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Nazariya QFRG accuses OpIndia of ‘misrepresenting facts’ after indoctrinating and brainwashing children, OpIndia responds

K Bhattacharjee
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Nazariya QFRG accuses OpIndia of ‘misrepresenting facts’ after indoctrinating and brainwashing children, OpIndia responds

Nazariya QFRG has issued a statement on the reports by OpIndia where it was reported that the organisation had exposed children at the Tagore International School to extremely inappropriate sexual imagery and advertised a vulgar colouring book to students that included pictures of nude women masturbating and wearing dildos.

In their statement, Nazariya QFRG has chosen obfuscation as its preferred mode of defence. Without any basis, the organisation accuses OpIndia of being “factually inaccurate”, “misinformed” and publishing “deliberate distortions of the truth”. It is further claimed that the reports reflect a “fundamental lack of understanding on gender and sexual orientation”.

Source: @NazariyaQFRG/Twitter

Furthermore, the statement reads, “The author distorts the contents of the Facebook post and he recklessly states that Nazariya is responsible for the “indoctrination” of children in the “toxic ideology of Gender Identity politics”. It claims further, “the same author made entirely baseless allegations that Nazariya was basing an adult colouring book to young students, which is factually inaccurate.”

Nazariya QFRG claimed that the colouring book was for adults and was not made available to minor children. Before we proceed any further, some rebuttal is of utmost necessity here. Firstly, in the Facebook post in question, the caption only said that there was a discount of Rs. 100 for students. Nazariya QFRG did not specify the age of the students their advertisement was intended for.

Source: @NazariyaQFRG/Twitter

Secondly, the organisation conducted a session with the students of Tagore International School where they exposed the children to an image of a man with enlarged breasts breastfeeding a baby. The man in question was born a woman who underwent testosterone therapy to change her gender but the hormone did not diminish the feminine desire to conceive a baby.

If it does not say anything else, then at least it does reveal that the organisation is known to work with students under the age of 18. Thirdly, Tagore International School partnered with Nazariya QFRG in its Breaking Barriers campaign to train 30-35 ‘volunteers’ from classes 9-12 to further the politics of Gender Identity.

The OpIndia report stated, to which Nazariya QFRG appears to have taken objection, “It does not take the IQ of Einstein to realise why exposing adolescents to colouring books with nude women masturbating and wearing sex toys is not conducive to their holistic development.” Quite clearly, the statement did not accuse the organisation of advertising the colouring book to students under the age of 18 but was made in anticipation of such a possibility in the future.

Source: @NazariyaQFRG/Twitter

Furthermore, OpIndia cannot be held guilty of any wrongdoing based on that particular statement. It is the prerogative of Nazariya QFRG entirely to make it explicitly clear that the vulgar colouring book was not meant for students under the age of 18 when they advertise it on social media. It becomes even more necessary in light of the fact that they are known to work with adolescent students.

Without question, Nazariya QFRG should not accuse OpIndia of misrepresenting them when it was they who failed to make it clear that the colouring book was not meant for minor students. Products that are not meant for children come with the explicit label that they are not to be sold to those under 18. The advertisement in the Facebook post did not carry that notice when it was all the more important for them to make it explicit since they work with minor children.

Screenshot of the post in question

Furthermore, Nazariya QFRG claims that our reports reveal a lack of understanding of ‘sexual orientation’. This is just an outright lie as our reports did not speak a word on sexual orientation. They only spoke of the manner in which gender identity politics irreparably harms children and gender identity has nothing to do with sexual orientation.

Sexual orientation concerns itself with the particular sex individuals feel a sexual attraction towards. Gender identity concerns itself with the gender a person identifies oneself as. Thus, a person can be broadly homosexual or bisexual in their sexual orientation while the ideology of gender identity mandates that a person can identify as gender nonbinary, gender nonconforming, gender fluid and other such genders based on subjective feelings of oneself.

In this light, Nazariya QFRG has not said a word about why their session with the students at the Tagore International School paid odes to Hadiya, the high-profile case of Love Jihad in Kerala which was the topic of much national conversation. Radical Islamist organisation PFI spent Rs. 1 crore on the legal cases involving her marriage where her husband was reported to have been in touch with ISIS operatives prior to it. The organisation does not explain what Hadiya has to do with the ‘Queer ideology’.

The organisation also vehemently disagrees with the obvious fact that Gender Identity is a western construct and claims, “India, has had, and continues to have, diverse communities that transgress heterosexual and ‘cisgender’ norms.” For those unaware, ‘cisgender’ means a biological man who identifies as a man or a biological woman who identifies as a woman.

Source: @NazariyaQFRG/Twitter

The claim is utterly ridiculous. Indian society has had its own transgender community who have a separate space for themselves within the larger community but it has never had the kinds of ‘gender identities’ as advertised in the West. For instance, the transgender community of India has never claimed that one could be a woman one day and man the other before woman the next day, which is essentially what the gender identity ideology posits.

It has never been claimed by transgenders in India that children as young as ten-year old should be given medical treatment to alter their gender. Furthermore, the core claim that gender identity is independent of biological sex has never found credence in India, or anywhere else in the world for that matter, until the academia in the West simply decided after philosophical musings that it was the case. Thus, it is a western construct.

Nazariya QFRG then engages upon a lengthy explanation of the legality of their actions and the necessity of their activism. In the process, it marches into a completely different territory. However, their lengthy explanation and elaboration does not explain why it was necessary to show the disturbing image of a man with enlarged breasts breastfeeding a child or the necessity of advertising a colouring book with explicit sexual content to students where it was not mentioned that the book was not meant for those under 18.

Ya_All is a transgender youth organisation from Manipur

The statement further says, “The attempt by Opindia through the articles it published and the hatred towards us that it has inflamed on social media is an attempt to enforce compulsory heterosexual and cisgender norms as the only acceptable forms of existence in India. This is against the most basic values enshrined in the Constitution.”

It is quite an extraordinary claim that the organisation has made. There are plenty of things in our Constitution that requires fixing, however, one finds it hard to believe that showing inappropriate images to children and advertising vulgar colouring books for students without specifying the age of the people it was addressed to is a Constitutional value.

Also, Opindia only reported facts on the matter. We did not engage on reporting things that were not true. We cannot be held responsible for the conduct of others. It is the duty of a media organisation to inform the citizenry on pertinent political issues, the media organisation cannot be held responsible for the reaction the accurate information it generates. And it is reprehensible for Nazariya QFRG to claim that we incited hatred against them when all we did is report facts.

Nazariya QFRG also informed that it has removed the Facebook post where it referred to a session at the Tagore International School and spoke of Hadiya. It was the same post which carried the disturbing image of a man breastfeeding. The organisation removed the post at the request of the school.

It also needs to be made clear that their claim that they are not indoctrinating or brainwashing children is preposterous. Education on a matter without elaborating on accurate facts is indoctrination and can only be interpreted as such. Their refusal to showcase how gender identity politics harms children irreparably can only be interpreted as brainwashing. Furthermore, not everyone who disagrees with the gender identity overlords do so because they do not understand it. There is very good reason to oppose such indoctrination.

Thus, quite clearly, the defence put forth by the organisation has no legs to stand on. Furthermore, they have chosen obfuscation over clarificatiom and false allegations over honesty. Instead of admitting their mistake and assuring everyone that they will refrain from such conduct in the future, they have instead chosen to double down on their rhetoric.

OpIndia reports on Nazariya QFRG

  1. Tagore International School in Delhi comes under fire for brainwashing children into gender identity politics, stringent action demanded
  2. Nazariya QFRG: Brainwashed children, advertised colouring book for students with nude women wearing dildos and masturbating
  3. The Quint defends LGBT activists who exposed children to sexual imagery, advertised colouring book with nude women masturbating to students
  4. Efforts underway to mainstream ‘Drag Queen Story Hours’ in India, ‘volunteers’ from classes 9 to 12 being trained to further gender identity politics

No, controversial SP leader Azam Khan is not threatening Jal Samadhi if not invited to Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan: A fact check

OpIndia Staff
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No, controversial SP leader Azam Khan is not threatening Jal Samadhi if not invited to Ram Mandir Bhoomi Pujan: A fact check

On Saturday, news portal News Track Live reported that Samajwadi Party MP Azam Khan has said that he will take Jal Samadhi if he is not invited to the Bhoomi Pujan of the Ram Mandir scheduled on 5th August. The article contained an image of the SP leader, and said that the MP from Rampur Lok Sabha seat Azam Khan has said that he is a devotee of Lord Ram. The same report was published by the portal’s Hindi edition too. But the comment was made by another person with the same name, but the portal wrongly attributed to the SP MP.

This news came as a big shock and surprise for people, as the controversial politicians is not known to be a Ram devotee. Several social media users believed the News Track Live report, and made comment against Azam Khan.

Even BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra also fell prey to the wrong report, and mocked the SP leader for his sudden turnaround.

But the fact is, the Azam Khan who wants to attend the Bhoomi Pujan for the Ram Mandir is not the SP leader, but a different person. He is the president of the Sri Ram Mandir Nirman Muslim Kar Sevak Manch, a group of Muslims who have been supporting the cause of construction of a grand Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. This Azam Khan has been a proponent of the Ram Mandir, and had run campaigns supporting the construction of a Ram temple the previously disputed site at Ayodhya.  Azam Khan had formed the group after Supreme Court suggested both the parties in the Ayodhya Case to build consensus in the issue in 2017, before its historic verdict awarding the disputed land to Hindus.

Azam Khan made the comment while visiting Ayodhya. He did a darshan of the Ram Lala, and also offered prayers at the samadhi of Late Mahant Ramchandra Das Paramhans, who had led the Ram Mandir movement. Other media houses who had reported the comment, including OpIndia, had correctly identified as the Muslim Kar Sevak Manch President, and not the more well-known SP leader.

On the other hand, controversial SP leader Azam Khan is in Sitapur jail for last 4 months, he was arrested after several cases of land grabbing and forgery were filed against him. On Friday, he and his son were produced before a court in Muradabad, after which they were against shifted to Sitapur Jail. Therefore, even if invited, the Rampur MP will not be able to attend the Bhoomi Pujan on 5th August.

Jordan joins other Islamic nations to dissolve the radical organisation ‘Muslim Brotherhood’: Read details

OpIndia Staff
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Jordan joins other Islamic nations to dissolve the radical organisation ‘Muslim Brotherhood’: Read details

Jordan has become the latest entrant to the list of countries that have banned the radical Islamist terrorist organisation – ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ after country’s top court disbanded the radical Islamic group citing the group’s failure to “rectify its legal status”.

According to the reports, Jordan’s top court dissolved the transnational Islamist movement Muslim Brotherhood last week. Since 2014, the Jordanian authorities had considered it illegal, arguing its licence was not renewed under a 2014 law on political parties.

However, the Islamist group continued to operate in Jordan. The relations between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Jordanian state had deteriorated further from 2015 when the government authorised an offshoot group, the Muslim Brotherhood Association.

The original Brotherhood had gone to the court to retrieve the properties, however, the top court in Jordan had delivered its final verdict ordering its dissolution.

The Jordanian breakaway faction has also now decided to cut ties with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, where hundreds of supporters have been killed and thousands arrested since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

The Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood is the oldest and most popular Islamist group in the world. The Muslim Brotherhood established in 1945 as a franchise to the parent organisation in Egypt, became the driving force for Islamists in the country. The Brotherhood was also behind the foundation of the country’s chief Islamist party, The Islamic Action Front (IAF).

Reportedly, the Muslim Brotherhood has “dominated politics and unions in Jordan for decades”, but declined steadily and lost power due to internal problems and rifts. The Islamist group even lost its ability to mobilize, and its relations with the Jordanian state continued to deteriorate. 

What is Muslim Brotherhood?

The Muslim Brotherhood is a pan-Islamic ‘movement’ founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna, a schoolteacher working in the town of Ismailia near Suez. The aim of the movement was to revive the Islamic religion, which would enable the Muslim world to compete with the West and shake off colonial rule.

The teachings of Banna spread across the Islamic world, beyond Egypt, creating various Islamist political movements- including missionary, charitable and advocacy organizations. Even many political parties in various countries in the region— trace their roots to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, some of them use the name Muslim Brotherhood and others do not.

The movement claims that it rejects the use of violent means to secure its goals. However, various offshoots and affiliates of the group have been linked to terrorist attacks in the past and have sparked troubles elsewhere in the Middle East. The Muslim Brotherhood is considered to be the forerunner of modern Islamic terrorism.

The government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Egypt has classified the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization and often accuses it of carrying out terrorist attacks. Since the military coup in Egypt since 2013, some members of the Muslim Brotherhood have broken off to form splinter groups that carry out acts of violence against the military-backed government.

The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) is already banned in many countries, including in Islamic countries like the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Syria. Even Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan have banned the Muslim Brotherhood.

Reportedly, Saudi Arabia has multiple reasons – including regional political dynamics – to ban the Muslim Brotherhood even after the Kingdom had supported it for many years in the past.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) had put a more lethal ban on the Muslim Brotherhood in 2014 as part of a broader Emirati fight against the Muslim Brotherhood who had allegedly plotted to overthrow the government. Even Tunisia, where the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Ennahda Party has been powerful, had blacklisted the Egyptian Brotherhood and its affiliates.

The Wire uses turncoat NCP worker to defame ABVP

Nivan
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The Wire uses turncoat NCP worker to defame ABVP

The Wire on 22nd July published an article by turn-coat NCP worker Jay Kholiya on the opinion section of its website, where he wrote about his reason for leaving Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad or ABVP (a patriotic student organization in India, affiliated to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS). In the article, Kholiya writes on the reason why he had a “hriday parivartan” or change in ideology in 2019 (which, incidentally, was when the MVA government came to power in Maharashtra).

Jay Kholiya had joined ABVP in 2019 after he saw a Modi wave emerging in many parts of the country, and the powerful BJP-Shiv Sena coalition had formed the government in Maharashtra. According to several senior members of ABVP, the organization never believed that Jay was supporting the ABVP ideology, but nevertheless, rewarded him for the dedication he put in strengthening the student movement in South Mumbai. It was well known that he had left-leaning tendencies, but it was ignored because of ABVP’s work culture that encourages conflicting opinions and debates.

In the article, Kholiya claims to have organized a CAA-supporting rally in South Mumbai near CST station at Fort “under his leadership”, which is laughable, to say the least. The rally was organized by ABVP’s Mumbai unit, which overshadows all district units in the city. Nevertheless, several ABVP members from South Mumbai freshly remember Kholiya enthusiastically debating with people of opposing views regarding CAA on official Whatsapp groups of the unit. Kholiya has hogged the credit of organizing the event for his own political agenda and apparently used it while pitching for an NCP post.   

Kholiya further claims that ABVP is a student wing of BJP. Which, ironically, he had himself disproved when the same was alleged by another former member of ABVP. When a former member of ABVP had a meltdown on the official Whatsapp group, the ex-member had claimed that ABVP was a student wing of Bharatiya Janata Party, to which Kholiya had sent a storm of news links reporting ABVP protests against BJP personalities. This change of colours is ridiculous, to say the least!

In his article on The Wire, he didn’t mention him joining the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) which has multiple charges of corruption after quitting ABVP. After leaving the Parishad, Kholiya had joined the NCP after getting an offer to serve as a ward level executive member followed by promotion to Secretary of Charkop Vidhan-Sabha constituency unit of NCP. 

I have been in regular touch with Jay Kholiya despite him betraying everything ABVP stands for, and have shared plenty of messages with him in the past.

In one of his messages post quitting ABVP, he says that the reason he left ABVP was that he had been in talks with NCP. It is important to stress on the fact that his uncle is also an NCP lawmaker from Gujarat. When I asked him about the reason why he left the Parishad, and if he would stay in contact with us after choosing a path in politics, he frankly told me that he keeps his “personal and political lives separate”, boldly revealing that he only cares about power/ politics and nothing more. 

After him leaving ABVP in February 2019, it was revealed that he was in talks with the NCP long before the CAA bill was passed in the parliament and that he used the passing of CAA as an exit strategy from ABVP so that nobody suspects him of political infidelity. By writing an article on The Wire regarding his departure from ABVP, he has made juvenile attempts to demonise the largest student movement in India, and save his own face by justifying his lust for power. 

Apart from his ridiculous attempt to defame ABVP in the article, he also tries to acquire media limelight on himself to fulfill his greed for attention and fame. Though he tries his best to make people believe that he left for an imaginary “Hriday Parivartan”, it is quite obvious that he does everything with a desire for power and political mileage. 

(The author is the District Social Media In-charge of ABVP South Mumbai)

The Wire and Shashi Tharoor say Muslims have a greater claim on India than Hindus: Why this notion needs to be mocked and dismissed

OpIndia Staff
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The Wire and Shashi Tharoor say Muslims have a greater claim on India than Hindus: Why this notion needs to be mocked and dismissed

Political commentator Badri Raina has came up with a bizarre claim in an article for The Wire. While it is widely recognised that ‘intellectuals’ of a liberal hue spend an inordinate amount of mental effort to bolster the narrative of Muslim victimhood and strengthen the claim of Muslims to special rights and privileges, the author here has traversed into territory hitherto uncharted by any liberal ‘intellectual’.

In the said article, Badri Raina claims that he had the opportunity to converse with a driver who bore an “uncanny resemblance” with the self-taught Abraham Lincoln during a trip to Uttar Pradesh. This particular driver, according to the author, said something so utterly bizarre and preposterous that it could be said with a reasonable degree of certainty that the argument made therein came from the author himself.

headline of the article on The Wire

The minutest functional part of his brain must have realised the atrocious nature of the argument and therefore, to save Badri Raina from utter embarrassment invented the character of an Abraham Lincoln look-alike driver to save him the blushes. Regardless, the argument in question is that Muslims (and Christians) apparently have a greater claim to India because they bury the dead while other communities choose to cremate theirs.

The driver supposedly said, “Dr Sahib, do you ever think about the reality that when you die, your ashes will be immersed in the Ganges, or some other water-body, and, in course of time, the waters will carry them beyond the territories of India into the sea; but when I die, my remains will be buried in our own mother earth and be mingled with it for eternity? So, I ask you, which of us has a better claim to the matrubhoomi?”

While any sane individual would have found the argument utterly inexplicable, Badri Raina found great merit in it, although the reasons are not specified. His enlightened mind appears to have interpreted the argument as something so self-evident that switching on the tube-light inside his head was enough for him to realise its truthfulness. However, to those of us who have not been fortunate enough to be blessed with such flamboyant intellectual faculties, the whole argument appears wacky.

As if in a spell of great intellectual clarity, Badri Raina declared, “I had never ever in my long life confronted this perception. The stark irony embedded in it suddenly made me feel an outsider to my own land—something of a tenant than an owner. It was as though I had been dispossessed of a claim trumpeted over millennia of a self-evident assertion and unquestionable truth.”

He continued, “I was hit by the thought that where my flesh and bone would not fertilise my matrubhoomi, Abdul Rashid’s would. What metaphysical rejoinders I could think up seemed puerile next to the earthy home truth Abdul Rashid had placed before me.” While the idea of fertilising one’s motherland with our own body would appear macabre to most, if we are to take Raina’s words to their logical conclusion, then the demand to hand over graveyards to farmers for them to grow crops would appear entirely legitimate.

Any person with an iota of a functional brain would dismiss such assertions without so much as a second thought. Therefore, naturally, senior leaders of the Congress party have found great merit in them. Shashi Tharoor said it was an ‘intriguing question’ and said, “Don’t those whose flesh and bones are interred in the soil of India, to become part of its earth, have a greater claim to the matrubhumi than those whose ashes are poured into rivers that flow into the sea?”

Tweet by Shashi Tharoor

That Shashi Tharoor supports the idea of Muslims and Christians having a greater claim is not surprising at all as it was Manmohan Singh, Tharoor’s colleague, who as Prime Minister declared that minorities have the first right to resources in India. And naturally, given the conduct of the Congress party during the UPA regime, it can be said without any shred of doubt that when Manmohan Singh referred to minorities, the category did not include Jain, Buddhists or Sikhs.

The objective of the article was quite clearly to justify the refusal of the Muslim community to sing the Vande Mataram. However, in the process, Badri Raina had a Freudian Slip and revealed why liberals are so enthusiastic about providing citizenship rights to illegal Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar. It is because such people genuinely believe that Muslims have a greater claim to India than Hindus.

The only concern here is that a senior leader of the country’s largest political party, Shashi Tharoor, actually found merit in Raina’s argument. But then again, it serves to explain the policies of the UPA government and the rationale behind the blatantly anti-Hindu Communal Violence Bill perfectly well.

NIA probe unearths terror funding link with Kerala Gold smuggling accused Rameez

OpIndia Staff
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NIA probe unearths terror funding link with Kerala Gold smuggling accused Rameez

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has reportedly hinted in its report on the Kerala gold smuggling case, filed before the Court, about the links of one Rameez KT of Malappuram to terror funding and anti-national activities. Rameez is the key mastermind of the sensational gold smuggling case that has wreaked havoc on the incumbent Kerala State government.

As per another accused Sandeep Nair, he has been involved in anti-national activities that can undermine the country’s security. In its report, the NIA noted, “Sandeep stated about the suspected unlawful activities of Rameez KT that are likely to affect the security of the nation. The same is under investigation.” Rameez had suggested smuggling maximum gold amidst the Coronavirus lockdown. In another report filed by the security agency on July 21, the NIA stated he had extensive contacts abroad and ‘commanded’ a group of people.

He was first booked in 2014, at the tender age of 20, for smuggling 15kg gold through cargo. Reportedly, his activities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and diversion of funds for sponsoring anti-national activities are under investigation. Rameez knew everyone linked with the gold smuggling case, including the source of smuggled gold to buyers in Kerala. As per the preamble of the NIA, the agency has the power to investigate cases that can affect India’s relationship with ‘friendly nations.’ Reportedly, UAE had recalled its top diplomat Rashed Khamis Ali Musaiqri Alshemeli, former in-charge of the consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, in the aftermath of the case.

Rameez would travel to Dubai frequently

According to a senior Intelligence officer, the mastermind of the gold smuggling racket would frequently travel to Gulf countries on a visiting visa under the pretext of doing a job or running a business. However, the investigation into the case has revealed that he did not own any business there. Reportedly, Rameez would live in Dubai for two months and would return to India for a brief period. The investigation officer informed that the record of frequent travellers such as Rameez to foreign nations is maintained by the Customs Department. NIA is now seeking his custody, besides the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Gold smuggling scandal linked to Anti-CAA riots

Earlier, central investigative agencies, under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), reportedly had been probing whether the proceeds from the gold smuggling case were used to fund protests against the humanitarian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019. As per reports, a youth from Kerala was nabbed in UP in connection to the case. Reportedly, he had revealed critical information about the funding of these protests.

Speaking to the New Indian Express, an intelligence official informed that investigative agencies have found the connection of a few Keralites with organisations in the Gulf States, which funded the violent protests. “We’ve analysed the evidence, and gold smuggling is one of the fundraising sources,” the official claimed. NIA has also reportedly received tip-offs about the funding of anti-national activities through the gold smuggling racket.

Words from Quran cannot be used to describe a woman’s beauty: When AR Rahman was hounded by Islamic clerics

OpIndia Staff
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Words from Quran cannot be used to describe a woman’s beauty: When AR Rahman was hounded by Islamic clerics

The raging debate in the country over nepotism in the movie industry, which erupted after the tragic death of 34-year-old actor Sushant Singh Rajput, seems to have now opened a hornet’s nest as more voices are coming out sharing their story of suppression in the industry. Joining the ranks of Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut, singer Sonu Nigam, music maestro and Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman too opened up about his experience about a vicious ‘gang’ that has been working tirelessly to ensure that he finds less work in Bollywood.

The legendary music director, speaking to a media, recently said that he has been forced to do ‘dark movies and not the good ones’ as several people have ganged him against him, without realising that they are ‘harming’ his career prospects.

Just as AR Rahman pointed at how he is being targeted by a powerful lobby in the Bollywood, a 16-year-old incident involving him, where he was harassed and bullied by Muslim clerics has once become a talking point.

In 2004, the Islamists and Muslim clerics of the All India Ulema Council had ganged up against fellow Muslims – the controversial painter MF Husain and music director AR Rahman after a controversy had erupted over a qawwali song in the film. A song composed by AR Rahman for Husain’s movie ‘Meenaxi’ had received severe backlash from the Muslim society accusing them of insulting their religion.

The song ‘Noor-un-Ala-Noor’ composed by AR Rahman was called ‘blasphemous’ by Islamic clerics, who had claimed that the song featuring the film’s main protagonist, Tabu, contained words directly lifted from the Quran.

The council’s statement was supported by Muslim organisations like the Milli Council, All-India Muslim Council, Raza Academy, Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Hind and Jamat-e-Islami.

“For us, the term Noor-un-Ala-Noor is very sacred. It shouldn’t be used to describe the physical beauty of a heroine,” Maulana Abdul Quddus Kashmiri, general secretary of the All-India Ulema Council said in his statement.

A complaint was also registered against the moviemakers in Mumbai and the clerics had also demanded them to change the words of the song.

The constant hounding of AR Rahman and MF Husain by the Islamic clerics had resulted in Husain pulling out his movie ‘Meenaxi — A Tale of Three Cities’ out of movie theatres.

While India fought Pakistan at the border in 1999, here are 6 ways in which Congress insulted Kargil victory and our war-heroes

OpIndia Staff
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While India fought Pakistan at the border in 1999, here are 6 ways in which Congress insulted Kargil victory and our war-heroes

For every Indian, 26th July is no less than a celebration. On this day, the Kargil war was officially over. No one can forget the sacrifice of Capt Vikram Batra, Lieutenant Balwan Singh, Major Vivek Gupta, Naik Digendra Kumar, Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey and Major Saurabh Kalia among many others. Even though the Pakistan army and terrorists supporting them had the benefit of altitude, the Indian Army and the Air Force had unforgettably unleashed the might.

Border tension between India and Pakistan has always been on edge for one reason or the other. After the India Pakistan war of 1971, the tension was at peak during the 90s. The terrorist activities in Kashmir caused an agitated atmosphere in the valley. In February 1999, the Lahore Declaration was signed between the two countries to defuse tensions over deputed areas of Jammu. However, Pakistan had a different plan altogether. It was training terrorists and its army men to cross the Line of Control on the high altitudes.

When India found out about the infiltration, the first assumption was they might be terrorist groups. However, the armed forces kept on learning about the infiltrations in different locations that led to the conclusion that it was a well-planned attack on a vast scale. The Government of India launched Operation Vijay, and more than 2,00,000 troops were deployed in the Valley. India lost 527 soldiers in the war. Pakistan claimed that over 3,000 of its soldiers and terrorists died in the war.

Indian Air Force played a vital role in the war. Showing its might at the height of 32,000 feet for the first time that too only after a week’s training is noteworthy. Under operation Safed Sagar, the Indian Air Force identified and eliminated Pakistani troops and terrorists to perfection. While the operation was over on 14th July 1999 and then-PM Ajal Bihari Vajpayee informed the country about it, the official declaration of the war being closed came on 26th July 1999.

While Pakistan betrayed the Lahore Declaration and attacked India after putting up a pretence of peace, another treachery, this one from within the country was being mounted. The Congress party, headed by Sonia Gandhi at the time decided to indulge in petty politics when the country was fighting a war with Pakistan.

The statements and ignorance from the Congress party since 1999 has been widely spoken about. The Vajpayee government not only had to manage the border situation at that time, but they also had to face the vicious attack by Sonia Gandhi and her party.

1. Sonia Gandhi’s call for an emergency session of Rajya Sabha

Sonia Gandhi, not to anyone surprise, was Congress President at that time. She called for an emergency session of Rajya Sabha. At that time, she said in a press conference that if Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru can call for such session during Indo-China war, why can’t she ask for one to discuss Kargil.

It was the CPI that had initiated the demands for a special Rajya Sabha session in an attempt to paint the Vajpayee government as incompetent, even though the country was in the midst of a war. When the CPI had called for the special session, Congress was skeptical fearing that the request could appear to be motivated so soon after the outbreak of hostilities, reported India Today at the time. However, soon Sonia Gandhi, joined the bandwagon and launched a scathing, traitorous attack against the Government of India.

She further added, “We cannot leave the fate of the country in the hands of an incompetent caretaker government and hence we have demanded a special session of the Rajya Sabha.” Not only Congress, but other opposition parties like CPI tried to corner Vajpayee government over Kargil while the war was still on.

Further, it was Digvijay Singh and Ashok Gehlot, according to a 1999 India Today report who were pressing for a special session and trying to convince all opposition parties.

Casting shameless aspersions against the Vajpayee government, Digvijay made his party’s intention clear when he said, at the meeting that a Rajya Sabha session was necessary to probe if the Union government knew for a “long time about the infiltration and yet had kept quiet”.

2. The infamous “defence expert” views in The Guardian

Kanchan Gupta wrote an article in 1999 in which he explained how the Congress party took refuge under the international media. They used an article published in the Guardian during the Kargil war that had the whole scenario and the Army’s preparations wrong. In the article, it was stated that in the lack of weapons and ammunition, the army stood handicapped in Kargil.

Later, it was found that the report in the Guardian was the handiwork of a frustrated arms dealer who came to India amidst war to sell his weapons. What he failed to factor in that the Italian mastermind behind the Bofors scandal is no longer facilitating Indian weapon purchases and the thing went south quickly for him. Congress Party used a particular article to attack the government but failed miserably in this attempt as well.

3. No recognition of the war heroes for years

For years, since the Congress government came to power in 2004, the party refused to celebrate Kargil war heroes. In 2017, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, BJP MP posted a tweet in which he shared a letter dated July 2009 asking Congress party in power to remember the sacrifices of the soldiers during Kargil War.

In the letter, he reminded the Congress Party about the sacrifices of the soldiers. He said, “I believe the actions of the men and women of our armed forces in that conflict and every other conflict deserve out shradhanjali, respects and salutes. I appeal to the Ministry of Defense and Government to memorialize this day and celebrate it every year.”

4. Congress MP Rashid Alvi: Kargil was BJP’s war, no need to celebrate victory

MP Rashid Alvi, in 2009, said that there is no reason India should celebrate Kargil Vijay Diwas as it was fought in our territory. Only NDA may celebrate it as it was its war (and not India’s). The attitude of the Congress government towards the fallen soldiers was painful not only for the families of the soldiers but also for every patriotic Indian.

5. Congress’ former MoS Home could not even remember when Kargil was fought

At the time when Congress MP Rashid Alvi said that the Kargil war was an “NDA war” to celebrate and that there was no need for Congress to celebrate, former minister of state for home Sri Prakash Jaiswal couldn’t even remember when the Kargil war was fought and won. Asked about Vijay Diwas, he wanted to know when the day was celebrated.

6. Siddaramaiah government’s apathy towards Kargil war hero

Congress, on several occasions, on the national and state level, failed to recognize the war heroes. In 2018, then-Karnataka government led by Congress and its associates under CM Siddaramaiah failed to recognize the importance of a Kargil war hero. Col MB Ravindranath took his last breath at the age of 59 in Bangalore. The then Commanding Officer of 2 Rajputana Rifles, Col Ravindranath was famously known for taking back the Tololing Top from the Pakistani aggressors during the 1999 Kargil war. The government of India awarded him Vir Chakra.

Siddaramaiah government’s apathy over his death miffed everyone. While his government provided full state honours to late journalist Gauri Lankesh during her funeral, not even a single government official came for Col Ravindranath’s funeral.

While the Congress party today talks about defence-related issues and attempts to bring the Modi government down, its history has been shady when it comes to times when the country needed them.

Coronavirus fight: Human trial of vaccine begins in 6 Indian cities, no major side effects yet

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus fight: Human trial of vaccine begins in 6 Indian cities, no major side effects yet

Amidst the rising cases of Wuhan Coronavirus in India, the human clinical trials for the much-anticipated vaccine has been initiated in six cities. Reportedly, the vaccine candidates of two companies, namely, Bharat Biotech and Zydus Cadila are currently being used for the clinical trials.

As per the report, both the vaccine candidates were approved for Phase I and Phase II trials and they were administered for the first time to volunteers on July 15. Reportedly, another vaccine developed by Oxford University will also be tested in India, on receiving regulatory approval.

Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech, is used for human trials in several Indian cities such as Delhi, Hyderabad, Patna, Kancheepuram, and Rohtak. The clinical trials will then be reportedly initiated in other cities including Nagpur, Visakhapatnam, Belgaum, Gorakhpur, and Kanpur. As per reports, while the testing of ZyCov-D developed by Zydus Cadila is limited to Ahmedabad, Covaxin is set to be tested on 500 volunteers between 18 and 55 in 12 different hospitals in 12 different cities. The vaccine candidate is the result of a joint collaboration between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV).

No major side effects of Coronavirus vaccine

Dr. Sanjay Rai who serves as the principal investigator of the human trial project at AIIMS Delhi informed that there was no immediate major side effect on a volunteer after he was administered the vaccine.

There are some minor side effects – like redness of the skin where the dose was given, pain and mild fever – which can be seen in any vaccine test. But, it went smoothly without any other health issues. The doctors are continuously monitoring their health, ” PK Singh heading the clinical trials at AIIMS Patna was quoted as saying.

The Bollywood ‘gang’ gets to AR Rahman too: Read what he said about the industry hounding him and spreading rumours

OpIndia Staff
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The Bollywood ‘gang’ gets to AR Rahman too: Read what he said about the industry hounding him and spreading rumours

Music maestro and Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman has opened up about his experience about a vicious ‘gang’ that has been working tirelessly to ensure that he finds less work in Bollywood. He has composed soundtracks for several movies such as ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ ‘Swades’, ‘Dil Se’, ‘Guru’, and ‘Rockstar’.

While speaking to Radio Mirchi, he said, ”I don’t say no to good movies, but I think there is a gang, which, due to misunderstandings, is spreading some false rumors.” Rahman added that he is now forced to do ‘dark movies and not the good ones as several people have ganged him against him, without realising that they are ‘harming’ his career prospects. He recounted how filmmaker Mukesh Chhabra had informed him about stories that he had heard about the composer. It made him realise the reason as to why he is finding less work in the Hindi film industry.

AR Rahman believes in the power of destiny

“When Mukesh Chhabra came to me, I gave him four songs in two days. He told me, ”Sir, how many people said don’t go, don’t go to him and they told me stories after stories. I heard that, and I realised, yeah okay, now I understand why I am doing less work in Hindi films and why the good movies are not coming to me,” Rahman was quoted as saying.

Reportedly, the ace musician said that he believed in God and the power of destiny. He reiterated, “So, I am taking my movies and doing my other stuff. But all of you are welcome to come to me. Make beautiful movies, and you are welcome to come to me.”

Ace composer pays tribute to Sushant Singh Rajput

On Wednesday, AR Rahman uploaded a musical tribute to the late 34-year-old actor Sushant Singh Rajput who committed suicide on June 14. He wrote, “In loving memory of Sushant Singh Rajput. Watch our musical tribute on Disney Plus and Sony Music featuring various artists.”

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