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Punjab government issues order making Punjabi language mandatory for all state govt signboards

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab government issues order making Punjabi language mandatory for all state govt signboards

On Friday, the Punjab government issued mandatory orders to all departments to change existing signboards and include the Punjabi language in Gurmukhi script. This decision is for all government, semi-government corporations and state road milestones. The state government has ordered that Punjabi text will be at the top on such signboards, and other languages may be included below it in smaller fonts.


During a session in the assembly, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, the minister for Higher education and languages said, it was his promise to implement this decision in order to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of prominent Sikh guru, Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

Incidentally, it was announced on the occasion of the International Mother Language Day. The new regulations, however, will not apply to the national highways and various central government departments.

The Punjab Languages Department issued orders in this regard as per the Punjab State Language Act, 1967. The order states “The sign boards in all the government and semi-government institutions, boards, corporations and road milestones would be written in Punjabi on the top in Gurmukhi Script and if need arises to write in any other language, it will be written below in smaller font”.

The Secretary, Higher Education and Languages, Rahul Bhandari, has written a letter, related to its implementation to all heads of all state departments, divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners, district sessions judges, Punjab Vidhan Sabha secretary, Punjab and Haryana High Court registrar, chairmen of boards and corporations and all semi- government organisations. A separate notification will be sent to private business, industrial and educational establishments, asking them to follow the rule.

‘Priyanka Gandhi is active because she is working to make space for herself in her own party’: Union minister Smriti Irani

Jhankar Mohta
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‘Priyanka Gandhi is active because she is working to make space for herself in her own party’: Union minister Smriti Irani

Speaking at Hindustan Samagam event in Lucknow, Union minister Smriti Irani on Saturday dismissed Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s regular forays into Uttar Pradesh as something the Gandhi scion needs to do to create a space for herself in her own party.

According to a Hindustan Times report, Smriti Irani said: “Priyanka is only active in her own party, Congress, because she is working to make space for herself in her own party.”

At the beginning of last year, Priyanka Gandhi, who was until then not very active in politics, was inducted as the AICC General Secretary for Uttar Pradesh East.

It is interesting to note that while other General Secretaries are full-time politicians with long experiences in the field, Priyanka Gandhi was relatively an outsider for politics. But soon after her induction into the party, which was done with a hope to get the upper hand in national politics, there were speculations that the Gandhi scion had failed to make an impression within her own party.

Read: ‘Cultured families should keep their children away from such a person’: Smriti Irani on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra watching over as children abused Modi

She faced resistance from the party’s old leaders as she attempted to replace the older section with younger blood, which had, in turn, boomeranged on her. Last year, out of over 350 former MPs, MLAs, MLCs and 2017 Vidhan Sabha and 2019 Lok Sabha election candidates of Congress invited, only 40 persons showed up at a meeting, called by the Gandhi scion at UP Congress headquarters on November 22.

Priyanka was excessively canvassed by her party during the Lok Sabha elections but could not make a mark. After the elections defeat, UP Congress’ senior leaders were said to be terribly displeased with Priyanka’s leadership.

Moreover, earlier this month, her campaign in the Delhi assembly elections also failed to change the Congress’ fortune where it drew a blank for the second successive time and saw its vote share plunge. After the humiliating loss in the Delhi assembly elections, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had acknowledged that it is a time of struggle for the grand old party.

Read: Smriti… who? Smriti, the one who gave your brother a run for his money

Though the Gandhi scion has not yet done anything unexceptional for her party, which has sadly declined beyond redemption, speculations are rife that the Congress party will nominate Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the sister of former Congress President and daughter of the interim president, to the Rajya Sabha from either Chhattisgarh or Madhya Pradesh.

As per reports, the party still believes that the entry of Rahul Gandhi’s sister will augment the voice of the party in the Upper House of the Parliament. The decision of the Congress party is likely influenced by the drubbing it received in the Delhi Assembly Elections on Tuesday. However, Priyanka herself has not commented on the overtures of the Congress state governments.

Accusations of dynasty politics thrown at Congress hurts the party because it is true. With Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s entry to the Rajya Sabha, there will be three members from the Parivar in the Parliament of the country. Furthermore, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s daughter does not have any significant achievement in politics thus far and her biggest asset continues to be her family name.

Activists accuse police of doing “illegal cordon and search” after fraudulently obtained Aadhaar cards recovered in Telangana

OpIndia Staff
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Activists accuse police of doing “illegal cordon and search” after fraudulently obtained Aadhaar cards recovered in Telangana

The Telangana police have come under the scanner of privacy activists for its “cordon and search operations” after allegedly recovering 127 Aadhar cards that were obtained “fraudulently.” As such, it prompted the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to issue notices to such people to appear before an inquiry officer.

A security researcher, Srinivas Kodali, in Hyderabad said, “There are so many people in the city. How do the police get to know who has procured it illegally or not? They did it by doing cordon and search.” He further alleged such a police tactic was a mode of “surveillance”. Another activist by the name of SQ Masood also claimed that the police were stopping late night restaurant-goers and asking them to procure their Aadhar cards.

AIMIM chief Assaduddin Owaisi took to Twitter on Wednesday and claimed that the cops are not legally permitted to carry “search and cordon” operations. He alleged that the notice issued to the owners of “fraudulent” Aadhar cards require them to “verify their citizenship” and not “validity of Aadhar.”


Several left-leaning media houses too cast aspersions about Aadhar and how it was being used to strip Indian Muslims of their citizenship. The lies that were peddled via social media were short-lived as the UIDAI’s official Twitter handle put out a clarification.


UIDAI highlighted that Aadhar is not proof of “citizenship.” The nodal body, while dismissing the claims made in the media, stated that Aadhaar is meant to ascertain the residence of a person in India for 182 days prior to applying for the ID card. The regional office of Hyderabad had sent notices to them to appear in person and to substantiate their claims for getting an Aadhaar number.


UIDAI said that all Aadhar cards obtained through “false pretence” is liable to be cancelled under the Aadhar Act. The authority also cautioned that forged documents, etc., will lead to appropriate actions, including suspending /cancelling the Aadhaar. UIDAI also clarified that “cancellation of Aadhar” is a routine quality improvement process that the UIDAI takes up regularly.

Read- UIDAI refutes media reports, says notice issued to 127 alleged illegal immigrants and has nothing to do with proof of citizenship

This is not the first time that forged Aadhar cards had been recovered by law enforcement authorities. Last year, a Rohingya Muslim man named Mohammed Faisal was arrested at Indira Gandhi International airport for travelling with a fake Indian passport and Aadhaar card procured through his contacts in Hyderabad. He had come to India from Bangladesh, six months prior to his arrest through land route and traveled to Mewat via Agra.

Kartarpur has potential to turn ordinary folks into trained terrorists: Punjab DGP Dinkar doubts Pakistan’s intent on Kartarpur corridor

OpIndia Staff
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Kartarpur has potential to turn ordinary folks into trained terrorists: Punjab DGP Dinkar doubts Pakistan’s intent on Kartarpur corridor

Casting aspersions over Pakistan’s intent in agreeing to open the Kartarpur Corridor, the Punjab Police chief, Dinkar Gupta, claimed on Friday that the passage open for Sikh pilgrims was a massive security challenge from terrorism standpoint. He contended that Kartarpur had the potential of turning an ordinary man into a trained terrorist.

Speaking at the Indian Express Idea Exchange in Panchkula, Gupta said, “Kartarpur provides a possibility that if you had sent some ordinary folks in the morning, they would return in the evening as trained terrorists. You have six hours to be there in Pakistan, you can be taken to a firing range, you can be taught to make an IED in those hours.”

Gupta also added that there were reasons why the Kartarpur corridor was opened all these years, asserting that some nefarious elements in the neighbouring country were trying to “lure pilgrims and making advances to them”.

Read: Pakistani channel insults Sikhs by showing them dancing like jokers for opening of Kartarpur Corridor

“There is a reason why the Kartarpur Corridor was not open for the pilgrim all these years. I was at the Intelligence Bureau for eight years. I used to handle it over there. There was a looming feeling over there that opening Kartarpur Corridor can throw open a can of worms and pose a huge security challenge. However, as the community and the Sikh diaspora wanted it, we ignored the security concerns accompanying it and gave our nod to its opening,” Gupta said.

Gupta mentioned that he had attended a brainstorming session in Delhi last week where Pakistani attempts to find potential people for radicalisation was discussed. He added that Pakistani based agencies and individuals were desperately trying to woo the pilgrims, making unwarranted overtures to them. The Punjab DGP also raised concerns about the number of people visiting the Kartarpur Corridor of late. ” Earlier there were very few people who visited the Corridor but nowadays, the footfall of those visiting is increasing exponentially. This is a huge potential for elements based in Pakistan to brainwash people. It’s a security challenge,” Gupta responded to a question on whether Pakistan’s proposal to discontinue the usage of passport combined with Referendum 2020 posed a security challenge.

Read: Won’t let Sikhs live in Nankana Sahib: Muslim mob led by family of man who abducted and converted Jagjit Kaur pelt stones at Gurudwara in Pakistan

The DGP’s apprehensions were also shared by the Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, who, at the time of the announcement of Kartarpur Corridor, had said that though he is happy at the development as a Sikh, the threat posed to our nation cannot be ignored.  Singh had smelled a conspiracy behind the Pakistani move of opening up the Sikh pilgrimage, saying there’s a hidden agenda behind Pakistani overtures.

Singh had also claimed that Pakistani Army, ISI along with the proscribed Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) group was trying to revive Khalistani terrorism in India’s Punjab. Earlier in December 2018, while reacting to the statement made by the SJF’s Gurpatwant Singh Pannu soliciting Pakistan’s support to ‘liberate’ Punjab from India, the CM stated that it has exposed the evil nexus between the Pakistan army and the SFJ.

Gupta also rang alarms over the use of drones to drop weapons and drugs into the Indian side. He stated that one Army Naik Rahul Chauhan, who was amongst 3 people arrested for using drones to smuggle arms and drugs last month, was trained in the army on operating drones.

Shaheen Bagh Islamists put seven conditions to SC-appointed interlocutors to end their illegal occupation of public road: Here is what they are

OpIndia Staff
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Shaheen Bagh Islamists put seven conditions to SC-appointed interlocutors to end their illegal occupation of public road: Here is what they are

A delegation of Shaheen Bagh women “protestors” on Saturday has set seven conditions to SC-appointed interlocutor Sadhana Ramachandran to end their illegal occupation of the public road on the fourth day of the mediation talks, reports Republic TV. Shaheen Bagh, the Islamist protest against CAA and NRC is the one where Jinnah Wali Azadi slogans were raised.

According to the reports, the ‘protestors’ of Shaheen Bagh, the epicentre of anti-India and anti-Hindu propaganda in the name of anti-CAA protests, have put up seven conditions to the Supreme Court-appointed interlocutors to decide on vacating the protest site, which they have illegally occupied since December 15, 2019.

Here are the seven conditions of the Shaheen Bagh protestors:

  1. Provide security to protestors by providing an aluminium sheet between protests and road in order to open half of the road.
  2. Revoke all cases against Jamia students.
  3. No National Population Registry in Delhi.
  4. Investigation on all inflammatory speeches
  5. Create an alternate protest site in Shaheen Bagh itself.
  6. Revoke all cases against youngsters who were booked for Shaheen Bagh protests.
  7. Cognizance of the deaths due to anti-CAA protests throughout India.

The sheer arrogance of these anti-India protestors at Shaheen Bagh to put up conditions to vacate the public road comes three days after the failure of talks between the protestors and the SC-appointed interlocutors.

Earlier, the women of the Shaheen Bagh protests were caught getting tutored by ‘activist’ Teesta Setalvad, who has been earlier accused of embezzling 2002 riot victims’ money, ahead of their meeting with interlocutors.

A two-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph had directed senior advocates, Sadhana Ramachandran and Sanjay Hegde, to act as interlocutors and convince the Shaheen Bagh protestors to relocate to an alternative place. The order came at the backdrop of two petitions filed in the apex court, seeking clearance of Shaheen Bagh area and the Kalindi Kunj Road.

It is notable here that lawyer Sanjay Hegde has been caught spreading fake news several times. After Twitter had suspended his account, he had even stated that he will take Twitter to the international court.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary calls for extra security checks of Muslim men at airports, says “Terrorists will generally be of a Muslim persuasion”

OpIndia Staff
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Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary calls for extra security checks of Muslim men at airports, says “Terrorists will generally be of a Muslim persuasion”

In an interview with The Times, the Ryanair CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Michael O’ Leary has said that Muslim men should be profiled at airports as terrorists will generally be from a “Muslim persuasion.” His comments came a day after a female Radical Islamist, Safiyya Amira Shaikh, conspired to bomb St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.


Acknowledging that he might be accused of racism, Michael O’Leary said, “You can’t say stuff, because it’s racism, but it will generally be males of a Muslim persuasion. Thirty years ago it was the Irish.”

O’Leary added, “They are going to be single males travelling on their own… If you are travelling with a family of kids, on you go; the chances you are going to blow them all up is zero. If that is where the threat is coming from, deal with the threat.” He added that 30 years before, the bombers used to be of Irish descent.

In the interview, O’Leary said that airport security is “utterly useless”, and added that this was done by politicians to give the impression that they were doing something to protect the public.

He also mocked transgender people in the interview, saying  “I’m male today and I’ll be female tomorrow”.

As expected, the comment has attracted widespread criticism and the Ryanair CEO has been accused of “racism” and “Islamophobia” for his comments.

Labour MP Khalid Mahmood said, “If he can tell me what colour Muslims are, then I’d be very happy to learn from him – you can’t judge a book by its cover.  In Germany this week a white person killed eight people. Should we profile white people to see if they’re being fascists? He’s being very blinkered and is actually encouraging racism.”

The Muslim Council of Britain said the Leary’s statements reflect “racism” and “brazen discrimination.” The said that this is the very definition of Islamophobia.

Michael O’ Leary is known for his controversial comments. Earlier, he had described environmentalists as “lying wankers”. He had said, “the best thing you can do with environmentalists is shoot them.”

FIR filed against AIMIM leader Waris Pathan for his “15 crore Muslims can dominate 100 crore Hindus” remark

OpIndia Staff
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FIR filed against AIMIM leader Waris Pathan for his “15 crore Muslims can dominate 100 crore Hindus” remark

An FIR has been filed in Kalaburagi Police Station against AIMIM leader Waris Pathan for his inciting remark during a public meet in Kalaburagi, Karanataka, on a complaint filed by a lawyer. Speaking an anti-CAA rally, he was heard delivering an inflaming speech saying, “We are 15 crores but be aware if we can still dominate over 100 crore Hindus imagine what we can do to you.”

Waris Pathan is booked under sections 117 (abetting commission of an offence by the public), 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code.

The grossly hinduphobic speech of Waris Pathan was delivered in an Anti-CAA rally, where he was also heard praising the Shaheen Bagh protesters and said that they will work together to snatch azaadi, “We need to work together, we need to snatch our Azadi. Time has now come to achieve Azadi, if we cannot achieve it, we should snatch it. They were mocking us for hiding behind women (during anti-CAA protests). Do not forget, these are lionesses who has come out yet and you are already afraid of these women. Be aware and know what happens if we all (Muslims) unite together,” Pathan had said.

Notably, AIMIM Chief Assaduddin Owaisi was also present during the rally. The Muslim dominated political party AIMIM members are often heard inciting riots and indulge in fear-mongering, that has been a regular practice after the enactment of Citizenship Amendment Act.

Earlier, AIMIM Chief Assaduddin Owaisi, on Shaheen Bagh protests had said, “They (the government) might as well shoot them and turn Shaheen Bagh into Jallianwala Bagh. This might happen. One of the BJP ministers has asked to shoot the bullets at the protesters. The government should answer as to who is radicalising,”

Ancient burial site found in Uttar Pradesh’s Sinauli is 3,800-years old, indigenous warrior tribe inhabited the region

OpIndia Staff
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Ancient burial site found in Uttar Pradesh’s Sinauli is 3,800-years old, indigenous warrior tribe inhabited the region

The carbon dating tests have confirmed that the largest known ancient burial site found in Uttar Pradesh’s Sinauli, where 126 burials were excavated, are at least 3,800 years old, reports Times of India.

According to the reports, the ASI had conducted excavations in Sinauli, 68 km from Delhi in UP’s Baghpat district, which had paved for the discovery of horse-drawn chariots, burials, four-legged wooden coffins, pottery, a copper antenna sword, war shields.

On further examination, the ASI has revealed that the elaborate burials, which included underground chambers, decorated legged coffins and rice in pots buried with the bodies, belong to an indigenous warrior tribe which inhabited the region.

ASI joint director S K Manjul, who led the excavations at Sanauli, said that the carbon dating has now confirmed that the burials date back to 1900 BC.

Read: Uttar Pradesh: 3350 tonnes gold deposit- 5 times India’s current gold reserves, found in Sonbhadra, state govt to begin auction process soon

“Between 2005 and 2006, 116 burials were found while 10 more were discovered in the last two years, making it India’s largest known necropolis,” he added.

The burial pits had legged coffins along with systematically arranged vases, bowls and pots. One of the coffins was decorated with eight anthropomorphic figures.

A recent report submitted by the Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleosciences in Lucknow to the ASI had said that there are two C-14 (carbon dating) dates – 3815 and 3500, with a margin of error of 130 years for the Sanauli site. The report added that the carbon dating marks this site as the earliest history of a warrior tribe in the Indian subcontinent.

The burials bear similarity to Vedic rituals, said officials. “What is startling is the impressions of cloth found on bodies that suggest purification of bodies similar to what we practice in Hindu religion,” said Manjul.

Read: Study of Rakhigarhi remains finds no Central Asian trace, lands another blow to Aryan Invasion Theory

The joint director added that three chariots found at the site have a fixed axle linked by a long pole to the small yoke and were run by a pair of animals. The size and shape of the chariots indicate they were pulled by horses. The axle, chassis and wheels show similarities to contemporary chariots, he added.

Historian B R Mani, who oversaw excavations in Sanauli in 2005, said that the site should be looked at as an interaction of a period of practices of Ganga Yamuna Doab and Indus Valley cultures.

The site at Sinauli is famous for its Bronze Age “chariots”, the first ones to be recovered in an archaeological excavation in South Asia. The excavations in Sinauli were conducted by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 2005-06 and in mid-2018, which is still continuing.

Further, the anthropomorphic figures on coffin indicate some kind of religious beliefs. Some anthropomorphic figure made of Gold, copper associated with Vedic gods has also been found, which traces back to the roots of early historic cultures. Materials found here contemporary to the late-mature phase of Harappans.

Is Quaden Bayles, the kid in the viral video who got bullied in school, actually an 18-year-old actor? Here is the truth

OpIndia Staff
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Is Quaden Bayles, the kid in the viral video who got bullied in school, actually an 18-year-old actor? Here is the truth

On Friday, a video of a 9-year-old schoolboy Quaden Bayles, who suffers from Achondroplasia – a form of dwarfism, became viral in which the kid was seen crying in distress over being bullied at his school. Bullied at school for his dwarfism, Quaden Bayles sobs uncontrollably in the back of his mother’s car saying to the camera, “Give me a knife, I want to kill myself.”

A woman named Yarraka Bayles, claiming to be Quaden’s mother posted the clip of her son, Quaden, crying after he was targeted at school for his dwarfism.

“This is what bullying does,” she says in the video, in which her son also says he wants to end his life.


As soon as the video went viral, support poured in for Bayles from a number of celebrities and social media users who not only condemned the bullying but also raised funds in support of him worth $300,000. The clip, viewed over 14 million times, had triggered an outpouring of support across the world.

However, several social media users questioned the authenticity of the video and raised suspicion over Bayles’s story. They claimed that Quaden was actually 18 years old and that he was scamming the internet for money.

Post claiming Quaden was an 18 year old
Post claiming Quaden was an 18 year old

The proponents of this claim, however, offered little in terms of proof to prove that Bayles was indeed 18-year-old. In fact, the biggest piece of supporting evidence came as a photograph of the 9-year-old boy standing next to the number 18. The photographs supposedly showing the 9-year-old boy in more adult poses were also spread online.

Is Quaden Bayles really an 18-year-old?

A video dated 2015, however, rejects all the conspiracy theories of Bayles being an 18-year-old scam artist. According to the video, Bayles was in the media spotlight due to a previous bullying incident.

In the video, his mom Yarraka, who has been involved in a Dwarfism Awareness not-for-profit organization since 2014, speaks to the media, where she states that her son was just four-year-old.

In 2015, Quaden had also appeared on the Australian docuseries, Living Black. The show centred on indigenous Australian people as Quaden is Aboriginal. In the series, Quaden is said to be a 4-year-old boy. The episode was released in 2015, which would confirm Quaden’s age to be 9-years by now.

With these videos surfacing, it is extremely unlikely that the claims of Quaden being an 18-year-old scamming the internet hold any water.

‘Great’: US President Donald Trump praises Bollywood’s gay rom-com Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

OpIndia Staff
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‘Great’: US President Donald Trump praises Bollywood’s gay rom-com Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan

The new Bollywood film Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, India’s first gay rom-com, is making no bones about its subject matter. After getting a positive response at the box office the movie has now managed to get international recognition. US President Donald Trump took to Twitter Saturday to laud the new Bollywood movie.

Peter Tatchell, a human right activist’s tweet caught US President Donald Trump’s attention, who lauded the film. Replying to his tweet, Trump wrote, “Great!


Soon after this, reacting to Trump’s reply, Tatchell wrote, “Donald Trump just retweeted me. Shock horror! I tweeted a @PinkNews article about a new gay Bollywood movie & he retweeted it. I loathe Trump & tweet against his anti-LGBT+ policies, climate destruction denial, misogyny & collusion with the far right.” He also said, “I hope this is the beginning of President Trump’s genuine embrace of LGBT+ rights & not just a PR stunt.”


After Donald Trump’s tweet, several Indians replied tagging Ayushmann Khurana in the comment thread saying that he should be proud the US President was endorsing his film. Moreover, Trump supporters in America too jumped at the opportunity to call him a “LGBTQ hero.”

Read: Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan banned in UAE for homosexuality

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, a directorial debut of Hitesh Kewalya, is a love story between two men in small-town India. In the movie, the homosexual couple tries to win the acceptance of their conservative family. The makers of the movie have tried to break the taboo against homosexuality by aiming to deal with that with humour through Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan.

The day of its release the movie was banned in Dubai and other cities of UAE over its homosexual content.

In many Islamic countries, homosexuality is severely punished. In India, though Section 377 was decriminalised in September 2018, however, same-sex relationships continue to largely remain a taboo.

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