On 26th October, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Jammu hoisted Indian National Flag on the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) office in Jammu. Videos have emerged where BJP workers can be seen chanting “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” while hoisting the flag.
Recently, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said that she would not hoist the National Flag till the flag of Jammu and Kashmir’s flag and its constitution is restored. She also claimed that she is not interested to contest elections without getting Article 370 restored in the valley that was abrogated on 5Th August 2019.
Jammu and Kashmir police have detained three BJP workers, Mir Basharat, Spokesperson BJP Jammu and Kashmir, Mir Ishfaq and Akhtar Khan. In a tweet, he said, “This is just the beginning, if not this time but I challenge myself that in next attempt I will glorify the #National #flag on the heights of the big clock at Ghanta Ghar, Lal chowk.”
This is just the beginning, if not this time but I challenge myself that in next attempt I will glorify the #National#flag on the hites of big clock Ghanta Ghar lal chowk.
‘Gupkar alliance’ calls the abrogation of Article 370 ‘unconstitutional’
On 24th October, the six-party ‘Gupkar alliance’ that includes National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Conference (PC), Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M), Peoples Movement (PM) and Awami National Conference (ANC) said that they would fight together to ensure restoration of Article 370 in the region. They called the decision made by the BJP-led central government ‘unconstitutional’. Several leaders of the political parties were detained in August 2019, keeping in mind the law and order situation in the state. Recently, Mehbooba Mufti was released from over year-long detention.
The state BJP chief Ravinder Raina had called the alliance anti-national. He said, “They will not be allowed to pursue the anti-India agenda.” The BJP has announced that it will observe 26th October as Merger Day as on this day, Jammu and Kashmir was annexed to India.
3 senior PDP leaders quit party in protest against Mehbooba’a anti-India stand
As per a report in Times Now, 3 senior PDP leaders, namely Trilok Singh Bajwa, Ved Mahajan and Wafa have resigned as a protest against Mehbooba Mufti’s recent statements against the Indian flag and the Indian Union. While Bajwa is a former MP and was considered close to Mehbooba’s father Mufti Mohammad Syed, Ved Mahajan is a general secretary of the party.
Indian liberals want people to learn Hindutva from RSS. Yes, you read that correctly.
At his traditional Vijaya Dashami rally in Mumbai yesterday, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray put it clearly. One must take lessons in Hindutva from RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. The “Hindutva” of the RSS is the same as the Hindutva of the Late Balasaheb Thackeray, he explained. And presumably, the Shiv Sena remains committed to the vision of Balasaheb.
So where is the liberal outrage? Where are all the liberals who would swear that RSS is against the “idea of India”? Where are those who compared Hindutva to Nazism? And those who chanted “Hindutva ki kabar khudegi” and insisted that it was not a hate slogan?
Are they comfortable with Uddhav Thackeray’s ringing endorsement of Hindutva? The Maharashtra CM left nothing to imagination. He explicitly endorsed the RSS vision of India. Is the liberal crowd comfortable with this? And if they are not, where is their outrage?
Wait, because this gets even better. The Maharashtra CM went on to actually say this.
Article by Times of India
Where are those who always cry for ‘idea of India’ whenever the topic of Babri Masjid comes up?
If Uddhav Thackeray had not made himself clear enough, he went a step further. Due to Covid related reasons, the Sena shifted the rally from the traditional Shivaji Park venue. The new venue was Swatantrata Veer Savarkar auditorium in Dadar. The name of the venue was chosen very deliberately. The CM made a special mention of it in his speech.
RSS, Hindutva, Babri Masjid, Veer Savarkar. All the keywords that generally set off sirens from the liberal ecosystem.
Except this time they did not. How could they? After all, the government in Maharashtra has 10 Cabinet ministers from Congress. And that’s all the idea of India crowd cares about. Approval from Madam G.
Imagine if a BJP Chief Minister had given a speech with these same ingredients. Imagine how different the reaction would have been.
Now, politicians changing sides and changing views is nothing new. It is too common to be funny any more. But I am not talking about the politicians. I am talking about the great intellectuals of our nation. They have spent their whole lives condemning the RSS. They have condemned Hindutva and Veer Savarkar in the worst possible terms. They’ve built entire careers in TV, newspapers and academia criticizing the RSS. What happened to them?
For Hindu right wing, this should be an important realization. Many of them see the liberal class as an ideological enemy. Let me tell you: there is no ideological war. Because your supposed opponent has zero ideology.
Please rewind in your heads every time you have fumed at some intellectuals for comparing Hindutva to Nazism. In some ways, it was totally pointless. Your supposed opponent on screen did not believe a word of what they said.
Pick your favorite liberal historian or liberal media person. They never cared even a bit for principles. They had no ideology. Just some interests that were served by pretending to hold certain views. The ‘idea of India’ stuff was always a joke. No intellectual actually believes in it.
They were beneath anger. We gave them anger when they only deserved contempt.
Raza Academy has initiated a campaign demanding that Muslim countries issue a fatwa against French President Emmanuel Macron after cartoons on prophet Mohammed by Charlie Hebdo were projected onto government buildings. The cartoons were projected following the brutal beheading of a teacher in Paris for showing cartoons on the Islamic prophet to his students.
“Raza Academy urges Muslim nations to issue Fatwa against Macron French President Emmanuel Macron’s attack on Islam has been growing evidently with his latest outburst to place Offensive Caricatures on state buildings in France insulting the Holy Prophet of Islam,” the statement by Raza Academy read. “Macron’s strategy is clearly visible with his actions to defame Islam and create an atmosphere against Muslims in France,” it added.
Statement by Raza Academy
The statement further said, “The republication of sketches attributed to the Holy Prophet by Charlie Hebdo and his approval is infact a heinous conspiracy in the name of freedom of expression aimed at putting societies around the world on a bloody confrontation on social, ideological and religious grounds. Hence this Man needs to be stopped in his track destruction immediately.”
The Raza Academy also demanded that all French embassies and consulates in Muslim countries be shut down and all ambassadors to France be called back in light of recent events. It also urged people on social media to exercise their freedom of expression against the ‘Satanic minded president’ using the hashtag ‘Macron the Devil’.
Statement by Raza Academy
The Islamist organisation has also succeeded in making #MacronTheDevil the top trending hashtag on Twitter. It urged Muslims to tweet against Emmanuel Macron ‘Huzoor ki Muhabbat mein’ (for love towards the prophet). Muslims on social media appear to have heeded their call, however, it is yet unclear the extent to which the campaign will have any impact on the policies of Islamic counties.
Tweets by Raza Academy
Violent Past of the Raza Academy
The Raza Academy has a violent past. Earlier this year, Raza Academy had threatened with ‘law and order situation’ if the movie ‘Muhammad: The Messenger of God’ was not banned. The movie depicts the life of the prophet from birth till the age of 13.
In August 2011, its leaders had organised a so-called protest in Azad Maidan that had devolved into violent riots. The rioters from the Islamist organisation had vandalised the much-hallowed Amar Jawan memorial situated outside the CST. The riots had caused approximately Rs 2.72 crores worth of damages to various public properties.
The protest was carried out to incite communal violence in Mumbai and the IB report to Maharashtra government hinted at Pakistani involvement in the riots. Bangladeshi passports were retrieved from the areas where riots took place. About 65 people and 40 security personnel were injured in the riots.
With the American e-commerce giant Amazon getting a favourable ruling in Singapore with regard to the Future-RIL deal on Sunday, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), the retail arm of Indian behemoth Reliance Industries Ltd. released a statement saying it intends to enforce its rights and complete the transaction in terms of the scheme and agreement with Future group without any delay.
“RRVL is informed of an interim order passed by the Emergency Arbitrator in the arbitration proceedings invoked by Amazon under a shareholders’ agreement with the promoters of Future group,” the statement said.
Reliance Retails Ventures Ltd issues statement on Amazon securing an interim order in Singapore
The RRVL, through its statement, added that it has entered into the transaction for the acquisition of assets and business of Future Retail Limited under proper legal advice and the rights and obligations are fully enforceable under Indian law.
Reliance’s statement came after Amazon won an interim order, putting on hold the acquisition of Future Group’s retail business by Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. A one-man arbitration panel in Singapore asked the Kishore Biyani’s Future Group to not proceed with the Rs 24,713 crore deal with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail for now.
Amazon, on the other hand, welcomed the Singapore ruling, hoping the arbitration process would yield a quick result. “We welcome the award of the Emergency Arbitrator. We are grateful for the order which grants all the reliefs that were sought. We remain committed to an expeditious conclusion of the arbitration process,” said the Amazon spokesperson.
Amazon approaches the Singapore arbitration court over Reliance-Future deal
Earlier in August 2020, the Future Group announced the sale of its retail, wholesale and logistic etc. to Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, the retail arm of Reliance Industries. This announcement prompted Amazon to go arbitration, citing that the Future Group has violated its non-compete clause in its contract by entering into a deal with rival Reliance.
Amazon had earlier agreed to purchase 49 per cent of one of the Future’s Future Coupons Ltd last year with the right to buy into flagship Future Retail Ltd after a period of three years to 10 years. Future Coupons owns a 7.3 per cent stake in Future Retail. Amazon believes that Future Group reneged on its contract by signing a pact to sell its retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing units to billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance, following which it decided to drag the organisation to arbitration.
Amazon and Reliance lock horns to take control of India’s budding retail market
The deal, if executed, will catapult Reliance to the top in the retail segment by doubling its footprints. This has greatly alarmed the e-commerce companies such as Flipkart and Amazon, who have invested years and pumped billions of dollars in India to cultivate its retail market. With this legal dispute, Amazon aims to stake out the coveted retail market in India, which is pegged at USD 1 trillion and where online shopping is steadily on the rise. Amazon is also the authorised online sales channel for Future’s retail stores that sells a wide range of products, from groceries to electronic goods, clothes and others.
With Amazon approaching the Singapore arbitration court, analysts believe that it is an attempt by the e-commerce giant to stop Reliance from taking hold of the retail and online markets, which the acquisition of Future Group’s retail business would provide it. Amazon wants to keep Reliance at bay as it is known for toppling the existing players in the market with its ruthlessly disruptive market practices.
Reliance is currently operating India’s fastest-growing, and its most profitable retail business spanning supermarkets, consumer retail, wholesale fast-fashion outlets, and online grocery store JioMart. With the acquisition of Future Group’s retail business, it seeks to further bolster its presence in the country’s retail business landscape. The retail arm of the Reliance Industries, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd., has also been on a fundraising spree by divesting its stakes in the organisation. Since Septemeber, it has raised Rs 37,710 crore by selling its stakes.
Given the context and now that the battle lines had been drawn between the American e-commerce giant Amazon and India’s fastest retail growing company Reliance, it will be interesting to see who emerges as a winner of this contest and gets to dominate the Indian retail market.
In a statement released by Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, he shared how the media channel is being hounded by Mumbai police for refusing to bow down. Goswami said that Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh has ‘intensified’ attack on Republic TV journalists.
Goswami’s statement said that their ‘journalists from Delhi, Noida and Mumbai have been summoned by Mumbai police on 24 hours notice and that those recovering from Covid-19 are asked by Mumbai police to travel and appear in police stations.
“Apparently, he has asked his cops to go all out”, Arnab said. Alleging that the channel is being threatened with more fake cases, Arnab said that his journalists are being asked to “tone down” during interrogations or else face fake cases would be filed against them. “They want to break us” he added. In his statement, Goswami further said that one of the persons interrogating the journalists is a Shiv Sena leader who had cases like extortion pending against him.
Goswami added that his journalists have resolved to fight this and that his network would win win this “battle”. He said that he had taken the legal recourse. Attacking the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra, he said that he was shocked to see that the Thackeray government had used a 1922 British law against his network. Calling for a mass movement against this injustice of the Maharashtra government, Arnab said that being a self-made media entrepreneur, he would fight his battle from Mumbai.
Taking a dig at the Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, Arnab said that the people of Mumbai and the country were with him in fighting the madness and standing together for justice.
The Battle between Republic TV and Mumbai Police
Recently, an FIR was filed by Mumbai police against the entire editorial team of Republic TV allegedly inciting disaffection among Mumbai police and for defaming them. Mumbai had also served notice to the media network seeking details of every single employee and journalist working for the Republic TV and details of every transaction made by the channel since its inception. Republic TV executive editor Niranjan Narayanaswamy was questioned by Mumbai Police for almost 9 hours on 21st October. He was allegedly threatened with imprisonment repeatedly for not revealing the source of the Hansa report.
The Mumbai Police had earlier held a press conference alleging that Republic TV has been indulging in TRP fraud while their own FIR named another channel. After it was revealed that the government of Maharashtra has admitted in court that Arnab and his media house are not the accused the TRP scam investigation, the media house had sent a defamation notice to Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh seeking Rs 200 crore damages for allegedly making “false, malicious and mala fide statements” against them.
The Mumbai Police had started hounding Arnab Goswami after his reportage against the Maharashtra government in the Palghar Sadhus’ mob lynching case.
Just when one thinks that Indian journalism has reached its absolute nadir and it cannot go any lower, mainstream news organisations defy our expectations and stoops further low. There have been several incidents when media organisations have resorted to peddling fake news, pushing their propaganda and even shielding the culprits. However, Dainik Bhaskar has gone a step further as it falsely incriminated an innocent person by using their picture in its report regarding the arrest of TV actor Preetika in a drugs case.
The Narcotics Control Bureau arrested TV actor Preetika Chauhan and a man from Versova for allegedly possessing marijuana. The arrests were made in the drug nexus case under which so far 24 people have been arrested by the agency. About 99 grams of ganja was recovered from Preetika and the man named Faisal. Both were arrested and produced before the court.
The report of the arrest was also published in the newspaper version of Dainik Bhaskar. However, what caught the attention of social media users was the photo of a NITian Anita Bharti being used in place of TV actor Preetika Chauhan.
The matter was highlighted by a Twitter user who goes by the handle @BefittingFacts, who lambasted the media organisation for defaming Anita Bharti by using her photo instead of TV actor Preetika Chauhan caught in a drugs case.
.@DainikBhaskar (MP) using an IITian Anita Bharti’s picture in a drug related case in which an actress called Pritika Chauhan is arrested. Gutter level journalism by Dainik Bhaskar. @ChouhanShivrajpic.twitter.com/iP7Y86wZQ7
Dainik Bhaskar did not bother to check if the photo that it is publishing for its report on a TV actor arrested in the drugs case actually belonged to the arrested actor Preetika Chauhan or not. The incident highlights the criminal negligence of the news organisation to not verifying the picture of the actor before publishing it and defaming an innocent person by using their picture instead.
Anita Bharti recently launched a portal for providing free tuitions to needy students
Anita Bharti is currently pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering from NIT Patna. Recently, Anita was in the news after she and her sibling, Abhishek, came up with the idea of helping needy students during the pandemic.
With lockdown being enforced in the country and uncertainty over the reopening of schools and other educational institutes, Abhishek and Anita thought of providing free tuition to the students from 7th to 12th grade. A free website called ‘TuOn‘ was created where interested students could go and apply for the subjects for which they want the tuition.
Besides the free tuitions for the students from 7th to 12th standard, the website also provides free coaching for competitive exams like JEE, Physics, Chemistry, Olympiad for Maths and NTSE (Talent Search). When the idea was shared by Anita and Abhishek with others, they also joined the duo in educating the students in need of tutors. As of now, about 25 students from various IITs and NITs have joined the initiative of providing free coaching to needy students. Right now, 50 students have enrolled themselves for taking free tuition.
A day after Uddhav Thackeray made gross generalisations about the State of Himachal Pradesh during the annual Shiv Sena Dusshera Mela, actress Kangana Ranaut has slammed the Maharashtra Chief Minister for his derogatory comments.
Although Uddhav Thackeray did not name names, he insinuated that Ganja fields are found in Himachal Pradesh and not Maharashtra. He said, “They don’t know in our house we grow tulsi, not ganja. Ganja fields are in your state, you know where, not in our Maharashtra.”
He indirectly attacked Kangana Ranaut for being ungrateful and maligning the city of Mumbai, despite being the source of her livelihood. “Those who don’t even get proper food in their state, come here, make money and then become namak-haram by comparing Mumbai with PoK and defame the State,” he emphasised.
Kangana Ranaut talks about Congress trolls, derogatory remarks on Himachal Pradesh
In a video posted on Twitter on Monday, the actress stated, “Uddhav Thackeray, you abused me in your speech yesterday. You called me Namak Haram. Earlier, paid trolls of Congress Sen had verbally abused and threatened of physical violence and murder…You have noticed that none of the champions of women empowerment has spoken against it. In your speech, you have made derogatory comments about Himachal Pradesh, which is the Martribhoomi of Maa Parvati and Lord Shiva’s Karambhoomi. You have put down an entire state just because you are mad at one girl, who is of your son’s age.”
Actress justifies her comparison of Mumbai to PoK
Kangana Ranaut emphasised, “You were angry at me when I had compared Mumbai with PoK. This was because slogans for Kashmir’s independence were raised there. And your Sonia Sena had defended it. When I drew that analogy, several constitutionalists had come to hound me. But yesterday, in your speech, you compared the entire country of India to Pakistan and none of the constitutionalists made any objection. Why? Because there is none to stuff their mouth with money.
Kangana Ranaut has suggestions for Uddhav Thackeray
“I have seen that nationalists also do not come to our rescue. They say that if you are talking about the country, then, you are not doing us a favour. You are doing it for yourself. They say we neither have the money nor the ability to bribe someone. However, for anti-nationals, money is stuffed into their mouths. When a sitting Chief Minister abuses a woman openly, the constitutionalists are nowhere to be seen. Remember, governments change! You (Uddhav Thackeray) are just a public servant. The people of Maharashtra can resonate with you nor are happy with you. While governments change, a person who loses public respect can never get it back again. Jai Hind!” she concluded.
Face-off between Kangana Ranaut and Maharashtra govt
The faceoff between the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and Kangana was triggered after the latter had compared Mumbai to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir in the wake of Azaadi graffiti seen on the streets of the city, and the subsequent inaction of the Mumbai Police.
Since then, the ‘Queen’ actress has been subjected to threats of violence, and even derogatory words by Shiv Sena leaders. Sanjay Raut had called her ‘haramkhor ladki’ while Pratap Sarnaik had threatened to ‘break her mouth’. Even Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh had joined the Shiv Sena-led government in bullying Kangana Ranaut and he was caught liking tweets wherein she was shamed.
In addition to the abusive tirade against Kangana, the Maharashtra government had also decided to launch a probe into the alleged consumption of drugs by actor Kangana Ranaut. Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government will investigate Kangana for allegedly taking drugs.
A hashtag is making rounds in Saudi Arabia, calling for the boycott of the supermarket retailer Carrefour of France. On Sunday, it managed to acquire the position of a second trending topic. While the French government has stood in firm support for the Charlie Hebdo cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammad, radical Islamists, including groups from Islamist nations, have launched a series of attacks for anyone sharing or supporting those cartoons.
The foreign ministry of France said in a statement that there had been calls to boycott products from France, especially food products in several Middle Eastern countries.
There were calls for demonstrations against France over the Prophet Muhammad’s cartoon. As per the Islamic laws, any depiction of the Prophet is blasphemous. The French ministry has called the authorities to mark its displeasure over such boycott actions. The step was taken to provide help to the French companies and ensure the safety of the French citizens.
In Kuwait, the non-governmental Union of Consumer Co-operative Societies has more than 70 establishments under its banner. They have issued a motion on 23rd October to boycott the products made in France. As per a report published in Reuters, several stores have removed the items such as hair and beauty products that were manufactured by French companies. Fahd Al-Kishti, Union head, said that they had removed the products in response to the ‘repeated insults’ against the Prophet.
The foreign minister of Kuwait met the French ambassador on Sunday and condemned the beheading of the teacher that took place on 16th October, but he also stressed on the need to avoid insulting religion in political or official statements.
As per reports, similar calls for boycott of French products have been resonated in Qatar, and Jordan too. French products, especially beauty items from leading French brands, were no longer in display in many supermarkets in these countries.
Comments by Pakistan’s Prime Minister
Pakistan PM Imran Khan had also criticized France over the statements made by its President Emmanuel Macron, stating that he had “attacked Islam” by encouraging the display of cartoons in the name of Freedom of Speech. He has also written a letter to Mark Zuckerberg urging him to ban posts against Islam just like he did for the posts distorting facts on Holocaust.
On Saturday, France recalled its ambassador to Turkey after Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey, said Macron needed mental help over his attitude towards Muslims. Interestingly, several Muslims, including leaders like Imran Khan, are trying to justify the beheading of a teacher in France for showing the Prophet’s cartoons in the classroom, saying it is blasphemy.
On 25th October, several hashtags supporting the ban on French products made rounds on social media platforms as an ‘answer’ to the statement issued by the President of France who condemned the killing of the teacher. France has also initiated action against extremists in France to ensure Law and Order is in place in the country.
Hardik Pandya, an all-rounder for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, created quite the flutter on social media and across mainstream media after he took to the knees during his brilliant innings on Sunday in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Following his debacle at Koffee With Karan, the cricketer finally appears to have discovered the trick to find favour in elite circles.
To be fair to Hardik Pandya, he is probably not very political a person and does not spend too much time studying the antecedents of political movements, as is natural. Taking to his knees for the Black Lives Matter movement is for him, most likely, a fashion statement. He has made it abundantly clear through his past conduct in public life that he does not think too much before giving voice to his thoughts.
Some individuals on social media expressed their dissatisfaction with his actions on account of prior conduct of cricketing authorities which they consider hypocritical. During the ICC World Cup in 2019, MS Dhoni was asked by ICC to remove the paratrooper insignia on his wicket-keeping gloves as it was a demonstration of political expression that was apparently against their rules and regulations. Subsequently, however, a Black Lives Matter logo was worn during an ICC tournament by the West Indies team despite being contrary to the same.
It is important to understand here that the Black Lives Matter is entirely farcical in the Indian context. Slavery was never practiced by Monarchs of the Hindu Civilization, the legacy of which is India. Furthermore, India was itself colonised by the British and other European countries. Quite clearly, the actions of Hardik Pandya was geared towards appealing to White-dominated countries despite the fact that IPL’s primary audience is in the subcontinent.
It is pertinent to mention the origins of the Black Lives Matter movement. It did not originate in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death as so many would like to believe. It originated much earlier and the first time it managed to make headlines was in 2015-16 when BLM activists were caught on video raising incendiary slogans against the Police.
More recently, a significant section of BLM activists were found rampaging across cities in the United States of America, engaging in looting and arson and bringing down statues and disfiguring monuments. While it has become fashionable to take to the knees in support of the Black Lives Matter movement on occasions where it does not make any sense, the Democrat party with their friends in the media have managed a swift propaganda coup whereby all such criminal activities have been brushed under the carpet.
There is good evidence, of course, that Hardik Pandya does not really care that much about racism. If he did, he would have raised his voice against the extensive racism that certain Indians are facing in their own country. In Meghalaya, a mainstream Khasi students union put up posters that said “All Meghalaya Bengalis are Bangladeshis”. In recent times, Bengali youths in the state have also ben attacked by racists in the state in suspected hate-crimes.
The institutional racism that Bengalis and other non-tribals face in north-eastern states is well documented. However, how many cricketers or sportsmen or other celebrities have used their significant influence to speak for them? But Hardik Pandya did find the time to speak in favour of the Black Lives Matter movement, something that is entirely irrelevant to the Indian context.
The real objective, of course, is not actual concern about racism but garnering favourable coverage in the press. Beleaguered and harangued by the media over his distasteful remarks in the talk show with Karan Johar, his actions on Sunday were undoubtedly a remarkable PR success story. All his sins have been forgiven. A man that was until yesterday a vile person who embodied toxic masculinity is now suddenly a paragon of virtue society ought to emulate. Who said miracles don’t happen?
There is certainly a level of disgust that such patronising attitude by celebrities tends to excite. The average citizen might not be as rich or influential as them but they are not so braindead that they do not realise Black Lives Matter. That is, of course, how activists make their money; by pretending that something almost everyone agrees with is a morally contentious issue.
And under the garb of a slogan that everyone agrees with, they seek to implement a radical transformation of society. Subsequently, when individuals disagree with the reforms proposed, activists claim that critics disagree with the slogan itself. For instance, unless someone is on board with abolishing the Police, activists would have us believe that the individual does not believe Black Lives Matter.
Hardik Pandya, of course, is not aware of all these intricacies. He is a cricketer. Political theories and activism are not his forte and is not supposed to be. However, as a celebrity, he does care about his public image a lot and he felt the acute necessity of repairing the damage that his appearance on the talk-show had done. If he indeed cared about racism, he would have spoken out against the racism non-tribals face in North-East India rather than BLM which has no relevance in India.
After almost two weeks of the witch-hunt launched by Maharashtra government and the Mumbai Police against Republic TV, its journalists and its editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, the Editors Guild has finally woken up and issued a statement “condemning” the FIR that has been filed by the Mumbai Police against over 1,000 journalists and editorial staff members of the channel. However, in their statement condemning the witch-hunt, as is the habit of Editors Guild, which leans strongly towards the Left, they have tacitly condoned the shocking muzzling of the Republic TV’s right to report and the misuse of power displayed by the Maharashtra government.
In a press release by the Editors Guild, the association said that they are “pained” to see the unedifying spectacle of hundreds of FIRs being filed against journalists of Republic TV, which is “under probe for allegedly manipulating TRPs and spreading discontent against Mumbai Police”.
Statement issued by the Editors Guild of India
However, after the initial statement, Editors Guild begins to monkey-balance and condone the witch-hunt against Republic TV. The statement says that “We do not wish to influence the probe by the authorities, even if we recognise it has the potential to bring in much-needed transparency on the manipulation of popularity, and creation of ” proceeds of crime”- as claimed by the police; but the victimization of the journalists should immediately stop. The use of arbitrary state power is not and has never been in the interests of working journalists. This standoff between the Mumbai Police and the TV channel is unprecedented and threatens the tenuous but important to maintain a balance between media freedom and the imperative for it to reside within the rule of law. Right to free speech does not mean a licence to promote hate speech”.
Firstly, to call this a ‘stand-off’ is in itself a terribly watering down. The Maharashtra Government unilaterally used its state machinery, including the Mumbai Police to go after a channel which was questioning them. Thereafter, the entire chronology of events makes it amply clear that Republic TV was not even named in the Hansa Research Report or the FIR filed on the basis of it, as claimed by the Mumbai Police Commissioner. Instead, it was India Today. However, the statement by Editors Guild gives the benefit of the doubt to the oppressor and not the victim in its statement.
Further, the addition of the line where Editors Guild says that “free speech does not mean a license to promote hate speech”, almost seems like an apology for the conduct of the Mumbai Police. Essentially, for the Left, any speech that does not conform to their desired narrative becomes hate speech. Since Republic refuses to toe the Left line, Editors Guild seems to be saying that Republic promotes hate speech and thus, there is merit in this witch-hunt against it.
The Editors Guild statement does not stop there. It further says, “Besides the unsavoury details pertaining to the manipulation of TRPs, the Republic TV’s high-strung conduct during the unfortunate demise of film actor, Sushant Singh Rajput also raises issues about media credibility and the limits to reporting. The Mumbai High Court has pertinently asked the channel’s lawyer about harangue directed at actress Rhea Chakraborty. The High Court asked a question that must be addressed by all: “Is this part of investigative journalism? Asking the public about their opinion on who should be arrested?” Also, the bench wondered whether the channel in the name of investigative journalism was encroaching into the domain of police. Similar reservations about its conduct have been expressed even by News Broadcaster’s Association (NBA) that disagrees with its reporting”.
In this, instead of talking about the state government muzzling a media house undeterred and without any proof, Editors Guild thinks fit to sermonise about the credibility of Republic TV in its own eyes, which does not count for much, to be honest. They then, go on to peddle the shameful statement that was issued by NBA, which against attacked Republic instead of standing by it.
In almost a threat, the Editors Guild statement then tells Republic TV and Arnab Goswami to ‘behave themselves’.
The statement says:
“These are important issues that should have been resolved long ago, but were allowed to fester. It is high time the channel behaves responsibly and not compromises the safety of its journalists as well as hurt the collective credibility of media. The police must ensure that its investigation does not hurt the channel’s journalists or makes any arrests. And that the investigation does not become a tool to suppress media rights”.
Essentially, the Editors Guild blames Republic TV for the hounding of Republic TV and Arnab Goswami on Republic TV itself, without gathering the courage to question the Maharashtra government or even Mumbai Police. In fact, in the entire statement, not once does Editors Guild question how Republic TV is being investigated when another media channel (India Today) was named in the FIR and the Hansa Research Report. The statement by Editors Guild makes it amply clear that they tacitly support the witch-hunt against Republic TV and Arnab Goswami because editorially, they differ from the Left controlled Editors Guild and other media houses that they espouse.
The Editors Guild’s treachery and hypocrisy is rather evidence when once contrasts this statement with the one they issued regarding Kashmir Times.
Editors Guild statement about Kashmir Times
The strong statement about media freedom etc was issued by the Editors Guild when the sealing of the Kashmir Times building had nothing to do with press freedom at all. As per officials, the Jammu and Kashmir government had allocated two properties to Kashmir Times. One of them was used as office space while the other served as the residence of Ved Bhasin, the founder of Kashmir Times. Following his death in 2015, the administration had issued notices to the family to vacate the government-alloted residence.
As reported by Indian Express, Deputy Director of the Estates Department, Mohammed Aslam informed, “They themselves handed over the building to us and today our officials went to take possession.”
The official stated, “They have been allotted two buildings — one is an office and the other was allotted as a residence to Ved Bhasin sahib. Since Bhasin sahib died some years ago, we issued them notices to vacate the house. They themselves handed over the building to us and today our officials went to take possession.”
In such circumstances, for the Editors Guild to make a hue and cry about it without telling people about the material facts and then, justifying the attack against Republic TV and Arnab Goswami only goes to show that the Editors Guild has now become a dummy organisation that does not look out for the interests of all media houses but only those it agrees with, hiding behind the veil of neutrality.
