In a positive development, a Canadian University has decided to return an ancient idol of Goddess Annapoorna back to India in a bid to correct historical wrongdoings and the damaging legacy of colonialism. The idol belongs to Goddess Annapoorna, the deity of nourishment and queen of Varanasi. The idol is depicted as holding a spoon in one hand and a bowl of kheer in the other.
As per reports, the idol was stolen from a shrine in Varanasi about a century ago and was kept at the MacKenzie Art Gallery in the University of Regina. In a statement of Thursday, the University said that it was brought to the attention of the varsity by artist Divya Mehra while scourging through the permanent collection of journalist and historian Norman Mackenzie, the art gallery’s namesake. She had pointed out that the idol had caught the eye of Mackenzie during a trip to India in 1913. On learning about his desire to possess the idol, a man stole it on his behest from a shrine near the Ganga river in Varanasi. The University then decided to take the appropriate decision to undo the cultural theft.
University decides to return idol voluntarily
Following a virtual repatriation ceremony on November 19, Vice-Chancellor and Interim President of the University Dr Thomas Chase met Indian High Commissioner to Canada, Ajay Bisaria, to officially repatriate the idol. The ceremony was attended by representatives from Canada Border Services Agency, MacKenzie Art Gallery, and Global Affairs Canada. While speaking on the development, Ajay Bisaria said, “We are delighted that this unique statue of Annapoorna is on her way home. I am grateful to the University of Regina for their proactive engagement for the return of this cultural icon to India. The move to voluntarily repatriate such cultural treasures shows the maturity and depth of India-Canada relations.”
Official statement by University officials
“As a university, we have a responsibility to right historical wrongs and help overcome the damaging legacy of colonialism wherever possible. Repatriating this statue does not atone for the wrong that was done a century ago, but it is an appropriate and important act today. I am thankful to the MacKenzie Art Gallery, the Indian High Commission, and the Department of Canadian Heritage for their roles in making it possible,” Vice-Chancellor Chase stated.
Curator of the President’s Art Collection from the University of Regina, Alex King, stated, “The repatriation of the Annapoorna is part of a global, long-overdue conversation in which museums seek to address harmful and continuing imperial legacies built into, sometimes, the very foundations of their collections. As stewards of cultural heritage, our responsibility to act respectfully and ethically is fundamental, as is the willingness to look critically at our own institutional histories,” said Alex King, Curator/Preparator, University of Regina President’s Art Collection.
DGP Dilbag Singh said on Sunday that a tunnel was detected near the international border between India and Pakistan at the Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir. The tunnel is reported to be 30-40m long and was reportedly used by the terrorists who were eliminated during the Nagrota encounter.
Tunnel detected near International Border in Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir: DGP Dilbag Singh (file photo) pic.twitter.com/4zZrllyO4D
Sandbags were reportedly discovered with Pakistani markings. It is believed that the tunnel was not for one-time use. Earlier, forces had launched an operation to unearth an underground tunnel that was suspected to have been the route through which the Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorists infiltrated into India. The tunnel was discovered by the BSF and J&K Police.
J&K: Tunnel detected near International Border in Samba sector by BSF & J&K police.
“It seems terrorists involved in Nagrotra encounter used this 30-40 metre long tunnel as it’s a fresh one. We believe they had a guide who took them till highway,” says N S Jamwal, IG, BSF Jammu pic.twitter.com/ghmueuhAR2
The encounter had broken out at the Ban toll plaza in Jammu’s Nagrota where security forces had laid a road block after receiving information that suspected terrorists were hiding at the location. Following a gun-fight that went for several hours, 4 terrorists were killed, while one soldier was injured.
The encounter started after terrorists had open fire on security forces when the vehicles were being checked. After firing on the security forces, the terrorists had fled towards the nearby forest, where the encounter took place.
11 AK-47 Rifles, 3 Pistols, 29 Grenades and other devices were recovered from the slain terrorist. Along with this, medicines with Pakistani markings were also found, proving that the terrorists came from Pakistan. According to a tweet by IGP Jammu, the quantity of weapons and type of medicines indicates that it was a fresh infiltration and the terrorists were suicide attackers.
Based on the materials and document recovered from the terrorists, intelligence analysts have concluded that Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists were planning a major terror attack on the anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attack. Prime Minister Modi held a security review meeting with the top brass over the Nagrota encounter as well.
Former Union Minister P Chidambaram is shocked. As the mercury dipped in the national capital, P Chidambaram took to social media to claim that Kerala government’s order to make ‘offensive’ post on social media punishable by 5 years in prison has shocked him.
Shocked by the law made by the LDF government of Kerala making a so-called ‘offensive’ post on social media punishable by 5 years in prison
This shock experienced by P Chidambaram has shocked me, to put it mildly.
*Cough* Sec 66A of IT Act *cough*
It was in October 2012, when under the draconian section 66A of the IT Act the then Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s son got a man arrested for “offensive” tweets against him. Local Crime Branch of CID Police in Puducherry had gone to arrest then 45-year-old Ravi, owner of a plastic packing material factory, for tweeting ‘offensive’ messages to Karti on three occasions from 2011.
Srinivasan had accused Karti of corruption. This is what Karti had tweeted in defence of getting a man arrested for accusing him of corruption.
Free speech is subject to reasonable restrictions. I have a right to seek constitutional/legal remedies over defamatory/scurrilous tweets
Eight years down the line, Karti is facing investigation in number of cases including money laundering and having undisclosed foreign assets.
The law was passed by P Chidambaram’s ‘zero loss‘ colleague, Kapil Sibal. Perhaps Congress leaders just did not want the aam janta to question Congress leaders and their family members over allegations of corruption.
Section 66A of IT Act came into force in 2010. Ravi’s arrest based on Karti’s complaint was one of the first incidents of arrest of someone over ‘freedom of expression’. The section was punishable for up to three years in jail over social media posts which are ‘grossly offensive or has menacing character’. Perhaps Chidambaram is shocked that Kerala government put jail time of 5 years, two years more than what they had stated.
That’s not it, though. If you posted any information you knew to be false, but posted only to cause ‘annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, or ill will’, a non-bailable arrest warrant awaited you. How dare you cause someone annoyance or inconvenience over social media under non-fascist Congress rule? After all, isn’t Congress synonymous to freedom of speech?
When passing this law, Sibal had claimed he did not intend to censor social media.
Indians, every time Congress leaders speak on Freedom of Expression
Just few days after Karti got the businessman arrested, two girls in Palghar were arrested for questioning the call for Mumbai bandh on death of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray’s death. Again under the Section 66A of IT Act brought in by Kapil Sibal. Thackeray was head of a political outfit. In 2012, Maharashtra had a Congress-run government. Years later, his son, Uddhav Thackeray would join hands with Congress and NCP and form the government in Maharashtra.
Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi was arrested in Mumbai in September 2012, under section 66A of IT Act as well as various other provisions over allegations of ‘insulting’ the national emblem and drawing a cartoon. Speaking of cartoons, another politician who took an offence at her cartoon was West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. A Jadavpur University professor was arrested in April 2012 for circulating ‘anti-Mamata’ cartoons.
And I’m not even beginning to talk about Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency and what it did to freedom of any kind. Apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree as her father, India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru got poet Majrooh Sultanpuri arrested for criticism who had to spend good two years in jail.
Hence, when Congress leaders express shock at anyone ‘stifling freedom of expression’, it is nothing short of shocking.
An average Indian expressing shock at Congress leaders expression shock over ‘draconian anti-FOE act’
A group of volunteers in Kerala has made a sensational claim accusing Kerala government of fudging their COVID data to show a lesser number of coronavirus deaths in the state. The group recorded every Covid-19 related in the state as per media reports, and found that it is much more than the number of deaths reported by the state govt.
According to a BBC report on the findings of the study, the group of researchers have compiled a list containing names of all the people who succumbed to the Chinese pandemic. These group of researches have put months of painstaking research to record data of these deceased persons, picking up from local papers and news networks to report almost all deaths that occurred in the state due to the pandemic.
A team led by Dr Arun N Madhavan, a general medicine physician, checked the district editions of seven local newspapers and followed five news channels unfailingly every day. These team meticulously recorded every death reported in the news and obituary notices to diligently enter the details into a spreadsheet.
The team has tabulated the entire data into a Google Sheets spreadsheet, that contains names, address of every person from Kerala who died due to the Chinese pandemic, the date of their death, along with multiple sources of the records.
As of now, the volunteers had counted 3543 COVID-19 deaths from Kerala. However, the official death toll from the disease is 2,023 till Sunday. If one goes by the data of recorded deaths by Madhavan and his team, there has been a whopping 43 per cent of underreporting of COVID deaths in Kerala. The sheet also contains 12 deaths with only one source, hence not considered as confirmed until they are reported by a second source.
“We are missing a lot of Covid-19 deaths here,” Dr Madhavan told BBC. According to Madhavan, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Communist government has recognised a little more than half of the deaths caused by COVID and attributed the rest to underlying conditions or co-morbidities.
Here is a district-wise reporting of COVID-19 deaths put out by the team of researchers that exposes underreporting of deaths by the Kerala government:
High exclusion of deaths in the official data, says researchers
The increasing gap between the official numbers claimed by the government to the actual number of the people who are deceased to the pandemic, as reported by Madhavan and team, comes at a time when the ‘liberal-secular’ media have hailed the so-called Kerala model of handling coronavirus despite the fact that Kerala has been one of the worst affected states in the country.
The main accusation against Kerala, which has claimed data transparency, is that it has been undercounting deaths. Dr Madhavan believes under-reporting of coronavirus deaths in Kerala is rampant.
He says, “Patients who tested negative “just before they died” and did not belong to Kerala were not counted. Three patients – all men, aged between 65 and 78 – came to his clinic with symptoms and died in hospital in October during treatment.”
“Their deaths didn’t come up in the media or the official count. All of us are missing deaths, but the government is missing them the most,” he said.
Bureaucrats admit Kerala fudged numbers by underreporting COVID-19 deaths
Even, Rajeev Sadanandan, a top health bureaucrat who is advising the government on handling the pandemic, admitted to underreporting of numbers saying that there has been “some” under-reporting of deaths in Kerala. Sadanandan added that they did not count cases who were suffering from terminal or renal diseases and were found to be infected with COVID-19.
Sadanandan claimed that Kerala had always prided itself on its transparency of data and it was this that helped the state fight an outbreak of the vicious Nipah virus in 2018. “We have not consciously hidden data. Some districts might not have reported deaths fearing adverse reactions. It is difficult to hide data in a society which insists on total transparency,” the bureaucrat disclosed.
Oommen C Kurian, a researcher in Observer Research Foundation, also believed that the undercounting of deaths in Kerala has been “conscious and systematic, and not because of systemic weakness”. Kurian added that despite all the robust surveillance capacity and a government panel to advise on the matter, “no major reconciliation of deaths has happened yet”.
“The authorities seem to be convinced that by whatever means the state should keep its reputation as a Covid-19 success story,” Kurian said.
Another senior government official also admitted that he estimated that the state had under-reported deaths by at least 30 per cent. Speaking to BBC, he added that even if the official toll was doubled to factor in uncounted deaths, the number would remain well below that reported by most other states.
With such a massive expose by a team of Kerala researchers, the whole fake narrative of ‘successful Kerala model’, that was carefully backed up by the global PR and international awards is out in the open.
Interestingly, the intellectual cheerleaders, who were all along bragging about the sham called ‘Kerala model’ by deliberately hiding the reality of Kerala’s terrible management of coronavirus have now gone silent. The Kerala government, being ditched by its ‘left-liberal’ cheerleaders, seems to be now prepping up for an attack on media and its critics in apprehension that they could now expose its massive coverup.
Did Kerala govt pass anti-media ordinance in anticipation of media expose?
Just yesterday, the Kerala government had hurriedly passed an ordinance that gives arbitrary powers to police to arrest people for expressing their opinion not just on social media but also on mainstream media. According to the new law, the law enforcement authorities can arrest anyone and prosecute them in the name of fighting the increasing incidents of crimes perpetrated through social media.
It is rather intriguing to know whether Kerala government, which is accused of manipulating the coronavirus deaths in the state, was anticipating such an expose and prepared itself with such a draconian law. The Communist Kerala government, perhaps being aware of the BBC report that exposed that their coronavirus data scam, hurriedly came with the idea of promulgating the ordinance.
The Section 118-A of the Kerala Police Act, that was passed in the form of an ordinance by the Kerala government, gives unbridled powers for the law enforcement agencies to curtail the freedom of the press and arrest anybody on the charges of exploiting social media to target individuals, especially women and children.
By pre-empting that a political controversy would erupt, the Kerala government armed themselves with such draconian powers so that they could punish not only the opposition parties but also certain media groups, social media users for exposing their COVID death scam.
Interestingly, the Kerala Government in its official gazette has mentioned that it was satisfied that the circumstances exist currently which render it necessary for them to take immediate action to pass such an ordinance. In fact, it is not yet clear what sort of ‘exigency situation’ had arrived for the Kerala government that prompted them to promulgate an ordinance in just a matter of hours.
Amidst all the serious allegations and severe criticism against the Kerala government, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led administration has chosen to stay silent and are yet to comment on the allegations of massive underreporting of reporting COVID deaths made against them.
Tensions are simmering between two states in North East India. Border disputes between Assam and Mizoram have been a cause for concern for quite some time and under current circumstances, it has the potential to create a severe deterioration of relationship between the two states. According to a forest department report quoted by Assam Tribune, Mizoram forces are still within Assam’s territory even after promising to withdraw a couple of weeks earlier.
The report notes, “Unlike the usual incidents of encroachment of forest lands by general public, the recent encroachment and land grabbing by Mizo forces appears to be prompted by the Mizoram government. However, this is not the first instance of incursion by Mizoram forces inside the territory of Assam.”
The report states further, “The personnel who are illegally occupying forest lands inside the territory of Assam have taken a very aggressive position regarding their claim that the recently occupied lands belongs to the territory of Mizoram… these personnel are in no mood to accept the constitutional boundary of Assam & Mizoram or to respect the notification of March 9, 1933 that defines the boundary of the States of Assam and Mizoram.”
“Due to establishment of IR Battalion camps inside the territory of Assam, Cachar Division stands to lose control over nearly 700 hectares of forest land in the Innerline Reserved Forest area,” it added. The report further says that only the Government of India could defuse the border tensions and emphasized on the necessity to resolve the boundary dispute once and for all.
DIG (Southern Range) Dilip Kumar Dey was quoted by Assam Tribune as saying that Mizoram personnel continue to be present at five locations inside two districts of Assam, namely, Cachar and Karimganj. “Sometimes they thin out, but later they again build up,” he said.
Meanwhile, Assam Minister for Forest and Environment, Parimal Suklabaidya has said that truck drivers are hesitant to enter Mizoram due to fear of “harassment” in the name of Coronavirus testing during his visit to the Assam-Mizoram border. Movement of trucks resumed on the 9th of November after a 12-blockade was lifted.
The blockade was begun by residents of Lailapur on the 28th of October demanding the withdrawal of Mizoram forces from what they claimed was Assam territory. “Mizoram will have to retreat eventually and we are not going to budge an inch of our territory,” Suklabaidya said but maintained that the state wants a cordial relationship with its neighbour.
October clashes at Assam-Mizoram Border
Clashes erupted at the Assam-Mizoram border between the people of the two states on the intervening night between the 17th and 18th of October, injuring people and leaving more than 20 temporary bamboo huts incinerated. Seven people were reportedly injured.
According to officials, the flare-up took place as villagers of Lailapur in Cachar district of Assam entered into a brawl with residents of Vairengte in Kolasib district of neighbouring Mizoram. As per reports, the border clashes were a result of the razing down of a makeshift hut used by local volunteers who manned the inter-state border near the Saihaipui ‘V’ village, about 3 km from Vairengte.
A day after comedian Bharti Singh and her husband Haarsh Limbachiyaa was detained by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), a Mumbai Court has now sent the duo to judicial custody for 14 days.
As per reports, the duo has been remanded to judicial custody till December 4. Bharti Singh was arrested on Saturday, while her husband Haarsh was arrested on Sunday after questioning him for around 12 hours. The residence of comedian Bharti Singh was raided by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday in connection with its investigation into the drug racket in the entertainment industry.
The investigative officials had recovered 86.5 grams of ganja from the office and residence of the couple in Andheri West. While speaking about the case, an NCB official informed that the duo had admitted to the consumption of Ganja. Singh had reportedly stated that Haarsh procured the drug for her from one peddler and kept two bags (one at the office while the other at his residence) for consumption.
According to NCB officials, the amount of drug recovered is considered as ‘small quantity’, and not as ‘commercial quantity’. For Ganja, upto 1 kg is considered small quantity, and the punishment for keeping small quantity of Ganja is upto 6 months of jail and/or fine upto Rs 10000.
NCB Bollywood Drug Racket
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had recently summoned film producer Firoz Nadiadwala in connection to the probe in the high-profile drug scandal surrounding the Hindi film industry. Consequently, his residence in the upscale western suburbs of Mumbai was searched by the narcotics team in connection to the case.
Earlier, it was revealed that NCB has initiated a probe into Shah Rukh Khan, Arjun Rampal and Dino Morea for alleged drug abuse. Till then, the names of only actresses like Deepika Padukone and Sara Ali Khan had come up in the drug abuse probe.
Previously, the NCB officials had impounded mobile phones of Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Rakul Preet Singh and Deepika’s manager Karishma Prakash. During the interrogation, the NCB officials had confronted Deepika Padukone with the digital evidence gathered from Jaya Saha’s phone that showed the actor’s chats about procuring ‘maal’ for her. However, as per a report, Deepika had claimed that by ‘Maal’ she meant cigarettes and ‘Hash’ referred to the different brands of cigarettes.
A month after controversial Netflix series ‘A Suitable Boy’ was released, BJP leader Gaurav Tiwari has filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the video-streaming platform for the show. Tiwari is the National Secretary of the BJYM (Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha). The series, based on a novel by Vikram Seth was released on Netflix on October 23.
In a series of tweets, the BJP leader had confirmed the development. He stated, “In the web series of ‘A Suitable Boy’, Netflix has shown three kissing scenes, in one episode, taking place within the temple premises.” He inquired, “As per the story, a Muslim man is in love with a Hindu woman. But, why were all kissing scenes shot within the temple premises (and not mosque).” Gaurav Tiwari informed that he had filed an FIR in this case at Rewa, Madhya Pradesh.
अपने ‘A Suitable Boy’ कार्यक्रम में @NetflixIndia ने एक ही एपिसोड में तीन बार मंदिर प्रांगण में चुंबन दृश्य फ़िल्माए। पटकथा के अनुसार मुस्लिम युवक को हिंदू महिला प्रेम करती है, पर सभी किसिंग सीन मंदिर प्रांगण में क्यूँ शूट किए गए?
While speaking to reporters, Tiwari reiterated that his objection was not to the kissing scenes but the act being shot in the temple, with Aarti happening in the background. He questioned, “Can you shoot such scenes during Azaan at a mosque? Do you have such creative freedom? Don’t mistake the tolerance of Hindus as their weakness. This is not just an insult to Madhya Pradesh but to the sentiments of Lord Shiva and his crores of devotees. You need to apologise.”
रानी अहिल्याबाई होल्कर ने महेश्वर घाट को शिवभक्तों के लिए समर्पित किया। पाषाण युग के हजारों शिवलिंग उसकी पहचान है।
पर @NetflixIndia इस पावन धरा का उपयोग लव-जिहाद को बढ़ावा देने और हिंदू भावनाओं को ठेस पहुँचाने के लिए कर रहा है।
“Rani Aliyabai Holkar had dedicated the Maheshwar ghat for Shiv bhakts. 1000s of Shivlings from Pashan Yug is its identity,” he stated. Gaurav Tiwari had also slammed Netflix for using the religious site for promoting ‘love jihad’ and hurting Hindu sentiments. “I am uninstalling Netflix from my phone, are you?” he asked.
Hinduphobia of A Suitable Boy
Critical reviews of the show have pointed towards the Hinduphobic overtones of the series. Lata and Kabir share a passionate kiss in temple premises. Characters are shown repeatedly walking around in shoes and sandals near Hindu sacred idols and holy trees. There are many other such examples in the show. Needless to say, ‘A Suitable Boy’ follows all secular tropes very religiously.
As per the series, a good Hindu is a non-religious one, or religiously indifferent, at best. A religious Hindu is always uncivilized or regressive and a Muslim – religious or otherwise – is mostly reasonable and understanding. Most important of all, a Muslim is always a victim – of Hindus or his/her circumstances.
Violence erupted in Tripura on Saturday during protests against the settlement of Bru Refugees in the Kanchanpur sub-division of the state. The violence occurred after protesters’ blocked the National Highway at Panisagar in North Tripura. The protest was called by the Joint Movement Committee (JMC) and as per reports, they have demanded that the Brus be settled equally across the eight districts of Tripura.
Thus far, two individuals have lost their lives in the violence. Srikanta Das, a 40-year-old carpenter, died on the spot during the protests while Biswajit Debbarma, a fire service personnel, who was injured during the protests, passed away on Sunday. The protesters and police accounts differ on what actually started the violence.
According to the Police, they were forced to open fire in self defence and to bring the situation under control. “The crowd had blocked the national highway without permission. We tried to dissuade them and, after they became violent, we tried a mild lathi-charge and blank firing. The crowd became unruly and tried to snatch weapons. Police fired in self-defence,” Additional Director General of Police Rajiv Singh told the Indian Express.
The JMC, on the other hand, claims the Police opened fire on the protesters when they were protesting peacefully. “Our protesters were peaceful. The police opened fire on them without provocation. One person died on the spot and many others were severely injured. We are still unclear on details,” Convener of JMC, Sushanta Baruah, said. The protesters claim that the Tripura State Rifles opened fire without provocation which led to retaliation from the protesters.
Chief Minister Biplab Deb held a meeting with top police officials to discuss the incident and a magisterial inquiry has been ordered. Ratan Lal Nath, state Law Minister, said, “The magisterial inquiry will be conducted by North Tripura District Nagesh Kumar B and the probe report will be submitted within one month.”
Were Bangladeshis or Bangladeshi refugees involved in the protests?
As is quite clear, the violence has nothing do with Bangladeshis or Bangladeshi refugees in any manner, contrary to what certain users on social media have claimed. The JMC, which called the protest, comprises of local Bengalis, Mizos and others. The OSD to the Chief Minister of Tripura and the Tripura Police were quick to dispel these rumours as such rumours have the potential to create much ethnic strife in North East India.
Tripura Police calls out fake news
Tripura Police has further said that there is no information of the movement of any Bangladeshi miscreants in the area. The Police also said that the situation has been brought under control. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the local Bengalis who were involved in the protest were Bangladeshi refugees as has been claimed.
Tripura Police calls out the rumours
From their social media feed, it is evident that the Tripura Police is taking these rumours very seriously, given the potential for ethnic strife in the North East. The Police warned that videos are being circulated with the intent to spread ethnic hatred which constitutes a legal offence. They made an appeal to the people of Tripura to not circulate such videos.
Tripura Police issues warning
Background to the violence in Tripura
The violence that erupted is related to the recently reached agreement on the settlement of Bru refugees in Tripura. JMC chairman Zairemthiama Pachuau claimed that in contravention of assurances made to them that not more 1500 families will be settled, the numbers are now on the rise. “The government is trying to settle 6,000 families. If they go ahead with this, the entire sub-division will be affected environmentally, ecologically, socially and demographically which is not acceptable,” he said.
The dispute around the settlement of Bru refugees began soon after the community had to flee from Mizoram in 1997 due to ethnic violence by local Mizos. Before the violence began, Mizo organisations were already claiming that Brus are not indigenous to the state. Following the violence, the Brus came to Tripura where they have been living for the past 23 years.
Repatriation began in 2010 and 1600 Bru families were settled, however, Mizo organisations started protesting again and it was eventually stopped. In 2019, the central government decided to settle the Bru refugees in Mizoram but following protests from the refugees themselves, that plan was abandoned as well. Ultimately in 2020, a tripartite settlement was reached between the Union Government and the state governments of Tripura and Mizoram for the settlement of Bru refugees in Tripura itself.
Tensions between locals and Bru refugees
The Nagrik Suraksha Mancha (Citizens Protection Forum) has been alleging that Bru Refugees have been attacking local Bengalis in the area. A couple of days after the settlement agreement was announced in January, the NSM demanded the government’s attention on the alleged persecution of local Bengalis by the Brus. It is not clear whether they participated in the protests in Tripura on Saturday but illustrates the underlying tensions prevailing against the settlement.
“We have no problem with the government’s decision. But, at the same time, we also want to draw the government’s attention on the Bengalis who were subjected to persecution by the Bru refugees” president of NSM Ranjit Nath told reporters on the 18th of January. “Altogether 622 families who use to live in around the six refugee camps of Kanchanpur have been displaced following violent attacks of the Bru refugees. The visible conflicts between the Bru refugees and local Bengali population come into being in the year 2000 and since then many families who have to left their ancestral home due to them,” he added.
It is to be noted that regardless of the veracity of these allegations, the allegations prove that tensions have been simmering for a long time. It is also pertinent to note that the violence comes in the aftermath of the Kanchanpur units of both, the BJP and the CPI-M, declaring their support for the JMC. The CPI-M, which has ruled the state for decades, urged the state government to reach out to the protesters and and formulate an amicable solution to the crisis.
JMC convener Sushant Baruah said, “Today, our movement has the support of the BJP and the Left Front. The top leadership, including former CPIM district council member Lalit Debnath and BJP Mandal vice president Arun Debnath, were present on one stage with us. They made it clear that the JMC’s demand for Bru refugee resettlement was justified, and they are with the JMC.”
23-year-old Mumbai girl Supriya (name changed) has gone missing since 18 November 2020. The family alleges she has been kidnapped by a local criminal Rahim Shaikh. Chetan, one of the relatives of the girl, while speaking to OpIndia said that the police claim the girl is fine but they have not been able to get them to talk to her. Police has also not yet traced Shaikh, Chetan alleges.
According to the relatives of the girl, she took her laptop bag and other things and left for office on 18th November 2020 but never returned. They went to police on 18th itself to file a complaint but were sent back. On 19th they went again when the police allegedly wrote down a complaint. However, an FIR is not yet filed, says Shetty. He says that the police talked to the boy’s family but have not been able to get them to talk to Supriya.
“The boy is of criminal background. The police knows this. Some or the other criminal case is always going on against him,” he said. The family says that the Supriya and Rahim knew each other as they lived nearby in the same chawl and used to talk. However, he used to threaten and misbehave with the family members, they allege.
“We are now worried as the police has not been able to trace her since five days now. We don’t know if the girl is safe or not,” family says. They allege that police has been able to trace Rahim somewhere in Vikhroli but have not been making efforts to trace him and bring him back. “We have also given them IMEI number of Supriya’s phone but they have not done anything,” they allege.
Update: The girl has been traced to Uttar Pradesh late on November 22, hours after publishing this report. The family says that they will welcome her back if she returns on her own otherwise cut off ties with her.
WhiteHatJr and its founder Karan Bajaj have filed a defamation suit of Rs.20 crore against YouTuber and alleged whistle-blower Pradeep Poonia. In a series of allegations made on YouTube and Twitter, Poonia had claimed that WhiteHatJr, the online coding learning platform for kids, is scamming its customers. He also alleged that any voice raised against the company is dealt with bullying and harassment. In an 819-page complaint, Advocate Vasundhara Majithia has asked the court for an urgent hearing claiming Poonia is harassing her client with false allegations. WhiteHatJr was founded by Karan Bajaj in 2018, and ByJu’s had acquired WhiteHatJr in August 2018 for $300 million.
Karan Bajaj, #WhiteHatJr today, Saturday, filed a 20 CRORE rupees defamation case against me. And I have to be present in Delhi High Court on Monday.https://t.co/Dfj5K8fVoj
In the complaint [PDF], Bajaj alleged that in early September, Poonia started posting on various social media platforms against WhiteHatJr. The initial posts were about alleged fake claims made by the company about a child codenamed “Wolf Gupta”. In the ads, the company claimed that big technology companies allegedly hired the kid for a handsome salary at the age of 13. However, the later posts were, as per the complaint, went “sinister,” and Poonia allegedly claimed that the company had “murdered” Wolf Gupta.
WhiteHatJr filed takedown notices to social media platforms, and they were removed only to be reuploaded again and again by Poonia. It was alleged that Poonia made wild and baseless allegations against the company. Poonia had recently uploaded a series of tweets and videos in which he demonstrated how WhiteHatJr allegedly silences the voices against them. The company has alleged that Poonia gained access to their Slack (a communication platform used by professionals) account via hacking and put up confidential employee communications, including communications with parents (customers), in the public domain.
Alleged screenshot of the personal conversation accessed by Poonia on Slack where WhiteHatJr employees are discussing about how they can remove negative remarks against them.
According to the complaint, Poonia seeded a fake customer in the WhiteHatJr’s system, who was a minor. She signed up for various trial classes with the company under fraudulent identities. It was alleged that the aim was to harass the teachers and record the classes without prior permission or consent of the teachers and other students in the class. During the sessions, the allegedly fake student asked several questions that had nothing to do with coding. WhiteHatJr claimed that as the entire teaching staff of 11,000 is women, “the allegations of ‘childa abuse’ and equating the Plaintiffs’ acts of teaching children coding with ‘child sexual abuse,” are not legitimate and legally permissible criticism.
WhiteHatJr has alleged that Poonia made several fake accounts to avoid detection. He also boasted that he intends to close down the business. Though Poonia tried to paint himself in a good light, “his intentions have demonstrated that he is willing to go to any lengths towards fulfilling this objective, including displaying private employee information including mobile numbers of Plaintiff No. 2’s employees and hacking into Plaintiff No. 2’s system and concocting baseless claims of threat to his life from the Plaintiffs. The above narrative clearly shows the obvious underlying malice in his actions, which has compelled the Plaintiffs to file the present lawsuit,” the complaint further added.
The allegations against WhiteHatJr
Poonia has been putting up allegations against WhiteHatJr for the last few months. The allegations started with the advertisement the company had put up where they showed a kid as their successful client who has learned coding from them and is now getting hired by tech giants for a handsome salary. Poonia alleged that the kid (Wolf Gupta) they are using in their ads does not exist, and he could not find any official information about any kid being hired at a high salary by any tech giant.
Other social media users had also noticed that the campaign by WhiteHatJr featuring ‘Wolf Gupta’ was questionable, as both the age and the salary he purportedly received kept changing in different ads posted by the company.
The allegations levelled by Poonia led to The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) asking the company to withdraw the ‘misleading’ ads from all platforms. In a LinkedIn post, while talking if kids should learn programing, Bajaj said in the footnote, “Feedback on our marketing needing improvement is well-taken. We’ll do better with it.”
On November 13, Poonia published a series of tweets and posted some videos that recorded the alleged private conversation of the WhiteHarJr employees on Slack. Poonia claimed that the company had silenced the media, and no one is ready to cover the allegations made by him. He alleged that a username Poojawarrior on Twitter claimed to be an employee of WhiteHatJr and was suffering from depression at the workplace. In the alleged tweets, Pooja said Karan Bajaj is forcing teachers to work for 15 hours a day without any weekly off or a holiday.
In the conversation Poonia accessed, the employees of WhiteHatJr bombarded Pooja’s account with complaints and replies from unofficial or fake accounts. As a result, her performance was restricted. Poonia alleged that this was not the first time WhiteHatJr’s employees formed a team to harass someone who had posted anything against the company.
Poonia posted a 30-minute long video in which he allegedly showed the employees’ internal conversation where they were discussing Poonia’s allegations. He showed how they alleged ly take down the videos created by him or other students or YouTubers against the company and systematically remove any negative remarks from the internet. Poonia claimed that they got posts that were only mildly critical about the company and nowhere a threat.
In the video, Poonia allegedly showed how WhiteHatJr works internally on all social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Quora, LinkedIn, and several others, to remove all the negative comments and build a positive bubble its name. He also alleged that when others reported tried to reach out to WhiteHatJr for comments on the allegations against them, the company did not respond but got the posts and videos removed from the platforms.
6. Is it ok if you give an interview at some company and the men taking your interview take a screenshot of your face and share it amongst themselves and pass such sexiest double meaning comments? @realkaranbajaj is this the #WomenEmpowerment u were talking about?#whiteHatJrScampic.twitter.com/H1QHnkHiiv
Poonia made a serious allegation of in-house racism in the company as well. In a tweet, he alleged that a girl’s photograph was shared in the group with a title “Chinese aayi” (A Chinese has come), to which someone comments, ”Ek Manchow soup bolna” (ask for a Manchow soup). Poonia raised several concerns like these, where the employees were harassing clients, concerned citizens, and even prospective employees day and night.
Today Poonia posted another screenshot from Slack where WhiteHatJr employees were talking about creating a face detection app and setting up a company, after an ad by the company said that one of their students became CEO of a company by making such an app. When a teacher wanted to find the ‘app created by the student’ as one student wanted to see it, another person replied, ‘Now we will have to create the app’, while another volunteered to make the company.
Why #WhiteHatJr did this desperate lawsuit to silence me? They don't want me to show you THIS. June'19: A WHJ teacher asks may I know about these kids from WHJ ads who became CEO and see their apps?@realkaranbajaj: "Now we will have to create the app :D"#Byjus#WolfGupta PROOF: pic.twitter.com/QjlkV1jlio
In the latest education policy issued by the government of coding will be taught as a mandatory subject for students of Class 6 and above. The announcement gave a platform to several online learning platforms to launch coding courses. It is believed that coding will become the foundation of future generations. We all use computer-based technology extensively, and programming codes are the building blocks of the technology.
Though these companies are pushing their courses via advertisements, there are concerns that pushing kids into coding at an early age will take the playtime away from them. As the parents often see other kids as competition for their children, there is a chance that students who do not have the aptitude for learning depths of coding will be forced to learn it, resulting in an overall downfall in grades that may lead to childhood stress.
