The Bihar elections are proving to be the greatest upset for Congress, led by the Gandhi family. The grand-old-party, as it likes to call itself, has been reduced to an entity that is often called a vote-cutter party by several regional allies that fail to win elections because Congress dents their chances. The same seems to have happened in Bihar where ally RJD won 110 seats, losing the elections to NDA which one with 125 seats despite 15 years of anti-incumbency. It is pertinent to note here that out of the 70 seats contested by Congress, they managed to win only 19 of them.
News has now surfaced that 23 senior Congress leaders have written a letter to interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi demanding that an immediate CWC meeting be called to discuss the poll debacle in Bihar. They have reportedly also demanded organisational elections for the party president’s post be held at the earliest in the view of the electoral drubbing.
According to a Rediff report by R Rajagopalan, five CWC members confirmed to this correspondent that such a letter has indeed been sent this week. The letter reportedly points to the fact that at the peak of Bihar campaigning and even on result day, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were holidaying in Shimla instead of being with the party and leading the way.
In the letter, certain concerns were raised that the Congress leaders feel led to the debacle in Bihar. With the pandemic and Ahmed Patel, who is undergoing treatment for coronavirus, the AICC headquarters at 24, Akbar Road in New Delhi, wears a deserted look with no visible political activity.
Further, the letter seems to point towards a lack of faith in the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Though the CWC had initiated the poll process, insiders feel it will once again be a unanimous/unopposed poll process. Further, their absence while on Shimla vacation has not sat well with the Congress leaders.
Rediff quotes a senior leader as saying, “Can such a casual approach happen in any other party which has a national presence?”
The report quotes another leader saying, “The Congress is run by the spokespersons on television debates only, said one leader commenting on the present political vacuum in the party”.
According to the report, like the last time, Ghulam Nabi Azad is believed to have taken the lead in preparing and despatching letter this time too. “We young leaders have no way out but to be in the Congress for its ideology,” the report quotes former Union minister of state Jitin Prasad.
Letter after Bihar debacle not the first time a dissenting letter was written to Sonia Gandhi by Congress leaders
This is not the first time that dissenting leaders have written to Sonia Gandhi to complain about Rahul Gandhi. A similar letter was also written in August.
A year after its defeat in the 2019 General elections and its steady decline, 23 senior Congress leaders, including 5 former Chief Ministers, many Congress Working Committee members, incumbent MPs, and several former Union Ministers, wrote a letter to interim Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, calling for a complete overhaul of the party, from top to bottom.
On the expected lines, the rebellious letter sparked a furore within the Congress party, with the former Congress president Rahul Gandhi allegedly accusing the signatories of the letter of colluding with the BJP, an allegation that was later denied. Kapil Sibal, one of the signatories of the letter, reacted to Rahul Gandhi’s purported allegations back then, tweeting that he had never expected of being accused of conniving with the BJP. However, shortly thereafter he withdrew the tweet, claiming Rahul Gandhi had personally clarified with him.
The full text of the August letter can be read here.
It has been months since the Delhi anti-Hindu riots wreaked havoc in the national capital. A coordinated and well-planned saga of violence that was unleashed by radical Islamists like Tahir Hussain, Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and several others in cohorts with Leftists like ‘activists’ from Pinjda Tod and politicians like the several Congress leaders, student leaders, AAP leaders etc who have been arrested for the carnage. Even after the loss of life and property amidst chants of Allahu Akbar, propaganda websites like The Wire are still defending and trying to paint victim, those who are today accused of unleashing the violence after careful planning.
AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain from Nehru Vihar is among the main accused of planning and executing the Delhi Riots. He is also charged with killing Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma and sweet-shop worker Dilbar Negi, who hands and legs were chopped off before being burnt alive. Delhi Police found acid packets, bricks, and Molotov cocktails (petrol bombs), among other make-shift weapons that his followers used to attack Hindu crowds.
However, for The Wire, Tahir Hussain is an ‘activist’ who is at the mercy of the judiciary.
Sneaky propaganda by The Wire
Can someone imagine portraying alleged Delhi Riots accused like Tahir Hussain, Sharjeel Imam, and Umar Khalid as heroes and activists? The Wire did it and in a very sneaky way. In a report published on 13th November 2020 titled “A List of Activists, Scholars and Scribes Whose Personal Liberty Remains at Judiciary’s Mercy”, the portal portrayed every Islamist booked for Delhi riots as a hero.
Article by The Wire, glorifying Tahir Hussain
The list contains names of so-called activists who have connections with armed Naxals, terrorist organizations and regularly indulge in anti-India activities. However, using Republic TV’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami’s bail as the background, The Wire has tried to portray these criminals as “victims of the system”. According to them, the “activists” are spending countless nights in jail because of the lack of “privilege” of prioritized hearing like Goswami has.
The curious love-affair of The Wire and Tahir Hussain
The Wire poured all the love and affection for the arrested Islamist Tahir Hussain and portrayed him as a hero. According to the portal, Tahir’s advocate described him as someone who got caught in a political cross-fire. “The allegations levelled against him were nothing but a political blame game to malign his image,” the lawyer had argued in the court.
Tahir was arrested for his involvement in the anti-CAA protests and riots. Later, Enforcement Directorate (ED) charged him of money laundering and funding anti-CAA protests. FIRs were registered against him by the Crime Branch and Dayalpur Police Station under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The Wire used the fabricated story of the Wall Street Journal, where they quoted Ankit Sharma’s brother being killed by Hindu rioters. The case against Tahir Hussain in the murder of IB officer Ankit Sharma was registered based on Sharma’s mother’s complaint. However, in the fabricated story, WSJ quoted Sharma’s brother Ankur saying, “Mr Sharma was returning home when a group of rioters started throwing stones and charged into the street near where his house is located. They came armed with stones, rods, knives, and even swords; they shouted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ [Glory to Lord Ram]; some even wore helmets.
Article by The Wire, glorifying Tahir Hussain
Ankur categorically denied giving an interview to the Wall Street Journal while speaking to OpIndia back then. However, the report still exists with the fabricated quote and is often used by the propaganda machines like The Wire did in the 13th November report. Ankit Sharma’s dead body was found in a ditch. The images of people pulling him out of the ditch continue to haunt every Hindu. His hand-tied to the rope has become a symbol of systematic atrocities against the Hindu community in India.
Ankit Sharma’s hand while his body was being pulled of the ditch
Hussain planned the whole thing like a ‘pro’. He gave interviews to the news agencies before his arrest, stating he was a riot victim and not an accused. He even uploaded videos in which he was seen standing on his roof-top, claiming his community and house were being attacked. However, his videos were visibly edited, possibly using a green screen to add him to his property’s roof-top. In fact, in the charge sheet, he admits that in his disclosure statement that he made calls to the PCR to later claim that he was a victim and not the person involved in the riots. He gives an excruciating account of how he planned the violence amidst chants of Allahu Akbar and Nara-e-Taqbeer.
During the investigation, Delhi Police found evidence of his involvement in planning and executing Delhi riots. The Delhi court had denied his bail application while making significant statements against him. The court had confirmed that there was enough material on record to presume that Hussain was present at the spot of crime and was exhorting the rioters of a particular community. The court said, “He did not use his hands and fists, but rioters as “human weapons”, who on his instigation could have killed anybody.” Detailed observations of the court can be read here. Details of the charge sheet filed by Delhi Police against Hussain can be read here.
The buck does not stop here
Hussain is not the only Islamist glorified by The Wire as an activist. The portal has named the infamous student leader and long-time Islamist Umar Khalid as one of the ‘activists’ lodged in jail. The police arrested Khalid on 13th September. He is one of the main accused of the Delhi riots. As per the reports, Khalid had worked with other so-called activists and organizations to organize protests across Delhi and other parts of the country. He worked extensively with the likes of Yogendra Yadav and Sharjeel Imam to ensure there is enough rage against the union government for CAA and NRC. More details about his involvement can be read here.
Right before the riots erupted, Umar Khalid had also delivered a speech where he said that on the day Donald Trump arrives in India, Muslims need to send a message to the ruling dispensation. Like clockwork, the riots broke out right on the day that Donald Trump was in India.
Another Islamist is Sharjeel Imam, who was arrested on 28th January from Bihar. Imam made inflammatory speeches against India. He allegedly talked about cutting North-East states from India as a part of protest. Imam was wanted in Delhi, Assam, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh. He was present in several meetings with Khalid while planning anti-CAA protests.
Other Islamists named in the report are Meeran Haidar, Shifa Ur Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Siddique Kappan, Aasif Sultan, Ishrat Jahan, and several others. All these so-called activists and journalists are involved in causing distress in the country and often seen associating with anti-India organizations.
On Diwali, The Wire glorifies an Islamist like Tahir Hussain, who wanted to teach Hindus a lesson
The Wire has habitually turned Islamists, terrorists and Naxals into heroes and it comes as no surprise that list published by the portal does exactly that yet again.
As the whole nation was gearing up to celebrate the most important festivals of Hindus, The Wire decided to rub salt on the wounds of Hindus that were inflicted during the Delhi Riots. They turned likes of Tahir Hussain, who wanted to teach Hindus a lesson, to heroes.
It is pertinent to note that Hussain had made some troubling revelations in his disclosure statement.
Tahir Hussain confesses in the Disclosure Statement that per this conspiracy that he had hatched, he chose his own house as a launchpad for the riots since it was a high-rise in the area. Tahir Hussain says that he also chose his own house as a launchpad because, in his house, construction was already being done and hence, him collecting stones and bricks for the riots would not raise suspicion.
He confesses that he and his co-conspirators had started collecting stones, bricks and other ammunition, well in advance so that they could teach those who were in support of the CAA a lesson when the time was right. To that end, 2-3 days before the riots broke out, he had also got his licensed pistol released from the police station. While gearing up for the riots and collecting ammunition to teach Hindus a lesson, Tahir Hussain says that he had instructed his supporters to be “ready for anything and in every manner” and also ensure that all the CCTV cameras, private and government installed, in the area, were broken so the evidence of the riots could not be captured. It is to be kept in mind that all of this was done well before the anti-Hindu riots broke out in Delhi.
Tahir Hussain admits that he, along with his brother Shah Alam, Arshad, Abid, Shahid, Irshad and several others were present at his residence. His office space is also in the same building from where the riots were launched. Tahir Hussain then discloses that on the 24th afternoon, his mobs started chanting ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ and ‘Maaro Maaro Kaafiro Ko Maaro’.
On the 14th of November, when Hindus around the world were celebrating Diwali, the most auspicious festival for most Hindus that marks the homecoming of Lord Ram to Ayodhya after 14 years of Vanvas, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor was busy secularising the festival. On the evening of 14th November, Shashi Tharoor took to Twitter to wish people ‘Jashn-e-Chiraagh’, using the image of an anchor of MirrorNow, Sahar Zaman.
Shashi Tharoor used an image of Sahar Zaman on MirrorNow, with the ticker saying ‘Jashn-e-Chiraagh Mubarak ho’. Along with the image, Shashi Tharoor wrote, “The brilliant @saharzaman has come up with an Urdu greeting for #Diwali — “Jashn-e-Chiraagh Mubarak!” I love it. Spread the light!”
Essentially, Tharoor attributed the absurd Urdu greeting for Diwali to Zaman, however, he was more than happy with the secularisation.
Soon after Shashi Tharoor posted this tweet, many realised that the image being used by Shashi Tharoor was morphed.
Only a few hours before Shashi Tharoor got rather excited about ‘Jashn-e-Chiraagh’, Sahar Zaman had herself tweeted a screen grab of herself from when she was on-air Mirror Now.
Original image tweeted by Sahar Zaman
In the image tweeted by Zaman, the timestamp of the screen says that the screengrab was taken from Mirror Now at 5:21 PM. The ticker in that picture said “Donald Trump maintains ‘no lockdown’ stand in US”.
However, it was the very same image that was used by Shashi Tharoor with the ticker, that was original about Donald Trump, morphed to say “Jashn-e-Chiraagh Mubarak”.
If one looks closely, the timestamp on the image used by Shashi Tharoor also says 5:21 PM.
Image tweeted by Shashi Tharoor
Responding to Tharoor, the anchor had rather merrily accepted the greeting and said that she rather likes the sound of ‘Jashn-e-Chiraagh’.
Nonetheless, as soon as Tharoor tweeted, several people pointed out to him that the image was morphed and that the anchor herself had tweeted the original image that had nothing to do with the Urduisatioin of the Diwali greeting.
So @ShashiTharoor photoshopped a tweet of Muslim anchor of Mirror Now to so secularism. Such a fraud these Congressi are. They leave no chance to hurt hindu Sentiments. Real ?? Fake ?? pic.twitter.com/E6ppLRILhc
It is here when the theatre of absurd unfolded. While people were calling out Shashi Tharoor for sharing a morphed image, the tweet by Sahar Zaman where she had tweeted the original image with the ticker about Donald Trump and his Covid measures, was deleted.
While many thought that it was at the behest of Shashi Tharoor, one cannot be sure if she deleted the original image that she had tweeted at the behest of Tharoor or on her own accord.
Thereafter, Zaman proceeded to defend Shashi Tharoor and say that it was not him that had morphed the image and shared it on Twitter, but it was her who had decided to use the image to wish her family and friends on “Jashn-e-Chiraagh”.
CLARIFICATION: All u guys pls relax. Request to pls understand that this is exactly how I have used my image to wish all my friends & acquaintances. It’s an image created by me , and not photoshopped by anyone else. #HappyDiwali . Enjoy the festival of lights, Jashn-e-Chiraagh. pic.twitter.com/vISGPhA2Rm
“All u guys pls relax. Request to pls understand that this is exactly how I have used my image to wish all my friends & acquaintances. It’s an image created by me, and not photoshopped by anyone else. #HappyDiwali. Enjoy the festival of lights, Jashn-e-Chiraagh”, she tweeted to an individual who was questioning Tharoor for using a photoshopped image.
Turns out, while Netizens were questioning Shashi Tharoor was morphing the image of an anchor, the anchor herself turned up to defend Tharoor by claiming that she was the one who had created the image to wish her friends and acquaintances. Further, she deleted the real image that she had tweeted earlier so those who perhaps missed the Twitter outrage since they were celebrating Diwali do not stumble upon it and start the outrage anew.
In a shocking incident on Saturday, a light plane carrying two individuals crashed at a sporting field in Cromer Park in Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia. The plane crash occurred 30 km away from Sydney Olympic Park where the Indian cricket team have been stationed.
It must be mentioned that Indian players have been placed under quarantine at the hotel, ahead of the upcoming ODI series against Australia.
As per reports, local cricketers and football players were playing matches at the sporting facility when they saw a plane steer past them. While the plane was about to hit a sporting shed, the players ran in all directions to avoid any mishap.
Senior VP of Cromer Cricket Club, Greg Rollins, informed, “I yelled out to the guys in the shed, I just said run. They started running.” An eyewitness, Scott Scott Manning emphasised that there was a situation of panic when the plane came extremely close. He said, “I ran screaming and he [the pilot] somehow just got over the top of that shed. That would have taken out, I’m sure, 12 people.”
Pilot and Passenger undergoing treatment at the hospital
During the incident, the two occupants of the plane escaped narrowly despite sustaining injuries. It is now believed that the plane belonged to a nearby flying school.
The pilot had reportedly lost control of the plane after its engine stopped working mid-air. While the pilot, in his 30s, was being treated for spinal injuries at the Northern Beaches Hospital, the passenger is suspected to have broken bones and a compound fracture. He is currently undergoing treatment at the Westmead hospital.
Left-propagandist ‘news’ portal, NDTV, is up to its usual tricks again and is indirectly blaming Diwali for the bad air quality in Delhi.
On Saturday, NDTV reproduced a report published by the Press Trust of India (PTI), wherein it cited weather experts and government agencies to claim that the ‘very poor’ air quality of the National Capital might worsen by night and fall to ‘severe zone’. ‘Experts’ blamed it on emissions of fireworks and the presence of calm winds.
The headline read, “Diwali Weather: Delhi’s Air Quality Likely To Become “Severe” By Tonight.” Quite clearly, NDTV insinuated in its headline that Diwali is responsible for the current inhabitable condition in Delhi. But, the reality is starkly different from what the propagandists have been trying to promulgate.
Screengrab of the NDTV report
The situation in Delhi had begun to worsen since September
In an article dated October 2, the Times of India pointed out that the National Capital had witnessed fewer ‘satisfactory’ air quality days in September this year as compared to the same month in the last two years. While an AQI (Air Quality Index) of less than 50 is considered as ‘good’, the average AQI for September this year stood at 118.
Delhi observed only 8 satisfactory’ air quality days in September 2020 as compared to 19 and 13 in September 2019 (AQI 98) and September 2018 (AQI 112) respectively. It must be mentioned that an AQI rating between 51 and 100 is deemed satisfactory.
“As there was a low-pressure formation in the Bay of Bengal, the air didn’t flow from south to north. The stagnation in the air increased the concentration of pollutants in the air and hence, AQI level went up this year in September,” explained former head of CPCB, Dipankar Saha. At the same time, Executive Director of CSE emphasised that the decline in air quality in September this year was due to lack of adequate rainfall. The pollution level is rising due to unlocking phases. Though public vehicles are limited, locals are using private vehicles. Waste burning has also been observed.”
Experts had made it clear as early as September that multiple environmental factors such as rainfall and man-made factors such as stubble burning and vehicular movement had been at the epicentre of moderate AQI index, even with no Diwali in sight.
Screengrab of the Times of India report
Air Quality severe since 8 days before Diwali
In another article dated November 9, the Times of India pointed out that the air quality in Delhi had been severe consecutively since November 6. The report pointed out how the AQI had surpassed 416 and likely to stay that away. It becomes clear that even 8 days prior to Diwali, the air quality was severe in the National Capital.
“The average wind speed on Sunday was 3kmph and it dropped to nil a few times during the day. The wind direction was northwesterly, allowing pollutants from Punjab and Haryana to accumulate in Delhi,” stated India Meteorological Department (IMD) scientist Kuldeep Srivastava.
Screengrab of the Times of India report
It is pertinent to remember that the sale of firecrackers had been banned in Delhi, prior to Diwali. While environmental factors and failure of the governments to prevent stubble burning had contributed to the inhabitable conditions in the National Capital, the left-liberal lobby had been falsely blaming Diwali for the rise in pollution.
There are some things in life that are so beautiful and yet, within a particular context, they can appear utterly tragic and even obscene. We can perhaps think of a million things that fall under that category but what we are referring to here is the celebration of Diwali in Dubai with a majestic display of fireworks. The Consulate General of India shared a video of a fireworks display at the city in UAE.
While Dubai is celebrating Diwali with fireworks, the same is banned in much of India on the occasion of Diwali. Numerous state governments have banned firecrackers across the country and the National Green Tribunal has stepped in to ban firecrackers in numerous cities and towns nationwide. The cracker ban has endangered the livelihoods of hundreds and thousands of people associated with the cracker industry.
Meanwhile, Police officials across the country are pretending to be heroes while they project cracker sellers as some sort of dreaded criminals. They are even posting pictures on social media broadcasting their stellar achievement of ruining someone’s Diwali. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, E Palaniswami, was requesting state governments to lift the ban to protect the livelihoods of people in his state but then, the NGT moved swiftly to put the final nail in the coffin.
Madhya Pradesh and Assam have bucked the trend apart from some other states. Celebrations were already expected to be muted this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic but state governments across the country have ensured that they remain that way. It is indeed tragic that an Islamic country organised fireworks for Diwali while Hindus are treated as criminals for the same in India.
Diwali this year has been more unusual than ever before over the course of the lifetimes of most of us. Festivities were expected to be muted this year anyway given the pandemic but the ban on firecrackers has ensured that they never take off. Like most people, we at OpIndia were mightily distressed as well. And thus, we announced our mission for a loud and bright Diwali 2021.
Our announcement was motivation as much by ideological commitment as it was by by emotional turmoil. There is only so much news one could cover regarding the reckless destruction of livelihoods at the time of festivities without feeling an impulse towards ensuring that such a thing does not occur again.
Most of all, we were motivated by the image of that little girl banging her head against the vehicle crying profusely because the police was taking her father away to jail for the great sin of selling crackers. No child deserves to have the smile robbed off her face on the occasion of Diwali because her father was selling crackers. It is monstrous, it is inhumane, it is morally reprehensible.
Similarly, we felt compelled to act when we covered the evident distress among those invested in the cracker industry as they suffered massive losses. Considering all of this, we felt we had take a stand. As such, the words in our announcement are just our first thoughts and nothing concrete has been planned yet.
Plans will evolve going forward and we will rely on our many well-wishers for their valuable inputs and suggestions on how to move forward. As of now, we do have certain ideas regarding how to proceed and the areas we need to focus on. The initiative will require volunteer work and contribution for it to succeed. Here, we shall highlight some of the areas that we need to focus our attention on.
Schools
Propaganda and the brainwashing of the populace works best and begins at schools. For years now, attempts have been made to brainwash children against the use of firecrackers. The children of today make the laws in the future. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that we make an attempt to address children in schools directly and authorities at schools over the issue of firecrackers.
In a just world, perhaps, we wouldn’t have to travel to such lengths to ensure the continuity of our traditions but we are not living in a just world. Therefore, we ought to make a concerted effort to speak with school authorities in order to ensure that propaganda against crackers and other Hindu traditions are not peddled.
At the same time, parents ought to be convinced to approach school authorities as well if they discover their children are being brainwashed into toxic ideologies.
Liaising with Traders
We will attempt to establish relations with firecracker manufacturers and traders in order to learn more about the matter and secure research that elaborates on the alleged causal links between firecrackers and pollution. As far as we are, there is no legitimate research that states that crackers are to be held responsible for the poor air quality in numerous cities and towns across the country.
For governments across the country, firecrackers have become an easy scapegoat to avoid taking any real actions to curb pollution. The cracker ban has become an annual ritual for governments to pretend that they are taking the matter of pollution seriously while for the rest of the year, no actions are taken at all to address the real concerns.
As a consequence of the arbitrary cracker ban, hundreds of thousands of those associated with the cracker industry will be impacted. Their very livelihood is today threatened. We will attempt to coordinate with them in order to prevent another such catastrophe in 2021.
Legal Activism
The most important avenue will be the legal front. We will collaborate with those already fighting for the cause and explore how we can meaningfully contribute towards the same. The battle to save Diwali will be fought in the Courts has to be fought in the Courts as well and we will attempt to ensure that the Hindu community collectively puts their best feet forward.
The odds may not be in our favour but efforts have to be made nonetheless. What we believe is that the cracker ban is completely unjustified and through arguments based on research, we would attempt to overturn the state sanctioned persecution that has been unleashed against the cracker industry.
The NGT has stepped in to ban firecrackers in cities and towns across the country on the occasion of Diwali. Numerous state governments have gone the same way. And in certain states, the Judiciary has banned crackers as well. Therefore, we need a collective effort at all levels to overturn the efforts to outlaw firecrackers.
We rely on you, dear readers
OpIndia has been fortunate to have a dedicated set of readers who have stood by us through thick and thin. Through high and lows, our readers have encouraged us, strengthen our resolve and provided the much needed moral support required for a platform like OpIndia to succeed. In this initiative as well, we do hope that our readers will engage meaningfully in order to ensure its success.
We seek ideas and suggestions on the best possible path forward. Ideas and suggestions can be sent to us on our emails. Furthermore, the initiative will require a great deal of volunteer work. Therefore, contribution towards that end will always be greatly appreciated.
Why we fight
The ban on firecrackers is as much an affront to our cultural sensibilities as it is towards the role that we expect our governments to perform. As citizens, we expect out governments to create employment opportunities, not destroy them. We expect our governments to make genuine efforts to curb pollution, not engage in arbitrary actions that not only have zero impact on pollution but also destroy livelihoods in the process.
We want Hindus to be able to celebrate their festivals without fearing that they will be put in prison for celebrating it in the manner we have always celebrated. We don’t want Hindus to be harassed by the police on the eve of their most important festival. We don’t want the Police posing as Superman while projecting firecracker sellers as some of dreaded criminals.
We do not want little girls banging their head against police vehicles in a desperate attempt to stop them from taking away their father to jail on the eve of Diwali. We do not want Hindus to be projected as criminals for bursting firecrackers on Diwali. We do not darkness to prevail on the lives of those associated with the cracker industry during the festival of lights.
The only thing we want is for the Indian state to stop waging a war against the traditions of the dominant culture of this country. We want the state to stop waging a war against its own citizens. But above all, we want our children to celebrate Diwali in the manner we have when we were kids. We want our children to be able to carry on the traditions of our ancestors. Our legacy is what we wish to pass to them, it is the most valuable heritage that we possess. And that is why we must resist.
There is no fixed plan in place yet. But we hope to put one in place soon. And we do hope to play our part in ensuring that 2021 is the loudest and brightest Diwali in history.
The Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturer’s Association (TNFAM), a group that represents firecracker manufacturers in the state of Tamil Nadu, has said that various state governments had granted them temporary license to produce and sell crackers before imposing an arbitrary ban on crackers ahead of Diwali.
In a written submission to the NGT in the first week of November, the crackers manufacturers association had mentioned that they had written letters to all Chief Ministers of the states as early as September 9 2020 September itself, requesting to issue temporary license for fireworks shop ahead of Diwali. The association had informed the tribunal that many Governments had responded to them positively that it will do the needful and started the process of issuing licenses.
The TNFAM said, with this confidence fireworks were produced and sent to the wholesalers of all state. It added that huge loans were availed by manufacturers and dealers for the production and purchase of the same and none of the governments had informed them saying that fireworks will not be allowed this year as soon as they got the representation from the firecracker industry.
Image Source: NGT’s order banning crackers in NCR, dated November 5/ Page 17
“Though fireworks are daily burst there were only 15 fresh Covid-19 cases on November 5 in the entire district. Nowhere in the world has any country banned fireworks during the Covid pandemic while celebrating their festivals,” the association said rejecting the argument that crackers aggravated the coronavirus pandemic.
Firecracker ban can hurt 8 lakh workers and 1,200 firework factories
Further, in its submission, the TNFAM had stated that there are more than 1200 fireworks factories and more than 8 lakh people are directly or indirectly employed in the industry.
In its submission before the NGT, which heard the petition a ban on fireworks across NCR, the TNFAM had informed that if the fireworks are banned at the last hour, nothing will be left of the firecracker Industry or of the 8 lakh workers.
“That the proposed suggestive ban on the use of firecrackers has sent shivers down the spine of the sellers who are anyway facing acute financial hardship owing to the present pandemic,” the crackers industry had submitted before the NGT on November 8.
Image Source: NGT’s order banning crackers in NCR, dated November 5/ Page 17
Interestingly, the TNFAM had pointed out to research data that highlighted how 42% pollution is because of stubble burning and not by the burning of crackers per se. It had also submitted a IIT research paper to show that fireworks accounted for less than 0.1 per cent of the air pollution.
States imposed ban after granting license to sell, says crackers industry body
However, after promising and positively responding to the crackers industry that they would not ban the sale of firecrackers, various states have imposed arbitrary bans on the sale of crackers ahead of Diwali citing air pollution amidst the rising number of coronavirus cases.
Reportedly, the ban on sale and bursting of firecrackers by five states may result in 45 per cent loss of market this Deepavali season for manufacturers in Sivakasi, the fireworks hub of India that accounts for 90 per cent of crackers produced in the country.
Rajasthan was the first state to ban the sale and bursting of firecrackers followed by Odisha, Delhi, West Bengal, and Karnataka, which had been issuing the licence to set up cracker shops till the November 4.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) also imposed a total ban on the sale or use of all kinds of firecrackers in the NCR from November 9 till December 1, 2020. While passing the order the Tribunal had said that the order to ban crackers will also apply to all cities/towns in the country where the average of ambient air quality during November fell under ‘poor’ and above (worse) category.
It seems like NGT, without taking the consent given by various states to produce and sell crackers and also the promise made by them not to impose any ban on firecrackers, imposed a ban on sale of crackers pushing the entire crackers industry towards huge financial losses.
On the occasion of Diwali, the French embassy in India has put out a video sharing greetings on the auspicious Hindu festival. While several foreign embassies in India have followed suit, the case of the French embassy is extraordinary. Emmanuel Lenain, the official ambassador in India, tweeted, “We wish you all a very happy and prosperous Deepavali!”
In a video shared by Lenain, the Consulate General in Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Puducherry and Chennai had shared greetings for Diwali in Indian languages of the particular region. For instance, French Consulate General in Mumbai, Sonia Barby, wished Diwali in Marathi while the Consulate General in Bengaluru greeted on the festival in Kannada. The Consulate General in Kolkata shared the same message in Bengali, followed by the Consulate General in Puducherry and Chennai in Tamil.
We wish you all a very happy and prosperous Deepavali!
Australian High Commissioner shares Diwali wishes in Hindi
Barry O Farrell, the Australian High Commissioner to India, had shared a video wherein the greetings for Diwali was conveyed in Hindi. “Do you know that Australia is the most beautiful and diverse country on the planet? We are proud of this. There is 1 person of Indian origin for every 35 people in Australia. The ties between the communities is so strong that even Diwali is celebrated in Australia. I have celebrated Diwali on several occasions with my friends,” the video stated.
The video further added, “On this special occasion, I want to convey my greetings on behalf of the Australian High Commission. Despite the challenges involved in celebrations this time around, I hope that you continue the festival with ease and safety even this time. Have a happy Diwali!”
Retiring American diplomat and Syrian envoy James Jeffrey has created quite the flutter with his interview to Defense One. The parts of the interview that gained the most attention were the ones in which he admitted that US officials lied to sitting President Donald Trump in order to prevent him from withdrawing troops from Syria.
The admission was regarded by people across the board as open insubordination and treasonous with one US Representative calling for the US officials to be punished for lying to the Commander-in-Chief of the US military. The revelation was indeed explosive, however, it threw shade on the numerous compliments James Jeffrey showered upon Donald Trump.
The Syrian envoy said that the manner in which Donald Trump approached Middle-East was vastly better than the previous administrations which brought chaos to the region. Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama with their ‘transformational approaches’ in the Middle-East have “made things worse” and “weakened us,” he said.
James Jeffrey said that Donald Trump has succeeded in achieving a “stalemate” in numerous hot and cold conflicts in the region which is the best that any administration could hope for. He said that Donald Trump, instead of undermining allies in the region, tried “to build up our alliance system and basically stop nagging at them, show that Washington has their back including their domestic situations — they can do pretty much what they want, but they’re going to have to step up and do things.”
The revelation that would come as a surprise to most of his critics is that Donald Trump is especially liked in the Middle East. “Nobody really wants to see President Trump go, among all our allies [in the Middle East],” James Jeffrey said. “The truth is President Trump and his policies are quite popular among all of our popular states in the region. Name me one that’s not happy.” He went to the extent of saying that if he were to given any advise to Joe Biden, it would be that he should tread the path forged by Donald Trump.
Praising the accomplishments of Donald Trump is hardly ever tolerated. The only occasions on which he garnered immense praise from the Washington establishment is when he bombed Syria and appeared on course for a war against Iran. However, even James Jeffrey admits that Trump and his policies are immensely popular in the Middle-East.
Jeffrey is someone who had signed an open letter in 2016 condemning the then presidential aspirant describing him as “erratic”. By the end of four years of the Trump presidency, the Syrian envoy says that the US President has looked at the Middle-East through a geostrategic lens and focused on Iran, Russia and China while keeping the metastatic “disease” of Islamic terror in check.
