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Pro-AAP blogger Dhruv Rathee analyses the Delhi riots, spreads misinformation and leaves out vital details: Here is how

Priyanka Deo
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Pro-AAP blogger Dhruv Rathee analyses the Delhi riots, spreads misinformation and leaves out vital details: Here is how

Freelance ‘journalist’ and Pro-AAP blogger Dhruv Rathee recently published an analysis of the Delhi Riots which was published on March 3 2020 on YouTube. However, Rathee uses sources that have been publicly called out for false reporting and he himself leaves out some integral facts about the riots in his analysis. 

Here are the inaccuracies and what is missing from Dhruv Rathee’s analysis on the Delhi Riots. 

MEDIA

Dhruv starts out his video by speaking about Kapil Mishra’s aggression and violence in the Delhi riots. For this, let’s look at the available images and video footage available where we can very objectively observe who is inciting violence very easily. At no point does Kapil Mishra have a firearm or weapon in his hand. This in comparison to protestor Mohammad Shahrukh, who Dhruv Rathee mentions in his analysis. Video footage released on Feb 24 and 25, 2020 shows protestor Mohammad Shahrukh not only threatening a police officer but also firing blindly- risking innocent lives of anyone and everyone there. Dhruv Rathee conveniently fails to mention this. 

Moreover, claims of Kapil Mishra’s speech being labelled as a ‘hate speech’ does not hold weight amongst judges themselves. Four judges who have served in various high courts of India were asked point-blank, “Is Kapil Mishra’s speech a hate speech?” 

All said a definitive no. 

Furthermore, the media sources Dhruv Rathee has used in his examples have been publicly called out for being selective and unsubstantiated. Mainstream publications including NDTV, the Wire, BBC, the Wall Street Journal and the IE have all unethically distorted, outright lied, presented fake news, and even have gone so far as to crop images to misinform millions of readers across the world on the Delhi Riots.

Specific examples? 

In an article on Delhi violence, The Wall Street Journal completely made up a quote from Ankur Sharma- brother of intelligence officer Ankit Sharma who died during the attacks. Ankit’s brother Ankur publicly came out with a statement that this was a lie. WSJ quoted Ankur as saying that attackers of Ankit were chanting Jai Shri Ram, implying that they were Hindus.

After this WSJ article was published, Ankur came out in public and said that he did not give any such statement to the WSJ. Ankur said and I quote, “I never gave such a statement to Wall Street Journal. This is a ploy to defame my brother and my family. The Wall Street Journal is lying.” 

The Indian Express cropped a photo of a skullcap to make the photo look secular. These are just a few examples of selective journalism and misinformation. 

Publications like the BBC, the Quint and the Wire and other mainstream left wing media are only publishing selective information- they are not giving readers the full story. 

POLICE 

The next thing Dhruv Rathee speaks about is the inaction of the Delhi Police. He tries to say that the police have incited the violence. But that is far from reality.  

Delhi police very actively tried to control the sudden violence that took place. And similar to other countries in emergency situations when mobs get out of control- tear gas firing and lathi charges were used- everything except firing live rounds was used- in an attempt to control the unruly mobs by the Delhi Police.

To add to that, it was every rank of officer that was involved in trying to control the riots. In fact, DCP Amit Sharma was in critical condition because he was attacked and severely injured while on duty trying to rest order on February 24, 2020. 

Officers also lost their lives in the line of duty. Head Constable Ratan Lal was lynched by a mob and died of bullet injuries. To add to this, several other policemen have been seriously injured and have or are still undergoing treatment at the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital located in Shahdara.

Assault to a police officer in any other country is taken very seriously and carries stern punishment. For example, the assault of a police officer in the USA is considered a serious crime and comes along with many years in prison, if not a life sentence. Yet, in these riots, news agencies have put out videos on Feb 24 and 25, 2020 that shows protestors like Mohammad Shahrukh not only threatening a police officer, but also firing a weapon blindly, risking innocent lives of anyone and everyone there! 

Media reports are making it out to be that police are doing nothing when in fact, police are taking measures at the risk of their own lives to bring safety and order back to the city.  

SELECTIVE REPORTING & PARTIAL TRUTH

The 46+ dead, 250+ injured and the Rs 25,000cr rupee loss so far that Dhruv talks about in his analysis have occurred during the Delhi riots only because of the spread of fake news and misinformation. 

It is, in fact, ironic that Dhruv Rathee speaks about the chaos when the very media sources he uses in his analysis have not only been called out for selective reporting but have also misreported on casualties and deaths as well. 

Here are some of the things that mainstream media have completely missed in terms of casualties. 

The Wire: A ‘ground report’ should include all information. The WIRE’s ground report on the Rajdhani school and the DRP school – did not even make a single mention of the fact that a man named Dinesh Kumar lost his life in the chaos. 

NDTV: When two schools got vandalized- NDTV did not make mention of three key things.

1. The Rajdhani school’s rooftop had supplies including sacks of bricks, pelting stones and even made-in-India weapons. Have a look at the images that reporters took of the rooftop of the Rajdhani school after the chaos. 

 2. The second thing NDTV did not report was that owner of DRP School Pankaj Sharma had held up a bomb on camera during an interview that was hurled at DRP School during the attacks. In an interview to Republic TV, he said, and I quote, “Since 2014, we had 100% passing rate and had a great strength of students from both communities [Hindus and Muslims] studying here. We loved everyone. We had built every corner of this school with love. People have looted the school first and then burnt it. This was done on purpose.” 

 3. NDTV also failed to mention the death of Dinesh Kumar. If you are reporting and publishing information on attacks, isn’t it common sense that you would include casualties in the reporting? Why would you suppress objective facts or not include them? Dinesh’s death was completely missing from NDTV’s report AND the WIRE’s ground report. 

Lets look at some other things that mainstream media did not present as mainstream: 

JK 24-7 Journalist Akash Napa was covering the violence of Maujpur when a group of men shot him in the back on Feb 26, 2020. Akash clearly said that he was shot by anti CAA protestors on the channel but somehow this was conveniently left out of the reports by mainstream media. 

To add to that a journalist from Kerela was jeered and hassled aggressively by protestors and was only let go when he revealed his Muslim identity. 

Why was this left out of mainstream media’s narrative? Dhruv does not even address this in his analysis. 

On ethical grounds, every death should have been reported by the media out of sheer respect and principle regardless of whether it is a Hindu or Muslim death. However, celebrities and influencers are openly speaking anti-government and GoI supporting an anti-Muslim agenda. 

In reality, deaths that should have been reported were left out completely. Here’s an example. On Feb 24, Vinod Kumar died in the middle of a road. He was killed by a lynch mob and was left to die on the street. The video footage even shows a protester slapping his face multiple times to see if he was still alive. 

Vinod’s crime? Having a ‘Jai Shri Ram’ sticker on his scooter. Why wasn’t this reported in mainstream media? Was Vinod’s death not important enough? 

IMPACT

Dhruv Rathee, mainstream media and influencers should be ashamed of themselves for spreading misinformation and for selective and unsubstantiated reporting. Rathee’s 12 minute analysis is mis-reporting at best and aims to spread a fake narrative by leaving out the whole story. The media sources he is using in his analysis have all been called out for spreading selective information as well. 

Rathee puts out a video and people watch. He gets views, likes and a nice pay sum from YouTube. But it becomes a problem if you start believing him as the whole truth. It is integral to deep dive into statements made and the evidence used before formulating your opinion. 

Rathee’s analysis is a prime example of misinformation with the aim of spreading a political agenda to paint a false narrative. It has gotten out of hand though. The death toll of Indian citizens for the Delhi riots in over 50 and hundreds have been injured

Out of respect for ALL the people who have LOST their lives in the Delhi violence; regardless of whether it is a Hindu death or a Muslim death; I ask you to please research on your own and speak out for the truth. This is not just for Dhruv Rathee’s analysis but for any content that you can consume. Do not buy into fake narratives that aim to spread lies, fear, division and hate.

As for Dhruv Rathee- he is not misinformed. On the contrary, it is his business to misinform.

Note: All video footages and images referred to in this article can be seen on the embedded video

12 March 1993: Twenty Seven Years later, like Sharad Pawar back then, the ‘secular’ establishment continues to invent lies to preserve ‘Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb’

K Bhattacharjee
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12 March 1993: Twenty Seven Years later, like Sharad Pawar back then, the ‘secular’ establishment continues to invent lies to preserve ‘Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb’

Twenty-seven years ago, on this very day, the 12th of March, a series of blasts shook the city of Mumbai, then known as Bombay. The city suffered twelve blasts and over three hundred people lost their lives on that fateful day. Around fourteen hundred people were injured. The terrorist attack was orchestrated by Dawood Ibrahmin’s gang and his aide Yakub Memon was convicted for his involvement and eventually hanged to death.

Apart from the monstrosity of Islamic terrorism, what was revealed that day but not often spoken about was the perversity of Indian secularism whose mask fell off that day. Sharad Pawar, hailed by the mainstream media as a great protector of ‘secularism’, invented a mythical 13th bomb blast that day to preserve ‘Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb’. In order to protect ‘Hindu-Muslim harmony’, Sharad Pawar claimed that a 13th blast had occurred at Masjid Bunder. Apparently, he did so because the twelve actual blasts had all occurred in Hindu-dominated areas. Later, Sharad Pawar boasted that he was praised for his lie by the Justice Srikrishna Commission.

Sharad Pawar claimed that his lie could have saved lives because Hindus thought that Muslims were victims too and hence communal violence was avoided. Testifying before the Srikrishna Commission, he even tried to pin the bomb blasts on LTTE. This lie also, he claimed, was told to avoid Hindu-Muslim clashes. Sharad Pawar had also said that he had lied that the material used in the bombing is used by terrorists from the south to mislead people.

On the anniversary of the tragedy twenty-seven years later, in 2020, we see a similar pattern of events unfolding. The mainstream media and the ‘secular’ political establishment have embarked upon a mission to paint the Delhi anti-Hindu communal riots as a ‘pogrom’ against the Muslim community of India. Despite all evidence to the contrary, an effort is being made to paint the Muslim community as victims across the board while the Hindu victims of the said riots are brushed under the carpet.

Despite the fact that Hindus suffered great losses to life and property, the secular media-political establishment has decided to turn a blind eye to their plight while they weep only for one community. The brutal murder of Dilbar Negi, whose limbs were chopped off before he was set on fire, or Intelligence Bureau constable Ankit Sharma, who was stabbed for over 400 times and his body mutilated beyond belief, fails to attract the sort of condemnation it is deserving of. The secular media-political establishment has made it clear, they shall make every effort to deny that there ever were any victims among Hindus in the riots. That badge shall be handed over to the Muslim community alone.

The establishment also denies that Hindu Temples were attacked in the riots despite evidence staring at them right to their face. Propagandists at Scroll claimed that 14 Mosques and a Dargah were attacked in the said riots but asserted that no Hindu Temples were attacked. It was patently a lie as OpIndia itself has reported that a Shiv Mandir at Moonga Nagar near Chand Bagh came under attack by an Islamist mob during the riot. Newslaundry has gone a step ahead and labeled Opindia’s report ‘fake news’. It was despite the fact that they had spoken with the caretaker of the Temple who told them that stones were pelted at the roof of the Temple and he had locked himself up in his home, fearing for the lives of his daughters and the rest of his family.

Read: The Wire once again shields Islamist mobs by shamelessly downplaying the brutality of Dilbar Negi’s murder: Here’s how

Even the blame for the communal riots is being placed at the feet of Hindus. Delhi has been in the grip of violence since December and yet when it reached its peak during the communal riots, Kapil Mishra was blamed for it by the media-political establishment. There is enough evidence to indicate that a sinister plot was underway to destabilize the country. Sharjeel Imam who masterminded the Shaheen Bagh protests and wanted Muslims to cut off North East India from the rest of the country, the Jamia ‘sheroes’ who gave a call for Jihad, Harsh Mander who incited Muslims against the Indian State, the far-left organization Pinjra Tod which stands accused of inciting violence by Leftists themselves and urging Muslim women to block road no. 66 at Jafrabad, all of them have contributed to the violence at the national capital and yet, the media-political establishment seeks to pin the blame for the riots on a Hindu, Kapil Mishra.

The propaganda by the media-political establishment is reminiscent of the lie Sharad Pawar said for the sake of ‘Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb’. It appears that the fabled ‘Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb’ mandates that Hindus can never be the victims of communal riots and Muslims must also be shown to be victims of Islamic Terror Attacks in addition to whitewashing the nature of the Islamic terror attacks in the first place. The former is precisely the same mentality that led to the drafting of the Communal Violence Bill which promulgated that Hindus must be the presumptive guilty party in any communal riots.

Just as Sharad Pawar invented a 13th bomb blast to whitewash the nature of the Mumbai Terror Attack, the secular media-political establishment today has invented a false narrative over the Delhi anti-Hindu riots to paint Hindus as the sole aggressors and Muslims as the sole victims of the said riots. Twenty-seven years have passed, but the perversity of the establishment has not been remedied. And the establishment is perverted beyond repair, beyond any conceivable scope of redemption.

‘Hath’ se nikal gaya: Amul takes a jibe on Jyotiraditya Scindia slipping out of Congress’ hand

OpIndia Staff
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‘Hath’ se nikal gaya: Amul takes a jibe on Jyotiraditya Scindia slipping out of Congress’ hand

India’s dairy giant Amul which is often seen posting Caricatures on major controversies has taken a dig at Jyotiraditya Scindia’s resignation from Congress.

Amul had posted a cartoon taking a dig at the grand old political party indicating how Scindia ‘slipped out of the hands’ of the Congress.

In the cartoon, Scindia is seen holding a lotus, which is the symbol of Bharatiya Janata Party and Rahul Gandhi staring at him in a shock as he walks away. In the picture, there’s also written: “Haath se nikal Gaya” that is ‘Gone out of hands’. The picture was posted with caption ‘Jyotiraditya shifts allegiances’.

Amul’s cartoons on current issues and national affairs are quite popular on social media.

Read: Amul throws a dagger at Pakistan, ends up piercing the ‘Liberal’ heart

Jyotiraditya Scindia who is a former MP from Guna and been in Congress for the last two decades joined BJP recently after resigning from Congress along with 22 MLAs of Congress party. He joined BJP in presence of BJP president JP Nadda where he stated that Congress has ceased to be the party it used to be earlier. BJP has also declared Scindia as the Rajya sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh.

Coronavirus: Union ministers not to travel abroad, Rashtrapati Bhavan closed for tourists, Delhi schools and cinemas shut till March 31

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus: Union ministers not to travel abroad, Rashtrapati Bhavan closed for tourists, Delhi schools and cinemas shut till March 31

A day after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic as the virus continued to spread across the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today took to Twitter to re-appeal to people of India not to panic. He has urged countrymen to avoid non-essential travel and large gatherings in order to minimise the risk of being infected with the novel coronavirus or Covid-19. “We can break the chain of spread”, assured Modi as he wrote that the Central Ministers have been directed not to travel abroad in the upcoming days.

“Say No to Panic, Say Yes to Precautions. No Minister of the Central Government will travel abroad in the upcoming days. I urge our countrymen to also avoid non-essential travel. We can break the chain of spread and ensure safety of all by avoiding large gatherings,” PM Modi tweeted.

“The Government is fully vigilant about the situation due to COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus. Across ministries & states, multiple steps have been proactively taken to ensure safety of all. These steps are wide-ranging, from suspension of Visas to augmenting healthcare capacities,” Modi said in his following Tweet.

The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind has also taken to Twitter to declare that as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus, the Rashtrapati Bhavan will remain closed for exploratory tour visits from tomorrow, March 13, till further notice. Also, the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum Complex (RBMC) and the Change of Guard ceremony will not be open to the public until further notice, read the President’s Tweet.

Moreover, in the wake of coronavirus outbreak in India, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced that all movie theatres will remain shut till March 31, according to ANI. The Delhi government also declared the coronavirus an epidemic. He said that all schools and colleges where exams are currently not being conducted will also remain shut in Delhi. He also declared that as a precautionary measure to control of coronavirus spread, all the public places in the city will be disinfected.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a global pandemic after 1,18,000 confirmed cases and 4,291 deaths in 114 countries were reported. There have been 73 confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in India. 

Following the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration, India has scaled up its responses and put in place even stricter controls.

As a preventive measure, the Central government has virtually shut the country off to foreign tourists as it announced the suspension of all tourist visas and e-visas granted on or before March 11. All incoming visitors including Indian nationals are advised against non-essential travel because of the Coronavirus pandemic.

“All existing visas, except diplomatic, official, UN/international organizations, employment, project visas, stand suspended till 15th April 2020,” the union govt said in a statement. The order comes into effect from 1200 GMT on Friday, March 13.

India also announced that all incoming travellers, including Indian nationals, arriving from any destination and having visited China, Italy, Iran, Republic of Korea, France, Spain and Germany on or after February 15, 2020, shall be quarantined for a minimum period of 14 days with effect from March 13, 2020, at the port of departure of such traveller’s.

Owing to the Coronavirus pandemic, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar, while speaking at the Lok Sabha Thursday ascertained that the Indian government cannot allow anybody to enter the country without being properly tested.

“We’re at it. Please understand that we can only bring them back if they’re tested, they’ve to be tested. To test them we’ve started sampling today as we can’t bring back untested people in a very severe epidemic situation as I have the responsibility of this country to worry about,” claimed the EAM in Lok Sabha today.

Coronavirus is a deadly respiratory disease, the outbreak of which was first reported from Wuhan, China, on 31 December 2019. The transmission of the virus takes place when someone who is infected comes in contact with another person. According to medical experts, coughing, sneezing or even shaking hands with an infected person can cause exposure.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases across India, including foreign nationals, shot to 73. Out of these 73 people, 56 are Indian citizens.

China vs India: Dear global media, why so unfair?

Abhishek Banerjee
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China vs India: Dear global media, why so unfair?

Over the last two months, the world has been plunged into a pandemic, a global economic crisis and quite possibly a deep recession. Entire nations are on lockdown, countries have closed their borders, thousands of people have died and there is mayhem in stock markets.

Chances are that by now you have heard of the coronavirus. Because nobody is talking of anything else. But what are the chances you have heard anyone mention recently that the coronavirus began from Wuhan city in Hubei province of China? Remember?

Indeed, scan the news reports. You would be hard pressed to find a mention of that. Everyone seems to have forgotten that this disaster happened because the Chinese government failed to spot the threat and contain its spread while there was still time. Instead, we are beginning to hear voices of admiration for the Chinese government and how well they have done in protecting their citizens.

Okay, so 3000 deaths and 80,000 infections later, apparently China has done an admirable job. That’s global media for you.

Instead, India has become the whipping boy for global media! Why? What did we do?

Read: ‘Thank God this didn’t start in India’: British think tank expert mocks India on coronavirus outbreak, praises China for ‘controlling it well’

Oh, that’s right. We said that persecuted Hindus from certain Islamic states could seek refuge in India. For this innocuous act, India has faced a tsunami of criticism across the world. Labels like “Nazi”, “Hitler”, “Fascist” are being hurled at our country and its elected leaders. After the Delhi riots happened,  “genocide” and “pogrom” were added to the list of words being hurled at us.

In a recent article in the Mint, Manu Joseph suggested some reasons why the story of a majority often fails to convince the world, as with Hindus of India who failed to make their case on the global stage. I would argue that the reality is far worse. It is not like global media always roots for whoever is perceived to be the minority, the underdog. Otherwise, we would see newspapers talking every day about the persecution of Hindus in Pakistan.

There are no general reasons here. It seems India and Hindus have been victims of a targeted vilification campaign, tailor made by the global liberal establishment.

Let me quickly run you through some anecdotal evidence. In his now viral Youtube segment, American comedian John Oliver called Modi a “symbol of hate.” Strong words! Oliver has not used such language for any other democratically elected leader in the world. In fact, he has not even used such language while speaking of the most authoritarian leaders in the world, such as Turkey’s Erdogan who denies the Armenian genocide. Not even while describing North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un.

Read: John Oliver takes rumour mongering to the international circles, peddles fake narrative of minority persecution, RSS, NRC and CAA

You can’t argue that this is just a coincidence that the leader of the world’s largest democracy gets hit with language that is not used even for the dictator of North Korea nor the Supreme Leader of Iran nor the King of Saudi Arabia.

We were just talking about China, weren’t we? Well, according to Michael Bloomberg who just dropped out of the US Presidential race, China’s Xi Jinping is not even a dictator.

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Xi Jinping is not a dictator – Michael Bloomberg

I wonder if Bloomberg News is connected to any news portals in India and how they have described PM Modi over the years.

Take the case of Senator Bernie Sanders, who is among the top two contenders for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. Of late, Sanders has been brutal in his criticism of India, both after the abrogation of Article 370 and the Delhi riots. His Pakistani-American campaign chief Faiz Shakir claims here that Sanders would call out any perceived injustice to minorities anywhere, whether by a Prime Minister in India, Israel or Pakistan.

Read: Crazy Bernie aide AOC, who wanted to kill ‘farting cows’ to stop Climate Change, lies about Muslims being cleansed in India

First of all, we did nothing wrong in Kashmir. Second, it’s none of their business. Third, I googled to see if Bernie Sanders had ever criticized Pakistan. Nothing. There’s nothing even on the (long) Wikipedia page on political positions of Bernie Sanders.

So what do we conclude? That Pakistan has been fair in its treatment of minorities?

Folks, these are not coincidences. India is being targeted.

And this should concern you as an Indian, even if you are someone with a Hindu name who hates Modi. Because you will be just as much a victim of this global hate campaign.

For example, see how the global left got together against Tulsi Gabbard because she dared to mention Hinduphobia. She was responding to a tweet describing the experience of a common person in the US, who was faced with hate speech from her Uber driver for being a Hindu.

Think about it. Even if you are a fiercely anti-Modi Indian liberal who uses words like “genocide” and “pogrom” to describe Delhi riots, surely you will agree that innocent Hindus should not face hate speech over it in the US. What if random Muslims were faced with such hate speech speech over 9/11 attacks, 26/11 attacks or Pulwama attack? Would you not be outraged?

But observe how calmly the global left wanted Hindus to swallow the hate speech faced by them.

Read: Tulsi Gabbard finally calls out rampant Hinduphobia in the USA: Here are 10 incidents that prove her right

This multi-pronged anti-Hindu hate campaign likely draws its strength from three different sources.

(1) The first is ideological. This is pure Hinduphobia. The two largest Abrahamic faiths are united in their dislike for the world’s biggest pagan religion. They are joined in this hate by the Communists, who have all the essential traits of another Abrahamic religion. They will stop at nothing to erase us.

Together, they systematically vilify everything with an association to Hindus, vague or otherwise, from Hanuman stickers to something as obviously secular as the saree. Notice how the Catholic Church neatly erased its collaboration with Mussolini’s Fascist Party. The Communists erased from memory their military alliance with Hitler in the joint invasion of Poland. The Hindus were left explaining the peaceful swastika, when Hitler never even used the term. He called it a “hooked cross”. But you can’t have folks remembering that people of the “cross” had something do with Nazism. Even if every Nazi soldier in WW2 wore a belt with the words “Gott mitt uns” (God with us).

(2) The second is pure jealousy. India is now the fifth largest economy in the world. And that makes a lot of people  uncomfortable. India is now ahead of both France and the UK. In less than five years, it will surpass Germany. This is an unsettling thought for many more people than we can imagine. And they seek out emotional security in believing the worst about India.

Just today, Jim O’Neill, the former boss of Goldman Sachs, said thank god the virus did not start “somewhere like India.”

Excuse me? The virus began in China and then it was Europeans who messed up completely. But when it comes to finding a metaphor for messing up, Jim O’Neill seeks out India!

If someone with as much global outlook and vision can have such deep seated prejudices against India, think about the average BBC minion, trained in colonialism.

(3) The third is sponsored. India’s politics is now international, a natural corollary of India becoming the world’s fifth largest economy. This means sinister international forces are on the prowl, with billions of dollars at their disposal, trying to influence Indian politics.

Valuations in the Indian stock market may be cheap at this moment, but intellectuals always are. A billion dollars can buy a whole lot of “original thought.”

So where do we go from here? Well, there are three things I can say.

(1) First, India can tap into its readily available network of expats all around the world, present in every population center from Paris to Podunk, Pennsylvania. These are hard working, high achievers who have created only prosperity for themselves and their host countries. They are welcome everywhere. We Indians have to treat this constituency as a strategic asset and use it effectively to further our interests and narrative.

(2) Second, India has to start investing real dollars into cultivating an international lobby among so called intellectuals. While we may loathe the idea, we have to do the practical thing. Intellectuals exist for a reason. And like everyone else in the world, they do not work for free. If we don’t pay them, someone else will pay them to come up with “original” thoughts on why Hanuman stickers are a symbol of rising Nazi like ideology.

(3) Third, we have to make peace with the fact that some of these problems will go away on their own. The Chinese too went through a period of intense “hazing” by the international media before they were accepted as a superpower. We are probably going to go through a similar period. The world is not nice to new entrants at the power table.

Come to think of it, we have experienced this problem before. Twenty years ago, we Hindus could not even tell our stories to other Indians, let alone outside India. Remember the helplessness of those years when liberals dominated every word in popular media?

Things have definitely changed. We Hindus made it happen. We now have to take it to the next level and tell our story to the world.

Madhya Pradesh Congress minister Jitu Patwari creates ruckus at Bengaluru resort as police stop him from meeting rebel MLAs, scuffle breaks out

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh Congress minister Jitu Patwari creates ruckus at Bengaluru resort as police stop him from meeting rebel MLAs, scuffle breaks out

On Thursday, Congress leader and Madhya Pradesh government Minister Jitu Patwari created a ruckus and clashed with Karnataka police official for stopping him from meeting the rebel MLAs of his party, who have been staying at a resort in Karanataka capital Bengaluru, reports ANI.

According to the reports, Congress minister Patwari and another Congress leader Lakhan Singh had gone to Bengaluru to meet the rebel Congress MLAs but they were allegedly stopped by the security personnel.

Following this, a mild scuffle erupted between Karnataka police and the Congress leaders after police did not allow the Congress leaders to meet the rebel MLAs who have decided to quit the Congress and join the BJP. In the video, it can be clearly seen that Madhya Pradesh Higher Education, Sports and Youth Affairs minister Patwari was attempting to meet the rebel MLAs while the policemen were stopping him near the elevator. Shockingly, Patwari created ruckus and attempted to attack on-duty police personnel of the Karnataka police.

Patwari had gone to Embassy Boulevard to meet Madhya Pradesh rebel MLAs but he was not allowed to meet them. Following the scuffle, Congress leader Jitu Patwari and Singh were taken into preventive custody by the Bengaluru Police. The two MP Congress MLAs were later released by the police.

It may be noted nearly 19 rebel Congress MLAs, close to newly inducted BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia has been staying in Bengaluru, which had triggered a political crisis in Madhya Pradesh where the Kamal Nath government has become a minority.

The crisis has deepened on Tuesday after Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned from Congress and at least 22 MLAs close to him have announced to withdraw support from the Kamal Nath government. Former Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday joined the BJP in the presence of party chief JP Nadda.

We have a responsibility, cannot bring untested people back to India in an epidemic situation: EAM Jaishankar on evacuating Indians amid coronavirus outbreak

OpIndia Staff
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We have a responsibility, cannot bring untested people back to India in an epidemic situation: EAM Jaishankar on evacuating Indians amid coronavirus outbreak

Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar said in Lok Sabha on Thursday that the Indian government cannot allow anybody to enter the country without being properly tested in this severe coronavirus epidemic situation.

While speaking in Lok Sabha, S Jaishankar said, “Bhagwant Mann Ji raised the issue of 30 students of Punjab who are stuck at Italy airport. I would like to tell you that there are not only 30 students, there are many more from different parts of the country. I need to find a way of helping them and bringing them back.

Stating the concern about the country, he stated that only those who are tested will be able to enter the country in order to avoid the deadly epidemic. He said “We’re all at it. Please understand that we can only bring them back if they’re tested, they’ve to be tested. To test them we’ve started sampling today as we can’t bring back untested people in a very severe epidemic situation as I have the responsibility of this country to worry about.”

EAM Jaishankar informed that there are around 6000 Indian Nationals in the various provinces in Iran including 1100 pilgrims who are mainly from Ladakh, Jammu, and Kashmir, Maharashtra. Nearly 300 students primarily from Jammu and Kashmir. About 1000 fishermen from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Gujarat and others who’re on longer-term stay visas in Iran pursuing their livelihoods.

Read: Coronavirus outbreak: India airlifts over 300 more citizens from Wuhan, helps evacuate 7 Maldives citizens too

EAM further added, “I visited Srinagar recently and took the initiative of meeting the parents of the students who are in Iran. Their anxiety at this time is completely understandable. I shared details with them about the ground situation and sought their understanding. I assured them that the government will facilitate the earliest possible return of their children and I would like to share with the House that the sampling of these students has begun today.”

On Wednesday, the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic after 1,18,000 confirmed cases and 4,291 deaths in 114 countries reported. There have been 73 confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in India. The Indian government on Wednesday suspended all the existing visas, except diplomatic, official. UN/International organizations, employment project visas till 15 April.

Delhi Police arrest 23-year-old Salman in connection with Ankit Sharma’s brutal murder, IB official was stripped naked to check religion

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi Police arrest 23-year-old Salman in connection with Ankit Sharma’s brutal murder, IB official was stripped naked to check religion

Delhi police have been in a relentless pursuit to arrest the violent rioters who ran amok, engaging in arson, stone-pelting and vandalism, injuring innumerable civilians and police personnel during the recent communal riots in Delhi.

Days after apprehending AAP leader Tahir Hussain, charged for the brutal murder of the IB sleuth Ankit Sharma, the Delhi police special cell has today arrested one 23-year-old man, identified as Haseen alias Salman, a resident of Nand Nagri, in connection with the murder of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) official, who was killed during the northeast Delhi anti-Hindu riots in Khajuri Khas. Sharma’s body was recovered from a drain near Tahir Hussain’s house on February 26, a day after he went missing.

Today Delhi police revealed that the Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma was stripped before his killing. As per a report by ABP News, his clothes were removed to check his religion before he was brutally murdered. He had injury marks on his head, chest, and face. After his killing, an acid-like liquid was poured on Ankit Sharma to conceal his identity.

According to an India TV report, the accused was operating with five names – Salman, Nanhe, Haseen, Momin and Mulla. The 23-year-old is currently in police custody at Lodhi colony.

“The arrest was made by the special cell after they received some specific information and technical evidence against Haseen, who was earlier arrested in several cases of robbery,” police sources said. Police are conducting raids to nab his four associates.

Last week, on March 5th, the suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, who went missing after being charged for the brutal murder of the IB sleuth Ankit Sharma had been arrested by the Delhi Police. The Delhi police had filed a case against the AAP leader under Section 302(a) Murder, in the Dayalpur police station of Delhi. Tahir Hussain is considered to be the kingpin behind the murder of IB sleuth Ankit Sharma and the violent clashes that broke out in Delhi last month.

The family of the deceased Ankit Sharma had accused AAP leader Tahir Hussain and his Muslim mob of dragging their son and brutally murdering him.

A day after Sharma’s family alleged his role in the riots and his murder, many crates of petrol bombs and stones were found on the rooftop of the AAP leader. A Delhi court sent Hussain on seven-day police custody.

Today, in another major breakthrough, the Special Investigation Teams (SIT) had arrested seven people in connection with the murder of Delhi Police Head Constable Ratan Lal during the recent Delhi anti-Hindu Riots. As per a report by India TV, the names of the suspects are Salim Malik, Mohammad Jalauddin, Mohammad Yunus, Mohammad Ayub, Arif, Danish and Mohammad Salim Khan.

As per the report, of the seven, six are residents of Chand Bagh area which is right across Yamuna Vihar where HC Ratan Lal was murdered. This punches a hole in the theory that the rioting mob had come from outside of Delhi. Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police in a press briefing informed that till now 712 FIRs have been registered and over 200 accused have been arrested. The police further informed that technology such as face recognition software is being used to identify people.

Even as Congress govt in Madhya Pradesh is on verge of collapse, Digvijaya Singh files nomination for Rajya Sabha

OpIndia Staff
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Even as Congress govt in Madhya Pradesh is on verge of collapse, Digvijaya Singh files nomination for Rajya Sabha

The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh is staring at a collapse as more than 20 MLAs’ loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia have quit the Congress, dealing a blow to the wafer-thin majority of the ruling combine in the state. Amidst this political turmoil, Congress has gone ahead to nominate senior leader Digvijaya Singh for the Rajya Sabha (RS) elections. 

According to reports, party veteran Digvijaya Singh reached the state Assembly secretariat around 12.30 pm Thursday and submitted his papers to the returning officer and Vidhan Sabha principal secretary A P Singh.

Digvijaya Singh’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha comes on the heels of Congress bigwig from MP, Jyotiraditya Scindia quitting the party and joining the BJP on Wednesday. It is believed that the core reason behind Scindia’s grievance was the reported efforts of the Kamal Nath-Digvijaya Singh duo to deny him a Rajya Sabha seat. BJP has already named Scindia as its candidate for Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh.

It was only after Jyotiraditya Scindia decided to go incommunicado that the Congress woke up to the reality of events in the state. At that point, both Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh said that they were willing to sit down and sought out the differences and rethink on Scindia’s candidature for the Rajya Sabha seat, however, by then Jyotiraditya Scindia was too far gone and had decided to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday.

Once seen as one of Rahul Gandhi’s closest aides, Jyotiraditya Scindia ditched the Congress party, leaving its government in Madhya Pradesh in chaos on Tuesday afternoon. His resignation, along with that of 21 MLAs, has left the Kamal Nath government in the state on the brink of collapse. It is currently five MLAs short of the new majority mark of 104. Scindia joined BJP today and he has nominated by BJP for upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.

Congress party oscillating over Scindia’s Rajya Sabha nomination acted as a catalyst in his decision to leave the party.

Propagandist Scroll publishes fake news, claims ‘no temple’ was attacked in North East Delhi during the riots

OpIndia Staff
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Propagandist Scroll publishes fake news, claims ‘no temple’ was attacked in North East Delhi during the riots

Leftist propaganda website Scroll.in, in its continued propaganda over the Delhi anti-Hindu riots, has made the patently false claim that not one Hindu religious place was attacked.

The report claimed that while 14 Mosques and a dargah in North East Delhi have been attacked, ‘not one of the many Hindu Temples’ has been reported as suffering an attack during the riots, which is a patent lie. OpIndia had itself published a report on an attack on a Shiv Mandir at Moonga Nagar near Chand Bagh. However, the propaganda outlet felt no inhibition in publishing the lie.

Scroll’s report on the Delhi anti-Hindu riots

On the 27th of February, OpIndia had reported that a Temple in Chand Bagh was attacked by an Islamist mob during the riots. The mob allegedly vandalised the temple, after which they climbed the roof of the Shiv Mandir and started pelting stones on the Hindus from there. Locals also told us that the mob captured the Temple, the mob climbed on top of the roof, placing ladders at the backyard of the Shiv Mandir.

Scroll, in its article, claims that the mosques were attacked by mob chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and in situation where imams were not able to ‘flee’, they were beaten up by the mob. However, it conveniently forgets to mention how a Hindu activist Vinod was dragged in a lane and killed by a mob chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’.

Whitewashing crimes of Muslim mob to create a narrative that Hindus did not have to suffer in the riots is not new. On the 6th of March, Newslaundry published a ‘ground report‘ on the basis of which it branded OpIndia’s ground report ‘fake news’. The propaganda outlet’s entire report was an exercise in whitewashing the crimes of the Islamist mob. Newslaundry made numerous factual errors and came to entirely bizarre conclusions. We have published a complete rebuttal of the Newslaundry’s propaganda piece here. It appears that after Newslaundry, Scroll has decided to tread the same path.

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