming murder of free speech, are secretly thrilled about this prospect. The Hindu right, though encouraged by this show of government intent, must be worried on the inside.

So let me lay out either case. One for the government getting involved and enforcing all our laws against hurting religious and community sentiments. Perhaps creating new ones or extending the reach of existing laws to new forms of media, such as OTT platforms. The other, a case for getting rid of all these pesky laws and letting people say whatever they want.

As much as I would have liked it to be, neither of these arguments is about free speech. Like I said, we have one sided free speech in this country, which is more like colonialism. The question is what are we going to do about this. A principled stand on free speech in India is pointless. It would be like Indian subjects, with no right to vote, debating India’s foreign policy while still under British rule. Therefore, instead of principle, I will make my case around two practicalities of this country.

Practicality #1 : Popular culture already mocks and belittles Hindus in every possible way. So what do we have to gain by keeping censorship laws anyway?

I have often wondered. What would happen tomorrow if India got rid of every single law that inhibits freedom of expression? More specifically, why should Hindus care? I am not saying Hindus should stop caring about insults to Hindu sentiments. I am asking Hindus which new insult you are worried about if these laws go away tomorrow. Have they spared us any insult as yet?

Did they show Lord Shiva as a thief and charlatan, being chased down by an actor who also happens to be a devout member of another faith? You bet! Do they show every single saffron clad Hindu spiritual leader as a criminal and rapist? Of course they do. Have they labeled every single Hindu custom as patriarchal, sexist, racist and xenophobic? Yes, they have. They already declared that the Bhagavad Gita rationalizes mass slaughter. They already said that Gandhi is a super villain who invented Hinduism in order to perpetuate oppression. And they already blamed Swami Vivekananda’s masculine posture for the infamous Dec 2012 gangrape in Delhi. Have you forgotten?

They have blamed Hindus for having rasam, lighting diyas and wearing sarees. They already blamed “Hindu supremacists” for the riot on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. And they even included that in the official syllabus at Rutgers University. They already said that Hindus are lesser citizens of India because we have no choice. Unlike citizens of the peaceful religion, who chose to stay here, thus doing us a favor. They are already asking: many Hindus get cremated after death, rather than get buried. So what right do we have to this land?

They are rubbing it in our faces every single day. On every channel, in every newspaper. On every internet platform. They are raising an entire generation of woke youth to hate Hindus.

So which new humiliation do you fear? Clearly, our existing laws are not protecting Hindu sentiments. We might as well legislate them out of existence.

The only communities in India who should like censorship laws are those who already enjoy immunity from criticism. The laws are working for them, not us. When some woke comedian makes a joke on them by mistake, they rush to apologize the next day. The film censor board falls over backwards to accommodate their concerns. Most media and content creators already pre-censor themselves, almost to absurd lengths. If a person from a ‘secular’ religion commits a crime, they report it as “Delhi man” did so and so. If anything bad happens in say Varanasi, no matter how unrelated to religion, they report it as something happened in “temple town.”

But then, there is practicality #2.

Practicality #2 : Groups that enjoy immunity from criticism do not need censorship laws. They enforce censorship by raw street power.

The typical Hindu right wing argument goes something like this. Why would they show a Hindu deity doing this or that? Would they dare to do this to a god from a ‘secular’ religion?

The operative word in that sentence is “dare.” Why do they pick on Hindus and not others. They may well hate Hindus and that plays a role. But the biggest reason is fear. They wouldn’t dare to pick on another religion because that would be too dangerous.

Content creators don’t stay away from picking on other communities because they fear lawsuits or court cases. They stay away because they fear raw street power.

And let me be the first to say I am very happy that Hindus don’t have raw street power. I hope they never get any. Violence is out of question and always should be.

So what options do we have? They will always keep picking on us because it is safe and easy. Well, believe it or not, our only option is to vigorously apply those same censorship laws, however ineffective they may be. You never know. It might irritate them just a little. It might give them a bit of pause before unnecessarily picking on Hindus.

The equation is like this. Maybe 50% of them are rabid Hindu haters. They will continue insulting us no matter what. But the other 50% who are picking on us simply because it is easy? They might be irritated enough that they move on to something else. So we get a 50% reduction. Which is better than no reduction at all.

Feeling helpless? Think of the censorship laws like Gabbar Singh. Only one person can save us from the clutches of Gabbar Singh. That’s Gabbar himself.

Want to break out of this helplessness? There is only one way. Learn the language of wokeness. Learn to present one thousand years of Hindu suffering in the only language that the world understands. It’s not weakness to complain these days. It is being practical. The world today is run by crybabies, so be the best crybaby you possibly can.

As ‘Tandav’ controversy erupts, an email written by Amit Malviya to Amazon surfaces

OpIndia Staff
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As ‘Tandav’ controversy erupts, an email written by Amit Malviya to Amazon surfaces

The controversies linked with the recent web series Tandav have again stirred up objections to the constant attempts by OTT platforms to allow Hinduphobic content. An FIR with serious charges has been filed against the makers of ‘Tandav’ in Uttar Pradesh for using derogatory comments on Hindu Gods and Goddesses. an email by Amit Malviya, National Head – Information & Technology, BJP, from September has emerged, adding fuel to the fire.

In an email written by Malviya to Amit Agarwal, Senior Vice President and Country Manager of Amazon India, in September 2020, it was alleged that certain officials in Amazon India’s office are allowing politically biased content on the platform. Malviya said that content that is biased in nature seems to have more to do with professionals in charge of commissioning content on the platform.

He said, “I understand that creative liberties and artistic freedom are important when it comes to expressions across mediums, but there is a discernible trend in the kind of content that is being pushed on Amazon Prime. While one would like to think of it as creative pursuits but a considered view prompts us to believe that it may have more to do with professionals incharge of commissioning content on the platform.”

Mentioning a September 8, 2020 report by OpIndia on Aparna Purohit, the creative head at Amazon Prime Video, India, Malviya said, “It is quite disconcerting that a global platform like Amazon Prime would allow its ideologically motivated employees to run such vicious programming, which is not just unidimensional but also bruises sensibilities of millions of Indians.”

The report by OpIndia had detailed the political and ideological bias displayed by Aparna Purohit through her social media posts. In one of the most bizarre Facebook posts, Purohit had promoted the rabid anti-India hatred of known Naxal sympathiser Arundhati Roy. Opposing the historical Citizenship Amendment Act, a law that guarantees Indian citizenship to the persecuted minorities from three neighbouring Islamic countries, Purohit had claimed that India would ‘cease to exist’ if they accepted a law that was legitimately passed by the parliament.

Tandav controversy

There are several scenes in the web series Tandav that are causing outrage on social media. In one scene, actor Zeeshan Ayyub had mocked Lord Shiva, while in the other scene, there were casteist slurs. As a whole, the series allegedly has the potential to cause religious disharmony in the country, as per the FIR registered by UP police. Several complaints have been filed against the series, including one by BJP’s Ram Kadam and another by BJP’s Kapil Mishra. I&B ministry have also summoned makers of the series in connection to the controversial scenes.

‘Jack Ma is safe and sound’, is ‘laying low’ claims founder and chairman of equity firm Primavera Capital Group

OpIndia Staff
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‘Jack Ma is safe and sound’, is ‘laying low’ claims founder and chairman of equity firm Primavera Capital Group

Amid reports of Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s disappearance, Fred Hu, the chairman of private equity firm Primavera Group, has said that he believes he is “safe and sound” and is “laying low” for the time being. Primavera counts China’s Ant Group among its portfolio companies.

Ever since Ant’s IPO fiasco, Jack Ma, Alibaba founder who also manages Ant, has been missing. He has not been seen in public since October last year.

Without elaborating much, Hu said in an interview at the Reuters Next conference on Wednesday: “I believe he is safe and sound. He remains an enduring example of successful entrepreneurship.”

Fred Hu’s statement indicates that, in the ongoing dispute between Jack Ma and the Chinese government, the Chinese billionaire is currently “laying low”.

Jack Ma mysteriously missing after his disparaging statements against CCP govt

Alibaba founder Jack Ma, who also controls e-commerce giant Alibaba’s affiliate Ant, has not been seen in public since Ant’s IPO debacle. The business tycoon had been mysteriously missing after he made disparaging statements against Communist-ruled China’s government and was reported off the radar by several Chinese run media outlets.

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.

Days after his unflattering opinion of the Chinese authorities, Ma was summoned to a meeting with Communist Party officials. His other venture, Alibaba is also under investigation for monopolistic behaviour, as per a statement released by the Chinese Communist Party’s market supervision arm.

Jack Ma has not been spotted since October. Ma was conspicuous by his absence when the billionaire was replaced as a judge in the final of his own show—Africa’s Business Heroes, a television contest for budding entrepreneurs—and his photograph was removed from the judging webpage. Apparently, he has also been conspicuously left out of a promotional video.

Reports emerge suggesting Ma ’embracing supervision’ at an unknown location

Days after the mysterious disappearance of Ma, the Chinese mouthpiece, People’s Daily, reported that Jack Ma has been ’embracing supervision’ at an unknown location. However, Duncan Clark, the chairman of BDA China, said that he does not believe that Jack Ma was under custody. He emphasised, “I think he’s been told to lay low. This is a pretty unique situation, more linked to the sheer scale of Ant Group (owned by Jack Ma) and the sensitivities over financial regulation.”

Earlier, Bloomberg had reported that the business tycoon was told by the Chinese regime to not leave the country.

Ma’s disappearance from the public sphere is a part of a bigger design by the CCP to exact compliance and loyalty from individuals who hold great sway in shaping public opinion. It is apposite to note that Jack Ma is not the first high-profile man to have disappeared out of a thin air.

Reportedly, China legalised secret detentions back in 2013. As such, several well-known people from various walks of life including actress Fan Bingbing, ex-Interpol chief Meng Hongwei, businessman and investor Guo Guangchang, and ex-real estate tycoon Ren Zhiqiang were made to disappear. All of them, however, mysteriously reappeared after some time.

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