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Instagram and Facebook unblocks #Sikh hashtag after three months, claims it was ‘mistakenly’ blocked

OpIndia Staff
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Instagram and Facebook unblocks #Sikh hashtag after three months, claims it was ‘mistakenly’ blocked

In a recent series of tweets by Instagram’s official communication handle on Twitter, they admitted that Instagram and Facebook were blocking the hashtag #Sikh on the platforms since March. While apologizing for it calling it a mistake, they mentioned that a report in early March resulted in a block. The feedback from the community made the platforms aware of the block on both social media networks on Wednesday. They have unblocked the hashtag immediately.

Many tweets were posted recently targeting Instagram and Facebook in which users asked the reason behind blocking #sikh and #sikhism on the platforms.

The screenshots posted by users show that a message saying “posts for this hashtag are temporarily hidden because of unusual activity that may not meet Instagram’s Community Guidelines”.

Although Instagram talked about only the #Sikh hashtag, screenshots posted by users show that the hashtag #Sikhism was also blocked on the platform, which now seems to be unblocked.

#Sikh was blocked since March

In the tweets, Instagram admitted that #Sikh hashtag was blocked by mistake on 7th March 2020. It was due to inaccurately reviewing a report against the hashtag, they claimed. In the last few months, the Sikh community is using Twitter to raise their voice against discrimination by other platforms to silence their voices. A message was visible when someone clicked on the hashtag that it did not meet the guidelines of the social media platforms. Even though users have been raising voice from the last three months on Twitter, Instagram said they noticed it on 3rd June.

In the tweets, Instagram PR team said that they have investigated the issue and unblocked hashtag #Sikh from both platforms. They mentioned that it is never their intension to silence anyone’s voice over their platform. The tweets admitted that it is a painful and important time for the Sikh community. They promised to take necessary actions so that nothing like this ever happens again. 

Instagram has a history of excessive hashtag monitoring

Instagram has faced criticism for hashtag monitoring in the past. Instagram recently admitted that many users were unable to post or view content associated with #BlackLivesMatter because of incorrect spam detection.

It may be noted that Instagram is part of Facebook. Social media giant Facebook had acquired photo and video sharing platform Instagram in 2012.

Animal Cruelty Prevention in India: An outdated law and the reason we are falling short

yuvraj
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Animal Cruelty Prevention in India: An outdated law and the reason we are falling short

We as a country are undoubtedly excelling in fields such Job growth, economic growth of the poor, International relations, Climate change and many more, but there is one gaping hole in our country’s legislation- Animal cruelty prevention laws. The single greatest testament to this claim is the fact that our country’s most prominent Animal Cruelty prevention law was legislated in 1960, yes, 1960.

And since then, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA) has never even been amended. Meaning, the monetary fines imposed for crimes against animals in 1960, still stands to date. In this article, we’ll talk in length about the law itself, it’s shortcomings, analyse our conversation with PETA India, and hence evaluate where exactly India stands as far as Animal cruelty prevention is concerned.

Between 2012 and 2016, there were over 24,000 cases of animal cruelty reported under the PCA. Since then we’ve seen horrific cases of crimes against animals, such as the death of Shaktiman the police horse in March 2016, beating and killing of a dog in Chennai in 2019, poisoning of 50 stray dogs also in 2019, and most recently, the cold-blooded murder of a pregnant Elephant in Kerela a few weeks ago.

In our conversation with PETA, here’s what they had to say about the cases of animal cruelty they regularly encounter: “A multitude of cruelty to animals cases are reported to PETA India regularly ranging from people abusing community dogs and cats, cruelty towards stray cattle that are typically discards of the dairy industry, cruelty towards companion animals, illegal slaughter/killing of animals, cruelty towards animals kept in captivity or used for entertainment.”

Why is it that people are getting away with murder so easily and justice is not being served to the voiceless? To answer this let us take a look at the specifics of the PCA and what amendments could be made, as cited by NUJS Law Review.

Section 11 of the PCA is the main section which punishes instances of cruelty by listing specific offences. It renders beating, kicking, over-riding, over-driving, over-loading, torturing, which causes unnecessary pain or suffering to any animal, and many other offences punishable. Even though these crimes are deemed “punishable”, let us take a look at that punishment imposed. Page 8 of the NUJS Law review states the penalty for the above mentioned crimes:

Subjection of an animal to any of the acts, specified under 11(1) (a) to (o) of the Act, makes the offender (in the case of a first offence) liable to pay a fine that may extend to only fifty rupees. In the case of a second offence or a subsequent offence committed within three years of the previous offence, the offender shall be made to pay a fine of not less than twenty-five rupees, the quantum of which may also extend to one hundred rupees or the offender may be imprisoned for a term which may extend to three months or both.

PETA says that, “If any society chooses to treat cruelty to animals lightly, they are encouraging violence towards humans too. That’s because research in psychology and criminology shows that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals often don’t stop there – many move on to hurting other animals or humans. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has found that a history of animal abuse is one of the traits that regularly appears in the records of serial rapists and murderers.“

It adds, “This is the case in India, too: Veerappan was a poacher as well as a serial killer, and the infamous Noida serial murders of children took place at the home of Moninder Singh Pandher, who was fond of hunting.(…) Acts of cruelty to animals are indicative of a deep mental disturbance and often, animal abusers move on to harming humans. For example, in a study of domestic violence victims, 60 per cent of women said that their abusive partners had harmed or killed their dogs or other animals. Animal abusers are a danger to everyone – they take their issues out on whoever is available to them, human or non-human, and must be stopped before they act again.”

There’s a study by Caleb E. Trentham that shows, through Data Analysis, the link between recurrent childhood animal cruelty and recurrent adult interpersonal violence. The current study continues to explore this potential link by examining 257 violent and non-violent inmates from a Southern state. Demographic characteristics, (race, educational level, and childhood residence) and recurrent acts of childhood animal cruelty are used to predict later violence against humans among this sample.

Of the 257 respondents, 126 inmates had engaged in childhood animal cruelty. Inmates who reported hurting or killing animals during their childhood did so on average 5.68 times. Of the 175 inmates who had engaged in interpersonal violence as adults, they had done so an average of 3.57 times. The findings suggest that respondents who committed childhood animal cruelty may have become desensitized to other acts of violence and therefore, participated in criminal behavior in their adulthood. In fact, all of the respondents in the current study who had engaged in childhood animal cruelty had done so prior to committing any acts of reported interpersonal violence.

Another study by ASPCA written by Allie Phillips shows a link that consists of the coexistence of two or more of these intra-familial crimes: child abuse (including physical and sexual abuse) or neglect, domestic violence (including stalking and rape), elder abuse or neglect (including financial exploitation), and animal abuse or neglect (including sexual assault, animal fighting and hoarding). The Link also includes the co-occurrence of animal abuse with other types of crime, such as homicide, weapons offenses, drug offenses, sexual assault, arson, assault or other violent crimes.  

In such circumstances, laws that impose a fine of rupees 50 won’t even teach the offender a lesson, let alone prevent others from acting the same way. Such light laws are not only harmful to our society and our animals, it has certain legal implications as well. Pg. 18 NUJS law review states the lack of Proportionality between the penalty and the offences-

The proportionality doctrine is not codified explicitly, but rather features in all legislations as a component of administrative law. Proportionality specifically in cases of imposition of punishment needs to satisfy a two-fold purpose, viz. fairness towards the offender and fairness towards the society. The first equivalency of penalty is measured against the accused, wherein the punishment should not be harsher than the crime committed. (…) Presently, the maximum punishment of fifty rupees is not even close to being considered of a harsh nature. Therefore, from the perspective of the offender, it cannot be said that the liability imposed is unfair, and thus not proportional.

At this point it is clear that amendments to the PCA are the need of the hour. Over the years, amendment bills to the PCA have been introduced. In 2011, a draft bill titled the Animal Welfare Act 2011 (‘Draft Act, 2011’) was introduced by the AWBI in the Parliament to replace the present PCA. The Draft Act sought to bring a shift from a defensive position to a positive, welfare-driven and well-being oriented approach, by strengthening animal welfare organisations and enlarging the definition of animal abuse, in keeping with the times and in consonance with judicial pronouncements.

The draft bill, besides, adding a few more categories of cruelty to animals and making the bill more comprehensive, also prescribed greater and more apt penalties for cruelty towards animals by multiplying the old fines, under the PCA, by a factor of a thousand. Following this, the Animal Welfare bill was introduced in 2014, and another Private Member Bill was introduced in 2016, both calling for higher penalties and broadening the scope of offences. Unfortunately, none of these three bills have been passed in parliament and to this date, we are stuck with an Act that is half a century old.

With laws this stringent, we as citizens must take up the responsibility of spreading awareness against animal cruelty, educating people of the heinous crimes that are committed on a daily basis, and raising our voices, demanding stricter laws to save those who don’t have one.

Tiananmen Massacre to Communist attacks on Indian people: A saga of hate, hypocrisy and violence

Guest Author
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Tiananmen Massacre to Communist attacks on Indian people: A saga of hate, hypocrisy and violence

Communist China had to develop artificial, coercion based and politically monolithic society. This was, since the first day, a humongous task. Given the credentials of communism in Soviet Russia, China knew that propaganda, bloodshed and suppression will be inevitable. Ironically, humans long for freedom. This is the basic fault with communist ideology. Tiananmen Square massacre was the result of this dilemma and incompatibility. Thousands of students were killed in broad daylight to achieve ‘death-like sameness’, indigenous culture, human values, dissenting voices were mulled to achieve and survive an artificial, incompetent and undemocratic socio-political system.

Violence and communism are united at the elemental level. From China to India, the inability to comprehend social life and democratic functioning of the political system compels communists to validate violence. At every step of evolution, communism requires blood. Tiananmen is a testimony to this. Thanks to modern technology and human rights, the assault on people do not go unnoticed, be it china or JNU. Recently radical groups’ masquerading as students led a violent streak on common students of the university who were against the lockdown and wanted to register for the next semester.

Tiananmen Square Massacre

Thirty-one years have passed since the crime against humanity was perpetrated at Tiananmen Square. What happened on 4thof June in 1989 can/should not be seen in isolation. It was a well-prepared plan from the communist party of China. According to a report in South China Morning Post, Deng Xiaoping and other Communist Party leaders believed the protests to be an existential political threat and agreed to use coercive measures.

The State Council declared martial law on May 20 and placed more than 300,000 troops on streets of Beijing. The armed soldiers moved inside the capital city and advanced into central parts of Beijing on the city’s major thoroughfares in the early morning hours of June 4, killing both demonstrators and bystanders in the process. Most of these protesters were university students.

These students were killed because they were demanding democracy, pro-people reforms and awakening of consciousness. Every year the Chinese government shows its gratitude to the forces for their sacrifice but they have tried their best to wipe out the history of the massacre from their history. However, the images of the heinous crime committed by the communist government cannot be erased from the minds human race. Whatever little information could come out from the grab of communist, was enough to leave the global community awestruck.

One question that is crucial to ask is, what happened after the barbaric attempt of silencing the protestors was over? Where did the protesters or supporters of the protest go? Did the Chinese government silence all of them through this one heinous act or the act followed even in the aftermath? The answer lies in the fact that the Chinese Communist Party sees the 1989 pro-democracy protests as an existential threat for them. So they do not let any voice raise in any form, they ruthlessly silence any slightly budding pro protest voice. According to Human Rights Watch, which has published a document based on 30 years of close observation of post-Tiananmen massacre, the Chinese Communist Party never tolerates any political opposition on the name of free speech and democracy, if it has Tiananmen in the backdrop.

There have been several incidents where victims of Tiananmen tried to make political parties. They were sentenced to be jailed for at least 10 years. China Social Democratic Party, China Freedom and Democratic Party are among such examples of the first half of the 90s.

The international community has constantly raised this as a crime but communists in India find it comfortable to stay silent. This is because they are hand in glove with communist china. They too believe in violence, in radicalization, in creating chaos and above all they too are murderers.CPI(M) resolution adopted at the 14th congress- Madras, in (January 3-9) 1992. Celebrating the Chinese revolution and calling it a historic triumph, it stated- Chinese revolution “was a source of great inspiration that galvanized the struggles of the peoples of the colonial countries for their Liberation”. The same CPIM in its 20th congress document- “Resolution on some Ideological issues”, downplayed the Tiananmen Massacre by calling it an “internal turmoil” in China and instead of calling it a massacre, called it “Tiananmen square development”

Tiananmen remains one of the most sensitive and taboo subjects in China today, banned from both academic and popular realms. Even the actual number of deaths from the military crackdown remains unknown. Every year on the anniversary of June 4, the government intensifies its control, and citizens who commemorate the events are put under various forms of surveillance. The Tiananmen Mothers are prohibited from openly mourning family members who died in the massacre, and exiles are prohibited from returning home, even for a parent’s funeral. Many older supporters of the movement, leading liberal intellectuals in the 1980s, died in exile.

Silence of the sold

A few years ago China hosted the Olympics. Apart from architecturally marvellous infrastructures, there was one more thing that grabbed the attention of visitors. The slogan of the event,  “A country of dreams. One world, one dream. Civilization and harmony.” A news reporter,  Amit Sengupta who was there to cover the event stood in front of a board, staring at the slogan. He was diving into the past of his university times when he was a student at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He remembers the night of 4th June 1989 at the university.

He shares his memoir, “The students’ union at the time was led by the students’ wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which backed the Tiananmen Square Massacre and glorified the Chinese regime led by Deng Xiaoping and Li Peng. They termed the students as “CIA lackeys, juvenile delinquents, and bourgeois reactionaries,” among other clichéd communist abuses. They even claimed that the massacre and the clampdown simply did not happen: that it was all manufactured, a figment of biased imagination of the Western media.”

Unfortunately, The Indian political system has been significantly influenced by communist intellectuals who are committed to ideology and not people. For their selective myopia, Tiananmen massacre does not even exist. For them, the patronage received by CPC is handsome enough to ignore the value of human life. This does not stop here, in an attempt to create a chaotic, ideologically motivated and democratically destructive force they have marginalized a public university to the verge of alienation from the Indian society.

JNU has become an epicentre of “protest as a business” where left-leaning intellectuals criticize everything under the sun but keep black hole type silence on war against people and their human rights in China. In an interview with journalist Barkha Dutt, Sitaram Yechury recalls: “When I entered St. Stephens, you had on the chappel written, CHAIRMAN MAO IS OUR CHAIRMAN. 13 students were expelled. Those were the Great Maoist of the time. Some of them are eminent academicians today”.

These enemies of the people support radical Bolshevik jihad and manufacture vulnerable groups of individuals as intellectual Fidayeens and attack the people. Interestingly enough, they often succeed because of patronage and propaganda. India shall do away with such vultures at the earliest. Decoding their modus operandi has become essential as Indian people are actively engaging in self-dependence and this will not go down well with the communists in India. 

Rakesh Batbyal in his book ‘JNU: The Making of a University’ presents the plot of JNUSU election of 1989. He writes that there were two events running in the backdrop of the elections, one, Polish revolution and second, the Tiananmen massacre. The established leftist organisations SFI and AISF could not manage to win the election that year. This happened for the first time in the history of JNU. Even though the communist ideology was dissolved in air of JNU of that time, it is remarkable that core communist parties could not win the election after supporting the massacre of Tiananmen. It was this space of morality that portrays the space for ethical-political forces. Today, when Hong Kong is struggling for their autonomy against China, when Uighur voices are being silenced, when indigenous culture of Tibet is being vanished, the least we must do is to ask questions to the communists of India is this, ‘what stops them to criticize the heinous crime committed by Communist Party of China?’ Why is it that they cry the song of democracy everywhere but become silent on the autocratic regime of China? We need to ask these questions because (if) communism is an ideology, it indeed has a bloodshed genealogy.

(This article has been co-authored by Subh Kirti who is a PhD research scholar at CES, SIS, JNU and Prashant Vats Shahi who is a PhD research scholar at CEAS, SIS, JNU)

Politics over poor: After the central govt gives food grains and money to migrant workers, Communist Yechury demands more

Shashank Bharadwaj
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Politics over poor: After the central govt gives food grains and money to migrant workers, Communist Yechury demands more

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday announced countrywide protests on June 16 demanding immediate cash transfers and free foodgrains to the poor.

According to the reports, the Communist leader Sitaram Yechury, who is fighting for his party’s relevance in country’s politics, claimed that the Narendra Modi government was using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to replace the secular democratic and federal structure of the country with a unitary form of theocratic government. 

Yechury also claimed that the Modi government has now virtually left the people of the country to protect themselves in combat against the pandemic.

The Left leader addressed media through Facebook Live to brief them about the decisions taken by the politburo of the party. It was reportedly the first politburo meeting of the party since March.

In the meeting, the CPI(M) decided to hold pan-India protests demanding cash transfer of Rs 7,500 per month to families outside the income tax-paying bracket, minimum 200-days employment under MNREGA, free distribution of 10 kg foodgrains, per individual, per month for a period of six months and a check on scrapping of labour laws.

However, how are they planning to hold pan-India protests amid the restrictions against public gatherings and which parties will be in their support was not clarified.

CPI(M) targets Modi government over handling of coronavirus pandemic

The CPI(M) also claimed that the Modi government has left the Indian people to ‘fend for themselves’ in the pandemic. It also repeated Rahul Gandhi’s claims where he had stated that the central government is promoting federalism and is not taking the sates into consideration.

Yechury said the union government was abdicating its responsibilities and shifting the accountability to the state governments by easing of restrictions in “an unplanned fashion”.

The Communist Party also condemned the alleged targeting of the Muslims, the arrests and detention of those rioters who had unleashed violence against Hindus in the anti-Hindu riots in the national capital.

Interestingly, some of the demands made by the CPI(M) including changes in MGNREGA, distribution of subsidised food grains are already being fulfilled by the Modi government under the Atmanirbhar Abhiyan package.

The Tiananmen Square Massacre: June the 4th 1989 when the Communist Party of China brutally crushed an anti-establishment mass movement

Guest Author
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The Tiananmen Square Massacre: June the 4th 1989 when the Communist Party of China brutally crushed an anti-establishment mass movement

The Tiananmen Square Massacre, also known as the June 4th incident which took place in the year 1989, is regarded as one of the darkest phase in the history of China. It was a student led demonstration, which eventually was joined by the middle class working people.

The protest was crushed down brutally by the government after declaring martial law in the country. The event has since then come to be known as the Tiananmen Square massacre The military forces fired on the demonstrators, ran over them by tanks, arrested, tortured and executed them at will. The toll of deaths and injured reached tens of thousands in number, yet the number in the official report was less than 300.

Due to strict censorship of the media, both local and international, that were covering the event at the Tiananmen Square, the reality of the numbers was never known. Even today there are high degree restrictions on freedom of information, the media and freedom of expression and speech. And it is how the Communist Party of China (CCP) has successfully had their monopoly over all the aspects of the society.

The students protest was also seen as a political threat, a threat to the ideology of the CCP on which it was based. The phenomena which triggered the masses to protest were both political as well as economic. But it accelerated after the death of Hu Yaobang in April 15,1989 who was the General Secretary of the Communist party. He was also known to be pro-reform who tried to bring in changes in the Communist ideology and practices. He was later forced to resign from his position. There were clashes and differences in opinions and power struggle within the party about the protest.

Even if we look at the situation of China today, not much has changed. Maintaining the supremacy and the ideology of the CCP seems more significant than the voices of its citizens. With all the history of records of oppression and brutality by the government which is an open secret against the people opposing their views and ideology, it was controversial to appoint China in the Human rights council panel by the UN.

A report said, “Chris Smith a US representative, a senior member of the House committee on foreign affairs and ranking member of the congressional executive commission on china said that “ There is no justification whatsoever in empowering a Chinese government official, Jiang Duan, to investigate human rights abuses until there is a reckoning with regard to China’s own record”.(source: Eleanor Albert, the diplomat,2020)

Even after 31 years, the Tiananmen Square Massacre still feels raw and fresh, yet they are never publicly debated or discussed. The CCP has zero tolerance for activists who are fighting for their human rights. Hence we see a number of cases of activists being detained, arrested as they fight for their rights. One such example is the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner for his continuous struggle for fundamental rights in China, Liu Xiaobo ,who was arrested in 2008 and sentenced for 11 years on charges of “inciting subversion”.

He was also one of the person protesting during the pro democracy movement in Tiananmen Square and was arrested and jailed for 21 months. In July 2017 he died because of liver cancer complications. In 2011 Chen Wei and Chen Xi, who were also pro democracy activists, were imprisoned for years. Huang Qi, founder of “64 Tianwang”, a website for human rights, was detained and the trial was completed in utmost secrecy. In 2016, Miao Deshun was released after serving 27 years in prison because of his participation in the 1989 movement (source: Human rights activism in post Tiananmen China, May 30,2019).

It is understood how desperately the Communist government wants to wipe off any chances of mass revolt right from its bud. Hence they are still threatened by them. It is also ironic how one is regarded as criminal and stripped off their human rights when they speak up for their rights whilst those in power can step on them and taste the power of freedom without having the fear of being questioned.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions on the Internet were increased so that the information about the situation in China could not go out there to the world. There were however a few leaked videos and information that surfaced in the internet. The person in the video was very sure that the government might come after him.

He was scared of his life yet he was determined to let the world know the real situation of the pandemic in China. Similarly 31 years back they had to smuggle recordings and videos of the Tiananmen Square Massacre so that they could broadcast it to the world. Quoting a demonstrator, he said “go and show it to the world”. It only goes on to show that a lot has changed over the years and yet, everything remains the same.

China is gradually taking the position of a super power which is alarming to the world as a whole. The situation in America, the world superpower, is very grim at the moment due to its political and civil unrest which has seen the state clash the civilians. There, too, the police is using brute force to suppress the protests. The lives of the protesters are at stake at the moment. The demonstrators of the pro democracy movement in China 1989 did not know the extent of damage that the government planned for them.

Although the economic condition has become very favourable now but the gap between the rich and the poor has substantially increased. Hence the question regarding who is benefiting more from it is easily answerable. The incident did not bring any drastic reformations in terms of the Communist political ideology but it has shed light on the flaws of the government as well as why “who in power” is very important because that makes a huge difference.

The article was authored by Ms LAWN WEINGKEN, a guest lecturer in MDKI Girls College, Dibrugarh, Assam. She is also associated with Centre for North East Studies, New Delhi.

Jammu and Kashmir: Security forces bust a cave hideout of Hizbul Mujahideen in Kishtwar, Al-Qaeda uses similar hideouts in Afganistan

OpIndia Staff
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Jammu and Kashmir: Security forces bust a cave hideout of Hizbul Mujahideen in Kishtwar, Al-Qaeda uses similar hideouts in Afganistan

17 Rashtriya Rifles in a joint operation with Jammu and Kashmir Police busted a cave hideout of Hizbul-Mujahideen in Chicha forest belt of Kishtwar. The security forces launched an operation based on a tip-off in the Chicha forest belt and busted a cave hideout used by Pakistani terrorists operating in the area.

Reportedly, security forces recovered a large number of arms and ammunition that included one AK 56 rifle, one magazine with 27 rounds, one under-barrel grenade launcher(UBGL), one 9 mm pistol and one pistol magazine with six rounds. The security forces have averted the militants’ plan to carry out attacks in that particular area.

Cave hideout set up in a similar pattern to Al-Qaeda

The hideout is claimed to be set up in a fashion similar to the one used by the Al-Qaeda terrorists in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan. The opening of the cave was too small for anyone to suspect the presence of a terrorist hideout. But when the security personnel crawled into the cave, they found that there is enough space to shelter four-five terrorists at a time.

Hizbul Cave, Courtesy: times now

The hideout worked as a safe shelter for the militants and safekeeping of Arms and ammunition too. Jahangir Saroori, one of the longest surviving militants and a top Hizbul commander was known for using the networks of cave hideouts in Kishtwar heights to hide from the security personnel. These caves came to his rescue whenever he was about to come into clutches of the security forces.

Use of caves means terrorists no longer have civilian support

The use of caves by terrorists to hide from security forces show that they are no longer able to find shelter in villages, as civilians have stopped supporting them. One officer said, “In an indication of further shrinkage of the militants’ support base in the valley, more and more cases of outlaws using cave-like hideouts away from the human habitations are surfacing.”

The locals in the area have been emerging as effective informers of the security forces after facing the atrocities by the militants. That is a major reason that despite especially designed hideouts security forces have been successfully eliminating top commanders of terror. Although military officers clarified that practically it is not exactly possible for them to search each and every cave-like cavity in the area.

The Quint incites its readers to replicate violent US protests in India, compares crackdown on anti-CAA rioters with police brutality in the USA

OpIndia Staff
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The Quint incites its readers to replicate violent US protests in India, compares crackdown on anti-CAA rioters with police brutality in the USA

The violent riots in USA following the death of an African-American man George Floyd have created ripples that have been felt in other countries as well. Violent protests have been observed in Canada, France and the United Kingdom among other countries as well. Indian liberals, meanwhile, are trying desperately to import the protests, which have no relevance here, to India as well.

Ever since the protests broke out, liberals in India have been drawing a false equivalence between African Americans in the United States and Muslims in India. The objective was to replicate the violent protests in India over the alleged persecution of Muslims in India and the arrests being made in the Delhi anti-Hindus riots case. Now, it appears, propaganda outlet The Quint has joined these efforts.

Users on social media have claimed that senior producer at The Quint, Shorbori Purkayastha, sent out a mail to readers speaking of the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. “But if Indians are joining in to call out George Floyd’s death, why don’t similar killings and similar profiling in India not trigger such widespread protests in India?” She concludes the letter with the words, “What will it take to introspect and bring justice home?”

While Purkayastha speaks of ‘bringing the protests home’, she hasn’t once mentioned the widespread violence that has ensued in the United States and other countries in connection with the protests. Thus, if the protests do get here, it is inevitable that violence will follow. Furthermore, liberals in the USA were celebrating, justifying and inciting riots during all the chaos. And liberals in India have been trying to get the chaos home.

Purkayastha does not explicitly incite violence but the implications are quite clear. If the protests do reach India, there will be violence. And it should also be borne in mind that when violence gripped the national capital as early as in December 2019, propagandist at various far-left media portals were still busy calling these protests ‘peaceful’ in stark denial of reality.

The Quint’s ties with the Democrats

The parent company of The Quint, Quintillion Media Pvt. Ltd., signed a joint venture agreement with New York based Bloomberg LP in April 2016 to launch a co-branded digital product – BloombergQuint. Bloomberg LP is owned by Michael Bloomberg, who was one of the candidates contesting to become the nominee from the Democrat party.

The evidence of Bloomberg’s ownership affecting its coverage of politics came when the news network announced that they will not be publishing any investigative reports on Michael Bloomberg or any of his competitors during the course of the Democratic primaries. But they would continue to investigate US President Donald Trump. Following the announcement, the Trump Campaign revoked Bloomberg News’ press credentials.

Give such circumstances, it is not far-fetched to assume that the coverage of The Quint is affected by the business association of its parent company with Bloomberg LP as well. And given the fact that Michael Bloomberg is a major Democrat donor and participated in the Democratic primaries, these speculations cannot be put away lightly.

Democrats are currently busy blaming Donald Trump for the social unrest even though it was liberals who incited the violence in the first place. It is not surprising then that the looting, arson, vandalism and brutal attacks on innocent men and women have been conspicuously left out by The Quint.

The Quint compares crackdown on rioters by Indian Police with police brutality in US

Purkayastha wrote, “The year 2019, for example, saw massive student and citizen protests in India triggered by the CAA bill – which cops tried to tame with tear gas and lathis.” The Quint conveniently ignores the fact that these were not protests but riots and during the violence, the Police was attacked with bullets, pelted with stones and the rioters engaged in rampant acts of vandalism and arson.

Quite clearly, Purkayastha is standing in support of rioters and drawing completely ridiculous analogies in order to peddle her favoured political narrative. The ‘protesters’ who were hit by the Police were not innocent lamb, they had engaged in violence themselves and spread anarchy on the streets.

The Quint appears to believe that the Police should not take adequate measures to restore and order after antisocial elements have run riot. Quite clearly, they are on the side of the rioters. Such propaganda if allowed to go uncontested would unnecessarily put Indian Police at a false position the next time mischief makers start getting ideas.

‘Muslim Lives Matter’ chorus rose in tandem with ‘Black Lives Matter’

While ‘Black Lives Matter’ chants got louder following the death of George Floyd, liberals in India jumped into the bandwagon trending ‘Muslim Lives Matter‘. People such as Ashok Swain and others openly urged Indian citizens to replicated the kind of violent protests that were witnessed in the USA in India.

Liberals have also attempted to portray Indian Muslims as the African Americans of India, which is an extremely flawed comparison from a historical perspective. Some also urged Muslims to ‘rise up’ in defence of the students of Jamia Milia Islamia University who are currently being prosecuted legally for their alleged involvement in the anti-CAA riots.

Actress Vidya Balan expresses ire after Delhi govt recommends early release of Jessica Lal’s murderer Manu Sharma

OpIndia Staff
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Actress Vidya Balan expresses ire after Delhi govt recommends early release of Jessica Lal’s murderer Manu Sharma

Bollywood actress Vidya Balan who had essayed the role of Jessica’s sister Sabrina Lal in Raj Kumar Gupta’s No One Killed Jessica, has reacted strongly to the news of the early release of Manu Sharma, who was convicted for the murder of model Jessica Lal in 1999.

Speaking to a media portal, the actress stated, “Personally speaking, I don’t think any amount of time for him or for people like him in jail is enough. So that will always play in my mind. Yes, maybe he has turned a new leaf. I hope he has. I hope he is a reformed person,” said Vidya.

The Bollywood actress continued, “So that’s all one can hope you know, after spending so much time in jail. That is the point of being in prison, right? That you reform. So let us hope that has happened.”

Convict Manu Sharma was granted early release by Lieutenant Governor of Delhi

Manu Sharma, who was convicted for the murder of model Jessica Lal in 1999, had been granted release by Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal on June 2 on the grounds of “good behaviour”. Baijal granted early release on the recommendation of Delhi state home minister Satyendra Jain.

Sharma is the son of former Congress leader Venod Sharma. News agency ANI reported that a seven-member Sentence Review Board (SRB) had a meeting last month to decide on the release of 34 convicts who are eligible for early release.

Delhi State home minister, who is the chairman of the board along with director-general of prison, home secretary of state, law secretary of state, a district judge, and chief probationary officer of the government along with a joint commissioner rank officer of Delhi Police were part of the Sentence Review Board.

Jessica Lal murder case

43-year-old Siddharth Vashishta, known by his alias Manu Sharma shot dead model Jessica Lal on 30th April 1999 for refusing a drink at a party. She was tending an unlicensed bar at a private party and refused to serve Sharma a drink past midnight, after which Sharma shot her dead. Haryana politician Venod Sharma is his father and has an influential political background.

In February 2006, Sharma was acquitted by a city court, which had triggered protests all over the country. Delhi high court took up the case and reversed the order. They mentioned in the judgment that the lower court ignored or misread material evidence. Sharma was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2006. The judgment was challenged in the Supreme Court, but the court upheld the conviction in 2010.

When Sabrina Lal, sister of Jessica, was approached last month after the board’s decision, she said that she had forgiven Sharma. According to the prison officials, Sharma’s work inside the prison supported his case in front of the SRB. He runs a non-government organization by the name Siddhartha Vashishta Charitable Trust that helps in funding the education of children of prison inmates. The NGO started working in Tihar around eight years ago.

Karnataka: Govt changes quarantine SOPs for Maharashtra returnees, 21 days quarantine to be imposed

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: Govt changes quarantine SOPs for Maharashtra returnees, 21 days quarantine to be imposed

The Karnataka government has brought some change in its earlier released standard operating procedure (SOP) with revised quarantine guidelines.

The earlier SOP stated that returnees from six states with high COVID-19 cases, that is Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, will be kept in institutional quarantine for seven days followed by 7 days of home quarantine while returnees from other low prevalence states would be asked to follow 14 days of home quarantine.

According to the latest information, the Karnataka government has tweaked quarantine requirements for people arriving only from Maharashtra, raising the mandatory isolation time from a fortnight to three weeks, an official said on June 3 (Wednesday).

“Returnees from Maharashtra will be sent to institutional quarantine for seven days, followed by 14 days strict home quarantine, total 21 days,” tweeted Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey.

The 21-day quarantine protocol is for all asymptomatic people returning from Maharashtra, considering most of the coronavirus cases in Karnataka are having domestic travel history to that state. If any of these people kept in quarantine develop Covid symptoms during isolation, they will be subjected to a Covid test, said the orders.

Government provides exceptions to special category passengers

However, according to the Karnataka government, some of these asymptomatic individuals returning from Maharashtra have been provided some exceptions from the 21 days quarantine and designated as special category passengers.

The special category passengers include:

  • people who suffered a death in the family
  • pregnant women
  • children below 10
  • elderly people above 60
  • individuals suffering from serious illnesses, and human distress

Exceptions for business travellers from Maharashtra

Similarly, the department has also made some provisions for business travellers from Maharashtra.

“To establish that one is a business visitor, (that) person should show confirmed return flight or train ticket which should not be more than seven days later from the date of arrival,” ordered Chief Secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar.

Similarly, if a business visitor is arriving on road, he should provide the address proof of the person in Karnataka he intends to meet. Additionally, they should also produce a coronavirus negative test certificate which is not more than two days old.

“If one does not have a COVID negative test certificate such a person should go for institutional quarantine for two days within which COVID test should be conducted at his own cost. After the test result is negative, that person is exempted from quarantine,” he said.

While amending orders for Maharashtra returness, the Karnataka government has kept mostly all conditions for visitors from other states unchanged.

Maharashtra: The worst affected state in the coronavirus pandemic

Maharashtra reported the highest single-day spike in coronavirus deaths on Wednesday with 122 fatalities, taking the total number of deaths in the state to 2,587. The total number of positive cases in the state now stands at 74,860.

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases are drastically increasing in Karnataka, with the state touching the 4000-mark on Wednesday. On Wednesday, 267 cases were reported from across the state of Karnataka, thereby taking the total tally to 4,063. Out of these 267 new cases, 250 were returnees from other states especially Maharashtra.

Tiananmen Square Massacre: The heinous face of communism

Guest Author
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Tiananmen Square Massacre: The heinous face of communism

Looking at the deliberate rise of (left-led) ‘how safe is democracy in India?” debates and posts, I, as a curious student of Political science, decided to read up on major incidents that can be seen as scattered milestones on the horizon of Democracy. And that was when I came across the horrific incident of Tiananmen Square and the massacre that ensued.

Tiananmen Square Massacre
Tiananmen Square Massacre

This is the portrayal of the will of man! The lengths he will go to for his rights and that of his fellow countrymen and this immense bravery needs proper dissemination and a yearly tribute by believers of democracy across the world! 

If we look closely, we see a man, with the nerves of steel standing with his head held high in front of Army tanks while he had shopping bags in his hand. Now obviously, no civilian will go shopping in a war zone which is the place for such heavy-duty tanks. So what were these doing in the middle of city road? 

This heart-wrenching image was taken on 5th June 1989 by a certain photographer named Stuart Franklin, 31 years ago and it still sends chills down my spine. 

The history of this image is wrapped in the incidents of the Tiananmen Square which is a place in the heart of the capital of China. In 1989, thousands of students gathered here for certain political demands. According to History.com, “The Tiananmen Square protests were student-led demonstrations calling for democracy, free speech and a free press in China”. So one may ask what is so horrific about this, why would a group of students who were staging a demonstration for their political right ever be a horror? 

The truth be told, this was not only dreadful and frightening for democracy but for the entire mankind at the same time. 

What really happened at Tiananmen Square – The Massacre

Hu Yaobang, a former Communist Party leader who was vocal about increasing of political freedom died on 15th April 1989. Three days after his death, the populace rose in unanimous mourning in the form of demonstrations for the demand of political freedom as envisaged by Hu Yaobang- because there could be no better way of paying tribute to him. In just a month, around mid-May, the demonstrators realized that the ruling communist government would not let this dream come true and more than 100 students began a hunger strike at Tiananmen Square on May 13, 1989. These hundred students were later joined by thousands of citizens: all of whom were innocently and non-violently demanding political freedom in the form of demanding democracy.  

To a sane, considerate government, this humongous number of people on a hunger strike would be an absolutely radical situation. One man in India sat on an indefinite hunger strike and the government had to come up with the RTI act, but here in the heart of communism, the Chinese government was all set to commit a sin against humanity. 

Immediately after the hunger strike began, Premier Li Peng imposed martial law on May 19, 1989, in a fanatic attempt of suppressing the voices that were dying to be heard. Despite all the desperate efforts by the authorities, when the protesters were unmoved, and their resolve was steadfast, the communist government, unleashed their demonic side on the demonstrators when the movement was at its peak on 4th June 1989. 

At about 1 AM, the communist government took an outrageous decision of unbridling their armed forces on these 1.2 million people demanding freedom in their own capital. Throughout the day, Chinese troops opened fire on civilians and students, brutally crushing the movement, killing anyone in sight and muting the cries for democracy that were once echoing in that arena. There was violence and bloodshed of unimaginable magnitude, lives were lost and the pro-democracy slogans were soon turned into wailing of men and women alike, pleading for help and mercy. This was done when millions of people had already joined hands with each other over the firm resolve of establishing democracy and political freedom in China only in order to silence the public mandate. 

Statistic

The official statistic was never released by the Chinese government. While by the end of June a vague figure of the death of 200 civilians and ‘several dozen security personnel’ was given out, it is highly unbelievable and drenched in lies. According to BBC, more shockingly in 2017, newly released UK documents revealed that a diplomatic cable from then British Ambassador to China, Sir Alan Donald, had said that 10,000 people had died in this massacre.  

This was the most believable yet unofficial and estimated number of people who were killed for demanding a secure political environment. 

The tank man in the Tiananmen Square picture

After the unleashing of the army upon the demonstrators, on the next day, an unidentified man stood in front of army tanks in Beijing. This is the man that we started this article with. The Tiananmen protests were immortalized in Western media on 5 June through the image of a lone man in a white shirt carrying shopping bags, facing an imposing column of military tanks sent by the government to disperse protesters. The man is known simply as Tank Man: his identity has never been confirmed. 

This hidden hero became the shield for the protesters of Tiananmen Square. His resolve became the barrier that was needed by the demonstrators against the tyranny of their government. He became the symbol of democratic persistence against communal despotism. 

The value of democracy

Reading up upon this incident painfully reminded me of how certain irresponsible sections of our society today have begun to take this freedom, this democracy and these rights of granted. How they have shamelessly begun misusing it, how they have completely set out against the nationalist, democratic ideals and have rather tilted towards bigotry and hypocrisy in the name of “freedom of speech”, how their selective sensitivity and propaganda has begun the rotting process of several pillars of this country. 

We are one of those few lucky countries who have been able to nurture the sanity that keeps a democratic ideology alive and functional through the corridors of our parliament but today, in the name of opposition, in the name of criticism, in the name of (pseudo) secularism and liberalism this pious ideal is being dented. 

This incident brought a boil to my blood and fervour ran through my arteries to know about such heinous and brutal deeds of a country which even today has left no stone unturned in troubling the entire world! We as humans must feel ashamed. 

Conclusion 

While the world may fail or skip to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the iconic sacrifice that took place at the Tiananmen Square, I pray that the heroes who lost their lives get justice and their legacy lives on. I, as a student and as an Indian also hope that the divisive forces of this country will also, kneel in front of the spirit of democracy, respect it and carry it forward without any propaganda-driven selfishness. 

I also at the same time urge to the international watchdogs of human rights and justice to hold the communist government responsible for this mass murder of their own people. This is no joke, this is not a light matter, this is a grave issue and no one knows how many people even today, across the world are going through hell under such brutal, fascist, inconsiderate and sinful regimes; justice must be served to all of them and one must remember, justice delayed is justice denied. 

Let us, as a global village begin holding such radical thoughts accountable for the crimes that the commit against humanity. 

I might not have been present on this earth on that fateful date, but today, on the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre I not only remember, but also bow down to these heroes of ‘political freedom’. I also, count my blessings here to be a part of the world’s largest democracy and my heart cries out for people who are kept away from this boon. May we all one day be free citizens living a life of prosperity and dignity under the guidance of a government that we chose! 

(This article has been authored by Anandita Sing, who is a researcher in Center for North East Studies, New Delhi)

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