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73 years after the Islamic State of Pakistan was born, Islamabad to get its first Hindu temple and crematorium

OpIndia Staff
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73 years after the Islamic State of Pakistan was born, Islamabad to get its first Hindu temple and crematorium

After over 7 decades since the inception of Pakistan, the minority Hindus living there are about to get their first temple and crematorium in the capital city of Islamabad. This would mean that the Hindus in Pakistan’s Islamabad would be allowed to offer their religious rituals without having to travel out of the city anymore.

The Shri Krishna Mandir, as named by the Islamabad Hindu Panchayat, would be built on a 20,000 sq ft plot in Islamabad’s H-9 sector area. The temple complex will have a cremation site as well. The plot on which the temple is being made was allotted to the Hindu Panchayat by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in 2017. However, due to some formalities, like the site map’s approval by the CDA etc. the construction work was stuck for the last 3 years.

The ground breaking ceremony has performed by Parliamentary Secretary on Human Rights, Lal Chand Malhi on June 23 (Tuesday) in Islamabad’s H-9 sector area and the construction work is expected to begin soon. According to Religious Affairs Minister, Pir Noorul Haq Qadri, the Pakistani government will bear the construction cost, presently estimated to be around Rs 10 crore.

While addressing the gathering at the ground breaking ceremony, Lal Chand Malhi said: “The Hindu community in Islamabad has been demanding a temple for a long time now. The population has also increased while many Hindu temple structures in the capital have been abandoned,” he said.

“Besides, there is no crematorium in Islamabad,” added Malhi.

If the said project is completed as being promised by the Pakistani government it will bring some relief for the minority Hindus who have, since ages, been oppressed, ill-treated, abducted, tortured, raped, persecuted and rendered homeless in the terror state of Pakistan. The atrocities meted out on these minorities is a testimony to the abject failure of the Pakistani government in safeguarding their rights.

Religious persecution and forced conversion of minorities in Pakistan

Religious persecution of minorities continues to be rampant in Pakistan. While the Imran Khan government makes tall claims regarding the safety and security of minorities in his country, Pakistan has been notoriously indulging in the persecution of religious minorities. Recently, a minor Hindu girl named Reshaman from Sindh was kidnapped by Wazir Hussain on June 18 and was later converted and forcibly married to him.

There have been many cases of abduction, rape, murder and forceful conversions of Hindu girls in Pakistan’s Sindh region. Allegations have been made that the powerful Islamic leader Mian Mithoo oversees the systematic abduction, conversions and forced marriage of minor Hindu girls in the region. The cleric is said to enjoy strong political patronage in the islamic nation.

Despite repeated appeals by the Indian government, Imran Khan’s government has been turning a blind eye to the atrocities being meted out at the minority Hindus in Pakistan. Recently, a slum which housed impoverished Hindu families he city of Bahawalpur in Punjab, Pakistan, was reportedly destroyed by the government.

In a disturbing video that has now gone viral on social media, a bulldozer can be seen razing the homes of Hindus to the ground while the women and children beg for their shelter to be spared. The demolition exercise was carried out under the watch of the Housing Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema. He is a member of the cabinet in Imran Khan’s government.

UP government demolishes illegal dental college building owned by SP leader Iqbal Ali

OpIndia Staff
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UP government demolishes illegal dental college building owned by SP leader Iqbal Ali

Yogi Adityanath government in UP is running a state-wide campaign against the illegal occupation on government lands, under which the administration demolished an under-construction building of a Dental college owned by Iqbal Ali, former state minister of Samajwadi Party. As per the reports, the Sadar District administration demolished the rear side of the Dental Medical College that was constructed illegally on government’s land. The demolition process started on Tuesday and it continued till late Wednesday evening. SDM Pallavi Mishra led the demolition drive. The administration had sent a notice around four months ago asking the college owners to remove the illegally built structure, but instead of removing the illegal building, they encroached land owned by Irrigation and Water Resources Department.

Shahlabh Mani Tripathi, states spokesperson, BJP shared the information on his official twitter handle in which he said that Iqbal Ali’s college building was built on illegally occupied land during the previous government. The administration has demolished it. 

Additional District Magistrate Amarpal Singh said that the land was in the name of Amjad Ali, father of geomafia Iqbal Ali. They encroached government’s land around their property to build the dental college. During the previous SP government, there were numerous complaints against Iqbal Ali, who encroached lands around Lucknow and surrounding districts using his political influence.

Inaction of previous government helped land mafia

Despite the complaints, the administration and police did not take any action during the previous govt fearing backlash from the SP government. District Magistrate Abhishek Prakash said that the administration would not spare anyone who has encroached the government’s land. There are strict orders to the officials to take strict action against such encroachments.           

Xitler is not just a wordplay, here are some things common between Hitler and Xi Jinping

Santanu Chakraborty
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Xitler is not just a wordplay, here are some things common between Hitler and Xi Jinping

It was perhaps Benjamin Franklin who said that “Glass, China, and reputation are easily cracked and never well mended.”

Franklin would have felt proud that his prognosis of China is holding even after three centuries. China has built a reputation of invincibility and brute force on the outside, but from inside the superstructure seems to be made of glass. Glass façades look splendid from outside, but often cracks up due to heat from inside.

China’s reputation of invincibility has grown under the leadership of President Xi Jinping as the nation has expanded its control over Eurasia, Africa, and the western hemisphere. China has managed to use its global clout to buy out or copy the industrial and technological properties of other countries. While the world was appreciating its rise, China was discreetly co-opting the minds of the western intelligentsia.

Fifth-generation Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping is the first to hold all three of the nation’s top offices — President of the People’s Republic of China for life, General Secretary of the CCP, and Chairman of Central Military Commission and has become the most influential leader in today’s time.

Xi has influenced the political sphere of China in such a way so that his political thoughts have been inducted in the party and state constitutions. Some compare him to the ruthless Mao Zedong, one of the most authoritarian rulers of modern times. Some critics say that Xi Jinping has surpassed Mao and now competes with the world’s most ruthless dictator of all time — Adolf Hitler.

One cannot fail to notice how much President Xi reminds of Adolf Hilter. Like Hitler, Xi Jinping has crafted a cult of personality and projects himself as one who has been born to bring back the glory of past times. Xi projects his party leadership as the emperor who can bring back the glory of imperial times and take revenge of the West for opium wars just like Hitler used to promise in the 1920s and 1930s to bring back “racial supremacy” and “puritanism”. Like Xi, Hitler combined the offices of chancellor and the president to create the post of “Führer und Reichskanzler” in 1934.

Imperialist Xi

Xi Jinping and the CCP are almost on a Hitlerite expansion spree as they think they have the “moral right” to acquire the lands of “lesser” races. The CCP has systematically destroyed all traditions of the other pre-existing races of mainland China except the Han Chinese. They have eradicated ancient cultures of Tibet, Turkic people, Uighur, Hui Manchus, Mongol, and Yi people. The CCP is alleged to carry out practices of running concentration camps and organ harvesting. The CCP has also built up illegal islands in the South China sea and increasingly taunting its naval neighbors. The dictatorial regime has been accused of using mass surveillance, mass incarceration, censorship, and abuse of human rights.

Sudden meteoric rise

Xi’s uncanny similarity with Hitler does not end here. Like Hitler, Xi’s meteoric rise to the top has been the stuff of fables. Xi was persecuted in his youth being banished by Mao to till the land in a remote village. That experience may have turned Xi to be a stoic, hardened dictator. “Fat in January, thin in February; half-dead in March and April. We say a sword is made on a grinding stone and man is forged in hardship,” Xi wrote in his autographical essay in 1998 reminiscing about the time he spent in  — After moving to Munich after his father’s death, Hitler lived in poverty.

One by one, Xi has succeeded in eliminating all the top CCP leaders who could pose a challenge to him in the future. Xi has removed some of them from important posts, banished some from the party, and foisted corruption charges against the rest, a script that Hitler also followed. Within five years, Xi cleaned the CCP of all dissenters and usurped absolute power, like Hitler.

Ruthless mass murderer

Like Hitler, Xi is allegedly using brute force to persecute Uighurs in concentration camps in Xinjiang. The President of the United States of America Donald Trump has accused China under Xi for being complicit in the rapid spread of COVID 19 across the world and the consequent death of millions of people.

Geopolitical alineation

Hitler was unable to forge ties with like-minded nations before the start of World War II due to his agenda of hate and racism.  Hitler’s arrogance and ruthlessness drew potential allies away from him, thus sealing the outcome of World war II against the great dictator. Currently, the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Australia, and India have expressed displeasure with China’s aggressive territorial expansionism and are set to counter the dragon nation at multilateral forums.

Army morale weak

Hitler had collapsed the distinction between the army and the executive. So the army was not allowed to operate and devise war strategies. In China too, there has been a growing schism between the philosophy of CCP and the Army. On the one hand, the Chinese Army is weak in combat experience, and on the other decades of reckless territorial expansionism has weakened its zeal to fight. By contrast, the Indian Army is high on emotions and equipped with age-old qualities of valor and nationalism. Moreover, Indian soldiers have shown their superior combat skills in both the world wars and as recently in the Kargil war. Thus it is no secret that the rearguard action of Indian troops in Galwan caught the Chinese totally off guard.

The incursion at Galwan was a tactical mistake and it showed the chinks in Xi’s armory. Also, the reported high number of Chinese troop casualties, hushed up by Beijing, may make it difficult for any truce to be long-lasting. Xi’s men will surely return to Ladakh to avenge the humiliation. India has proved to be the epitaph for many a foreign aggressor and General Xi may not be an exception.

Note: Article co-authored by Saptorshee Kanto Chakraborty.

Nepali Congress passes resolution in parliament urging the government to reclaim land illegally encroached by China

OpIndia Staff
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Nepali Congress passes resolution in parliament urging the government to reclaim land illegally encroached by China

Nepali Congress, the main opposition party in Nepal, passed a resolution on Wednesday in the parliament urging the government to take back land China has encroached illegally. The resolution stated that Nepal and China share a 1414.88-kilometre-long border, as mentioned in the geographical and political map of Nepal marked in the national emblem. There were 98 pillars across the border out of which few pillars are missing while some had been moved towards Nepal. In various districts including Dolakha, Humla, Sankhuwasabha, Rasuwa, Sindhupalchowk and Gorkha, China has encroached 64 hectares of land that belong to Nepal.

The resolution stated, “The boundary pillar numbers 35, 37 and 38 located in the border of Gorkha and pillar number 62 located in Nampa Bhanjyang of Solukhmbu are missing. As China has shifted pillar number 35 of Gorkha towards Nepal, Rui village lying in the northern part of Gorkha has been encroached by China and 72 households now been under Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Similarly, 18 households located at Jiujiu of Darchula districts have been encroached by China.” The resolution urged the government to use diplomatic means to take back the land and inform the house about the real situation.

The recent case of Kodari village

Kodari is a small village that shares a border with Tibet-China. According to recent reports, China has claimed it as a part of Zhangmu province. In a report prepared by Nepal’s Survey Department of Agriculture Ministry, China has taken over 11 places in Nepal. The report suggested that China is diverting rivers that act as natural borders to increase its territory.

In the report, the department claimed that a total of ten hectares of land in the Humla district is under China’s control. Further, six hectares in Rasuwa have been encroached as construction works caused diversions in Jambu Khola, Bhurjak and Sinjin. The report stated that there is a high probability that China may bring Armed Police in these areas over a period of time to develop observation posts.

As per the locals in Kodari village, they have been asked by the Chinese army to leave the village and move to somewhere else.

Two more Jamia students questioned by Delhi Police over their roles in anti-CAA violence and anti-Hindu riots

OpIndia Staff
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Two more Jamia students questioned by Delhi Police over their roles in anti-CAA violence and anti-Hindu riots

A day after riots accused Safoora Zargar was granted bail under ‘humanitarian consideration’, two other Jamia students have been called for questioning by the Delhi Police for their alleged role in the anti-CAA protests and the Anti-Hindu riots in Delhi.

According to the reports, two Jamia students Suyash Tripathi and Arsalan Ahmed had been called by Delhi Police on Wednesday and were questioned regarding their involvement in the anti-CAA protests and the conspiracy behind the Anti-Hindu riots that claimed more than 50 lives.

The two persons from the Jamia Millia Islamia university had been sent notices to appear before the Delhi Police’s crime branch. Suyash Tripathi is a law student while Arsalan Ahmed is from the Department of Social Studies.

The controversial Jamia Millia Unversity has been at the forefront of the anti-CAA protests and was also the epicentre of the large scale violence in the national capital.

Arrests made in the case so far

For their involvement in the Anti-CAA riots and the subsequent Anti-Hindu riots, several students from Jamia Millia University and other ultra-left activists have been booked by the Delhi police.

The President of Jamia Alumni Association Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, Meeran Haider, Jamia Millia Islamia University students Asif Iqbal Tanha, Gulfisha Khatoon, suspended AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain, former student leader Umar Khalid have also been charged under the anti-terror law in the case.

Far-left ‘Pinjra Tod’ activist Natasha Narwal was also booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for her role in inciting the anti-Hindu communal riots in Northeast Delhi in February that left 53 people dead and more than 400 injured.

T-Series faces backlash after uploading Atif Aslam’s song on YouTube, apologises and promises not to promote Pakistanis in future

OpIndia Staff
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T-Series faces backlash after uploading Atif Aslam’s song on YouTube, apologises and promises not to promote Pakistanis in future

Music company T-Series had uploaded a song of Pakistani singer Atif Aslam on its YouTube channel on 23rd June. It was a cover of the song ‘Kinna Sona’ composed initially by Meet Brothers for the film Marjaavan, starring Sidharth Malhotra and Tara Sutaria.

After the song was uploaded, angered netizens tagged T-series in multiple tweets urging them to remove the song from all of their platforms. The company has removed the YouTube video with the Atf Aslam song and has issued an apology for promoting the Pakistani.

It is notable here that the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) and All India Cine Workers Association (AICWA) have banned Pakistani artists from working in India. The move had come last year after the Pakistani government banned the release of Indian movies in their country.

Backlash and a warning from MNS

A hashtag ‘#TakeDownAtifAslamSong’ trended on social media to urge the company to remove the song. Ameya Khopkar, MNS Cinema Wing president, issued a warning via tweet. He asked T-series to take down Pakistani sing Atif Aslam’s song from the youtube channel immediately or face strict action.

Apology by T-Series

T-series removed the song and apologized, saying, “It has been brought to our notice that the said song has been sung by Atif Aslam and this song was put up on the YouTube channel of T-Series by one of our employees from the promotion team. He was unaware of his action and erred while putting up the song.” The music label added, “We condemn our mistake and apologise for the same. We assure you that henceforth we will neither release, nor promote the song on any platform of T-Series. Meanwhile, we are removing the said song from our YouTube channel. We also assure you that henceforth we will not be releasing or promoting work by any Pakistani artistes.” The apology letter was issued in Marathi, addressing to Raj Thackeray.

T-series and series of controversies

Atif Aslam had condemned the abrogation of Article 370 last year that led to a backlash from netizens in India. In recent times, T-series has been involved in a controversy with singer Sonu Nigam. He accused the company of mistreating outsiders. The company also received backlash from as the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), and the All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) as these associations have banned Pakistani artists from working in India.

Congress leader Jitu Patwari equates the birth of girl child to misfortune in his tweet, outrage over misogynist remarks

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Jitu Patwari equates the birth of girl child to misfortune in his tweet, outrage over misogynist remarks

Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Jitu Patwari stoked a major controversy on Wednesday by making vile misogynistic statements against the birth of the girl child in his attempt to attack the ruling BJP government.

Taking to Twitter, former Minister Jitu Patwari said that in an attempt to give birth to a son called ‘Vikas’, the Modi government has already gave birth to five daughters namely demonetisation, GST, inflation, unemployment and economic slowdown.

Image Source: Sahadev Rajput

Through his tweet, Jitu Patwari attempted to draw an analogy between the births of the girl child, which he meant as ‘failures’ and depicted the birth of a boy as a ‘hope’.

Jitu Patwari’s sexist remarks against the girl child, in an attempt to attack the Modi government, soon backfired as social media users slammed the former Madhya Pradesh minister for such an insensitive tweet against the birth of the girl child.

As outrage against him grew much stronger, the Congress leader deleted his tweet.

BJP leaders hit out, complaint lodged at NCW

Following the sexist remarks, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan hit out at Congress MLA Jitu Patwari and said, “At a time when the entire nation is proud of the sacrifices made by the likes of Rani Durgavati, Congress is busy insulting our daughters.”

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also demanded the expulsion of Patwari from Congress and demanded an apology from party’s interim president Sonia Gandhi.

“Till how long does the Congress will keep insulting daughters? This leader is the same Madam Sonia who drove your son on a motorcycle. Who gave him the right to insult daughters? Either Sonia Gandhi should apologise to the nation or oust Patwari for this act,” the Chief Minister said.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra also pointed out the controversial tweet by Jitu Patwari and approached the National Commission for Women against Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Jitu Patwari, saying his misogynistic remarks on Twitter project daughters as unwanted.

“Please take note of this highly misogynistic tweet of an elected representative which projects daughters as unwanted and in most regressive manner. This should not go unpunished,” he said.

Responding to Patra’s tweet, NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said she will seek an explanation from Patwari.

“Sad that these people with this kind of mindset are calling themselves leaders. What are they teaching to their followers I wonder. Will ask for an explanation from him for sure,” the NCW chief said.

Congress leader Jitu Patwari does an u-turn, regrets for making misogynistic comments

Hours after making an objectionable tweet against the birth of the girl child, Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Jitu Patwari on Wednesday took an u-turn to express regret over his remarks.

In his tweet expressing regret over his earlier remarks, Patwari said, “Modi ji broke the back of the country’s economy by demonetisation, GST, inflation, unemployment and recession! The public endured all this only in the hope of development. I regret if anyone’s sentiments have been hurt due to my tweet.”

“Daughters are worthy of worshiping. But BJP is trying to create controversy over one of my tweets, I would still like to insist that the entire country is still waiting for ‘Vikas’,” said Jitu Patwari in a follow-up tweet.

Rahul Gandhi’s outburst at CWC meet may have been scripted, per reports: Here is what happened and the possible reasons

OpIndia Staff
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Rahul Gandhi’s outburst at CWC meet may have been scripted, per reports: Here is what happened and the possible reasons

The Congress party held a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Tuesday, the 23rd of June 2020, where it was reported that a huge drama had unfolded with Rahul Gandhi throwing a fit at his party leaders and the clamour to reinstall him as the President of Congress grew louder. Now, it is being reported that the entire drama enacted by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi could have been scripted.

On Tuesday, during the CWC meeting, Rahul Gandhi had reportedly flown into a rage when he was questioned about the strategy being adopted by him post the India-China standoff. According to a report by Economic Times, Rahul Gandhi had thrown an animated tantrum when RPN Singh had suggested to Rahul Gandhi that he should not attack the Prime Minister personally while talking about the Galwan standoff.

“I am not scared of PM Modi. He can’t do anything to me. I will continue to criticise him. If people here have a problem with it, let CWC ask me to keep quiet,” Rahul Gandhi reported said to RPN Singh. In fact, according to the ET report, Rahul Gandhi also went on to accuse senior party leaders of pussyfooting on criticism of PM Modi insinuated that the ‘old guard’ was scared of PM Modi while the new guard, which is basically Rahul Gandhi was a “bold leader” who could take on PM Modi’s political might.

The Economic Times report says, “He found a ready backer in AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who said “barring Rahulji and a few”, the rest of the Congress leaders avoided direct criticism of PM Modi and Amit Shah”.

The drama did not stop there. Other than the fiasco of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra patting themselves on the back for abusing Prime Minister Modi, the CWC meeting saw Ashok Gehlot, Harish Rawat and youth wing chief BS Srinivas clamouring for the return of Rahul Gandhi as the Congress President, ousting Sonia Gandhi who is currently acting as the interim President.

As it turns out, it is now being reported that the entire episode during the CWC meeting could have been a scripted drama by the Rahul Gandhi – Priyanka Gandhi Vadra duo.

According to another report by the Economic Times, several senior Congress leaders feel that the outburst during the CWC meet could have been scripted by the Rahul Gandhi – Priyanka Gandhi Vadra duo. It is no secret that the Congress is fairly divided into the Rahul-team and the Sonia-team. There are several leaders who feel that only Sonia Gandhi can rightfully lead Congress while there are others who believe that the party needs aa ‘leader’ like Rahul Gandhi.

During the CWC meeting, the ET report indicates that suspicions are being raised about the drama being scripted because those being allowed to ask questions were meticulously decided by Team-Rahul. Reportedly, it was general secretary KC Venugopalan who had coordinated the meeting and decided who all should be specifically allowed to ask questions to Rahul Gandhi. Further, Rajiv Satav, Sushmita Dev and youth wing chief B Srinivas had first praised Rahul Gandhi over his relentless and abusive attacks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also lamented about how other leaders refuse to do the same.

ET quotes a senior Congress leader saying, “I clearly saw Soniaji prompting Sushmita. “I also noticed distinctly how Randeep Singh Surjewala laboured hard to pretend he was reading the draft CWC resolution when the drama was enacted. The act was too evident”.

By the account presented by the report, it does seem evident that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi may have scripted the entire drama. Firstly, if the people who were allowed to ask questions were handpicked, it seems inconsistent with everything one knows about the Congress party that RPN Singh would criticise Rahul after being handpicked. It is pertinent to note that RPN Singh, Congress leader, is also the husband of NDTV ‘journalist’ Sonia Singh.

Further, the fact that before the outburst, Rahul’s close confidants had already praised him before the outburst does point to the fact that setting the narrative of Rahul being a ‘courageous’ leader was of prime importance in this meeting.

Possible reasons for this scripted drama by Rahul Gandhi at the CWC meet

The reasons for this drama being scripted could be two-fold.

Firstly, Congress has come under heavy criticism for its stand during the India-China stand-off. With Rahul Gandhi blatantly lying about the facts and compromising national security while trying to pull PM Modi down, many believe that Congress has blurred the line between political opposition and working against the interest of the nation in attempts to grab power.

This entire fiasco scripted by Rahul could be an attempt to set the narrative and convince not just others, but also his own party members that his strategy is effective and is being appreciated by the ‘young Turks’ of the party.

Further, the scripted drama could also be aimed at amplifying the clamour within the party to install Rahul Gandhi as the President of Congress yet again. If one recalls, even in 2019, Rahul Gandhi has resigned saying that within the party, senior leaders shy away from criticising Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah directly. This could be a ploy to install himself as the President yet again by planting the excuse that it was his party members that wanted him back.

In February 2020, Salman Khurshid had dispelled the notion of Congress party suffering from a leadership crisis, adding that the party is in the “transitional process” and there was no issue with the leadership with Sonia Gandhi at the helm of the affairs. Interestingly, when asked if the return of Rahul Gandhi as Congress President is the overwhelming choice of the majority of the party, Khurshid replied in affirmative saying “There has always been this feeling among a large section of the party”.

It certainly seems like Congress is trying its best to find a safe excuse for Rahul Gandhi to come back as the President after the fanfare with which the had quit and proclaimed that he will not be coming back as the President. It would also appear that the scripted drama aimed at justifying Rahul Gandhi’s rhetoric and political strategy of compromising national security as one can see every time India faces an external threat.

Las Vegas hotel issues apology and decides to remove Lord Mahavira statue after complaints of disrespect and hurting religious sentiments

OpIndia Staff
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Las Vegas hotel issues apology and decides to remove Lord Mahavira statue after complaints of disrespect and hurting religious sentiments

The Foundation Room, the owners of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Wednesday announced that they will remove statues of various Hindu and Jain deities from the venue after religious leaders, social media users objected to the highly inappropriate and disrespectful display of their deities.

Recently, social media users had shared images of the Buzzy cocktail lounge at Las Vegas and expressed their disappointment over the disrespect shown towards the Lord Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, by the owners of Foundation Room at their hotel in Las Vegas.

One social media user named Abhishek Jain posted images of people posing indecently and posting images with the idols in ways that were hurtful for all the Jains across the world.

Jain also shared another set of images, where it was seen that it was not just the idols of Lord Mahavira, but also the Hindu deity of Lord Ganesha, which was being disrespected at the premises. The deity of the Lord Ganesha was placed in an area where cocktails are being served.

Soon, several social media users joined the chorus to demand the Foundation Room to remove the idols and issue an apology for hurting the sentiments of Jains and Hindus by disrespecting their religious faiths.

Religious leaders from various faith object

Reportedly, there were objections from groups in Northern Nevada, especially by the religious leaders, who urged for the removal of a religion-themed statue from The Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay.

In a joint statement, five local religious leaders said that “placing highly revered Hindu and Jain deities to adorn a casino night-club was very disrespectful, out-of-line, and could be disturbing to the adherents of these faiths”.

These five leaders include Nevada’s Greek Orthodox Christian Priest Stephen R Karcher, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, prominent Buddhist Priest Matthew T. Fisher, well-known Jewish Rabbi Elizabeth Webb Beyer and renowned Jain leader Sulekh C Jain.

Foundation Room issues apology, to remove statues

Following the outrage, the Foundation Room on Wednesday put out a statement announcing that it would remove the statues and also apologised for hurting sentiments. The Foundation Room said that they were removing the statue of Mahavira from their premises.

However, the tweet put out by them did not speak of the disrespect shown towards the Hindu deity of Lord Ganesha, a statue which has been placed at the bar.

Statement by the Foundation Room

“The Foundation Room’s two-decade plus tradition of promoting racial and spiritual harmony through love, peace, truth, righteousness and non-violence is more important than ever. We deeply apologize to those who are offended by recent images and we will work diligently to ensure such insensitive depictions don’t happen again. Specifically, we are removing the statue Mahavira from our premises. We have always strived to promote dialogue to bring us closer together and are committed to this sentiment moving forward,” the statement read.

Manmohan govt was under pressure to compromise on Siachen, wanted to call it ‘Mountain of Peace’ by letting the Pakistanis have it: Former COAS JJ Singh

OpIndia Staff
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Manmohan govt was under pressure to compromise on Siachen, wanted to call it ‘Mountain of Peace’ by letting the Pakistanis have it: Former COAS JJ Singh

Former Chief of Army Staff General (Retd) JJ Singh on Wednesday made an explosive revelation stating that there was ‘pressure’, possibly from the United States on the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government to compromise on the highly strategic Siachen Glacier in Ladakh in a bid to ‘settle disputes’ with Pakistan.

Speaking to Republic TV, General JJ Singh (Retd.), who was the Chief of Indian Army during the UPA-I, said that the Manmohan Singh-led government wanted to demilitarise the Siachen glacier and cede the control of the strategic glacier to Pakistan possibly under the pressure of Americans.

The former Army Chief also revealed that the UPA government and its security establishment wanted to make Siachen a ‘mountain of peace’.

“There was some pressure being built on the government of that time to settle the Siachen issue, it could be pressure from America who was close to Pakistan. Manmohan Singh’s team, which included Shyam Saran, the NSA and others, said we want to make Siachen ‘a mountain of peace’. It was a discussion in Delhi.”

Further, General JJ Singh (Retd.) also mentioned that it was during the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1989, that the proposal to disengage the troops from Siachen glaciers was made, however, the proposal did not go through, fortunately.

“Some of us would have landed us in the fallback position of a disadvantage as Pakistani Army could have easily captured the heights once Indian troops vacate it,” former COAS JJ Singh said.

General JJ Singh also said that the UPA government had asked him to be part of the discussion. However, he had asked the then-PM Manmohan Singh to instead visit Siachen Glacier to which the former Prime Minister agreed, where they discussed the importance of the area.

Revealing the strategic importance of the glacier, Gen Singh stated that from their current positions, the Pakistanis cannot even have a glimpse of the glacier. The glacier’s height allows India to monitor activities in the area from both Pakistani and Chinese sides.

General JJ Singh statements validates Shyam Saran’s disclosures

The disclosures made by the former Army Chief General JJ Singh regarding the intention of UPA-I to cede strategic territories such as Siachen to Pakistan further adds up to the allegations and revelations that the UPA and Congress party have been willing to compromise India’s territorial integrity on several occasions.

We had earlier reported in detail on how the UPA government under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wanted to hand over the strategic region of Siachen glacier to Pakistan. 

According to former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, the Siachen glacier, which has immense strategic value to Indian security forces to keep an eye on both the Pakistan and China along the northern borders, was almost gifted to Pakistan by the Manmohan Singh government in 2006, but only to be stopped by the intervention of the then National Security Advisor (NSA) MK Narayanan.

Shyam Saran, who was the Foreign Secretary in the First Manmohan Singh government, has revealed in his book that, in 2006, he, along with his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Mohammad Khan had struck a deal on the orders of Congress government to take back Indian troops and give away the Siachen Glacier to Pakistan.

But during the CCS meet, the then NSA MK Narayanan raised serious concerns about the deal and argued about compromising the National security of the country. The intervention from the then NSA Narayanan saved the strategic glacier from another Pakistani occupation.

The two disclosures – one made by former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and the recent statements made by the former Army Chief JJ Singh only strengthens the Wikileaks report, which had exposed how the UPA government under Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh had decided to give away Siachen glacier to Pakistan despite the Indian Army’s objections citing long-term national security implications.

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