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The Hindu Chairman doubles up as judge, gives clean chit to Chidambaram at a Congress event, says ‘no evidence’ against him

OpIndia Staff
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The Hindu Chairman doubles up as judge, gives clean chit to Chidambaram at a Congress event, says ‘no evidence’ against him

N Ram, the Chairman of the Kasturi and Sons limited that owns The Hindu Group, has claimed that former finance minister P Chidambaram is innocent and there is ‘no material evidence’ against him other than the words of the murder accused Indrani Mukherjea.

As per a report in The Hindu, N Ram attended a meeting of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee in Chennai to condemn Chidambaram’s arrest on Sunday, 15 September and spoke in favour of Chidambaram. Proclaiming that Chidambaram has done nothing wrong, the publisher of The Hindu claimed that a ‘monstrous injustice’ has been done to Chidambaram by sending him to jail. He added that there is no ‘material evidence’ against Chidambaram.

N Ram even went ahead to criticise the courts of India for sending Chidambaram to jail. He added, “The only intention behind those who have orchestrated his arrest and unfortunately the highest courts of the land have fallen victim to this, is to deny him liberty as long as possible. That’s the whole intention,”

Criticising the Delhi HC for dismissing Chidambaram’s bail plea, N Ram stated, “They have virtually adopted the case of the prosecution. For seven months, judgment was reserved. Just before the judge retired, the judgment came out depriving Chidambaram of any opportunity to appeal,”

Ram even did not even spare the judges of the Supreme Court. He stated that there are factual mistakes in the order of justices R Bhanumathi and Bopanna. He claimed that the judges said that Chidambaram’s assets have been confiscated which is completely wrong. He pushed for the need for a review petition to be filed soon.

Ram claimed that there is no basis to accuse Chidambaram except the statements of two murder accused (the Mukerjeas). He also asserted that the court should have granted bail to Chidambaram because there was no danger of any documents being suppressed or witness being threatened. He added that it was a ‘great shame’ that justice was not delivered in the case.

Congress leaders MP K Jayakumar and Peter Alphone stated that Chidambaram is being targeted by the BJP and it is a political fight, not a legal one.

Alphonse said, “A government which doesn’t take any action on big cases involving their party men, is only pursuing cases against a person who has done no wrong, is a renowned politician.”

Suba Veerapandian, the president of Dravida Iyakka Thamizhar Peravai stated that a psychological war is being unleashed on Congress to create an impression that it cannot rise again.

Haryana to implement NRC: We need a national strategy on citizenship

Abhishek Banerjee
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Haryana to implement NRC: We need a national strategy on citizenship

Yesterday, Haryana CM Manohar Lal proclaimed that Haryana will implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Under pressure of coming elections (which Congress is sure to lose badly), Bhupinder Hooda jumped to support the proposal. So now we have bipartisan support for NRC to be implemented in the state. Good.

It is only a matter of time before this spreads to all other states after Haryana has received bipartisan support for the implementation of NRC.

Again, good development, but we need to learn the lessons from the Assam experience. A few days ago, I wrote a very bitter and despairing article on the NRC in Assam, admitting how everyone had let down the state, allowed its demography to be altered irrevocably by foreigners. The common refrain is that illegal migrants had been one step ahead of genuine citizens, getting their documents in better shape.

Liberals obviously see the Assam experience as a victory. Well, they see anything that takes India one step closer to destruction as a victory. They hope it will put a chill on plans to implement NRC anywhere else.

Remember, liberals don’t care if people eventually wake up and implement NRC everywhere. They just need it to be put off long enough so that the demography changes irrevocably.

And if you have lived in any major Indian city, you know that the ground is shifting under our feet and very fast.

We need a strategy.

The very first thing to do is pass the Citizenship Amendment Bill, which will clearly and unapologetically spell out the difference between an asylum seeker (such as a Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist etc escaping from Pakistan/Bangladesh) and an infiltrator.

To a large extent, this should solve the problem of genuine Indians losing out while “better prepared” illegal migrants get through.

The second thing is to secure the border, especially with Bangladesh. The BSF needs to be given the resources to seal the border completely and stop all illegal border crossings.

An easy thing to do is to immediately deport all illegal Rohingya migrants from India. To a large extent, the government knows who they are and where they are.

The fourth leg is a diplomatic one and will require delicate negotiations. We have to get Bangladesh to agree to take deported illegal migrants. Remember that even if illegal migrants are isolated, we still need a sovereign country (usually Bangladesh) to accept them back. This will need a tricky carrot and stick policy. Because Bangladesh is an ally after all and China is always lurking in the shadows, waiting to snag any opportunity that might be presented by worsening India-Bangladesh relations.

The fifth and most important is to create an iron-clad law defining two things: first, what constitutes proof of Indian citizenship. Since we have very few cases of citizenship by naturalization, this largely means we have to define what is needed to prove that at least one parent is an Indian citizen (and the other parent cannot be an illegal migrant).

This is a difficult task, given the realities of India. But tell me what is easy about India? Is it easy to manage one billion people, when less than half of them had access to toilets just five years ago?

The second thing the law must do is explain what happens to illegal migrants, once identified. We cannot have them burdening public finances by means of the welfare system.

One cost-effective way of getting rid of illegal migrants is getting them to ‘self deport.’ It means we make it too hard for them to stay around in the shadows: how about no SIM cards, no welfare, no admission for their kids to public schools, no way to get a job, start a business or obtain a drivers license?

As I said, what liberals are really hoping for is that we keep putting NRC off until it is too late. They have a two-pronged strategy for achieving this. The first is to exaggerate the difficulties of the citizenship determination exercise, harping incessantly on the poverty and backwardness of India (I’m curious: whose governments left India poor and backward?). The second is to shame Indians by drawing unnecessary comparisons with the Trump administration in the United States. It’s a pity that we even need to point out that America is a nation of immigrants, while India was born out of Partition. And in any case, what America does is not our business. We have already had one Partition. Within India, we have had several “mini-Partitions” already: the displacement of Asomiya people, the expulsion of Hindus from Kashmir and so on. No more Partition. Never again. The Israelis get it. Why can’t we?

Temple vandalised, violence unleashed against Hindus in Pakistan’s Ghotki after a principal made ‘blasphemous’ remark

OpIndia Staff
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Temple vandalised, violence unleashed against Hindus in Pakistan’s Ghotki after a principal made ‘blasphemous’ remark

The atrocities against minorities in Pakistan continues unabated as violence was unleashed against Hindus in Ghotki, Pakistan, after a school principal, who is a Hindu had made an alleged blasphemous remark.

The angry mob attacked the SSD Dhaam Mandir and broke open shops in Jillani Market belonging to Suresh Kumar, Gopi Chand, Gurmukh Das and others in broad daylight.

Properties worth millions of rupees were attacked and several shops belonging to the Hindu community looted on Sunday by an enraged Muslim mob in Ghotki town after the owner of a school was accused of committing blasphemy.


Reportedly, an enraged mob led by local Muslim leaders attacked properties belonging to Hindus and looted their shops, taking away goods worth millions.

Later, the angry mob blocked the National Highway in protest against the alleged blasphemous remarks. They raised slogans and demanded of the authorities to arrest Prof Lal for making the blasphemous remark. The violence also occurred in towns like Mirpur Mathelo and Adilpur, apart from Ghotki.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has taken cognisance of the matter and raised concerns over the “outbreak of mob violence”.


Following the incident, the World Sindhi Congress has also expressed concerns over reports of violence, urging other countries to pressure Pakistan “to ensure safety” of religious majorities in the neighbouring country.


The human rights advocacy group urged the other countries to pressurise Pakistan to ensure safety of religious minorities in the country.

Pakistan is notoriously known for its persecution of not only religious minorities but also ethnic minorities within their own country. The forceful conversion programmes have often been unleashed against the minorities especially Christians, Sikhs and Hindus living in Pakistan with utmost brutality. This violence against Hindus in Pakistan’s Ghotki comes months after a series of abductions and forceful conversions of minority Hindu and Sikh girls. In March, two underage Hindu girls Raveena (13) and Reena (15) were abducted from the Ghotki in Pakistan’s Sindh on the eve of Holi. The girls were later forcefully converted and married off to older Muslim men.

Earlier, Jagjit Kaur, a Sikh girl was abducted and forcibly converted to Islam in Nankana Sahib which has caused a huge uproar. It has attracted widespread criticism and a massive protest by Sikhs in India in front of the Pakistani Embassy in New Delhi. The MEA, too, issued a strong statement and demanded immediate remedial action from Pakistan.

In another horrific incident, a 13-year-old Pooja Sotahar Kumari, daughter of Fatan Rathore, resident of village Bakhsho Laghari in Hyderabad district’s Hosri Taluka, was kidnapped, forcefully converted and subsequently married off to a man identified as Syed Irshad Shah.

Recently, a report released by the Members of the European Parliament (MEP) threw light on the plight of religious minorities in Pakistan. The report claims that around 1000 girls from religious minorities are forcibly converted to Islam every year. The numbers might be higher as many cases are not even reported.

US President Donald Trump to join PM Modi at the ‘Howdy, Modi’ event in Houston

OpIndia Staff
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US President Donald Trump to join PM Modi at the ‘Howdy, Modi’ event in Houston

The United States President Donald Trump will be joining Prime Minister Modi in Houston during the ‘Howdy, Modi! Shared Dreams, Bright Futures’ mega event which will be held on 22nd September. A statement issued by the Press Secretary, White House, announced Trump’s upcoming travel to Houston, Texas and Wapakoneta, Ohio to strengthen ties with India and US.

Statement issued by White House Press Secretary

In Houston, Trump will attend the ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event where as many as 50,000 people are expected to attend. “It will be a great opportunity to emphasise the strong ties between the people of the United States and India, to reaffirm the strategic partnership between the world’s oldest and largest democracies, and to discuss ways to deepen their energy and trade relationship,” the statement read.

From Houston, the US President will travel to Ohio where he will meet the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to strengthen bilateral ties.

For the 22nd September ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event, more than 50,000 supporters have already registered for the mega community summit which will be held at the NRG Stadium, the host Texas India Forum (TIF), a Houston-based non-profit body, said. ‘Howdy’, which means ‘How do you do?’, is a friendly greeting commonly used in the southwestern parts of the United States.

The Howdy event will be the largest ever event addressed by an Indian Prime Minister in North America and also the largest for a foreign leader in the US other than Pope Francis. The Howdy event will be Prime Minister Modi’s third major address to the Indian-American community after he became PM in 2014 and the first after his re-election in May. The previous two were at the Madison Square Garden in New York in 2014 and the Silicon Valley in 2016. Both the events were attended by more than 20,000 people.

“A worshipper’s unflinching belief in the Ram Janmabhumi can’t be questioned”, Supreme Court tells Muslim party lawyer during Ayodhya hearing

OpIndia Staff
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“A worshipper’s unflinching belief in the Ram Janmabhumi can’t be questioned”, Supreme Court tells Muslim party lawyer during Ayodhya hearing

The Supreme Court bench hearing the Ayodhya case told senior lawyer Rajeev Dhavan, the Muslim party lawyer, a worshipper’s unflinching belief in the Ram Janmabhumi can’t be questioned, it has to be accepted. The court made the remarks on Friday, during the 23rd day of the day to day hearing into the title dispute for the Ram Janmabhumi in Ayodhya.

The court said this to rebut Dhavan who had argued that there was hardly any evidence to back the faith of the Hindus in the janam sthan from “time immemorial”. Dhavan had opposed the arguments made by Hindu parties that it is the age-old belief of Hindus that Lord Ram was born at that place, based on Skanda Purana and other religious texts.

The court countered this argument of Dhavan by questioning him how the belief of Hindu worshippers can be challenged with regard of the existence of the Janmasthan, and added that the “sanctity of belief” that Lord Ram took birth there and whether this claim is true or frivolous can only be tested under Hinduism.

Rajeev Dhavan had also opposed making the “Janmasthan” a party in a case which was filed a deity. He questioned how a piece of land can have the status of a “juristic person” and file a case in court.

To this, the court asked him to define characteristics of a deity which makes it a juristic person, and questioned why the same characteristics can’t extend to a place. “When a place assumes the character of a juridical person by virtue of birth of a deity or marriage of a deity, then would not areas abutting the spot where the garlands were exchanged also become part of it?” the court asked. “What are those essential features in coming to the conclusion that idols are juristic person and only then it can be dealt whether a property also can or cannot have the status of juristic person,” the bench further asked,

Earlier, appearing for Ram Lalla, senior advocate K. Parasaran had described the “Asthan (place) as the personification of the deity. It has by itself become an object of worship for the Hindus”.

Dhavan argued that if the Hindu party argument is accepted that area itself has attained the status of a deity, then no other person will have any right over that property.

Parasaran said that rivers, mountains, and wells have been prayed by people and said, “you pray to the Sun, but not call it your territory”.

Referring to the claim of Hindus that Lord Ram was ‘swayambhu’, Dhavan said it means that the God has manifested himself at a place. The court then asked him whether Kaaba at Mecca was ‘swaymbhu’, to which he replied that it was “intrinsically divine”.

A Hindu deity is treated as a juristic person with rights as per laws. The Ayodhya deity is an infant form of Lord Ram. The deity is deemed a perpetual minor. The law of limitation does not apply to minors. The Allahabad HC had admitted the suit filed on behalf of Ram Lalla and appointed the next friend to represent the deity. Dhavan argued that this will create havoc if the court allows any person to file case as a next friend.

“Ours is a country of religious endowments, everywhere. If your lordships decide on next friend basis without proof, what will the consequence be? The consequence will be that next friend will be suing everywhere. This is a dangerous proposition,” he said.

Congress workers get into a fight at Indore, angered Jyotiraditya Scindia leaves event midway

OpIndia Staff
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Congress workers get into a fight at Indore, angered Jyotiraditya Scindia leaves event midway

Chaos erupted during senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia’s rally in Indore on Sunday when some Congress leaders failed to reach the former Guna MP and greet him during the meet due to a lack of space. A scuffle erupted between the workers as they jostled to reach the stage.


As per reports, during the chaos, some leaders fell off the podium which led to a fight between the workers of the Congress party. They began throwing chairs at each other and apparently, they resorted to trading blows with each other.

It is another instance of the remarkable lack of discipline within the ranks of the Congress party. Scindia, apparently, was so angered by the conduct of the workers of his party that he got off the stage and left the event midway.

Amid the growing uncertainty over the appointment of state Congress chief in Madhya Pradesh, Jyotiraditya Scindia visited the residences of several Congress leaders in Indore today. Scindia is being considered as a strong contender for the post. It is being speculated that he met the local party leaders to obtain their support for him.

Scindia is the chairman of the screening committee for the Assembly elections in the state, which are due later this year.

The Congress party isn’t alien to intra-party fights. In January, two groups of workers were involved in a clash during an event in Rajasthan. Apparently, the fight had broken out while Congress leader Vivek Bansal was taking ‘feedback’ from the workers about the Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier, two Congress MLAs from Karnataka got into a fight at Eagleton resort where they were staying, one ended up with head injuries that landed him in a hospital. Before the Rajasthan Assembly Elections, Congress workers had surrounded Sachin Pilot’s car and had protested violently against the ticket distribution as well.

Indian Army to conduct recruitment drive in Kashmir on 3-4 October to fill 3,000 vacancies

OpIndia Staff
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Indian Army to conduct recruitment drive in Kashmir on 3-4 October to fill 3,000 vacancies

The Indian Army is all set to conduct its first-ever recruitment drive in the Kashmir Valley on 3-4 October after the historic abrogation of Article 370.

According to the reports, Lt Gen K J S Dhillon on Saturday stated that the recruitment drive scheduled to be held in the first week of October is being conducted to fill in 3,000 vacancies.

“For youth of Kashmir, Governor has announced a lot of schemes. Army has taken the first initiative and started recruitment drive in Kashmir Valley with more than 3,000 vacancies. The first recruitment will start on 3-4 October. Prior to that, 15 days of training will be imparted so that the boys can compete and get recruited. We are working on some more vacancies and will announce in the future,” he told reporters in Srinagar.

Dhillon also stated that young children from the Valley were taken for a tour to Delhi, Ajmer Sharif and Jaipur so that they get exposure to developments in technology and other spheres.

“As a continuation of our efforts to expose the children of the valley to developments in technology and other spheres, they were taken for a tour to Delhi, Ajmer Sharif, and Jaipur. It was an overall personality development tour,” he said.

Dhillon who is the General Commanding Officer (GOC), 15 Corps also known as Chinar Corps, is presently the highest-ranking army officer handling the affairs on the ground in the Kashmir Valley.

The recruitment drive by the Indian Army comes after it had organised a seven-day recruitment rally in Reasi for Jammu region. In the recruitment rally, over 29,000 aspiring youths from various districts got themselves registered. It is the first such recruitment rally after the abrogation of Article 370 provisions on special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Shots fired: Olympian Heena Sidhu takes Malala on, says ‘you want Kashmir to be Pakistan’s because girls like you had it so good?’

OpIndia Staff
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Shots fired: Olympian Heena Sidhu takes Malala on, says ‘you want Kashmir to be Pakistan’s because girls like you had it so good?’

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai recently tweeted about the Kashmir issue. And as has come to be expected of her, she once again voiced Pakistani propaganda moments. She even spread fake news on the matter and claimed that a student missed her exams on the 12th of August when, in fact, schools were closed that day due to Eid.

Malala’s tweet thread attracted great criticism on social media from people worldwide. Now, Olympian pistol shooter Heena Sidhu, too, has taken to Twitter to slam the activist. She questioned the fact that Malala was taking Pakistan’s side on the Kashmir issue and yet, she had been forced to flee Pakistan herself.


Malala is known for selectivity condemning human rights abuses. She has always chosen to remain tight-lipped against the atrocities that Islamic societies inflict on people from other communities. Her own country Pakistan has been exporting terror to other countries while killing its own citizens including Pashtuns, natives in Balochistan and Sindh.

Fearing for Pakistani establishment, Malala has also chosen to remain silent on the barbaric incidents of conversions that have become rampant in Pakistan. However, when it comes to taking moral high-ground on issues pertaining to non-Islamic countries, Malala seems to rediscover her bravado.

Many people believe that the Nobel Peace Prize has lost its sheen due to being awarded to Malala and former US President Barack Obama who went on to bomb countries indiscriminately and start new wars in the Middle East after being awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.

‘Missionaries go back’, Christian prayer meet stopped in Himachal Pradesh after VHP’s protest alleging illegal conversion

OpIndia Staff
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‘Missionaries go back’, Christian prayer meet stopped in Himachal Pradesh after VHP’s protest alleging illegal conversion

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has protested against a ‘prayer meeting’ organized at a private guest house in Sunder Nagar district in Himachal Pradesh alleging that the meeting was used for the purpose of religious conversion. They chanted slogans of ‘Christian Missionary Go Back’ following which the atmosphere became tense.

The Police were informed of the matter who then brought the situation under control. The circumstances led to a confrontation between the VHP karyakartas and the Police. The Nayab Tehsildar of Sunder Nagar reached the site of the protest as well. He asked for the documents that showed that the Missionaries had the required permission for the event. However, the Missionaries were unable to provide it following which the event was stopped.

The Christian Missionaries, however, denied that religious conversions were being organized at the event. The organizer of the event Amar Singh said that the event was just like other prayer meetings that are held by other religious preachers. He claimed that people only hear from the religious scriptures in such events.

People were reportedly anguished over the matter of religious conversions. Karyakartas from other Hindu organizations such as the RSS and Bajrang Dal, too, have demanded that the local administration keep an eye on such events held in the future and also demanded that people who have converted to other faiths change their names and give up facilities they receive from the government as well.

Kashmiri Pandits hold rally in Melbourne to support of revocation of Article 370, share personal stories of their genocide

OpIndia Staff
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Kashmiri Pandits hold rally in Melbourne to support of revocation of Article 370, share personal stories of their genocide

On Sunday, the Kashmiri Pandit community from Australia held a rally in Melbourne in support of the historic decision of the Narendra Modi government to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, reports ANI.

The Kashmiri Pandit community joined by other members of the Indian-Australian community had organised a rally from Victorian state parliament to Federation Square. The Indian community carried tricolours and posters that read, “J&K is our motherland… India is our nation” and sang patriotic songs during the rally.


The Kashmiri Pandits, who were subjected to genocide by the Islamic terrorists, shared their personal stories of how they were driven out of their ancestral homeland back in 1989-1990 by Pakistani backed terrorists.

“Back in 1990, one day my father-in-law came home and told us we have to leave within 15 minutes. Imagine leaving your whole life behind you and pack your belongings in a couple of suitcases within 15 minutes, never to return home. That was just the beginning of a long struggle ahead,” said a Kashmiri Pandit.

A similar rally was earlier held in Washington DC by Kashmiri Pandits from various parts of the United States, during which they had raised slogans in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking the “bold and historic step”.

Recently, members of Kashmiri Pandits organisation in the United State of America – ‘Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora’ (GKDP) had organised a protest march outside the office of The Washington Post in the US capital city Washington DC. The protest was organised against the “unbearable series” of articles published in the newspaper following the scrapping of Article 370 and Article 35A in Jammu and Kashmir by the Narendra Modi government.

Angered by the pro-Pakistan propaganda peddled by its communally coloured reports after the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, members of Kashmiri Pandits on Saturday shot a letter to the Editor of Washington Post over their biased reportage on Kashmir.

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