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The Guardian claims 2-year-old fought 1962 Indo-China, quotes Congress worker to make wildly incorrect claims about Pangong Tso and Galwan

OpIndia Staff
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The Guardian claims 2-year-old fought 1962 Indo-China, quotes Congress worker to make wildly incorrect claims about Pangong Tso and Galwan

The British daily – Guardian, who seems to be over-enthusiastic about interfering India’s affairs, on Saturday got caught spreading fake news regarding China ‘intruding’ and ‘capturing’ India’s territory during the ongoing stand-off between India and China.

In a hurry to discredit the Modi government, the British daily not only passed-off the claims made by a Congress worker as a local resident, without even referring to his political affiliation, to claim that China has occupied Indian terrorists but also went on to quote a 60-year-old individual, who according to Guardian had fought the 1962 India-China war, which was occurred 58 years ago.

In a news report titled, “Our pastures have been taken: Indians rue China’s Himalayan land grab”, Guardian made various assertions, a few backed by questionable data, to state that China has captured pasture lands in Ladakh.

In doing so, the Guardian reporters cited a person identified as Namgyal Durbuk, whose statements have been quoted extensively in their report to suggest India has lost large tracts of territory near Pangong Tso during the ongoing stand-off between two sides along the Line of Actual Control. However, in their attempt to put forward misleading claims, Guardian deliberately ignored to mention that Namgyal Durbuk is not only a local resident of Ladakh but also a worker of the Congress party.

The Guardian, in its report, quotes Durbuk who stated, “The Indian government is lying that there is no land capture by China. Our vast green pastures, where local herders used to take their cattle, have been taken over. A number of locals have been forced by this situation to sell their cattle and move towards urban settlements for their livelihood.”

“The villagers are scared by the presence of the Chinese forces. They are so close they can even see their lights in the night for the first time,” said Congress party worker Durbuk, who also claimed that India will lose entire Ladakh to China in the next 20 years.

However, the above statement of the Congress party worker claiming that Chinese troops entering and capturing troops at Galwan valley is untrue, as Prime Minister Modi had himself categorically stated that there was no intrusion by the Chinese soldiers in the Indian territory.

Interestingly, the Guardian report does not even once report that the Durbuk is a Congress party worker.

What surprising is the person – Namgyal Durbuk, is being featured by several media houses over the last several weeks claiming that the Indian government is lying about the border situation. He was also interviewed by journalist Barkha Dutt for her online venture Mojo, where he has been introduced as a former councillor of the Congress party.

Just yesterday, the Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi had tried to pass off Namgyal Durbuk as a local Ladakhi in his scripted interview. However, the former Congress President was caught by social media users for passing off Congress workers as Ladakhis to propagate his political propaganda, who also blamed him for resorting to low-level politics at such a critical time.

The Guardian makes fake, unsubstantiated claims regarding Pangong Tso

Continuing its half-truth stories, the Guardian went on to state that few former military commanders and locals said to them that India controlled the whole area i.e all the eight ridges around Pangong Tso also known as ‘Eight Fingers’, but Chinese troops have moved inside the areas in last two weeks and are now controlling four of the eight fingers. It stated that China was building a helipad and other infrastructure around Finger Four at Pangong Tso.

However,the Guardian did not put up any evidence to substantiate their above claim.

Further, the Guardian’s claim that India controlled all the eight ridges before the area prior to the stand-off and Chinese capturing Indian lands till Finger 4 is another misleading assertion.

Ever since India lost the 1962 Indo-China war, the Pangong Tso has been majorly controlled by the Chinese. Pangong Tso is still a delicate border point along the Line of Actual Control, where incursions have always happened.

In Pangost Tso, India claims that its territory extends from Finger 1 to Finger 8. However, China claims that its territory extends from Finger 1 to Finger 4. After Kargil, China had made roads from Finger 1 to Finger 4 and later, during the Congress regime, make pakka roads in the area. Both China and India patrol the Pangong Tso area and hence, to claim that any territory has been lost in the recent Galwan Valley stand-off is a complete misrepresentation of facts.

The Line of Actual Control (LAC) – the line separating Indian and Chinese troops since 1962 – generally runs along with the land except for Pangong Tso, where it runs through the water. India controls about 45 km stretch of the 135-km Pangong Tso and China the rest. 

India and China have differing perceptions regarding the LAC passing through the Pangong Tso. India has always maintained that the LAC passes through Finger 8, which has been the site of the final military post of China. The Indian troops have been patrolling these areas up to Finger 8 even today.

On the other hand, China claims that the LAC passes through Finger 1 and patrols till up to Finger 4.

By extrapolating PLA troops patrolling till Finger 4 as occupation by the Chinese is not only problematic but also untrue as Indian troops at Pangong Tso continues to patrol till Finger 8 even amidst the stand-off, which suggests that PLA troops have not ‘captured’ our territories till Finger 4 as claimed by the Guardian.

The Guardian spreads fake news, makes a two-year-old boy fight the 1962 India-China war:

The Guardian further quotes, a person identified as 60-year-old Tashi Chhepal, who according to them was a retired Indian army captain who fought the 1962 India-China war, to state that Galwan Valley was considered Indian territory then and there were no Chinese posts even close to it.

Image Source: Shiv Aroor

In a hurry to interfere with India’s internal affairs and to put misinformation in public domain regarding the ongoing stand-off between India and China, the Guardian made Tashi Chhepal, who is 60 year old currently, fight a war that took place 58 years back, making him the youngest soldier on the history.

After social media users pointed out their glaring error, the Guardian has now promptly deleted the claim they had made earlier.

YSRCP seeks disqualification of its own Lok Sabha MP Raghurama Krishna Raju who exposed mass conversions to Christianity in Andhra Pradesh

OpIndia Staff
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YSRCP seeks disqualification of its own Lok Sabha MP Raghurama Krishna Raju who exposed mass conversions to Christianity in Andhra Pradesh

On Friday, a delegation of Members of Parliament (MPs) from YSRCP had reportedly met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and demanded the disqualification of the party member and MP, Raghurama Krishna Raju. He was elected from the Lok Sabha constituency of Narsapuram in Andhra Pradesh and had been a vocal critic of the current political dispensation in the State in recent times.

The delegation was led by Rajya Sabha MP V Vijaysai Reddy who alleged that Raju had used unparliamentary language against fellow party members and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy. He further claimed that the outspoken MP had ‘colluded’ with opposition party members against his own party. V Vijaysai Reddy is the Chief Secretary of YSRCP.

“He has never discussed his inconvenience within the party forum anytime, instead, took it up in the public, going against the party guidelines. The anti-defection law applies to Raghurama Krishna Raju, who contradicted the party rules, and he even misused the freedom of speech, and Section 10 should be invoked,” Reddy was quoted as saying. As per Mithun Reddy, floor leader of YSRCP in the Lok Sabha, Raju’s reply to the notice served by him was ‘irresponsible.’ He blamed the latter for forcing him to seek disqualification from Om Birla.

Raju had earlier accused YSRCP of being involved in caste politics and corruption. He had also met Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Secretary Ajay Bhalla, and also launched a song praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Raju had also served a notice to V Vijaysai Reddy and accused him of doing harm to the party. He had also moved the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the High Court.

YSRCP MP claims threat to life

Last month, in a letter to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, the YSRCP politician had alleged threats to his life from his party members. He had claimed that the local police did not take action on his complaints and thus demanded tighter security from the Centre. “One MLA has publicly abused me in filthy language and threatened to kill me. The YSRC cadre has also been issuing threats in the last few days. As the local police did not take any action against those people, I sought protection from the Lok Sabha Speaker,” Raju was quoted as saying.

Exposes Mass Conversions in Andhra Pradesh

Earlier, had made an explosive admission on a debate on Times Now where he admitted that the Christian missionaries in Andhra Pradesh were using money to carry out widespread religious conversions in the state. Raju asserted that the religious conversions in Andhra Pradesh were not a recent phenomenon after Jagan Mohan Reddy assumed the office of Chief Minister but that they continued to happen extensively across the state even before he became the chief minister.

He also defended the rampant religious conversions in the state by claiming that such proselytisation has been prevalent across the country and is not limited to Andhra Pradesh alone.

Construction of Hindu temple stopped by Pakistan, Imran Khan govt to seek advice of Council of Islamic Ideology

OpIndia Staff
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Construction of Hindu temple stopped by Pakistan, Imran Khan govt to seek advice of Council of Islamic Ideology

In yet another setback for minority Hindus in Pakistan, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Friday stopped construction of the boundary wall of the Hindu temple being built in Pakistan’s capital city Islamabad citing legal reasons.

Following the decision to halt the construction of the temple, the Imran Khan-led Pakistan government is set to seek the advice of the Islamic Ideology Council (IIC) on the matter. The Prime Minister has directed the religious affairs ministry to forward the issue of granting the construction of the temple to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) for advice.

Reportedly, a joint team of the CDA’s enforcement and building control departments reached the site of the temple in Islamabad on Friday and asked the workers to stop constructing the boundary wall.

The CDA spokesman Mazhar Hussain said the building control laws of the civic authority clearly stated that no activity could take place on a plot until the building plan was approved. Interestingly, this reason does not hold water since if it was only the legality that was stopping the construction of the temple, Imran Khan would not have to seek the advice of the Council of Islamic Ideology.

Giving credence to the fact that the legality being cited was hogwash and Pakistan was simply following the lead of radicals, another senior officer of CDA’s enforcement department revealed that it was for the first time that this clause had been enforced as others were allowed to construct boundary wall and ensure possession of their plot even the formalities regarding approval continued. 

The Hindu Panchayat Islamabad, responsible for the construction of the temple has now halted the work and decided to approach the CDA on Monday to seek permission for commencing the construction.

“We abide by the rules but the construction of a boundary wall was necessary as some people, backed by a few seminary students, had set up tents on the plot in 2018, and it took several months for us to get the place cleared with the help of the capital administration,” PTI MNA Lal Chand Malhi said.

The proposed temple at Islamabad was to be the first temple to be built in the Pakistani capital city ever since Islamic country came into existence in 1947. The Islamabad city authorities had allocated a 20,000 sqft plot for the construction of the temple.

Interestingly, a Pakistan news channel, 92 News HD Plus, had taken credit for spearheading the Islamist agenda of stopping the construction of the Hindu temple.

Tweet by 92 news channel

However, presumably to further the “legal” excuse for stopping the construction, the news channel has now deleted the article where it claimed credit.

Deleted article by 92 News Plus

Islamic clerics oppose Hindu temple in Islamabad, says it is against Islam

The hardline-radical Islamists in Pakistan have opposed the construction of Hindu temple in Pakistan claiming that it was contrary to the idea of Pakistan, which is Islam.

A group of Islamic leaders on Wednesday had attacked the Imran Khan government for granting funds to the construction of a Hindu temple in Islamabad, who termed it as against Pakistan’s ideology. The religious parties also said that they would take up the issue in the Federal Shariat Court.

The Islamic leaders claimed that building a temple on the taxes of Muslims cannot be tolerated in Pakistan.

Maulana Abdul Hameed Hazarvi, the chief of Jamiat Ulema e Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Islamabad chapter said that they were going to raise the issue in the Shariat Court.

Another cleric, Kashif Chaudhry, who is the leader of Central Jamiat Ahlihadees said that building of a temple was nothing more than playing with the feelings of 220 million people of the country. He added that building a new temple in Islamabad was unimaginable as there was already a temple built in Said Pur Village near Islamabad.

Maulana Tanvir Alvi said that all the sects of Islam were agreed upon a point that no temple or church can be built in a Muslim country.

Not just Islamic fanatics but also politicians in Pakistan had opposed the building of the temple in Islamabad. Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi from Pakistan’s Punjab province had opposed the construction of a temple in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad claiming that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam.

He had said that the construction of a new temple in Islamabad was not only against the spirit of Islam but also an insult to the ‘Madina Riayasat’, a reference to the Islamic welfare state that Pakistan aspires to be.

Maulavi issues fatwa, calls temple ‘un-Islamic’

Following the decision of Pakistan government to build the temple in Islamabad, Mufti Zia-ud-Din of the Lahore chapter of Jamia Ashrafia, a leading cleric in Pakistan has issued a “fatwa” against the construction of the temple, calling it “un-Islamic”.

Image Source: Naya Daur

The fatwa claimed that while the repair of an existing structure for non-Muslims is allowed, construction of new places of worship is not permitted in Islamic nations.

Akhilesh Yadav mocks UP police after 8 officers were killed in the line of duty trying to capture gangster Vikas Dubey, whose wife is associated with SP

OpIndia Staff
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Akhilesh Yadav mocks UP police after 8 officers were killed in the line of duty trying to capture gangster Vikas Dubey, whose wife is associated with SP

In a shocking incident, eight police personnel, including Deputy SP Devendra Mishra, were killed and six cops were injured in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur during a police raid to nab a hardened criminal and murderer Vikas Dubey’s house on July 2 late night. Now, Akhilesh Yadav has shared a cartoon strip by BBC that denigrates the UP police that lost 8 of its own in the raid to capture gangster Vikas Dubey.

Tweet by Akhilesh Yadav mocking UP police after 8 were killed in raid to capture Vikas Dubey
Tweet by Akhilesh Yadav

In the BBC image shared by Akhilesh Yadav, it shows that the side of the police is holding up a hooter saying “we have surrounded you from all four sides”. The Hindi version of this sentence is a popular dialogue in several Hindi movies which indicates that the aim of the image was to mock the police.

From the other side, it shows gangster Vikas Dubey presumably saying “same to you”, meaning that they have also surrounded the police.

The BBC image essentially enacts a movie scene where the police are asking a gangster to surrender since he has been surrounded by the police and the gangster responds saying that he will not surrender since he is prepared to fight the police.

The image gives the impression that the police is incompetent and gives a sense of bravado to the gangster.

This shameless image that was released by BBC was shared by the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav.

What is pertinent to note here is that Vikas Dubey is a former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader who was also elected as a member of the Nagar Panchayat. Interestingly, the wife of Vikas Dubey is reportedly connected to the Akhilesh Yadav’s party, Samajwadi Party.

Wife of Vikas Dubey connected to Akhilesh Yadav party

After the news of policemen losing their lives in an attempt to capture the gangster, several journalists tweeted the image of a poster that had the picture of the wife of Dubey along with the pictures of Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Poster that proves wife of Vikas Dubey was associate with SP
Poster that proves wife of Vikas Dubey was associate with SP

According to reports, Richa Dubey, the wife of history-sheeter Vikas Dubey had fought the Zila Parishad elections with the support of Samajwadi Party. While the party has denied this connection, posters that have emerged prove the link of the wife of the gangster with the party headed by Akhilesh Yadav.

The fact of the matter here is that gangsters like Vikas Dubey thrived under the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav. Now, when 8 police officers were killed in the line of duty trying to capture the gangster that thrived under the SP regime and whose wife is associated with SP, Akhilesh Yadav seems to have taken it upon himself to mock the police force and paint the gangster almost as a Bollywood ‘rebel’.

Who is Vikas Dubey?

Vikas Dubey is a notorious criminal, who carries a reward of Rs 25,000 on his head. He is also a former member of the district panchayat and has at least 60 cases of murder, robbery against him, according to a Hindustan Times report. 

Vikas Dubey was also accused in the murder of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Santosh Shukla inside the Shivli police station in 2001. During the attack, two policemen were also killed by Vikas Dubey. However, he was later aquitted by a local court for lack of evidence.

The notorious criminal, who hails from Bikru village, keeps his own private army. As per reports, by the age of 19, he was already a wanted criminal and was accused for the murder of a minister in UP.

Vikas Dubey, a former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader, was also elected as a member of the Nagar Panchayat. The former BSP leader was also named in the murder of Siddheshwar Pandey, the principal and assistant manager of Tarachand Inter College, in 2000.

In the same year, Dubey had conspired to murder Rambabu Yadav while in jail. He is also accused of the murder of cable businessman Dinesh Dubey in the year 2004.

Again in 2018, he carried out a plan to kill his own cousin Anurag. The gangster had conspired the murder while he was lodged in Mati jail. Anurag’s wife had accused Vikas Dubey and three others of attacking her husband. 

Kill him in encounter, says the mother of Vikas Dubey

The mother of the notorious gangster Vikas Dubey, who killed eight policemen and injured six others in a gunfight near Kanpur, has said that the Uttar Pradesh should kill her son in the encounter as what he has done was wrong, reports ANI. 

Sarla Devi, the mother of the dreaded gangster Vikas Dubey, has asked his son to surrender himself before the police. She added that the police can kill her son if continues to remain at large. Further, she said that even if the police managers to catch Dubey, they should kill him in an encounter.

“Vikas wanted to win MLA elections. He had killed Santosh Shukla, a minister in the then BJP government. I have not met him in four months. I am living with my younger son in Lucknow. We are facing a lot of problems because of him,” she said.

Delhi anti-Hindu riots: Khalid Saifi, aide of Umar Khalid and Tahir Hussain had met Zakir Naik in Malaysia to raise funds for riots: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi anti-Hindu riots: Khalid Saifi, aide of Umar Khalid and Tahir Hussain had met Zakir Naik in Malaysia to raise funds for riots: Reports

The Special Cell of the Delhi Police has reportedly unearthed a connection between hate preacher Zakir Naik and Khalid Saifi, a facilitator in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots. As per the status report filed, Saifi, a close associate of Islamists such as Tahir Hussain and Umar Khalid, had met Naik in Malaysia to raise funds for the Delhi anti-Hindu riots.

Reportedly, Khalid Saifi also received funds from an unidentified Non-Resident Indian (NRI) living in Singapore other than Zakir Naik. The money was then transferred to an NGO run by Umar Khalid and his partner in crime. Cops are now trying to ascertain the identity of the Singapore-based NRI. As per the report, the cops are analysing the data on Saifi’s phone in order to establish the money trail and links with Zakir Naik. Earlier, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police had arrested him in connection to the violence at Chand Bagh

Former Congress Councillor also received foreign funds

Another accused, Ishrat Jahan who was arrested for her involvement in the communal clashes, had also received foreign funds. The money was transferred to her via a ‘suspicious route’ in Ghaziabad and relatives in Maharashtra. Ishrat Jahan is a former Congress municipal councilor and was arrested for provocation and rioting during the Delhi communal clashes. However, the interrogation of the duo has remained pending due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Khalid Saifi arrested; known to several journalists

In a major breakthrough, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police had earlier arrested Khalid Saifi who had attended the January 8 meeting at Shaheen Bagh, where Muslims were holding an anti-CAA protest for almost a month. In the Tahir Hussain charge sheet, Saifi had been named as one of the ‘facilitators’ of the riots.

The charge sheet filed in the murder of IB officer Ankit Sharma and Tahir Hussain’s role in the riots, it is explicitly mentioned that Tahir Hussain hatched the plans for the riots in January when Hussain had met Umar Khalid and Khalid Saifi at Shaheen Bagh.

Tahir Hussain Charge sheet

The charge sheet also mentioned that Saifi ran the ‘Shaheen Bagh control room’ to incite, organise and facilitate the Delhi anti-Hindu riots. Saifi seemed to be familiar with many AAP leaders and media persons. Images found in social media showed him smiling and posing with Delhi CM Arvind, Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, journalists Ravish Kumar, Rajdeep Sardesai, Arfa Khanum, Abhisar Sharma and RJ Syema.

Kill him in encounter even if he is caught, he has done wrong, killed BJP leader Santosh Shukla too: Mother of gangster Vikas Dubey

OpIndia Staff
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Kill him in encounter even if he is caught, he has done wrong, killed BJP leader Santosh Shukla too: Mother of gangster Vikas Dubey

The mother of the notorious gangster Vikas Dubey, who killed eight policemen and injured six others in a gunfight near Kanpur, has said that the Uttar Pradesh should kill her son in the encounter as what he has done was wrong, reports ANI.

Sarla Devi, the mother of the dreaded gangster Vikas Dubey, has asked his son to surrender himself before the police. She added that the police can kill her son if continues to remain at large. Further, she said that even if the police managers to catch Dubey, they should kill him in an encounter.

Mother of the gangster said that Dubey joined the crime world after he came in contact with politicians. Sarla Devi also said that Dubey is causing huge embarrassment to the family. Vikas Dubey is currently absconding after the incident. The Uttar Pradesh police have launched a massive manhunt to nab the notorious gangster.

“Vikas wanted to win MLA elections. He had killed Santosh Shukla, a minister in the then BJP government. I have not met him in four months. I am living with my younger son in Lucknow. We are facing a lot of problems because of him,” the report further quoted her as saying.

Gangster Vikas Dubey kills eight policemen, injures six others

In a shocking incident on Thursday night, eight police personnel were killed and six cops were injured in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur during a police raid to nab the hardened criminal and murderer Vikas Dubey on July 2 late night.

A team of 15-16 Uttar Pradesh police had conducted raids in search of criminal Vikas Dubey in Chaubepur in Kanpur. The raid was carried out at 1 am on the intervening night of July 2-3 in Bithoor area in Chaubepur.

The police personnel were ambushed by Dubey’s men who were prepared with arms on the roof of a building and continuously shot at them. The criminals had already blocked the road with a JCB machine to prevent the policemen from escaping.

According to the police, Vikas Dubey and his men were already aware of the police raid and were on high alert. The criminals managed to flee from the spot after killing the police personnel. The deceased cops of Kanpur have been identified as DSP Devendra Kumar Mishra, SO Mahesh Yadav, Chowki Incharge Anup Kumar, Sub-Inspector Nebulal, Constables Sultan Singh, Rahul, Jitendra and Bablu.

The notorious gangster was a member of Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), was also elected as a member of the Nagar Panchayat.

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh police have announced a reward of Rs 50,000 to anyone giving the information on the whereabouts of the gangster. 

As China says allegations of its ‘expansionism’ are baseless, here is a list of countries with whom China has territorial disputes

OpIndia Staff
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As China says allegations of its ‘expansionism’ are baseless, here is a list of countries with whom China has territorial disputes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a surprise visit to Leh in Ladakh during the ongoing conflict with China. During his speech addressing soldiers, he made several not-so-subtle digs at China. Most conspicuously, he said that the Age of Expansionism is over and in the 20th Century, those who harboured expansionist ambitions had to savour the bitter taste of defeat.

China has taken umbrage with the remarks from Narendra Modi and have spoken out against it even though the Prime Minister did not name them explicitly. Ji Rong, spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India, said the allegations were ‘groundless’. “It’s groundless to view China as “expansionist”, exaggerate & fabricate its disputes with neighbours”, the spokesperson tweeted.

Territories China claims on historical precedent

As it so happens, allegations of expansionism against China are not groundless and there is good reason why such allegations are levelled against them. There are numerous countries apart from India that China has managed to antagonise with its territorial claims. China claims large parts of Laos and Cambodia on historical precedent that date back to the 13th of 14th Century. On certain occasions, it has also claimed the entirety of South Korea and North Korea on historical precedent.

China also claims all of Mongolia and Taiwan as well, although the two countries do not consider themselves part of China at all. There are several other countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan and Tajikistan who ceded territory to China to resolve their border dispute. Among the major countries to cede territory was Russia. Even after that, border disputes of China with these countries continue.

Disputes in the South China Sea

The prominent countries with whom China is involved in severe disputes apart from India are Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillipines and Japan. Vietnam maintains its territorial claim over regions of the South China Sea and the Macclesfield Bank, Paracel Islands and the Spratly Islands. China has also enforced a unilateral ban on fishing in these regions, much to the angst of Vietnam.

Japan’s dispute with China involve the Senkaku islands in the South China Sea and Ryuku islands and the Air Defence Identification Zone and Exclusive Economic Zone in the East China Sea. In the aftermath of the clash at Galwan Valley between Indian and Chinese soldiers, Japan initiated a legal process to change the status of the Senkaku islands, angering China.

Indonesia claims territorial control over parts of the South China Sea. Three years ago, the Indonesian government renamed parts of the disputed region to North Natuna Sea to underscore its claim. China claims fishing rights near the islands in the Natuna Sea/Exclusive Economic Zone of Indonesia, a claim that the latter rejects on the basis of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

China’s dispute with Malaysia also involves the South China Sea. Malaysia has a presence on three islands that China claims as its own, leading to disputes. Brunei also claims parts of the South China Sea as part of its continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone. Philippines, too, lays claims to parts of the Spratly islands and dragged China to the International Court of Justice, where it won the case, but China refused to adhere to the verdict.

Disputes with India’s neighbours

China has claimed parts of Nepal for itself on the basis of the Sino-Nepalese War in late 18th Century. China insists that parts of Nepal belong to Tibet and hence, a part of China. There have been recent reports that China has occupied some villages in Nepal while the Communist government in the country was busy quarrelling with India.

Bhutan has also territory to slow encroachment from China. The Dragon claims Kula Kangri and mountainous areas to the west of this peak and the western Haa district of Bhutan, apart from the well-known Doklam valley. Similarly, China also claims Indian territories of Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, and was claiming Sikkim till a few years ago. Such a plethora of disputes is sufficient evidence of the fact that China wishes to extend its borders wherever it can.

Some of these claims date back to the 14th Century which are utterly preposterous. It also demonstrates that China is an extremely serious threat in the region and a genuine threat to world peace.

China’s recent new claims over foreign territories

While China denies being expansionist, the country is actually inventing new territorial claim against other countries. At the recently concluded 58th meeting of the Global Environment Facility Council, China tried to oppose funding to a project for the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan claiming that it was “disputed” territory. China claimed this despite the fact that there is no history of dispute over the area, and the Wildlife Sanctuary is located far away from China-Bhutan border. In fact, areas of Arunachal Pradesh lies between the border and the forest area. Bhutan had strongly opposed this claim by China, and other countries also supported Bhutan in the matter, but China still insisted that it should be recorded that China had opposed the funding. And Indian officer has represented Bhutan in the meeting, which eventually approved the project for the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary.

Similarly, China has started a new dispute with Russia over Vladivostok, the Pacific port city in eastern Russia. Chinese officials slammed Russian embassy officials in China this week for celebrating 160th founding anniversary of the city, saying that the area originally belonged to China. Chinese diplomats, journalists, and internet users launched an online attack on Russian embassy officials on Weibo and other Chinese social media sites, just because the Russian city belonged to China centuries ago. The Primorsky Krai territory and its capital Vladivostok were part of the Qing’s Manchurian homeland but was annexed by Russia during the Tsar empire in 1860 following China’s defeat at the hands of Britain and France in the second opium war.

Jammu and Kashmir: Govt employee arrested for trying to create a false narrative by spreading rumours on social media

OpIndia Staff
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Jammu and Kashmir: Govt employee arrested for trying to create a false narrative by spreading rumours on social media

The police in Jammu and Kashmir have arrested a man named Tahir Nazir Shalla from Sopore for ‘sharing seditious and provocative posts’ on social media to create a false narrative by spreading rumours with respect to the current security situation in the state.

A case has been registered against the man, reportedly a Jammu and Kashmir government employee, by the Sopore police. “Taking serious note of the misuse of social media platforms, the police have filed a case against a bunch of such social media users who have opposed the government orders and indulged in sharing false propaganda against the government,” a police spokesperson said.

The Cyber Police identified a social media user—Tahir Nazir Shalla, who works as an Economics Lecturer at the Department of Education of Jammu and Kashmir, for misusing social media through “seditious and provocative” posts which posed a threat to the maintenance of law and order. The man in question is also accused of running anti-national campaigns on social media and fabricating and concocting fake and unfounded rumours concerning the current security situation in the Kashmir Valley.

“Jammu and Kashmir police’s cyber cell has identified many persons who are misusing social media by spreading false propaganda against the govt. One such person namely Tahir Nazir shalla S/O Nazir Ah shalla who is working in education department (Higher Education) who in contravention of social media policy for govt. employees was running anti national campaign on social media and tried to create untrue and fake narrative,” said the police spokesman regarding the arrest. “The accused has been handed over to Sopore police station by cyber cell and got booked under relevant sections of law for further course of action. Investigations are set in motion to identify other persons involved in similar anti-state campaigns on social media and spreading false propaganda,” the spokesperson added.

Tahir Nazir Shalla makes spurious claims on Social Media

The man arrested for fuelling rumours on social media had recently posted a series of tweets in which he had made grossly misleading claims regarding the recent terror attack in Sopore where a three-year-old boy was found sitting alongside a slain civilian a few days ago.

Shalla had been spreading rumours on the Internet, attributing the death of the civilian, killed by terrorists in Sopore on Wednesday, to the Government and the Armed Forces even as the police have strongly refuted the allegations that the man was killed by their fire. Shalla had responded to prominent personalities and journalists such as Sambit Patra, Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesai and others in an attempt to stoke the rumours that the murder of the man was carried out on the direction of the government.

After the man was killed during an encounter between terrorists and security forces, and a photograph of his grandson sitting on body went viral on social media, Pakistanis and Islamists in India had started propaganda that the man was killed by Indian forces. In fact, the man was killed by terrorists, while the 3-year old child was rescued by Indian soldiers from the site.

UVA Premier League T20 in Sri Lanka turns out to be fake tournament held in a Punjab village suspected to be organised by bookies. Read details

OpIndia Staff
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UVA Premier League T20 in Sri Lanka turns out to be fake tournament held in a Punjab village suspected to be organised by bookies. Read details

For last one week, several sports websites in India were promoting UVA Premier League T20, a T20 cricket tournament which was scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka from June. But after Sri Lanka denied knowledge of any such league in their country, now it has been revealed that the entire tournament was fake as the matches were taking place in India, not Sri Lanka, and no known cricketer participated in it.

According to sports websites promoting the tournament, the four teams, Monaragala Hornets, Unilions Mahiyanganaya, Badulla Sea Eagles and Wellawaya Vipers were participating in the UVA Premier League. Cricketers from Sri Lanka, including players from the national team, were listed as participating in the tournament. Some of the names listed as part of the tournament were Farveez Maharoof, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilan Thushara, Dasun Shanaka and Ajantha Mendis. But as soon as the names of cricketers were published by sites such as fancode, sportskeeda and crickettimes, it started becoming clear that there was something wrong.

On 28th June, Sri Lankan cricketer Farveez Maharoof replied to a tweet by sportskeeda journalist Prasen Moudgal about the tournament, and said that the news is fake, and no one has spoked to him regarding this and he is not interested in playing the tournament.

Despite this denial, two matches of the tournament was played on 29th June, and they were broadcast live on YouTube. The cricket websites like sportskeeda ran live scorecards of the games too, therefore, it was assumed that although the websites got the names of some players wrong, the tournament was indeed happening in Sri lanka.

But on June 30 it was reported that the tournament has been cancelled after the initial two matches on 29 June. It was claimed that it was cancelled after Sri Lanka Cricket revoked the authorization given to the tournament. The report by sports sites claimed that the SLC had earlier approved the league and hence it was a surprising decision.

But this claim turned out to be false, as on Wednesday, Sri Lanka Cricket denied any knowledge about the cricket tournament supposedly taking place in their country, which they described as a fantasy tournament. The national cricket board announced that “neither SLC nor its affiliates have any knowledge or any involvement with a fantasy tournament staged by an undisclosed party under the name and title of Uva Premier League T20.” The statement noted that “several Indian websites have even advertised a scoreboard on June 29 stating that the Uva Premier League T20 is being played at the Badulla Stadium, but SLC wishes to confirm that no such tournament was taking place and or will be held in Sri Lanka.” CEO of SLC, Ashley De Silva said that he had directed the Anti-corruption officer of SLC to look into the matter.

And now it has emerged that the entire tournament was fake, as the matches that were shown on web streams were actually played near Chandigarh in India, and not in Sri Lanka. According to a report by Indian Express, the matches were played at a ground in Sawara village, around 16km from Chandigarh. The report states there were no Sri Lankan players, and unknown players participated in the two matches wearing masks.

According to the report, the match which was supposed to be played at Badulla in Sri Lanka was covered live by FanCode, owned by Dream Sports. This company runs a fantasy sports platform named Dream 11, which is a sponsor of the Indian Premier League.

After the news of the fake tournament broke, BCCI said that police must investigate the organisers of the so-called UVA Premier League T20. BCCI said that as no BCCI registered player was involved in it, and if the fake tournament was held for betting, the matter must be probed by the police.

The ground where the matches took place is owned by Strokers Cricket Association in Sawara village. An official of the association said that one of his friends had taken the booking for the ground, and they were not aware who were organizing the tournament. He said that even the association officials were not allowed to enter the ground, and on the next day, police came and stopped the tournament.

Yesterday night, two people associated with the tournament were arrested on charges related to cheating and gambling, Raju and Pankaj. Police said that they stopped after the tournament after learning that it was being held in the name of Sri Lanka.

Now it has been suspected that the fake tournament was organized for betting purposes, and the betting mafia is behind it. It has been suspected that the tournament was conducted by bookies from India and other countries.

Swara Bhaskar tries to exploit Sushant Singh Rajput’s death to label herself as an outsider: Here is how that is patently false

OpIndia Staff
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Swara Bhaskar tries to exploit Sushant Singh Rajput’s death to label herself as an outsider: Here is how that is patently false

While there is a raging debate surrounding Sushant Singh Rajput’s outsider status in the Bollywood industry being one of the reasons why he was presumably shunted by the Bollywood biggies and forced to take the drastic step of ending his life, there are some morally reprehensible individuals who have not shied away from exploiting his tragic death to promote their dragging career. In a vile attempt to cash in on the groundswell of sympathy generated among a large section of the population for the struggling outsiders in the Bollywood industry, following the untimely demise of Sushant Singh Rajput, actor Swara Bhaskar asserted that she too is an outsider and sought support from the followers by requesting them to watch her movies in the theatres.

Bhaskar, whose recent controversial adult web series ‘Rasbhari’ holds the distinction of registering the lowest rating on IMDB portal, in an interview on CNN 18, categorised herself with a bunch of actors such as Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Deepak Dobiriyal, Richa Chadda, Jaideep Ahlawat, Rajkumar Rao, Zeeshan Ayyub to claim that she is an outsider just like the others.

“Film industry is not nepotistic, it is feudal. Therefore, when it got the status of an industry and corporate money poured in and various platforms emerged, you started seeing outsiders such as Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rajkumar Rao, Jaideep Ahlawat, Deepak Dobriyal, Richa Chadda, Huma Qureshi, myself, Monica Dogra and others in prominent roles,” Bhaskar said.

Swara Bhaskar further alleged that it has been the audience who are responsible for elevating star kids to the status of a celebrity. “I would like to ask the audience, you have a lot of sympathy for us (outsiders). What was the box office collection of Nawazuddin starter Mootichoor Chaknachoor? What about Irrfan Khan’s Karwaan? What’s the collection of Rajkumar Rao’s Trapped? What was Richa Chadda’s Article 375‘s box office collection? Sushant Singh Rajput’s Sonchiriya…and my movie Anarkali’s box office collection. Compare them with Heropanti‘s box office collection, Student of the Year’s success, Dhadak movie’s collections. It is the audience who is making these star kids bigger stars. If you feel sympathetic to us, watch our movies in the theatres,” Bhaskar said.

Swara Bhaskar’s mother served on the Censor Board of India

However, while Swara Bhaskar tried to ride on the popular “outsider” wave that had gripped the Bollywood in the wake of Sushant Singh Rajput’s inexplicable death, the reality is starkly different than what Swara would have us believe. Contrary to what Swara claims, the Tanu weds Manu actor is not an outsider, not by a long shot.

In fact, Swara Bhaskar’s mother, Ira Bhaskar had served as a member of the Central Board of Film Certification(CBFC). It is also notable to mention that Ira Bhaskar was the member of the CBFC team that ordered the producers of Ranbir Kapoor starrer ‘Rockstar’ to blur a flag that had ‘Free Tibet’ written on it. The CBFC team at that point in time feared that posters of “Free Tibet” would have hurt the sensitivities of the Chinese and harmed the Indo-Sino ties. Ira Bhaskar was a member of the CBFC team until January 2015 before she decided to quit the board following the CBFC chief Leela Samson’s decision to quit.

Ira Bhaskar is also a film historian, and a professor of Cinema Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Assertion by Swara Bhaskar that she is an outsider is profoundly misleading as her mother had served on the Censor Board of India, a film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. By claiming that she is an outsider, on the same lines as Sushant Singh Rajput, she is not only brazenly lying about her mother’s past associated with CBFC but she is also exploiting and piggybacking on the death of an actor to resurrect her moribund Bollywood career.

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