OpIndia had on August 28 reported about a 14-year-old minor girl being kidnapped by one Sabir, a father of four, from Bihar’s Madhubani district. Today Priyank Kunoongo, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), has announced on Twitter that the 14-year-old minor girl has been rescued and the culprit has been arrested.
The Child Rights body chief said that Madhubani police who were summoned today had informed the commission about the same.
बिहार के मधुबनी ज़िले से अपहृत हुई बच्ची के मामले में @OpIndia_com की खबर पर @NCPCR_ ने संज्ञान लिया था,आज सम्मन सुनवाई के दौरान पुलिस ने अवगत करवाया है कि बच्चे का बचाव कर लिया गया है। आरोपी को भी गिरफ़्तार किया गया है।@JayantiMishra20pic.twitter.com/WDrFjJe3vc
— प्रियंक कानूनगो Priyank Kanoongo (@KanoongoPriyank) September 10, 2020
NCPCR took cognisance of the OpIndia report
It is pertinent to note here, that NCPCR had earlier taken cognisance of the OpIndia report. A day after we reported about the incident, Priyank Kunoongo had informed that the commission has spoken to the Superintendent of Police and have given necessary instructions. ‘The Commission will be constantly monitoring the matter’, Kunoongo had written.
बिहार के मधुबनी जिले में हरलाखी थाना क्षेत्र के नहरनियां गांव से एक 14 साल की बच्ची को अगवा कर जबरन धर्म परिवर्तन करने के @OpIndia_in में प्रकाशित समाचार का @NCPCR_ ने संज्ञान लिया है,मैंने पुलिस अधीक्षक से बात कर आवश्यक निर्देश दिए हैं।आयोग लगातार इस मामले की निगरानी करेगा। pic.twitter.com/GS4kkbGTYD
— प्रियंक कानूनगो Priyank Kanoongo (@KanoongoPriyank) August 29, 2020
Sabir, allegedly a married man, had kidnapped the minor Hindu girl
On August 28, OpIndia reported about the victim family’s plight. A married man and the father of multiple children, Sabir had kidnapped and his family had boasted about forcefully converting the 14-year-old minor girl from Naharniyan village under Harlakhi police station limits in Madhubani district of Bihar on August 20.
Family of the minor victim threatened
The girl’s brother, while speaking to OpIndia had informed how his sister, who had gone to a nearby field on August 20 morning did not return home. Initially, the victim’s family had refrained from complaining to police, fearing retaliation from the Muslims in the village. On 23 August 2020, the girl’s family had informed the police and complained about the kidnapping of his daughter. In the complaint, the girl’s father had accused Jabbar’s son Sabir alias Bablu of Naharniyan village of abducting his daughter.
The victims’ father said in the complaint that the Sabir’s family had threatened him with dire consequences. They had told him to do whatever he could but nothing could stop them from converting his daughter to Islam.
The Madhubani police had registered an FIR in the case on August 26 and had started investigating the matter, which got expedited after NCPCR got involved.
On Thursday, micro-blogging site Twitter sent a notice Jihad Watch Director Robert Spencer after one of his tweets allegedly violated the laws of Pakistan.
Taking to Twitter, Robert Spencer said that Twitter has sent him a notice in connection with a tweet he had posted in April 2018. The notice issued to him by Twitter said that they had received a complaint from Pakistan stating that one of his tweets had violated laws of Pakistan.
Twitter tells me I have broken the law of Pakistan! Do the Leftist clowns at @Twitter ever send anyone notice that he or she has violated US law? Or is it only Sharia violations that they care about? Does anyone in @jack’s entire sorry enterprise remember the freedom of speech ? pic.twitter.com/YUks9jEg6h
— Robert Spencer روبرت سبنسر रॉबर्ट स्पेंसर ?? (@jihadwatchRS) September 10, 2020
The popular micro-blogging site Twitter, in its notice, said that even though they were not initiating action against Robert Spencer, it was their policy to notify their users if they receive a legal request from an authorised entity against any specific tweets.
Below is the tweet that was posted by Robert Spencer on April 19, 2018, in which he had shared cartoons of Prophet Muhammad created by American cartoonist Bosch Fawstin. The cartoons of Prophet Muhammad may have triggered Islamists from Pakistan, who ended up registering a complaint with Twitter against Spencer’s post.
— Robert Spencer روبرت سبنسر रॉबर्ट स्पेंसर ?? (@jihadwatchRS) April 18, 2018
The director of Jihad Watch Robert Spencer, responding to the notice, slammed the Twitter officials for infringing upon the freedom of speech by sending such notice. Spencer alleged that the ‘leftist clowns’ of Twitter were behaving as if Islamic blasphemy law applied to people outside of Sharia domains.
Questioning the Twitter over its arbitrary notice to him, Spencer asked what laws of Pakistan did he broke that prompted Twitter officials to send a notice to him. He also asked whether Twitter sent him that notice because it cared for alleged Sharia violations.
“In sending out these notices, Twitter is behaving as if Islamic blasphemy law applied to people outside of Sharia domains. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has been working for years at the UN to compel Western countries to criminalize criticism of Islam (under the guise of prohibiting “incitement to religious hatred),” said Robert Spencer.
Continuing to question Twitter over its notice, Spencer added, “Twitter is doing the bidding of the OIC with apparent alacrity. No one seems to ask the social media giants why they have decided to internationalize Sharia restrictions on speech rather than US protections on free expression.”
Delhi High Court has directed Republic TV’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami to tone down the rhetoric and exercise restraint in broadcasting program on the Sunanda Pushkar death case. The court said that Goswami should exercise restrain till the court disposes of Shashi Tharoor’s plea seeking an injunction against alleged defamatory broadcasting.
On 9th September, Republic TV ran a show on Sunanda Pushkar case, saying that they are ‘reopening’ the case.
The court has issued a notice to Goswami seeking a reply. Justice Mukta Gupta said that as the case is still under investigation, the media should refrain itself from running a parallel trial. It is not the media’s job to call someone guilty or make unsubstantiated claims, the court remarked.
#Breaking: Delhi HC directs #ArnabGoswami to comply with his undertaking on “showing restraint and bringing down the rhetoric” while covering #SunandaPushkar case.
Court was hearing @ShashiTharoor ‘s plea to restraint Goswami from airing defamatory content. @republic
The court has passed the orders after hearing the plea moved by Shashi Tharoor seeking an interim injunction against Arnab Goswami to restrain him from broadcasting any report related to the death of Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar as the case is pending. Tharoor requested the court to order Goswami not to broadcast any defaming show against him.
2017 orders restrained Goswami from broadcasting shows on Sunanda Pushkar case
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for Shashi Tharoor. He said that in the charge sheet filed in the Sunanda Pushkar case, there is no mention of the incident being a murder. However, Goswami claimed in his show that there is no doubt that the death of Sunanda Pushkar was a murder. Sibal pointed out that the court had ordered Goswami in 2017 to observe restrain and not to conduct any media trial. However, Goswami continued to broadcast defamatory content against Shashi Tharoor, Sibal alleged.
While considering previous orders, the court said, “‘when a case under abetment to suicide is made out in the charge-sheet, why are you still saying that murder has been committed. Were you there at the spot, are you an eye-witness? You must understand and respect the sanctity of criminal investigation and the various contours of it. Just because there’s a bite mark, it doesn’t amount to murder. Do you even know what constituted a murder? You need first to understand what murder is before claiming that a murder took place.”
Court observed media cannot run parallel trials
Malvika Trivedi, Arnab Goswami’s counsel, said before the court that there is credible evidence based on the statement of an AIIMS doctor. The court asked the counsel if she knows how evidence is collected and appreciated in a criminal trial. The court further added, “There’s no gagging of the media, but the law also prohibits media trial.”
The court said that the agency authorized to conduct an investigation has already filed a charge sheet in which they have prima facie concluded that the case involved abetment to suicide bit, not murder. The court added, ‘Press has to exercise care and caution while reporting criminal matters under the investigation.” While ordering Goswami to exercise restraint, the court added, “this has to be strictly complied with, otherwise consequences will follow.”
On Wednesday, the Aam Aadmi Party-led by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a campaign “Goans against Corona” to prevent the citizens from getting infected from the Chinese virus even as coronavirus cases continue to soar in Delhi. Delhi recorded over 4,000 positive cases, highest in weeks.
Ads by AAP in Goa newspapers
According to the reports, AAP announced a campaign intending to help coronavirus patients in the state and educate people about the infection.
AAP Goa State Convener Elvis Gomes also launched a missed call campaign and urged the people of Goa to register for the campaign to avail coronavirus information and health tips with regards to the pandemic through WhatsApp.
“I am happy to announce the launch of this campaign, I am sure that the unified effort of Goans will help defeat corona. This is one of the largest activities that AAP Goa will be undertaking and we are very thankful to so many Goemkars who have come forward to support us in this initiative,” said Elvis Gomes.
The AAP criticising the Goa government claimed that Delhi has set an example by effectively handling coronavirus cases. The Delhi CM took all the stakeholders and even the opposition parties into confidence and chalked out a strategy to curb the cases and the situation is going out of control in Goa, Gomes claimed. Delhi currently has almost 24,000 active coronavirus cases and has been steadily growing since past one month. Goa has 4,833 active cases.
The AAP had also begun an exercise of measuring oxygen levels of persons across a few localities in Goa through ‘Oximitra’. The party leaders had claimed that AAP volunteers will be designated as “Oximitras” to check oxygen levels of people of Goa.
These ‘Oximitras’ will be armed with a Pulse Oximeter and will go door to door to check the oxygen saturation level of every Goan, after making sure all precautionary steps are taken, Arvind Kejriwal had claimed in his independence day speech address to party volunteers.
AAP Goa campaign comes amidst raising coronavirus cases in Delhi
The Aam Aadmi Party campaign in Goa comes at a time when coronavirus cases in Delhi has seen a rise, leading to speculations that the national capital was expecting a second wave of the pandemic.
On Wednesday, September 9, Delhi recorded its highest single-day rise in coronavirus cases since the advent of the pandemic as nearly 4,000 cases were reported from the national capital. The latest tally has taken the total number of cases in the city to 2,01,174 while the toll has mounted to 4,638. In the past 24 hours alone, 20 deaths were recorded.
Delhi, which had seen a considerable turnaround in its coronavirus situation until last month, has now experienced a rebound in the number of cases in September.
Despite the rising number of coronavirus cases in Delhi, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government rather than focussing on Delhi, has now turned its face towards Goa hoping that they could gain some political mileage in the middle of a pandemic.
Aam Aadmi Party hops on to Punjab amidst rising cases in Delhi
Not just Goa, the Aam Aadmi Party has also been eyeing a re-entry into the politics of Punjab amidst the coronavirus pandemic and had recently indulged in a similar political stunt.
Last week, the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had hopped over to Punjab to offer help to fight the rising numbers of coronavirus cases in the state. In a video message, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Aam Aadmi Party workers will go to every village, street and neighbourhood of Punjab to check people’s oxygen levels as state battles against a surge in coronavirus.
Similar to Goa, the Delhi Chief Minister had stated that AAP volunteers would visit every house and check the oxygen levels of people. He had appealed to the people of Punjab to come together and help AAP volunteers in carrying out the drive.
Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has been at loggerheads with the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government ever since the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajut in June. Besides ad-hominem attacks, and threats of violence against Ranaut, even the state apparatus has been pushed into taking punitive action against the actor for her remarks that were at odds with the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has demolished her property in Mumbai, within just 24 hours of sticking a ‘stop work’ notice, in violation of a HC order that has prohibited such actions till September 30. Not to be deterred, the ‘Manikarnika’ star went on record warning Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray over the move, stating that soon, his tyranny will come to an end.
While Kangana refuses to buckle under pressure, there is this assortment of ‘brave’ and woke comedians, who have taken to Twitter to mock the actress. Stand-up comedian Agrima Joshua took to Twitter to mock Kangana by saying that she is one of chosen few women who are ‘Azaad’ (free) in the country. Joshua insinuated that Kangana enjoys special privileges in BJP ruled country as opposed to many other women who are otherwise penalised for support contrasting ideologies. The comedian was responding to Bollywood lyricist Hussain Haidry, who has himself indulged in slandering BJP and Hindus many times in the past.
Interestingly, comedian Agrima Joshua like many other woke comedians had earlier rushed to offer a very humble apology to the Maha Vikas Aghadi government after a clip of one of her performances mocking the Shiv Smarak, the memorial dedicated to the legendary Hindu monarch Chhatrapati Shivaji Mahara had gone viral on Twitter.
It is indeed an irony that the ‘woke’ comedian who had bowed and posted an apology within no time after some mere warnings by Shiv Sena workers, has tried to mock Kangana, who has stood resolute on her stand even after threats of violence and demolition of her property by the ruling party.
It’s more appalling how these leftist liberals who constantly pontificate about the need to oppose state power but rush in to mock and denigrate people who do that, just because they don’t share a common political ideology. They who otherwise do not even bat an eyelid when it comes to targetting BJP, constantly claim that the government is fascist and has no respect for freedom of expression, are mocking Kangana for using her freedom of expression.
Kangana Ranaut Vs Maha Vikas Agadhi alliance govt
Since the actor put out a tweet comparing Mumbai with Pakistan Occupied Kashmir becasue of the behaviour of the Mumbai Police, a nefarious attempt has been made by her detractors to project her criticism of the statement as ‘anti-Mumbai’.
A fierce debate was touched off after the ‘Queen’ actress compared India’s financial capital to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir under the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state. Shiv Sena leaders have issued threats of violence against the actress if she comes to Mumbai.
In a shocking incident that is reported to have taken place yesterday in Gautam Buddh Nagar district of Noida in Uttar Pradesh, a man was brutally beaten up by some Muslim men for playing loudspeaker in a temple. Additional DCP of Greater Noida Vishal Pandey said that the victim belonging to Achchheja Bujurg village under Dankaur police station, has filed a complaint against the accused persons. The complaint has been registered and an investigation has been initiated by the police.
A complaint was made by a devotee of himself being beaten up by locals over the issue of playing loudspeakers from a temple in a village under the Dankaur police station limits. His complaint has been registered and a probe has been launched: Vishal Pandey, ADCP, Greater Noida pic.twitter.com/4vqrF3iSr2
According to reports, Swaraj Singh used to visit the local temple in Achchheja village regularly. He used to play devotional songs at the loudspeaker in the temple. Singh informed the police that on September 4 the accused had warned him not to play the loudspeaker in the temple. When he opposed the accused forcibly turned off the loudspeaker.
Thereafter, on September 9 when he was returning from the fields with his daughter, the accused allegedly brutally beat him up with sticks in front of his minor daughter. Before fleeing the spot, the accused also threatened to kill him if he played the loudspeaker again. The names of the accused include Afzal, Gulzar and Sharafat. Some of the accused have reportedly been arrested by the police. A police force has been deployed in the village to prevent any communal tension.
On 10th September, the first batch of five Rafale jets was officially inducted in Indian Air Force at Ambala Air Base, Haryana. The jets left France on 27th July and reached Ambala Air Base on 29th July. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, his counterpart from France Florence Parly, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar, and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhaduria attended the ceremony. India is the fourth country after France, Qatar and Egypt to have Rafale jets in its Air Force.
Rafale induction ceremony
At around 8:20 AM, Florence Parly reached Delhi for the induction ceremony. She was the chief guest for the ceremony at Ambala Air Base. Parly received the Guard of Honour on her arrival at the Air Base. After the Sarva Dharma Puja and flypasts by two Sukhoi 30 MKIs and Jaguars, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh officially handed over the jets to Commanding Officer 17 Squadron.
The ceremony began with the traditional Sarva Dharma puja followed by an air display by Rafale and Tejas aircraft along with Sarang aerobatic team.
#WATCH Indian Air Force’s ‘Sarang Aerobatic Team’ performs at the Rafale induction ceremony in Ambala pic.twitter.com/KI4X3cHAl7
In his address on the occasion, Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh said that Rafale induction is a big and stern message for the entire world, especially to those eyeing our sovereignty. He added, “This induction is important considering the kind of atmosphere at our borders or should I say the kind of atmosphere created at our borders.”
आज इनका induction, पूरी दुनिया, ख़ासकर हमारी संप्रभुता की ओर उठी निगाहों के लिए एक “बड़ा और कड़ा” संदेश है। हमारी सीमाओं पर जिस तरह का माहौल हाल के दिनों में बना है, या मैं सीधा कहूँ कि बनाया गया है, उनके लिहाज़ से यह induction बहुत अहम है: रक्षा मंत्री
— रक्षा मंत्री कार्यालय/ RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) September 10, 2020
He further said that India rook major steps under the strategic-partnership model for the manufacturing of defence equipment including the establishment of two defence corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states.
Strategic-partnership model के तहत Defence equipment की manufacturing, automatic route के द्वारा 74% तक Foreign Direct Investment, Uttar Pradesh और Tamil Nadu states में दो defence corridors की स्थापना, Offsets reforms इस दिशा में उठाए गये बड़े कदम हैं: रक्षा मंत्री
— रक्षा मंत्री कार्यालय/ RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) September 10, 2020
In her address, Florence Parly said that The induction ceremony is an achievement for both India and France. It is a new chapter in India-France defence ties. She further added that France is fully committed to ‘Make in India’ initiative and further integration of the Indian manufacturers in their global supply chain.
We are fully committed to ‘Make in India’ initiative, as well as, to the further integration of the Indian manufacturers in our global supply chain: Minister of the Armed Forces of France Florence Parly https://t.co/VdwR0NGrno
The ceremony was wrapped up with the official induction of Rafale jets in Indian Air Force as Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh presented the electronic document and a scroll to commanding officer 17th squadron.
Raksha Mantri @rajnathsingh presented the electronic document and a scroll to commanding officer 17th squadron symbolizing formal induction of Rafale aircraft into Indian Air Force. pic.twitter.com/YXruR8RRXQ
The Rafale jets are India’s first major acquisition in 23 years after Sukhoi jets that were bought from Russia. Rafale can carry deadly weapons, including Scalp cruise missile and MBDA’s Meteor beyond air-to-air missile. Rafale jets are being inducted in the Indian Air Force amid increasing tension between India and China. The Ambala Air Base is considered to be the strategic location to provide air support on the border areas with China and Pakistan.
Macdonald-Laurier Institute, a leading Canadian think tank based out of Ottawa, has released a study on Pakistan’s role in nourishing Khalistani extremism. Authored by Terry Milewski, [PDF] a veteran journalist, this research paper covers the Khalistan movement and discovers its reality as a geopolitical project developed and nurtured by Pakistan. The paper studies the threat of the Khalistan movement imposed on the national security of Canada and India.
NEW: What’s really behind the Khalistan movement? @CBCTerry finds that the project is nurtured by Pakistan, and that Pakistani-sponsored Khalistani extremism poses serious national security threats to both Canada and India. #cdnpoli#cdnfp
In the last few decades, especially after the horrifying incident of bombing Air India Flight 182 ‘Kanishka’ by Khalistani terrorists in 1985, the influence of Khalistanis in Canada has been increasing at its own pace. The impact of the extremists and Khalistani supporters in Canada led to the removal of reference to “Sikh (Khalistani) extremist ideologies and movements,” from the Public Report on the Terrorism Threats to Canada by the Ministry of Public Safety in 2018. The Canadian government took a rather drastic step and amended its national security statement and replaced the original language with “Extremists who support violent means to establish an independent state within India.”
Pro-Khalistani Sikh leaders, who enjoy wide-spread political patronage and clout in Canada, for their control over the Gurudwara cash flow and community votes, had reportedly pressurised the Trudeau government into removing the Khalistan reference from the annual report of terrorism threats.
The ML Institute study states that this result was achieved after an elaborate international lobbying campaign.
Why does it matter? In 2018 @Safety_Canada warned that Khalistani extremism was among the top 5 threats to our national security. Yet, following an international lobbying campaign, Ottawa took the unprecedented step of removing this reference from its national security statement.
Role of Pakistan in promoting Khalistani extremism
The report investigates Pakistan’s role in developing and nourishing the Khalistani movement that supports the idea of a separate country for Sikhs named Khalistan. In the report, Milewski said that Pakistan’s continuous support for the movement shows that it is the defining force driving the ‘Khalistan’ bus.
Milewski writes that the Khalistan movement is getting not much traction in Punjab, the home state of Sikhs in India. However, with Pakistan’s support to Khalistani extremists in Canada in the backdrop of the “referendum” scheduled for November 2020 demanding an independent Khalistan, the Sikh communities worldwide are becoming sceptical. He warned in the report that the referendum will provide oxygen to the extremist ideology and will radicalize young Canadians. It will cause “havoc on reconciliation, and usurps legislatures,” he added.
Who is Terry Milewski
Terry Milewski is a veteran journalist. He had first visited India as a student back in 1967. At that time, he interviewed then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Milewski has visited India as a correspondent for CBC TV News several times during his career. He has covered several major events, including the Air India bombing in 1986. He retired as Senior Correspondent for CBC and occasionally guest host on channel’s Power and Politics.
Ujjal Dossanjh, former British Columbia Premier and former federal Liberal Cabinet Minister, and Shuvaloy Majumdar, MLI Program Director and Munk Senior Fellow for Foreign Policy have urged every one to read this report “to understand Pakistan’s influence in guiding the Khalistan proposition, its perversion of the Sikh faith, and its ongoing campaign of extremism and terrorism in two of the world’s important democracies.”
A police complaint has been filed against Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut for ‘offensive’ remarks against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. As per reports, a complaint has been filed in Vikhroli Police Station in Mumbai. The complaint alleges that Ranaut spoke against the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
On Wednesday, Ranaut had taken to social media to express her anger and disappointment at Maharashtra Chief Minister after her office in Mumbai was demolished by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) ahead of her arrival in the city. This despite the fact that Bombay High Court had stayed demolition till 30th September.
Addressing Shiv Sena head and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Kangana said her spirits are not dampened after BMC (where Shiv Sena is major party), broke down her house along with film mafia. “This is the wheel of time. Today my house is broken, tomorrow your arrogance will break,” she said.
Kangana vs Shiv Sena
The Kangana vs Shiv Sena standoff escalated after Shiv Sena leaders as well as NCP leaders threatened Kangana Ranaut for referring to Mumbai as Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir after Azadi slogans were spotted on graffiti. Later, Mumbai Commissioner of Police also ‘liked’ a tweet abusing her. Shiv Sena MP and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut even referred to her as ‘haramkhor ladki’. After the misogynist and sexist tirade against her, Raut claimed ‘haramkhor’ means ‘naughty’.
The Zakat Foundation, as we have reported earlier, is linked to the Radical Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and a host of Islamist organisations. Furthermore, they demand ‘proportional representation’ and reservations for Muslims in government jobs. The Zakat Foundation, aside from its extremely problematic views, has been relentless in making their demands heard regardless of which government is in power.
When the Congress was in power in 2013, the Zakat Foundation had met the then PM, Manmohan Singh and demanded that seats where Muslims form a large population be ‘delimited’ and Rahul Gandhi had promised to add it in their 2014 manifesto.
What is Delimitation of seats
Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats to represent changes in population. While the delimitation is in process, the number of seats allocated to a state also change depending on the population and demography. The delimitation committee’s decision is considered sacrosanct and cannot be challenged in any court of law.
Initially, when the Delimitation Committee was formed, the idea was to ensure equal representation of every segment of the population and also to ensure that no political party gets an advantage in the electoral process by ensuring that the geographical area was divided fairly.
What does Zakat Foundation want
During the negotiations for Ram Janmabhoomi, the Zakat Foundation was a part of the process. They had posed 8 extremely problematic demands to concede the Ram Janmabhoomi. Eventually, the negotiations failed, however, it is important to understand the mindset of the Zakat Foundation through the demands they made.
One of the demands made by the Zakat Foundation was “The constituencies of Lok Sabha and state assemblies where the Muslim population is very high while the Scheduled Caste percentage is not among the highest should be de-reserved. Instead, reserve those constituencies where SC percentage is among the highest, as recommended by the Sachar Committee.”
This demand stems from the ZFI’s intention of increasing Muslim MPs in the Lok Sabha. The ZFI is of the opinion that the number of Muslim MPs in the Lower House of the Parliament is less than the number it is supposed to be in terms of their proportion to the Indian population. In short, they wish to have Muslim MPs proportional to their share of their population, a demand that was summarily rejected by the Constituent Assembly of India.
Furthermore, the Sachar Committee that is spoken of here is a panel that was set up by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to look into alleged Muslim deprivation and Syed Zafar Mahmood actually served in the Committee. Thus, he is promoting the recommendations of a committee he was himself a member of.
The demand for delimitation was not limited to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and the negotiations thereof. This demand has been one which has been pushed by the Zakat Foundation since a long time. In fact, it is one of the tropes they use to tell IAS aspirants that they need to get into the bureaucracy so that they can make such demands a reality.
What did Manmohan Singh say in 2013 to the Zakat Foundation demand
In a presentation made by the Zakat Foundation President in the year 2016, he reveals that he had met erstwhile Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and demanded that before the 2014 elections, the LS seats should be delimited to ensure that more Muslims get elected to the Parliament.
In 2013, when the 7th Pay Commission was announced, the Zakat Foundation made a representation to the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and asked if they Pay Commission can be implemented, then why not the Delimitation demands. Interestingly, Dr Manmohan Singh was reportedly “reminded” of this pending issue while Zakat Foundation had met him in the aftermath of the Muzaffarpur riots.
According to a Times of India report, Zakat Foundation chief said, “The PM told us that in view of the upcoming election how can a delimitation commission be appointed now?”. It is to be noted that Mahmood was also the PM-appointed officer on special duty to the Sachar Committee.
What did Rahul Gandhi promise to the Zakat Foundation
In 2013, Rahul Gandhi had held a detailed discussion with Muslim leaders from across the country. In this discussion, Rahul Gandhi had promised that the issue of delimitation of Muslim seats will be recommended to the committee and that he will also ensure that Congress adds this demand in their 2014 manifesto.
The matter was raised during the meeting with Rahul Gandhi by Dr Syed. Zafar Mahmood, President, Zakat Foundation of India who presented 20 Works to be done for Muslims. These also include the establishment of fast track courts to deal with terror allegations, compensation of Rs 50 lakh to each person who is judicially acquitted of terror allegations, deletion of para 3 from the 1950 definition of scheduled caste, withdrawal of limited competitive examination scheme for recruitment of additional 1400 IPS officers, restoration of minority character of AMU.
Rahul Gandhi with Muslim leaders including Zakat Foundation head in 2013 (source: Twocircles.net)
Essentially, if the Congress had come back to power in the year 2014 or 2019, delimitation of seats was a near certainly. This would mean far more Muslim representatives in the parliament and more importantly, the reservations being taken away from the SC/ST community.
What is interesting to observe is that this demand is not very different from the demand of separate electorates made by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, a demand that was rejected by Jawaharlal Nehru. The demand for a separate electoral essentially meant that Jinnah believed Hindus and Muslims cannot co-exist and that Hindus were incapable of representing the interests of Muslims. This was a direct consequence of the two-nation theory that was espoused by Jinnah. That the Zakat Foundation is pursuing the demand for delimitation specifically of Muslim seats, while not exactly like demanding a separate electorate also points towards the same mindset.
