Home Blog Page 4917

OpIndia and 8 others launch Indian’s largest digital news association, Indian Digital Media Association (IDMA): Read details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
OpIndia and 8 others launch Indian’s largest digital news association, Indian Digital Media Association (IDMA): Read details

A host of premier Indian digital media outlets have come together to announce the launch of a new self-regulatory board that prioritizes national interest over everything else. We are proud to announce that OpIndia.com is one of the founding members of the Indian Digital Media Association (IDMA).

The launch was announced through a press release on the 26th of October. The press release has been reproduced below in full:

“It gives us great pride to announce the launch of Indian Digital Media Association (IDMA)– the country’s largest conglomeration of digital media platforms and one that puts the nation’s interest above everything else. IDMA is a pro-nation, Indian-owned, Indian-edited and Indian-controlled digital news association.

The founding members of IDMA have a collective unique viewership of over a 100 million users and will be guided by the ‘nation first’ principle. IDMA’s founding members include, OpIndia.com, Goachronicle.com, Republicworld.com, OTV Digital, DeshGujarat.com, NewsLiveTV.com, NewsX.com, Sundayguardianlive.com and InKhabar.com. We are happy to announce that additionally over 25 digital news members are being presently onboarded.

Speaking about IDMA, Savio Rodrigues, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, GoaChronicle.com said, “The disruption in media in the coming years will be digital. India will see a phenomenal shift towards digital media. Coming together of digital media organisations with their own niche disruptions in Indian Digital Media space  to form an association is the formation of a force to be the true voice of a vibrant India digital media space.”

Nupur Sharma, Editor OpIndia, welcomed the formation of the pro-nation digital media association saying, “Digital Media has the potential to not just shape, but change the national discourse. No longer is the news cycle a slave to television media, that seeks punchlines and agendas, not the truth. IDMA is an endeavor to not just strengthen, but organise and advocate for the interest of Nationalist Digital Media that has the potential today to shape the country and what its citizens talks about.”

For the first time in history, the largest conglomeration of Digital platforms have formed an association that is aimed to safeguard the interest of not just member digital platforms but also actively participate in dialogue with all stakeholders, uphold standards of news reporting in national interest and engage with the government for policy formulation.

As a self regulatory body, IDMA will be the eyes and ears of digital media platforms, to serve as an intermediary on its behalf. IDMA will be the central point of joint action on matters of interest.  The founding members of IDMA have a collective unique viewership of over a 100 million combined and are in a unique position to drive the ‘nation first’ narrative effectively.

In an ever changing world where the digital space has opened up unfathomable avenues, the patterns in consumption of news has also undergone a tectonic change. A large portion of the population consumes information on digital news platforms and aggregators have been thus far unregulated and scattered.Taking pride in being a conglomeration which is completely owned by Indians, IDMA will serve with the guiding principle of being 100% Indian, uncompromisingly nationalistic and will take the voice of India to the world.

Nationalistic media platforms of the country have come together as IDMA to do uphold a vision for India that is not directly or surreptitiously owned by foreign elements.

IDMA aims to ensure that Indian interests are protected against vested foreign interference and control. IDMA stands against all overseas control of the Indian digital media, as it directly compromises Indian interests and Indian users. We strongly believe that it should be our aim to take Indian media global, rather than compromising the interest of Indian readers and their right to information by inviting overseas control, which might not necessarily be inclined to protect the interest of Indian readers and platforms.

With the distinct focus on the same, IDMA will uphold the values of transparency and ensure that member digital news platforms and their ownership is well-defined, unbound to foreign entities by means of editorial leadership and/or ownership.It is the founding members’ firm belief that the rampant corruption of news stems from vested interests and their stakes in digital news media that owe their allegiance to interests other than those of India. We believe that it is time for Indian editors and owners to come together and fight the onslaught of foreign ownership and editorship, since the attempts by foreign entities and organisations to corrupt news by pushing vested global agendas unethically are at its zenith.

In a fast changing content environment, digital news platforms have an indispensable role in shaping the future of journalism, unshackle and democratize the flow of information from content creators to consumers  and sculpt the national debate around germane issues of national importance. We hope to build a nationalistic, dynamic, transparent, ethical and conscientious association that would keep Indian interest, the interest of its readers, journalistic integrity along with industry interests paramount, in our quest to organise a sector that has illimitable potential.”

Stick inserted into the private parts of a dog, another canine raped several times: Two recent incidents of bestiality in Maharashtra

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Stick inserted into the private parts of a dog, another canine raped several times: Two recent incidents of bestiality in Maharashtra

In a barbaric act, an 8-year-old female canine named Noorie was raped inside the Galleria shopping complex in Powai, Mumbai. The dog was then taken to the animal care centre of the World For All (WFA) for medical treatment. To their horror, the veterinary doctors found an 11-inch wooden stick inside the dog’s genitals. The doctors have now removed the stick successfully. Meanwhile, the police have arrested one accused in the case.

While speaking on the development, Bombay Animal Rights (BAR) activist Vijay Kishore Mohanani stated, “On October 22, some of the local animal figures informed us that the dog, Noorie, was found severely injured in Galleria.  We suspect that some psycho who either works inside Galleria or lives nearby brutalised the very friendly dog.”

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered at the Powai Police Station against unidentified persons under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 377 and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. The video of the injured dog, lying in a helpless state, has gone viral on social media.

Animal welfare officer stated Geeten Dudani said,” Noorie is at present stable after the critical surgery was done to remove the wooden stick put inside its private part. I suspect this may be the work of two or more persons near the parking bay of Galleria during night time. We have urged the police to also check all the CCTV footage of the shopping complex.”

While seeking for a policy change, In Defense of Animals (IDA) activist Vivienne lamented that the miscreants, who committed the crime, would get away with ₹50 fine. He expressed fears that the criminals will then go on given commit bigger and more violent crimes against humans as well. He added that the official data is a testimony to the fact. “If stringent punishments are put in place to effectively deal with these terrible crimes, society will also benefit,” Choudhury emphasised.

Dog raped by a daily wage worker in Navi Mumbai

On Sunday, a 65-year-old man was arrested for raping a dog at the Nerul railway station complex in Navi Mumbai. The accused has been identified as one Mahendra D Pawar. The gruesome act of bestality came to light after a CCTV footage of the station complex, which captured the despicable incident, was sent to an animal rights group named People for Animals (PFA Mumbai, Unit-2).

While speaking about the development, PFA activist Vijaya Rangare stated, “ Around a week ago, a late-night CCTV footage showing a man sexually abusing a female dog on the west side of Nerul Station Complex was sent to our PFA Mumbai Unit-2.”  After learning about the incident, he and his colleague Aditya Patil rushed to the spot and began inquiring about the crime. Soon, they were able to ascertain the identity of the accused, Mahendra D Pawar. 

During the inquiry, it was found that the accused was a daily wage worker who slept within the Nerul Station complex, drank alcohol at night and abused the female dog. The animal rights activist further informed that the Mahendra was untraceable for some time and he was nowhere to be found in the station complex. On Sunday, a local informed about the whereabouts of Pawar. The Nerul police and the PFA team then rushed to the station complex and arrested the accused.

“We have also submitted all the electronic evidence such as the CCTV footage and the statement of the local people with the police in order to make it a watertight case and ensure that this man is jailed,” the animal rights activist stated. Meanwhile, Vijaya Rangare added that the dog will be taken to the hospital in Parel for further medical treatment.  A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against the accused under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 377 (unnatural sex) and section 11(1) of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. 

The Ritika Jindal Syndrome: The desecration of the Temple in Himachal Pradesh shows the urgent necessity of reform in public administration

K Bhattacharjee
-
0
The Ritika Jindal Syndrome: The desecration of the Temple in Himachal Pradesh shows the urgent necessity of reform in public administration

There is a very real problem in India and is the reason for much of the corruption and the deficiencies that plague Indian society today. I am, of course, referring to the tendency of authorities of being more interested in being Bollywood heroes and social reformers than performing their actual job. It was most evident in the case of IAS officer Ritika Jindal, currently working at Himachal Pradesh.

An account on Twitter dedicated to celebrating the work of District Collectors across the country heaped praises on Ritika Jindal for breaking an “age old parochial tradition”. She also “taught lessons of equality to priests” apparently. As was only to be expected, she was slammed on social media for her shameful and disgusting conduct.

An interview appeared on Facebook on the 24th of October on the page of what appears to be a local news outlet where the worldview that motivated Ritika Jindal to desecrate the Temple became clear. In the interview, she tells people through the media that we must change the “patriarchal” mindset and the “orthodoxy” that permeates our society. She also offers a lecture on constitution and the values enshrined in it and pretends that rights are violated if women are not allowed to engage in a particular ritual at a particular Temple.

It was interesting how the media covered it as well. Solan Today claimed that Ritika Jindal assumed the form of Maa Kali to show the correct path to ‘Dharm ke Thekedar’. Apart from being complete and utter nonsense, it is also extremely cringe-worthy. It was another occasion when the media that claims to speak truth to power was found massaging the egos of those in authority.

The interesting thing to note here is that Ritika Jindal is an officer in the management of the Temple on account of her position as District Collector. Thus, we see yet another occasion where government control of Hindu Temples has directly led to desecration and malfeasance. But it is not just that issue here, the larger issue is the tendency of an overwhelmingly large section of government officials and those working in public life to be more interested in ‘civilising’ the unwashed masses than what their job entails.

Politicians, Judges, the Police and obviously the bureaucrats have demonstrated amply time and again that they are generally awful at their jobs but find enough time to lecture everyone else on how they ought to conduct themselves. Politicians will not solve any problem if it risks losing their vote-bank, judges have a backlog of tons of thousands of cases in their courts, the less said about the Police the better and then we have the bureaucracy.

All of them, in order to compensate for their remarkable inadequacy and to distract attention from their general incompetence, exhaust an inordinate amount of their resources in trying to convince others of their moral inadequacy so that they are too busy to inspect their dubious record. Such individuals call themselves ‘public servants’ but make sure through their behaviour that everyone knows who the ‘boss’ is.

When such an attitude is combined with a genuine sense of moral superiority, Ritika Jindal is what we get. Is reforming social traditions and rituals part of an IAS officer’s job? Maybe, who knows, the laws are whatever those in authority make of them. Should destroying the ‘patriarchal orthodoxy’ of Temples be a topmost concern for an IAS officer? Definitely not.

There is good reason why people on social media were so disturbed by what happened at the Shoolini Devi Mandir at Solan. All of us instinctively recognised for what it was. It was bullying; bullying of the highest order. And as is typical of bullies, they pick on the weakest kid on the block to prove their might. And the target was chosen specifically because the concerned IAS officer was fully aware she could unleash the full might of the state on the priests and suffer no consequences for it; unlike other situations.

Let us illustrate this with an example. Everyone is well aware by now that the primary reason for the insane levels of pollution at the national capital is due to stubble burning in Punjab and other neighbouring states. It is a recurring problem year after year and what has any authority done to solve this health hazard for good?

Some state governments have indeed done a stellar job but then there is Punjab which refuses to do anything about it. The Judiciary, instead of imposing costs on anyone, bans firecrackers instead to maintain the pretence that they are doing something to solve the issue. Conspicuous by their absence are IAS officers who are nowhere to be found attempting to ‘reform’ the conduct of farmers. Pollution is bad, yes, and could kill people but it is surely not as bad as priests in Temples upholding the traditions of their ancestors without interfering in the lives of anyone else.

No ‘public servant’, which is a remarkably Orwellian term, finds the courage to attempt to coerce farmers into abandoning the practice of stubble burning. They could not be bothered to provide them with incentives either to abandon it themselves. Because obviously, it requires actual strength of character and convincing farmers would be a bit more difficult than bullying priests in Temples. It just goes on to show that our ‘public servants’ engage in ‘social reform’ only after performing a cost-benefit analysis of their actions.

The motivation for leaving Muslim and Christian religious institutions to manage their affairs themselves also lies in the skewed vision of secularism that we have in our country. Actual secularism would imply a total separation of religious institutions and the state and here we have government officials looking after the management of Temples.

Such an arrangement provides bullies with a great opportunity to lord over people they perceive to be weaker than them. And that is precisely what happens so often. Towards that end, a constructive mechanism needs to be established to free Temples of government influence so that bullies have far fewer opportunities to mess with the traditions and rituals of Temples.

Simultaneously, however, a drastic change in mindset is of utmost importance so that our ‘public servants’ realise that they are actually servants of the public and not just in name. The Ritika Jindal Syndrome plagues much of our administration and until it is gotten rid of, we will continue to suffer officers who treat Hindu Temples as battlegrounds for their favoured ideology.

SC lawyer writes to Attorney General, seeks consent to initiate contempt case against Prashant Bhushan: Here is the tweet for which he might be in the dock

OpIndia Staff
-
0
SC lawyer writes to Attorney General, seeks consent to initiate contempt case against Prashant Bhushan: Here is the tweet for which he might be in the dock

Sunil Kumar Singh, Supreme Court Advocate, has written a letter to the Attorney General of India, KK Venugopal, seeking his consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Prashant Bhushan for his tweets targeting CJI SA Bobde. The Supreme Court of India recently punished Bhushan in a similar case where he was asked to pay Re.1 as a fine.

In his letter, Singh wrote that the tweet by Bhushan on 21st October commenting on the personal life of the Chief Justice of India and connecting it to the pending case amounts to contempt of court. In the tweet, Bhushan had said that the CJI had availed a special chopper provided by the Madhya Pradesh government for a visit to Kanha National Park & then to his home town in Nagpur.

Bhushan had further mentioned that the CJI visited the state when an important case of disqualification of defecting MLAs of MP is pending before him. He alleged that the survival of the MP govt depends on this case and accused the CJI of taking favours from the BJP govt in the state in return for a favourable judgment in that case.

Tweet ‘scandalises’ the Supreme Court – says, petitioner

In his letter, the petitioner has said that the tweet posted by Bhushan ‘scandalises’ the Supreme Court. He further added that it is prejudiced and interfered with the due course of judicial proceedings and administration of justice in a sub-judice matter. Mentioning Section 15 of Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 that gives power to the Supreme Court or the High Court to take action on its own motion or on a motion made by the AG or any other person with the written consent of the AG, Singh asked for permission to go ahead with the contempt of court proceedings.

Prashant Bhushan was previously punished in a Contempt of Court case

On 14th August, a 3-judge bench of the Supreme Court had held Prashan Bhushan guilty of contempt of court for the tweets he posted against the apex court and the Chief Justices of India. On 31st August, the Supreme Court ‘punished’ Prashant Bhushan, held guilty in contempt of court, with a nominal fine of Re 1. However, the court added that if Bhushan fails to pay a fine of Re 1, he will be sentenced to 3 months in jail and suspension of his lawyering for 3 months. Bhushan paid the fine claiming he was paying as he respects the court. However, he later filed a review petition against the verdict.

“I will not compromise, if there is a blood bath, I will swim in the blood and come out of it”: Arnab Goswami

OpIndia Staff
-
0
“I will not compromise, if there is a blood bath, I will swim in the blood and come out of it”: Arnab Goswami

After the Maharashtra government decided to launch a witch-hunt against Republic TV, Arnab Goswami has been fighting a lone battle. With other journalists, the Editors Guild and even the NBA abandoning the channel owing to perhaps his high ratings and in part, ideological differences, Arnab Goswami has often declared that he has to advocate for himself if he wants to come out of this scot-free.

The Mumbai Police has hounded Republic TV, its Editor-In-Chief Arnab Goswami and its over 1,000 strong editorial staff relentlessly since June this year, right after tainted encounter cop Sachin Vaze was reinstated. While the FIR and the Hansa Research Report, based on which the FIR was filed, named India Today, Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh, held a press conference only 48 hours after the FIR was filed against India Today, to name Republic TV as the main culprit in the TRP scam.

It is to be remembered that Republic TV was not mentioned in any FIR or complaint by either BARC or Hansa Research. In fact, when the press conference took place, there was no material evidence to suggest Republic TV was involved in any sort of malpractice. However, Commissioner Singh claimed that the Hansa Research Report and the FIR based on it named Republic TV, which was proven to be a downright lie.

Since then, much has been written about this saga. There was evidence of witness tampering and planting evidence that had emerged, with a customer (in whose home a barometer was installed) alleged to his neighbour that he was being forced to name Republic TV. Further, there was evidence that the person heading this investigation was encounter cop Sachin Vaze, who had joined Shiv Sena when he was out of the police force for 16 long years owing to his alleged involvement in a custodial torture and death case. Then, the information had emerged that proved how it was indeed India Today that had been fined Rs 5 lacs by the BARC Disciplinary Council for viewership malpractice.

All the evidence notwithstanding, the Mumbai Police went ahead and filed an FIR against all 1000 journalists and members of the editorial team of Republic TV. Further, the police summoned all their financial records since the channel’s inception.

During the Sunday debate anchored by Arnab Goswami, the editor-in-chief of Republic TV gave a roaring statement of intent. During the show, several statements were made by panellists about the hounding of Republic TV and how, this is perhaps the first time since the Emergency that such a brazen attempt is being made by any government to muzzle the media.

Arnab Goswami had even opened the phone lines where viewers from various parts of the country called up to express solidarity with Arnab and dismay at the conduct of the Uddhav Thackeray led Maharashtra government.

Ending the show, Arnab Goswami said that he would not compromise and would win this battle, that the Maharashtra government has foisted upon him.

Arnab Goswami in his closing remarks hinted that some people had asked him to “compromise”, however, saying that these are the habits of ‘dirtbags’, he said that no compromise would be met. He then said:

“Some people say, you know, we can bleed you. We can go after your investors, we can go after your advertisers. I want to tell you, if this is going to be a blood bath, you won’t survive it. I will swim in the blood and come out of it. First of all, I will not bleed. Let’s be clear who is going to bleed in the blood bath. Liars will bleed”.

Sending out a message to “hypothetical police officers”, Arnab Goswami further says, “don’t you dare suggest compromise! No nudge-nudge, no wink-wink, no compromise. No favours, no lies, no compromise. No pulling back once we are on the front foot. And the message is going clear right now. We will open all the skeletons. I love being among skeletons. There is something very uplifting about being among skeletons because you realise that there are some skeletons that don’t even have a spine. Those are the skeletons we like to observe more closely. Don’t we?”. We don’t have Swiss bank accounts, lavish weddings etc”.

Clearly, in his closing statement, Arnab Goswami hinted that he was approached for a ‘compromise’, however, he would not be taking up that offer, and instead, continue to do stories that expose the Maharashtra government and the state machinery, including the Mumbai Police, that it is using the issue diktats.

During the entire witch-hunt, it is essential to note that the Lutyens media remained stoically silence. In fact, the NBSA even went ahead to chastise Republic TV, instead of condemning the state-sponsored witch-hunt against him.

While NBA said that it stands for freedom of speech and expression of the editorial staff of Republic TV even though the network is not its member and does not subscribe to its Code, it took great pain to not say anything directly against the Maharashtra government and Mumbai Police. Although the NBA tried to do a balancing act by criticising the police action and the Republic, in fact, the entire statement is slamming Republic, with some text thrown in to express concern about journalists and freedom of speech.

In the second para itself, the statement says, “we do not approve of the kind of journalist that is being practised by Republic TV”. Then it adds that while it stands for freedom of speech, it also endorses the practice of ethics in journalism, and fair and balanced reporting, implying that the reporting by Republic is not ethical and fair.

In the entire statement, the NBA sought to make a difference between journalists working in Republic TV and the channel itself, exposing its deep hatred for Arnab Goswami. It appealed Mumbai Police to ‘ensure that no journalists are made victims of this crossfire’. This directly means that they are ok with Mumbai police hounding Republic and its promoter-editor, and they are only concerned about the journalists. They appealed that journalists working with Republic to not cross the Lakshman Rekha, means asking them to revolt against Arnab Goswami.

The NBA states that “it does not support toxic content and unethical journalism”, thereby passing a verdict on Republic TV.

In fact, the NBA again included its opposition to the CBI probe in the TRP scam case, saying it expresses serious concern about the FIR registered by UP Police and subsequent transfer of the case to CBI. It requested the UP govt to withdraw the FIR referred to CBI. 

With the entire media ecosystem and political class standing against Arnab Goswami, his declaration of ‘no compromise’ holds immense value as it is a clear indication that the story is not over and we are set to see more fireworks over the next few weeks.

Delhi Police sub-inspector arrested for serial molestation, one victim narrates ordeal

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Delhi Police sub-inspector arrested for serial molestation, one victim narrates ordeal

In a shocking incident, a Delhi Police Sub-Inspector (SI) was arrested for allegedly molesting multiple women. As per reports, the accused is associated with the Traffic police department and has been identified as one Puneet Grewal. He has now been sent to judicial custody.

Molestation victim recounts her harrowing story

One of the victims of his sexual harassment has now come forward to narrate her ordeal. She recounted that the incident took place near DDA sports complex in Dwarka. In a video shared by journalist Saurabh Trivedi, the victim stated, “…I was cycling when I noticed a small grey car with a missing window. The car was easily noticeable and left me wondering how would the owner drive a vehicle with broken windows. There was a small gap between the footpath and the car and I cycled through the narrow lane.”

She continued, “After some time, I noticed that the car was following me. When I didn’t take notice, the man in the car began pressing the horn (to draw my attention). I asked him to leave because there was no one around. But, he continued chasing me. Then, I thought of replying to him. When I looked at him, he asked me the directions for Dwarka Sector-14. Before I could reply, I noticed that he had pulled down his pants and began masturbating. I yelled at him and asked him to get lost.”

“I was scared because there was no one around. There were only cars, passing by me at high speed. In the meantime, the man started saying nasty things to me. I was in a state of fix. Should I wait or yell at him? Should I call someone for help? Should I take out of my camera and start recording? What if the man gets out of the car? What if I cry for help and no one comes to my rescue? All these questions were crossing my mind.” the victim recounted.

A total of four First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered against the accused Puneet Grewal under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act. Meanwhile, the Delhi police have initiated disciplinary action against him.

Days after justifying Paris beheading, Imran Khan writes to Facebook seeking ban on ‘Islamophobic content’, whines against India

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Days after justifying Paris beheading, Imran Khan writes to Facebook seeking ban on ‘Islamophobic content’, whines against India

The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has written a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook and urged him to ban Islamophobic content on the social media platform. In his letter, he attacked India by mentioning CAA, NRC and Jammu, and Kashmir, alleging that India is denying rights to Muslims. He alleged that growing Islamophobia encourages hate, extremism, and violence, especially through social media platforms, including Facebook.

He said, “In India, anti-Muslim laws and measures such and CAA and NRC, as well as targeted killings of Muslims and blaming Muslims for coronavirus, are reflective of the abominable phenomenon of Islamophobia.” He further mentioned France and said, “In France, Islam has been associated with terrorism and publication of blasphemous cartoons targeting Islam and holy Prophet has been allowed.” Khan had also tried to justify the beheading of the teacher in France recently in a statement at UNGA.

Khan appreciated the ban Facebook has imposed on a post criticizing or questioning the Holocaust and demanded a similar ban on the posts that are alleged Islamophobic. He said, “I would ask you to place a similar ban on Islamophobia and hate against Islam for Facebook that you have put in place for the Holocaust.” In a recent update, Facebook has updated its hate speech policy and imposed a ban on any content that denied or distorted the Holocaust.

Imran Khan’s letter to Mark Zuckerberg urging him to ban Islamophobic content on Facebook

He said that one could not send a message that while hate messages against one segment of the society are unacceptable while against others is acceptable. “Nor should the world have to wait for a pogrom against Muslims, which is ongoing in countries like India and in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, to be completed before Islamophobia is banned.” He further added that such prejudice and bias would encourage further radicalization.

In the letter, like all the international communications and addresses since the day he assumed power, Imran Khan kept whining against India.

Pakistan’s continuous attempt to interfere in India’s internal matters

On several International platforms, Pakistan has attempted to poke its nose in India’s internal matters such as Jammu and Kashmir and now constitutionally passed Citizen Amendment Act. In reality, CAA has nothing to do with Muslims and it does not deny citizenship to anyone. The law was passed only to provide immediate support to refugees that have faced religious prosecution in three neighbouring countries named Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Foreign Ministry officials on the international platform have rubbished Pakistan’s anti-India propaganda on several occasions. In recent times, India used exercised its Right to Reply’ at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to counterattack the misleading narrative put forth by Pakistan and called it out on sectarian violence, forced conversion of minorities including Hindus, and illegal occupation of PoK.

Uddhav Thackeray addresses Dusshera Mela by throwing Hinduphobic ‘Gaumutra’ jibes at former ally BJP

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Uddhav Thackeray addresses Dusshera Mela by throwing Hinduphobic ‘Gaumutra’ jibes at former ally BJP

On Sunday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray hit a new low after he attacked the former ally BJP with crass, Hinduphobic references to Gaumutra (cow urine) and gobar (cow dung). The Shiv Sena leader made the derogatory remarks while addressing the annual Shiv Sena Dusshera Mela.

The video of his speech has now gone viral on social media. “Those who cast aspersions on our government, themselves have their mouths filled with cow-dung and Gaumutra. They have been trying to sling cow-dung at us, in a desperate hope that it will stick but it did not because we are clean. It is them whose mouth and clothes reek of Gaumutra and cow-dung,” Uddhav Thackeray was heard as saying.

Gaumutra jibe: Language of a terrorist

It is pertinent to remember that Gaumutra has been a part of ancient Ayurvedic treatment in India and is considered sacred in Hinduism. As such, the ‘Gaumutra jibe’ is often used by left-liberals and radical Islamists to demean Hindus, who disagree with their narrative.

Last year, in the aftermath of the dastardly attack on the CRPF convoy on February 14, 2019, a video was released by the Jaish-e-Muhammad group in which the terrorist who carried out the egregious attack against the security personnel, killing 40 of them, had stated that he wants to punish and kill the ‘cow urine drinkers’ in the name of Allah. The terrorist identified as Adil Ahmed Dar alias Waqas was seen admitting that he had joined the Jaish-e-Mohammad a year ago. In the video, he had referred to Indians as “Gae ka Peshab Peene Wale” (People who drink cow urine). 

Changing colours of Shiv Sena

It is ironical to see the Shiv Sena leader making Hinduphobic, hateful comments using Gaumutra jibes. Because the Sena, founded by Uddhav’s father Bala Saheb Thackeray, had gained all its political relevance and power by playing the role of a Hindutvavadi party. However, soon after the last assembly elections, the ‘saffron party’ deserted the BJP for Uddhav’s ambition to become CM. Ever since Shiv Sena joined hands with the ‘secular’ Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress, it has shed its saffron identity and has been pretending to be more ‘secular’ than the Congress and NCP.

In December 2019 Shiv Sena supported Citizenship Amendment Law in Lok Sabha but opposed it in Rajya Sabha. The MVA government had also scrapped the 10% quota meant for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), that the Modi government at the Centre had brought last year to help poor sections who do not have any other reservations in education and government jobs.

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad claims convoy fired upon in UP, fails to mention scuffle was with AIMIM: Read details

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad claims convoy fired upon in UP, fails to mention scuffle was with AIMIM: Read details

The Bhim Army chief and the President of Azad Samaj Party, Chandrashekhar Azad, took to Twitter to claim that his convoy was fired upon while he was rallying in Uttar Pradesh. Taking to Twitter, Azad said that that opposition parties were ‘desperate’ after his candidate had landed up in Bulandshahr, and hence, a ‘cowardly act’ of his convoy being fired upon was carried out.

“Opposition parties have been terrified due to our candidate landing in Bulandshahr elections and today’s rally has given rendered them sleepless, due to which my convoy has been fired in a cowardly manner. This shows the desperation of their defeat, they want the atmosphere to be bad but we will not let it happen”, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad tweeted.

While Azad had a different take on the matter, and him pointing towards “opposition parties” led to several individuals asking for Z+ security for him, what Azad failed to mention was that during this rally, the scuffle was actually between his men and leaders of the AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen) led by Asaduddin Owaisi.

The Bulandshahr police soon came out with a clarification that while Azad had claimed that his convoy had been fired upon, no evidence of this had been found. The police further clarified that a ruckus had broken out between members of the Azad Samaj Party and AIMIM.

Moments later, it was reported that two separate FIRs had been filed in the case, one against unknown persons on the complaint of ‘firing’ against Azad’s convoy and the other, based on a complaint of AIMIM leader Dilshad Ahmad who also alleged that he was attacked.

While Chandrashekhar Azad was more circumspect in naming AIMIM, lest it damages his ‘Jai Meem, Jai Bheem’ trope, AIMIM supporters and the AIMIM leader Dilshad Amhad did not extend the same courtesy to Chandrashekhar Azad or his party members. A video was shared widely by AIMIM supporters where Dilshad Ahmad, in a dishevelled state, narrated how he was allegedly attacked by members of Azad’s party.

The AIMIM supporter, Nafees Ahmad and several others condemned Chandrashekhar Azad and his the members of his party and organisation for allegedly attacking Dilshad Ahmad. They even went on to say that what Azad was doing was hooliganism and not politics.

Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections are due to be held in 2022 but political parties have already started circling the state. An example of that was seen in Hathras, where the unfortunate death of a Dalit girl was politicised to such an extent, that the truth got lost in the cacophony. In fact, 4 members of Chandrashekhar Azad’s party were held camping at the victim’s house posing to be family members, allegedly, to coach the family as to what needed to be said.

Despite the despicable politics and the ‘Jai Meem, Jai Bheem’ trope that is peddled by the likes of Azad and Asaduddin Owaisi, it is rather evident from this incident at Bulandshahr that this mythical unity that some Dalit and Muslim leaders peddle, simply to divide Hindus is just that – mythical at best, with cracks appearing at the first sign of trouble.

After Pakistani bots, Pakistani Prime Minister now attacks French President Emmanuel Macron for calling out radical Islam

OpIndia Staff
-
0
After Pakistani bots, Pakistani Prime Minister now attacks French President Emmanuel Macron for calling out radical Islam

Pakistani bots and trolls have been attacking French President Emmanuel Macron for his alleged Islamophobic comments. They are trending #BoycottFrenchProducts on Twitter and other social media platforms to mark their protest against him. Ansar Abbasi, Editor of Pakistani publication The News, claimed that the entire Islamic world should protest against France. The bots from Pakistan started trending the hashtags, and soon enough, their Prime Minister jumped in to give his statement.

Imran Khan’s statements

In a video statement at UNGA, he tried to justify what has happened in France and said, “The Prophet lives in our hearts. When he is ridiculed, when he is insulted, it hurts… We human beings understand one thing: The pain of the heart is far, far, far more hurtful than physical pain. And that’s why the Muslims react to this.” He further added that people from the west do not understand the sentiments attached to the Prophet. He also compared the pain suffered by the Jewish during the holocaust to the pain induced in Muslims by insulting Prophet Muhammad.

In a tweet, he said, “Hallmark of a leader is he unites human beings, as Mandela did, rather than dividing them. This is a time when Pres Macron could have put healing touch & denied space to extremists rather than creating further polarisation & marginalisation that inevitably leads to radicalisation.”

The statement by the Turkish President

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hit out at French President Emmanuel Macron for his alleged Islamophobic comments. Erdogan had lashed out at Macron on October 6 for saying that Islam is in crisis all over the world. He stated, “What is the problem of this person called Macron with Muslims and Islam? Macron needs treatment on a mental level…”

The Turkish President further claimed, “What else can be said to a head of state who does not understand freedom of belief and who behaves in this way to millions of people living in his country who are members of a different faith. First of all, have mental checks.” After his statement, France recalled its ambassador from Turkey, stating insult and outrage is not the right method.

1...4,9164,9174,918...7,647Page 4,917 of 7,647