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Man tied to a tree and beaten up on suspicion of theft, Congress leader gives it a communal spin: Here are the facts

OpIndia Staff
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Man tied to a tree and beaten up on suspicion of theft, Congress leader gives it a communal spin: Here are the facts

On Saturday, controversial Congress leader Salman Nizami, who has a history of peddling anti-India propaganda on social media platforms, took to Twitter to spread misinformation by attempting to give a communal spin to an incident that occurred in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh.

Taking to Twitter, the Congress leader claimed that a 32-year-old person identified as Basheed Khan was tied to a tree and beaten for hours by a mob in Bareilly. Nizami went on to allege that the BJP government had given a free rein to torture and kill Muslims at will in the state.

Through his tweet, Salman Nizami went on to insinuate that the person identified as Basheed Khan was killed by the mob because of his religion.

Following Nizami, several other social media users took to Twitter to peddle a similar misinformation to give it a communal angle saying that the person was killed by a mob after they had realised that he was a Muslim.

A social media user named Syed Rafi, joining the likes of Nizami, twisted facts pertaining to the case to claim that the person Basheed Khan was killed by a ‘Hindu mob’. Communalising the fateful incident, Rafi declared that there will not be any convictions in this case.

One social media user said that Muslims and Dalits are being killed in the name of cow or suspicious of theft.

Another social media user said that the mob lynchings have become the new normal in India.

Fact Check

The Congress leader Salman Nizami’s claim that the person Basheed Khan was killed because he was a Muslim is untrue.

According to the reports, the 32-year-old man Basheed Khan died after he was allegedly tied to a tree and thrashed by a mob on suspicion of theft at a village in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday night. 

Later, it was found that the deceased man, identified as Basheed Khan, was not a thief, but a drunkard. A security guard suspected Khan to be a thief and had caught him on Thursday night. The crowd gathered at the spot and beat him up on the suspicion of being a thief. Later, he was handed over to the police.

Reportedly, the police had, in fact, let the alleged thief go as nobody had formally lodged a complaint against him. Khan succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital after his family admitted him for treatment. Basheed Khan died due to internal bleeding.

Contrary to the claims of Nizami and other social media users, there is no communal angle to the incident as the villagers had only acted against Khan after suspecting him to be a thief and not because he was a Muslim. The villagers had also handed the alleged thief to the local police to initiate a legal action.

Caretaker and Devotees of Panchbakhtar Mahadev temple in Jammu protest against the construction of multilayer parking and commercial complex on the temple land

OpIndia Staff
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Caretaker and Devotees of Panchbakhtar Mahadev temple in Jammu protest against the construction of multilayer parking and commercial complex on the temple land

The caretaker and devotees of the Panchbakhtar Mahadev temple in Jammu are protesting against the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) and the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) for planning to construct a multilayer parking and a commercial complex on the temple land, as reported by Dailyexcelsiar News.

Suresh Kumar Sharma, the caretaker of the temple alleged that the JMC and the JDA were trying to grab the temple land. He said that the land belongs to the temple and there were documents to prove that. “As per the documents available with us, the whole land belongs to the temple”, he said.

Sharma said they wanted to approach the court in relation to this matter but the court is closed for two days due to corona. He accused the administration of ignoring such a serious issue. “Not just the JMC and the JDA, even the administration is not addressing the issue. So now, when the court is closed and the administration is asleep and has turned deaf to our problem, there is only one way left, that is, to protest”, Sharma said in disappointment.

“I will pray to Mahadev to grant wisdom to the administration and the concerned authorities. These people have started grabbing the temple lands. This is the time to fight for our rights”, he added. Sharma said that people of Jammu will come in large numbers to protest but considering the corona breakout, he would request them to pray at their homes.

This is not the first time that a temple land has been targeted. There have been various instances where the lands or other property belonging to temples were encroached.

How an old Soviet joke explains Bollywood’s stance on free speech

Abhishek Banerjee
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How an old Soviet joke explains Bollywood’s stance on free speech

While Maharashtra may be No. 1 in COVID cases, with a test positive rate around 20%, here is the No. 1 priority of the state government. How dare someone disrespect Mumbai Police? That person has no right to live in Mumbai or anywhere else in Maharashtra. You heard it from the Home Minister of Maharashtra, the secular and liberal Shri Anil Deshmukh.

Article by The Times of India

This raises all sorts of questions. First of all, Article 19 of the Indian Constitution gives Indian citizens the fundamental right to “reside or settle in any part of the territory of India.” Is this right subject to an ideological test?

Who do I ask? Perhaps Madam Sonia ji or Rahul ji can clarify this? Sorry, as Rahul ji has explained long ago, he is not responsible for the Govt of Maharashtra. He only has 10 Cabinet ministers in it.

Perhaps some eminent activist lawyer can clarify this point? But seems no PIL has been filed in this matter. I guess they are not interested.

Journalists know everything. We could ask them. But they are not speaking on this either. Then, there’s intellectuals and comedians. Same thing really. They also know everything. Why don’t they tell us?

There are always poets who have got Sahitya Akademi awards for stuff like “Kisi ke baap ka Hindustan thode hai.” Help us, please!

Anyway, another question. Now that we know that those who disrespect Mumbai Police have no right to live in Mumbai, what can be said about people who call India as intolerant, Nazi and Fascist? How about those who label the Indian Army as occupiers in Kashmir? How about those who go to global newspapers and accuse Indian Army of attacking innocents, raping women and blinding children? Do those people have a right to live in India or not?

Most of all, dear Bollywood, I am talking to you. Earlier this year, you were selling this rhetoric of “kaagaz nahin dikhayenge“. Remember? Why so silent now? What happened to the highest values of constitution and civil liberty? Will not show papers to prove citizenship, but we all need to have our tweets approved by Maharashtra Home Minister before traveling to the state?

Therein lies the hardcore cowardice and intellectual dishonesty of the showbiz crowd. Have you seen any of the glitterati dare to say one word against the policies of the government of Maharashtra? Of course not. They know which side is really intolerant. So they pander to it.

An old joke about the Communist Soviet Union, best told by Reagan himself, explains how Bollywood is behaving right now. Listen in.

An American and a Russian are arguing about freedom in their respective countries.

The American says proudly, “In my country, I can walk into the Oval Office, I can pound the president’s desk, and I can say, Mr. President, I don’t like the way you’re running our country.”

And the Russian said, “I can do that.”

The American says “You can?”

Russian: “Yes. I can go into the Kremlin to the general secretary’s office, I can pound his desk and say, Mr. General Secretary, I don’t like the way President Reagan’s running his country.”

So here is what all this Bollywood lecturebaazi on “speaking truth to power” comes down to. Their idea of free speech in Maharashtra is going to the Maharashtra CM’s office to say “Mr Chief Minister, I don’t like the way PM Modi is running the country.“

One last question. Now that Indian liberals have established that you cannot disrespect the police, how are they going to explain this to their bosses in America? Right now, American liberals despise the police. They are calling to defund the police all across the United States. They are calling to disband the police.

Our own liberals were so inspired by this movement in the US. They wanted something similar in India. Now they have to explain to their American bosses that you can’t disrespect the police. That should be an awkward conversation, no?

California Legislature passes bill lowering criminal penalty for LGBT adults who have sexual relations with minors

OpIndia Staff
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California Legislature passes bill lowering criminal penalty for LGBT adults who have sexual relations with minors

A new bill seeking to reduce criminal penalty for LGBT adults indulging in consensual sex with a minor was passed by the California General Assembly, comprising of a Democratic supermajority. 

The new bill—SB 145—which is headed to Governor Gavin Newsom’s office, was tabled by Sen. Scott Wiener (D), an avowed gay man. The bill seeks to prevent the gay adults who sodomise or perform oral sex with underage teenagers from being enlisted to California’s sex offender registry.

New bill grants judges with discretionary power to decide if accuse needs to be registered as a sexual offender

The legislation will grant judges to use there discretion on listing an individual to the sex offender registry if the victim was an underage minor between the age of 14 to 17 and the age gap between the offender and the victim is less than 10 years. 

The bill was passed by both the houses of the State Legislature on Monday evening. The California State Senate passed the bill by 23-10 vote and the Assembly passed it by 41-18 votes. 

As per the existing law, it is illegal for an adult to enter into a consensual sexual relationship with a teenager between 14 and 17 years old, who can’t legally provide consent. However, vaginal intercourse does not require the offender to be listed on the state’s sex offender registry, as long as the offender is within 10 years of age of the minor.

With the new law, the judge will have the authority to decided, on a case to case basis, if the sex offender registration is required.

According to Wiener, who proposed the bill, the new legislation would serve to eliminate the discrimination against LGBTQ youth. Wiener added that the bill won’t change the potential sentence for having sex with minors but would grant the judges with discretionary power of whether to register the accused as a sexual offender. 

Critiques argue the bill attempts to help accuse to get away without registering as sexual offenders

However, critiques of the bill contend that instead of changing the existing law to include vaginal intercourse with an underage teen as an act that needs compulsory sex offender registration, the bill passed by the California Legislature attempts to make all criminal sex acts with a minor over 14 equal by providing offenders with an opportunity to avoid necessary registration.

UP government orders inquiry into the construction of SP leader Azam Khan’s dream project Ala Hazrat Haj House in Ghaziabad

OpIndia Staff
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UP government orders inquiry into the construction of SP leader Azam Khan’s dream project Ala Hazrat Haj House in Ghaziabad

The predicaments for Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, who is currently lodged in Sitapur jail, might just become worse after Yogi Adityanath government ordered inquiry into the construction of the Ala Hazrat Haj House in Ghaziabad, built during the Samajwadi Party era at a cost of Rs 51 crore. The State Minorities Welfare Minister Nand Gopal Nandi has handed over the probe to SIT after gross financial anomalies were detected in the construction of Haj House.

The State government in its order issued to UP director general of police HC Awasthy on August 31, said the special investigation team (SIT) should submit its report within two months.

According to the Home Department, the secretary and executive officer, UP State Haj Committee, Rahul Gupta in a communique dated June 11 had alerted the Yogi government about the irregularities in the construction of the Haj house. He had written that despite the huge amount of money spent on the construction, no attempt were made to rectify the shortcomings and make the establishment ready for public use. He also pointed out that the executing agency, Construction & Design Services (C&DS) had not provided any details of the expenditure incurred during construction until now.

The Ala Hazrat Haj house built during Samajwadi Party era at the cost of Rs 51 crore

The Haj House in Ghaziabad was built, when the SP chief Akhilesh Yadav was at the helm of affairs in Uttar Pradesh and SP leader Azam Khan, who has been accused in multiple cases of theft and forgery, was a part of his cabinet. The Ala Hazrat Haj House was constructed at the cost of Rs 51 crore in order to give assistance to Muslims on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia’s Mecca. 

The complex, which is spread over an area of 4.3 acres and includes 47 dormitory halls and 36 VIP rooms, and can accommodate 1,886 persons, was inaugurated by former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and former state minority minister Azam Khan on 4 September 2016.

Haj house sealed by NGT

The National Green Tribunal, in February 2018, sealed the property due to lack of a Sewage Treatment Plant.

Complex converted into a 500-bed isolation centre

In the wake of the coronavirus scourge, Yogi government had announced to convert the giant Aala Hazrat Haj House situated in Ghaziabad’s Arthala into a 500-bed isolation centre in order to avoid any further medical repercussions in the sensitive environment. 

Old tweet by Saba Naqvi that peddled fake news about ‘Brahmin Sambar powder’ goes viral: Here is the truth

OpIndia Staff
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Old tweet by Saba Naqvi that peddled fake news about ‘Brahmin Sambar powder’ goes viral: Here is the truth

On Friday, entrepreneur Arun Pudur dug out an old tweet posted by ‘journalist’ Saba Naqvi in 2018. In the said tweet, Naqvi peddled her political agenda by casting aspersions about the saffronisation of Sambhar masala powder. Posting a picture of ‘Brahmin Sambhar powder’ sachet, manufactured by Eastern Condiments Pvt Ltd, the journalist had tweeted, “My discovery in Karwar region near coast of Karnataka. Anant Kumar hedge country (suggesting a Hindu land)…”

Responding to her allegations that the product is the result of Brahmanical hegemony, Arun Pudur tweeted, “‘Journalists’ keep attacking Brahmins even though none of them did any riots or blow themselves up!”, accusing Naqvi of intellectual dishonesty, the entrepreneur pointed out the real story behind the said masala powder.

The Truth about Brahmin Masala powder

On visiting the website of the Eastern Condiments Pvt Ltd, we found about the history of the company. The company (earlier knows as Eastern Trading Company) was founded by one M.E. Meeran, who hailed from a Muslim family in Kerala. To ascertain that he was Muslim by faith, we checked for online reports. In one such article published after his death in 2011, it read, “The burial was held at Adimaly Jamaath Mosque at 5 pm on Thursday in the presence friends and relatives.”

Screengrab of the Eastern Condiments website

The idea behind ‘Satvik food’

It is clear by now that the ‘Brahmin Sambar powder’ is not manufactured by a company run by Hindus. Brahmin cuisine or Tamil Brahmin cuisine essentially is ‘satvik’ food which does not include onion or garlic. Some traditional TamBrahm households also do not include drumsticks, bottle gourd, carrots, etc because they are not considered ‘satvik’. This, however, does not imply that people from other cannot purchase or eat it. In the case of ‘Brahmin Sambar Powder’ as well, it is a recipe or a cuisine specific ingredient, rather than anything sinister.

Satvik food does not discriminate like Halal

Unlike Satvik food, Halal can only be performed by a Muslim man. Thus, non-Muslims are automatically denied employment at a Halal firm. There are certain other conditions that must be fulfilled that makes it quite clear that it is intrinsically an Islamic practice. Guidelines for the procedure make it clear that non-Muslim employees cannot be employed in any part of the slaughtering process. Even the labelling of the meat can be done by Muslims only. The guidelines also say that if at the time of slaughtering the name of anyone else other than Allah is invoked (i.e. animal sacrificed for him/her), then the meat becomes Haram “unlawful.”

The pervasiveness of the practice and the insistence of the Muslim community on consuming only Halal meat has resulted in Muslims effectively creating a monopoly over the process for people of their community. It is a process through which non-Muslims are deliberately denied employment while being fed meat that goes against their religious beliefs.

Yogi Adityanath government to distribute cows to the families of the most malnutritioned children under the Nutrition Drive in Uttar Pradesh

OpIndia Staff
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Yogi Adityanath government to distribute cows to the families of the most malnutritioned children under the Nutrition Drive in Uttar Pradesh

Reviewing the preparations of the National Nutrition Month 2020 which begins on September 7, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath set the target to reduce malnutrition by one per cent in the next six months. The aim is to eradicate malnutrition among children and take special care of the health of the mothers. The Chief Minister also interacted with the parents of some of the most malnutritioned children through video conferencing. He also inquired about the health condition of children from the parents who have benefitted under the scheme which is already going on in five districts including Behraich, Balrampur and Shravasti. As part of the drive, the CM has directed the administration to provide cows and a monthly allowance of Rs 900 to the families of the most malnutritioned children.

The Yogi government has started the nutrition drive in the State as part of PM Modi’s Nutrition Month initiative. In his Man ki Baat address last month, PM Modi had declared that the month of September would be celebrated as a nutrition month. He also said the government would set up a nutrition bank and appointing a nutrition monitor in every classroom. The students will also get nutrition cards like report cards.

CM Yogi has given directions to the administration in relation to the nutrition drive. He has asked to identify children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). For this purpose, he has directed that a one-day drive should be conducted to note down the measurements of height and weight of children before the process begins. In order to incentivise the drive, he said that the best performing districts will be awarded. The assessment is to be made by March 2021 after 3-6 months of monitoring of the targets.

In order to ensure that the programme yields results, the CM had called for regular review of the programme. There will be a weekly review at the district levels followed by a review by the Commissioners. The Chief Secretary will review the programme in a month and the CM himself will review it in two months. Motivating the administration to make efforts to make the state top in the country, he cited how encephalitis was cured in Gorakhpur through pro-active endeavours. He directed the departments of Health, Education and Panchayat Raj to coordinate with the Department of Women and Children Development for this purpose.

“Nutrition should be a way of life for which it is important that all the ingredients needed for it must be in the reach of the people. Therefore, everyone should make it a habit to grow nutrition in the backyard”, he said. CM Yogi gave directions for setting up ‘Nutri Garden’ at community places including on the lands of government schools, residential schools, Anganwadi centres and Gram Panchayats. He said that every household should be encouraged to grow fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants and also engage in cattle rearing.

Indian Army rescues 3 stranded Chinese nationals who lost their way in Plateau area of North Sikkim, provide food and oxygen

OpIndia Staff
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Indian Army rescues 3 stranded Chinese nationals who lost their way in Plateau area of North Sikkim, provide food and oxygen

Even as the armed forces of India and China are involved in a tense border standoff in the Eastern Ladakh, the Indian Army on September 3, 2020, rescued three Chinese citizens stranded at the India-China border in North Sikkim.

The Indian Army gave a helping hand to three Chinese citizens had lost their way in the Plateau area of North Sikkim at the altitude of 17,500 feet under extreme climatic conditions, the press release said.

“Realising danger to the lives of the Chinese citizens which included two men and a woman in sub-zero temperatures, the soldiers of the Indian Army immediately reached out and provided medical assistance…” the statement read. Besides, the Indian Army also provided oxygen, food and warm clothes to the rescued Chinese citizens and helped them with appropriate guidance after which they returned to their destination.

Tense India-China standoff at the Pangong Tso Lake in Ladakh

The Indian Army assistance to the Chinese nationals comes at a time when the border along the Eastern Ladakh is simmering with tensions following the standoff between the two forces. The Defence Minister of the two countries met in Moscow to defuse the tensions along the Line of Actual Control. Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh issued a statement after the meeting, emphatically stating that the Chinese manoeuvres in the region had been in violation of the bilateral agreement between the two countries.

Singh also stated that while the Indian troops had always taken a very responsible approach towards border management, but at the same time there should also be no doubt about our determination to protect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Chinese activist Zhou Fengsuo compares Wuhan Coronavirus to Tiananmen massacre, says world should follow India’s lead in resisting CCP

OpIndia Staff
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Chinese activist Zhou Fengsuo compares Wuhan Coronavirus to Tiananmen massacre, says world should follow India’s lead in resisting CCP

Experts on China and human rights activists came together to discuss the emerging challenges from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at a webinar titled ‘Emperor Has No Clothes: China Under Xi Jinping’. The speakers at the event were Co-founder and President of Humanitarian China and Tiananmen Student Leader Zhou Fengsuo; Special Appointee for Human Rights at The Tibet Bureau, Geneva, Thinlay Chukki; and journalist Aditya Raj Kaul.

Recalling his struggle during the days of Tiananmen Square protests, Zhou Fengsuo said, “My story begins from the Tiananmen protests in 1989, which represents the dream for freedom and democracy in China. It was for the first time in China that Chinese people were able to express their love for freedom. Since then I have been working to take forward the legacy for freedom of democracy in China in the future. That’s why I am here today.”

He continued, “My organisation Humanitarian China works for supporting human rights in China. Every year we support 100-200 political prisoners from China. The number is quite large. We try to reach out to everyone and try to extend our support from our side of the world. The number of such political prisoners is increasing day by day. Our idea is to provide moral support of connecting people outside with people facing persecution in China – supporting the freedom movement.”

Zhou Fengsuo also drew comparisons between the CCP’s handling of the Tiananmen protests and the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. He said, “Very recently, a Professor of Peking University, was sentenced to several years in prison and during the pandemic he wrote an open letter criticising China for spreading the virus and asked the world to take action. Wuhan is somehow like Tiananmen. People were not allowed to talk. There is no way for people to speak out. This pandemic has become a global threat because of the totalitarian CCP regime. It is shocking to learn that a Medical General said that China released the vaccine on February 26. This is extremely shocking!”

The human rights activist also emphasised that China is a threat to the whole world. He applauded India for banning Chinese apps and said that other countries should take India’s lead and take similar steps. He also expressed his desire to see a formal diplomatic relationship between India and Taiwan. He raised concerns about the Chinese firewall as well.

Zhou Fengsuo is currently living in exile after being forced to move away from China. He was a young college student at the time of the Tiananmen Massacre. He was jailed for his involvement in the protests. The Tiananmen Massacre witnessed the Chinese State crushing protests in favour of reform by unleashing the might of its military. Even after all these years, the death toll is not precisely known.

Weeks after restricting Ganesh Visarjan, Telangana police grants permission to Muharram procession in Hyderabad defying SC order

OpIndia Staff
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Weeks after restricting Ganesh Visarjan, Telangana police grants permission to Muharram procession in Hyderabad defying SC order

Last week, thousands of Muslims hit the streets to carry out the annual Muharram procession in Hyderabad defying a court order amidst the coronavirus pandemic in the country. According to the reports, several Muslims took the ‘Bibi Ka Alam’ procession in Hyderabad without adhering to social distancing norms. Many of the participants joined the procession without wearing masks.

The most shocking aspect of the procession was that the Muslims in the city had deliberately defied the order of Telangana High court that had rejected permission to hold such a Muharram procession in Hyderabad.

Defying the High Court order, the Muslim groups assembled at the Dabeerpura area and took out a procession as thousands gathered on either side of it as it passed through Muslim-majority areas of Charminar, Gulzar Houz, Purani Haveli, Darulshifa, and Chaderghat.

In its order, the Telangana High Court had not only denied permission for the Muharram procession but had warned of strict action if the order was violated. It had directed the Commissioner of Police to take action against any violation. Last week, even the Supreme Court had refused permission for Muharram processions in the country observing that if the procession is allowed, it will lead to chaos.

However, the Telangana police seems to have assisted the Muslim groups to hold a procession as the City Police Commissioner himself granted permission for the ‘alam’ to be taken out. Even though the Police Commissioner appealed to the community to cooperate with the police and not to gather on the route, the city police gave protection to the procession on Sunday.

Govt restricts Ganesh Chaturthi processions

The decision to allow Muharram procession in the state comes at the backdrop of a recent order by the TRS-led government restricting Ganesh Chaturthi processions in the state.

Telangana government in its order had disallowed any public celebration of the Ganesha festival and Muharram procession across the state in view of the novel coronavirus citing coronavirus pandemic. The government had directed to ensure no pandals, mass gatherings, processions, loudspeakers, and disco jockeys are allowed for the Ganesha festival.

Similarly, processions for installation of ‘alams’ during Muharram were also allegedly prohibited.

The TRS government, which had earlier denied permission to Hindus to take out Ganesh procession in Hyderabad, however, allowed Muslims to take out the Muharram procession in the city this week. The Hyderabad police had also allowed the Muslims in the old city of Hyderabad to install ‘alams’ and permitted the Muslims to take out processions on Sunday.

The decision to allow Muslim groups to take a procession despite a High Court ban and restrict Hindus during the Ganesh Chaturthi by denying a procession has now sparked a debate in the state. The KCR-led state government is now being criticized for the blatant act of minority appeasement.

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