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After supporting Naxals and terrorists, Congress plans to adopt ‘nationalism’ pitch on party’s foundation day

OpIndia Staff
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After supporting Naxals and terrorists, Congress plans to adopt ‘nationalism’ pitch on party’s foundation day

In a bizarre turn of events, the Congress party on Thursday decided to do Tiranga (tricolour) yatras and a “selfie with the tricolour” campaign on social media to mark the party’s foundation day on Monday to showcase its version of nationalism.

According to the reports, the AICC has decided to showcase its alleged ‘nationalism’ in the upcoming days and has ordered its state units of the party to observe the party’s foundation day on December 28 through various campaigns including organising ‘Tiranga Yatra’ and running a social media campaign ‘Selfie with Tiranga’.

“Tiranga Yatras and other such innovative campaigns may also be organised following the necessary social distancing protocols. The PCCs are also requested to pay solidarity to our fighting farmers who are sitting in an indefinite protest against the farm laws,” the AICC party added in its diktat.

The Congress party’s latest trope to exhibit its nationalist traits has, however, left the citizens shocked and its workers bewildering. The Congress party’s political stunt to prove its nationalistic identity comes at a time when the party and its leadership has openly batting for anti-nationals and terrorist sympathisers in the country.

Congress open support of terror sympathisers, Urban Naxals

Ever since the Congress party lost political power in 2014, it has been drifting away from nationalistic ideals which have been evident in its stand taken during several controversial events that unfolded in the country in the last six years. In 2016, the Congress party openly sided with the anti-national elements and pro-Pakistan sympathisers who had shouted slogans to break India as they mourned the death of dreaded Islamic terrorists inside the JNU campus.

The Gandhi-scion Rahul Gandhi with all his excitement was one of the first politicians to reach the JNU campus to express solidarity with these terror sympathisers. However, it did not stop there. It is not unknown anymore that the Congress party and its ecosystem has been extremely vocal against the arrest of far-left terror sympathisers and Urban Naxals, who have been nabbed for their role in instigating Bhima Koregaon violence and for plotting the assassination of the Prime Minister.

The Congress party has also repeatedly politicised matters pertaining to national security in a manner that undermines Indian national interests. From questioning the integrity of Indian Armed Forces during the two anti-terror operations, first during the surgical strikes in 2016 and yet again during the 2019 Balakot airstrikes against terror camps inside Pakistan, the Congress party and its leadership have not missed any opportunity to question the Indian Armed Forces everytime it carries out successful counter-terror operations against the Pakistan-sponspored terrorism.

In the run-up to 2019 elections, the Congress party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi had also resorted to the politicking of national security issues by interfering in the country’s defence procurement. Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party’s media ecosystem had peddled several lies on the Rafale deal, inventing a scam to disrupt the critical procurement process. However, the Supreme Court had come to the rescue of the country by rejecting all claims made by the Congress party and its cronies.

The Congress party, even after its humiliating defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections seems to have not learnt its lesson. In August 2019, as the Modi government scrapped the controversial Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir to undo the historical wrong, the Congress party instead of supporting the nationalistic discourse in the J&K, it fuelled pro-Pakistan propaganda by disseminating false narratives against its own government.

And yet again, in the aftermath of the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act that granted persecuted minorities in the three neighbouring Islamic countries, the Congress ecosystem fuelled violent protests across the country. In doing so, it emboldened the anti-national elements in the country to unleash violence on the streets of Delhi, culminating in the Anti-Hindu Delhi riots that killed more than 50 people in the national capital.

Congress party’s love for Communist Party of China:

In May this year, shocking details emerged exposing Congress party’s secret relationship with the Communist Party of China (CPC). As tensions between India and China mounted amidst the killing of 20 Indian soldiers, the Congress party’s intimate links with the CPC had emerged. The Congress party’s kid-glove treatment to China and the soft-condemnation against the Communist nation had raised eyebrows as to know why the principal opposition party has been soft towards the hostile neighbour of the country.

However, it was later disclosed that the close connections between the Congress party and the CPC may be one of the reasons why the principal opposition party had chosen to remain mute in attacking the Chinese and instead unleashing all its attacks against its own government aftermath of clashes alongside the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Ladakh.

One of the main reasons for the silence of the Congress party, perhaps, stems from the 7 August, 2008 agreement between the Sonia Gandhi-led Congress party and the Communist Party of China (CPC).

During UPA1 in 2008, the Congress party and the Communist Party of China (CPC) had signed a deal in Beijing for exchanging high-level information and co-operation between them. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) also provided the two parties with the “opportunity to consult each other on important bilateral, regional and international developments”.

Interestingly, the MoU was signed by the then Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and on the Chinese side, it was signed by none other than Xi Jinping himself, who was then the Chinese vice-president and standing committee member of the CPC’s politburo. The MoU was signed in the presence of his mother and party president Sonia Gandhi.

Not just the MoUs, but the close relationship between the Chinese leadership and the Congress party, especially Rahul Gandhi had also got highlighted just a few years ago during the Doklam stand-off when Rahul Gandhi was caught secretly meeting Chinese officials. The Gandhi-scion, not once but twice, was caught meeting Chinese officials, raising suspicion among the policymakers regarding the intent of his secretive meeting with the Chinese.

The Congress party, despite its open support for forces that seeks to ‘bleed India with a thousand cuts’, has now intends to play its ‘nationalism’ card to convince the voters of the country that they too possess some sort of affinity towards the country.

Fact-Check: Is WhatsApp suspending support for older iPhones after Christmas

OpIndia Staff
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Fact-Check: Is WhatsApp suspending support for older iPhones after Christmas

Several news agencies have reported that WhatsApp has decided to discontinue its services for certain older iPhone models from January 2021. It sounded like genuine info as WhatsApp has discontinued the support for older models in the past. However, there is a catch. Some news agencies claimed that it would stop working for iOS 9, which is not true.

Like Business Today said, “The messaging app will stop working on devices running on iOS 9, Android 4.0.3, or older versions of these operating systems.”

BT said WhatsApp will stop working on iOS 9 which is not true

On the other hand, Jagran English said, “As per reports, WhatsApp will stop working on smartphones that are running on iOS 9 and Android 4.0.3 operating systems from January 1.” Several other agencies followed the same track.

Jagran English said that the smartphones running on iOS 9 will not be able to use WhatsApp which is false

However, this is not true.

WhatsApp needs iOS 9 or higher

A simple error in the language has made a major glitch in these reports. As per the official support section of WhatsApp, the app needs “iPhone running iOS 9 and newer” to run on iPhones. Similarly, on Andriod phones, the OS must be 4.0.3 or older. Anyone with a smartphone running on an older operating system will not be able to install WhatsApp.

The devices compatible with iOS 9 include the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus. Hence, iPhone 4S onward should be safe. Phones older than iPhone 4 are likely to lose WhatsApp support from 2021.

Upcoming features that you can expect in 2021

Since Facebook took control of WhatsApp, the company has introduced many changes to make the app more user friendly. In the coming year, several features are currently under Beta Testing that will become available to all users worldwide, possibly in a phased release. One of the significant changes that the Indian users will experience is the option to pay via WhatsApp using the UPI payment system. Though the company has announced that the feature is now available for all users in India, many users are yet to receive the update. At the beginning of 2021, it is believed that all Indian users will have the feature available.

WhatsApp calls from desktop

Though WhatsApp has launched a desktop app long back that can be connected to the app on your phone, several features are missing from the desktop version. One of the main features that the desktop app lacks is the calling feature. Those who use WhatsApp for work often have to shift their concentration from workstation to phone while making or receiving calls. According to WebAtInfo, the calling feature will soon be available on Web and Desktop apps.

Paste multiple items simultaneously

As of now, you can only paste one item, for example, a video or image, in WhatsApp. The developers are testing an option to paste multiple items into the iOS version of the app. WebAtInfo said that the feature would be available in the initial updates in 2021.

Join group call anytime

Another feature that WebAtInfo spotted was the ability to join group calls anytime. As of now, if someone has declined a group call, he or she can only participate in a new session. However, the update will allow users to join the group call anytime, even if they have declined it before.

Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen’s name emerges in the list of unauthorised occupants of land belonging to Visva Bharati University

OpIndia Staff
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Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen’s name emerges in the list of unauthorised occupants of land belonging to Visva Bharati University

Nobel Laureate and leftist ‘intellectual’ Amartya Sen‘s name has come up in the list of people illegally occupying the land belonging to Visva Bharati University in West Bengal. According to reports, the varsity has written to the West Bengal government that several properties belonging to it have been wrongly recorded in the name of private parties. A list of such unauthorised occupants prepared by the University includes the name of Amartya Sen.

The properties wrongly recorded in the name of unauthorised occupants include girls’ hostel, academic department, office and Vice Chancellor’s bungalow. The University has alleged that the persons in whose names the properties have been wrongly recorded in the government’s record-of-right, the University’s land has been wrongly transferred to them and they have set up restaurants, schools and other businesses on it.

Central government’s control over West Bengal is growing: Sen

Sen has allegedly illegally occupied 13 decimals of land which is in addition to the 125 decimal land legally leased to his late father by the University. However, Sen has denied the allegations. Responding to the allegations, Sen told Times of India that the University land on which his house is situated is on a long-term lease. “I see from your report that Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty of Visva-Bharati is busy arranging the ‘eviction of unauthorised occupation of leased land in the campus’ and that I have also been named in the list of occupants”, Sen said. “The Visva-Bharati on which our house is situated is on a long term lease, which is nowhere near its expiry, but the Vice-Chancellor can always dream about evicting anyone he wants”, he added.

The ’eminent economist’ targeted the central government and alleged that the control of the central government was growing in the state. Insinuating that the Vice-Chancellor was being instructed by the central government to act against him, Sen said that the Vice-Chancellor was ’empowered by the central government in Delhi’. “Having been born and brought up in Santiniketan, I could comment on the growing gap between the Santiniketan culture and that of the VC, empowered as he is by the Central government in Delhi, with its growing control over Bengal”, he alleged. Sen said that he would take the legal recourse in the matter.

Leaseholders sold their lease-hold land to outsiders

Reportedly, as per the University’s estate office, the erroneous records were prepared in the 1980s and 1990. A large part of the land, which was procured by Rabindranath Tagore for the University, is located in the Purvapalli area of Santiniketan which is a residential hub of eminent persons and the families associated with the Ashrama school and Visva-Bharati during their inception. The documents available with the University reveal the extent of encroachment on the University land in 1990s. The documents were also sent to the Ministry of education and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).

In 2006, Sen had requested the then Vice-Chancellor to transfer the 99-year old lease-hold land to his name which was done after the decision of the Executive Council. However, the excess land was reportedly never returned to the University. According to TOI, an internal reports issued by the estate office of the University to various offices in July 2020, the varsity has taken up the matter of correction of the ownership of 77 plots of land. The report states that the high profile people illegally occupied the leased land in Purvapalli, Dakshinapalli and Sripalli area will be evicted.

An estate official reportedly said that Sen was aware that he was unauthorisedly occupying a large chunk of the University land. He claimed that Sen’s family benefitted by selling plots near the campus that had no access other than through the campus. A tentative list of illegal occupants released in December 2016 stated that the leaseholders had sold their lease-hold land to outsiders.

European Court of Justice allows the EU states to ban religious slaughterings like Halal and Kosher

OpIndia Staff
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European Court of Justice allows the EU states to ban religious slaughterings like Halal and Kosher

The Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) Thursday allowed the European Union states to impose a ban on religious slaughtering like Halal and Kosher, of animals. The Court today ruled in favour of a regulation already imposed in the Flemish region of Belgium, which, on the grounds of animal rights, banned the slaughter of livestock without stunning them first.  

Belgium’s Flanders regional government had issued the order in 2017 which took effect in 2019. The order said that the slaughterhouses must stun livestock before slaughtering them.

While issuing the directive the court said: “The court concludes that the measures contained in the decree allow a fair balance to be struck between the importance attached to animal welfare and the freedom of Jewish and Muslim believers to manifest their religion.”

Muslims and Jews opined that the ban on Halal and Kosher slaughter is a ‘denial of democracy’

Both Muslim halal and Jewish kosher slaughtering requires the animal to be conscious when its throat is slit. The case revolved around animal welfare versus the right to religious freedom, guaranteed in the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights.

This decision which Muslims and Jewish believe is against their traditions, which require livestock to be conscious when their throats are slit, has irked people of both the communities, which have called the judgement discriminatory. An umbrella organisation for Jewish groups in Belgium slammed the decision as a ‘denial of democracy’ that did not respect the rights of minority groups.

“The fight continues, and we will not admit defeat until we have exhausted all our legal remedies, which is not yet the case,” Yohan Benizri, head of the Belgian Federation of Jewish Organisations, said.

Meanwhile, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association, said that the court ruling represented a “sad day for European Jewry”. “What a terrible message to send to European Jewry, that you and your practices are not welcome here. This is a basic denial of our rights as European citizens,” he said in a statement.

The Muslim community in Belgium was also unhappy with the ruling, which they believed insulted their traditions. The Belgian Coordination Committee of Islamic Institutions said the decision had been a “big disappointment” and argued that the court was pandering to populist sentiments. 

“The Court of Justice seems to have given in to the growing political and societal pressure from populist movements which are waging a symbolic struggle against vulnerable minorities throughout Europe,” the group said in a statement. 

Flanders Govt and animal right activists welcome the decision

However, the decision was welcomed by the Flanders government in northern Belgium. Flanders nationalist animal welfare minister Ben Weyts said: We’re today writing history”.

Animal rights group Gaia said it was a great day and the culmination of a 25-year struggle.

From importance of self-reliant India to Bhakti movement: Key highlights of PM Modi speech at Visva Bharati

OpIndia Staff
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From importance of self-reliant India to Bhakti movement: Key highlights of PM Modi speech at Visva Bharati

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed the centenary celebrations of the Visva-Bharati University, Shantiniketan through video conferencing. The Governor of West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar and Union Education Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal were also present on the occasion.

Visva Bharati University, which was founded by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921, is amongst the oldest central universities in the country. In May 1951, Visva-Bharati was declared to be a Central University and an Institution of National Importance by an Act of Parliament. The university is distinct in nature as it followed the pedagogy devised by Tagore, though it evolved gradually into the modern era later.

Speaking on the historic occasion, Prime Minister Modi said that it was a matter of pride for every Indian that Visva Bharati University completed 100 years. He also said it was his privilege that on this day he was getting an opportunity to remember the virtue of this ‘taphobhoomi’.

Prime Minister Modi said that the Visva Bharati is a true embodiment of Gurudev’s contemplation, vision and hard work for Mother Bharati. “This is a kind of adorable place for India, which gives continuous energy to the country to embody the dream that Gurudev had dreamed of,” PM Modi said.

Prime Minister Modi, in his speech, highlighted how India is today leading the world in environmental protection through international solar alliance. India is the only major country today which is on the right path to achieve the environmental goals of Paris Accord, he added.

Gurudev’s vision for Visva Bharati is also the essence of self-reliant India: PM Modi

PM Modi also said that Rabindranath Tagore’s vision to set up Visva Bharati was also the essence of self-reliant India. Highlighting how self-reliant India campaign is also the path of India’s welfare for world welfare, PM Modi said one must remember the circumstances which led to the establishment of this university.

“It wasn’t just British rule but in the background, were our rich ideas & history of hundreds of years of movement,” he observed.

When we talk of freedom struggle, the idea of ​​19-20 century comes directly in our mind, but it is also a fact that the foundation of these movements was laid long ago, says PM India’s independence movement got energy from many movements that were going on since centuries, he said.

“Guided by Gurudev Visva-Bharati presented a strong image of Indian nationalist sentiment during Independence. Gurudev wanted entire humanity to benefit from India’s spiritual awakening. Atmanirbhar Bharat vision is also a derivative of this sentiment,” added PM Modi.

According to PM Modi, the idea of self-reliant India is the campaign is a campaign to empower India, a campaign to bring prosperity from the prosperity of India to the world.

Bhakti movement strengthened the spiritual and cultural unity of India, says PM

The Prime Minister Modi, in his speech, also highlighted how the Bhakti movement in the country helped India to strengthen its spiritual and cultural unity and identity of India.

“In the Bhakti era, every region of India, every area, be it the east-west-north-south, our saints tried to send out the message of Bhakti in every direction. Acharyas tried to keep the country’s consciousness awake. Bhakti movement filled struggling India with collective consciousness and confidence for centuries,” added PM Modi.

He also added that the topic of devotion cannot proceed until the great black devotee Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is discussed. The great saint, because of whom India got Swami Vivekananda, the Prime Minister remembered mentioning how Swami Vivekananda embodied devotion, knowledge and action, all three in himself.

“He began to see divinity in every person while expanding the scope of devotion. He also gave expression to Karma, stressing on the creation of individual and institution,” noted the Prime Minister in his speech.

The Prime Minister also added that the stream of contemplation of India from Vedas to Vivekananda was also vocal in Gurudev’s contemplation of nationalism, and this stream was not introverted and it was not going to keep India separate from other countries of the world.

Concluding his speech, PM Modi said that as more and more people are getting a good education, the country has to now work to build a strong and wise nation – one that is self-reliant. We must take inspiration from all those who have contributed to making India great over the centuries and millennia, he said.

Grooming Jihad: Sahib Ali poses as Rahul to entrap a Hindu woman in Delhi, rapes and tortures her when his identity is revealed

OpIndia Staff
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Grooming Jihad: Sahib Ali poses as Rahul to entrap a Hindu woman in Delhi, rapes and tortures her when his identity is revealed

Another case of Grooming Jihad (Love Jihad) has come to the fore from the national capital. A 20-year-old Hindu woman residing in Sarita Vihar, Delhi, has approached the police with a complaint against her 20-year-old Muslim tenant who entrapped her posing as a Hindu. According to a TOI report, the victim has alleged that one Sahib Ali forced her into a physical relationship and marriage. She accused him of beating her up. She also complained about being sexually assaulted by Sahib Ali’s father.

The woman in her complaint said that one Sahib Ali, who came to stay as a tenant in her house in November 2019, introduced himself as Rahul to befriend her. He lured her into maintaining a physical relationship with him and marrying him. Later, when his identity was revealed before the woman, he promised not to force her to change her religion or follow his customs. They got married at Kalka Mandir. However, Sahib Ali started beating her up and forced her into a physical relationship against her wishes, said the woman in her complaint.

The Hindu victim narrates her ordeal

Narrating her ordeal the woman said: “In November 2019, a man calling himself Rahul came to stay as a tenant in my house. After we became friends he proposed marriage to me. When I asked about his family, he said he did not have one. However, he later took me to a relatives house where I met his parents and other family members. That day I got to know that his name was Sahib Ali and he was a Muslim. We got married at Kalka Mandir and he promised me he wouldn’t pressurise me into changing my religion or following the customs of his faith. But he later began beating me and forced me into a physical relationship against my wishes”, said the victim.

She also complained against Sahib Ali’s father Hazisunnala, accusing him of touching her inappropriately and sexually assaulting her.

Based on the victim’s complaint, Sarita Vihar police have registered an FIR against the accused. Relevant sections of the IPC has been invoked. The case is being investigated, however, no arrests have been made so far.

Recent case of Grooming Jihad from Delhi

In another case of Grooming Jihad, which had been reported from the national capital last month, a Hindu man had filed a complaint at Prem Nagar police station against the woman named Nazreen Ansari and her relatives accusing of forcefully converting him to Islam

IC 814 hijack: Where are those three terrorists India released in exchange for hostages?

Shashank Bharadwaj
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IC 814 hijack: Where are those three terrorists India released in exchange for hostages?

Twenty-one years ago, on December 24, 1999, the Indian Airlines IC 814 carrying 178 passengers and 11 crew members from Kathmandu to Delhi was hijacked by Pakistan-based Islamic terrorists. The airline was hijacked by Harkat-ul-Mujahideen with the active support and assistance of Pakistan Army before landing at Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The Indian Airlines IC-814 was en route from Kathmandu to New Delhi. The hijackers directed the pilot Captain Devi Sharan to fly to Lahore initially. The captain, realising the imminent danger, flew to Amritsar citing insufficient fuel and persuaded the hijackers to allow him to land the plane at Amritsar. Before the Indian bureaucracy jumped into taking stock of the situation, the aircraft had already left Indian airspace.

According to people who were part of the decision-making process during the incident, there was a 45-50 minute window to carry out an operation to end the hostage crisis, however, the government of the day did not prefer to take the risk, fearing the casualties. The reluctance from the government to go for an NSG operation also came from the fact that the opposition led by the Congress party, aided by its friendly media had put severe pressure to make sure that the Vajpayee government did not consider any military operation to release the hostages.

After briefly touching down at Lahore and Dubai, IC 814 was eventually taken to Kandahar in Southern Afghanistan. After the IC-814 reached Kandahar, which incidentally was the base of the Taliban government, headed by Mullah Mohammed Omar. The hijackers demanded the release of 35 terrorists from Indian prisons, including the dreaded terrorist Maulana Masood Azhar in addition to $200mn in cash.

The Indian government sent in a team of negotiators headed by Diplomat Vivek Katju, Ajit Doval, who was a high ranking Intelligence Bureau officer then, Nehchal Sandhu, and CD Sahay, along with few other representatives of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. During these negotiations, Doval was also effective in bringing down the number of terrorists to be released from 35 to just three.

On December 31, 1999, after seven days, the hostage crisis came to an end as India agreed to release three of the top militants including Masood Azhar, the founder of the terrorist outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar.

What are these three released terrorists now?

Masood Azhar, Jaish-e-Mohammed

After his release, Maulana Masood Azhar regrouped his terror organisation, renamed his terror outfit ‘Harkat-ul-Ansar’ to ‘Harkat-ul-Mujahideen’ (HuM). A year later, Maulana Azhar, with a renewed vigour, started a new outfit – ‘Jaish-e-Mohammed’ (JeM). Azhar was actively backed up by Pakistan Army, who provided all the assistance.

Even the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden and multiple Sunni sectarian organisations based in Pakistan backed Azhar to set up his new terror organisation. Within a year of its inception, Azhar’s Jaish-e-Mohammed launched a series of deadly attacks that almost brought India and Pakistan to the brink of a full-scale war.

Maulana Masood Azhar, since his release, has been responsible for several direct attacks on Indian soil including on the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and the Pathankot airbase attack in January 2016. The most recent terror attack carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammad was the 2019 Pulwama terror attacks. An Islamic-terrorist carried out a suicide attack with his explosives-laden vehicle into a CRPF convoy in Pulwama killing 40 personnel.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, Harkat-ul-Ansar

Omar Sheikh, just like Maulana Masood Azhar, became one of the biggest security threats not just for India, but for the United States as well due to not only his connections inside Pakistan’s military but also his links with the innermost circles of Osama Bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda. Sheikh is the most infamous for the 2002 beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was investigating the financing of Al-Qaeda.

Reportedly, Sheikh had lured Pearl into a trap by lying to arrange an interview with an Islamic cleric and kidnapped him. Sheikh had demanded the release of halted US shipment of F-16 fighter jets to the Pakistani government in exchange of Pearl. After nine days of captivity, Sheikh had released a videotape showing Pearl’s severed head.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in the United States, the US investigators had discovered that Omar Sheikh used aliases to send money from the United Arab Emirates to Mohamed Atta –  the main terrorist leader of the 9/11 attacks.

Sheikh, who was born in the UK and a student at the London School of Economics, has worked with several terrorist organisations such as the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Al-Qaeda and even the Taliban. Currently, Sheikh, who was arrested in 2002 in Lahore in connection with Daniel Pearl’s murder, has been sentenced to death.

Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, Al-Umar Mujahideen

After his release, Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, who belonged to the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), has carried out several terror attacks in Kashmir. Zargar is believed to have picked up the activity of Al-Umar Mujahideen in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir initially, close to the LoC. Zargar has recruited and trained youngsters for ‘Jihad’ in Kashmir and is believed to have been working to renew the sleeper cells.

The intelligence officials believe that Zargar is suspected to be the man behind the June 2019 terror attack in Kashmir’s Anantnag, in which five CRPF personnel were killed and three others were injured after terrorists attacked them with grenades. In 2017, Zargar claimed responsibility for many of the grenade attacks on the security forces in the Kashmir valley.

Zargar, sponsored by Pakistan’s intelligence agency – ISI to send terrorists and carry out attacks inside India, is currently believed to be living in Muzaffarabad without any restrictions.

OfCom: The secretive govt censor that has fined the UK affiliate of Republic Bharat. Why people are rejoicing and what it means

Abhishek Banerjee
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OfCom: The secretive govt censor that has fined the UK affiliate of Republic Bharat. Why people are rejoicing and what it means

Yesterday morning, for scores of Indian liberals, Christmas came early. They woke up to the cheer of the UK affiliate of Republic Bharat being hit with a fine of 20,000 British Pounds for broadcasting “hate speech.” This is the first time I have heard of the OfCom, the UK government body that served the fine.

For scores of India’s elite liberals, this was not the day to talk about free speech. It was a day to celebrate.

There were a couple of things that were noteworthy about the reporting around the incident. First, the OfCom was described to us as a “regulator” for the media. Okay, what does it regulate? Apparently, all the things that you can say on air. You know we have the National Board of Film Certification in India with a similar brief for what you can show in the movies. Our media usually refers to it as the unofficial term Censor Board. So why didn’t the media refer to the UK’s OfCom as a “censor”?

Oh, I get it. When they do it, it’s called regulation. When we do it, it’s called censorship.

Second, the sense of liberal cheer was not dampened when the nature of Republic Bharat’s alleged offense began to emerge. It turns out that in the backdrop of India’s Chandrayaan mission last year, the folks on Republic Bharat had referred to India as a nation that produces scientists, as opposed to Pakistan which produces terrorists. Hate speech for sure. And how untrue! Seventy-three years after partition, it was heartwarming to see the imperial British government, the Pakistanis and the Indian liberals come together to celebrate a common victory.

But I wanted to know more about this OfCom. It’s full name is the Office of Communications. It holds sweeping powers over broadcasting, telecommunications and even postal industries in the UK. That’s reassuring. I do hope that the OfCom is under the Ministry of Truth in the UK. Dear George Orwell, are you hearing this?

So what methodology does the OfCom use to decide whether something is hate speech? I did a simple google search. It led me to this letter, posted on the official website of OfCom in response to a Freedom of Information request (similar to our RTI):

What OfCom considers ‘hate speech’

That’s just awesome. The methodology is secret. And the OfCom’s Secretary has confirmed that it is not in the “public interest” to release it.

Thank you, dear Secretary to Ofcom, for looking out for the public interest. Seems the good people of the United Kingdom had some kind of meeting, where they elected this faceless bureaucrat as God. Or at least the official guardian of public interest.

As a concession to those of us who are not guardians of public interest, the Secretary was kind enough to provide “Annex B” setting out the reasons why this methodology must be kept secret. And it makes for truly amazing reading. They have two columns, one listing factors for disclosure, while the other lists factors for withholding. And below that, the Secretary, who is a “qualified person” as defined by law, has delivered the final verdict.

First, let us read the factors in favor of disclosing the methodology. It’s remarkably short.

OfCom’s methodology

Ah, the “general desirability” that the actions of the regulator should be transparent! The public’s right to know how their government decides what they are allowed to say? That’s just generally desirable, though apparently not important enough. You have to give it to the British. They do condescension well.

Now let us find out the much longer and more important factors for withholding this methodology. First, there is this.

Factors for withholding methodology

Ah, the government needs a safe space where they can decide what should be censored. If the general riff-raff get to know what is being said here, the government might get its feelings hurt. And then the government might feel shy about expressing its views in the future.

Dear President Xi Jinping, do consider giving a bear hug to these sensitive souls in the British government.

And finally, there is this.

OfCom’s methodology

Long sentences. So, we’re going to have to break it down. The monitoring is only effective if the broadcasters don’t know when and who is being monitored. If this information becomes public, the broadcasters might become alert in time and fix their conduct before the sword falls on them. Then, how would the government know who the thought criminals are?

So everyone is suspect, all of the time. At any time, a government bureaucracy, using a secret methodology, might decide that you have broken their secret rules. Nothing to worry here. As long as you only talk about unicorns and rainbows, you will be just fine. Hopefully.

And finally, the Secretary delivers the expected verdict. No disclosures, sorry.

“Public interest favours withholding information”

Observe how long the sentences are in the latter part of Annex B. Unlike the simple, easy to understand sentence that mentioned the general desirability of things being transparent. In case you are wondering, you do have a right to appeal. In that case, the OfCom will do an “internal review.”

This is modern liberalism. A parody of itself and its alleged goals. Honestly, tell me. If I had not told you at the very beginning, would you have known if these were documents from the British government or the Chinese government?

But to scores of Indian liberal elites, all this matters little. They don’t care if the bosses of some TV channel cheat investors using insider trading. They don’t care if notable journalists are on tape fixing portfolios in the Union Cabinet with lobbyists and big business. And they don’t care if media coverage endangers lives of security forces during anti-terror operations. All they care about is making Republic Bharat shut up about Pakistan.

In other words, yes to corruption. Yes to terrorism. No to free speech.

Rahul Gandhi peddles The Print’s lies about India-Russia relations, gets ‘fact-checked’ by the Russian Embassy in India

OpIndia Staff
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Rahul Gandhi peddles The Print’s lies about India-Russia relations, gets ‘fact-checked’ by the Russian Embassy in India

Rahul Gandhi, who will probably become Congress president again, continues to share misinformation and spread lies. Gandhi has recently claimed in a tweet that the annual summit between India and Russia has been cancelled due to Moscow’s unease with Quad. This is the first time the Annual Summit has been postponed since 2000. Interestingly Gandhi has quoted The Print’s report in which it was alleged the meeting was postponed after Russia “expressed severe reservations on New Delhi joining the Indo-Pacific initiative and Quad, thereby tilting more towards the US.”

The Print’s misleading report on India-Russia Annual Summit

Gandhi wrote, “Russia is a very important friend of India. Damaging our traditional relationships is short-sighted and dangerous for our future.”

The reality is far away from what Rahul Gandhi said

Anurag Srivastava, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, issued a statement. He said, “The India-Russia Annual Summit did not take place in 2020 because of the Covid Pandemic. This was a mutually agreed decision between the two Governments. Any imputation otherwise is false and misleading. Spreading false stories on important relationships is particularly irresponsible.”

Reacting to The Print’s allegations and Rahul Gandhi’s tweet, the Russian Ambassador to India, Nikolay Kudashev, has released a press release. He said the article is far from reality.

Press Release by Russian Ambassador to India

The same was tweeted by the Ambassador. He said, “Special and privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India is progressing well despite the Covid-19. Staying in close touch with our Indian friends to work out new dates for the summit, postponed due to epidemiological reasons,” he said. The summit will be held soon once the dates are decided, the press release added.

Rahul Gandhi’s habit of spreading misinformation

Rahul Gandhi has been a serial fake news peddler. He had to apologise in the Supreme Court for attributing false, politically motivated slogans to the judges. He had spread deliberate falsehood and blatant lies about crucial issues regarding defence, national security and international relations. Interestingly, despite his lies being caught every time, the Congress price neither bothers to apologise nor correct his habits.

Loyola College in Chennai asked to pay Rs 64 lakh compensation to woman who accused Father Xavier Alphonse of sexual harassment

OpIndia Staff
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Loyola College in Chennai asked to pay Rs 64 lakh compensation to woman who accused Father Xavier Alphonse of sexual harassment

In a major victory for sexual harassment survivors, Loyola College in Chennai has been asked by Women’s Commission to pay the staffer Mary (name changed) to pay compensation amounting to Rs 64.3 lakh. This also covers remuneration for 81 months. As per the commission, the victim had a good track record in service and there was no reason her services should be terminated abruptly the way Loyola College did.

As per reports, the victim faced abuse and sexual harassment from Father Xavier Alphonse SJ, the Director of the Alumni association. She had accused the institute of delaying the due process for almost a decade and had eventually approached the Madras High Court.

In November this year, the woman reached out to Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women. Based on her allegations, an inquiry was conducted. On December 15 after Francis P Xavier, current Rector of Loyola College expressed his inability to respond to summons because of his old age and the risk to exposure of COVID-19, the commission members visited the institute in person.

Sexual harassment charges against Father Xavier Alphonse

According to Mary (name changed), she started facing problems about a decade ago when she was appointed as an administrator for both the Loyola Development Office and the Alumni Association. She had questioned allegedly dubious methods used by Father Xavier Alphonse SJ of siphoning amount close to Rs 1 crore to his personal trust. He was then the Director of the Alumni Association. She had also accused him of misusing scholarship scheme by college.

After she brought these issues to the notice of the college principal, Father Xavier Alphonse’s financial powers were curtailed. In retaliation, he started allegedly harassing her. According to her, the only action the college took was to shift her own department. No further investigation was carried, she said.

In September 2014, the college Rector allegedly asked Mary to stop coming to work and she was told that she will be informed when the accused had ‘moved’ from the college. After he was shifted to another Jesuit college in Trichy, the college allegedly stopped communication with her. While she was assured of compensation as soon as she resumes service, according to her she was never called to rejoin duties.

The college has claimed that Mary has not preferred any complaint to the Internal Complaints Committee or any other authority regarding the sexual harassment allegations.

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