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Watch: ITBP soldiers brave through knee deep snow to hoist the Indian flag on snow-capped Himalayas

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: ITBP soldiers brave through knee deep snow to hoist the Indian flag on snow-capped Himalayas

As the country celebrates its 71st Republic Day on Sunday, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel observed the historic day at 17,000 feet in Ladakh, trudging through the snow. The temperature in Ladakh at present is minus 20 degrees Celsius.

A video clip shared on social media showed ‘Himveers’ dressed in white uniforms and chanting slogans of – Bharat Mata ki Jai and Vande Mataram as the tricolour flies high.

Two of the soldiers were seen holding the tricolour as they marched in the snow.


ITBP is a specialized mountain force and most of the officers and men are professionally trained mountaineers and skiers. Being the first responder for a natural disaster, the force has been carrying out numerous rescue and relief operations across the country.

ITBPF was raised on October 24, 1962. Presently, ITBP is deployed on border guarding duties from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh covering 3488 km of Indo-China Border and manning Border Outposts on altitudes ranging from 9000 feet to 18700 feet in the Western, Middle and Eastern sectors of the Indo-China Border.

A total of 15 ITBP personnel have been conferred with medals on Republic Day.

Republic Day celebrations are taking place across the country. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is the chief guest on Republic Day who witnessed the celebrations with President Kovind, PM Modi and other dignitaries at Delhi’s Rajpath.

MNS unlikely to get any political leverage from turning to Hindutva as Shiv Sena never shed its saffron colour: Shiv Sena

OpIndia Staff
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MNS unlikely to get any political leverage from turning to Hindutva as Shiv Sena never shed its saffron colour: Shiv Sena

After taking a ‘secular’ turn due to forming the coalition government along with Congress and NCP, Shiv Sena has sought to turn back towards Hindutva after that position was threatened to be taken over by his cousin Raj Thackray. An editorial published in the party mouthpiece “Saamana” on Saturday said that the party had never shed its saffron color. The party also said that Muslim infiltrators from Bangladesh and Pakistan should be “driven out” of the country.

The party’s comments come at the backdrop of a jibe by his cousin Raj Thackeray, the President of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), who claimed that Shiv Sena had changed its colours to form a coalition government.


Shiv Sena took a dig at Raj Thackeray for the ideological shift of MNS towards “Hindutva.” It stated that dealing with “Hindutva” is not a “child’s play.” On Thursday, Raj Thackrey unveiled a new saffron-coloured flag for MNS that bears ‘rajmudra,’ a royal seal used by Maratha warrior King Shivaji. Saamana alleged that the presence of two flags reflected the “confused state of mind” of Raj Thackeray.

The party also suggested that Raj Thackeray should stay firm with Hindutva, even if it has been borrowed from Shiv Sena. They added that MNS is unlikely to get any political leverage from it as Shiv Sena had never shed their “saffron colour.” The editorial also slammed Raj Thackeray for his doublespeak on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). It also stated that the “Marathi identity” espoused by MNS did not get the votes because Sena has done a lot for the community.

“The Shiv Sena had already done a lot of work on the issue of Marathi. Hence MNS did not get any response from Marathi people. There is a criticism that Raj Thackeray has turned towards Hindutva as BJP wanted it. But MNS is unlikely to achieve anything on this front also as the Shiv Sena has done a lot work on Hindutva across the country,” the editorial said.

They reiterated that Shiv Sena had not changed its political leaning, despite joining hands with his political rivals. They have also criticised the BJP for allegedly breaking its pre-poll alliance (the decision to share the Chief Ministerial post) with the Sena. The editorial also took a dig at BJP saying that they can form governments with anyone like Mehbooba Mufti, but when Shiv Sena allies with Congress and NCP, it becomes a sin.

Fre days ago CM Uddhav Thackeray had also said that he has not changed his ideology despite changing allies. “I have chosen a new political path by taking along old political rivals as allies. I have not changed my colour, my core (Antarang). It continues to remain saffron,” he had said on Thursday after he was accused of leaving Hindutva for the sake of power.

“Although the ideologies of the three parties (NCP-Sena and Congress) are different, there is a consensus among them that the government will be run for the welfare of the people. What the BJP could not do in five years, the MVA government had achieved in 50 days,” it said. “BJP changed its colour in 2014 and 2019. Now since Shiv Sena is not going to change despite being in alliance with Congress and NCP, a conspiracy has been hatched to divide the Hindutva votes,” the editorial further added.

Watch: JNU student Afreen Fatima spews venom about Ram Mandir verdict, calls terrorist Afzal guru ‘innocent’

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: JNU student Afreen Fatima spews venom about Ram Mandir verdict, calls terrorist Afzal guru ‘innocent’

In a video that has gone viral on social media, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student leader Afreen Fatima could be seeing spewing venom against the government as well as the Supreme Court. She challenged the integrity of the country’s highest judicial body by raising doubts over its crucial decisions like that on Ram Mandir and hanging of terrorist Afzal Guru


In a 45 sec video posted on Twitter by user @knewschannel, the JNU student tries to instigate the crowd by saying that while protesting against CAA and NRC they have realised that neither the government nor the Supreme court is worthy of their trust.

Claiming that SC’s judgement on parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was wrong, Fatima insinuates that terrorist Afzal Guru was ‘innocent’. She is heard saying that Afzal Guru had no hand in the Parliament attack.

Read: Actress Soni Razdan calls terrorist Afzal Guru’s hanging ‘travesty of justice’, insinuates that he was ‘innocent’

She further spews venom on SC’s Ayodhya verdict by saying that the SC backtracked on its words. Fatima said that the SC which earlier said that there was no proof whether a Mandir existed below the Babri Masjid, later went on to give the permission to construct the Ram Mandir on the disputed land.

Interestingly, Afreen Fatima is the same person who had earlier urged Muslim mob to attack Congress MP Shashi Tharoor for his comments on communalisation of the anti-CAA protests. Taking to Twitter on January 12 Fatima had asked Muslims to attack Tharoor, whom she called an ‘Islamophobe’ with La illaha illallah chants.


Following her call to say ‘La ilaha ilallah’ on Tharoor’s face, when the Congress MP had gone to Jamia Millia Islamia to express solidarity against CAA, he was greeted by Muslim mob chanting ‘La Ilaha Illallah’ (There is only one God, Allah). The reason Tharoor was attacked by radicals is that in December 2019, Tharoor had reacted to protestors chanting La ilaha illallah, the Islamic Shahada which means “There is no god but God”, where the second God means Allah.

Read: In a bid to demonise Hinduism, Shashi Tharoor compares Hindutva to Islam and Christianity, get attacked by ‘liberal’ bullies

Tharoor said that their “fight against Hindutva extremism should give no comfort to Islamist extremism either”. He said that the fight against the Citizenship Amendment Bill is a fight to defend inclusive India. “We will not allow pluralism & diversity to be supplanted by any kind of religious fundamentalism,” he added. Soon, the radicals descended upon his timeline to call him a ‘soft bigot’.

IIT Bombay faculty condemns politicisation of campus, joins students in Tiranga March head of Republic Day

OpIndia Staff
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IIT Bombay faculty condemns politicisation of campus, joins students in Tiranga March head of Republic Day

IIT Bombay faculty members have condemned politicisation of campuses. The students and teachers took out a Tiranga March on campus on the eve of 71st Republic Day of India.

Tiranga March held at IIT Bombay on eve of Republic Day on 25th January 2020

More than 1500 student’s of IIT Bombay participated in the march holding the 1,000 feet Tricolour from the convocation hall covering each and every hostel.

Read: IIT Bombay students march in support of CAA, rue misinformation against the act and politicisation of educational campuses

IIT Bombay faculty Prof Varadraj Bapat Som condemned the politicisation of educational campuses and said this (IIT-Bombay) campus is not for politics and to serve someone’s political propaganda.

Tiranga March held at IIT Bombay on eve of Republic Day on 25th January 2020

“IIT Bombay is an institution which is known for excellence in research not politics. It’s hampering our research. We condemn it. Today what is more important is to celebrate Republic Day and we are here for that,” said Professor Ashutosh Kumar.

Students and professors who participated in the march can be heard chanting Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata Ki Jai slogans while holding the Tricolour high.

The March concluded with the recital of the national anthem.

Radical Islamists say Muslims must stand by Shaheen Bagh mastermind Sharjeel Imam, defend his decision to cut off Assam

OpIndia Staff
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Radical Islamists say Muslims must stand by Shaheen Bagh mastermind Sharjeel Imam, defend his decision to cut off Assam

A day after Shaheen Bagh mastermind Sharjeel Imam was booked under the UAPA for his seditious statement where he asked Northeast India to be cut off, radical Islamists have now come out in his support. Newslaundry campus columnist Sharjeel Usmani took to social media to stand by leftist propaganda website The Wire columnist Sharjeel Imam for his comments where he urged Indian Muslims to cut off Northeast from India.

Taking to Facebook, Usmani questioned how is ‘chakkajam’ (roadblock) seditious. He conveniently misses out on mentioning how Sharjeel Imam wanted to cut out Northeast India. Sharjeel Usmani decided to paint cutting off the chicken neck, or the Siliguri corridor, which connects the seven northeastern states to rest of India, as mere chakkajam when it has been known to be an enemy project to do so since decades.

Sharjeel Usmani supporting Sharjeel Imam

The Siliguri Corridor (or the Chicken’s Neck) was created in 1947 after the partition of Bengal and has been an important and sensitive territory in India.

Siliguri Corridor or the Chicken’s Neck (image: defencenews.in)

Because of the strategic location, the area is heavily patrolled by Indian Army, Assam Rifles, the Border Security Force and the West Bengal Police.

He is also supported by one Iman Abdullah endorses Imam’s views as he is on the path of ‘Haqq’. Referring to Imam as ‘independent Muslim thinker’ he calls those who do not support him as ‘Hindutva Nazis’.

Sharjeel Usmani appealing to Muslims to stand by Sharjeel Imam

Sharjeel Usmani further took to Facebook to say that he stands by Sharjeel Imam. “If you throw Sharjeel Imam under the bus to gain a little more legitimacy of these protests in the eyes of the state, I’ll jump with him,” he said.

Read: From The Wire to everything else, the Anatomy of an Islamist: Into the mind of Sharjeel Imam, mastermind of Shaheen Bagh

He even took to Twitter to send out a warning of sort to the ‘Sarkari Musalmans’, the Muslims who are not really radical and don’t toe their line.


JNU student leader Afreen Fatima standing by Shrjeel Imam

Afreen Fatima, JNU student and JNUSU Councillor, too, took to Facebook to stand by Imam. Referring to him as her ‘leader’, Fatima said that media trials, false cases and hate campaigns will not silence ‘our brother’.

She, too, took to Twitter to refer to crackdown against Sharjeel Imam for his problematic views as ‘Islamophobia’ by Indian government.


One Nazeel Shafeeque standing by Sharjeel Imam and Sharjeel Usmani

Some even referred to the crackdown on Imam as ‘witchhunt’ as he is leading against the ‘fascist government’.

‘Political activist’ Ali Sohrab, who used to earlier refer to himself as a journalist and was arrested for his hateful comments on slain Hindu leader Kamlesh Tiwari, also expressed his solidarity.


Many took to Twitter to trend ‘ISupportSharjeelImam‘ hashtag. Many even justified his seditious statement by trying to give ‘context’ to his hateful statements.


Jamia ‘Sheroes’ have also chimed in and supported Sharjeel Imam.

The overwhelming support that is coming for Sharjeel Imam just goes out to show how Ummah is more important than the constitution they are claiming to be protecting. However, the ‘fight to protect the constitution’ is nothing but a facade. The real fight is for the anger over November 2019 Supreme Court verdict where the apex court ruled in favour of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple at Ayodhya.

Sharjeel Imam has been at the forefront of the anti-CAA protests from the very beginning. In a video that had gone viral on social media by the 17th of December, he could be seen inciting Muslims to do ‘Chakkajam’ in Delhi and wherever they have sufficient numbers. He called for Muslims to bring entire cities to a halt. “There are over 30% urban Muslims in UP. Do you have no shame at all? Why cannot you do Chakkajam in UP? The area in Bihar where I am from, the rural Muslim population is 6% while the urban Muslim population is 24%. Indian Muslims mostly live in cities. So it is upon you. You can bring your cities to a halt. If anyone asks you not to, disown them” he was heard saying in the viral video.

On Saturday, another video had gone viral on social media where he had asked Muslims of the country to break India by cutting of North-east from the rest of the country. “Our main aim is to permanently cut Assam and North-east India from rest of India,” he could be heard saying in the video.

‘Liberals’ attack Modi government for awarding Padma Shri to singer Adnan Sami

OpIndia Staff
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‘Liberals’ attack Modi government for awarding Padma Shri to singer Adnan Sami

Singer Adnan Sami, who had embraced Indian citizenship a few years ago, has been conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri award for his services in the field of Art. The award will be conferred by the President of India in a ceremonial function in March or April this year.

Adnan Sami on Saturday expressed his gratitude towards the government for recognising him. Taking to the microblogging site Twitter, Sami called it the greatest moment in his 34 years of the musical journey.

He wrote: “The greatest moment for any Artiste is to be appreciated & recognised by his/her government. I am overwhelmed with infinite gratitude for being honoured with the ‘Padma Shri’ by the Government of India. It has been a 34 years musical journey.. ‘Bohot Shukriya’!!”


Prior to this, Singer Adnan Sami has been bestowed with many honours, including Nigar Award, Bolan Academy Award and Graduate Award. The singer is also the youngest recipient of the Naushad Music Award for Excellence in Music. Previous recipients of this award include Lata Mangeshkar and Music Maestro Khayam.

While many of his fans took to Twitter to congratulate the talented musician, the usual set of the so-called ‘liberals’ descended upon his timeline to attack him for being conferred with the honour. Both the Modi government and the singer became a target of many on social media.

One Syed Kamran Hussain, a Youth Congress worker took to the microblogging site to invoke Sami’s Pakistani lineage. Invoking Sami’s father’s association with Pakistani military, the Congress worker even went on to shamelessly target BJP government for conferring Sami with the award.


In fact several social media users attacked the Modi government for awarding Padma Shri to Adnan Sami as his father was a Pakstani Air Force pilot who had fought against India in Indo-Pak wars. Propaganda website Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair also raised this point, sharing a video of Arshad Sami Khan talking about how they had shot down Indian airplanes. These are the same people who champion the cause of liberty and choice, but now not hesitating to attack Adnan Sami for the duties done by his father as a soldier.


One may question whether someone is deserving for an award or not, but saying someone should not get an award for what their parents did is completely illogical. Moreover, Adnan Sami has denounced Pakistani citizenship and has become an Indian citizen, and the award is given for his contribution towards the field in music, not for who his parents were.

Despite a known fact that Adnan has embraced Indian citizenship, another troll took to the social media site to impel the singer by writing that “your government which is Govt of Pakistan hates you”.


The bullying, of course, did not end there. ‘Journalist’ Ali Sohrab who is infamous for sharing objectionable and bigoted content on his Twitter page and was, lately, arrested by Uttar Pradesh police for his hate-filled comments against Kamlesh Tiwari who was hacked to death by Islamists, went a step ahead to spitefully evoke BJP and spread falsehood about the citizenship law. Taking to Twitter, Sohrab said that while BJP is hell-bent on sending Indian Muslims to Pakistan, it is awarding Adnan Sami, who is a Pakistani with the prestigious Padma award.


Samajwadi Party-friendly ‘journalist’ Rohini Singh who is associated with ultra-left wing propaganda website ‘The Wire‘ and is notoriously known for fake news and propaganda went on to question the famed singer’s credentials.


These so-called champions of freedom of speech, who have on several occasions shown extreme hatred for the government, are probably rattled because Adnan Sami, who has been very vocal about his affirmation towards PM Narendra Modi and the BJP government, is amongst the select few who have been conferred with this prestigious award.

Read- CBI officer who arrested Chidambaram wins President’s medal, British MP who schooled NDTV journalist Nidhi Razdan gets Padma Shri

Apart from Adnan Sami, Bollywood actor, Kangana Ranaut is also among the notable personalities shortlisted for the Padma Shri award which is given for distinguished service in the field of Art.

Ahead of the 71st Republic Day, the government of India released the list of Padma Awardees who will be conferred with amongst the highest civilian awards later this year by the President of India.

As per the list released by the government, the President, this year, has approved conferment of 141 Padma Awards including 4 duo cases (one award is given to two persons). The list includes 7 Padma Vibhushan, 16 Padma Bhushan and 118 Padma Shri Awards.

CBI officer who arrested Chidambaram wins President’s medal, British MP who schooled NDTV journalist Nidhi Razdan gets Padma Shri

OpIndia Staff
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CBI officer who arrested Chidambaram wins President’s medal, British MP who schooled NDTV journalist Nidhi Razdan gets Padma Shri

Ahead of the 71 Republic Day celebrations, the government announced the names of Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awardees on Saturday, along with medals for police officers.

The Padma Vibhushan has been awarded to seven prominent personalities while 16 were conferred the Padma Bhushan and 118 have been given the Padma Shri. In a quintessential Modi-Esque, the Awards have been awarded to the distinguished commoners for their extraordinary work in their respective fields.

One of the distinguished police officer who has been honoured with President’s Police Medal is CBI Deputy SP Ramaswamy Parthasarathy, who arrested Chidambaram in the INX Media case last year. Parthasarathy had climbed the walls of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s house to arrest him.


An officer is known for his cool manner but strict attitude, Parthasarthy had arrested Chidambaram’s son Karthi Chidambaram too in the case. 21 officers of CBI have been awarded the Police Medals for Meritorious Service this year.

The Narendra Modi government has also honoured British MP Barry Gardiner with Padma Shri award. Labour MP Barry Gardiner is considered to be a true friend of the country and has stood in support of India despite Labour Party in the UK have taken an anti-India stand.

It is notable here that Barry Gardiner is the same MP who had taken left-wing NDTV news anchor Nidhi Razdan to task when she had asked him a blatant politically motivated question exposing her and NDTV’s inherent bias against the then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi in 2013.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-ePJ7KIEkY]

Gardiner had in 2013 invited the then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi to address the UK house of commons. Nidhi had questioned him, “But you know he is also an extremely controversial figure here in India, and around the world. There has been so much controversy over him even in the UK, where there was a boycott of him in a sense until last year. He’s still not been given a visa to the United States. He is a controversial figure. You realise this would create controversy.”

Read- UK Labour MP Barry Gardiner who had taken NDTV’s Nidhi Razdan to task over her Modi-hate comes out in support of revocation of Article 370

To this Gardiner had slammed Nidhi’s biased views and had called out her questionable journalistic behaviour. He had even asked her why she is ignoring the Supreme Court verdict and the fact that Modi has been re-elected by the people of Gujarat again and again.

Another British MP to be awarded Padma Shri is Conservative Party’s Bob Blackman. Known as the ‘Friend of India’, he is a strong supporter of India in the Kashmir issue, and also talks frequently about the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus. He often exposes Pakistan sponsored terror, and had congratulated PM Narendra Modi for abrogating the article 370.

The Padma awards are announced on the eve of Republic Day and the awards conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/April every year.

Among the awardees are Jagdish Lal Ahuja, Javed Ahmad Tak, Satyanayana Mundayoor, S Ramakrishna and Yogi Aeron, who have been awarded for their extraordinary work in the field of social work. Mohammed Sharif from UP, a bicycle mechanic who has been performing the last rites of thousands of unclaimed dead bodies for the last 25 years, has been named for Padma Shri award.

Jagdish Lal Ahuja, affectionately called as ‘Langar Baba’, is being awarded for “selflessly organising langars for 500 plus poor patients daily for over two decades”. He also helps patients with financial aid and provides blankets and clothes to them.

Another commoner, Javed Ahmad Tak, who hails from Anantnag in Kashmir and is wheel-chair ridden, has been selflessly helping specially-abled children for two decades for their integration and assimilation in mainstream life.

Bollywood celebrities-Karan Johar, Ekta Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut have also been included in the list of Padma Shri award recipients. Pakistani origin singer Adnan Sami, who has taken Indian citizenship, is also named for Padma Shri.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Padma awardees, saying they include extraordinary people. “The awardees include extraordinary individuals who have made exceptional contributions to our society, nation and humanity,” he tweeted.

Day after Shaheen Bagh mastermind Sharjeel Imam was booked for ‘cut Assam from India’ statement, multiple explosions rock Assam

OpIndia Staff
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Day after Shaheen Bagh mastermind Sharjeel Imam was booked for ‘cut Assam from India’ statement, multiple explosions rock Assam

Days after Shaheen Bagh roadblock mastermind Sharjeel Imam was booked for his seditious ‘cut Assam from India’, serial blasts have rocked Assam early morning on India’s 71st Republic Day. Multiple grenade explosions took place in Assam on Sunday. Four blasts have reportedly taken place in upper Assam, two in Dibrugarh district, one in Sonari and another in Duliajan near the Police station.

The first explosion was reported to have taken place at near NH 37 at Graham Bazaar in Dibrugarh district in the morning hours. The other was reported near a Gurudwara in Dibrugarh.

Assam DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahant has said that investigation into the blasts has begun. “We have received the information about the explosion in Dibrugarh. An investigation has begun, it is being probed that who is involved in this,” said Assam DGP. The local police have reached the spot. Details of casualties are awaited.

Read: From The Wire to everything else, the Anatomy of an Islamist: Into the mind of Sharjeel Imam, mastermind of Shaheen Bagh

The incident comes days after viral video of The Wire columnist and Shaheen Bagh roadblock mastermind Sharjeel Imam went viral where he had asked Muslims of the country to break India by cutting of North-east from the rest of the country. “Our main aim is to permanently cut Assam and North-east India from rest of India,” he could be heard saying in the video.

In his video, Sharjeel Imam had added, “If 5 lakhs Muslims are organised then we can cut the North-east from rest of India. If we cannot do permanently, at least we can cut North-east from India for months”.

Further, Sharjeel Imam who is also a columnist with The Wire and mastermind of Shaheen Bagh protests had said, “Our responsibility is to cut the Assam from India then Govt will hear our voice. If we have to help the Assam then we will have to cut the Assam from rest of India”.

Sharjeel Imam is the main mastermind and coordinater of the Shaheen Bagh protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Interestingly, earlier, ‘Jinnah Wali Azadi’ slogans were raised at Shaheen Bagh which also pointed towards the main agenda of these anti-CAA protests, specifically at Shaheen Bagh, is the second partition of India.

WEF at Davos ends, Rahul Kanwal fails to get an interview from Greta Thunberg despite his public request

OpIndia Staff
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WEF at Davos ends, Rahul Kanwal fails to get an interview from Greta Thunberg despite his public request

As World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos concluded, India Today’s Rahul Kanwal failed to get an interview from climate change alarmist Greta Thunberg despite his public appeal to her.


On 21st January, Kanwal had tweeted to Thunberg and requested for an interview with her on the sidelines of the WEF. He had requested Thunberg to send him a direct message (DM) if she’d be keen on the interview. However, it seems Thunberg wasn’t too keen on the interview.

Read: India Today ‘standing by’ their unethical journalist won’t cut it: They have to answer for their lies and propaganda

Kanwal’s tweet to Thunberg got many netizens to respond with many cautioning her jokingly that should she agree to the interview, it may be broadcast as a ‘sting’ operation.


While others upped their meme games with Thunberg’s ‘how dare you’ gif.


Others also had helpful suggestions for Thunberg.


Netizens were also quick to pick up the pun on ‘setting up interview’ in Kanwal’s tweet.


Meanwhile, NDTV has claimed that Thunberg replied to a question put up by their journalist. NDTV has claimed that with respect to a question put up by NDTV journalist on climate change in India, Thunberg asked Indians to ‘listen to science’. US President Donald Trump, while dismissing the ‘pessimism of alarmists’ urged people to reject ‘prophets of doom’ like Thunberg and other activists.

Coronavirus: The deadly epidemic that originated in Wuhan, China

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus: The deadly epidemic that originated in Wuhan, China

The outbreak of coronavirus in China and its eventual spread to other nations have created a situation of panic and medical emergency. The virus causes respiratory infection.

Early symptoms include fever and dry cough. It eventually causes shortness of breath. The most disturbing fact is that there is no available cure or vaccine available at this time.

Impact on China

The death toll has already reached a staggering number of 41 in China alone. There have been more than 1300 confirmed cases of contravirus exposure. Most patients are between 55-87 years old. As such, many tourist places have been shut down and festivities cancelled.

Most affected is the Wuhan city, where the virus outbreak was first reported. Along with Wuhan, the Chinese authorities have locked down 18 cities in the country to prevent the virus from spreading. All flights, trains and other modes of transportation going out these cities have been suspended, meaning people in these places can’t leave the cities.

This had prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to issue guidelines to prevent exposure to the virus and its further transmission. The organization is now closely monitoring the situation along with the Chinese authorities.

Schools have been shut down for two weeks in Hong Kong. Advisories have been released by the city officials to stay at home and contain the spread of the virus. Bus services have been suspended in Enshi while the railway station has been closed for public use in Ezhou.

Hospitals have been jampacked and pharmacies are running short of medicines. Chinese media outlets have claimed that a 1,000-bed hospital will become fully functional within 6 days.

It is now being speculated that the origin of the virus may be linked to China’s discreet Biological Warfare program.

Global Impact

The impact of coronavirus is not limited to China. There are three confirmed cases in France, Singapore, and Japan. Two cases have been reported in the United States, Vietnam, and South Korea. Taiwan and Nepal have reported one case each.

Thailand has five confirmed patients who have been exposed to the deadly virus.  Australia has also confirmed many cases in Sydney and Melbourne. Canada and the United Kingdom are also investigating suspected cases.

Due to only a handful of cases outside China, WHO has not classified Coronavirus as an “international emergency.”

Real-Time Tracking

A real-time tracking tool has been built by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering. People can track the cities that have fallen victim to the outbreak. The site uses data from WHO and centers for disease control in Europe, USA, and China.

India’s Preparedness

Roughly, 23000 Indian students are currently studying in China, and a considerable number among them are at the Wuhan Medical University. The cost of treatment has run up to 1 million yuan (1 Cr Indian rupees) for Maheshwari, an Indian working at a primary school teacher in Shenzhen.

India is gearing up to face the dangers of the outbreak. There are now a total of 19 airports wherein passengers are being screened for coronavirus. Now, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has provisions for a separate ward to contain the spread of the deadly disease.

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