Two individuals associated with a Tamil YouTube channel named ‘Karuppar Koottam’ have been arrested by the police in Tamil Nadu after an alleged insult to the worship of Hindu God Murugan. Anchor Surendran and another prominent member M Senthil Wasan were arrested on Wednesday after a case was filed in the matter.
The arrests were made on the basis of complaints filed by youth wing leader Vinoz P Selvam on behalf of Vice President of BJP in Tamil Nadu M.N.Raja and leader R.C.Paul Kanakraj. A Tamil speaker Karan Praveen told OpIndia that the controversy began when the worship of Lord Murugun, or Lord Kartikeya as he is popularly known in North India, the son of Lord Shiva, was mocked.
We were told that Karuppar Koottam in a video hurt the sentiments of the Tamil Hindu community. The said video made fun of the Skanda Shashti Kavacham, which is chanted by Tamil Hindus, to gain the favour of the Gods. The Skanda Shashti Kavacham holds as much significance for Tamil Hindus as the Hanuman Chalisa does in households of North India.
The Karuppar Koottam used the mantra in a very obscene and vulgar manner in one of their videos. Subsequently, the cyber crime branch booked Surendran under sections 153, 153(a) (1) (A), 295 (p), 505 (1) (b) and 505 (2) of the IPC. Following the registration of the FIR, another Surendra Natarajan, surrendered himself before the authorities.
Prior to his surrender, Surendran garlanded a statue of Periyar, in an obvious bid to garner political support. In his anticipatory bail application filed before the Madras High Court on Wednesday (July 15, 2020), Surendran defended himself saying that he has the right to express himself in a democracy and his incendiary comments should not be considered a crime.
Amidst the rising number of Coronavirus cases in the State of Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena-led-government had directed that prayers for Bakri Eid must be confined to home. The government has made it clear that prayers should not be offered in Eidgah or other public places. Besides, the government has informed that livestock markets will remain closed and as such goats can only be purchased online or through phone services. As of July 17, Maharashtra has reported 1,14,947 active cases of Coronavirus and 11,294 deaths.
Bakri Eid prayers should not be offered in mosques or Eidgahs or public places, but should be done at home only. Currently all operating livestock markets will remain closed. If citizens want to buy animals, they should buy it online or by phone: Maharashtra Govt #COVID19
The state govt has also asked Muslims to celebrate the event in a simple manner. “Bakri Eid should be celebrated in a simple manner this year given the COVID-19 outbreak,” an official statement issued by home minister Anil Deshmukh said. The govt also added that there will be no relaxation in restrictions for Eid in containment zones, and people are directed not to congregate in public places on the day of the festival.
Social distancing flouted ahead of Ramzan
As the month of Ramzan commenced, crowds were seen shopping and moving around at various places completely flouting the lockdown and joining the public gatherings. One of the areas was the Shastri Park area of North-east Delhi, which witnessed a huge crowd on despite lockdown orders. Similar situations were seen in financial capital Mumbai also, where authorities have been unable to enforce the lockdown from the beginning. The Ramzan had increased the crowd in the markets in the city, which had the highest number of Coronavirus positive cases in the country.
A massive controversy broke out in Maharashtra after a Class 8 Marathi textbook printed by Maharashtra State Education Board mentioned Kurban Hussain as one of the Freedom fighters to have been hanged alongside Bhagat Singh and Rajguru in connection with the Lahore conspiracy case.
In a glaring error, the Maharashtra State Education Board replaced the name of revered Freedom fighter Sukhdev with another Freedom fighter Kurban Hussain from Solapur as one who was hanged in Lahore along with well renowned revolutionary leaders Bhagat Singh and Rajguru.
#MahaAfzalAghadi govt of Maharashtra removes name of revolutionary freedom fighter Sukhdev & replaces with Kurban Hussain from Marathi textbook of Maharashtra State Secondary Board of Class 8.
Factual errors made in Marathi book of Maharashtra State Board
The omission of Sukhdev’s name from the textbook has created an uproar in the state, with the opposition alleging that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government is brainwashing the students with a distorted version of history. The Maharashtra government, under pressure from the opposition and other organisations, have admitted to the error and ordered a probe into the matter as to what led to the replacement of Sukhdev’s name with Kurban Hussain.
The chapter titled “India is my country” in the Marathi textbook of Class 8, the well-known writer Yadunath Thatte’s essay has created a stir after the error of the names of the Freedom fighters were pointed out by the people. On March 23, 1931, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged to death by the British colonial rulers in Lahore Jail. The incident served as a rallying point for India’s struggle for independence and till this day serves as a reminder of the contributions made by the Freedom fighters to liberate the country from the British shackles. Every year, India celebrates March 23 as “Shaheed Diwas” to mark the contributions of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev for India’s independence struggle and pay homage to them.
NCP claims typographical error, Congress justifies saying its in Marathi book, not in History
While the NCP, one of the alliance partners in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra has called the mistake as “typographical error”, the Congress party has provided an absurd justification to the blunder, claiming that the book is a Marathi textbook and not a History book, notwithstanding the fact that the names of legendary freedom fighters–Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev are always taken together. In a bizarre justification, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant claimed that even Kurban Hussain was also a freedom fighter and that the country should also respect the sacrifice made by Hussain.
Brahmin Federation demands action against the culprits
On the other hand, Anand Dave of the Brahmin Federation has asked the state government to take action against the culprits. He has said that the mistake in the class VIII textbook of Balbharati is unacceptable and deplorable. He has also demanded the state government to withdraw all the books immediately.
On Thursday, the Vatican reportedly directed Bishops across the world to report sexual offences committed against minors by predator priests, even when they are not legally obliged to do so. The Vatican has also released a manual for bishops and religious superiors to conduct an internal investigation into sexual offences perpetrated against young children and vulnerable adults. As per reports, despite the existence of canonical norms, the laws are often neglected by Bishops.
Unlike the existing Vatican policy about cooperating with the law enforcement in sex crimes only when it is compulsory, the new manual directs Bishops to report all such crimes even when there is no explicit legal obligation. “Even in cases where there is no explicit legal obligation to do so, the ecclesiastical authorities should make a report to the competent civil authorities if this is considered necessary to protect the person involved or other minors from the danger of further criminal acts,” the manual emphasised. The manual reiterated that Bishops and other Church authorities must oblige with subpoena requests.
Reportedly, the manual has been issued in several languages such as Italian, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and German to prevent Bishops from citing excuses for not conducting the preliminary investigation against predators within the Church. The manual further directed Bishops to not ignore anonymous allegations or even social media posts as they can be used to conduct a preliminary investigation. Moreover, the manual stated that allegations shall not be ignored under the pretext that they do not fall within the limitations of the Church. The Vatican added that allegations can only be dismissed if the Bishop believes that the chain of events leading up to the assault is improbable.
Vatican warns Bishops against ‘negligence’
The manual stated that sexual offences include sexual relations, physical contacts for gratification, exhibitionism, masturbation, pornography production, and conversions of a sexual nature. The Vatican also listed physical contact with sexual intent as an offence which is often dismissed by Bishops as boundary violations. The manual, published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, cautioned that Bishops can be canonically punished if found dismissive of serious allegations or negligent about conducting a preliminary investigation.
Sex abuse summit of 2019
In 2019, Pope Francis led a sex abuse summit and issued 21 points to help Bishops investigate and prevent abuse by church priests. He realised that many bishops did not understand the gravity of the sexual abuse problem in the Catholic Church. One of the recommendations was to issue a detailed handbook that could provide step-by-step instruction. Reportedly, the Vatican had been a long proponent of not encouraging Bishops to report perverted priests under the pretext that it can lead to the persecution of the Catholic priests in countries where they are a minority.
A week after OpIndia published a detailed fact-check on the claims of Prathap NM, who has been dubbed as the ‘drone boy’ and a drone scientist for making over 600 drones using e-waste like broken mixer grinders and televisions, the 22-year-old Prathap on Thursday responded to the all allegations against him.
Speaking to a Kannada news network, Prathap NM, who has been hailed as the ‘Drone Scientist’ across the country, took questions from the anchor Kirik Keerthi. Citing OpIndia reports that had earlier debunked most of the claims made by the 22-year-old, the anchor put forward various questions to Prathap seeking clarifications for various assertions he had made over the last two years.
Medals, Awards, and recognitions
Earlier, we had reported in much detail on the discrepancies in Prathap’s claims about him winning three awards in Germany in 2018. Prathap had claimed to have won the “Albert Einstein Innovation Gold Medal” in the International Drone Expo 2018 held at Hanover in Germany, a gold medal in the International Drone Expo held in Germany. He had also claimed that he had secured first place in CeBIT Drone Expo-2018 at Hanover, Germany, and also bagged the gold medal in International Robotic Exhibition held at Tokyo, Japan, in December 2017.
In our report, we have detailed how there is no evidence of any such awards and medals given in the events claimed by Prathap, and some of the events also does not exist. The websites of the organisations that hold the events do not mention any such award, and Prathap’s name is not mentioned as winner of any such award or medal.
We had also mentioned how Prathap, despite winning all the awards did not have a single photograph or video showing him receiving such awards. There are few photographs of him with such medals and awards, but they are not from any ceremony where he received them.
There is also not a single photo or video of any drone built by the ‘drone boy’. While there are some photographs of Prathap with some drones, all of them are commercially produced drones made by various companies, and he had just got himself with them in technology expos in various countries like Japan, Germany etc.
Drone boy Prathap shows certificates from organisations which have claimed they are fake
Responding to all the allegations of OpIndia, Prathap NM cited few certificates pertaining to the awards he claimed to have won during the show. Interestingly, the 22-year-old “scientist” did not display any of the medals in the live show but displayed few certificates, whose authenticity is still questionable. Although, video clips of a medal with the text ‘Albert Einstein Innovation Medal’ one side and at ‘CeBIT 2018 Hannover’ on the other side was shown in the show.
The first set of certificates shown by Prathap, as he claimed in the show was from the International Robotic Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan. He displayed two sets of certificates, which were interestingly different from the viral images on the internet. The certificates displayed by Prathap did not have an Airbus logo on them, which was very much present in the earlier certificates, which he had claimed to have won from Japan.
The anchor also asked him how could there be a spelling mistake on the certificate of such a prestigious award. The spelling of vehicle was mistakenly written as ‘Vehical’ on the certificate issued by IReX. Responding to the discrepancies, the 22-year-old “Drone boy” said that it was a mistake on his part to misspell the word and stated that it has not been committed by the organisers.
Further, a mail written by a social media user to check the authenticity of the claims was posted on social media. The user had posted an image of his conversation with the Japan Robot Association, the organization which hosted the International Robot Exhibition 2017. The organizers have categorically stated that there was no robotic competition during the year-2017.
Image Source: Pavan GM
It may be noted that the International Robot Exhibition (IReX) held in Tokyo is a trade fair where companies making robots participate. College and university students with their robots also take part in the show, but there is no competition of drones or robots in the event, and there is no record of Prathap winning the first prize, or any prize, in the event.
The second certificate which Prathap displayed in the show pertains to the ‘Albert Einstein Innovation Award’.
Despite clarifications from Prathap, there are too many inconsistencies in his claims with respect to the ‘Albert Einstein Innovation Award‘ as there are no such awards in the first place. When searched about ‘Albert Einstein Innovation Medal’ at ‘CeBIT Drone Expo 2018’, the search results only point to a single name of Prathap, and no sources are attached to it.
On the certificate shown by Prathap in the live show, it can be seen that it is written as ‘Albert Einstein Innovation Medal’ on the top, whereas it is written as ‘Albert Einstein Innovation Award’ below.
Below the certificate, there is a name mentioned – Wolfram von Fritsch, who is claimed to be the CEO of ‘Deutsche Messe’, which is responsible for the expo. However, Wolfram von Fritsch resigned from the post in 2017 even before the expo, who was replaced by Dr. Jochen Köckler back in 2017 itself. The certificate awarded to Pratap in 2018 has Wolfram von Fritsch’s name as CEO raising suspicion over his claims.
Deutesche Messe, the organiser of the CeBIT expo, had already clarified that they don’t give the awards as claimed by Prathap, to an email query by one of our readers, Saniya Sharma.
Jutta Jakobi’s mail to Ms Sharma
Jutta Jakobi, the Global Director of Deutsche Messe AG, the organisation that organises the CeBIT expo, had informed that they never had an Albert Einstein Award at CEBIT 2018. She also informed that Dr. Wolfram von Fritsch left Deutsche Messe already back in 2017. As the CEO left the organisation in 2017, his signature can’t be there in a genuine certificate issued in 2018.
But as Prathap showed the same certificate in the TV interview yesterday, we sent them the screenshots of the certificate and medal shown in the TV show asking whether they are genuine, and the Global Director of Deutsche Messe AG replied with reiterating the same, saying that the certificate is fake.
Mail by Jutta Jakobi
Jutta Jakobi categorically stated, “No award! No drone award! Dr von Fritsch left the Company in 2017”. She also declared, “This is all fake!”
We have also sent mail to Deutsche Messe’s India office, and they also categorically denied any Drone competition for individuals in their CeBIT expo in Germany. The screenshot of the mail sent by the company’s director in India is given below.
Mail by Geeta Bisht
From mails by both India and Germany offices of Deutsche Messe, it clear that they have been receiving too many inquiries about Prathap, and they are tired off telling everyone that his claims are fake.
So, the pertinent question that arises is how did Prathap then got hold of such a certificate at a time when there is no such award or medal in the first place.
When we looked into such certificates, we found an identical certificate available on stock vector image sites on the internet. The stock image has the same design as Prathap’s certificate, but it has dummy text on it. Which means, anyone can download the file, replace the dummy text with text of their choice and print them. Although it may be claimed that CeBIT used a stock image to print certificates, that seems highly unlikely, as large organisations have in house design teams for such jobs, or they get custom designs made by agencies, rather than using off-the-shelf designs.
With “Drone boy” Prathap failing to show any medals during the live show and only submitting few ‘purported’- unauthenticated certificates, additionally with the denial from the organisations named in the certificates, can be stated that his claims of winning medals, awards are not proved,
The ‘Drone Boy’ Prathap, who was then questioned on the authenticity of his claims regarding four countries honouring him with ‘Young Scientist Awards’, he said he had mistakenly mentioned it as ‘awards’ and also clarified that it was actually a recognition.
He claimed that four countries, Japan, France, Germany and ‘Africa’ had honoured him with ‘Young Scientist Honour’ and not an award. However, he did not show any documents to prove the same citing non-disclosure agreements.
Evidence of Drones made by “Drone Boy”
One of the strongest criticism against “Drone boy” Prathap is that he has never displayed a drone, which he claims to have developed. Prathap, who claims to have developed over 600 drones in the past two years, yet again failed to display any of his creations on the live show. He didn’t bring any drone built by him using e-waste, neither showed any photo or video that shows his drones.
Instead, he showed an image to the show anchor on a phone, where he was standing next to a drone. Although the full image was not shown on screen, the phone was shown, where we can see that Prathap is standing next to a drone.
On close examination, it can be seen it is the same image which was published in an article on by BetterIndia. Again, it is a drone displayed at an expo, which can be determined by seeing the posters in the background. This is a drone made by BillzEye Multicoptersysteme, which was displayed at the CEBIT 2018.
The image shown by Prathap, image showing that it is a BillzEye made drone displayed at CeBIT 2018
This is a racecopter made by BillzEye, which means this drone is used in racing competition of drones. Prathap had visited the expo, and got himself photographed with the drone on display.
This means, Prathap NM showed the image of a drone made by a German company to the anchor in the show to prove that he has build drones. Moreover, the image of the drone at the expo has been shared by the company on social media, hence it can be easily fact-checked, but still, he chose to show it in the TV show.
Citing that most of his drones are unregistered, Prathap said he could not display his drones and promised to develop and showcase his drones in the near future. Earlier in another media interaction he had claimed that he can’t show the drones due to intellectual property issues.
Prathap’s response to African Black Mamba story
In the show, Prathap also clarified regarding his claims of using his drone to deliver antivenom to an 8-year-old girl who was bitten by a snake in Sudan.
Earlier, he had said that he used his Eagle 2.8 drone to deliver anti-venom to a kid within a few minutes, which would have taken at least 10 hours to deliver on road. We had described how the claims he had made did not add up as there are no drones in the entire world that could match such speed.
As the anchor pointed out all the scientific facts to Drone boy” Prathap, the 22-year-old “Drone Boy” said that the entire incident was entirely factual but he may have missed certain points and stated wrong facts in the ‘heat of the moment’.
According to Prathap, the road journey need to reach the snake-bitten girl was not 10 hours but only three-four hours. He also revealed that the drone he which operated was not entirely created by him, but was more of a collaboration.
Even if the location was 3-4 hours by road instead of 10 hours, it would still mean a distance of around 60-100 km, which is still beyond the longest range of commercially available rotary wing battery powered drones.
“Drone Boy” Prathap fails to display his technical knowledge on drones
As the show progressed, one of Prathap’s friend identified as Darshan appeared on the show. Darshan, who was introduced as a ‘classmate’ of the “Drone Boy” posed some questions to Prathap.
Darshan, as he posed questions, said that he wanted to check Prathap’s technical knowledge on drones rather than debunking his other claims. Darshan did not want to let go of the opportunity to check Prathap’s technical know-how on drone amidst all the other noise. He asked the 22-year-old “Drone Boy” to explain the system of ‘Drag and lift’, an essential concept concerning drones and aeronautics.
Darshan said he was a researcher of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering from Tokyo, studying at one of the imperial universities of Japan, which is considered to be the Ivy leagues of Japan.
However, Prathap not only failed to respond to his questions but also said that the show was not the right place and time to discuss such technical topics. He also said that he would respond to Darshan’s questions at a later date by communicating him through a mail.
The Japan visit of the “Drone Boy”
Prathap shows his passport and visa to Japan, as a proof that he had indeed gone to Japan and participated in the expo in Tokyo.
The show also contacted another person, who had helped Prathap with money during his Tokyo visit. Prathap asked him to confirm that he had helped Prathap, which he confirmed, saying that he had helped Prathap as he was struggling to communicate with taxi driver due to language issue, and he also gave him some money. Prathap sought to use this testimony to prove that he had actually visited Japan, and therefore his claim of winning awards also true.
But the fact is, OpIndia report never said that he didn’t visit Tokyo. In fact, we had found that he had visited an expo in Japan where he had got himself photographed with commercially made drones at an expo, which were later circulated as drones made by him. Therefore, whether he visited Japan and attended expos is not a matter of debate. But there is still no proof any drone made by him and any award won by him, and the organisers of the award have denied issuing the awards.
The curious case of Prathap’s visit to 87 countries and French citizenship
In a speech delivered by Prathap, he had claimed that he had visited nearly 87 countries in the past to exhibit his drones and deliver lectures in different universities. As the anchor showed one of his old speech videos, where he had claimed of possessing four passports, the 22-year-old ‘scientist’ said that he had erred yet again in saying that he had four passports and clarified that he had only two passports. If that claim is correct, it is a crime to have multiple passports, and India does not allow dual citizenship.
During the show, another video of Prathap was also telecast in which he had claimed that the French government had offered him a citizenship considering his achievements. When questioned about the fact of the matter, Prathap confessed that he had lied about it.
The 22-year-old drone “Drone Boy” said that it was not the French government which had offered him the citizenship but a third-party individual who had promised him of helping to obtain French citizenship if he ever settles in France.
Prathap claims to have studies 70,000 research paper, delivered talks in NASA
In one of his speeches, Prathap had claimed that he had studied more than 70,000 research papers in the last two years. As the anchor questioned the veracity of such a ridiculous claim, the “Drone Boy” defended his statements by stating that he only read the abstracts of the research papers and not the research paper in entirety.
If analysed closely, Prathap’s claim of studying 70,000 research papers in a span of two years defies logic as it turns out, if it is believed, he claims to have studied close to 95 papers in a day.
Prathap had also stated that he had visited NASA John F Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, United States to deliver a lecture and also claimed of delivering lectures in universities such as Oxford university of United Kingdom, Stanford University of USA. However, he later said that he never claimed to have done so but delivered presentation at these places and not lectures.
During the entire show, the “Drone Boy” Prathap went on to claim that all his proofs were in his email and could not be disclosed due to non-disclosure agreements.
As we have seen, Prathap failed to show any drone built by him, and gave bizarre explanations for not showing them. He showed one photograph of a drone which is built by a German company. And the organisations from whom he has claimed to have received awards and medals have denied the existence of such awards and medals.
A study on Muslim women in Northeast Delhi, the region in the national capital that had witnessed severe communal riots in February, conducted by the Delhi Minorities Commission dispels the narrative of ‘Muslims under threat’ quite effectively. The report was edited by Zafarul Islam-Khan, the controversial chief of the Commission who had made incendiary comments recently.
The report says that 592 of the 600 women surveyed said that people from other communities did not discriminate against them. Only 8 said they did. Furthermore, the eight that did say they were discriminated against admitted that only few people from other communities discriminated against them while they had very cordial relationships with the rest.
Source: Delhi Minorities Commission Report
The report states, “Only a very thin minority (1.3%) of the respondents said that other community persons discriminate against them on the basis of religion, while the rest (98.7%) respondents did not experience any discrimination from other community persons on the basis of religion. The respondents who felt discrimination on the basis of religion from other community persons said that very few individuals from other communities discriminated against them while the rest of them had very cordial relationship.”
The report further says that of the 600 women surveyed, 560 of them said that people from other communities are cordial with them while only 40 answered the question in the negative. The report said, “A vast majority (93.3%) of the respondents were of the opinion that people of other community are cordial with them. However, there were 6.7% of the respondents who opined that people of other community are not cordial with them and they are not talking with them in right manner or language.”
Source: Delhi Minorities Commission report
The findings of the study commissioned by the Delhi Minorities Commission dispels the narrative that its Chairman has been trying to create. Recently, while certain misguided characters in the Arab world were trying to persecute Hindus living in Gulf countries, Zafarul Islam-Khan had thanked Kuwait for “standing with the Indian Muslims” and attacked Hindus by referring to them as “Hindutva bigots”, who according to him miscalculated the reaction of the Arab world about the “persecution of Muslims in India”.
“Mind you, bigots, Indian Muslims have opted until now not to complain to the Arab and Muslim world about your hate campaigns and lynchings and riots. The day they are pushed to do that, bigots will face avalanche,” he added. Subsequently, he was booked on charges of sedition by Delhi Police. However, he refused to apologise for his remarks and said that he stands firmly by his comments.
Earlier today, Congress prince Rahul Gandhi had released his much-publicised video. As expected he went on a rant, indirectly blaming India in an apparent litany of complaints against the current government’s foreign policies.
The three-minute video clip showed Rahul Gandhi bringing up the Ladakh standoff issue and lay the blame squarely on India’s soldiers. Gandhi almost seemed to be arguing that for China’s expansionist, dominant policies, that is generating protests globally, India is to be blamed. Gandhi effectively stated that the reason for China’s aggression is India’s ‘current’ foreign policies.
Foreign minister S Jaishankar has replied to Rahul Gandhi’s video. In a series of tweets, Jaishankar dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s insinuations and lies. Explaining why and how Gandhi scion’s assertions are wrong, the former diplomat stated, “Our major partnerships are stronger and international standing is higher. Witness the regular summits and informal meetings with the US, Russia, Europe, and Japan.”
The Union Minister also stated that now, India engages China on more equal terms politically.
.@RahulGandhi hs questions on Foreign Policy. Here are some answers:
•Our major partn’ships are strongr & internat’l standng higher.Witness regular summits&informal meetngs wth #US#Russia#Europe & #Japan.India engages #China on more equal terms politically.
Jaishankar further stated, “We speak our mind more openly now. On CPEC, on BRI, on South China Sea, on UN-sanctioned terrorists, etc.”
Border infrastructure
The foreign minister also highlighted the border infrastructure imbalance that the nation has been burdened with during all these years of Congress rule. He stated that Rahul Gandhi should compare the government’s expenses on border infra in the 2008-14 period to the 2014-20 period. He stated that the border infra budget has been increased by 280%, road construction works by 32%, bridges by 99% and 6 times the number of tunnels have been added.
Ties with neighbours
The minister also slammed Rahul Gandhi’s comments about the relationships with neighbours that the Gandhi scion had insinuated to have deteriorated during the current government’s rule.
Giving the example of Sri Lanka, Jaishankar said, the Hambantota port agreement between China and Sri Lanka was concluded in 2008, while the UPA government did nothing about it. He further added that India has managed to transform relationships with the Maldives in recent years, after watching president Nasheed’s government being toppled in 2012. Relationship with the Maldives has been revived, he stated.
Regarding Bangladesh, Jaishankar stated that a boundary dispute with the country was settled in 2015, furthering improved ties and opening paths to more development and transit. “And terrorists no longer find safe haven there”, he added.
Regarding Nepal, Jaishankar stated that PM Modi became the first Indian Prime Minster to visit there after 17 years. He added that Nepalin citizens will assert how India has contributed to the development of power, fuel, housing, hospital, roads projects in the country.
He further added that Bhutan has found a stronger security and development partner in India. And unlike 2013, they do not worry about cooking gas anymore, said Jaishankar, hinting about the time when the UPA government had soured relationships with Bhutan by cutting kerosene and LPG subsidies.
He furthered that under the current Indian regime, Afghanistan has seen the completion of major projects like the Salma Dam and Parliament.
Pakistan and the difference between UPA and NDA
Rahul had skipped discussing India’s ties with Pakistan. However, Jaishankar reminded him that Pakistan has definitely noticed the difference between India’s response during the UPA era and the NDA era. Mentioning the surgical strike post-Uri attacks and Balakot airstrikes that had delivered major shocks to Pakistan, Jaishankar asked Rahul Gandhi to compare the response with the UPA-era response to 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Sharm-al Sheikh and Havana incidents.
Manmohan Singh’s blunders
It is notable here that in Sharm-al Sheikh, Egypt, during a summit of the NAM in 2009, a foolhardy joint statement by Manmohan Singh with the Pakistani PM had effectively legitimised Pakistan’s allegations that India has been interfering in Balochistan.
In Havana, Cuba, in 2006, another major blunder by Manmohan Singh had resulted in India acknowledging Pakistan as a “victim of terrorism”. It was widely criticised as the ‘Havana handshake’ by Indian media and policy watchers.
On the 17th of July, 2012 Vishal Kumar, a 19-year old ABVP karyakarta, was murdered in Kerala by goons associated with the Campus Front of India. He was one of the three ABVP karyakartas who suffered injuries during the unprovoked attack on them. The said attack occurred the previous day during the welcome to the first-year graduation students by the ABVP unit of the Chengannur Christian College at Alappuzha district.
Reportedly, things were going on smoothly until a group of Muslims from outside came to the college gate and started abusing the ABVP and Goddess Saraswati. Vishal Kumar was among the indivudlals who attempted to diffuse the tension. However, all of a sudden, the group of Muslims started attacking them with knives, daggers and other such weapons.
The police later arrested one Ansar Faizal in connection with the murder. Nazeem, the college unit secretary of the Campus Front, and Shafeeque, a Popular Front sympathiser, were also arrested in connection with the gruesome incident. Five years later, as per reports, a chargesheet was finally filed in the matter. 20 person were indicted in the incident.
As per the chargesheet, the prime accused were Nasim, Ansar Faisal, Shefeeq, Aasif Mohammed, Shameer Rowthar MS, Shamir Rowthar, Afzal, Altaj and Shibin Habeeb. “As Vishal’s murder is related to terror elements, the local police will not be able to bring out the truth. A separate investigation team can only bring out the truth,” ABVP state secretary M Aneesh Kumar had said just over two weeks after the murder.
It is believed that Vishal Kumar was targeted because he had strengthened the network of the Sangh and had started new Shakhas as well. Vishal Kumar was born in Saudi Arabia and completed his preliminary studies in the United Kingdom. However, when he had reached a certain age, he requested his parents that he be allowed to come to India and continue his education here.
His parents were, quite obviously, not keen on the idea, however, Vishal was adamant that he wished to serve the nation through the Sangh. He was also supporting the education of four other students from poor backgrounds to pursue their studies. Even in his family, his political beliefs were an oddity. His father had confessed that it was his son who changed his perception of the Sangh.
The Campus Front of India, of course, is the students’ wing of the radical Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI). There have been numerous crimes that its members have been engaged in. In one instance, PFI members had chopped off the hands of a Kerala Professor for allegedly insulting Islamic Prophet Mohammed.
The PFI is also accused by the National Investigation Agency for being involved in love-jihad cases in Kerala. Another Popular Front of India (PFI) leader is also accused of his involvement in the heinous murder of RSS activist Rudresh in Bengaluru in 2016. Apart from a litany of such crimes, the PFI is also suspected of involvement in the anti-Hindu riots in Delhi earlier this year.
Vishal Kumar was another bright soul whose life was cut too short by the scourge of Radical Islam. He finds himself in a long list of Sangh karyakartas in Kerala who have been murdered by either leftists or Islamists due to their political inclinations. Even to this day, the rampant murder of Sangh activists continue with impunity. And unfortunately, true justice in such cases are few and far in between.
The work of the Union Government, in earnest, is a collective endeavour. However, sometimes, some departments are silent war horses that keep working, delivering their best even when the nation is facing a crisis. And the performance level of a certain ministry during challenging times is usually a reflection of the dedication of the minister who is in charge. The Indian Railways and Railways Minister Piyush Goyal are the best examples.
When the whole country came to a standstill due to lockdown, almost dormant and in wraps because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Railways did their job as usual but at their best. With all humility, the minister in his speech in the India Foundation Dialogue 70 (conducted on 14th July via CISCO Webex) said, the entire credit goes to his staff i.e. Railway employees. He also said that they worked devotedly, day and night, for the country despite the fear and threat to life and health due to the coronavirus.
Minister @PiyushGoyal addressed @IndFoundation Dialogue – 17 & discussed the role of Railways in COVID management.
Through continuous operations, Railways kept the heart of the nation beating during the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/V9chRzwvX0
— Piyush Goyal Office (@PiyushGoyalOffc) July 14, 2020
Indian Railways: The lifeline of the country
During the lockdown, the entire country had uninterrupted power supply. How could we get that privilege? It was because of Railways. The coal needed for the (thermal) electricity, was moved to power plants non-stop by freight trains even during the Janata curfew that was followed by the lockdown. Did we worry about water during the lockdown? No. For, the electricity needed for pumping the water was generated as the coal was provided with no hindrance by Railways. Hence, it goes without saying, that electricity and water supply, both the essential commodities, were transported and delivered by the railways through efficiently managed freight services.
Indian Railways-Lifeline to the nation
During last four days, working 24/7, we have loaded more then one lakh wagons of items pertaining to essential supplies like foodgrain,coal, petroleum products, edible oil, onion,fruits & vegetables, sugar,salt, milk etc#IndiaFightsCoronapic.twitter.com/zVEpUAt2PP
Apart from that, Railways had to bear a heavy burden as the other means of transport came to a halt. It had to take the burden of carrying food-grains, vegetables, petrol, coal, medicine, parcel service etc; to name a few, to remote areas to serve people. When the whole country was hibernating, the Railway employees were awake serving. They are also mortals. They too were and are scared of coronavirus, they too have the families that depend on them. Yet, they worked courageously like doctors and other medical assistants. “Never for the fear of pandemic, did they say that they don’t work”, said the minister extolling their services.
Railways ensured there is no shortage anywhere
Did we have any food-shortage during the lockdown? No. Did any farmer complain of lack of fertilizers? No. Was there any complaints of shortage and non-availability of essential goods, medicines and other items during the lockdown? No. Indian Railways efficiently supplied to all the corners of the country.
Not just food, water, fuel and other essentials, the Railways also ensured that medicines, medical supplies and protective gear needed for the fight against coronavirus are delivered all over the country. Railways had undertaken almost the entire burden of keeping supply wheels turning. From food, medicines, oils, coal to construction supplies, the railways kept working tirelessly, employing thousands of employees, workers and delivered a consistent, reliable perfomance in the time of need.
#NewsAlert – Railways becomes the biggest mover of essential supplies in the country supplying medicines, food grains & even cement in different parts of the country.
Initially, when the lockdown was clamped there was a severe shortage of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for Railway employees. That did not deter them. Railways worked and produced on their own the PPE required, without causing any inconvenience or burden on the Centre for the outside supply. The Railway factories produced masks, sanitizers and other PPE for their employees and for the Railway hospitals. In that way Railways became Atmanirbhar.
Above all, to help the coronavirus-infected persons, railway coaches were converted into isolation wards (that was an innovative idea of the PM). This way, around 5000 coaches occupying 8000 beds were arranged. Special parcel-trains were put in place to carry medicine, textiles, fruits, vegetables to every nook and corner of the country. This will be continued post-COVID too, says the minister. These freight-services earlier used to run at 23 Km/hour, now they are at an increased high speed of 40-45 Km/hour. So, a lot of economic activity is coming back to Indian Railways. As per the minister’s saying: ‘Railways is the people’s property and it belongs to the people’’.
Shramik Special Trains
These trains carried lakhs of migrant workers from the cities where they were stranded to their respective home states. Meals and water were provided during their journey by Railways free of cost. Health check-up was done by the respective state –governments before boarding the train and they were quarantined after getting down in their native states. Ticket-fare was borne 85% by the state, the rest by the Railways.
On the first day of operations, the Indian Railways ran 145 Shramik Special Trains and took nearly 2 lakh stranded labourers to their home states.
Railways finished pending projects during lockdown
Minister Piyush Goyal had recently informed that the railways have finished over 200 pending projects during the lockdown. Some projects required a complete or partial shutdown of some of the busiest railway stations in India, which is practically impossible in normal days. However, the lockdown brought a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Railway, and the ministry took full advantage of the lockdown.
These projects include yard remodelling, repair and registering of old bridges, doubling and electrifying rail lines, and renewing scissor crossovers. Some of the projects were pending for several years, and there were some unfinished projects as well. All these together created bottlenecks for the Railways, which has now been cleared to a large extent.
The future
Green Railways: electrification of railway lines paves the way for this. Solar energy could also be used to get environmentally friendly Green Railways. This is a fight against environmental pollution. India, in a short time, is likely to produce 20 gig watt of solar power across the country. By 2030, India would be the world’s first Railway Global Citizen, as envisioned by the minister.
Privatization: Competition brings quality. Just like the telecom sector, privatization of some of the busiest railway routes would bring good-infrastructure. Private trains usually run much faster, coaches could be made in India as a part of Atmanirbhar Bharat, using better technology.
Electrification: Yesterday, addressing an event organised by the CII, Goyal stated that the Indian Railways is to be fully electrified in the next 3.5 years. Goyal said that the government is promoting Make in India for renewable energy and is fully committed to making the industry Atmanirbhar. He added that by 2030, indian Railways will be the world’s first ‘clean energy railways’.
On 12th of July 2020, the puppet chief minister of Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan Alyani in a Tweet posted three pictures of Gwadar Marine Drive claiming that “ #Gwader marine drive after completion of road, streetlights, parks and floodlights on the beach.” After his tweet, the Baloch social media activists responded to that tweet and exposed the blatant lies of puppet CM and shared the other side of the story. The side which is always hidden in the Pakistani media and no one dares to talk about that because talking about the truth of Pakistani and Chinese expansionists design in occupied Balochistan is dangerous and life-threatening.
The Baloch social media activists shared the pictures of the locals of Gwadar who are deprived of drinking water and other basic necessities of life. Gwadar is claimed to be the hub of the billion dollars China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, the city which not only covers the long coastal belt of Balochistan but it also has a long trading gateway throughout the region and world. But the dissidents of the district Gwadar are deprived of basic needs of life such as Water, Food, Electricity and employment.
Pakistan and China have been using their armed forces to continue the project which is known as the “Project of Death and Destruction” for the local people of Gwadar and Balochistan. According to many international media outlets, China is planning to occupy the Gwadar Port and the whole city to use this port and sea zone as one of China’s military bases to become the next superpower of the region and to ensure that region is under the control of China. On the other hand, the people of Gwadar and Balochistan have been protesting and resisting China’s involvement in Gwadar and they demanded that China should stop all their investments in Balochistan.
Since both China and Pakistan have a record of disrespecting and disregarding the human rights of indigenous people and butchering those people who stand up against their expansionist designs. The Baloch armed group have decided to take the war against China and Pakistan into a next level and they include suicide attacks “Fidayeen” in their latest strategy to stop the deadly Chinese investments in Balochistan.
The latest example of such attacks from Baloch armed groups is the attack on Pakistan stock exchange in Karachi. The Baloch armed group (BLA) not only managed to attack the KSE, but they have also highlighted their anger and they have sent a message to China and Pakistan that until and unless the Balochistan is free from occupation, no one is allowed to be part of the plundering Balochistan’s wealth and resources in the name of development or any other projects. After the attack on KSE, many false claims came from Pakistan and their master China that the attack was planned and logistically supported by India and they were cleverly running their side of the story into the media and in front of the people and world, until the attack was claimed by a well known Baloch militant group Baloch Liberation Amry, the group which was also involved in attacking Chinese consulate in Karachi and Gwadar PC hotel and carrying out a suicide attack on Chinese engineers in Dalbandin, Balochistan couple of years back.
The current pictures of Gwadar which were shared by the Puppet chief minister of Balochistan are nothing but face-saving measures for the Pakistani establishment to ensure China that their interests are saved and development projects are still continuing despite such attacks. Many Pakistani intellectuals and analysts believe that China is lacking trust on Pakistani security forces and the military leadership. They are now demanding full proof of security and stability in the region of Chinese interests. In contrast to what Pakistani state is promising to China, the continued attacks of Baloch armed groups on Chinese interests in and outside Balochistan are not only building pressure on Chinese regime but it is also making it impossible for China to continue their billion-dollar projects.
That is why Pakistani state has now once again started the policy of collective punishment in Balochistan and they are raiding the houses of Baloch social and political activists abducting and torturing their families and in some cases even killing them in cold blood.
The Pakistani state who does not give access to internet services to the people of Gwadar and other Balochistan are still in shock that how the Baloch people are managing to tell the world about the facts and the ground realities. Just like any other occupier, the Pakistani state with the help of the Chinese regime has forgotten that it is impossible to control the people with force and oppression. This might work for some years or in some cases may be for some decades but not forever. Today the youth of Balochistan are not only educated but they also have an understanding of their rights and they are well aware of their enemies and their suppressive ideas. That is why the youth of Balochistan are on the streets of Balochistan on a daily basis and demanding their basic rights and protesting against any form of human rights violations this includes abductions, kill and dump, military operations, state-backed death squads and the roaming free in Balochistan. On the other hand Pakistani state and their media houses are continuously propagating against these innocent and peaceful protestors and the family members of Baloch Missing Persons and calling them traitors.
In this crucial time, it is the responsibility of the civilised world that they should intervene in Balochistan and make sure that no more voices of Baloch are being brutally attacked and suppressed or the Baloch youth are forced to take extreme actions because the government of Pakistan and the military establishment has always treated Balochistan as their colony and now with the help of China the Baloch nation is living in a fear of losing their lands and turning to a minority in their own historical motherland.
Because of the fears and suppression, they have decided to sacrifice their lives to send a message to the world that we are the only people who are fighting against the Islamic regime of Pakistan and along with that they are also standing in front of Chinese Dragon.
