In Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, an IT student and her family shifted to another colony after persistent harassment by a Muslim youth named Adnan. However, the accused followed the victim to her new residence and continued to harass her to accept his advances. When the victim’s father and brother reached Adnan’s house on Friday (5th July) to confront the accused, the duo were attacked by Adnan’s brother Arshad with an iron rod.
Subsequently, the victim’s family contacted Bajrang Dal and filed a complaint against the accused persons. The local police have booked the accused duo under sections of molestation and assault.
The IT student told the police that she resided in Gurukul Colony in the Rau area, where the accused Adnan used to stalk her and also sought her mobile number. Upon refusing, he threatened to hurl acid at the victim. After this, the victim informed her father about how Adnan was harassing her. Subsequently, the victim’s father spoke to Adnan’s father about this, who assured to send Adnan away from the area. However, Adnan’s misdeeds continued. Frustrated over this, the victim and her family shifted to another colony. Soon after, Adnan found out her new address and reached there as well.
On Friday, the victim informed the police that when she boarded a city bus to reach her coaching in Navlakha, accused Adnan started following her. When she reached her coaching, the accused forcibly held the victim’s hand and began pressurising her to talk to him. “When I took out my phone to call my father, Adnan ran away,” the victim said.
After returning to her home, the victim informed her father and brother about the incident, who then went to Adnan’s house. Here they met Adnan’s brother Arshad, who brutally attacked the father-son duo with an iron rod.
Later, the victim’s family reached out to Bajrang Dal activist Ram Dangi and others for help. The Hindu activists then nabbed Adnan and Arshad and turned them over to the police. The police registered an FIR against Adnan and Arshad under BNS sections of molestation and assault. The police are currently interrogating the accused Muslim youths.
On 6th July, the Pakistani government decided to block the passports of over 2,000 beggars. Beggars from Pakistan have been travelling to countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq disguised as pilgrims where they become the reason for international embarrassment for their home country. As per the Dawn News TV report, the Pakistani citizens involved in begging abroad will face a passport suspension for seven years. The government sources quoted by Pakistani media claim it is part of a broader effort to address the tarnished reputation of the country on international platforms.
Notably, there are “agents” operating in Pakistan who send these beggars abroad. Reportedly, these agents will also face passport suspension as part of the campaign against those who exploit the “vulnerable economic conditions” of the poverty striken country.
Most of the beggars from Pakistan travel to Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq posing as pilgrims visiting shrines. However, after landing in those countries, they start begging outside these shrines. The Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have reportedly drafted a policy which is now in its final stages to address the issue comprehensively.
Interestingly, in September 2023, the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis informed the Senate Standing Committee that a large number of beggars were being illegally smuggled to foreign countries. The Secretary revealed as many as 90 of the beggars apprehended in Saudi Arabia and Iraq hail from Pakistan. As these beggars often end up in prison, it has resulted in overcrowding of foreign prisons, an issue that has been raised by both Iraqi and Saudi ambassadors.
In October 2023, 16 individuals including women and children were offloaded from a flight at Multan airport on suspicion of planning to beg while holding Umrah visas. In December 2023, nine beggars were offloaded from Multan airport.
Pakistan’s economy is in shambles. The Pakistani government itself has been “begging” for funds from Saudi Arabia, China and the IMF repeatedly as it fails to manage the economy. The political unrest, Islamic terrorism, and halted trade with India along with bad economic decisions have put Pakistan in the worst conditions in terms of economy. Notably, a few years back, the government had to start selling donkeys to China. There were reports that malls, businesses and shopping complexes were ordered to shut down early to save electricity. Amidst this economic crisis, Pakistan has continued to fund terrorism against India, which raises questions about its priorities.
If you want applause, cheering, and claps as an Indian, anywhere in a foreign land and also in urban India – you must abuse your nation. This works like magic. No exaggeration, this is a hard fact, and the entire ‘Lubral Brigade’ thrives on this. The best part is that even if you abuse India in Harvard or Oxford University campuses, the cheerleaders are fellow Indians. They take pride in it and if you praise India or Indians the same fellows will either remain uncomfortably silent or boo you out.
Some of these guys have made it into a lucrative profession. It is at the center of the standup comedy. If you criticize India in a foreign university you will be loved for it- a cheap way for cheap publicity. Not a penny spent – Vir not-so-vir Das, got free fame for a week from such a deed some months ago. Do you ever cheer the Pakistani or South African cricket team in a T20 match when playing against India? You have to be insane or an outright traitor.
Criticism of your Country at the Center of your Profession- CCCP. People are making millions out of it. Not liking a leader is fine, in this case, PM Modi, but turning that dislike into hate for the nation is problematic and comes out of a lack of ethics, morals, and national integrity.
People like Dhruv Rathee take a dig at India sitting in Germany- thousands of miles away. He has over 4 million followers, most of them presumably Indian, who apparently love their country being slandered with lies and misinformation. He has a captive audience. You call him a cockroach and all the 4500 species of cockroaches become famous and rejoice with him. The more you abuse/troll them the happier they are. If you are loved for hate and not love, what is the big deal as long as you are cheered by your fan base? These guys are professionals. I don’t know how much they actually hate their nation, but the audience is genuine – they love someone hating their country- and that is far more worrisome.
This cannot be brushed off as ‘one of’ kind of stuff and the moot question is ‘why this has been happening for more than a quarter of a century of independence, and will we ever be able to put a stop to this?’
Palki Sharma a brilliant orator and patriot at heart, a journalist shared her anguish at The Ranveer Show – TRS podcast. She was speaking for India at a British University and she said that people who made her uncomfortable were fellow Indians!
The malaise is much deeper
The rot has seeped in deep. This is more to do with our colonial past of around 200 years. If you want to rule a race, you need to rule their minds first. The Brits did exactly that- they created a class within the class.
Macaulay-ism and Macaulay-isation of the Indian education system and Indian Mindset
‘Each of you possesses the most powerful, dangerous, and subversive trait that natural selection has ever devised. It’s a piece of neural audio technology for rewiring other people’s minds. I’m talking about your language – Mark Pagel
There was a well-thought-out philosophy to thrust the English language on us – destroy their language and then they are themselves destroyed was the basic idea. The term Macaulay-ism is derived from the name of British politician Thomas Babington Macaulay, who was instrumental in making English the medium of instruction for higher education in India.
Macaulay produced his famous Memorandum on Indian Education system in which he argued that Western learning was superior, and could only be taught through the medium of English.
There was therefore a need to produce—by English-language higher education “a class of Indians, English in opinions, in morals and even in intellect” who could in their turn develop the tools to transmit Western learning in the vernacular languages of India. And Indians were quick to follow their master’s voice.
Macaulay recommended the immediate stopping of the printing by the East India Company of Arabic and Sanskrit books and that the company should not continue to support traditional education as far as possible- limiting it to only a couple of colleges.
The Empire’s Day is celebrated on 24th May every year by the British. It was celebrated in India during the Raj. We loved to celebrate their festivals. We proudly hosted and participated in the ‘May Queen Ball’, where we brown sahibs and brown memsahibs danced and waltzed on the dance floors with English music played by a live band. A May queen- the most beautiful girl who could be Indian- was crowned. It was in most major cities of the country and celebrated to date. Many don’t even know why are they still dancing. As they say ‘King is dead long live the king’.
We started looking down at our language and even ourselves and Herr Macaulay won.
Most- almost all Indian politicians delivered speeches abroad in perfect English and we took so much pride in it that our chests swelled with pride. One can see the change very recently. There is a reversal of this trend. But some of us are not happy with this change.
Creation of Brown Brigade
There were approximately 30,000 British officers of different levels who ruled millions, in fact, crores of Indians for close to 200 years. This is an enigma of sorts for most but let me dig a bit deeper to examine the methodology. We must grant the devil its due. Yes, they were smart rulers and administrators and understood our psyche very well. ‘Rule through the ruled’ was the way forward.
They created a parallel second-grade tier of ‘English Speaking’ Indians who were their flunkies in a way. They had started three universities quite early that was in 1857 for this purpose. These were the people who were close to them and thought very highly of themselves as ‘close to the power center’. The idea was to create brown sahibs who would be loyal to them. The most loyal and efficient rose to get officer ranks. This was a privileged lot and yet they were kept at a distance.
In fact, class of JCO (junior commissioned officers), Naib subedars, Subedars, and Subedar Majors was created for the army for a similar role- grade II officers. They were made to wear pips with stripes on the shoulder to differentiate between British officers and also keep them in place! They could communicate to their Indian troops in local languages and were also in a way two way communicators. They conveyed the problems of Indian troops to the British white officers and showed to the troops that they could curry favors from them from the white sahibs. So, a false sense of authority pumped them up.
The whites drew power from the British crown and Indian babus drew power from the White sahibs.
We after independence retained the same classification. English speaking babus became our bureaucrats. It is like snakes shedding their skin. (ICS, Indian Civil Service during the British Raj became IAS, Indian Administrative Service). Remember, a leopard never changes its spots. The total strength of IAS ruling the nation is less than 5000 officers today across India- it is like a super cadre to control 1.4 billion Indians today. They have also created a grade II buffer cadre of state services. The state-level jobs (can’t call riff-raff though) are done by them and the IAS is like British officers- though brown in color.
The senior police officers during the British Raj were mostly Whites. The Subordinate Police Service consisted of Inspectors, Sub-Inspectors, Head Constables (or Sergeant in the City forces and cantonments), and Constables, consisting mainly of Indians except for the higher ranks.
Even the jail superintendent who escorted Bhagat Singh to the Gallows was an Indian.
‘At 7.30 p.m. of 23 March 1931, just as twilight was setting in, when the Chief Superintendent of Central Lahore Jail, Major P. D. Chopra, escorted a lean, young man of twenty-three years to the raised scaffold in the grounds of the jail. Looking on, was Deputy Jail Superintendent, Khan Sahib Mohammad Akbar Khan.’ – ‘Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.’
As we became Independent the white men left us but left behind their clones as ‘Brown kings’; our politicians. They just donned Indian clothes – pajama, Kurta, sandals and a Gandhi topi. But most of them had the British soul! They were mostly Oxford or Cambridge-qualified. They maintained superiority over their subjects- yes subjects- through the English language. They were seen by an ordinary Indian as ‘Padha likha sahab’ – a bridge between them and the rest of the developed world especially the officers of the British Raj- a bridge too far and too long for an ordinary Indian (non-English speaking) to fathom! Of course, language was the barrier between those who ruled and those who were ruled. Now Indians rule the Indians through English.
The Whites ruled us by creating awe, the brown Sahibs just changed their outer shell (clothes) and still ruled us with more awe.
Remember a speech called “Tryst with Destiny” which was an English-language speech by Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, to the Indian Constituent Assembly in the Parliament House, on the eve of India’s Independence, towards midnight on 14 August 1947. The speech was on the aspects that transcended Indian history. It is considered to be one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century and to be a landmark oration (in perfect English) that captures the essence of the triumphant culmination of the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule in India. He declared the end of the colonial era and called on citizens to recognize the promise and opportunity of the moment- Voila!
It would be a stretch to believe that the speech was understood by the majority population of India at the time.
A cultural shift is required.
It is a long shot but one must start now- and it has started at last.
Culture is such a powerful construct that no nation can afford to avoid it. If you have culture, you have a lot you can bank on. India may be 75 years old as an entity called a nation state but to deprive India of patriotism would be taking away that which held its civilization alive and kicking for more than 5,000 (some would say 10,000) years.
We are the only civilization in the world that has an unbroken or continuous history of rituals, traditions, and practices, a knowledge that constitutes a living culture that survived a thousand years of invasion, conversion, and colonialism. As perhaps the only true civilization state, a sense of pride for the land and culture is inevitable in India. Not only are our epics linked to geography (there is in our memory an Ayodhya, a Dwarka, a Kashi, a Mathura; For a former colony, patriotism is the lifeblood of the nation-state; for a civilization state, it is the raison d’être- a reason to exist.
Somehow our Brown Sahib rulers disregarded the power of culture. They neither themselves connected to Indian pride nor let the rest of their countrymen do it. These Brown sahibs emulated the white colonial masters of yesteryears. In this quest to imitate the West, they inspired several other Indians to do the same. That was the high benchmark set by the quasi-Indians.
When Sadhguru was asked a question as to what has changed in the last nine years beginning in 2014, he said ‘For the first time an Indian is ruling India’! And that is a fact one cannot miss or undermine. And many cannot digest it.
We are not getting into future shock but are shocked by our past heritage- which was cleverly or inadvertently masked for close to sixty years. By none other than our own clan! From Macau-lisation to Congressisation via Nehruvian-ism.
No wonder today the Communist Party of China is back to celebrating Confucius and Chinese civilization around the world. Chinese patriotism has thus been fused with a sense of civilization which is now propagated even by the Communist Party. Today, following the vision of Premier Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party holds lessons for its leaders in embracing its 5,000-year-old culture.
What China is struggling to achieve ought to be effortless for India- India today has a different directional and benevolent leadership that is not shy of doing what it has to.
A case of the suspicious death of a Dalit girl has come to light from the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Alleging that she was murdered, her family members filed a Police complaint against a man named Dr. Zubaid and his wife Junaiba. The deceased victim worked at Shifa Hospital, which is run by the accused couple. It is alleged that Dr. Zubaid and Junaiba killed the deceased by poisoning her. However, her post-mortem report failed to establish the exact cause of her death. The incident took place on Friday (5th July).
The incident pertains to the Behat police station area of Saharanpur district. The sister of the deceased victim filed a Police complaint on Saturday (6th July). In the complaint, she stated that her sister had been working in the ‘Shifa Jacha Bacha Hospital (Child Care hospital) for the last 7 months. The accused couple, Dr. Zubaid, and his wife Junaiba run the hospital.
The complaint added that on 5th July, the victim, as usual, left her home for the Hospital at around 8:30 am but she didn’t return home even after 24 hours. In the past, the victim had stayed at the hospital overnight due to excessive work because of which the family members assumed that she might be busy.
At around 10:30 A.M. on Saturday (6th July), the victim’s family received a phone call from Shifa Hospital. They were told that the victim’s health had deteriorated and they were asked to immediately come to the hospital. When her mother and sister reached the hospital, they met Dr. Junaiba who told them that the victim was unconscious.
Dr. Junaiba asked them to immediately take her to a better hospital. As per the complaint, the victim’s body was lying outside on a folding table. It is alleged that by that time, the girl’s body had started turning blue.
It is further alleged that Dr. Zubaid did not even allow them to talk to the victim in his clinic. Her family then booked a tempo and took her to the district hospital in critical condition where she was declared dead.
Her sister expressed apprehension that either the victim was administered a poisonous injection at the Shifa Hospital or she was killed by poisoning. The family members also expressed fear of rape with the victim. Further in the complaint, they demanded strict action against the accused.
प्रकरण में मृतका के शरीर पर कोई चोट आती नही है।पोस्ट मार्टम में मौत का कारण ज्ञात नही हो सका है। विसरा सुरक्षित किया गया है।प्रकरण में थाना बेहट पुलिस द्वारा सुसंगत धाराओं में मुकदमा दर्ज कर अग्रिम विधिक कार्यवाही की जा रही है।
Meanwhile, the Police have registered an FIR against Dr. Zubaid, his wife Junaiba, and other employees of the hospital. They have been booked under Section 103 (1) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS 2023).
Police stated that no injury marks were found on the body of the deceased. Her post-mortem report also didn’t establish the exact cause of her death. The viscera sample has been preserved for further investigation. Police are taking further legal action in this matter. OpIndia has the FIR copy.
Saharanpur unit of Bajrang Dal staged a demonstration and demanded strict action against the accused. Speaking with OpIndia, Bajrang Dal’s Saharanpur functionary Abhishek Pandit said that the accused killed the victim with proper planning.
He said that they would also demand the District Magistrate to investigate whether all the documents of the hospital are complete and does it follow all the necessary standards.
Abhishek added that they will constitutionally fight against the accused, both on the streets and in the courts as well.
On Monday (8th July), the police arrested a man for flashing his private parts to female students outside Jain College in the VV Puram area of Bengaluru.
As per a report by Asianet Suvarna news, the accused was identified as a 48-year-old man named Ayub ur Rehman. In a video that has now surfaced on social media, Rehman was seen wearing a fake cover and sitting on his scooty.
The pervert had unzipped his pants and was flashing his penis in full public glare. On realising that an onlooker was recording him, Rehman escaped the scene.
The registration number on his vehicle read, “KA 03 J *209.” According to Asianet Suvarna news, Ayub ur Rehman would visit different colleges in Bengaluru and target female students.
On learning about the matter, the police analysed CCTV footage and nabbed the accused within 24 hours. A case was registered against him.
Ayub ur Rehman is said to be a tea seller by occupation. The police are now interrogating him for sexually harassing women. On being asked about the motive behind his perversions, the accused claimed not to know about it.
President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day official visit to Russia, held an informal meeting on Monday at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence of the Russian president near Moscow.
The Russian Foreign Ministry shared a video on X showing a warm greeting between PM Modi and Vladimir Putin. The clip, posted on Monday, shows the two leaders embracing each other as PM Modi arrives at the president’s residence, marking the start of their informal meeting.
Further, Putin expressed gratitude for hosting PM Modi and said, You are welcome here, friend. I’m really happy to see you.” “At the Novo-Ogaryovo residence of the President of Russia near Moscow, Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister @narendramodi, who is on a two-day official visit to Russia, hold an informal meeting,” Russian Foreign Ministry said on X.
“The talks will cover prospects for further development of traditionally friendly Russian-Indian relations, as well as current international and regional issues,” it added.
In response to this, PM Modi also shared a post on X and expressed gratitude to the Russian President for hosting him, adding that he also stated that he looks forward to their talks, which will strengthen India-Russia friendship.
“Gratitude to President Putin for hosting me at Novo-Ogaryovo this evening. Looking forward to our talks tomorrow as well, which will surely go a long way in further cementing the bonds of friendship between India and Russia,” PM Modi said on X.
In a friendly gesture, Putin took PM Modi on a ride in his electric car around his residence, Novo-Ogaryovo. The Russian Embassy in India shared a video of the two leaders enjoying the drive, which followed a conversation between them.
“Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi @narendramodi in NovoOgaryovo RussiaIndia DruzhbaDosti,” the Russian Embassy in India said on X while sharing the video.
Earlier in the day, PM Modi arrived in Moscow for a two-day official visit at the invitation of Russian President Putin to attend the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit.
Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov received PM Modi at the Vnukovo-II Airport. PM Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the airport.
Notably, PM Modi and Putin have met 16 times over the past 10 years. The last in-person meeting between the two leaders took place on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand in 2022. In 2019, PM Modi conferred the highest Russian state honor, ‘Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First.’
It is PM Narendra Modi’s first visit to Russia since the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv started in 2022.
After concluding his visit to Russia, PM Modi will depart for Austria in what is the first visit to the nation by an Indian Prime Minister in 40 years.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
Outrage has spread following the emergence of a disturbing video allegedly showing Jayanta Singh, a close associate of TMC MLA Madan Mitra, violently attacking a woman with his gang. The incident is said to have occurred at the Taltala Club in Ariadaha, within the Kamarhati municipality
The graphic footage depicts Singh and his accomplices savagely beating the young woman, prompting widespread condemnation and serious concerns about women’s safety in the state. The purported video rapidly went viral on social media, fueling public anger and demands for justice.
TMC goon Jayanta Singh, who is reportedly a close associate of TMC MLA Madan Mitra, thrashed a girl with his gang in #WestBengalpic.twitter.com/gLHhaNXmel
After the video of the incident went viral, TMC spokesperson Riju Dutta took to Twitter to claim that the incident had occurred in March 2021. He further said that the accused was Jayant Singh and two of the people visible in the horrific video are currently behind bars.
This is an old video of March 2021. The accused is Jayant Singh and his associates.
Two persons seen in the video are currently in jail.
The victim person seen in this video may be a male person. This is being verified.
The video comes days after a video of a local Bahubali leader assaulting a married woman and a man lying helplessly on the road in the name of ‘summary Justice’ had gone viral on the internet.
In the video shared by the CPI(M) leader, the accused is seen manhandling a woman and a man. The accused threw the victims on the ground and started assaulting them with cane sticks in his hand and kicked the woman several times. While the woman could be seen screaming and rolling on the road in pain, a large crowd gathered there didn’t come forward to help the victims.
The incident took place in Chopra’s Lakshmipur village in the Dighalgaon area. The accused is identified as a local Bahubali leader Tajemul, who is popular as JCB in the area. He allegedly assaulted the victims over an allegation of ‘extra-marital affair’. As per media reports, he ran Taliban-style ‘quick justice’ through his ‘Insaf Sabha’ and is a close associate of Chopra MLA Hamidur Rahaman.
Update: This report has been updated with the clarification issued by the TMC spokesperson of the incident being from 2021
The West Bengal Police registered a case against CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim and Amit Malviya, BJP IT Cell Head for spreading a video of a woman being publicly flogged in the Taliban style in Chopra. The FIR was filed in response to the victim woman Mehrun Nesha’s complaint. She claimed that a video was taken and shared without her permission or knowledge, resulting in defamation and distress. She asked the police to act against the accused CPIM and BJP leaders.
“Social media…amar ekta video viral hoyechhe. Jar jonyo amar sommamhani hoyechhe. Fole somaje amar bash kora khubi onipojogi hoye giyechhe (A video of mine has gone viral on social media. I have been defamed due to this. It has, thus, become difficult for me to reside in society),” the victim said.
In her ‘complaint’, she named Mohammed Salim and Amit Malviya and stated, “I want proper legal action against those who are guilty, and my video should be deleted immediately.”
Both the politicians have been booked under under section Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 79 (insult to modesty of woman), 294 (obscenity), 356 (2) (defamation) and IT Act sections 66A (sending offensive messages through computer or other communication devices) 66E (capturing image of a person’s private area without consent), 67A (publishing material that contains sexually explicit acts or conduct in electronic form).
Meanwhile, BJP leader Amit Malviya on Monday (8th July) alleged that the CM Mamata Banerjee-led government has been using sexual victims, and is now using public flogging victims to target her political adversaries. Taking to X, Malviya said the video of the incident was all over the Bengali media and shared on social media before he picked it up. The BJP leader further claimed that the victim did not file a complaint against him on her own, rather, she was made to do so since has to live in the TMC-ruled Chopra.
“From #Sandeshkhali to Chopra, nothing has changed. Mamata Banerjee continues to use victims of rape, sexual assault and now public flogging to protect criminals like Sheikh Shahjahan and Tajemul Islam (alias JCB), and to target political opponents. The latest in the series is Meherun Nesha, the woman who was flogged in full public view. Local TMC MLA had defended the act of his close associate. She has now, purportedly, filed a complaint against CPI(M) leader Md Salim and me for the horrific video going viral. I can speak for myself. The video was all over Bengal media and several users had picked it up, even before it reached Delhi. It is unlikely that the woman has done so on her own accord because she is oblivious to facts. She has been made to file this complaint because she has to live in TMC-infested Chopra and Mamata Banerjee’s priority is not justice for Meherun Nesha but fixing political adversaries. But she won’t succeed,” Malviya posted.
From #Sandeshkhali to Chopra, nothing has changed. Mamata Banerjee continues to use victims of rape, sexual assault and now public flogging to protect criminals like Sheikh Shahjahan and Tajemul Islam (alias JCB), and to target political opponents.
CPI(M) leader Mohammed Salim also called out the TMC government for filing an alleged fake case against him. He accused the gang of public flogging accused Tajemul alias JCB and the local police of working in tandem.
“उल्टी नगरी, चौपट राज। @AITCofficial’s SOP in such cases. Fake case against voice of protest. #JCB gang and police work in tandem,” Salim posted.
It all started on Sunday (30th June) when a video shared by CPI(M) leader Mohammed Salim, in which a local Bahubali leader Tajemul is seen assaulting a married woman and a man lying helplessly on the road in the name of ‘summary Justice’ is doing rounds on social media. Sharing the video of the assault, CPI(M) leader and Former Rajya Sabha MP Salim alleged that the main accused seen in the video is a local TMC goon who goes by the nickname ‘JCB’. As the video went viral, a public outcry ensued, with many taking to social media to express their anger and demand justice for the victim. Notably, the police have arrested the perpetrator Tajemul alias JCB.
“We live in a very scary environment. Each coming day the Muslims in the locality launch severe attacks on Hindus only for belonging to a specific community and caste. Even the administration and the police have failed to protect us to date. Now it is we who will have to protect ourselves,” said Sushma Pawar (name changed for security reasons) who has applied for an Arms Licence under the Arms Act, of 1959. Pawar belongs to the Matang community and is one of the 23 individuals from the Lohiyanagar area, Pune who applied for the Arms license on 8th July.
This comes days after two brutal incidents of attacks on Hindu activists at the hands of Islamists were reported by OpIndia. Hindu activist Akshay Dhavare was abused, assaulted, and attacked with sharp weapons only for being associated with the BJP or the ideology of Hindutva. Later one Rohit Thorat from the same locality was attacked. However, Sushma while exclusively talking to OpIndia stated that the Muslims residing in the Lohiyanagar area of Pune have been launching attacks on Hindus who only belong to the Dalit, Matang community.
Owing to unprofessional @CPPuneCity Amitesh Kumar, IPS' continuous failure to ensure safety n security of #Matang Hindu #Dalit community; 25 Dalit women applied for personal security firearm licences at @collectorpune1! 5000 more to apply for gun licences!#Jihadis Izalmic goons… pic.twitter.com/kUuLE7hMCW
— Legal Rights Observatory- LRO (@LegalLro) July 8, 2024
“We don’t know why this is happening. But the incidents of attack have increased in the past two months. The Muslims in the locality target our community children, and men when they go to their jobs. They keep watch on our men, and families and launch attacks when they see us isolated,” she said.
She also stated that applying for an Arms license has become a need today as the local administration including the police officials has failed to protect the diminishing community in the area. “One of our boys lost his thumb, the other one was attacked on his head. And all this just because they raised their voices against Islamists. For how long are we going to keep suffering? It’s time we protect ourselves legally,” Sushma said.
Along with Sushma, 22 other individuals from Pune’s Lohiyanagar have applied for an Arms license. Notably, most of these are women. The individuals have applied for the license by filling out Form A on the Ministry’s website. OpIndia talked to several applicants who confirmed the incidents of attacks on Hindus at the hands of Islamists and stated the need for immediate protection.
One of the applicant’s forms obtained by OpIndia
‘Islamists threaten Hindus daily, no police, no leader helped to date’
While talking exclusively to OpIndia, another applicant, Radhika Gawade (name changed for security reasons) revealed that the incident of Islamist attacks have been happening for many years but the frequency increased in the recent past. “Muslims continue to deliberately target us Hindus only because we belong to lower castes. Recently, three big incidents were reported but several others remained unreported. 11 boys from my locality were targeted and hit, again for just belonging to Hindus. The environment here is very scary. We need justice,” Gawade said.
Radhika further added that the Hindu families residing in the area face threats almost daily. “Islamists threaten us and our lives are not at all safe here. Nobody helps us, not the police, nor any political leader,” she alleged. When asked about her decision to acquire arms, she said that we don’t know how to use arms but will learn and protect our families if allowed.
Demographic change: ‘Islamists trying to dominate Lohiyanagar area’
As per Pratik Khawale (name changed), another applicant, the Muslims in the Lohiyanagar area have been trying to suppress the Hindu community for land purposes. “Lohiyanagar area was earlier dominated by the Matang community people. There were Muslim houses, but few. Like if 1000 homes were of Dalits, 30-40 of them belonged to Muslims. However, in the past 10 years, Muslims have been trying to dominate the area. Today of 1000 only 40-60 houses belong to people like us who belong to the Dalit, Matang community,” Khawale said.
If Khawale is to be believed further, each coming day, violence between the two communities happens here. To date around 15 attacks on the Hindu community have been launched here but only four major incidents have been reported. On asking specific reasons for the attack, Khawale said that the Matang community is diminishing here and now the Muslims are completely eyeing to eradicate us so that they get the locality to stay.
“They (Muslims) continue to threaten us, ask us to vacate our homes. Where should we go? Police at times even fail to report our cases. Where shall we go to get justice? Believe it or not, Hindus here are scared and our lives are not safe here,” he reiterated. He said that not even the BJP leaders are helping. “Earlier, many of us used to work for BJP. But now we’ve stopped. We even regret voting for the party in the recently happened LS elections,” he added.
Two brutal attacks on Hindu activists in the past month
Earlier, two brutal incidents of attacks on Hindu activists were reported by OpIndia. A Hindu activist identified as Akshay Dhavre was attacked by Atul Khan, Salman Sheikh, Sultan Sheikh, Aslam Patel, Asif Sheikh, and 4 others. The Hindu Dalit activist was attacked by the Islamists only for belonging to a particular region and keeping an association with the BJP.
A detailed report in this case was obtained by OpIndia. The accused persons were booked by the Khadak Police Station u/s 307, 324, 323, 143, 147, 148 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, sections 4 and 25 of the Arms Act, 1959; sections 37(1), 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951 and sections 3(1)(2) and 3(1)(10) of the SC/ST Act, 1989.
Image- LRO
On 23rd June, Sunday the victim and his friends were having tea on the Shankarsheth Road. The accused persons, from nowhere arrived on the spot on bikes and began issuing threats to Akshay. “Today we’ll do with him. He is God for many Dalits in Lohiyanagar. Earlier two attempts to kill him were foiled. Not this time,” the accused persons were heard saying as mentioned in the FIR.
The accused persons later launched a sword attack on Akshay who managed to foil it by moving aside. In this, however, he lost his thumb. Later, Salman Sheikh and Asif Sheikh attacked the victim from behind resulting in severe injuries on his head and back. Also, the other accused persons assaulted the victim and his friends after which the latter ran to save their lives.
Meanwhile, the accused persons followed the victim and his friends and said, “Hum yaha ke baap hai. Hamare khilaf agar koi bolega to hum use jinda nhi chodenge (We rule over this locality. We won’t spare anyone who would talk against us).” A detailed report of this case can be read here.
On June 27th, another similar incident was reported from the Lohiyanagar area of Pune district. Hindu Dalit leader, Rohit Thorat was attacked by a group of people identified as Afridi Sheikh, also known as Budha, Sadiq Sajja, Izaz Sheikh, and four additional accomplices. Thorat’s attack looks to be a targeted act of violence directed at his advocacy and efforts to improve the Dalit community. Thorat has been outspoken about the challenges and injustices that his community faces, making him a possible target for those who oppose his work.
A FIR copy of the said incident has been obtained by OpIndia.
Image- LRO
As per the FIR copy obtained by OpIndia, the victim was stopped and assaulted by the accused persons in the Gangadha area of Pune when he was on his way home from a relative’s place. The accused persons crashed their autorickshaw vehicles onto the bike on which the victim was travelling and began threatening him. They then launched an attack on the victim using sharp weapons.
The Police have imposed sections 307, 504, 341, 506, 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 37(1), 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act, and sections 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s), 3(2), 3(v), 3(2)(va) and 6 of the SC/ST Act, 1989.
Akshay Dhavare revealed the actual reason behind the attacks, here it is
OpIndia on July 8th also talked to Hindu Dalit activist Akshay Dhavare who lost his thumb in an Islamist attack on 23rd June. Revealing the actual reason behind all these attacks, he said that there’s a slum rehabilitation project ongoing in the locality and he had raised his voice against the project given a maximum of the Muslim community members were allotted homes.
“These people used to initially stay on rent but now they have owned properties illegally here. Many people don’t even have legitimate documents to claim properties. They just want us Hindus, who have been living here since here to go away so that they can establish their own locality here,” Dhavare alleged.
He also claimed that many people residing in the locality are Bangladeshi infiltrators and they help each other to settle in localities where Hindus are less in numbers. “There’s one lady here. Both her sons are goons. They have assaulted so many people with sharp weapons, every time they are set free by the administration. Why is this so I still don’t understand. The Muslims are always favoured by the administration which cripples us more,” he added.
Dhavare meanwhile also added that after the brutal attack on him after which he lost his thumb, he was given a police guard but he is allegedly inefficient in protecting him if anything happens. “The primary accused persons who planned the attack on me, Yusuf, and his men have been set free. While others are still being interrogated. We also have information that these persons created the plan to attack me during their Friday prayers. Now we have a tip that these persons have obtained guns and sharp weapons. We have informed the police, but we are awaiting action to date,” he said.
He reiterated that if he wouldn’t have moved aside when attacked, he would have been killed.
Advocate confirms applications, says police will probe before allowing license
Advocate Vikas Jadhav confirmed the incident to OpIndia and said that at present only 23 persons have applied for the license but more people from the Hindu Dalit community are planning to apply for the Arms license. “Now, police will next verify the applications, interrogate the applicants ask them reasons for such applications, and then allow license if they find the reasons legitimate,” Adv Jadhav added.
He also confirmed that the incidents in the area against the Hindus have been on the rise in the past two to three months. He demanded justice for the community and said that the state needs to pay attention to these activities.
It was reported earlier that the state of Maharashtra is witnessing a massive increase in crime incidents against Hindus, especially after the Lok Sabha Elections where the Muslim community in the state managed to get the NCP (Sharad Pawar), Shiv Sena (UBT), and INC in the majority. Islamists have seemingly become fearless and are launching unnecessary attacks on Hindu activists or leaders. The state stood shaken last week as it saw around 7-8 incidents where the Islamists attacked the Hindu community people just for belonging to one particular region. Detailed reports in this case can be read here.
Given the current political climate, the Mahayuti government in the state, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde), and NCP (Ajit Pawar), must investigate the matter, particularly in cases where Hindus are targeted solely for belonging to a specific region, such as Akshay Dhavare, who sacrificed his thumb to save his life. The existing laws and administration appear to be failing to protect the state’s Hindu community, leaving them scared.
On the other hand, Islamists who supported the I.N.D.I Alliance in Maharashtra and issued fatwas against the BJP during the previous Lok Sabha elections appear to have shed their ‘phobia’ and are openly harming Hindus. They (Islamists) tend to believe that they now have the authority to replace the state’s leadership by voting out anyone who opposes Hindutva, which could endanger the Mahayuti government ahead of the State Assembly Elections.
The Congress government in Karnataka recently decided that it will utilise funds meant for the SC/ST communities to implement the five guarantee schemes it had promised during the assembly elections. The development prompted BJP and Congress ally Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (DSS) to launch scathing attacks on the Congress government.
The BJP stated that it is planning to approach the Court and described it as a ‘misappropriation’ of funds and accused Congress of ‘swindling funds’ meant for the SC/ST community. On its part, DSS announced that it would end its support to the grand old party and stage protests against this decision.
According to reports, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah chaired a meeting of the Council for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Development on Friday (5th July). During the meeting, the Congress government diverted around 37% of the funds allocated under the Karnataka Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal-Sub-Plan (SCSP-TSP) for the implementation of its guarantee schemes.
After the meeting, Karnataka BJP charged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of ‘swindling’ money meant for Dalits and Tribals. Taking to X, Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, shared media reports regarding the same.
The anti-dalit @INCKarnataka Govt diverts ₹14,730 crores meant for development of SC and ST communities to fund its guarantee schemes.
Self-proclaimed champion of Social Justice CM @siddaramaiah avare, you looted the ₹187 crore Dalit's money in Valmiki ST welfare board, now… pic.twitter.com/0farmJKGSA
— R. Ashoka (ಮೋದಿ ಅವರ ಕುಟುಂಬ) (@RAshokaBJP) July 6, 2024
R Ashoka said, “If Babasaheb Ambedkar was alive, he’d have probably taken the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government to task.”
The BJP leader further said that the state government has already embezzled Rs 187 crore belonging to the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.
The party has accused Congress of diverting Rs 14,800 crore funds towards the implementation of the five guarantee schemes. BJP emphaised that the Congress party was diverting funds meant for the welfare of downtrodden communities.
The Congress government has reportedly decided to utilise Rs 7,881.91 crore of SCSP-TSP for ‘Gruhalakshmi’ scheme, Rs 70.28 crore for ‘Bhagyalakshmi’ scheme, Rs 2585.93 crore for ‘Gruhajyoti’ scheme, Rs 448.15 crore for ‘Annabhagya’ scheme, Rs 2,187 crore for the direct benefit transfer of ‘Annabhagya’ scheme, and Rs 1,451.45 crore for ‘Shakti’ scheme and Rs 175.50 crore for ‘Yuva Nidhi’ scheme.
Meanwhile, on Saturday (6th July), DSS factions that supported Congress in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections announced that they are ending their support. It stressed that the Congress party was not working “wholeheartedly” for the welfare of SC & ST communities.
Indudhar Honnapura of DSS said, “The diversion of SCPTSP funds is an example of unilateral decisions the govt has taken.”
The DSS decision to end political support to the Congress party could spell troubles for the grand old party, especially in the wake of the upcoming Zilla and Taluk panchayat elections in the state.
Nonetheless, CM Siddaramaiah defended the decision of his government claiming that most of the beneficiaries of these guarantees are from SC/ST communities.
