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Bloomsbury now accused of leaking manuscript of the book that they refused to publish after giving into ‘liberal’ threats: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Bloomsbury now accused of leaking manuscript of the book that they refused to publish after giving into ‘liberal’ threats: Read details

Only a week ago, Bloomsbury India decided to withdraw the publication of the book ‘Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story’ by authors of Monika Arora, Sonali Chitalkar and Prerna Malhotra. In a statement, the publication house cited a ‘virtual pre-publication launch organised without our knowledge by the authors’ as one of the reasons for its decision. Bloomsbury India said that they had planned to release the book, a factual account based on investigation and interviews conducted by the authors, in September 2020 but they have rescinded their decision.

Essentially, the publication house gave in to ‘liberal’ bullying and decided to withdraw the book which was about to go in to publication and was due to be released in September 2020.

Now, the publication is being accused of something far serious.

A manuscript of the book that was dropped by Bloomsbury has been doing the rounds on WhatsApp. Several netizens raised questions as to how the entire manuscript was illegally released and was not being circulated freely.

A perusal of the manuscript did indicate that it was the copy that was with Bloomsbury that was being freely and illegally circulated on WhatsApp.

The second page of the manuscript clearly says that it is a copy that is being published by Bloomsbury.

Second page of the leaked copy of Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story manuscript

Interestingly, other than the authors, the publishing house and the editor, this manuscript in this form would not be available with anyone else. It is obvious that the authors would have no interest in leaking the manuscript thereby hurting the sales of the book which is now being published by Garuda Prakashan.

Thus, it does raise the question whether it is the publishing house that leaked the copy of the manuscript.

Interestingly, before the manuscript was circulated on WhatsApp, one of the first portals to access the manuscript was Left portal, TheQuint.com.

In its report that shoddily tried to ‘fact-check’ the book, The Quint clearly mentions that the manuscript of the book has been accessed by them.

Excerpt from TheQuint report

TheQuint, in fact, specifically mentions that they have accessed and scanned the “Bloomsbury draft” of the book.

The question thus arises that how was TheQuint managed to access a confidential book manuscript in the first place when access to the manuscript was limited to the authors and the publication house. Even more curiously, the draft of this book was accessed by TheQuint after the book had gone into publication with Garuda Prakashan and the authors had served a legal notice to the publication house.

The needle of suspicion, according to many, obviously points towards Bloomsbury, the publication house that bent over to liberal pressure and dropped the book in breach of the contract it had signed with the authors.

It is pertinent to note that the ‘Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story’ book has been pre-ordered over 15,000 times after Gaurda Prakashan opened the booking platform.

Read the full text of the letter written by dissenting Congress leaders demanding sweeping changes within the Congress party

OpIndia Staff
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Read the full text of the letter written by dissenting Congress leaders demanding sweeping changes within the Congress party

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, have written 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, tweeted 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.

Here’s the verbatim reproduction of the letter that was written by the rebel Congress leaders to the interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi, as shared by Akhilesh Mishra:-

Dear Hon. Congress President,

We the undersigned, most of whom have spent a lifetime in the Congress, take this opportunity to convey our concerns over the prevailing political atmosphere and views on the organisational affairs of the Congress Party.

India is, today facing the gravest Political, Social and Economic challenges in its history since independence. The core values of our Constitution are under a sustained assault. The communal and divisive agenda of BJP and its affiliates are dominating the political narrative. It is in conflict with the very idea of inclusive India bequeathed to us by Mahatma Gandhi and the founding fathers of the Republic.

An environment of fear and insecurity has engulfed the country. Congress has a duty to rise to the challenge. It must reassure the people that, it will defend and secure their fundamental rights.
This can be done only by a revitalised and resolute Congress Party, that unites the progressive and democratic forces.

The country is also facing a serious Social and Economic crisis. Massive youth unemployment, farmers distress and economic recession have pushed a large number of our citizens to the margins. These challenges have been aggravated by the “Corona Pandemic” leading to economic shut down with millions of workers across sectors, losing jobs, wages and incomes. The distress of the poor and vulnerable, especially the migrant labour, needs urgent redressal.

The Congress Party is required to deliberate on these challenges and come up with a comprehensive response outlining its vision and policy recommendations.

The situation on the borders in India’s neighbourhood and military standoff with China, is a matter of grave concern. The drift in India’s Foreign Policy, straining of relations with neighbouring countries with whom we have historically shared goodwill and friendly relations, needs a serious reflection and course correction.

As the oldest Political Party of the country that led the freedom movement, laid the foundations of India’s development and building of a modern nation-State, the Congress Party must take an informed position on Foreign Policy, Defence and National Security matters.

We have witnessed a steady decline of the Congress Party reflected in successive electoral verdicts in States and General Elections in 2014 and 2019. Reasons are manifold and need to be immediately identified. Otherwise, the Congress Party will find itself marginalized, both in the States, which is already apparent, as well as at the national level.

The erosion of support base and, in particular, losing the confidence of the youth, is a matter of serious concern. In the last two national elections, India had added 18.7 crores 1s’ time voters – 10.15 crores in 2014 and 8.55 crores in 2019. The youth voted overwhelmingly for Modi and the BJP. The vote share of the BJP sharply increased from 7.84 crores in 2009 to 17.6 crores in 2014 and to 22.9 crores in 2019. In contrast, Congress lost its share of 1.23 crore of the votes polled in 2009. We have marginally crossed the 2009 numbers in the last LokSabha elections.

Even after 14 months of the 2019 electoral verdict, the Congress Party has not undertaken any honest introspection to analyse the reasons for its continued decline.

In order to stem the decline, we have taken upon ourselves to be open and frank so that the Congress Party’s future, which presently is at stake, is not jeopardized any further.

The uncertainty over the leadership and the drift have demoralised the Congress workers and further weakened the Party. There has been an erosion of the support base with leaders and functionaries leaving the Party in a number of States.

The CWC is not effectively guiding the Party to mobilise public opinion against the divisive agenda and anti-people politics of the BJP Government. At present, its meetings are merely episodic and reactive to contemporary developments instead of being a deliberative body for setting the national agenda and for policy initiatives.

The meetings of the CPP over the years have been reduced to the customary address of CPP leader and obituary references. The past practice of discussion on issues has been discontinued. That is required especially now when the Party is in Opposition.

We have also seen, over the past many years, that the appointments of PCC Presidents and office bearers and DCC Presidents are unduly delayed. Leaders who command respect and acceptability in the State are not appointed in time and when appointed as PCC Chiefs are not given the freedom to make organizational decisions.

PCCs and the District Level Committees, are not inclusive and representative of the demographics of the State. The PCCs are not given any functional autonomy. There is also very little accountability when leadership fails.

YOUTH AND STUDENTS

Congress Party has historically nurtured Leadership and encouraged infusion of fresh blood. Younger leaders had risen from the ranks coming from the NSUI and Youth Congress. These leaders had ideological clarity and commitment. A blend of experience of seniors and energy of youth made the Congress strong and vibrant.

In recent years, the institutional process of merit-based and consensus backed selection has been disrupted. Introduction of elections in the cadre feeding organisations NSUI and IYC has created conflict and division. Resource-rich individuals or those backed by powerful patrons captured these organisations. This blocked the progress of younger leaders from an ordinary background with an ideological commitment to the Party of their services, resulting in the weakening of the Frontal Organisations.

Congress Party is no more nurturing leadership at the State and National level, which it had traditionally done. There are no regular deliberations at the AICC as well as the PCC sessions, which deal with policies and programmes addressing societal concerns of a diverse nation.

To revitalise the Party and to give millions of workers a sense of purpose, we suggest the following –

  • Full time and effective leadership active in the field and visible, and available at AICC and PCC Headquarters.
  • PCC’s and District Committees should be inclusive and representative. The PCC’s be given functional autonomy for institutional accountability.
  • Given the geographical spread and diversity of India, over-centralisation of the organisation and micro-management has always proven to be counterproductive. Therefore, the practice of appointing DCC Presidents / Office Bearers of Department and Cells from the AICC should be stopped henceforth. DCC Presidents should be appointed from the State Capital by Incharge General Secretary in coordination with PCC Presidents.
  • The Central Parliamentary Board (CPB) be urgently constituted for collective thinking and decision making on organizational matters, policies and programmes.
  • A nationwide membership drive should be undertaken and the enrolment drive should be launched on a priority basis.
  • Elections of Block, PCC delegates and AICC Members in a transparent manner.
  • Election of CWC Members in accordance with the Constitution of the Congress Party.
  • Central Election Committee (CEC) be reconstituted comprising of leaders with organisational background and active field knowledge and experience.
  • The Screening Committee for empanelling parliament and assembly candidates should consist of leaders with long years of organizational and I or electoral experience.
  • An Independent Election Authority comprising of Senior Leaders of Standing and credibility be established to ensure that elections are free, fair and democratic.
  • In view of the gravity of challenges facing the Party, it is now, an imperative to urgently establish an “Institutional leadership mechanism” to collectively guide the Party’s revival.

We deeply appreciate the leadership provided by you as Congress President in difficult times and also recognize the commendable efforts of Ex-CP Sh. Rahul Gandhi during his tenure as Congress President.

Congress Party will always remember with pride and gratitude the work and sacrifices of Smt. Indira Gandhi and Shri Rajiv Gandhi.

We acknowledge the resolute struggle, visionary leadership and notable contribution of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. His enduring legacy will always remain a source of guidance and inspiration for us. The Nehru-Gandhi family will always remain an integral part of the collective leadership of the Congress Party.

Congress must be prepared to convert the present challenge into an opportunity to lead the fight back. Time has come to build a narrative that resonates with the youth, women, students, farmers, minorities, dalits and factory workers.

Congress must take the initiative for creating a national coalition of democratic and secular forces to confront and defeat the BJP agenda. For this, a sincere effort should be made to bring on one platform leaders of political parties, who were once part of the Congress.

In view of the unprecedented challenges, the revival of Congress is a national imperative. We, therefore, urge you to take into consideration these proposals for the purpose of implementation, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of Indian National Congress in the interest of the Party and the future of Indian democracy.

With kind regards,

Yours sincerely,

The said letter had reportedly created a storm in the CWC meeting. Though the meeting could not decide on the most critical issue of party presidentship and ended up declaring that Sonia Gandhi will continue to remain the ‘interim president’, the internal feud was out in the open.

Many senior leaders, including Ahmed Patel, had criticised the signatories of the letter. Kapil Sibal and Ghulam Nabi Azad also faced a lot of open criticism from fellow party leaders over the letter. Sonia, in her concluding remarks, reportedly said that she is hurt (over the letter) but she bears no ill will against the party leaders who wrote it.

JNU scientists Dr Anand Ranganathan and Shailaja Singh make a pioneering discovery for malaria treatment

OpIndia Staff
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JNU scientists Dr Anand Ranganathan and Shailaja Singh make a pioneering discovery for malaria treatment

Pioneering the fight against Malaria, biologists from Jawaharlal Nehru University have broken new ground in crushing the malaria parasite before it can take refuge in red blood cells for its inexorable reproduction, says a report published in Deccan Herald.

The novel method to stop the malaria parasite in its track is discovered by the team of Dr Anand Ranganathan, in collaboration with another group headed by Shailaja Singh and Nishant Joshi at Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida.

The strategy devised by these professionals entails blocking the route that the Plasmodium falciparum (the parasite that causes cerebral malaria) takes to attack the red blood cells(RBCs). Though the discovery is in its embryonic stage, it offers options to improve the effectiveness of existing medicines such as chloroquine and artemisinin as the parasites are building resistance to these drugs. India had reported the first case of artemisinin resistance in 2018.

Scientists discover molecule that prevents parasite from invading Red Blood Cells

As per the report in Deccan Herald, from thousands of synthetic molecules, researchers were able to home in on that one molecule that prevented interaction between two crucial proteins which the parasite leveraged to invade the blood cells. The proteins are identified as Myosin A and its interacting partner, MTIP (Myosin A Tail Interacting Protein). The synthetic molecule which sticks to the Myson-MTIP complex is called ZA1.

According to Dr Anand Ranganathan, the plan was to interrupt the cycle of the parasite at the very first step when it tries to invade the RBCs. The binding of Myosin A to its interacting partner (MTIP) is critical to the generation of the force for parasite’s motility, said JNU scientist Anand Ranganathan.

Zill e Anam, the lead author of the study, said, “We discovered a very strong interaction between ZA1 and Myosin A. The interaction prevents Plasmodium’s motor machinery to function in its normal way.”

The researchers have also been successful in trimming the molecule further to create a smaller unit(named ZA1s) that cripples the parasite even more effectively.

Drug development will commence once crystal structure is understood: Dr Anand Ranganathan

Talking about the path ahead, Dr Ranganathan said in an interview to DH that the process of drug development would commence once the crystal structure of the molecule is understood.

Shailja Singh, who is another corresponding author of the paper that has been published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, added that one of the bigger challenges currently facing the fight against malaria is the parasite’s growing non-responsiveness to artemisinin and chloroquine.

The discovery could be significant for the country’s battle against malaria, which remains the only nation outside Africa to contribute about 80% of the global malaria burden and death.

Netizens question Amazon Prime’s creative head’s bias, wonder if shows like “Patal lok” are approved because of it

OpIndia Staff
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Netizens question Amazon Prime’s creative head’s bias, wonder if shows like “Patal lok” are approved because of it

Lately, there has been a growing outrage against the movie industry and the online OTT platforms for their blatant act of pushing Hinduphobic contents under the guise of creative art.

For a very long time now, several social media users have been pointing out how several platforms have been subtly pushing their preconceived agenda through movies, web series, etc. One such platform that has also been under fire recently is Amazon Prime, which according to several viewers, have been aggressively pushing contents that are offensive to Hindus religious beliefs.

The netizens have time-and-again have also pointed out how Amazon India has been giving space for ultra-left radicals and Islamist elements, who are known for their anti-Hindu agenda. A series of social media outrage had erupted in the past against Amazon for making Hinduphobic web series such as ‘Paatal Lok‘ and also for featuring ultra-left wing activists such as Swara Bhasker and Islamists like Ali Fazal in one of their shows.

Various social media users have been expressing their disappointment against online platforms such as Amazon India for deliberately disrespecting the sentiments of the common masses of the country by continuing to produce such vile contents.

However, despite all the outrage, Amazon seems to have turned a blind eye as they keep pushing controversial content that is mostly derogatory to Hindu religious beliefs.

According to several OTT platform enthusiasts and critics, the anti-Hindu narratives often pushed by these OTT platforms stems from the fact that the promoters and the people responsible for airing such contents themselves carry their own biases. These set of promoters and people responsible for content are happy to provide space for pushing derogatory contents under the guise of creating valuable content.

One such stakeholder who has the ability to push all sorts of agenda through online streaming platforms is Aparna Purohit. Aparna Purohit is the head of Amazon India’s creative development team and also the in-charge of platform’s original web series.

A social media user on Thursday pointed out how Aparna Purohit, the creative head of the Amazon Prime, had a known left-wing bias, who has often expressed her hatred against the ruling dispensation. According to the images shared by entertainment industry follower Sharanya Shettyy, Aparna Purohit has also pushed various anti-Hindu propaganda on social media platforms.

Aparna Purohit, a former Jamia alumnus with known anti-Hindu bias

Interestingly, Aparna Purohit, the person responsible for commissioning all such derogatory contents on the Amazon Prime Video, is the alumnus of the infamous Jamia Millia University. Purohit, who claims to have experience in making movies for over 15 years, has been open about her ideological position, which has time-and-again reflected in the work that she does for Amazon.

If one takes a closer look at the posts put up by Aparna Purohit on social media platforms, the allegations of ideological prejudice made against Purohit by social media users find resonance as most of her recent posts have either political or ideological undertones to it.

Here are few images posted by social media users, in which one be clearly seen her ideological prejudices of Aparna Purohit.

In one of the Facebook posts, Aparna Purohit had posted an image, which not only disrespected a duly elected Prime Minister but also insinuated that he was some sort of a ‘criminal’.

The below image posted by Aparna Purohit on January 6, 2020, perhaps, was in connection with the brutal attack that took place in JNU attacks unleashed by the left-wing mobs against students of the university. It was reported that some left students along with a few other students had covered their faces to attack students and vandalise the office spaces in the JNU.

However, Aparna Purohit, who is accused of having an ultra-left bias, has indirectly blamed Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and also portrayed them as the culprits responsible for the JNU attacks.

Image Source: Maya

Not only that, but her hatred for BJP was also yet again reflected in another post in which she was caught sharing propaganda articles published by far-left anti-India fake news portals such as ‘The Wire’. In one of her post, Aparna Purohit held BJP responsible for the anti-Hindu riots that were unleashed by the Muslim mobs in the national capital in the last week of May.

Sharing a propaganda piece, Aparna Purohit compared the Anti-Hindu riots in Delhi to 2002-Gujarat incident and had claimed that the Modi government has brought Gujarat model to Delhi.

Image Source: Aparna Purohit

In one of the most bizarre Facebook post, Purohit had promoted the rabid anti-India hatred of known Naxal sympathiser Arundhati Roy. Opposing the historical Citizenship Amendment Act, a law that guarantees Indian citizenship to the persecuted minorities from three neighbouring Islamic countries, Purohit had claimed that India would cease to exist if they accepted a law that was legitimately passed by the parliament.

Image Source: Aparna Purohit

In one of her post, Aparna Purohit was also seen expressing her admiration and fascination towards another ultra-left-activist and Bollywood entertainer Swara Bhasker. Bhasker, a known anti-Hindu propagandist has been constantly promoted by Amazon India’s Purohit.

Here is a post by Aparna Purohit, where she was seen defending the likes of Swara Bhasker. The controversial activist is alleged to be one of the enablers of the ant-CAA and anti-Hindu riots in the national capital. The social media users also pointed out that the left-ideological leanings of Aparna Purohit was the reason why the likes of Swara Bhasker gets an opportunity to act in shows that are produced by Amazon Prime Video.

Last year in May, Aparna Purohit had taken to Facebook to share another article of ‘The Wire’, which was written in the wake of revoking of Article 370 in erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Image Source: Aparna Purohit

Aparna Purohit also is not new to sharing fake news on social media platforms. Last year in December, Purohit had taken to Facebook to share a series of videos of the anti-CAA riots that took place in Jamia Millia University.

Sharing a series of videos of rioters of Jamia Millia University, Aparna Purohit had tried to pass off videos that claimed that Delhi police were firing against inside students’ library.

With one of its creative heads now openly caught propagating hatred, perhaps Amazon India owes a clarification to people of this country.

Journalist Navika Kumar hints at quid pro quo, says Rhea Chakraborty’s team had sent her a ‘feeler’, urged to be ‘fair’ to her in exchange for an interview

OpIndia Staff
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Journalist Navika Kumar hints at quid pro quo, says Rhea Chakraborty’s team had sent her a ‘feeler’, urged to be ‘fair’ to her in exchange for an interview

A day after Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty, the prime accused in the suicide case of Sushant Singh Rajput was provided with a ‘platform’ by India Today ‘journalist’ Rajdeep Sardesai, senior journalist Navika Kumar from Times Now has now made a sensational disclosure saying that someone claiming to be in touch with Rhea Chakraborty’s team had sent a ‘feeler’ seeking an interview in exchange for ‘fair’ coverage.

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Times Now editor Navika Kumar revealed that she got a feeler from someone claiming to be in touch with Rhea Chakraborty’s team, who requested them to be ‘fair’ in Rhea’s coverage in return for arranging an interview with Rhea. It is pertinent to note that Times Now has been forefront at carrying out continuous coverage in the Sushant Singh Rajput’s case.

Tweet by Times Now senior journalist Navika Kumar

Navika Kumar’s disclosure comes at the backdrop of a recent interview of Rhea Chakraborty, who after a stoic silence, had decided to give an interview to India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai. In the interview, Rhea Chakraborty presented her ‘side of the story’ in the Sushant Singh suicide case, which, however, did not receive a good response from the viewers.

Following the controversial interview, netizens had not only pointed several discrepancies in her statements but also pointed the hypocrisy of ‘journalist’ Rajdeep Sardesai for trying to whitewash the allegations against Rhea by carrying out an interview with an accused in the case. Navika Kumar in her tweet had also mentioned that “name of the anchor who has now done the interview” was mentioned and the person said that he was also in talks for an interview.

Interestingly, following the interview by Rajdeep Sardesai, several other channels also aired their own interviews with Rhea Chakraborty. Among those who aired the interview were CNN-News18 and NDTV.

Interestingly, while Ravish Kumar had been raving and whining about how channels like Times Now and Republic TV were obsessed over Sushant Singh Rajput, NDTV got obsessed with Rhea Chakraborty, flooding their YouTube channel with her clips. Similarly, Rajdeep Sardesai, who had whined about how the media is covering the Sushant Singh Rajput case instead of “real issues”, had also jumped at the opportunity to interview Rhea Chakraborty after the “deal” that Navika has alluded to.

Perhaps, Navika Kumar in her sensational disclosure was referring to such an agreement between the news network and Rhea’s team where she could be allowed to get away with charges in exchange for a ‘fair’ interview. Navika Kumar also hinted at some kind of a bargain allegedly offered by Rhea’s side in exchange for toning down the coverage by Times Now against Rhea Chakraborty.

Since last few days, Times Now has upped the ante with regards to Sushant Singh Rajput’s case and had put sensational disclosures regarding the alleged Whatsapp chat between Rhea and a purported drug dealer.

Addition to that, on Thursday, Times Now had also accessed reports that suggested that the first set images of the mortal remains of the actor which went viral immediately after Sushant’s death may have been morphed to push the ‘suicide theory’.

‘This appeal is devoid of merits,’ Bombay High Court rejects bail plea by Elgar Parishad accused Sudha Bharadwaj

OpIndia Staff
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‘This appeal is devoid of merits,’ Bombay High Court rejects bail plea by Elgar Parishad accused Sudha Bharadwaj

The Bombay High Court has on Friday rejected a bail plea filed by ‘Urban Naxal’ Sidha Bharadwaj, arrested in connection with the violence that broke out at Elgar Parishad in January 2018. The accused in the Bhima Koregaon case had sought bail on grounds of health in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. However, the Court did not see merit in her application. The plea was filed against denial of bail after an NIA Court rejected her medical bail.

Dismissing the bail plea, the Court noted, “In our view, no case is made out for grant of bail. This appeal is devoid of merits.” The Court mandated that Sudha Bharadwaj will continue to be provided medical aid at the Byculla Women’s Jail in Mumbai where she is currently lodged at. Advocate Ragini Ahuja had contended that there were discrepancies in the medical reports filed by authorities on the 23rd of July and the 21st of August.

“The two reports are contrary to each other and the report dated August 21 might be bogus. How can a person recover completely of a heart condition in just four weeks,” Ahuja told the Court. However, the Court observed that the latest medical report concerned itself with Bharadwaj’s vital parameters with respect to COVID-19 and the submissions made by Sudha Bharadwaj in the Court had no substance on inconsistencies in the medical report.

NIA opposed bail plea by Sudha Bharadwaj

The NIA had opposed the bail plea by Sudha Bharadwaj and told the Court that she was being provided proper health facilities and her health was monitored regularly. Additional Solicitor General of Maharashtra and Goa, Anil Singh, who served as the NIA’s counsel in the matter, said, “NIA strongly opposes the plea. She has been taken care in the jail and her bail has been previously rejected on merits because of her involvement in anti-terrorist and anti-national activities.”

What is the Bhima Koregaon Violence Case?

The event by the name of “Elgar Parishad” was organised to commemorate the Battle of Bhima Koregaon of 1818, wherein the Peshwas fought against the between East India Company. In the war, an army of Dalit soldiers had fought under the British forces against the Peshwa, the reason for the celebration by Dalits. In 2018, it was the 200 year anniversary of the war and extreme violence erupted over the matter.

Soon after, the case was transferred to the NIA. The Pune police had arrested a total of nine supposed “intellectuals” such as Sudha Bharadwaj, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, and Varavara Rao for inciteful speeches.

‘See you all in college next semester’: Sunny Leone jokes after her name features in the merit list of Kolkata college

OpIndia Staff
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‘See you all in college next semester’: Sunny Leone jokes after her name features in the merit list of Kolkata college

In a shocking incident on Thursday, the merit list of admissions at the reputed Asutosh college in South Kolkata featured the name of actress Sunny Leone. Her name appeared at the top of the merit list for admission to the BA (English) programme of the college. As per the contentious merit list, Sunny Leone is a student of West Bengal State Board and has scored 100 marks in each of the five subjects.

Following outrage of social media, the college authorities apologised for the oversight on the part of the administration. Besides, the merit list for the BA (English) programme has now been withdrawn and will be re-published on correction.

The contentious merit list with the name of Sunny Leone at the top (Image Courtesy: Twitter/ @Rupanjandas715)

Lack of application fee led to mischief, claims Vice-Principal

While speaking to ABP Ananda, Apurva Rai, the Vice-Principal of the college said, “We cannot delete the list as it will change the ranks of all students. We are now rectifying our mistake by replacing the name of ‘Sunny Leone’ with that of another student. It’s a fake application and that can simply be proved through verification of the mark sheet. Some applicant student has been mischievous or else why would he put the name of Sunny Leone and give her 100 marks in each subject? Since there was no application fee this time, the student got the opportunity to carry out this mischief. “

Sunny Leone express desire to join Asutosh college

The story of the bizarre merit list also reached Sunny Leone who took a dig at the said college. She tweeted, “See you all in college next semester!!! Hope you’re in my class.”

While minor errors and typos are common occurrences, the fact that a miscreant was able to pass off the name of the actress in the merit list with a phone number cited as roll number has drawn criticism from several quarters.

As Pornhub faces heat over child rape videos, Wikipedia editors promptly remove content mentioning criticisms and petitions against the website

OpIndia Staff
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As Pornhub faces heat over child rape videos, Wikipedia editors promptly remove content mentioning criticisms and petitions against the website

Even as Wikipedia faces criticism for allowing pornographic content and images, including paedophilia, another angle has emerged showing the dominance of major porn websites on the online encyclopaedia. It seems that global porn major Pornhub has dedicated personnel to monitor the Wikipedia page of the site, and the moment any negative content is edited to the page, it is promptly deleted by them.

On 24th June, a para was added to the Wikipedia article on Pornhub, mentioning an online petition filed against Pornhub for abusive content hosted on the adult site. The petition “Traffickinghub” was launched in February this year by Laila Mickelwait from Exodus Cry, a US-based Christian anti-trafficking group, after several videos of sexual abuse were found on Pornhub. The petition has got over 1.2 million signatures till now. Accordingly, a para about the same, and response of Pornhub saying they will remove such content, was added to the article. But it was promptly deleted by one user with the username Applepie655. 

The reason given for deletion was that the sources india.com and dw.com are not notable sources. It may be noted that india.com is a major portal in India, and dw.com is a major portal in German, and they are indeed notable sources. Moreover, the petition has its own website and it as filed on change.com, so there is no doubt about the petition, to which even the Pornhub has responded.

Earlier in May, the same user had removed a para in the page that informed that The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) found 118 instances of child sexual abuse material on Pornhub between 2017 and 2019. First the user had removed it saying that only a small number of such videos were found and they were removed by the site, so it does not need to be included in the Wikipedia page. When other editors contested and re-inserted it, the user against removed it saying not all the videos had child rape. But after that another editor pointed towards a BBC report confirming the same, and the para was again added.

The user Applepie655 seems interested only Wikipedia pages related to pornography, and the user is very prompt to remove any negative content added in those pages.

The edit history page of the user shows several edits per day on various pages of porn websites and companies, including MindGeek, the company that owns several porn websites like Pornhub, RedTube, and YouPorn, as well as several adult movie production companies.

Pornhub under fire

The world’s largest porn site Pornhub has been under the fire for videos of rape and sexual abuse uploaded on the site. It has been accused the safety measures deployed at the site are not adequate to prevent users for uploading such videos. The petitions filed against the company says that they do not have an effective system in place to verify reliably the age or consent of those featured in the pornographic content it hosts.

In the past, several child rape videos were found to be uploaded on the site, which were removed after they were pointed out by others. The videos has passed the monitoring system that the company has claimed to be in place to prevent such videos getting uploaded.

Bigotry of low expectations: How a Muslim family from Shopian was hailed for displaying common human decency after a Hindu woman died

Editorial Desk
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Bigotry of low expectations: How a Muslim family from Shopian was hailed for displaying common human decency after a Hindu woman died

Certain news of an alleged incident broke out on Friday and odes began to be paid to the mythical construct of ‘Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb’. According to certain individuals on social media, a Muslim family had performed the last rites of a deceased Kashmiri Pandit woman in the Parhochi village of Shopian.

Others claimed that the Muslims had helped keep the spirit of ‘Kashmiriyat’ alive through their actions. However, unlike others, some conceded that the Muslims had not performed the last rites themselves but had only helped with the conductance of the rituals.

Great emphasis was also placed on the fact that the Muslims apparently braved heavy rain to help their ‘Pandit brethren’. The deceased Kashmiri Pandit woman was apparently a 103-year old Uma Devi.

One media portal, ‘Fast Kashmir’, even reported on the matter in glowing terms. However, the details mentioned in the report only help to cement our growing suspicion: It was simply bigotry of low expectations. It was reported that when the news of the Kashmiri Pandit’s demise became evident, Muslims in the neighbourhood came together to help the bereaved family cremate the deceased amidst a torrential outpour.

It is rather bewildering that such a demonstration of common human decency is being credited with ‘Kashmiriyat’. The conduct of the Muslims in the community is indeed quite commendable but it had nothing to do with Kashmiriyat. If anything, their actions reflected a strident refutation of the ideology that is mired in conflict.

It was Kashmiriyat, in fact, that led to the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley in 1989-90 and their subsequent exodus. And three decades later, acts of common decency are being glorified beyond all recognition, with lots of exaggerations, in order to exalt a genocidal concept that continues to stir the plague of terrorism in Kashmir.

It needs to be emphasised here that the actions of the Muslims in Shopian represent common human decency. It is human decency to look out for the well-being of a family in the neighbourhood which has just lost a revered member. It is common human decency to help out people in distress. It is common human decency to offer condolences and console people who have just lost their beloved. There is nothing exceptional or unique about the whole situation, it is what ordinary decent human beings do for their fellow man.

That such an ordinary demonstration of human kindness is being glorified out of proportion and embellished with complete fiction in order to aid in a certain brand of propaganda only goes on to highlight that the primary concern of the concerned individuals who have engaged in such a narrative is to participate in an obscene celebration of perfectly ordinary human kindness.

It is, of course, something that we witness regularly. Whenever some Muslims display common human decency, sections of the community jump in to hail their actions with the explicit intention of whitewashing the toxic radicalism that has such a terrible hold within the community. In the current instance, the said Muslims from Shopian were glorified to wash away the crimes committed against the Kashmiri Pandit community and convey the impression that Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits share very cordial relationships, which is far from the truth.

It is known that Kashmiri Pandits had to suffer a genocide at the hands of the Kashmiri Muslim community. It is known that Kashmiri Pandits cannot return to their homeland to this very day. it is known that ‘Kashmiriyat’ continues to fuel terrorism and separatism in the Valley. And a simple demonstration of common human decency and kindness will not alter reality.

After failing to block terror groups and inching towards global backlist, Pakistan attempts to paint RSS as a terror org

OpIndia Staff
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After failing to block terror groups and inching towards global backlist, Pakistan attempts to paint RSS as a terror org

Pakistan, teetering on the edge of being placed on the international terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) ‘blacklist’, ludicrously urges the Paris-based body to block funds to India’s Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), accusing the latter being involved in terrorist activities.

In a meeting held at Pakistan’s parliament, Shehryar Afridi, chair of the Pakistani Parliament’s Kashmir Committee and Sardar Attique Khan, the former PM of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) accused RSS of “terrorist activities funded by the Indian diaspora”. Raising concerns, the duo urged the UN, the FATF and other financial institutions to take “cognizance of the situation and follow it up with immediate action to block these illegal transactions” as they said that RSS has been using these funds to “kill and torture religious minorities” in India and Kashmir and carrying a “Hindu supremacist ideology”.

“The RSS terrorists have carried out terrorist attacks across India killing Muslims, including in 2006 Malegaon blasts, Mecca Masjid bombing in Hyderabad, Samjhauta Express bombings and the Ajmer Sharif Dargah blasts,” they said.

Pakistan laments over FATF’s silence on RSS

“The RSS is receiving funding from Indian diaspora based in various countries and Indian Consulates are facilitating the transfer of funding to the terrorist organization that is killing and lynching Muslims in India and Kashmir and carrying a Hindu supremacist ideology,” said Afridi and Khan, lamenting over the “silence of FATF over illegal and illicit transactions to the RSS.”

“The global financial watchdog, Financial Action Task Force, must take measures to combat money-laundering and terror-financing to the Hindu terror outfits,” the two leaders demanded.

Like their supremo Imran Khan, who obsesses over creating a vile narrative against India over Kashmir, the duo also said that the world should be made aware about the “atrocities being committed on the helpless Kashmiris by the Indian fascist forces”.

The terror state consistently receives a low rating by FATF

Pakistan, being shunned Internationally for harbouring terrorism, has a habit of creating a narrative to divert attention from its terrorism, and to do so, the terror state has often accused India’s ruling party BJP and the RSS of fanning “Hindu terrorism”, a narrative peddled by Congress which was busted a long time ago. However, the irony here is that despite consistently receiving an extremely low rating by FATF, the terror state has urged the terror watchdog to take action against India.

The Global watchdog FATF had retained Pakistan in the Greylist in this February. The FATF subgroup International Cooperation Review Group had recommended retaining Pakistan in the ‘grey list’ citing that Pakistan failed to take appropriate action against terror financers.

Earlier in October 2019, the Asia Pacific Group (APG) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had published its annual report (Mutual Evaluation report of Pakistan) which stated, “With the exception of some recent actions discussed in detail below, Pakistan has not taken sufficient measures to fully implement UNSCR 1267 obligations against all listed individuals and entities – especially those associated with Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT)/Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), and Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) as well as the groups’ leader Hafiz Saeed.”

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