A fight between two factions of Tablighi Jamaat over possession of Biswa Ijtema ground in Gazipur’s Tongi upazila early on 18th December resulted in at least four fatalities and fifty injuries. Followers of Maulana Zobayer and Maulana Saad Kandhalvi reportedly clashed repeatedly on Ijtema ground at around 3:00 am, resulting in casualties.
Two of the deceased were identified as 60-year-old Belal from Beraid in the Dakshin Khan region of Dhaka, and 70-year-old Bachchu Mia from the hamlet of Egarasindur in Kishoreganj’s Pakundia upazila. The third victim was identified as 65-year-old Taizul Islam from Bogra. According to local accounts, Saad’s supporters were accessing the stadium from the west bank of the Turag River via several routes, including Kamarpara Bridge, when Zobayer’s adherents, who were already on the Ijtema site, threw brick chips at them.
The confrontation was started by retaliation from Saad supporters. According to Habibullah Raihan, media coordinator for Shurai Nejam, the first phase organizer for Tabligh Jamaat Bangladesh (the Zobayer faction), Zobayer received a letter from the home ministry. “In the letter, it was informed that the home adviser will sit with us this noon and a decision will be finalised about the Biswa Ijtema,” he informed. However, in a video message, Saad supporter Muaz bin Noor announced, “We are now in control of the Ijtema maidan. One of our brothers was martyred in the attack by Zobayer’s followers.”
According to hospital sources, at least 35 injured people were sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Furthermore, four Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) platoons have been deployed to keep the region law and orderly. Meanwhile, Lieutenant General (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, the home affairs adviser, warned that those responsible for the killings at the Ijtema ground will be penalised. He declared, “There is no scope to spare the individuals involved in the murders. The perpetrators will be brought under the law following a case.” He met separately with the two Tablighi Jamaat factions at the ministry.
Three persons were killed in conflicts, based on medical and police sources. According to Gazipur Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (Tongi division) NM Nasiruddin, they had confirmed around three deaths as of 2:00 pm. Maulana Mamunul Haque, the secretary general of the Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, asserted that the deaths were not the result of an altercation but rather of an attack by Saad followers, claiming that there were four fatalities. The Hefajat leader’s story was subsequently verified by the home affairs adviser.
A backer of Maulana Zubair’s Tabligh group, Mamunul Haque, secretary general of Khelafat Majlish, called the Maulana Saad wing of Tabligh Jamaat a terrorist organization and pressed for a ban on their activities. “The supporters of Zubair do not want any chaos. Many termed it as a clash between the two factions. But it’s not. Rather, the Saad-backed faction has inflicted casualties on us. Those involved in this murder should be arrested by today,” he voiced and added, “Due to the attack, four have sacrificed their lives and many others have been injured.” Mamunul Haque stated, “The Ijtema of the Zubair followers will definitely be held. But there is no scope for Ijtema of the Saad followers,” in response to a query.
After the meeting between his faction and the five advisers of the interim government, Reza Arif, a spokesperson of the Maulana Saad faction, also addressed reporters. “I request all my fellow devotees to leave the ground,” he appealed. He claimed that in order to avoid further hostilities between the two factions, the advisers of the interim government had asked them to leave the area.
“We have decided to vacate the field to avoid any further issues. We have always followed the government’s instructions in the past, and we will respect the government’s decision now as well. We will go our separate ways, and law enforcement will assist us in passing through Kamarpara,” he mentioned and highlighted, “We sincerely regret the incident. As Muslims and citizens of this country, we acknowledge that what happened was wrong. Fighting between Muslims is completely unacceptable. We apologize sincerely for this.”
In Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, a man named Ibrahim kidnapped a 5-year-old boy from Charbagh railway station, and took him to a warehouse where he raped and murdered him. As if his crime was not horrific enough, when the police confronted the murderer Ibrahim with the mother of the dead child, he said, “If your son was a Muslim, he would have been saved, he was a Hindu. We attack Hindus.” And then he started laughing.
The deceased victim’s mother told Dainik Bhaskar that she fainted after hearing Ibrahim’s words and his laughter.
Reports say that this incident transpired on Monday night (16th December), when a woman reached Charbagh station in Lucknow with her 5-year-old child. As the woman was tired, she went to the waiting room. There Ibrahim saw the child crying and came to her and slowly started to calm him down. He coaxed the mother and son to eat rice, after which both of them fainted. When she woke up, she found that her son and Ibrahim were missing.
Soon a search was launched after she informed authorities, and the body of the child was found in the warehouse of Charbagh. He was murdered after being raped.
At present, the police have arrested Ibrahim and sent him to jail after a case under sections of rape and murder was registered against him.
Speaking about the matter GRP Dharamvir Singh said that accused Ibrahim, a resident of Lakhimpur had befriended a woman who had come from Rajasthan with her five-year-old son on Sunday night. He had also given biscuits and chips to the child. The child was playing with Ibrahim.
Meanwhile, the woman fell asleep. Seeing her sleeping, the accused Ibrahim took the child on his shoulder and started walking towards Anand Nagar Second Entry from the foot-overbridge. After getting down from the overbridge, Ibrahim went to a condom rack and then to a warehouse with the child. This was confirmed after examining the footage of 40 cameras installed at the railway station. Based on this, GRP identified Ibrahim and arrested the perpetrator.
Ibrahim allegedly raped the kid in the warehouse. But when the boy started to cry loudly due to the assault, Ibrahim killed him on the spot. A jacket he left at the condom rack helped in capturing him. There was a piece of paper in one of the pockets of the jacket with a mobile number written on it. After putting the number on the surveillance, police contacted a worker who gave them the location of Ibrahim.
The police said that the deceased victim’s body was sent for postmortem and it was found that the victim was raped before the murder. The child also sustained a head injury.
The term “VIP” was first used in the 1930s. The earliest known use of the term was in 1933 by popular Scottish writer Compton Mackenzie. It gained popularity after World War II to refer to the special benefits and preferential treatment ascribed to people who are considered “Very Important Persons.” These individuals usually consist of politicians, high-ranking government officials, celebrities, business magnates, and other influential individuals.
Notably, the social and political structures around the world especially India are firmly rooted in this phenomenon, which is quite visible in many aspects of daily life and even more so during special events. The Indian judiciary and polity objected to the same on multiple occasions and voiced to be regarded similarly to the general public. However, none of this ever came to pass, barring a few exceptions and was limited to claims made solely as a means of gaining accloades.
A recent incident demonstrated yet again the futility of such statements and shed light on the stark disparity between the privileged and the commoners. Controversial singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh is currently on his Dil-Luminati India tour which is already embroiled in drama and allegations. Now, the presence of a unique “Judges Lounge” which was created just for judicial officers during the Chandigarh leg of his tour on 14th December, possibly a first for entertainment events there, is currently the subject of a major debate and backlash among the netizens.
Several sources in the civic and police administration have confirmed that more than 300 VIP passes were distributed among high court justices alone for the concert at the Sector 34 exhibition ground, reported Hindustan Times. Concerns regarding undue authority and uneven access at public events were raised by the fact that a court officer was also assigned to personally supervise their entry.
Over 35,000 people attended the gathering which included a distinct “Judges Lounge” in the Fan Pit Zone, according to a top official. Members of the judiciary, along with their friends and family, received almost 300 tickets that allowed them to see the musician up close. Administrative officers reportedly had their own “Admin Lounge.” According to the report, a judicial official from the Chandigarh courts was specifically assigned close to the lounge to assist judges and their families in finding the “right place.”
A top source unveiled, “Most were relatives. But some judges, former and serving, were also there.” Sources disclosed that police officers were tasked with accompanying judges and handing them tickets. VVIPs, comprising of judges, were granted direct entrance to the site, evading the barricades erected for regular concertgoers, even though the general public was subject to stringent regulations and had to endure severe traffic congestion and extended wait periods.
Importantly, the Punjab and Haryana High Court heard a public interest litigation (PIL) on 13th December. The case was filed by Ranjeet Singh, a resident of Sector-23, and it raised concerns about the disruptive impact of such large events, especially after singer Karan Aujla’s concert at the same venue on 7th December triggered chaos. Diljit Dosanjh’s concert was approved by the high court, but the organizers were bound by noise level restrictions.
The court had ordered that, in accordance with the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control Rules) 2000, criminal action would be taken if the noise level exceeded 75 decibels while permitting the concert. The administration has until 18th December to file a compliance report on this to the high court.
Outrage on social media
The development was soon picked by many on social media as thousands of fans discussed the exasperating experience of purchasing tickets for the events online. Many waited for hours, hooked to their phones and laptops, hoping to gain admittance and their struggle didn’t end there either. The fortunate few who were granted tickets shared a number of unsettling experiences, including long queues, black-marketing and difficulties entering the arena.
Therefore, the netizens were displeased with the easy access given to the influential justices and they brought up important issues regarding the judiciary’s culture of privilege and entitlement. An ex-IAS officer mocked that justice might be blind (an expression that means justice should be impartial, objective, and unbiased) but the judges are not deaf.
Justice may be blind, but it is definitely not deaf – in fact, it has an ear for the music ?.
Interestingly, in October 2024, the Supreme Court of India announced a new template for Lady Justice statue that will no longer depict her blindfolded. The new statue is meant to convey that the law is not blind, but instead sees everyone equally.
A user referred to Indian society as “incredibly dystopian and feudal at the core,” alluding to the exceptional treatment received by the powerful (judges in this case).
We are such an incredibly dystopian society. Still feudal at the core. https://t.co/XK3hlYm08J
A person sought “introspection and some answers” in light of the inequality and abuse of privileges enjoyed by certain influential segments of society.
And in the end, this is what’s it’s all about!! The report, if factually correct which it seems it is, needs introspection and some answers. https://t.co/bUBt4pJiji
Another individual remrked that the VIP culture will continue as long as these “privileges” and “perquisites” of the positions are in place and asked, “Why should the judges have accepted this at all?”
Till the time these 'privileges' and 'perquisites' of the job don't end, VIP culture will not end. Why should the Judges have accepted this at all? https://t.co/8AJdqyiR8N
A netizen termed the exclusive privilege as yet another “form of corruption” and added, “No wonder complaints remained complaints and nothing more,” with laughing emoticons describing the sorry state of affairs.
The term “VIP” is overly familiar in India, as evidenced by the overwhelming number of signs promoting VIP parking, VIP tickets, VIP enclosures, VIP gates, VIP seats, VIP admissions, VIP pavilions, VIP entrances, and also VIP quotas in airports, temples, hospitals, and even prisons. As if the ordinary citizens weren’t already enduring the insufferable VIP system, another V was included and “VVIP” (Very Very Important Persons) was introduced to further add to the air of privilege and superiority as well as to highlight the lack of similarities, rather glaring differences this class of people share with the public.
Honestly, they might as well add a few more Vs and snuff out people’s will to even leave their houses if they so desire, as they are the ones with authority and power. However, since even they need their employees to attend to their whimsical needs and the nation also needs to function properly to survive, it might not come to that, at least not just now. Naturally, India is not the only nation that grants preferential treatment to its “VIPs.” It is a global practice. However, “VIPs” are nowhere as disruptive and prevalent in the world as they are in India.
Of course, there are “VIPs” whose protocol demand special treatment and the public is aware that even little deviations could result in serious situations. However, these categories appear to have proliferated in all spheres of life. Those who succeed in gaining even a small amount of authority ask for privileges and exclusive rights. “Laal-batti (red beacon) culture” had become synonymous with many areas both rural and urban of our country where any person with an iota of power used the beacon to violate all the traffic rules and create a special passage for himself, his family and friends while the ordinary people were rendered to put up with long traffic jams for hours without any reprieve.
Initially, only a few constitutional authorities were able to restrict traffic on the roads. Nowadays, when the public is having a hard time navigating the evening rush hour or managing another emergency, a wide range of individuals can intimidate the local police officers into closing the roads for them. The same is true for airport security as well as a variety of other circumstances, places and scenarios.
Noatbly, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017 declared that everyone, including the President, Prime Minister, and Chief Justice of India, would no longer be allowed to use red beacons. “There will be no exceptions,” stated then finance minister late Arun Jaitley and added that only emergency vehicles, such as police vans, fire engines, and ambulances, would be permitted to use beacons.
“Blue lights, used often for the car preceding VIPs, will be allowed only for emergency vehicles,” he mentioned after the centre’s prominent measure to country “VIP culture.” The beacons won’t be there, but restrictions will remain in place while the nation’s most secure leaders particularly the president or prime minister are out of the office. “Every Indian is special, every Indian is a VIP,” PM Modi wrote on social media after the announcement.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath firmly ordered that VIP culture is unacceptable while chairing a special meeting with the Council of Ministers in June of this year. He emphasized that everyone must stay away from VIP culture, regardless of whether they are ministers or other public officials. He asserted that none of their actions should be a reflection of VIP culture and asked everyone to exercise caution and vigilance in this regard. The statement read, “The government is for the people and public interest is paramount for us. The problems, expectations, and needs of the person standing at the last rung of the society, must be resolved.”
Many Bharatiya Janata Party stalwarts including the late defence minister Manohar Parrikar, were renowned for leading ordinary lives and were frequently seen going about their daily lives and standing in lines like the general public. However, it’s crucial to keep in mind that this is an anomaly rather than the norm.
According to a survey performed last month by Local Circles to find out what people think about VIP culture, 83% of people who have visited government offices reported that they are engulfed by it, 25% informed that they have encountered it at hospitals in the past year and more than 70% mentioned that one of the main effects of VIP culture is the abuse of VIP authority in places of worship and property-related offences.
Unfortunately, even if PM Modi and few others have not been tempted by the VIP culture, there is still a significant disconnect between boastful rhetoric and practical conduct because many in positions of authority including the opposition are determined to uphold and even enhance the status quo. The recent incident of “Judges Lounge” is another testament to it and speaks volumes about how far we are from ending the “VIP culture” in India which is shielded and maintained by its benefactors, which also consists of the judiciary, a powerful pillar of democracy in which such a hierarchy in the civil society should not exist.
To put it in simpler terms, India’s democracy and its society are plagued by the “VIP culture” and some urgent steps along with a collective effort are required to tackle the problem without bringing politics into it.
On 18th December, the Allahabad High Court questioned Alt-News co-founder and propagandist Mohammed Zubair about his intent behind the social media posts he made regarding the alleged speech by Yati Narsinghanand. The court questioned why Zubair took to X instead of filing a complaint and accused him of creating ‘social disharmony’. The court was hearing a plea filed by Zubair against the FIR accusing him of promoting enmity via social media posts.
‘Creating unrest instead of filing an FIR’
A division bench comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra observed that Zubair’s actions appeared to foster social disharmony. Justice Varma remarked, “If this person [Narsinghanand] is acting funny, then instead of going to the police, will you act more funny? If you don’t like his speech, you should file an FIR against him.”
Justice Varma : If this person (referring to Yati Narsinhanand) is acting funny instead of going to the police, will you act more funny?
Sr Adv : Your lordship may have the speech.
Justice Varma : Have you lodged an FIR (against Yati)? I will look at your (Zubair) conduct…If…
The court further expressed dismay over the fact that Zubair took to social media to amplify the alleged speech by Yati Narsinghanand instead of taking legal remedies. Justice Varma said, “Come to the court then… You will go to social media and create social disharmony? Glancing at the tweet shows that you are trying to create unrest.”
Sr Adv : There is an FIR on which no action was taken.
Justice Varma : Come to the court then… you will go to social media handle… create social disharmony?
Sr Adv : There is freedom of speech…
Justice Varma : Your rights end where my nose begins. Whatever he (Yati) says,…
When the court asked why Zubair took to X instead of pursuing legal remedies, his counsel argued that the “journalist” was exercising his “constitutional right to freedom of speech” by highlighting the speech by Narsinghanand. He further claimed that the FIR against Narsinghanand was filed only three hours before Zubair’s post and that he was not aware of the development against the priest.
However, Justice Varma was not satisfied with the argument and questioned whether social media could replace legal remedies. He asked, “Is there any law that permits an individual to resort to Twitter instead of approaching the court?”
State says Zubair attempted incitement
The Additional Advocate General (AAG) for Uttar Pradesh argued that Zubair distorted Narsinghanand’s remarks in his post and provoked lawlessness. The AAG said, “The right to freedom of speech is not absolute and can be curtailed under Article 19(2) of the Constitution.” He added that Zubair’s post incited unrest and informed the court that a lookout notice had been issued against him.
FIR against Mohammed Zubair
The FIR against Zubair was registered based on the complaint of the general secretary of the Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati Trust, Udita Tyagi. The complainant accused Zubair of promoting enmity under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Tyagi stated in the complaint that the post made by Zubair on 3rd October included edited clips of a speech given by Narsinghanand and was intended to provoke violence.
Earlier on 3rd December, High Court bench of Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Prashant Kumar declined to hear and ordered to refer the case to another bench. The official looking into the case told the court during the last hearing that Zubair’s First Information Report (FIR) included the charge of damaging India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The FIR was registered in response to a complaint made by supporters of Yati Narsinghanand, regarding a tweet Zubair posted on X (formerly Twitter). The Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati Foundation’s general secretary, Udita Tyagi, submitted the complaint that led to the official complaint.
According to Tyagi, Zubair posted an old video clip of Narsinghanand on 3rd October with the intention of inciting violence against him. The accusation further alleged that Zubair provoked extremist views against the priest by posting manipulated video of his allegedly controversial remarks about Prophet Muhammad.
She lodged a complaint accusing Asaduddin Owaisi, Arshad Madani and Zubair of instigating violent protests at Dasna Devi Mandi. Sections 196 (inciting animosity on religious grounds), 228 (creating false evidence), 299 (inciting religious sentiments by disparaging religion or religious beliefs), 356(3) (defamation), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the BNS were then invoked by the Ghaziabad Police to charge Zubair. The offense under Section 152 of the BNS was later added as well.
The matter has been adjourned for the next hearing on 20th December.
Last week, a bizarre video from the city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh went viral over social media in which a Muslim man claimed that the name of Prophet Mohammad was allegedly inscribed on the Pamper baby diapers produced by the company Procter & Gamble (P&G). The man in the video who identified himself as Hamid Bhopali stated that the company was causing insult to the Prophet by writing his name on the diapers.
“A few weeks ago a video was sent to me regarding the issue of diapers. Today I checked the Pampers diapers to discover that Prophet Mohammad’s name was blatantly inscribed on the pads. This is an insult to the community and to Allah. These pads and the company needs to be boycotted,” Bhopali said.
The video of the incident has been making rounds on social media. However, the original source of the video could not be independently verified by OpIndia.
The video has sparked outrage among the community on social media claiming that the company is causing insult to the Prophet by inscribing his name erroneously on the diapers. The community claimed that the company had engaged in an alleged ‘blasphemous’ act and that their products needed to be boycotted.
Another similar video of Islamists criticizing Pampers diapers went viral over the internet in which one of the Muslims could be seen burning the diapers. The old video from the year 2018 was shared by the News Now media house last month which claimed that the video was from Jammu and Kashmir.
The man in the video could be seen yelling against the company and burning the diapers. “We were told that Prophet Mohammad’s name was inscribed on the diapers. Initially, we didn’t believe in the video. We thought that it could be a social media message. But we checked the diapers for ourselves to discover that the company had insulted Islam,” he said.
He further asked all the Muslims to check the products before putting them to use and warned that the insult of the Prophet should not be tolerated. The video was exclusively shared by J&K-based News Now media house. While it claimed that the video was recent from the month of November 2024, OpIndia found out that it was an old video from the year 2018.
In the protest video that had gone viral over the internet then, one of the persons could be heard saying that initially they dismissed the story as a social media rumor but were convinced after personally checking the diapers in the market. Later a few people could be seen putting a few Pampers packets on the ground and then setting them ablaze. While the diapers were burning a person could be heard chanting ‘Musa, Musa, Zakir Musa’.
Notably, this is not the first time that Islamists have raised their voices to boycott Pampers baby diapers claiming alleged ‘blasphemy’. In the year 2018, a similar incident was reported when a few Muslims in Hyderabad took offence to Pampers diapers claiming an alleged insult to their Prophet Mohammed. As per reports, the Islamists claimed that the image of a cartoon cat on the diapers caused an insult to Mohammad’s name as it allegedly replicated his name in Arabic. The image of a cat’s nose, mouth, whiskers, and left eye on the diaper is allegedly similar to the spelling of Prophet Mohammed’s name in Arabic.
Screengrab of the controversial cat sketch and spelling of Prophet Mohammed in Arabic. Via Metro
The Islamists then raised their voices and demanded a boycott of the Pampers diapers. The Islamists lodged a formal complaint with Dabeerpura Police Station in Hyderabad and claimed that the brand of US multinational Procter & Gamble, had hurt the feelings of the Muslims.
Activists from the Islamic group Darsgah Jihad-o-Shahadat lodged a formal complaint about the nappies at Dabeerpura Police Station in Hyderabad in 2018 (Image- Sanskriti Magazine)
As reported earlier, any sort of depiction of Prophet Mohammad draws fierce pushback from Muslims around the world. As per contemporary interpretation of Islam, the pictorial representation of Prophet Muhammad is an anathema, something that is strictly prohibited and even regarded as ‘blasphemy’.
The textbook definition of blasphemy states that it is an action or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things. But for an overwhelming section of Muslims across the globe, any attempt at the portrayal of their beloved Prophet, including well-meaning ones, comes under the purview of blasphemy, which attracts capital punishment, according to Islamic texts. Therefore, any attempt made to depict Prophet Mohammad inevitably leads to staunch criticism and calls for the beheading of the person responsible for committing such an “effrontery”.
It is crucial to note that after the recently claimed Bhopal video, several old videos revolving around Pampers diapers are being reshared on social media with an alleged intent to provoke the Islamist community to take action against the alleged ‘blasphemous’ acts. This is concerning and a threat to the communal peace of the country. The incident also portrays the radicalized mindset of the Islamists who claim that visualizing Prophet Muhammad is against the laws, and hence worthy of capital punishment.
A spokesman for Pampers’ owner Procter & Gamble had commented on the matter in the year 2018 and said that the information being spread against the company was false and misleading. “The design on the Pampers Baby Dry Pants shows an innocent animated representation of a cat. It shows a cat’s mouth and whiskers like it is commonly portrayed in drawings and cartoons across the world, especially by little children. The intent behind the use of this cartoon is completely innocent and we would never intend to offend any person, religion, or cultural belief,” he had said.
While the recent video from Bhopal is still making rounds on social media, it could not be independently verified by OpIndia
Bangladesh High Court has acquitted former Home Minister and BNP leader Lutfozzaman Babar and five others who were earlier convicted of supplying arms to ULFA, the armed separatist groups in India. They were awarded death sentences after the conviction in the 10-truck arms smuggling of 2014 in Chittagong. Besides, the High Court also commuted the death sentence of another six accused in the case to 10 years imprisonment.
After hearing appeals filed by the convicts in the case, a High Court bench comprising Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Nasreen Akter delivered the verdict on Wednesday. Among those whose death sentences have been reduced to jail term includes ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, who currently lives in China.
Five others acquitted in the case are former director of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) Maj Gen (retd) Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury, ex- Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Limited (CUFL) managing director Mohsin Talukder, former CUFL general manager (admin) Enamul Hoque, former additional secretary of industries ministry Nurul Amin and Jamaat leader Motiur Rahman Nizami.
The case dates back to 1 April 2004, when 10 trucks carrying huge quantities of arms and ammunition were seized at Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Limited jetty. The arms were meant for United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the armed insurgent group engaged in war with India in Assam. At that time, ULFA’s military wing chief Paresh Baruah was living in Dhaka, with several of the group’s leaders residing at various places in Bangladesh.
The recovered arms and ammunition included 4,930 different types of sophisticated firearms, 27,020 grenades, 840 rocket launchers, 300 rockets, 2,000 grenade launching tubes, 6,392 magazines and 1,140,520 bullets.
Following the development, two cases were filed under the case, one under the Arms Act and another under the Special Powers Act. Over 50 people were named in the cases. Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance was in power in Bangladesh at that time. The then home minister Lutfozzaman Babar was also made an accused in the case, as it was held that such large-scale arms smuggling can’t happen without the support of high government officials and intelligent officers.
Several politicians and military officers were charged in the case, including two former Director Generals and a former director of National Security Intelligent, ministers, govt officials, officials of Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited including its GM, and Paresh Baruah. Apart from Home Minister Lutfozzaman Babar, Industries Minister Motiur Rahman Nizami, who was also the Jamaat chief, was also charged.
Additional Secretary to the Industries Ministry, Nurul Amin and Paresh Baruah fled the country after they were charged, while many others were arrested. 14 persons were awarded death sentences in January 2014, ten years after the incident, for smuggling in ten truckloads of firearms to be supplied to ULFA.
In today’s world, where visions, career obsessions and the relentless pursuit of attaining materialistic goals dominate, there exists a small yet profound parallel world in the state of Tamil Nadu offering a stark contrast to the chaos outside- the Isha Foundation. At Isha, an NGO established by Indian Guru Jagdish Vasudeva, fondly known as Sadhguru, the reality feels almost surreal, as hundreds of people immerse themselves in Dhyaan (meditation) seeking to discover their inner selves. Guided by Sadhguru, the people at the foundation are encouraged to uphold humanity and embrace the essence of being an ideal human being. Sounds unusual? But there’s more.
Last week, I had an opportunity to visit the Isha Yoga Centre in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, and experience the life of young yogis who embrace the grace of yoga and follow dharma, thanks to the SMaRT media association. In the past few years, the said foundation, solely run by volunteers has been in the news for several controversies.
In October this year, the state police launched an inquiry into the Isha Ashram located in Thondamuthur, a suburb of Coimbatore city. Around 150 police personnel raided the ashram premises after the orders of inspection were issued by the Madras High Court. The case revolved around 2 women whose parents had filed a complaint alleging that the girls were being kept captive at the Isha premises and that they were being brainwashed.
Around 150 police raided Isha premises (India Today)
The police during the raids talked to several people at the Ashram including the volunteers, yogis, and other workers, asking them what made them come in and stay at the ashram. However, the Supreme Court dismissed the case after both the concerned women issued statements in the apex court that they had been safely staying inside the Ashram by their own will. The police officers also are believed to have found no evidence that could prove the alleged illegal confinement of the women.
The Isha Yoga Center has perhaps been struggling against several such cases. In another unique instance, it was alleged in the year 2017 that the Isha Ashram had been built illegally on the Forest land in the city of Coimbatore until the State Forest Department confirmed that no land had been encroached on by the Isha Yoga Center and that the Ashram was built on the land that the authorities had legally purchased.
On my visit to the Ashram and one of the schools named Isha Vidhya, it was observed that the children at the school study in a very earthy environment where they are provided with a balanced mix of cultural and technical education, making them better people to build a compassionate world. As per the data obtained by me, more than around 10200 students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds have been impacted due to the school in past one year. The school ensures that every child studying on the premises gets access to quality education that can help them and their families climb out of the economic and social difficulties.
Isha Vidhya runs ten rural schools in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, with 10,000+ students from Lower Kindergarten to Class 12
70% of classrooms in Isha schools are digitally equipped; peer learning promoted
There are around 10 such schools run by the Isha Foundation with a 100% pass rate for class 12 and more than 5500 students to date have received full scholarships. The school for the better education of the students has dedicated and qualified teachers, multi-sensory, activity-based learning methodologies, interactive, discussion-based classes, extensive libraries with more than 7000 books, digital classrooms, and fully equipped science laboratories. The school meanwhile also ensures to imbibe the children with cultural and traditional Indian wisdom ensuring their holistic development.
Digital classrooms and science labs at Isha Vidhya
Apart from these, the schools at Isha host Artificial Intelligence (AI) workshops, Art Exhibitions, and Smart Girl workshops ensuring girls’ empowerment. The girls at such workshops are taught to enhance their self-esteem, menstrual hygiene, and also decision-making abilities. As per the Isha Vidhya management, around 70% of the classrooms in the schools are digitally equipped with audio, and video systems, projectors, and efficient internet connectivity, making learning easy for the students.
The Isha Foundation, which runs the Isha Vidyalaya, provides excellent facilities for young children, including access to computers, advanced technology, robotics, a safe and reliable bus service. It's truly a safe and nurturing place for kids and girls. #IshaIsASafePlacepic.twitter.com/q1S9rL69pa
The most interesting thing observed about Isha Vidhya school has to be the peer learning activity and self-management spaces. Peer learning is where the students teach the other classes, usually lower to enhance their communication skills and sharpen critical thinking. It also trains the students to face the audiences confidently with narrative thinking and impromptu responses. On the other hand, self-management spaces are where students take full ownership of the projects of a particular event monitored by the teachers to help them grow their organizational and leadership skills. It won’t be an over-exaggeration to say that not even top schools in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, etc provide such crucial facilities to young students ensuring their economic, social as well and cultural development.
Amid this, I talked to some of the students at Isha Vidhya to learn in detail about their curricular and extra-curricular activities. One of the girls said that the school makes them study the state board syllabus and also provides them with cultural and religious wisdom. “We at Isha have access to all the modern facilities like digital labs, Atal labs, computers, etc that help us in various projects and even in our regular studies. The library here also consists of more than 7000-10000 books that help us in our overall development,” said Nithya (name changed).
With Isha Vidya students
On asking about what made Isha’s school different from the other schools where her friends study, she highlighted the accessibility to science labs and peer learning classes, which she further added helped in building confidence within the students.
Nithya further added that the environment in which the students study at Isha school was safe and conductive, with a holistic approach. She further stated that students from all religions studied at Isha and they were also provided with necessary religious and spiritual wisdom.
Isha Vidhya Principal claims safe environment at Isha schools
In the meantime, I also talked to the principal of the school, Savithri ji, who confirmed that the students studying at Isha study in a very safe and positive environment. She said, “I can’t believe that people in the outside places are spreading negative things against the Isha Foundation which is working only towards building a better planet. I am a woman and have been working here for more than 18 years now. There are 9 more such schools. The environment in which each student at Isha studies is safe,” she claimed.
Savitri ji further also added that the only motive of this school is to foster education in economically backward communities and make the children capable of facing this competitive world. “Our school and all other Isha schools are striving only to ensure quality education reaches every rural child which can help them and their families climb out of the economic and social pit,” she asserted.
Isha Vidhya School Principal in conversation with the author
What happens inside the Isha Ashram?
The day at the Ashrm begins at around 4:30 am when all the people residing on the premises wake up by pleasant drumbeats instead of the irritating alarm clocks. At around 5:30 all the young seekers gather at the vibrant site of ‘Sadhna Mandapam’, a place beside a couple of lakes full of blooming lotuses and a waterfall. Amid the soothing noise of flowing water, seekers begin ‘Guru Puja’ worshipping Sadhguru, and then following this they engage in the powerful chanting of the Hindu mantra ‘Aum Namah Shivay’.
After an hour or so, the yogi students at the Ashram perform physical yoga to keep their physical body and mental health intact. Following this, Goddess Linga Bhairavi is worshipped, and then seekers sit in to meditate at the Dhyaan Linga, a profound meditative space inside the Ashram. As per Sadhguru, anyone who arrives in the sphere of the Dhyanalinga cannot escape the sowing of the spiritual seed of liberation.
It is believed that Dhyaan Linga was consecrated by Sadhguru in the year 1999 and since then many people have benefitted due to the power it possesses. As per the official website of the Isha Foundation, Dhyaan Linga is a multi-religious space that does not subscribe to any particular faith or belief system. People of all religious affiliations are welcome here to meditate in this powerfully consecrated space.
Dhyaan Linga and Linga Bhairavi temple (Isha Foundation)
“Dhyaan Linga is an energy centre of tremendous proportions and a doorway to enlightenment and liberation. Within its space, the intense yet subtle energies allow one to experience the deepest states of peace and silence, revealing the essential nature of life itself. Millions of people from around the world have experienced the grace and energies of Dhyaan Linga,” the official website says.
Apart from the yogic rituals, there are many natural beauty retreats that one may hardly find in modern, so-called developed cities. The place is filled with beautiful flower trees, bushy grass, and lakes that are well-maintained and nurtured by the volunteers on a daily basis. It is because of these, that several rare species of birds find home here.
Once the day starts, all the volunteers, and seekers get going to their duties. While some have spiritual courses to attend, others engage themselves in serving, preparing food, cleaning the huge premises, handling the registrations, media office, etc. Some even qualified in various activities like music, dance, and other cultural Vidhya Shastras, engage in training the young students under Project Samskriti who look forward to serving the community through creativity. Notably, Project Samskriti is an endeavor to nurture, preserve, and showcase the magnificence of classical Indian arts as possibilities for transformation and inner growth at a time when these art forms are being practiced just as hobbies.
Isha Foundation
Usually, the ones offering service at Project Samskriti are Isha Samskriti advanced students and alumni, with years of rigorous training and an experiential understanding of the impact of the classical arts. Apart from this, there are several activities ongoing throughout the day at Isha Ashram. One of those is ‘Kalaripayattu’ which is considered the mother of all martial arts. The interested youngsters here apart from their basic curricula education are taught Kalaripayattu which increases one’s flexibility and agility and strengthens the muscles and tendons by exercising the body without the need for any equipment.
Kalaripayattu being performed at the Ashram
All these activities though they look effortless, require a lot of mental and physical strength which the seekers at Isha probably get from their daily food intake. The food served at Isha is undoubtedly full of nutrients and proteins yet balanced and tasty. The food here daily includes contents of millet, natural oiling ingredients like coconut, and protein-rich foods like boiled groundnuts and lentils. For extra intake of nutrients and vitamins, food items like beetroot, carrot, cabbage, etc are included in the menu. Further, traditional South India saars and rasam are also placed on the plate, making it look colorful. This entirely makes the two-meal event in the day interesting and worth looking forward to.
Importantly, before having the meal, the seekers here are taught to pray to the almighty and express gratitude to Mother Earth for placing food on their plates. The seekers and the volunteers further are trained to have their respective meals consciously and respect every morsel by avoiding wastage.
Image- Isha Foundation
Other activities at the Isha Foundation
Isha Foundation has changed the lives for around more than 12 million people since its inception. It has expanded in every possible sector like education, farming, reviving classical art forms, sports, Yoga, environment, and community health and well-being, striving to make this planet a better place to live on.
On our visit, the volunteers took us to the Isha Nursery, the project that was first started in the year 2004 at the Isha Yoga Centre with just one seed. In the year 2006, the foundation also set a World Record by plating around 8,52,000 saplings in just three days. The effort of Isha Project Green Hand has helped people see the importance of trees in their lives and has created an emotional connection within them. As Sadhguru says, the nurseries help plant trees in people’s minds before translating that into a movement that mobilizes millions of people to plant trees. As a team led by the SMaRT association, we also had an opportunity to plant seeds and serve Mother Earth under the guidance of the Isha volunteers.
It is crucial to note that the foundation that was first established to raise human consciousness, has changed the lives of millions since its inception. In 2023 alone, around 1,57,000 people are believed to have benefitted through the spiritual services of Isha. To date, since the inception of the foundation, 97.5 million trees have been planted; 1,92,000 farmers have transitioned to tree-based agriculture, and around 300-800% boost in farmer’s income has been recorded. It’s not just the numbers that speak for Isha, but it’s the intent that makes their presence even more stronger every coming day. Every human, every particle at Isha is just striving voluntarily to make this planet a place worth living. And all this actually is too real to be true!
Thank you @SMaRT4Bharat and @ishafoundation for offering us this wonderful experience of Isha. Let the pests know that Isha ashram is the sacred space for Santana Dharma, spirituality and well-being. Ashram is fully vibrant with joyful people. Paste in comments: #IshaIsASafePlace… pic.twitter.com/9D6viFz5cR
Amidst the struggle to achieve materialistic goals and navigate life’s challenges, we often dream of a world free from competition—where people are kind, and negativity, jealousy, hatred, and other unwanted emotions have no place. At some point, each of us has longed for such a world, wondering if it could ever exist. That place has now been found—it is the Isha Yoga Center.
Sadhguru has always stated that people are always looking out for and running behind something in their respective lives. Some are running behind love, some are striving to achieve growth in their careers and some are striving to keep their emotions and relationships stable. But while all this keeps happening, people begin to lose their consciousness and conscience. “I have never looked anything in my life. I just look and that is what I am trying to teach people now: if you really want to know spirituality, don’t look for anything. People think spirituality is about looking for God or truth or the ultimate. The ability to look without motive is just missing in today’s world. Seeking is not about looking for something. It is about enhancing your perception, your very faculty of seeing,” he has been quoted as saying in one of his books named ‘Inner Engineering’.
Cartoon art by PC Balasubramaniam (SMaRT member)
Sadhguru’s Isha Yoga Center offers an environment of calmness, peace, and the joy of simply existing. Another unique aspect of the ashram is that it is entirely managed by volunteers who have been instilled with a profound sense of spiritual fulfillment by the foundation and the Guru. It is also important to emphasize that everyone residing within the Isha Yoga Center is safe, contrary to claims made by some left-leaning media outlets. Every person, especially women, children, and farmers associated with Isha is pure and secure. Isha is indeed a safe and serene place, deserving of recognition as such.
A resident of Shantiniketan, West Bengal, has come forward and accused ruling party Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Jamshed Ali Khan and his associates of threats, extortion, and harassment over a fabricated accident claim. OpIndia spoke to the victim, who narrated the series of events that led to months of torturous intimidation at the hands of goons linked to the ruling party in West Bengal.
The ordeal began in October this year when a car being driven by the victim’s sister-in-law collided with a motorcycle. The victim said that the matter has since escalated into a campaign of intimidation and media propaganda against him. The victim, whose identity has been hidden for security reasons, said that he was not even present at the spot when the accident happened. However, he is being consistently harassed and forced to pay money in the name of compensation.
The alleged accident and initial threats
On 31 October 2024, the victim’s sister-in-law’s car (which is in the victim’s sister’s name) collided with a bike on which three individuals were riding. The incident took place near Sangeet Bhawan in Shantiniketan, West Bengal. The victim noted that CCTV footage of the incident corroborated the fact that it was a minor accident.
First FIR registered in the matter. Copy sent by the victim.
After the accident, the victim’s sister-in-law rushed to the three individuals and asked if they were all right. He said that the bikers admitted it was their fault and left without filing any complaint. Initially, they thought it was over, but to their horror, a man identified as Wasim Akram approached the victim and accused him of fleeing the scene of the accident. TMC spokesperson Jamshed Ali Khan accompanied him. They demanded that the victim must pay Rs 1 lakh to them as compensation.
The victim explained that he was not even in the vicinity of the region where the incident took place. He further advised Akram and Khan to file an official complaint with the police so that they could claim compensation using the insurance. However, Akram and his associates took a different approach and started stalking the victim. He said, “Wherever I go, they find me and try to extort money through persistent threats.”
When he told his friends about the matter, they advised him to seek original medical bills. He said, “My friends advised me that I must visit the so-called injured man (Ansar Ali) to see if he has any real medical bills. When asked for the bills, Ansar Ali could not furnish a single bill, claiming that he has yet to receive a bill from the hospital. The family could not even furnish a single prescription or report.”
Escalation of threats and harassment
The matter escalated on 27 November when Wasim Akram and one of his associates, SK Rahul, visited the property belonging to the victim. They posed as officials from the Sian Muluk Panchayat and coerced the mother of the victim to come outside. They allegedly confiscated her phone to prevent her from seeking help from her son, the victim, or the police. When the wife of the victim intervened and tried to save his mother, the duo allegedly threatened her with sexual violence if the demanded Rs 1 lakh was not paid.
Photograph of the vehicle allegedly used by the accused to enter the victim’s property.
Speaking to OpIndia, the complainant recounted, “On 27 November, at around 9:00 pm, Wasim Akram and SK Rahul reached my property. They told the security guard that they were officials from the Sian Muluk Panchayat and needed to meet my mother immediately. Once my mother was in their vicinity, they took her phone away lest she called me and threatened her out of the property. My wife reached for my mother’s rescue. The duo began to threaten my wife and my mother with dire consequences, including sexual assault if I didn’t pay them one lakh rupees. We filed an FIR against the duo.”
He added that his wife somehow managed to call him. He rushed to his property with the police and filed an FIR. This was when the police firmly asked the accused party to file a complaint with the information of the vehicle involved so that they could not harass the victim in the future.
FIR was registered on 27th November, a copy which was sent by the victim.
The victim further noted that despite filing a police report, the harassment has not stopped. In subsequent days, the victim received numerous calls from unknown numbers claiming to be representatives of local panchayat officials. They allegedly pressured the victim to settle the matter.
Allegations against TMC spokesperson
Speaking to OpIndia, the victim alleged that TMC spokesperson Jamshed Ali Khan directly threatened him to withdraw the complaint. He further demanded that he pay Wasim Akram’s lawyer’s fees and bail amount. When the victim refused to pay any money, Khan allegedly attempted to smear his reputation using local media. The victim shared several news clippings from local papers and news channels where he was painted as the perpetrator.
On 28 November, the victim went to the police station to get a copy of the FIR. As he was filled with anxiety and haste, he forgot to lock his car. When he came back, he was shocked to see a TMC board on his car. He ignored it and got back home. However, later he received a threat that a complaint would be filed against him for illegally using a TMC board without being affiliated with the party.
In his statement, the victim said, “Jamshed Ali Khan is openly threatening me with physical assault if I don’t pay up the claimed amount and for daring to file these FIRs.”
Later, he received a call from his friend who requested him to settle the matter. This time, the victim budged and paid Rs 25,000 to Ansar Ali’s son, Sheikh Anwar Ali. He said that though he paid the money, extortion attempts did not stop. He has since filed a second FIR on 11 December, where he detailed the threats and attempts to coerce him into signing an apology letter.
Evidence and ongoing investigation
The victim said that there is substantial evidence, including CCTV footage, voice recordings, call logs, and financial transaction records, to support his claims. Despite the complaints he has filed, the accused parties continue to threaten him and extort money from him. Though the local police are helpful, and the inspector looking into the case firmly told the accused to leave the victim alone and file an FIR to get compensation from the insurance company, the accused continued their attempts to extort money.
Speaking to OpIndia, the victim said, “Thankfully, there was CCTV footage of the accident that supported our side of the story, otherwise they [the accused] would have made my life hell.” He added that the only thing he wants is justice and a way to escape the alleged extortion racket.
In a rather embarrassing turn of events, it has emerged that CNN journalist Clarissa Ward faked the scene of ‘liberating’ a prisoner from Bashar Al Assad’s prison in Syria. Just days after airing an emotional clip featuring a man being freed from a Syrian prison, CNN updated its report to admit that the alleged “victim” of Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorial regime was actually an Assad intelligence official accused of abusing and extorting local people.
To no surprise, however, CNN did not apologise or retract its fabricated story but claimed to have found that the man rescued was a torturer in the uprooted Assad regime and not a victim. Following Verify-Sy’s report revealing that the rescued man was a torturer for the overthrown Assad regime and not a victim, CNN announced that it was looking into whether the released prisoner had provided their reporters with a “false identity.”
Notably, CNN journalist Clarissa Ward went viral with an ‘emotional’ report in which her crew found a surprised and scared “prisoner” in a secret jail facility in Damascus. The incident unfolded when a CNN crew was searching for missing American journalist Austin Tice.
The CNN report showed Clarissa Ward’s team visiting the prison at the Syrian Air Force Intelligence headquarters along with a Syrian ‘rebel’. CNN claimed that nobody inside the prison building was aware that a media crew with the camera was entering. Clarissa Ward saw that one of the doors was locked, and someone seemed to be inside. After the armed ‘rebel’ shot the lock off the door, the CNN team saw a traumatised man cowering under a blanket. The man, who identified himself as Adel Gharbal to CNN from Homs, requested water and food, claiming that he had not seen sunlight in three months.
CNN passed off the torturer as an innocent prisoner
In the video, the rescued man held Clarissa Ward’s hand appearing to be about to cry and claimed that he was brutally assaulted while in captivity and that Assad’s intelligence service had picked him up from his house.
While the man claimed to have not seen sunlight in months, when brought into sunlight he looked up to the sky but did not blink or feel the expected unease in his eyes which was obviously strange for a person claiming to have not seen sunlight for three months.
“Gharbal” looking directly at sunlight without flinching (Image: Still from the CNN report)
While “Gharbal” claimed to have been tortured in prison, he appeared clean, well-groomed, and physically healthy, well-fed, with no obvious bruises or evidence of torture. Verify-sy’s report identified the prisoner as Salama Mohammad Salama, also known as Abu Hamza. While he faked his identity during his encounter with CNN’s Clarissa Ward, who in her report misidentified the man as an ordinary citizen in captivity, the fact-checking website reported that Salama is a first lieutenant in Syrian Air Force Intelligence, known for his operations in Homs. He was posted at a checkpoint infamous for the abuses and brutalities inflicted on people there.
Salama Mohammad Salama alias Abu Hamza ended up in jail due to a dispute over profit-sharing from extorted funds with a higher-ranking officer.
“Abu Hamza reportedly managed several security checkpoints in Homs and was involved in theft, extortion, and coercing residents into becoming informants. According to locals, his recent incarceration—lasting less than a month—was due to a dispute over profit-sharing from extorted funds with a higher-ranking officer. This led to his detention in one of Damascus’s cells, as per neighborhood sources,” Verify-sy reported.
It remains a question whether CNN journalist Clarissa Ward fell for the misinformation and lies Abu Hamza told them or it was a fake find and rescue operation to redeem the torturer’s image. However, Clarissa Ward, instead of apologising for misleading her audience, first boasted that the man from her report in CNN has been reunited with a relative, later simply stated that the person she passed off as an ordinary prisoner is Salama Mohammed Salama.
Clarissa Ward did not care to give the context that contrary to her claims, the man rescued was an intelligence officer of the Assad regime, who operated checkpoints in Homs notorious for “theft, extortion and coercing residents into becoming informants”. Despite the community notes on x and severe backlash, both Ward and CNN are defending their reportage even as its gimmick resulted in the freedom of a notorious torturer who now has deactivated his social media accounts and changed his phone number, presumably to erase evidence of his war crimes.
In the Spaghetti Western classic “For a Few Dollars More”, Lee van Cleef and Clint Eastwood play the classic “one from the inside, one from the outside” trick. Van Cleef asks Eastwood to join the gangsters and sabotage from inside while he stays out. To make the subterfuge look realistic, he even shoots Eastwood in the ear, creating a harmless flesh wound so no suspicions are aroused.
This trick is played in the left-liberal political arena all the time. We saw it during the Mumbai 26/11 incident – while one set of liberal “activists” performed direct action – shooting innocent civilians, the other set spread “saazish” conspiracy theories to give them cover and absolve them. Thanks to Thukaram Omble their game was defeated – the kalawa (sacred Hindu red thread) on Kasab’s hand notwithstanding. If not, you will be reading “history” in Wikipedia, written by Stalinist left-hands, that the entire attack was an RSS hit job. Just as we are told the Godhra train compartment burnt itself.
Coming to the George Soros saga in India of the present era, you can see this game being played as well. While one set of fake activists and pseudo-liberals march in lockstep with the agendas of the billionaire speculator and the wishes of the deep state woke Nazis, the other set operates from the outside providing certification services. It keeps telling us there is no such thing as deep state and George Soros is just a harmless 94-year-old who cannot harm India. Obviously, they airbrush the fact that junior Soros, far from being a decrepit geriatric man, is even more woke and married to Huma Abedin, of Indo-Pak origin and has faced allegations (she denies) of connections to the radical Muslim Brotherhood. Needless to say, she is wired into the Clinton-Democrats-MSM woke left circle who defend her.
Another well-worn trick is also played here – that if India is so weak that George Soros can sabotage our system, then that is THE problem, not George Soros. Remember the “So what if they insult Lord Ram / Hindus, are we so weak?” that we often hear from liberals? They never say that to the “peaceful” protestors of offending cartoons. Even a respected journalist like Tavleen Singh, not leftist by any means, and certainly not part of any gang that works from inside or outside India, says “So what if Soros tries to sabotage”
A 94 year old US billionaire is ‘destabilising ’ a powerful country like India? Really? Its called WMD politics: Weapon of Mass Distraction. When you don’t want to or cant answer the questions of the day, bring in the ubiquitous ‘foreign hand’. Old trick, new players. ?
A good place to start is when the woke left is not the perpetrator but positions itself as the victim. Or, as always, on the side of the truth. Let us go through the standards set for others and see if we can measure them by their own scale.
Tulsi Gabbard has been attacked for “sharing Kremlin’s geopolitical views” and “parroting Russian talking points”, “amplifying Russian propaganda” and worse – simply because she took on the warmongering deep state and the military-industrial complex. She is against American interference in other countries and wasting money on regime change operations – a valid position to take for an American politician, whether or not you agree. After all, the results are there for all to see. But you can scarcely find any article in leftist media that doesn’t mention one or more of these set phrases as a routine. I am not going to insult your intelligence by posting links because I know you can simply Google “Gabbard parroting” and see for yourself.
Let us look at the “evidence” wokes have for the alleged “Russian interference” in 2016 elections that supposedly helped elect Trump. In fact, a Washington Post op-ed said “it succeeded in a way Russia could never have predicted”. In other words, Americans, citizens of the most powerful democracy in the world, educated and rich earning at least US$30,000 a year if not a lot more, were fooled by Putin into voting for Trump.
They created a “troll farm” of social media accounts that “pretended to be American”. Wiki says “470 FB accounts created by Russians” – you see FB has only 2.9 BILLION users, so 400+ is really a big number!
Articles in Russian media – this is not a joke. We are told to believe that reading Russian columns caused Americans to vote for Trump.
Leaking emails! If there is nothing embarrassing about those emails, why bother?!
Undermine public faith in the democratic process – sounds familiar?
The venom that Elon Musk faces for openly declaring himself a Trump supporter – but business donors to the Democratic party and its candidates rarely face. If you read coverage in usual leftist media that are practically in-house publications of the Democratic party – NYT, WaPo etc, you will see the hate poured on Musk for simply doing what businessmen always do – back this or that politician, often both!
That Elon supposedly talked to Putin once is being bandied about almost like an act of treason!
Very often in leftist media, you will see the phrase “who has admired Putin” affixed to any mention of Trump and Russia – as if just offering a word of praise for Putin as a diplomatic courtesy, is a sin. Though Russia and the US have been rivals, even the leftists don’t accuse Russians of using terrorists to attack US civilians in their own country. But they expect us to be nice to Pakistan and let their cricketers make money on our circuits.
The same woke moneybags donating a tiny sum of $1m to Trump inauguration festivities now linked to potential favors and escaping retribution etc!
As you can see, the US left sets fairly low standards when it comes to their own affairs. Going by the liberal gold standards, we can accuse Rahul Gandhi of being another Tulsi Gabbard for simply saying things that Pakistan often says. Or worse, terror groups and Khalistanis say.
If the world’s most powerful military state & democracy can be hacked by a country weakened by years of – ironically – leftist economic ideology and reduced to near irrelevance, sure $1 BILLION that Soros set aside for regime change operations in the third world (including India) can buy a lot more leverage?
If “troll accounts” numbering in a few hundred are to be taken seriously enough to allege foreign interference in India, what about “activist” accounts and YouTube channels that are openly funded by George Soros, Omidyar, Ford Foundation network and given gigs by the US Embassy? Does that have millions of followers?
If admiring Putin is a serious disqualification for a politician, what about admiring Palestine or Pakistan?
If Elon Musk being close to Trump is an issue, what about George Soros being close to Yunus, not to speak of Rahul Gandhi and his BJ yatra friends in India?
If Russian media writing articles is a threat, what is NYT, BBC, WaPO, Al-Jazeera etc writing reams and reams of anti-Modi propaganda?!
If a bunch of FB posts and articles can wreak havoc on a superpower and its democratic institutions, as liberals themselves argue, you can readily understand the power of propaganda. Especially when you consider that Russia is heavily discredited and lacks the woke muscle to fix Wiki pages or ban content it doesn’t like in YouTube, Google, FB, Instagram or Twitter. And the fact that the Western media that serves woke Gestapo interests is supposedly the gold standard of fearless, independent journalism, with all the news that is fit to print and shines light without which democracy will die in darkness.
The billions of dollars thrown about like confetti to any third-world bootlicker and brown nose that is ready to sing their tunes, can buy propaganda enough to bury practically any country on earth. In addition to this, like in Bollywood or Hollywood, there are the hopeful that try hard that their propaganda will attract the woke ecosystem’s moneybags and add to the orchestra. We have seen the proliferation of third-rate YT channels devoted to attacking Modi and singing praise of fascist looter dynasties each trying to be more crass and blatant than the other, to attract the right attention.
In fact, common sense will tell us the so-called links connecting George Soros and Rahul Gandhi, the opposition in India, are far stronger than the Trump and Russia connections, going purely by allegations and applying the same yardstick the liberals of woke holy land use. In fact, one is a known hoax. Democrats set up a full-fledged enquiry on the Trump-Russia hoax, spent millions and yet couldn’t bring any charge worth prosecuting Trump, let alone convicting.
We have not even investigated the CONLEFT-Soros links legally. Maybe we should. I would recommend appointing a retired judge of impeccable reputation to do that, armed with sufficient budget like the Mueller one was. I can bet you it will produce better results. But then the minute Modi does that, all hell will break loose. It will be “weaponsing law enforcement”, not if it is done by them!
The concerted, coordinated attacks on Modi in social media as well as mainstream media and Indian businesses like Adani Group that invest for the long term in infra and dare to take on China in the global race to business share, by leftist “activists” and backed by political dynasties should concern us all Indians, as much as the liberals want the “Russian interference” to concern the US voter.
We must hold Rahul Gandhi to similar standards the wokes do for Trump, Gabbard and Musk – sharing the stage, saying a good word, meeting anyone connected with Soros, Ford, Omidyar or anyone funded by them must be treated almost like unpardonable sins. It must be mentioned EVERY time their name is mentioned, something liberal media rarely fails to do.
The minute Rahul Gandhi says something that is similar to Pakistan’s “talking points”, we must treat it as an act of treason! Is that fair or acceptable? Of course, it must be, because that is exactly what they do!
If any journalist says we are too big and strong to be weakened by Soros we must direct them to read mainstream leftist media’s paranoia about Putin and Russians. In fact, they are “parroting the talking points of Soros” and thus naturally suspect. We are much weaker than the USA. In fact, we must borrow a page from the wokes’ books and question the loyalties, funding and other inspirations of such people.
As I keep saying, there is so much to learn from the left. We are fools not to.
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