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The ‘Feminist’ objection to Akshay Kumar featuring as P Gopichand is, like most ‘feminist’ rants nowadays, devoid of any logic

K Bhattacharjee
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The ‘Feminist’ objection to Akshay Kumar featuring as P Gopichand is, like most ‘feminist’ rants nowadays, devoid of any logic

Akshay Kumar is the latest person to attract the ire of feminists. His crime? He is doing his job: acting. As per reports, Akshay Kumar is slated to play PV Sindhu’s coach, Pulella Gopichand in a biopic on the Badminton superstar who is well on her way to becoming a legend. However, Feminists aren’t pleased by the casting.


The objection seems rather bewildering. Certainly, a woman can’t play Gopichand’s character in the biopic. It is safe to say that Gopichand identifies as a man, therefore, even the gender politics theory doesn’t work.

Even the argument does not make any sense because, in the movie ‘Padman’, Akshay had played the role of the ‘Padman’, a man who goes to great lengths to ensure women have access to cheap and easily available sanitary napkins sans the social taboo. In the movie Mission Mangal, Akshay had played only a part in a story where there were many female characters. So, either the ‘feminists’ here want a ‘women-only’ movie or they do not want certain stories of women being told because male characters have played certain parts. This is not possible in a real-world scenario.

Moreover, many liberals seem to have a problem with Akshay Kumar because he has been promoting ‘nationalism’ in his movies. Moreover. Akshay Kumar had interviewed the Prime Minister before the general elections and that had earned him the ire of many ‘secular-liberals’. In present times, once a person acquires the secular-liberal mindset, facts and logic stop meaning anything to them. So facts, like Akshay Kumar being probably one of the very few actors in a certain age-group who still carry the films on their shoulders and his films being the scarce few ‘successful’ ones that Bollywood produces without the usual ‘masala’ of stunts and dance numbers probably do not mean much to these ‘feminists’.

Vidya Krishnan wasn’t the only one to object to Akshay Kumar featuring in the biopic. Other people too mocked him for it.


The entire charade only goes on to show that there’s no winning if you play the game on terms set by feminists. Constantly, male celebrities were told that they should empower women through the movies they make, that they should be ‘allies’ in empowering women. Here is Akshay Kumar, featuring in women-centric movies telling important stories about the struggles and achievements of women. And yet, feminists aren’t happy because they believe he is taking away the spotlight from the women.

We aren’t entirely sure either what sin did Akshay Kumar commit, or for that matter, the producers and directors of the yet to be made movie commit. The characters Akshay Kumar portrays were men in real life too, the genders of the characters were not deliberately changed to accommodate the Bollywood superstar.

The producers and directors cannot be blamed for packing their movie with some star-power. A lot of investment in terms of financial resources, time, emotions is made in a movie, it’s only natural for the people involved to try and go the extra mile to secure success. It’s a very natural human emotion, we want to ensure that our efforts succeed, it’s reprehensible to demonize them for that.

The objection to Akshay Kumar featuring as Pulella Gopichand in PV Sindhu’s biopic is particularly amusing. Gopichand is an integral part of Sindhu’s success story, he is not an insignificant character whose importance will be blown out of proportion merely because Akshay Kumar is playing the role.

The relationship between a coach and his player is extremely personal and a significant share of the success does depend on the coach. Sindhu wouldn’t deny that herself. She certainly has nothing but immense gratitude, respect, and love for her coach. Under such circumstances, it appears rather bewildering that feminists would object to a star with necessary attributes playing the role of Gopichand.

Sindhu’s story is not Sindhu’s alone. It is the story of her parents who worked hard to ensure her success. It is the story of her coach who believed in her and had faith in her abilities when, perhaps, even she didn’t. If a biopic has to capture the real essence of the sportswoman’s life, then it has to assemble a cast that could do justice to it. It’s only natural and it is the correct way to proceed.

For instance, if someone were to make a biopic on Rafael Nadal, would it be considered sensible if a not-so-capable actor were hired to play the role of his coach, Uncle Toni? If someone were to make a biopic on the Class of 92, does it not make absolute sense to hire a superstar to play the role of Sir Alex Ferguson?

The biopic is about PV Sindhu, the film, if and when it is made, will obviously revolve around her. But it cannot be ignored that Gopichand is an integral feature of the story and it only makes sense, from a commercial as well as an aesthetic perspective, that a star plays the role. Feminists can continue to object to it but it doesn’t take anything away from the fact that their objections are juvenile.

Family of kidnapped Sikh girl in Pakistan confirms she has not returned, says reports of her return and arrest of kidnappers are fake

OpIndia Staff
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Family of kidnapped Sikh girl in Pakistan confirms she has not returned, says reports of her return and arrest of kidnappers are fake

Media reports earlier in the day claimed that the Pakistani Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur, who was kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan, has finally returned home to her parents. Following widespread outrage over rampant forced conversions and the Pakistan government’s inaction, police in Nankana Sahib had informed that the girl has been found and has been handed over to her family. The eight persons arrested include the father of the man who forcibly married the girl.

Now, her family has issued a statement denying such claims as fake news and has clarified that she remains missing.


“Our sister still hasn’t been returned to us despite promises made by the Federal Interior Minister yesterday,” said the brother of the girl. He also alleged that the police are not cooperating and the family is under pressure from Jama’at-ud-Da’wah (JuD). He said that neither the girl has been returned, nor anybody has been arrested in the case, adding that fake news was being spread on this matter.

The family has reiterated their appeal to Pakistani authorities, including Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, that the kidnapped girl be rescued and returned to them.

According to the reports, the girl, identified as 19-year old Jagjit Kaur, was allegedly kidnapped and forced to marry a Muslim man in Pakistan. Reportedly, the Pakistani man, who forcibly converted and married Sikh girl is affiliated to 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s proscribed terror outfit Jama’at-ud-Da’wah (JuD).

The Indian government has also raised the issue with Pakistan and asked for “immediate remedial action”.

The incident came to light on Thursday after a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA, Manjinder Singh Sirsa shared a video of the girl’s family alleging that the girl was kidnapped and forcefully converted.

The incident had drawn the attention of Sikhs worldwide and sparked anger in the community. The matter had raised a huge furore in India with several political leaders across parties asking for action to be taken against the perpetrators.

We respect India’s stand on Article 370, hoping for peace and stability in Kashmir: Australian envoy Harinder Sidhu

OpIndia Staff
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We respect India’s stand on Article 370, hoping for peace and stability in Kashmir: Australian envoy Harinder Sidhu

Like many other countries around the globe, Australia has also extended support to India’s move to abrogate Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Expressing respect for India’ decision, the Australian High Commissioner to New Delhi Harinder Sidhu said on Friday that India’s decision to end special status for Jammu and Kashmir is the country’s internal matter, and stressed that the Kashmir issue should be resolved bilaterally by New Delhi and Islamabad.

Speaking to ANI Sidhu said, “The Indian government said this is its internal matter. We respect the Indian position on that. Australia’s long-held view on Kashmir has been that it should be resolved bilaterally by India and Pakistan.”

Expressing hope that the region would become peaceful and subsequently there would be economic growth in the valley, she added, “We do hope as situation proceeds in Kashmir that it will be stable, peaceful and, in fact, that economic development eventuates. We do hope that both countries act in restraint and consider the safety and security of the people in the process.”

On August 5 India decided to repeal Article 370, which would end the special status for Jammu and Kashmir and divide it into two Union Territories.

Rattled by the decision, Pakistan approached the United Nations and various other countries but was shunned by all. After the UN snubbed Pakistan by refusing to comment on the issue terming it as ‘bilateral’, countries like Afghanistan, the UK, France Russia and eventually America followed the suit.

Though America has often offered to ‘mediate’ between India and Pakistan after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the recent G7 summit categorically rejected any scope of third party mediation between India and Pakistan on Kashmir, Trump on his part agreed that the issues between India and Pakistan over Kashmir was a ‘bilateral’ matter.

Domestic media welcomes 26% FDI cap on digital media, but digital media expresses apprehension saying it is restrictive

OpIndia Staff
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Domestic media welcomes 26% FDI cap on digital media, but digital media expresses apprehension saying it is restrictive

The Centre on Wednesday announced that it would ‘permit’ 26 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) under the ‘government route’ for digital media companies which upload or stream news and current affairs. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s announcement will now bring digital media on the same platform as the print media.

Until now only Indian print media and news broadcast television companies have had FDI caps of 26 per cent and 49 per cent respectively. There had been no restrictions as such on foreign investors or entities running digital media business catering to Indian consumers.

While the domestic media companies have welcomed the government’s decision to bring the digital media under the ambit of the FDI policy regime, the companies operating news portals expressed disappointment with the government’s new Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy capping the investment in digital media.

Indian Newspaper Society president Jayant Mammen Mathew said: “It is a right decision for the government to cap FDI in digital media at 26 per cent, which is in line with the FDI (limit) in print. This will ensure Indian news sites have a level playing field with news aggregators and other digital news sites.”

Meanwhile, many digital media outlets, who did not want to be quoted, expressed displeasure, as some of them would now have to restructure and look for Indian investors as they had more than 26 per cent foreign investments.

There is also ucertainity about the government’s order as it lacks detail. The notification says, “it has been decided to permit 26% FDI under government route for uploading/ streaming of news and current affairs through digital media, on the lines of print media”, and industry experts believe that the fine print of the order needs to be seen before understanding its impact. There are several 100% foreign-owned digital news outlets operating in India, and it is not sure whether they will have to induct Indian shareholders to continue operating.

“Basically the new norms look very restrictive. Even TV news – which is a linear medium — is allowed 49 % FDI. Internet is borderless then what sense does 26% restriction make?”, a media executive said, declining to be named. “Nowhere in the world you need government permission to set up a digital news site and there are no restrictions on FDI,” he added.

Some also questioned how this move will be implemented, asking whether all digital media with more than permitted FDI will be banned as China does.

“The Indian investors are not bullish and are most reluctant to invest in media portals, more so in the current economic situation,” said Vignesh Vellore, CEO of The News Minute. “The new policy hurts smaller players like us and the ones who are looking to launch new projects. In future, when we have to look at investments to scale up our operations, this kind of cap will be very discouraging,” he asserted.

Owing to the sensitivity of the sector the government’s decision is being viewed in the media industry as an effort to indirectly regulate the content at digital news outlets.

Former secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Ramesh Abhishek said: “The government has provided much-needed clarity on FDI in digital media. This has been rightly kept on par with FDI in print media. This provision is likely to apply to all those who disseminate the news through digital media in any form. The policy should cover the aggregators of news as well.”

The way news aggregators have been flourishing, has been a concern for the government, especially as China has become an aggressive investor in this sector, with many Chinese-owned or funded entities creating and curating content.

Chinese companies like ByteDance which owns 100 per cent of Helo, the fastest-growing vernacular news app in India and also TikTok, the fastest-growing social network in India. Similarly, Chinese news aggregators, including UCNews (owned by Alibaba), Opera (whose largest shareholder is Beijing Kunlun Tech Co Ltd) and NewsDog (incubated in China and funded by Tencent) actively owns or has large stakes in the biggest news, vernacular language news, as well as social networks in India with no controls whatsoever until the recent FDI regulation.

575 young men from Jammu and Kashmir inducted into the Indian Army in J and K Light Infantry Regimental Centre

OpIndia Staff
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575 young men from Jammu and Kashmir inducted into the Indian Army in J and K Light Infantry Regimental Centre

Amidst the increasingly gloomy pictures painted by some media persons and organisations about the deteriorating condition in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 by the Indian government, 575 youths from the state have enrolled in the Indian Army to fight against enemies of India.


The newly joined 575 young men have been inducted in the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regimental Centre in the passing out parade in Srinagar. The Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry was established in 1947 in an attempt to control Pakistan’s infiltration attempts.

Freshly recruited soldiers said that they are prepared to serve their motherland and wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to shed their lives to protect the country. Parents of the recruits who were present in the event claimed that it is a matter of pride for them to see their children joining the force to serve the country.


As quoted by Zee News, Lt General Ashwini Kumar said that many recruitment drives would be conducted in the state, asserting that people of Jammu and Kashmir are gradually embracing the change. “The Indian Army stands with all those who want to move ahead in life,” he said.

Contrary to many reports which claimed the Valley is on the tenterhooks with seething anger and disgruntlement among locals, the recent induction of 575 Jammu and Kashmir youth in the Indian Army suggest that a large number of residents do wish to join the mainstream and pursue their goals as proud Indian citizens. Fearing that normalcy might prevail in the state, terrorist groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizbul Mujahideen had issued a diktat through a letter, asking people to refrain from opening their shops or venturing out of their homes.

Jammu and Kashmir: Terrorists kill a 65-year-old shopkeeper for keeping his shop open in Srinagar

OpIndia Staff
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Jammu and Kashmir: Terrorists kill a 65-year-old shopkeeper for keeping his shop open in Srinagar

A 65-year-old man was been killed after some unidentified terrorists opened fire at him on Thursday night in the Parimpora region on the outskirts of Srinagar for keeping his shop open, creating panic and tensions in the city.

According to the reports, the incident took place in Parimpora area when the attackers carrying a pistol fired at the shopkeeper from point-blank range. The police are yet to find the identity of the terrorists.

According to Jammu and Kashmir Police, as the terrorists shot at the shopkeeper, a police team was immediately rushed to the spot and the entire area was cordoned off. A search has also been launched by the security forces to nab the terrorists. The injured civilian was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

According to eyewitnesses, three motorbike-borne terrorists shot at Ghulam Mohammad when he was closing down his shop. He was killed for keeping his shop open, said an eyewitness according to ToI report.

The killing of the shopkeeper in Srinagar city was first such incident to occur after the historic abrogation of Article 370. As Kashmir is returning to normalcy post the revocation of special status, the Pakistan-sponsored terrorists seem to have carried out this cowardly terrorist attack out of desperation.

Earlier last week, a  42-year-old truck driver Noor Mohammed Dar, a resident of the same Zradipora Uranhall locality in Bijbehara in Anantnag district, was targeted and killed by stone-pelters.

The valley has been mostly calm after the abrogation of Article 370 which revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s separate status and made it an integral part of the country. The government of India even bifurcated the erstwhile state into two union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The move of the government has been largely welcomed by Indians.

Meerut: Police team attacked by relatives of cattle smugglers Aslam and Akram, 8 injured, vehicle damaged

OpIndia Staff
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Meerut: Police team attacked by relatives of cattle smugglers Aslam and Akram, 8 injured, vehicle damaged

The menace of cattle smugglers and a whole range of law and order issues that the illegal trade inflicts upon a civilised society was displayed recently in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

In a worrisome incident in Sikhera village of Meerut, eight police personnel, including two women constables of Incholi police station have been injured after they were attacked by family members of notorious cattle smuggler Aslam and his son Akram after they had carried out a raid to nab them.

On Wednesday night, the police team from Incholi police station went to Lavad town in Meerut to arrest the cattle smugglers. Reportedly, the police officials disguised in plain clothes arrived at Aslam’s residence to arrest him and his son Akram in connection with the theft of two buffaloes and duping other cattle traders. The police, however, were not aware of a wedding in the family and a large number of relatives had assembled in the house.

As the police team brought the recovered animal and made the accused sit in the police jeep, the gathered relatives at the house of the accused surrounded the police team and attacked them.

As the situation got tensed, stones were pelted at the police and women tore off policemen’s clothes, forcing them to leave the spot. The family members, especially women, attacked the police, injuring the police personnel including women police constables. In the chaos, Akram escaped from the police custody.

“Aslam and his son Akram used women as a shield and they managed to get Akram freed from police custody. We had to rush in more force from other police stations to control the situation,” said SP (Rural) Avinash Pandey who rushed to the spot with SP (City) Akhilesh N. Singh.

SP Pandey said Akram had several complaints of not returning the borrowed money against him and managed to escape but the police have arrested Aslam and 10 other members of the family under IPC Section 307 (attempt to murder), Section 147 (rioting), Section 504 (intent to breach peace) and Section 341 (wrongful restraint), among others. Sections 3 and 7 of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act 1984 have also been invoked.

A police vehicle has also been damaged in the incident.

“The police personnel who got hurt are out of danger but some of them have received head injuries as they were attacked with sticks,” he said.

Final NRC published in Assam, 3.11 crore names included and 19 lakh excluded, organisations in Assam unhappy over low exclusion

OpIndia Staff
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Final NRC published in Assam, 3.11 crore names included and 19 lakh excluded, organisations in Assam unhappy over low exclusion

The much-awaited final National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam was published today, which has been prepared under the supervision of the Supreme Court of India. This is an updated NRC from the original which was published in 1951. The NRC has been prepared under the Section 4A of the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003, which provides for a separate citizenship law for Assam which is different from the rest of the country. The cut of date for inclusion was the midnight of 24th March 1971.

In the final NRC published today, 3,11,21,004 persons have been included, and 19,06,657 persons have been excluded. A total of 3,30,27,661 persons had applied for inclusion of their name in the NRC, a process that had started in May 2015 after it was being demanded by people of India for more than three decades. More than 52,000 employees of the state government were deputed in the NRC work, which was continuously monitored by the Supreme Court of India.

On 30 July last year, the final draft of NRC was published, which had included 2,89,83,677 names. Among the people excluded in the draft, 36,26,630 persons had applied for inclusion of their names in the register. On the other hand, objections against the inclusion of 1,87,633 persons were also received. On 26 June this year, an exclusion list containing the names of 1,02,462 was published.

The final NRC has been made available at NRC service centres, circle offices and the offices of district commissioners. Individual applicants also can check their name on the NRC website only using their application reference number.

The organisations in Assam, including AASU and AGP, who led the foreigner’s deportation movement in 1970-80s, have welcomed the publication of the final NRC, but also have expressed dissatisfaction over it. They believe that the number of people excluded in the NRC is much less than the estimated number illegal immigrants from Bangladesh living in the state.

It may be noted that even before the final NRC was published, there were apprehensions that the NRC is not going to be error-free. It was felt that the much-delayed process was rushed through in the final months. The people who worked on it were state government employees on deputations, and due to lack of proper training, lots of errors crept in during the initial months. The NRC administration and the state government realised it later, but it was too late. They had requested the Supreme Court to allow sample re-verification to identify the errors, but the apex court didn’t allow it.

Organisations fighting for the deportation of illegal foreigners from Assam have said that they will approach the Supreme Court for rectification of the ‘faulty NRC’.

Although 19 lakh people have been excluded from the NRC, it is not the end of the road for them. Now they will be able to file appeals at the Foreigner Tribunals, special courts in Assam that deal with illegal immigration. The state government has already expanded the number and capacity of Foreigner Tribunals in anticipation of surge in appeals following publication of NRC.

Uttar Pradesh: Cattle smugglers Arif, Israr and Kalua Khan abduct and rape a 10-year-old child, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Cattle smugglers Arif, Israr and Kalua Khan abduct and rape a 10-year-old child, arrested

In a barbaric incident, three cattle smugglers in Etah, Uttar Pradesh had abducted and brutally raped a 10-year-old girl in a field.

According to reports, on August 25, three cattle smugglers, Arif Khan, Israr and Kalua Khan had attempted to steal cattle belonging to a villager in Awagadh area near Etah. The three accused tried stealing the animals from a farmer but were not successful as the animals were tied in a cowshed in some other place. Instead, they saw the 10-year-old victim sleeping on a cot along with her younger sister in the open area of her house. The three Muslim men then abducted her in the wee-hours and brutally raped her near a tubewell in a field.

The three accused, Arif Khan of Nadrai, Kasganj district, Israr and Kalua Khan of Agra district has been charged under IPC section 376 (D) (Gangrape), 363 (punishment for kidnapping) and POCSO Act.

Sunil Kumar Singh, Etah Superintendent of Police have said that the three accused initially tried to steal the buffaloes from the victim’s house. The police confirmed that, when the three accused reached the victim’s house, they could not find the cattle as the animals were tied in her uncle’s barn. “Infuriated, the accused abducted the girl by gagging her and raped her in a nearby field,” said Singh.

“The matter came to light when the girl returned home bleeding profusely from the abdomen and alerted her parents who rushed her to the nearby community health centre after informing the police. She was referred to Aligarh for further treatment. During the probe, our team found the blood-soaked blanket used in the rape and also the rope brought by the thieves to steal the buffaloes. A forensic has been assigned to collect samples from the accused and the victim,” said the police officer.

CO Jalesar Gurmeet Singh, who visited the survivor at Aligarh government hospital on Thursday, stated that the condition of the girl is now stable.” The victim was able to narrate the sequence of events. We will conduct an identification parade of the three accused,” said Gurmeet Singh.

Reportedly, all three accused have a history of cattle smuggling and other criminal activities. The accused have more than a dozen cases registered against them in various other districts. They have been jailed several times in the past for animal smuggling in Agra, Kasganj, Etah and other districts.

Cattle smugglers committing violent crimes has been a regular phenomenon in several parts of the country. There have been many incidents where cattle smugglers have killed people and even attacked security forces.

Pakistan: 8 persons arrested in Pakistan over abduction and forceful conversion of Sikh girl

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: 8 persons arrested in Pakistan over abduction and forceful conversion of Sikh girl

A Pakistani Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur, who was kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan has finally returned home to her parents, Nankana Sahib police said on Friday. The police have arrested eight people in connection with the incident.

According to the reports, the girl, identified as 19-year old Jagjit Kaur, was allegedly kidnapped and forced to marry a Muslim man in Pakistan. Reportedly, the Pakistan man, who forcibly converted and married Sikh girl is affiliated to 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s proscribed terror outfit Jama’at-ud-Da’wah (JuD).

The development comes after the Indian government had said that it raised the issue with Pakistan and asked for “immediate remedial action”.

Raveesh Kumar, Spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs said the ministry has received a number of representations from various quarters of civil society in India, including Sikh religious bodies, at the “reports of the incident of abduction and forced conversion of a minor Sikh girl in Pakistan”.

“We have shared these concerns with the government of Pakistan and asked for immediate remedial action,” he said.

Following widespread outrage over rampant forced conversions and the Pakistan government’s inaction, police in Nankana Sahib have informed now that the girl has been found and has been handed over to her family. The eight persons arrested include the father of the man who forcibly married the girl.

The incident came to light on Thursday after a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA, Manjinder Singh Sirsa shared a video of the girl’s family alleging that the girl was kidnapped and forcefully converted.

The incident had drawn the attention of Sikhs worldwide and sparked anger in the community. The matter had raised a huge furore in India with several political leaders across parties asking for action to be taken against the perpetrators.

Strongly protesting against the horrific act, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh had slammed Pakistan PM Imran Khan for ensuring the safety of minorities in his country. Expressing disgust over the incident, Captain Amarinder Singh requested External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar to strongly take up the matter with his Pakistani counterpart over the forced conversion of a Sikh girl into Islam.

Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh too had echoed similar sentiments and demanded Imran Khan to take strong action in this case. He had also tweeted that every religion is beautiful and that people should not assume God’s responsibilities and let god decide which religion one is born into.

Note: As per the latest reports, the family of the girl has denied the claims made by Pakistan police. They have stated that the girl was never brought home and the reports of arrest of kidnappers are also incorrect. The latest developments can be read here.

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