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Are we as parents willing to take risk of exposing our children? Parents express angst, demand cancellation of Board Exams

OpIndia Staff
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Are we as parents willing to take risk of exposing our children? Parents express angst, demand cancellation of Board Exams

Parents of children whose board exams are scheduled for July are demanding that the exams be cancelled in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. They are concerned that conducting exams at this time will risk the health of their wards. CBSE and ICSE had announced that they will conduct the pending exams in July.

In an initiative launched by the parents of children, questions were raised regarding the feasibility of conducting exams at this point. It was pointed out that when the exams were abandoned, there were a lot fewer cases in India than the figures currently. The parents demanded to know what was the guarantee that their wards will not contract the virus during the examination.

The parents pointed out that answer sheets, question papers and other materials necessary for exams are handled by a lot of people which could further aid in the spread of the virus. The parents stated further, “Are we as parents willing to take the risk of exposing our children to the virus? No. Is the Board willing to take a risk? It appears so.”

The parents also pointed out that it could very well be that children prepare for these exams but in the end, due to unforeseeable circumstances, the exams could be cancelled again which would then significantly affect the morale of the students. Thus, they assert that it could very well impact the psychological and physical well-being of the children. They were also concerned that the children could develop the infection right before the exams, which would then impact their future.

A petition was also filed in this regard in the Bombay High Court. Advocate Arvind Tiwari, who filed the said case, said that the results could be declared on the basis of past performances and examinations already held. He also happens to be the parent of a student in Class X. The Bombay HC was also informed that the CISCE has decided that students will be given the option to decide whether they wish to appear for the exams or thy seek their marks to be evaluated on the basis of their pre-board exams conducted by their own school.

The CISCE said that its paramount objective is to “protect the safety, well-being and academic endeavours of students sitting for the ICSE and ISC examinations”. Consequently, it was decide to provide the above mentioned option to the students. The students will be required to inform their schools of their decision and the school will forward the same to the CISCE.

Press release by CISCE

In the event that the exams are cancelled again for some reason, then the marks will be allotted based on their performance in their pre-board exams. It has also been made very clear that students can change their decision from taking the examination to not appearing for it at any point of time prior to the examination provided that the school has informed the same about it to the Board. Consistent with the decision taken by the CISCE, schools have already initiated the process with their students.

There are some concerns, however, regarding the options that have been made available. It is known that students don’t score as high as they would in Board Exams in their pre-board exams. There are a variety of reasons for this. Firstly, the question paper in these exams are much more difficult than board exams as schools want to put their students through the harshest test in these exams itself.

Furthermore, students are also raised with the expectation that these pre-board exams do not really matter and hence, they always prioritise their board exams over the pre-boards. Also, examiners are also a bit misery in awarding marks in these exams because they do not want students to feel overconfident regarding their prospects.

For all these reasons, the marks secured by students in these exams are not truly reflective of the marks they would normally score in Board exams. Hence, concerns have been raised with regards to this in the Court as well. It is now believed that the Boards will come up with some sort of mechanism to ensure that the marks that are eventually allotted to students in their final exams on the basis of pre-board exams are as reflective of their abilities as they could possibly be.

For this reason, many parents are of the opinion that it is forcing the students to choose between two very bad choices. Given such a situation, it is unclear what the consequence will be. And parents are still demanding that the exams be cancelled. It is pertinent to mention here that certain boards have already cancelled their exams for class X following pressure from parents.

The previous Tuesday, Tamil Nadu announced the cancellation of their exams and their decision to promote all students to class XI. It was also decided that board exams for class XI will also be cancelled. He also announced that the marks will be allotted based on the marks on their internal exams and based on their attendance.

Telangana also decided to promote all Class X students and award them grades based on internal assessment by the schools in previous examinations. It was also announced that a decision will be taken on post-graduate examinations based on prevailing circumstances in the near future.

Under such circumstances, it is unlikely that any solution will be reached that will please all parties. And no matter what decision is taken, someone or the other will remain dissatisfied with the outcome. Even so, the cancellation of the exams do appear to be the safest path forward given the threat that the pandemic poses.

Delaware: Hindus unveil a 25-feet-tall statue of Lord Hanuman in the United States

OpIndia Staff
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Delaware: Hindus unveil a 25-feet-tall statue of Lord Hanuman in the United States

A 25 feet-tall-statue was of Lord Hanuman was reportedly unveiled in the city of Hockessin in Delaware, United States on Monday. It is the tallest Hindu statue in the North American country now and the second tallest religious statue in Delaware, next only to Our Lady Queen of Peace statue. The sculpture, carved from a single block of granite, weighs more than 30,000 kg and is 25 feet tall.

The Hindu statue cost more than $1,00,000 and was procured from Warangal, Telangana. The handcrafted statue was chiselled by more than a dozen artisans and took almost a year to complete. It was then transported from Hyderabad to New York by ship and to then to Delaware via a truck.

The installation process was organised by temple priests for over 10 days and more than 300 Hindu families who donned orange T-shirts that read, ‘The hanuman Project.’ Reportedly, a priest from Bengaluru named Nagraj Bhattar performed a purification of the idol with rice, water, and flowers.

This was followed by puja for divine intervention, amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. Senator Chris Coons, New Castle County executive Matt Myer, and Lt. Governor (Delaware) Bethany Hall-Long was present during the unveiling of the statue and sought blessings at the temple.

10 day-ritual for idol purification

“Once the statue is made according to a prescribed process by an artisan and is delivered to the temple, the temple priests normally conduct a 10 day, a 5 to 10-day rituals, mostly involving fire offerings and other rituals. And also the community is invited to bond with the statue,” the president of Hindu Temple Association, Patibanda Sharma, was quoted as saying. He added that two Hindu rituals namely, ‘Yantra Pratishtha’ and ‘Prana Prathista’ will be performed for the correct installation of the idol.

Sharma also thanked non-Hindus who helped in erecting the mammoth statue of Lord Hanuman. He said, “It is a big tribute to all the people who handled the idol, we have been very fortunate, I must say whenever we have any contract, whether it is crane operators to lift or concrete operators to install. I am not exaggerating, they take more than more care than we do ourselves… very careful about handling the statue, and being respectful, that’s more important.”

No mass gatherings

Owing to the Coronavirus pandemic, special arrangements have been made to avoid large gatherings. Devotees would be allowed in batches to offer their prayers and the idol would be made open to people of all Faiths in the upcoming days. Visitors need to signup on the temple’s website to book their preferred time slots.

The temple was established in 1996 and is frequented by thousands of practitioners of the Hindu Faith. The temple reportedly provides spiritual, wedding and catering services with the help of a network of volunteers. The statue of Lord Hanuman represents strength and victory over evil.

CPI(M) protest against Modi govt’s ‘anti-people policies’ holding placards asking Brazilian President to go home

OpIndia Staff
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CPI(M) protest against Modi govt’s ‘anti-people policies’ holding placards asking Brazilian President to go home

The Communist Party of India (Marxist), on June 16 (Tuesday) organised an all-India protest against the Narendra Modi-led NDA government’s policies which according to them have failed in combating not only the spread of COVID-19 but also the economic slowdown. Several leaders and members including veteran leaders like Sitaram Yechury of the CPI(M) and Polit Bureau (PB) members including Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, Nilotpal Basu and Hanan Mollah held placards and raised slogans against the Modi government.

CPI(M) uses old placards

The ‘protest’, however, turned into a mockery after CPI(M) members were amusingly seen protesting holding an old placard asking Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to go home. CPI(M), probably in a haste carried an old placard, a goof-up which did not miss to catch the attention of social media users as well.

A Polit Buro member protesting against Modi govt holding placard asking Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to go home

Abhijit Iyer Mitra took to Twitter to question CPI(M) intention behind carrying a six-month-old placard asking Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to go home. “Running out of money for cardboard & pens”? questioned Mitra in a light note.

Sitaram Yechury, while addressing the media, said “People are going hungry. They don’t have food to eat. We cannot have hunger deaths and self-reliant India simultaneously.” He also commented on PM Narendra Modi’s announcement of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. “You (Narendra Modi government) are privatising all the public sector, scrapping the labour laws, this will not make India self-reliant”, said party’s general secretary Sitaram Yechury who led the protest at the CPI(M) central committee office in Delhi today.

Nevertheless, while protesting, the communists, in a haste, used a few old placards they probably made while protesting Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro’s visit to India as the chief guest at the 71st Republic Day Parade in January this year.

Brazil President Jair Messias Bolsonaro attended Republic Day parade as chief guest

Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro had visited India on January 24, on the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, primarily to be the chief guest at the 71st Republic Day Parade and also explore ways to boost trade and the economic ties between the India and Brazil.

Then, the CPI(M) West Bengal had protested asking the Brazilian President to go back. Taking to Twitter the communists had then said: “#Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro who adheres to a far right-wing ideology, kingpin of the destruction & exploitation of the Amazon forests for corporate loot, mastermind behind curbing the rights of the workers of #Brazil is not welcome in India #GoBackBolsonaro #RepublicDay2020”

CPI(M) youth wing trolled for ‘protesting’ in front of the closed embassy of the Brazilian government

Last year too, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) had held ‘protests’ near the Brazilian embassy in Delhi over the burning of the Amazonian rainforest. The DYFI is a leftist organisation considered as the youth wing of CPI(M).

DYFI’s All India President PA Mohammad Riyas had shared the images of DYFI cadre then ‘protesting’ in front of the Brazilian embassy in Delhi. However, then too, DYFI had apparently forgotten that the day they had chosen to protest was a Sunday and being a holiday, the Brazilian Embassy was closed on that day.

The too, the ‘protest’ had attracted some trolling where social media users asked the relevance and purpose of communists protesting against something happening in the Brazilian rainforest while they were oblivious to environmental issues in Kerala.

4 tragic deaths that ‘liberals’ exploited to further their propaganda. Read the details

Jinit Jain
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4 tragic deaths that ‘liberals’ exploited to further their propaganda. Read the details

The unfortunate demise of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput has once again brought to fore the treachery of so-called liberals in co-opting deaths to further their propaganda. While they pontificate others on allowing the bereaved family and friends space and privacy to mourn for their loss, they do not shy away from using the same deaths to build a narrative favourable to their espoused cause.

For a long time now, liberals have been dubbed by many as “scavenger activists” trying to exploit deaths to consolidate their propaganda against the Modi government. From falsely smelling foul play in natural deaths to blatantly communalising horrifying atrocities to absolving themselves of any blame by painting the victim as “mentally unstable”, the coterie of leftist liberals have gone to a remarkable extent to safeguard themselves from any criticism while simultaneously portraying the central government as guilty of wrongdoing.

Here are a few instances when scavengers masquerading as self-righteous liberals have exploited unfortunate deaths to shore up their floundering propaganda:

Sushant Singh Rajput

Sushant, an actor par excellence, was just 34 when he allegedly committed suicide. Besides being an exceptionally talented actor, he was also a rank-holder in the engineering entrance exam and was lately fascinated with astrophysics. The untimely death of a young successful actor such as Sushant Singh Rajput has sent shockwaves across the country.

While the nation tries to yank itself out of the mourning induced by Sushant Singh Rajput’s departure, there have been some prominent individuals in Bollywood who have wasted no time in casting aspersions on Sushant’s psychological health and attributing the death to his mental illness and depression even when the investigation is still underway.

As the blame of Sushant’s alleged suicide pivoted on Karan Johar and other senior celebrities, popular Bollywood critics and starlets came together to patronisingly assert that the Kai Po Che actor was ailing from a mental illness and support one of their own(since Sushant was considered as “outsider”). Bollywood critic Subash K Jha penned an article claiming how Sushant, who many believe was bullied and pushed over the edge, was ‘mentally unstable’.

Another actor, Sonam Kapoor, in a bid to shield the industry stalwarts who allegedly pushed Sushant to the brink, claimed that blaming a girlfriend, ex-girlfriend, family, colleagues for someone’s death is ignorant and inconsiderate. Similarly, Swara Bhaskar, Sonam’s colleague came out to defend Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt, who were accused of bullying Sushant Singh Rajput on their show through mean comments and ridicule.

Liberal lodestar Rajdeep Sardesai too jumped into the defence of the Bollywood heavyweights when he raised questions over the Maharashtra government’s decision to launch an investigation to determine if his decision to commit suicide was influenced by professional rivalry. Taking to Twitter, Sardesai wrote that this is what happens when governments watch ‘too much social media’ and the Mumbai police should instead let Sushant Singh Rajput ‘rest in peace’ and let his family ‘mourn quietly’. This when all unnatural deaths are to be investigated as per law.

While it would be difficult to ascertain the true reasons that pushed Sushant over the edge, efforts are already underway by the liberal and Bollywood coterie to paint Sushant as a victim of clinical depression and absolve themselves from the collective guilt of his death.

Rohith Vemula

Arguably, the suicide of Rohith Vemula had been one of the most politicised deaths in contemporary times. On January 17, 2016, Rohith Vemula, a PhD scholar at the University of Hyderabad, committed suicide. The claim that he was Dalit, which was later disputed, was enough for the opposition political parties and liberals to raise a caste discrimination bogey and weave a narrative against the Modi government of being oppressive against the lower caste members of the society. This despite the fact that his suicide note talked about his disillusionment with Students Federation of India (SFI).

Rohith Vemula’s suicide quickly became a hot topic of debate in India. It was dishonestly spun into a political battle of Dalits vs Non-Dalits. Politicians like Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi spared no time to extract maximum mileage out of this event and dragging the Modi government through the dirt. An online mob of coddled leftists masquerading as custodians of Dalits indulged in scavenger activism to smear the Modi government. They claimed that the differential treatment meted out to him by the University as compared to the general category students pushed him over the brink to take such a decision.

Months later, Justice Ashok Kumar Roopanwal (retired), who inquired into the events at the University of Hyderabad that led to the suicide of student Rohith Vemula, has furnished the report which said, “the suicide did not relate to any activities of the university administration or the above political leaders including the vice-chancellor, Prof. Appa Rao Podile. It was wholly a decision of his own. His suicide note is on the record which shows that Rohith Vemula had his own problems and was not happy with worldly affairs. He was feeling frustrated for reasons best known to him.”

Even Rohith Vemula’s father blew the lid over his caste, claiming that both he and his wife (Rohith’s mother) are from the Veddera caste and are not Mala of Madigas (SC or ST). This flies in the face of earlier reports which claimed that although Rohith’s father was a Veddera, his mother was a Dalit (SC or ST) and hence Rohith chose his mother’s caste after her separation from her husband. His father had alleged that his son was murdered and attacked the “vulture politics” by the leftists to use his son’s unfortunate demise as a plank to mount an attack against the central government.

Kathua rape and murder case

In 2018, a horrifying case of rape and subsequent murder of an 8-year-old had shaken the conscience of the entire nation. The victim, an eight-year-old girl from the nomadic Bakherwal tribe was kidnapped and was reported missing from 10th January 2018 near the Rasana village. Her body was found a week later in the nearby woods.

Village head Sanji Ram, four policemen including two special police officers Deepak Khajuria, Surender Verma, head constable Tilak Raj, sub-inspector Anand Dutta were convicted by Pathankot court in Kathua rape and murder case. One accused named Vishal Jangotra, son of the main accused Sanjhi Ram was acquited from the case after he provided an alibi stating that he was away from Jammu to appear for an examination. 

However, soon after the blood-curdling incident came to fore, liberals and their Bollywood counterparts made a beeline to malign Hinduism and Hindus by highlighting the fact that the rape and murder presumably took place inside the temple. A placard campaign was run on the social media where liberals denounced the incident while pointing out that the incident took place inside a “Devisthan”.

Swara Bhaskar, Kareena Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, whose new film Veere Di Wedding was due to release then, took the opportunity of garnering cheap publicity by holding out a placard emphasising how they are ‘Hindustan’ and how the rape took place inside a temple. 

Instead of talking about the bestiality of the crime committed against an 8-year-old girl, assorted liberals, including leftist organisations such as NDTV, brazenly communalised the incidents by distinguishing between the religions professed by the victim and her oppressors. Exploiting the poor girl’s death, they pulled out the communal angle into the incident by alleging that the Muslim victim was raped and killed by the Hindu perpetrators because they harboured deep animosity against the Muslims.

Judge Loya death

Judge Loya’s natural death was one of such passing aways that is still invoked by the liberals to cast aspersions on the Modi government and paint them in a bad light. Judge Loya, the judge who was presiding over the Sohrabuddin murder trial where BJP President Amit Shah was the main accused, passed away in December 2014.

But three years after the death, in November last year, a magazine named Caravan came out with a sensational story, which insinuated possible foul play behind the death, which was deemed as a natural death. Caravan’s story was later debunked to a large extent by an Indian Express article and an inconsistency, which the IE failed to address, was explored and debunked by OpIndia.

However, despite the expose by the Indian Express and OpIndia, allegations about a possible connection of Amit Shah into the alleged murder of Justice Loya kept surfacing, thanks to the remarkable co-ordination between lawyers, leftists, politicians and propagandists.

Even the courts rejected the notion of foul play that was alleged by the petitioners concerning the death of Justice Loya. The Supreme Court bench dismissed the Loya PIL petitions and systematically countered the major arguments put forth by the petitioners that the death of judge B.H. Loya raised reasonable suspicion of foul play.

But, the incestuous bunch of liberals tried to undermine the judiciary by casting aspersions on its judgement and trying to prove that the death of Judge Loya was a ‘murder’ and not natural. Despite Loya’s sister, whose statements were used as a basis to cry foul denying everything. She said she was manipulated and that this entire episode was a media hit job. Congress used shady “whistleblowers” with questionable pasts to create this monster of a controversy. Loya’s son pleaded to be left alone, but the ‘cabal’ lied that the press conference was organised by Amit Shah and the son was being coerced. So firm was the propaganda weaved around Justice Loya’s death that even today former Congress President Rahul Gandhi refers to the natural death of Justice Loya as a conspiracy by the BJP to stave off legal implications.

Taj Man Singh, Surya hotels converted to Coronavirus facilities as the pandemic situation in Delhi worsens

OpIndia Staff
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Taj Man Singh, Surya hotels converted to Coronavirus facilities as the pandemic situation in Delhi worsens

Amid the rising Wuhan coronavirus cases in the National Capital, the Delhi Government has converted hotels including Taj Man Singh into a coronavirus facility.

As per the notice issued by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Chanakyapuri, the Government of NCT of Delhi has ordered the Taj Man Singh to isolate all their rooms and place them at the disposal of Sir Gangaram Hospital.

The government order states that while biomedical waste disposal, transfer, ambulance, providing protective gear and necessary training will be the responsibility of the said hospital and Taj Man Singh hotel will take care of house-keeping, disinfection, food and other room services.

The order also stated that the hotel will collect payments from the hospital.

Surya Hotel and Hotel Crown plaza also converted into isolation facilities

Prior to this, on the advice of an expert committee, the Delhi High court had okayed the idea of converting Hotel Surya and Hotel Crown Plaza into isolation facilities for the coronavirus patients.

The expert committee comprising AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria and Niti Aayog member VK Paul had submitted its report before Delhi High Court judge Navin Chawla. The committee had suggested that it will be “advisable and infrastructurally feasible” to use them to increase the capacity of Delhi hospitals. The hearing was conducted through video conferencing.

The report stated, “The committee after visiting the hotels is of the opinion that it is advisable as well as infrastructurally feasible to use Hotel Surya, New Friends Colony and Hotel Crowne Plaza in Okhla as extended COVID facilities in Delhi.”

Banquet halls in Surya and Crown Plaza to become COVID-19 care facilities

The panel had stated that the banquet hall of Surya Hotel can accommodate 50-60 beds and central nursing station while Hotel Crown plaza has a banquet hall that can accommodate 25 beds. The report stated, “These banquet halls can be appropriately equipped and converted into dedicated COVID health centres if the need arises on account of acute shortage of hospital beds in the NCT of Delhi.”

The report clarified the guest rooms of the said hotels do not have oxygen supply, patient monitoring devices and nurse call system that’s why the rooms will be unsuitable.

The concernned hospitals are to ensure the availability of Hydroxychloroquine, and other medications and appropriate Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for the hospital and hotel staff on COVID duty. The hospitals have also been instructed to provide training and even deploy their own doctors, nurses and paramdics on their own expense.

Karnataka: 13 calves rescued by volunteers from illegal slaughterhouse where beef was being sold as mutton

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: 13 calves rescued by volunteers from illegal slaughterhouse where beef was being sold as mutton

Acting on a complaint by an NGO, police raided a few mutton shops in Arsikere in Karnataka where butchers sold beef as mutton. Volunteers also rescued 13 calves from illegal slaughterhouse.

As per reports, Gau Gyan Foundation, an NGO from Karnataka, got a tipoff about an illegal slaughterhouse in Arsikere where hundreds of cows and calves were butchered and beef was sold as mutton. Nandini Matiyani, a volunteer with the NGO, said that while some sellers were caught red-handed, some managed to escape. She said that despite strict rules against cow slaughter, dead bodies of slaughtered cows and calves were found lying there.

Shocking scenes at the slaughterhouse

As reported by Bangalore Mirror, Matiyani said that the place was extremely unsanitary and there were heads and legs of cows in one corner while live calves were tied on the other corner. As per the law, no animal should be slaughtered in front of each other. There was one room filled with bones and carcasses.

The slaughterhouse was breaking numerous laws, including the dumping of carcasses. They were dumping them in the open on the outskirts of the city that is strictly prohibited. The NGO rescued six calves and seven cattle from the slaughterhouse and sent them to a shelter house in Mandya, where more than 1300 rescued cattle live.

Arrests made for selling beef as mutton

Police arrested three persons under Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Prevention Act. They have been identified as Shahabaj, Rehman and Afroz who owned three mutton stalls.

Rise of Urban Naxals in India: Delhi anti-Hindu riots and the loons of Democratic Terrorism

Guest Author
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Rise of Urban Naxals in India: Delhi anti-Hindu riots and the loons of Democratic Terrorism

As the biggest democracy in the world, India is being considered a pioneer in free speech tolerance against anyone and anything. It is a fundamental right enshrined into the basic structure of the Constitution of India. But in this contemporary world, the meaning of free speech has undergone various transformations or one could say a mutation of some sorts which has resulted into “Free Speech Terrorism” which the drafters of the Constitution would never have imagined in the first place.

Although the Indian Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary are quite clear on this concept, in order to uphold their political motives, some of the Indian citizens have turned to such Speech Terrorism which directly attacks the basic fundamentals of a Democracy. The concept of physical bombs have been replaced with Free Speech bombs time and again dropped at the integrity and dignity of India as a whole, by speech extremists who have nothing to gain in principle but everything to gain politically. 

The year is 2014 and the majority party BJP under the leadership of Narendra Damodardas Modi comes into power at the Centre and forms the NDA-led Government in India. However, 2014 also marks the beginning of the conspiracy to wretchedly undermine the authority of India at the global platform. A whole span of 10 years of Congress leadership and a boatful of nationalized corruption quite similar to those of British and Islamic reigns over the last few centuries across India, cleared the air about the meaning of upright and transparent governance – that Congress cannot be the one leading this nation.

Nonetheless, the political delinquents left no stone unturned to topple the current Central authority of the National Democratic Alliance. Now the year is 2020 and the seeds of conspiracy sprouted into such a poisonous tree which only injects poison into the society. It all started with the NRC and Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) passed by the Government of India. Due to the horrendous and torturous acts committed by Muslims against its minorities comprising of Hindus, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs and Parsees in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, many refugees have migrated to India in the past decades.

Applying its secular ideologies, the Government of India passed the CAA in order to grant citizenship to the above-mentioned refugees. Moreover, after the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971, lakhs of refugees belonging to multiple religions illegally migrated to India and settled mostly in the eastern states. Till date, such incoming was prevalent in Assam and West Bengal and therefore, to counter this situation, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was implemented so that the illegal migrants could be weeded out. However, a particular section of people vocally and violently opposed the two aforesaid legislation enacted by the Government of India and was declared to be anti-Muslims by the so-called leftists. 

The protests against NRC and CAA started on December 15th, 2020 with a group of women in the form of an indefinite sitting at Shaheen Bagh, North East Delhi. Amongst them was a group named “Pinjra Tod Gang”. To people who have heard of Pinjara Tod, it may be a group formed solely for the purposes of protecting women rights as it was actually formed back in 2015 by a handful of women. However, a group formed to change the perception of women in the society now protesting against the revocation of Article 370 and organizing violent protests against the passing of NRC and CAA goes way beyond the idea of protecting the dignity and integrity of women. However, groups like Pinjra Tod are a product of something beyond humanity or morality – a long-standing struggle to overthrow a good government like BJP so that opposition parties could establish governance laced with the poison of corruption.

Pinjra Tod is practically not a mere group but a gang which is a part of a bigger and more horrendous conspiracy which has revealed itself shamelessly to the world. For instance, a Facebook post of around 1000 words by Pinjra Tod gang aimed at the Kashmir issue, specifically targeting Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and BJP as a whole, contained the word “women” only once and that too in a general sense. Now an organization solely formed for the protection of women targeting BJP and Kashmir issue while completely forgetting about social issues and shackles around women, depicts the integrity of such bogus organization even a layman could easily understand.

A small peaceful protest at Shaheen Bagh turned into an agitation making infants and children scapegoats which led to numerous deaths of the young ones, further leading to one of the most brutal and violent protests in the history of India. But it was only a blaze of wind when the storm was already coming. In the last week of February 2020, several buildings and markets in the Maujpur area were set on fire, vehicles were stopped and set ablaze, even journalists were not allowed to record anything as their cameras were snatched away. In the midst of this violence, a person named Mohammed Shahrukh suddenly stepped into the limelight and fired 8 pistol shots at the mob and inciting the mob to extreme violence. Although he absconded right away, he was later arrested by the police from Shamli in the first week of March 2020.

Consequently, curfew was imposed in various regions of the North East Delhi but the violence was still uncontainable which finally led to the deaths of more than 50 people. However, in the midst of all this commotion, the real objective of the perpetrators was being secretly carried out and numerous conspiracies were hatched beforehand. At the end of the riots, Ankit Sharma, a 26-year-old Intelligence Bureau staffer, was found dead in a drain in Chand Bagh area on 26th February 2020. He was found with 12 stab wounds and 33 blunt injuries, which clearly depicted a targeted murder and not a random killing resulting from a riot. Some eye-witnesses stated that Ankit Sharma was allegedly dragged by the mob in the office of Tahir Hussain, Aam Aadmi Party Councillor and was killed inside the office. After that, his body was dumped in the drain just 200 meters away from his house. An FIR was immediately registered against the AAP councillor and several perpetrators for the murder of Ankit Sharma.

The Indian visit of the U.S. President Donald Trump and Delhi riots happening simultaneously is more than just a coincidence, as rightly pointed out by Ms Kiran Bedi, where she stated, “The visit had a lot of potentials to strengthen the country’s economy. More economy means more wealth, jobs, industries and prosperity. The violence happened at the time when India was being lauded by the world’s most powerful country. Any true lover of the country would have never done this.” These words raise the million-dollar question – If the ruling party, i.e., BJP and their associates are inviting a foreign President to India, then who would cause the occurrence of these intervening riots at the same time to malign the reputation of India and BJP itself?

The narrative has evidently tried to surround the BJP leader Kapil Mishra for the inception of the Delhi riots. But then one more question arises as to why would the ruling party sabotage itself during Trump’s visit, which makes no sense at all. Mishra’s alleged hate speech on 23rd February 2020 has been held by many Urban Naxals to be a catalyst for Delhi riots but everyone in the world has very conveniently forgotten the anti-secular and anti-national statements made by AIMIM Leader Waris Pathan on February 16th 2020 in a rally in Karnataka, a week before the Kapil Mishra’s alleged statements, where Mr Pathan stated, “We have to take Azadi, things we don’t get by asking, we have to take it by force, remember it… we maybe 15 crores in number but are heavy on 100 crores, remember it.”

An FIR was lodged against him for such statements but the anti-Hindu narrative promulgated by the urban Naxals immediately suppressed such statements and people lost track of the same. Similar was a fate of anti-India statements made by Sharjeel Imam in the eyes of Urban Naxals. So the answer to the above-mentioned question is that who would gain the most in tarnishing the image of BJP in front of the whole world – it is either the Pinjra Tod Gang or the opposition parties or the urban Naxals or the Leftists or it is something much beyond a local conspiracy, comprising All of Them at once. 

On 2nd June 2020, a 1,030 pages charge-sheet was filed against Tahir Hussain (the mastermind of the conspiracy in Delhi Riots) and 14 others in Karkardooma Court in connection to the Delhi Riots. The police have found petrol bombs at the terrace of Tahir Hussain. They have also found that Tahir Hussain has 100 live ammunition from which only 64 ammunition and 22 shells have been recovered, which further shows the pre-planned conspiracy of Delhi Riots hatched by Tahir Hussain with the help of various organizations and people including the Pinjra Tod Gang, Umar Khalid, etc.

In the Jafrabad Riot case also the Delhi Police filed a charge sheet on the same day. The list of arrested accused persons, in this case, includes the names of Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita. Both Natasha and Devangana belong to “Pinjratod Gang” and were actively involved in hatching the conspiracy to cause riots near Jafrabad Metro Station. They were also part of a larger conspiracy and were found to be connected to the “India Against Hate” group and Umar Khalid. The message found in the phone of an accused, on Whatsapp chat, reveals the conspiracy and the extent of preparation for causing riots.

Both the charge sheets of the Delhi Police make it clear that the Delhi riots were done in a completely planned manner. Their main objective was to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the country during the visit of US President Trump and throw Delhi into a state of anarchy.         

The current anti-India narrative promulgated by various individuals, groups and organizations are trying hard in tainting the true picture of the Indian society. All these individuals, groups and organizations have united in an anti-India and anti-secular movement in the past few years and have bathed in the blood of the Naxal narrative of destroying India. In this regard, the term “Urban Naxals” has come into being. According to Vivek Agnihotri, a Bollywood Filmmaker, an ‘Urban Naxal’ is an intellectual, influencer or activist who is an invisible enemy of India.

Now in the present context, it becomes quite relevant when people like Swara Bhaskar, Kanhaiya Kumar, with their ulterior ambitions of procuring a seat in the Parliament, specifically targets the policies of the Central Government or specifically, the BJP. However, it is astonishing as to where the voices of these people were, when the Commonwealth scams and the 2G scams during the Congress-led Government were looting the Indian people at a magnitude of 1 lakh crore Rupees or very recently on 16 April 2020, a group of men lynched two Hindu Sadhus and their driver in Gadchinchale Village, Palghar District, Maharashtra in the presence of policemen or 40-year-old Kashmiri pandit sarpanch Ajay Pandita was killed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag on 08 June 2020. 

Free Speech has been weaponized and targeted for the past few years now as the Urban Naxals have continually shown. The democratic freedom of free speech has vehemently and maliciously crossed the limits of the fundamental right thereby attacking the whole state order in the country. In contemporary India, people like Swara Bhaskar, Arundhati Roy, Kanhaiya Kumar provide their active vocal support to terrorists like Afzal Guru which itself questions the whole structure and premise of the fundamental right of free speech and expression.

Urban Naxals have not only supported anti-India movements and slogans, but they have also gone to the extreme lengths of discrediting the Constitution of India and every one of its laws therein. Bygone are those days when terrorists used Bombs to kill and destroy – the age of Free Speech Terrorism totally unregulated by any law or authority has arrived in India as the words themselves are more than enough for these Urban Naxals to create any kind of bomb to destroy India.

Delhi Riots 2020 is the biggest example of such Free Speech Terrorism laced with the poisonous conspiracy of Pinjra Tod Gang, AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain, Opposition Parties, Umar Khalid, Waris Pathan, etc to completely shatter the efforts of peace and harmony established by the BJP-led government. It is the animosity towards a better India and hunger for power which is driving these Urban Naxals towards Hate Speech and violence. 

The inciting statements of Sharjeel Imam, Waris Pathan and Umar Khalid and various other Leftists and Urban Naxals right before the Delhi Riots, complete deviation of Pinjra Tod Gang from their founding objectives of protecting women rights, visit of US President, the re-election of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of India, passing of CAA bill and NRC have been key contributors in the hatching of the conspiracy to undermine the integrity of India before the global audience which has been a complete success in their eyes but fortunately, India as a country with such a rich culture, democratic approach and Unity in diversity is much more above the dreams of these Urban Naxals. These people consider themselves to be above law as evident from their anti-nationalist and anti-secular speeches.

Recently, Safoora Zargar, an activist allegedly leading the anti-CAA protests was booked under the Unlawful Activities Act and was arrested. Although she was even denied bail, Urban Naxals have tried to transform a criminal into a victim by playing her pregnancy card while stating that she was arrested while being pregnant. Now if we go by such a thought process, it can be inferred that any pregnant woman in the territory of India can wage war against the Government of India and go free just because she is pregnant. If only the criminal justice system could work through such an absurd theory, Nalini Srihara wouldn’t have been arrested in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi as at the time of arrest, she was 2-months pregnant. Using such tactics, the Urban Naxals have been continuously trying to swerve the Indian narrative against the BJP and in that process, Delhi Riots was just the beginning.

Ankit Sharma, Dalbir Singh Negi, Rattan Lal, Veerbhan, Vinod Singh Kashyap, Dinesh Kumar Khatik, Rahul Solanki, Maroof Ali and Rahul Singh are some of the many innocent people who died at the hands of a political and anti-nationalist agenda of the Urban Naxals. It is estimated that if the US President was not visiting at that time, Delhi Riots would not have occurred as the same was a well-planned criminal conspiracy hatched by the Anti-nationalists, Leftists and Urban Naxals hand-in-gloves in order to destroy the integrity and dignity of India before the world.

The road starting from the conspiracy and leading to remove BJP led Government from power in the centre has been full of anti-national activities and on such a dangerous road, murder and destruction of India are only part and parcel of the end goal for these anti-nationalists. While Kapil Mishra and his associates were tending to the Delhi Riot victims with his various relief works, these anti-nationalists were busy blaming the BJP government which further shows the evil spirit residing in their souls. Now is the time for the Indian people to reunite and fight against these anti-nationalists and Free Speech Terrorists in order to save our country from these wretched hands of Urban Naxals.

(This article has been authored by Rachit Devgun who is a lawyer by profession and practicing law in Supreme Court of India and various High Courts, since 2006.  He is also a social commentator and a columnist)

Sonia Gandhi’s letter to PM Modi over fuel price hike exposes Congress’ hypocrisy

OpIndia Staff
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Sonia Gandhi’s letter to PM Modi over fuel price hike exposes Congress’ hypocrisy

On Tuesday, Congress’ interim President Sonia Gandhi wrote to PM Modi urging the government to immediately roll back the price hike.

In the letter, she claimed that India is facing unprecedented public health, economic and social challenges due to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic and blamed the government for taking an “insensitive” decision to increase fuel prices on ten different occasions.

She added in her letter that the central government had earned an additional revenue of Rs.2,60,000 crores by “ill-advised” hikes in excise duty. While the international crude oil price has gone down by 9% over the last week, the Modi government is just profiting off the people. She blamed the government for increasing the excise duty of petrol by 258 percent and diesel by 820 percent that translates to additional revenue of Rs.18,00,000 crores. In the end, she again urged the government to put the money directly in the hands of those who need it.

Congress’s hypocrisy over fuel price hike

Even as Congress hits out on the central government over fuel price hike, the states under Congress rule have repeatedly increased fuel prices to increase revenue. On 15th June 2020, the Punjab government announced an increase in VAT on both petrol and diesel. The Punjab government increased VAT on petrol from 23.3 percent to 26.43 percent and on diesel from 15.15 percent to 15.98 percent. Through this move, the Punjab government is looking at realising an additional Rs 250 crore to Rs 300 crore per annum as the revenue. Last year in February, the Punjab government increased the petrol price by Rs.5 and diesel price by Rs.1 in one go.

Similarly, in March 2020, the Rajasthan government decided to increase VAT on diesel from 22 percent to 26 percent and VAT on petrol from 30 percent to 34 percent. On 31st May 2020, the Maharashtra government increased cess on fuel price. The government issued a notification and increased cess on petrol from Rs.8.12 to Rs.10.12 and on diesel from Re.1 to Rs.3. In April 2020, the Puducherry government increased VAT on petrol and diesel by 1%. In a notification issued by Secretary to Government, Finance on 7th April, the new tax rate for petrol was 22.15 percent and for diesel, it was 18.15 percent.

Transport industry unhappy with the hike

Despite low crude oil prices in the international market and India’s attempts to increase its oil reserves in the last couple of months, the general public not too happy as benefit is not passed on to the end consumer. Fuel prices in India have increased every day since June 7 to regain the losses incurred during the coronavirus-related lockdown. Currently standing at Rs.76.73 per liter in New Delhi, Petrol prices have increased by 47 paise since yesterday. These fuel prices are increased by the OMC (Oil Marketing Companies like HPCL, Indian Oil) which have done so because of increase in excise last month.

The transport industry has condemned the fuel price hike in the form of a strong protest. Truckers said that operating vehicles would become more difficult for them with a continuous increase in the price. All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) said that the lockdown has been tough for them and the pandemic has hit their revenues quite hard.

‘Cook cow meat, we all will eat’: Tribal man from Jharkhand shares his ordeal with VHP on how Christian missionaries lured him to Christianity

OpIndia Staff
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‘Cook cow meat, we all will eat’: Tribal man from Jharkhand shares his ordeal with VHP on how Christian missionaries lured him to Christianity

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has claimed of receiving complaints of an increase in forced religious conversions of tribals by the Christian missionaries and Churches in the State of Jharkhand during the lockdown period. The outfit has also alleged that ever since the JMM/Congress government headed by Hemant Soren came to power, religious conversion has gained momentum in the state. However, in the past few months this illegal act has gone up during lockdown, it said.

Amidst these allegations, a video has surfaced in which a tribal man, who was forced to adopt Christianity a year ago, is seen regretting and yearning to reconvert back to Hinduism.

In the video which was shared with OpIndia by VHP’s Bihar and Jharkhand in-charge, Keshav Raju (Bihar-Jharkhand), a Santhali tribal man identified as Ramesh Hansda, a resident of Sopodera village in Parasudih district, Jamshedpur is heard narrating how a year back his family was lured by a Christian priest to embrace Christianity.

Christian priest insisted on cooking and eating cow-meat

Ramesh confirmed that during those days he was physically weak and was unable to work. A Christian priest had then visited his house and tried to convince him to embrace Christianity. The pastor tried to lure him and his family by offering good food and money. He said that on the instructions of the priest, a boy brought him one and a half kgs of cow meat and said that they would party. Looking at Ramesh’s wife he asked her to cook the meat, to which his wife had refused, recollected Ramesh.

“Only after my wife vehemently refused to indulge them did those people leave”, said Ramesh. He said that the priest kept nagging him for almost two years, saying that he would help him financially if Ramesh agreed to embrace Christianity.

Ramesh wants Ghar-wapsi

Saying this, Ramesh, confirmed that whatever help he was being provided, stopped after a while. He is now being given nothing. During the entire lockdown period, Ramesh claimed that his family received very little ration a couple of times, but it stopped after that. He said that he and his family do not visit the church. He expressed his desire to renounce Christianity and re-convert to Hinduism.

VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) District Minister Janardan Pandit of Jamshedpur district spoke to Ramesh Hansda when he came to know that Ramesh wanted to renounce Christianity and return to his Hinduism.

Speaking to OpIndia Janardan Pandit said: “Ramesh’s family belongs to a poor tribal society and they are economically very backward. Taking advantage of this situation, the Christian clergy lured Ramesh on the pretext of treatment and got him to embrace Christianity”.

Janardan Pandit said that the clergy had been trying to lure Ramesh’s family for a long time, but Ramesh never went to church. Today he regrets his conversion and wants to return to Hinduism again.

Notably, on Sunday, during the press conference, VHP Kshetra Sangathan Mantri, Keshav Raju had claimed that as Jharkhand is a tribal state, such exploitations and forced conversions are rampant across the state, but in districts such as Gumla, Loharadaga, Khunti, West and East Singhbhum this is accute. He furthered that the agents of the Church go from village to village and spew venom against the Hindus.

He confirmed that VHP has been in relentless pursuit and has been collecting data of these agents of various Churches, who are luring the poor and innocent tribals into embracing Christianity with the promise of money. Keshav Raju stated that once the list was ready it would be handed over to the state administration and they would be pressurised to take appropriate action to clamp down on this religious conversion business.

Indian officials abducted by Pakistan’s ISI were punched, beaten with rods, made to drink dirty water and forced to confess ‘hit-and-run’

OpIndia Staff
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Indian officials abducted by Pakistan’s ISI were punched, beaten with rods, made to drink dirty water and forced to confess ‘hit-and-run’

The two Indian High Commission staffers who were abducted by Pakistan’s ISI and were later released on Monday were tortured to confess that ‘they were involved in an accident’. As per sources quoted by news agency ANI, the two Indian staffers of the High commission working as drivers were picked up by 15-16 armed men at around 8:30-45 am from a fuel station near the high commission. The ISI officers had blindfolded the two Indian staffers with a rucksack and took them to an unknown location.

ANI further reported that the sources revealed that the abductors made multiple videos in which Indian high Commission officials were forced to confess under coercion that they were involved in an accident. Armed Pakistani men also forced them to confess that there are “Intelligence officials” inside the Indian High Commission who order them to bring people from outside in their cars for a meet inside the High Commission.

Repeatedly beaten with sticks and rods

As per reports, the staffers were interrogated till around 2 PM during which they were repeatedly beaten with rods/wooden sticks, punched and made to drink filthy water. They were interrogated regarding the specific role and function of all High Commission officials down to the lowest staff.

They were also threatened that this way the other members of High commission will be made to face in the future. After this, they were taken for a medical check-up and there they were injected with a tetanus shot.

At around 9 PM hours, the High Commission staffers were released. They were able to walk but carried serious injurious on neck, face, thighs, and rear indicating extensive persecution. However, no life-threatening injury was found.

Two staffers from Indian High Commission in Islamabad abducted

The two staffers working at the Indian High Commission were abducted by the ISI on Monday morning. Following the incident, Pakistan’s Charge d’affaires to India was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs. The Indian staffers were identified as a CISF security official along with a driver. Authorities in Pakistan were asked to return the two officials to the Indian High Commission immediately along with the official car.

Pakistan High Commission staffers caught spying

Towards the end of last month, two officials of Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi were caught spying in Delhi. The two-officials, named Abid Hussain and Tahir Hussain working in the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi were expelled and asked to go back to their country. Following this, the situation for Indian diplomats and other staff in Islamabad remained tense and there were aggressive tailing and surveillance. India had also asked Pakistan to ensure the safety of Indian staff in the High Commission.

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