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Kshetrayanam by Pragyata: 1-day conclave in Chennai to discuss challenges faced by Hindu sacred places and cultural practices

OpIndia Staff
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Kshetrayanam by Pragyata: 1-day conclave in Chennai to discuss challenges faced by Hindu sacred places and cultural practices

Pragyata along with its partners is organising “Kshetrayanam” – an annual 1-day conclave that discusses the challenges facing our sacred spaces and their associated cultural practices. The conclave will be held this year in Chennai on January 19th (Sunday).  Pragyata is an online journal, event organiser, platform for video-based course content & research centre on Indic studies.

It seeks to ensure that Indic institutions can once again function autonomously and be the lifeline of our civilization. The program have a great line-up of 12 Dharmic stalwarts who will enlighten as well as encourage people to be more conscious of various issues that need to be taken up urgently to usher in an Indic renaissance.


Thousands of temples, especially in the South of India are under the control of the government. For instance, over 38,000 temples in Tamil Nadu have been taken over by the state government as per the Tamil Nadu Hindu Endowments Board. Reasons offered for it range from poor management, corruption, nepotism – making temples like just another enterprise with the devotees hard money landing straight into the coffers of the government. Families, which for over millennia have taken care of temples and dedicated their lives to them are at once relieved of any responsibility and made to feel unwanted. The case is repeated with erstwhile rulers of the princely States who after been sidelined by the government detaching the bond with their deities.

With the temples comes the massive seizure of temple owned properties as well. Being in control of their own land, such areas could otherwise be used by Hindus for the benefit of its society by making patshalas (schools), assembly halls etc, but that is not possible now. To help us understand the gravity of this situation, lets see an example.

Read- The Sabarimala verdict is anything but a gender equality win

Recently, centuries-old Mathas around the Jagannath Temple in Puri were demolished by the state government to make way for various infrastructure projects. This loss of heritage is immeasurable as the government plans to compensate devotees with a Jagannath Temple corridor. Pilgrimage spots are been turned into tourist spots, making many ecologically sensitive areas prone to massive damage (Uttarakhand comes to mind). Sabarimala temple and its associated worship of lord Ayyappa, who as a celibate and wishes for the entry of men and only women outside of the reproductive age, has found a voice with the gender equality crowd who don’t seem to have understood the rights of the deity in wanting who enters his abode.

Kshetrayanam conclave

Hindu Festivals have also come under the scanner of the activists and judiciary with them being muffled as one can see with Deepavali with cracker ban. We seem to care for the environment only during this time, unaware of how such actions devitalize traditions till they exist no more. Even on the economic front with thousands being out of jobs as the government comes up with whimsical solutions.

Read- The attack on Hinduism has uncanny resemblance to Christian annihilation of Paganism – A review of ‘The Darkening Age’

The conclave will also have speakers who will enlighten us on festivals such as Durga Puja, with their families, for the past 400 years, having been celebrating the puja in a traditional manner. Not spoken about nearly enough is the land of Tulunadu on the Karnataka coast with its rich religious tradition of Yakshagana – a night-long dance and drama performance practised with great fanfare, the Karadi Vesha (Bear Dance) among many others.

Scientists and physicists will help us understand the development of science in India from ancient times to the modern period on the disciplines of Mathematics and Astronomy. They will also inform of how the temple economy worked and helped sustain thousands of families, acting as the lifeblood of the Indic civilisation.

Interested persons can be a part Kshetrayanam 2020 by registering at kshetrayanam.com, for the Indian heritage to be reclaimed and make way for a bright future. People who want to participate in the event will have to be present at the Rasika Ranjani Sabha at Mylapore in Chennai on 19th January (Sunday). The organisers are offering discount for students and they can register at this address.

Those who cannot make it to the conclave in Chennai, they can watch it on Live Stream by registering here.

West Bengal: Two BJP offices set on fire in a span of 5 days, party blames ruling TMC led by Mamata Banerjee

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: Two BJP offices set on fire in a span of 5 days, party blames ruling TMC led by Mamata Banerjee

A BJP office in West Bengal’s Bankura district was set on fire late on January 15 (Wednesday). The office located in Chandai Gram area in Bankura district of the state was reduced to ashes, following which the party has blamed ruling TMC of being behind the incident.


No casualties have been reported so far. Investigations are underway and more details are awaited.

Shockingly this is the second such incident which has been reported in a span of 5 days. On January 12, Sunday, a similar incident occurred in West Bengal’s Asansol city. Merely a few hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was then on a two-day visit to the state, left West Bengal, a party office of the BJP at Salanpur area in Asansol’s Paschim Burdwan district was reduced to ashes.

Read: West Bengal violence: 3 BJP workers, including a 14-year-old boy shot for chanting Jai Shree Ram, BJP slams Mamata

Then too, the ruling TMC was said to be behind the incident, which they denied, terming it to be a result of a brawl between “goons” of the saffron party.

Under the initiative of Union Minister and local MP Babul Supriyo, BJP workers had distributed blankets to the tribals in the area on Sunday morning, following which TMC workers set the party office on fire, claimed BJP leader Abhijit Roy, furthering: “Several other BJP offices in the area have been set ablaze in the past by the TMC. As the popularity of our party is on the rise, TMC is using these tactics to terrorize the people.”

Read: Journalist explains how the Bengali elite justified Muslim mob violence and paved the way for the downfall of Bengal

West Bengal has become a hotbed for political violence. Since the time the Bharatiya Janata Party has made successful inroads into the state, TMC goons have resorted to uncontrolled hooliganism and unleashed severe atrocities on innocent BJP workers.

Several such incidents where BJP Karyakartas have been brutally murdered have been reported in the recent past, and though its sufficiently clear that the TMC goons have been behind every such incident, the party chief Mamata Banerjee, who otherwise is so vocal and vociferous, has always maintained a stoic silence over these inhumane and barbaric acts.

Congress corporator seen creating ruckus at metro station, hits female journalist trying to make video

OpIndia Staff
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Congress corporator seen creating ruckus at metro station, hits female journalist trying to make video

An Indian Express journalist took to Twitter yesterday to narrate how a congress corporator Vikrant Chavan was seen threatening staff and creating a ruckus at a metro station in Mumbai.

Tabassum, the journalist had tweeted that she had heard the Congress corporator shouting at metro station staffers and security personnel.


In a series of tweets, the journalist explained that when she approached a security staffer to enquire the reason behind the corporator’s anger, she was told that he is only asserting his political power and is unwilling to listen. Upon being told by the security staff that it was a silent zone, the corporator reportedly fired up further.

She further shared that when she asked the corporator to calm down, she was misbehaved, intimidated and attacked physically when trying to make a video.


The journalist stated that she was told rudely by the Congress leader to go away, asserting further his political links.

This story came to light a day after Kaptan Malik, the brother of NCP leader Nawab Malik, was seen brutally thrashing labourers in a viral video. NCP also happens to be the Congress’ ally in the Maharashtra government.


Vikrant Chavan is not new to controversy. According to an Indian Express report, Chavan and three other corporators were charged for abetment of suicide of builder Suraj Parmar in 2015. The victim had cited “mental harassment” by Chavan and the others in his 13-page suicide note as the reason behind his death.

Chavan’s election affidavit states that he has four criminal cases pending against him. They include serious charges such as forgery, evidence tampering, fraud, criminal intimidation besides abetment of suicide. The journalist further shared that despite criminal charges and controversies, the Congress had fielded Chavan from the Ojal Majiwada seat in the assembly elections.


Congress is currently in power in Maharashtra in an alliance government with Shiv Sena and NCP. Recently, a professor at Mumbai University was reportedly asked to go on leave after he had shared a Facebook post against Rahul Gandhi‘s criticism of Savarkar.

Congress’ student wing NSUI had gheraoed the university VC and had held protests demanding action against the said professor for his criticism against the Congress prince.

VP of India tweets picture of Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar in saffron robes on his birth anniversary, deletes after ‘secular’ outrage

OpIndia Staff
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VP of India tweets picture of Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar in saffron robes on his birth anniversary, deletes after ‘secular’ outrage

Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu greeted the nation on the birth anniversary of Tamil poet, philosopher and saint, Thiruvalluvar. While tweeting, the office of VP had tweeted an image of the poet wearing saffron robes.

Tweet by VP Secretariat on Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar’s birth anniversary, now deleted.

However, soon after he tweeted, the ‘secular’ brigade outraged that using Thiruvalluvar’s picture wearing saffron robes is ‘appropriating’ him and alleged that this disrespected him.


As per Congress-friendly journalist Sumanth Raman, the Vice President of India should have used a ‘state approved’ photograph of Saint Thiruvalluvar.

DMK leader Dr Senthilkumar S also objected to the saffron robes.


He alleged that the saffron robe worn by saint Thiruvalluvar in the picture depicted religion and caste.

Saint Thiruvalluvar

For the record, there is no official record on what kind of clothes Saint Thiruvalluvar wore or any details about his life and portraits of him are also artistic imagery of the poet-saint. In fact, as per reports, there is inadequate information even on his name as well as his poetic work. However, it is generally believed that he lived sometime between 4th and 6th century BC.

However, after the ‘secular’ outrage, Vice President of India deleted his original tweet and posted a new tweet to greet the nation on the poet-saint’s birth anniversary.


This time, the image he shared had Saint Thiruvalluvar wearing white robes.

IMA issues statement asking PM Modi to ‘prove or apologise’ over The Print’s fake claim, Pharmaceutical Alliance bust their bubble

OpIndia Staff
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IMA issues statement asking PM Modi to ‘prove or apologise’ over The Print’s fake claim, Pharmaceutical Alliance bust their bubble

Shekhar Gupta’s The Print had recently published a report claiming that in a meeting with India’s top pharmaceutical companies, PM Modi had asked them “not to bribe doctors with women, foreign trips and gadgets”.

The Print had cited “government sources” behind their claim, without naming them. The report, citing an unnamed government official, had even claimed, “The issue of unethical use of marketing tactics has been escalated to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) which, in turn, made calls to some top drug-makers and fixed a meeting with the PM.”

Report in The print
The report in The Print, dated 13 January

The Print’s report had conveniently mentioned that they had written emails to the offices of the pharma companies and also made calls and sent text messages to the PMO for a statement on this issue but they had received no replies.

Following The Print’s report, The Indian Medical Association shot off a scathing statement warning the Prime Minister of India to “either prove his claim or apologise” for his alleged statement that The Print had claimed he made during the meeting with the heads of Pharma companies.

The IMA letter stated, “IMA seeks clarification from the office of the PM if such a meeting ever happened and if so the statement is authentic. IMA has noted that the PMO has not denied the report”.

Going further, the IMA also mocked the PM for not being able to prove the allegations, spectacularly ignoring the irony that it is them who are making unfounded allegations over a fake news report credited to unnamed ‘sources’.

“The IMA, however, is sceptical about the government being able to prove these allegations. If the surmise of the Prime Minister is based on unverified information it is only appropriate that he apologises to the doctors of the country”, preached the statement.

Letter by IMA, asking the PM to apologise over a fake report, image credit, Amit Thadhani on Twitter

Not stopping at ordering the PM to ‘prove or apologise’ over an unfounded claim, the IMA also went ahead to preach that the government is doing this to divert attention from the failure of Ayushman Bharat, which, they claimed, is a ‘non-starter.’

The Print then went ahead and published another report on the IMA’s statement. The IMA’s ‘bold’ order to the PM, asking him to “prove or apologise” was published by Congress mouthpiece National Herald and The Telegraph too.

The Print report on IMA letter
The Telegraph report on IMA letter

However, the reality was that the Prime Minister’s meeting with the heads of pharmaceutical companies was held to discuss the future roadmap for growth in the healthcare industry and there was no discussion on any marketing practices, as claimed by these reports.

Read: Fact-check: The Print and The Telegraph spread dangerous lies about Polio vaccine in India

The meeting was held on January 1 and the heads of several pharma and healthcare companies, namely Dr Reddy’s, Piramal Group, Cadila Healthcare, Sun Pharma, Wockhardt, Torrent, and Appolo Hospitals were present.

The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), an industry body representing many pharma and healthcare companies has issued a statement regarding the meeting with the PM.

In the statement, the IPA has stated that the focus of the discussion was to promote research and development, build an innovation ecosystem, improve access to high-quality medicine and strengthen the global competitiveness of the industry.

IPA statement over the fake news circulated by The Print, image via Amit Thadhani on Twitter

The statement clarified that there was no discussion regarding marketing practices, clarifying that the claims made by The Print’s report were false.

Even if one keeps the IPA statement aside, it will be preposterous to claim that the Prime Minister of the country would convene the heads and senior representatives of India’s largest pharma and healthcare companies and they will discuss issues like what pharma representatives try to bribe doctors with.

In addition, the Delhi Medical Association (DMA), as per a report in Times Of India, has condemned the IMA for demanding that the PM must ‘prove charges or apologise’.

The DMA has slammed the IMA for ‘unnecessarily’ criticising the Prime Minister. “The statement issued by the Association of Pharmaceutical Companies has clarified that no such discussion took place at all in the meeting. It is very deplorable that few IMA office bearers for their political compulsions are carrying out a defamatory campaign against our honourable PM which is against the national interest.”

The DMA statement also lauded the government for working to reduce the prices of various drugs and stents and bringing flagship schemes likes the Ayushman Bharat Yojna.

The Print, in another report yesterday, mentioned the IPA’s statement. However, they added that they had tried to reach out to the IPA’s secretary-general on 10 January and he had denied having information about any meeting. It claimed further citing ‘sources’ that the PM had intervened after the DoP had warned pharma companies about bringing statutory provisions for pharma marketing on December 23. It did not make any clarifications on their “bribing doctors with women, gadgets and foreign trip” claim.

 It is indeed remarkable how, in our country, some individuals and organisations get away with blatant lies and fear-mongering. Shekhar Gupta, who had imagined and peddled the ‘coup’ theory out of nothing, has been caught peddling fake news via The Print on numerous occasions.
It is also a sad irony that the same individuals and organisations also are the most vociferous claimants of the ‘intolerance is rising’ and ‘press freedom is under threat’ narratives.

Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut now compares underworld don Karim Lala with Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan in an attempt to please Congress

OpIndia Staff
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Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut now compares underworld don Karim Lala with Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan in an attempt to please Congress

Shiv Sena motormouth Sanjay Raut has now issued clarification on his comments that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi used to come to Mumbai to meet underworld don Karim Lala.


As reported by CNN News 18, Sanjay Raut said that I have always respected Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi despite being in the opposition. “You must have read my views earlier also even in Saamana. Whenever people have attacked Indira Gandhi, I have stood by her.”

Clarifying his statement, he said, “We were talking about Mumbai and were discussing what kind of atmosphere was there in Mumbai back then. A lot of people would come to meet Karim Lala, especially politicians. He used to keep the pictures in his house. The atmosphere back then was different. Karim Lala was member of a Pathan community, “Pakhtun-e-Hind” and he was a leader of Pathans. He was a world leader of Pathan community. He had come from Afghanistan. He was associated with Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who is also known as Frontier Gandhi. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Karim Lala, they all used to meet Indira Gandhi and other leaders to discuss issues concerning Pathans. That’s all I said that they had that kind of reputation.”

Read: Mission accomplished. Don’t be surprised if Shiv Sena’s ‘Suryayaan’ lands in Delhi: Sanjay Raut

While Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was an independence activist who fought against the British rule alongside Mohandas Gandhi, Karim Lala was a dreaded gangster who terrorised Mumbai for over two decades operating from impoverished, crime-infested Muslim ghettos in Mumbai like Dongri and Nagpada. While Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was known as Frontier Gandhi for his non-violent movements and pacifist nature, Karim Lala was notorious for contract killings, forceful property eviction, kidnapping and extortion.

Latest poster from Shaheen Bagh confirms that CAA ‘protests’ is about Islamist supremacy and Hinduphobia: Here is why

Editorial Desk
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Latest poster from Shaheen Bagh confirms that CAA ‘protests’ is about Islamist supremacy and Hinduphobia: Here is why

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has been a bone of contention with the Islamists of India ever since its passage in the Parliament. The protests started with violent Muslim mobs running rampage in the country to anti-Hindu slogans and posters being raised. Now, another poster from Shaheen Bagh, flooded with anti-Hindu imagery has been shared by journalist Saba Naqvi.


The image that was shared rather proudly by Saba Naqvi shows three women wearing a Bindi in Burkha. Below that, are some lines from the Faiz poem ‘Hum Dekhenge’. And in the end, there is the Hindu Swastika being ‘smashed’ and disintegrating.

The imagery of the poster clearly points towards the establishment of Islamist supremacy over Hindus and the deep-seated Hinduphobia we have seen throughout the anti-CAA protests.

Read: ‘Jinnah wali Azadi’ slogans raised at Shaheen Bagh: The true face of anti-CAA protests and what these slogans mean

The women in Bindis wearing Hijab only remind us of how Islamists view Hindu women as conquests and objects to be ‘owned’. A straight parallel that comes to mind is from Kashmir. When the Kashmiri Hindus were being raped, murdered and driven away from their homes by Islamist hoards, apart from the ‘convert, flee or die’ slogans, one of the calls by Islamists in Kashmir was asking Hindu men to leave but to leave their women behind as conquests of the Muslims.

Right below the images of Islamists ‘conquering’ Hindu women, there are lines from the famous Faiz poem, ‘Hum dekhenge’. While the Shaheen Bagh protesters have clearly dropped the controversial lines from the poem that spoke about the destruction of idols and only the reign of Allah surviving, it has to imagine that nestled between the images of Hindu women being ‘conquered’ by Islamists and the Hindu Swastika being shattered, the protesters meant anything but that.

Read: 2019 anti-CAA protests: 9 visuals that prove they were motivated by deep seated anti-Hindu bigotry and Islamic extremism

At the end of the poster, is, of course, the sacred Hindu symbol of Swastika that lays shattered.

One must recall that it was at Shaheen Bagh that ‘Jinnah wali Azadi’ slogans were raised and that during the course of anti-CAA protests, we have even seen posters that compared Hinduism to Nazism and the blatant misuse of the Swastika.

Interestingly, while the anti-CAA protesters have been chanting ‘La illaha Illallah’, the image of the sacred Hindu Swastika has been tarnished by the Islamists, comparing it to the Nazi Haken Kreuz. ‘La illaha Illallah’ literally means ‘There is no God except Allah’ and is a phrase that is more connected with Nazism and Genocide than the Haken Kreuz has ever been related to the Swastika.

While Islamists always attempt to connect the Swastika with the Hitler Haken Kreuz, they have glossed over the fact that La Illaha Illallah is officially inscribed on the ISIS flag, that is very symbol of modern-day fascism and genocide.

Read: The Battle from CAA to JNU: Khilafat 2.0, Communist Fantasies, Petty Politics and the conspiracy of Hong Kong style protests

Hitler himself never used the word ‘Swastika’ for the ‘Haken Kreuz’, but ISIS has, with thought and deliberation added La Illaha Illallah on their flag.

As always they will try to hide their anti-Hindu bigotry by saying this is composite culture (A Hindu woman showing solidarity by wearing the Hijab) and it’s not Swastika (But the Nazi symbol), but those will remain lame justifications.

What we are seeing is how anti-CAA protests started with raw brute Islamist power with Muslim mobs attacking railway properties post-Friday prayers in Bengal to the same raw brute Islamist power sending the same messages via nicely drawn posters.

UNSC members snub China’s attempt at raking up Kashmir issue, maintain that Kashmir remains a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan

OpIndia Staff
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UNSC members snub China’s attempt at raking up Kashmir issue, maintain that Kashmir remains a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan

Once again in a span of five months, China, nudged by Pakistan, held an informal consultation on the Kashmir issue at United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in New York on Wednesday only to be told by the members that Kashmir calls for a bilateral solution. The UNSC’s closed door meeting was called to discuss issues relating to an African country when China brought up Kashmir issue under the agenda “any other business points”.

As per reports, while China’s ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun cautioned against further escalating tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and said that he hoped that the UNCS will encourage both countries to initiate a dialogue, no other member commented on the same.

As reported by news agency ANI, members of the security council, on condition of anonymity, said that while China wanted a review of UN observer mission in Kashmir, majority of the other members stressing on need to de-escalate tensions, said that the Kashmir issue continues to remain a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan.

Read: Pakistan gets UNSC to allow release of monthly expenses for 26/11 Mumbai terror accused terrorist Hafiz Saeed

This is the second time since August, when India abrogated Article 370 and made erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir integral part of India, that China brought up the Kashmir issue in UNSC. However, the members, led by United States and France thwarted the issue stating that India and Pakistan should resolve it bilaterally.

Syed Akbaruddin, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, took to Twitter and said that today at UN, our Indian flag is flying high and those who launched a ‘false flag’ got a stinging response from many of our friends. As reported by news agency ANI, Akbaruddin said, “We are happy that neither the alarming scenario painted by the representatives of Pakistan nor any of the baseless allegations made repeatedly by various representatives of Pakistan in UN fora were found to be credible. Pakistan’s tactics of using false credences to distract from addressing the malice that afflicts it has run its course today.”

The Quint deletes Muslim cab driver sob story video after being accused of paying him for acting in it: Here is what they need to explain

Editorial Desk
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The Quint deletes Muslim cab driver sob story video after being accused of paying him for acting in it: Here is what they need to explain

The Far-Left propaganda website, The Quint, has deleted the sob-story video of an alleged Muslim cab driver it had published earlier in the day in order to fuel an anti-NRC sentiment across the country. The deletion came after filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri accused the propaganda website of paying the ‘cab driver’ for the video and claimed that the alleged ‘cab driver’ was, in fact, a junior actor in Bollywood.

The alleged Muslim cab driver, Irshad Ahmed, fearmongers about the NRC without any rebuttal from the journalist. He says, “My heart starts pounding on just thinking about NRC. I don’t have land, neither do I have documents for land. What will I tell them to prove that I am an Indian.” He appeared to be putting some special effort into exaggerating concerns about the NRC and invents scenarios that are detached from reality. “What wrong have we done to deserve this?” the driver asks rather dramatically before adding “What is our crime?”

The reasons that The Quint provided for the deletion of the sob story video implores its readers to take amazing leaps of faith. The propagandist outlet claimed that the alleged Muslim cab driver requested them to take down the video from their website after “the trolling he faced online”.

Read: Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri says ‘sobbing’ Muslim cabbie in The Quint’s video is a part-time actor who was hired for the video

It appears rather bizarre that a daily wage earner who doesn’t have documents to prove his citizenship would have the opportunity to log onto Twitter and check what people were saying about him.


Furthermore, the person in the video was a nervous wreck and appeared to be on the verge of a mental breakdown. He claimed to be extremely worried about the NRC and appeared distraught that the people held only misery for him. A person at that frame of mind doesn’t seem likely to care much about a bit of online trolling because he has much greater things to worry about in life. Such as “detention centres”.

Read: Detention Centres are nothing like Concentration Camps, Congress built them in Assam too: Here is all you need to know

The Quint also revealed that they were not the ones who created the video. It was made by one Sumit Roy who “confirmed” to The Quint that the video was not scripted. Thus, it appears that The Quint independently did not verify whether the video was scripted or not. They took the word of the person who created it as gospel truth. Also, it was the driver who “confirmed” to them that he had never been an actor, they did not try to verify independently whether it was true or not.

In short, The Quint’s clarification and reasons have only served to tie them up in further knots. They did not independently verify whether the video was scripted or not, they had no way to verify it given the fact that they were not the ones who created the video in the first place. The Quint simply used the video someone else had created and the video was so dramatic it certainly looked scripted down to the last line.

Furthermore, a person who doesn’t have documents to prove his citizenship is more concerned about the trolling he received online. The whole thing appears staged and The Quint appears to have been caught in the act, following which it was forced to delete the video. It just goes on to show how the mainstream media operates and how dishonest it is in its conduct.

Digvijaya Singh who once shared stage with Zakir Naik is demanding answers from BJP over Naik’s recent remarks

Dibakar Dutta
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Digvijaya Singh who once shared stage with Zakir Naik is demanding answers from BJP over Naik’s recent remarks

The controversial Islamic preacher, Zakir Naik, and Congress leader Digvijaya Singh are back in the news again. On 11th January 2020, Naik took to Youtube to claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah has sent a messenger to persuade him to support the abrogation of Article 370, in return for a “safe passage to India.”

He has claimed that the BJP government wanted to use his connections to strengthen ties with the Islamic World. He called the government’s move to scrap Article 370 “unconstitutional” and instigated Indian Muslims to voice their opinion against the so-called “injustice against Kashmiris.”

Zakir Naik who is currently residing in Malaysia is on the run from the law enforcement authorities since 2016. He has been charged by the NIA for “hate speech” and “inciting terrorism”.

Read: Radical Islamist preacher Zakir Naik’s speeches inspired most of the 127 people arrested for ISIS links

Naik has been banned by Bangladesh. This was after two of the terrorists who executed the Dhaka Cafe bombing in July 2016 were inspired by Naik’s radical speeches. And for his disparaging and hateful remarks against other religions, he has also been banned by several other countries.

To lend credibility to Naik’s recent claims, Congressman Digvijaya Singh came to the fore. He questioned the Prime Minister and the Home Minister for not having condemned Naik’s statement.


Firstly, there was no reason for the government to condemn the remarks of an Islamic extremist who is obviously lying to cover his tracks and gain the sympathy of elements like Digvijay Singh. In fact, it is pertinent to note here that Zakir Naik had also said that he will not return to India till the Modi government is in power. Now, it is anybody’s guess why Zakir Naik would not want to come back to India while PM Modi is in power but happily come back if the Congress comes to power again.

Read: Radical Islamist Zakir Naik doesn’t want to return to India till BJP is in power, feels a sense of safety in Congress regime

While it is usual for opposition leaders in India to target the government using dubious remarks by people evading criminal charges, there is more to the story than what just meets the eye.

Digvijaya Singh once shared the stage with Zakir Naik in 2012. In a video published on Peace TV, he can be seen praising the controversial preacher. Digvijay Singh remarked, “Zakir should travel all over India…I am very happy that he is spreading the message of peace….We need your message to reach the country”.

He was quick to disassociate himself from Naik after the Dhaka Cafe Blast. Now that the government has pressed charges against Naik, why is the Congress leader willing to side with the preacher and believe his outrageous claims?


It may come as a surprise to many that Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) have a long-standing association. IRF has donated Rs 50 lakh and Rs 25 lakh to RDCT on two separate occasions. And the trustees of RDCT happen to be Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.

Read: The connection between Zakir Naik’s NGO and the Congress

Nevertheless, be it calling the 9/11 mastermind “Osamaji” or 26/11 mastermind “Saeed Sahab”, Singh has time and again tried to legitimize Islamic radicals. And Naik seems to be the latest hate preacher who is being legitimised by the Congress old guard.

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