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After Sehwag and Hooda, Babita Phogat and Toshi Sabri take on anti-nationals on social media

OpIndia Staff
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After Sehwag and Hooda, Babita Phogat and Toshi Sabri take on anti-nationals on social media

Virender Sehwag’s one tweet has set off a chain of reactions on social media. As reported here, Sehwag poked fun at the message delivered by Gurmehar Kaur with her placards. Actor Randeep Hooda liked the joke, and was eventually targetted by left liberals on social media. He gave them a fitting answer with his tweets. But it did not stop there. Then came the media editorials and reports, which made a villain out of Hooda. Hooda in his defence wrote a long Facebook post calling out the people who were hounding him.

In the midst of all this, when the attacks on Hooda via social media were going on, controversial journalist Rana Ayyub had attacked Haryana, just because Hooda hailed from the state:


In response to this crass stereotyping, wrestler Babita Phogat of Dangal fame stepped in to the fight to stop her state Haryana from being denigrated at the hands of compromised journalists:


A flabbergasted Rana Ayyub tried to spin the slap and virtue signalled Phogat to support Gurmehar Kaur and her cause:


But the wrestler showed how she is used to such false moves, and asked how can one stand along with someone who speaks ill about the country:


About then, Congress hack Pallavi Ghosh from CNN News 18 tried to attack Phogat too:


To which pat came the crisp and clear reply from Phogat:


Phogat did not face the same insults which Hooda faced probably because many victim cards such as sexism, young age etc do not work on her. Phogat also received support from unexpected quarters when singer and music composer Toshi Sabri applauded Phogat’s strong “slap” on Rana Ayyub’s face:


Sabri too reiterated the “country first” stand and also asked who is funding the anti-India sloganeers in India’s colleges:


Sabri would now do well to be prepared for an onslaught from radical Islamists for taking such a stand, given what happened to Zaira Wasim a few weeks back.

Randeep Hooda takes to Facebook to hit back at media bullies who hounded him

OpIndia Staff
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Randeep Hooda takes to Facebook to hit back at media bullies who hounded him

Virender Sehwag started the fire, but the media burnt Randeep Hooda at the stake. It began with an innocuous joke from Sehwag. It was an unnamed message which took potshots at the video of Gurmehar Kaur, whose ridiculous messages had been already trolled on social media and he didn’t make any sly references to left liberals or intellectuals or presstitutes etc. He was just plain using his freedom of expression to be witty and funny. Randeep Hooda’s crime was only to endorse Sehwag’s humour, and he was attacked by left liberals from all sides.

As detailed here, all sorts of attacks and charges were levelled against Hooda: He was called a bully and a troll, a B Grade actor, a misogynistic sexist, a BJP stooge. He was even panned just because he hails from Haryana, which doesn’t have the best the sex ratio (although improving). To his credit, Hooda handled all the attacks well. But today, the attacks moved from twitter, to full-blown media articles. The left liberals in the media establishment had come out of the woodwork to persecute and bully Hooda:

Fair to say, the entire left establishment in the media pulled their collective might to attack and brand Randeep Hooda as a bully, a troll, all because he liked a joke by Sehwag, a joke, which poked fun at a leftist agenda.

In response to this, Randeep Hooda put out a Facebook post, to slam the media and put his point of view across. He reiterated how liking a joke by Sehwag, had suddenly been linked to him “instigating hate threats against a young girl, shockingly by the girl herself”. He stated that if she had spoken something on a public platform, she must have the “courage and fortitude to listen to the voices against it”. He firmly said that he opposed any violence or threat to violence:

I have absolutely nothing against her and strongly believe that violence is wrong. Threatening a woman with violence is an even more heinous crime and the perpetrators should be brought to task with the most severe punishment.

He also slammed the people who were using her and said that “people shouldn’t fire their guns from young, impressionable shoulders. You can read the full post here:

Post Script: In the midst of the above “Dangal”, wrestling star (also from Haryana), Babita Phogat too stepped out on social media to slam the left liberal cabal:


 

Christian pastor in Kerala wants women wearing Jeans and t-shirts to drown in the sea

OpIndia Staff
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Christian pastor in Kerala wants women wearing Jeans and t-shirts to drown in the sea

A Christian pastor in Kerala has courted controversy after he claimed that girls who wear Jeans and T-Shirt arouse men. Taking it a step further he proclaimed he wanted the erring girls to drown into the sea. The pastor made this statement while giving a speech in Malayalam.

He went on about how such dresses arouse men and boys who then slip into sin. He claimed to quote the Bible and stated that those who provoke someone into sinning should be drowned into the depths of the sea with a rock tied to their body. He also proclaimed that churidars are the best suited attires for women which they stop wearing when Satan enters them.

This statement may lead to some form of an outrage but maybe going by the current trend the pastor can defend himself by saying that he didn’t make the statements the mike did.

This isn’t the first time the Kerala pastors have been in the news for the wrong reasons. In the past, it appears these pastors were “provoked into sinning” after they were reported for sexual assaults and molestations.

Also a women’s dress has long been made a focal point by religious and community leaders. Just recently a Muslim Cleric had slammed the dress of cricketer Mohammed Shami’s wife and in 2014 a Khap Panchayat in UP had banned girls from wearing Jeans and carrying mobile phones. Obviously the former received little or no attention and the latter ensured the gatekeepers of morality went ballistic (rightfully).

It remains to be seen whether this incident too would generate the necessary high decibel outrage from women’s rights activists, feminists, empowered citizens amongst others.

Also this incident sheds light on the dangerous trend of the church and it’s affiliates interfering in the lives of the citizens. In the recently concluded Goa elections it was noticed how the Church had started meddling into politics by issuing guidelines, opposing and outright endorsing some candidates even when a SC ruling prohibits such a behaviour.

What explains BJP’s spectacular performance in Odisha panchayat polls

CrimeMasterV2
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What explains BJP’s spectacular performance in Odisha panchayat polls

BJP’s astounding performance in recently concluded panchayat polls of Odisha could not generate the kind of discussions and analysis it should have in the mainstream media. Primarily because Odisha is one of the states that often falls off radar of the Delhi media, and secondly, the focus was soon shifted to Maharashtra municipal polls and then some contrived drama and violence by leftists on Delhi University.

However, it is an important development that shouldn’t lose focus just due to news cycle. This article analyses the factors that contributed to the rise of BJP in the state.

Let’s first begin by understanding why the ruling BJD (Biju Janta Dal) was almost invincible in the state all these years. Current Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik won in year 2000, and since then he has been winning elections after elections in the state. He was in alliance with BJP till 2009.

Naveen Patnaik’s clean image:

To his credit, there is not a single allegation of personal involvement of Naveen Patnaik in any corruption or scandal in the state. He lives a simple life. He doesn’t drive a fancy car or go on foreign holidays. Just a few months back, BJP’s Dharmendra Pradhan, who is now being seen as someone the party may project as an alternative to Patnaik, had acknowledged Patnaik’s simplicity and said that he was a role model in Indian politics.

TINA factor:

Though the Chief Minister is widely popular, it doesn’t automatically mean that the party won’t face anti-incumbency. However, BJD was lucky as Congress was the only other option available to people till 2009 (when BJD-BJP alliance broke).

Congress did a terrible job as opposition. It is a party marred with infighting, and thus it could never given confidence to Odiya people that they can provide a stable and honest alternative to BJD. Ironically, the Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh left Congress and joined BJD before the 2014 elections.

If the state Congress was divided and incompetent, the central leadership could have taken things in control. However, for some reason, even the central Congress was rarely vocal against Naveen Patnaik. A possible explanation of it could be Naveen Patnaik knowing Sonia Gandhi much before both joined politics.

In BJP too, there was a lot of infighting before 2014. Central leadership of BJP too was soft on BJD as it was hoping to get BJD’s support in 2014, had there been a hung parliament. After all BJD was a much better ally during NDA-1 when compared to other alliance partners (no blackmail politics).

Friendly Media:

Editors of two of the most widely read newspapers Dharitri (Tathagata Satpathy) and Prajatantra (Bhartruhari Mahtab) are party MPs. BJD MP Jay Panda‘s family owns the most watched news channel OTV. Also, most newspapers and news channels depend on ad revenue from the state government to run their business.

With Congress incompetent and local media friendly, the state government had virtually no opposition. As mentioned earlier, the Delhi media hardly highlights any major issues of Odisha, and they see the state politics through their own binaries.

For example, the ‘liberal’ Delhi media believes that Naveen Patnaik is a secular leader who broke alliance with BJP because of Kandhamal riots. It is a lie that has been repeated thousand times. The riots happened in August 2008. BJP-BJD alliance completed five years in 2009. BJD, after realising that it could win 2009 election on its own, broke alliance with BJP. After the alliance broke, Naveen Patnaik had said, “Unfortunately, the seat-sharing have failed. we will be fighting separately.” Why would a ‘secular’ BJD discuss seat sharing with ‘communal’ BJP post Kandhamal riots?

Better governance than its predecessor:

There is a famous proverb in Odia “Nahi Mamu Tharu Kana Mamu Bhala” (Half a loaf is better than none). People who have lived under Congress rule will obviously find BJD better. There was absolute lawlessness, extreme poverty, scandals and corruption during Janki Patnaik’s Congress rule (1980-1989, 1995-1999).

Proactive measures and the relief work done by BJD during Hudhud and Phailin is way better than what Congress govt did during the 1999 super cyclone. People in coastal Odisha can never forget the corruption and incompetence of congress during 99 cyclone.

This is the reason that Congress has failed to come back to power after losing in 2000.

One rupee rice:

Naveen Patnaik has introduced many socialist schemes in Odisha, but his most popular scheme is one rupee rice scheme. Ask any poor who voted BJD in 2014, he will tell you one rupee rice scheme is the biggest reason for his support. Though majority of the subsidy in this scheme is provided by the central government, Congress did nothing to convey it to voters.

So what changed in this Panchayat election?

Governance failures became visible:

Some of the worst disasters of Naveen’s nearly two decade rule has happened in the last year. It is almost like a deja vu of Janki Patnaik era. I am listing a few of it:

  1. September to December 2016: Hundreds of kids died in Malkangiri district of Odisha due to Japanese Encephalitis disease.
  2. Oct 2016: 26 killed and many injured in a major fire accident in a Bhubaneswar based hospital. Many hospitals in city flouted safety norms but administration did nothing about it. Health Minster Atanu Nayak’s wife was working in a college which was run by the owner of the hospital.
  3. August 2016: Dana Majhi, a poor tribal from Kalahandi carried his wife’s body for 10 kilometers when spotted by some local reporters. The image of him carrying the body and his daughter crying next to him is fresh in peoples mind when they went to vote.
  4. July 2016: 19 children died in a single village in a period of 3 months due to malnutrition.
  5. May 2016: Murder of an engineering student Rishi. There is serious allegation of a BJD leader’s involvement in this murder and the investigation has been shady so far.
  6. Sep 2015: 61 infants died with in 2 weeks in a hospital which is a specialist institute for kids (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Post Graduate Institute of Pediatrics).
  7. Apart from these, last year also saw accusations of some BJD leaders involved in chit fund scam. CBI is investigating and homes and offices of BJD leaders were raided.
What BJP did right to replace Congress as the only option to BJD?

There is no infighting going on in Odisha BJP in recent years. Dharmendra Pradhan is the tallest leader and no other party leader seems to have a problem with it. He can match Naveen Patnaik’s clean and simple image. He is perceived as efficient and hard working. People believe he is doing a good job as a minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas.

This was helped by the fact that BJP leaders campaigned tirelessly during this election. Dharmendra Pradhan and other leaders did multiple public rallies every single day. BJP’s state in charge Arun Singh and national joint secretary (organisation) Soudan Singh worked really hard to build a strong organisation.

The party effectively communicated to the public that majority of the subsidy in the one rupee rice scheme is provided by the central government. BJD marketed another hugely popular 108 ambulance scheme as its own. It was forced to repaint the ambulances after it received a letter from central government asking to re-brand it.

Apart from this, Narendra Modi is hugely popular across party line in Odisha, and the party is benefiting from his goodwill. Demonetisation is also very popular among masses. Almost everyone I knew and spoke to supports the decision. Even BJD MP Jay Panda agrees with this assertion.

What Next?

Naveen Patnaik told his colleagues to wake up to this verdict. He should also wake up to the reality and improve his governance, else BJP can throw serious challenge in the next elections. He also has to act against party leaders accused in the chit fund scam. Chief Minister has the challenge to not only improve real governance, but also the image, which has taken a beating recently.

On the other hand, BJP has to convince the voters in Odisha that it can be the real alternative to BJD and it can provide the real development. This article explains the challenges ahead for the BJP.

The other side to NDTV’s story about Kashmiri Muslims celebrating Shivratri

OpIndia Staff
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The other side to NDTV’s story about Kashmiri Muslims celebrating Shivratri

Shivratri or Herath is considered the most important festival of the Kashmiri Pandits, towering above all others. Though now a days, apart from the festivities and joy there also remains a sense of gloom and despair about a land lost and the sad truth looming about Shivratri no longer being celebrated in the place they all hold dear.

Same was the case in an ancient Shiv Temple in Sumbal, a town 25 KM from Srinagar. The temple had not seen any Shivratri celebrations since the exodus of the Pandits in 1990 but as reported in this now viral piece of NDTV, things appeared to be changing. The story went about how local muslims turned up at the temple, cleaned it, performed puja and also distributed walnuts the traditional prasad of the pandits. Not just that, at the entrance of the temple stood hundreds of people with placards asking the Pandits to return home. Further, the piece claimed, muslim residents made melodramatic statements like, ‘They(Kashmiri Pandits) are part of our body and soul which has been snatched and separated from us. Today we are sending a message to them. Please return, we are with you.’

Going by the report, it was such a wonderful display of harmony and fellowship which may heal the scars of the past. Though when something appears too good to be true, it almost always is.

But, according to a facebook post by Vimal Sumbly a Kashmiri Pandit who hailed from the same town of Sumbal, the whole incident was nothing but a photo-op designed to lull people into a false sense of security. Vimal is also a Journalist, who has lived for 18 years in that town, and during a visit in 2015 learnt that the main Shivling no longer existed and was thrown into the river. The puja in the reports was conducted on one of the smaller shivlings, many of which too have been removed.

he claimed that even the temple land had been encroached upon by an Islamic school and to enter the temple one needs to go via that school. The locals now have also started making calls to convert the temple into a Muslim shrine as they claim it was originally a shrine of Khwaja Syed Sahab whose one shrine already exists across the river. They even told this to the author who was well aware about the true history of the temple.

To pinpoint the motive, he claims that this incident comes in the backdrop of the Hurryat relaxing it’s fatwa on Shivratri thereby wishing to hide it’s true sectarian colours. And the same may have been the motive of the locals. To further his case he also claimed that a Pundit Janki Nath Sumbly, whose family had made a lot of contributions towards the temple, was shot outside it in 1990 when he had decided to stay back.

One wonders if NDTV fell for the supposed propaganda or had it knowingly carried it.

This isn’t the first time the media has carried such stores which puts out an untrue picture of the ground realities. In October when Bengal witnessed violence during Durga puja regional media outfits were busy carrying stories about Muslims partaking in Durga Puja and Hindu Ladies helping dress kids up for Razia celebrations

How left liberals exposed themselves over the tweets of Sehwag and Randeep Hooda

OpIndia Staff
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How left liberals exposed themselves over the tweets of Sehwag and Randeep Hooda

It all started with a tweet from Virender Sehwag. The swashbuckling former opener is known for his sixers on the field and also on twitter and last night he hit another one:


It was an unnamed message but took potshots at the video of Gurmehar Kaur, whose ridiculous messages had been already trolled on social media. And although Sehwag hadn’t made any sly references to left liberals or intellectuals or presstitutes etc, the exact same cabal reacted as if an elephant had stepped on their tail.

To make matters worse, actor Randeep Hooda also stepped in and endorsed Sehwag’s tweet. This was akin to sprinkling salt on the wounds of left liberals and they reacted in a predictable fashion: a coordinated attack on these 2 celebs using all the textbook left liberal contortions:

Freedom of Expression vs Bullying

Sehwag and Hooda were instantly branded as bullies for being celebs who spoke out. Because somehow, these celebs has a lesser degree of Freedom of Expression as compared to her. Because celebs aren’t supposed to speak out (unless they’re speaking on behalf of the left liberal cabal, like the intolerance movement, in which case they must be egged on to speak). Suddenly dissent became intolerance, a joke became bullying, celebrities expressing their opinion became trolls:


Worse, some people put Sehwag and Hooda along with the real offenders who have allegedly issued rape threats to the girl. Any such threats to a woman are highly condemnable and the perpetrators must be brought to book, maybe even using Maneka Gandhi’s special service for such abuse. But that doesn’t mean you can put decent celebrities, who you disagree with, in the same class as such offenders.

The Soldier argument

Shekhar Gupta immediately fell back on the argument that since Gurmehar was the daughter of a martyr, she had the necessary stamp of a patriot hence her words should be gospel truth, unquestionable by the other lesser patriots


However he, in his mad dash to defend this girl, forgot to see how he used a trope of patriotism, which his cabal had attacked the right-wing for. Being a martyr’s daughter doesn’t give her any additional brownie points allowing her leeway to make ridiculous arguments.

Further, if the parent’s occupation matters so much, then this argument is very valid:


The feminist argument

“Oh how can chauvinistic sexist men attack a poor little girl”, was another argument put out. This in fact is the favourite victim card of left liberals when they’re completely out of arguments. The brave woman suddenly turns into a frail damsel in distress whose views must not be contradicted by anyone, just because she’s a woman. Randeep Hooda though answered this jihadi journalist well:


Some went retard on the whole feminist angle, like this guy who has been previously accused of planting fake videos. He readily trashed actresses as bimbettes to prop up fauji daughters. Wonder what he thinks of Gul Panag and Preity Zinta who happen to be both, actress “bimbettes” and fauji daughters. This sort of faux liberalism often exposes itself:


The 20-year-old routine

If her sex wasn’t enough to use to shield her from critics, even her age was used as an excuse. Suddenly it was blasphemy to speak out against the views of a 20-year-old.


Remember, this 20-year-old herself chose to come into the debate, of her own free will. In fact, she must have been chosen because her age allows her to be one among the students of DU, thus making her point more relevant. Why then she shouldn’t be made to listen to the counterpoint to her arguments?

If age is such a great saviour then perhaps even the ones on the right should employ even younger people to make their points, so that age can be used to fight off any criticism. But they DID try this, and then, the left liberals had mercilessly trolled 15 yr old Jhanvi Behal only because she spoke against their ideology.

Personal attacks

When the going gets tough, the mentally bankrupt go personal. Randeep Hooda was eventually branded as an actor who does B grade movies, because actors from B grade movies have no right to express a view-point, whereas a random girl has that right only because her father was a brave nationalist.


“State” of mind

If the person was not enough, then the state was next in the line of fire. Randeep Hooda is from Haryana and that was enough for some to defame Haryana and all the men of Haryana. Much logic, Very Stereotyping.


We wonder how Rana Ayyub would react to people stereotyping her based on her religion.

In short, all the tricks of the trade were used to target Sehwag and Hooda, by all hues of left liberals, and as they did so, their masks of “liberalism” also fell off one by one.

How being a liberal has been turned akin to being a religious nut

Nitin Rivaldo
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How being a liberal has been turned akin to being a religious nut

Liberals were the ones who started off as sceptics; they often revolted against religion’s monopoly over being the sole source of morality and virtue, and its claims of being only possible version of truth.

For me, Galileo was a Liberal. Boltzmann, who was ostracized over his idea of Atom and Second law of thermodynamics, was a liberal. He eventually committed suicide in depression. His ideas were later proved right by Einstein in his famous 1905 paper on Brownian Motion.

Religion becomes dangerous and inimical to knowledge and rationality, when it claims to be the only truth and sole source of morality. Being religious is reduced to “virtue signalling”, and throwing around a “holier than thou” attitude.

And guess what – same has become the case with so-called Liberals today.

They are steeped in ‘holier than thou’ attitude, we are the one who will liberate you from demons. You know, “aazaadi” from demons. They are the saviours of this world, and you must accept them as saviours, else you are a heretic.

I have studied Science. Science works on a simple principle: facts. If an observation contradicts a theory, that theory has to change. Not the observation.

Religion works exact opposite. If observation doesn’t fit the claims, either the man making the observation must be killed or the observation must be suppressed. This is true even in modern times when it comes to Islam. For Islamists, anything that doesn’t agree with their view is blasphemy, and death to the blasphemer is the only solution.

How the modern liberals are much like the Islamists:

Remember when Salman Rushdie wrote the Satanic Verses? Islamists burnt embassies and properties across the world. Today when an author or filmmaker with a divergent view wants to go to a Berkeley or JNU or Jadhavpur University, we see violent protests and riots.

The legitimisation of violence comes from the ‘holier than thou’ beliefs. My religion is superior to yours; my ideology is superior to yours. You will hardly find any so-called liberal unequivocally condemning such behaviour. They will always add a “but”. As Salman Rushdie famously calls them the “but brigade”.

It has become so pervasive and perverse, that today if you see a University burning in US, you don’t know if it’s done by Islamists or Liberals. And closer home, when someone shouts “Bharat tere tukde honge”, you don’t know whether that came from JNU or Jihadists of Kashmir. If you have people championing Hijab, you don’t know if it’s an Islamist or a Liberal.

Not only are they finding common causes, a common thread binds them – the holier than though belief, and the intolerance not to allow any dissent.

But it’s not just Islamists, our Liberals are actually much like the casteists back in India. If corrupted casteism was the worst of Hindu religion we saw, its mirror image is seen in modern Indian liberalism.

The liberal caste-system:

Just like the Brahmins were the bunch that denied education and shared spaces to the Dalits, the liberals have to make sure no one who disagrees with them enters their temples – universities like JNU, media organisations like NDTV, and assorted bodies running on government grants and taking about various “rights”.

Liberals would not let anyone with a divergent view work in their industry. If some self-made person strays in that zone, boycott him. He has to made untouchable. So malign his character. Label him.

We will go after your jobs if you resist. How dare you start a news and opinion website? We will take away your job (Rahul Raj). We will crush your voice by suspending your Twitter accounts. We are the high priests, don’t you dare!

And just in case you thought we can do only this. Remember Kerala? Remember West Bengal? Or best, remember Mao? You may not love your job, but you surely love your life?



This is the proverbial killing of shudra if he tries to learn vedas. Liberals will do the same to you if you try to learn their “art”.

The Liberal Jihad:

Religions, especially the Abrahamic faiths, have often spread through holy wars. Jihad. And liberals to have a jihad. No, it’s different from the violence they indulge in or condone as we have seen above. It’s the different type of Jihad – the narrative Jihad.

To go to war, you need to feel victimised. Once you feel like a victim, you either feel the need to protect yourself or you feel like taking revenge. Liberals often use the weapon of political correctness to wage the narrative Jihad. They shape narratives to create victims.

You learn this trick, you can never lose a debate in your life.

I’ll present to you an apolitical example. You call someone “fat” today, Liberals get offended. Again, remember how “hurt sentiments” was once the sole domain of religious folks? How dare you call him Fat? Call him Healthy!

Now let’s extrapolate (and exaggerate) it. Everyone started calling obese people ‘healthy’. Obesity is not a disorder anymore. Clinics offering cure to obesity are spreading “Healthyphobia”.  Doctors talking about obesity are sick, and ‘healthy’ people are the victim.

See, with a simple wordplay, you made a victim out of a person who drank Coke and had French fries all his life, and made villain out of a doctor! Language is the carrier of thoughts. If you control language and narrative, you can control people’s thoughts.

Terrorists can become freedom fighters, anti-national slogans can become true nationalism, and people fighting for the nation can become villain. This is the magic – again a concept originally associated with religions – of modern liberalism.

Science liberal vs Humanities liberal:

I don’t want to make “liberal” a bad word, even though the so-called liberals are doing everything they can to make it so. I consider myself a liberal too.

But I am a Science Liberal, not a Humanities Liberal.

What that means is I don’t believe one theory/solution can explain all universe. For Big Universe, I will go with Newton, at atomic scale, I will go with Bohr’s Quantum Mechanics, and at high speed with Einstein. And mostly with Heisenberg!

I am a sceptic, not an intellectual.

I value observation, not your theory. If you have 10% people in area with placards calling for someone’s beheading, I can’t take its logarithm multiple times and reach to .001%.

I value data, not your feeling!

I value facts, not your fantasy!

I like the flawed reality, not your Utopia!

But you won’t understand. Liberalism has unfortunately become like a religion. The very thing it was supposed to question.

The Indian media ‘Fauxars’ 2017 – Awards recognising Faux news

OpIndia Staff
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The Indian media ‘Fauxars’ 2017 – Awards recognising Faux news

As the Oscars approach, people excelling in their respective fields get rewarded. Continuing with our tradition, we recognise and reward the media persons who excelled in spinning, dramatizing, twisting and faking news:

Award for best dialogue:

Usually categories like these are reserved for Arnab Goswami who has immortalised Indian Journalism via dialogues like ‘Nation wants to know’ and ‘Never ever ever ever’. But this year Barkha Dutt wins it hands down for her Burhan Wani “son of school headmaster” comment:


Best Script: 

This award goes to the anti-demonetisation script which played out in the media. Sure, it did not get popular support, as is evidenced by the various local election results ever since, but the effort was indeed worth an award. They tried to link it to completely irrelevant news. They gave all sorts of reasons why it was a bad idea. They helped start rumours to derail demonetisation. Raghav Bahl wrote 2 insipid anti-demonetisation articles in a business magazine. Ravish Kumar presented Congress members as independent analysts. News 18 misquoted Deepak Parekh. The best (or worst) part of the script was where each and every death near or relating to a bank was blamed on demonetisation.

Best original screenplay:

Contrary to popular opinion, it takes a lot of effort to create a story from nowhere. Respecting this fact, this award for best original screenplay goes to media for the time they created the story that Gau-rakshaks attacked and threatened a man for carrying a bag made from cow-leather. Unfortunately for them, the man who created this story said that “he did it because he hates Hindus”.

Award for Best Editing

Editing involves cutting, pasting, or even adding something to the events filmed, in order to make them appealing. The best such editing was done when media added the phrase “our people” to Defence Minister Parrikar’s speech, thereby giving the effect that his “own people” had orchestrated the Snapdeal boycott move. The edit was so seamless that it took a while for people to realise that these words were not even there in the original video. The brain-washing was so effective that NDTV’s Nidhi Razdan along with an abusive troll, repeated this lie on national television.

Honourable mention: BJP MLA breaks horses leg in Uttarakhand.

Award for Best Make Up

This award is not like the traditional “Make-Up”award. This is given to the journalist/media person who “makes up” the best story out of nowhere. We were spoilt for choice here and the award finally has to be given to the time when entire media came together to “make up” a story in which upper caste people beat up some low-caste robbers. Sanghi facts later revealed that the people who beat them up were also from low-caste.

Award for Best Special Effects

Special effects add the necessary spice to an otherwise dull story. They add a new dimension, confounding the reader. This award hence is given to Huffington Post, for their tireless efforts in confounding the readers. They started off by putting up pictures of Bajrang Dal when rape threats were issued to a student in Jammu Kashmir, by Kashmiri locals, who by no stretch of imagination can be considered as Bajrang Dal. The second time, for a story involving a JDU leader’s son, a picture of ABVP was used, to add special effects to the story.

Award for Best RomCom

This award is unheard of in Indian circles, but is actually quite popular in Hollywood and is given to the best Romantic Comedy movie. This award is presented to all the media persons and establishments which sought to develop a romantic relationship with Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Muzzafar Wani, with some giving him clean chits, some using spin and some plain deception.

Award for Best Comedy

This award goes to the one and only abusive troll who calls herself a journalist, Swati Chaturvedi, for her outrageously funny “exclusive” story in which she claimed that Mohan Bhagwat of the RSS would hold a grand Modi-like event in the UK, which would be graced with the presence of stars like Sir Richard Branson, Sir David Attenborough, and Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio was even tipped to “provide a touch of stardust to Bhagwat’s anti-beef message”, being vegan.

Award for Best Action

Action consists of dramatic fight sequences, in which characters fight against each other. The best Action award goes to Arnab Goswami and Barkha Dutt for their constant on and off fights for the past one year. It began with Arnab’s veiled attack on Barkha, which resulted in Barkha attacking him back. The action is still on and every now and then we see some action sequence going on.

Award for Best Foreign Media

Without doubt this award goes to NDTV, and not for one reason. Throughout the year NDTV has strived to prove how non-Indian they are, by constantly jeopardising India’s interests. NDTV, a media house, decided to act all NGO-ish and filed a case in the NGT, to stop India’s Sagarmala project, which would lead to massive development along the coast. On another occasion, NDTV showed Kashmir as a part of Pakistan. The clincher was when NDTV was found guilty of airing sensitive information during an ongoing anti-terror operation, which could jeopardise many Indian lives.

Award for Best Actor

Indian media’s SRK does it gain. Last year he bagged the award for multiple performances which showcased a range of emotions. This year, he wins it for his fabulous acting, from the time he sent abusive direct messages from his Twitter Account. Almost 12 hours later, Rajdeep claimed that in fact his account was hacked, even though in between the abusive messages and the claim that the account was hacked, Rajdeep had tweeted normally. Of course the mystery “hacker” is nowhere to be seen nor any update on the case has been posted by Rajdeep. Rajdeep also had some other commendable performances like the time he acted blind, to communal riots in West Bengal, or the time he acted as if he was an interviewer, in a softball interview of Akhilesh Yadav.

Award for Best Actress

This award goes to veteran actress Saba Naqvi for her performance which was on throughout the year, and still is. Saba acted as if she was an independent, neutral journalist, whereas she was a compromised hack, who had been rewarded by AAP for her servility to them.

RTI: Uttarakhand’s Congress govt paid Virat Kohli for a tourism ad from disaster rehabilitation fund

OpIndia Staff
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RTI: Uttarakhand’s Congress govt paid Virat Kohli for a tourism ad from disaster rehabilitation fund

The Uttarakhand Congress government led by Harish Rawat has found itself in a soup after an RTI query by an activist and BJP member Ajendra Ajay has revealed that the government had paid about Rs. 47.19 Lakh to Virat Kohli for a 60 second advertisement promoting the state’s tourism from the post-disaster rehabilitation fund which was created after the horrifying floods which hit the state in 2013.

Kohli was made the brand ambassador of Uttarakhand in 2015 and such a high profile appointment was understandable as the state’s tourism was struggling since the natural disaster and celebrity endorsements do seem to work.

A copy of the RTI reveals the fact that the amount was paid by the District Disaster Management(DDM) authority of Rudraprayag from the amount earmarked for the reconstruction and rehabilitation in the Shri Kedarnath Dham area. The DDM authority paid this amount at the instruction of Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA), which they received via an email on 26th June 2015.

RTI query

The BJP also alleged that the Congress government has failed to utilize the funds properly and have managed to build only two of the 12 suspension bridges in the Kedar valley which were washed away in the floods. The Congress govt’s unfortunate decision to use up rehabilitation funds might not be the only headache it might face in this episode as allegations of a scam too are surfacing. The agent of Kohli, Bunty Sajdeh claimed that there was no monetary transaction and that Kohli didn’t receive any money for the video. If this claim is indeed true then where did the  Rs 49.19 lakh rupees which the RTI claims were paid to Kohli go?

Though on a brighter note, his is the advertisement featuring Kohli and to be fair its really well made.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFgSwgo6UUw]

I am brother of a martyr, and I support the ABVP

Astitva Singh
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I am brother of a martyr, and I support the ABVP

I am not a student of Delhi University. I am a doctor, more specifically a medical graduate who has cleared NEET PG exam, but I write this as a relative of someone who sacrificed his life for this country. And I do that, because suddenly the mainstream media has found it worthy to tell you what relatives of martyrs have to say over ABVP vs the Leftists issue at the Delhi University.

However, there is a problem. I have to say something they don’t want to hear. I am not the “right” kind of relative. But I must say it, because “free speech” exists in India. The same free speech, for which the media is supposedly fighting. The same free speech, which exists in India because the armed forces make sure that it is not overrun by Jihadists and Naxals.

My cousin Dhiraj Singh attained martyrdom in Kangan area of Jammu & Kashmir on 6th May 2006. He was slated to go on leave from 7th May onward to attend the tilak of our brother. Pinku bhaiya, as we used to call him, had selected the bhabhi. He was the youngest son of my mama and six years elder to me.

He was a Sowar (rider) in Armoured Corps/ 24 Rashtriya Rifles. On the fateful day, his seniors asked him to not join the operations as he had to leave the following day. But Pinku bhaiya said “khaali baith ke kya karunga” (what will I do sitting idle) and joined the anti-terrorist operations.

Back home we had no idea what was to hit us. All I remember was me coming to home from school at around 2 PM and finding my mother crying. Pinku bhaiya had attained martyrdom in the operations.

He killed two terrorists in combat, but was heavily injured. He killed another one, before he succumbed to his injuries. Sowar Dhiraj Singh was awarded Shaurya Chakra posthumously by President APJ Abdul Kalam in 2007.

What had fallen upon us was a grave family tragedy, yet we were proud of what Pinku bhaiya could do for the nation. Coincidently, the last movie we watched together was “Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo”.

That was a strange metaphor. As if he left this nation for us to protect the way he protected. I too wanted to join the army, but I have a flat foot.

Still, I will try for Army Medical Corps later this year, even though people say that civilian candidates get second preference after those who have done MBBS from AFMC (Armed Forces Medical College). But I will try my best. I have to start from where my Pinku bhaiya left.

I am writing this all not to flaunt whose cousin I am or how patriotic and nationalistic I am. Neither do I think that being a relative of a martyr entitles me to some privileges. My brother fought and died for his motherland, and I am not attempting to take any credits for his martyrdom.

I am writing this because, as I said earlier, it is important to speak up as we still enjoy free speech in India. It is important to speak up before patriotism and nationalism are converted into some gaali by some people.

I don’t know whether my bhaiya will have supported ABVP or not, but I support them over what happened in Ramjas College, and I support their right of self-defence.

One thing I am sure is that my bhaiya would have never supported those who say “bharat ki barbaadi tak, jung rahegi, jung rahegi”. He laid down his life fighting that very jung (war). He was killed by those who wanted “bharat tere tukde honge”.

I feel anguish and pain when the media paints those who fight against such slogans as villains. They ignore video evidences of such slogans being shouted and instead start smear campaigns against those who oppose such slogans.

I am sorry, I don’t consider such slogans as “free speech”. I am not going into any intellectual debate here, even our constitution puts restrictions on speech and doesn’t allow anyone to say things that threatens the unity and integrity of India.

“Bharat tere tukde honge” is not something that sounds like upholding the unity and integrity of India to me.

As the truth of what happened at Ramjas started to come out – proof of how the leftists assaulted students and even molested girls – suddenly the media has taken refuge behind a martyr’s daughter. She spoke against the ABVP, and the media found the perfect alibi in her. They could now happily paint ABVP as villain and make her a hero, and shield the real villains who want to fight war till India is ruined (Bharat ki barbadi tak).

I have no quarrel with that girl. She can choose to indulge in whatever activism she thinks is right. Let her be a hero, no problem. And I have absolutely nothing but just respect and gratitude for her father, who like my brother, sacrificed his own life so that we can live in a country that is safe and secure from enemies who want it ruined.

But I have a quarrel with the media, which is so selective and biased and which creates these fault lines.

When I first saw that campaign, I, as a relative of a martyr, thought maybe I should start a similar campaign in support of ABVP. But as I said, I have no quarrel with her. I did not want to make it her vs me. Furthermore, I feared that I will be branded a bhakt or a religious bigot. The media is still strong, very very strong.

But then I remembered what Pinku bhaiya did. He could have also let practical fears overpower him. He even had the option of not joining the operations. But he didn’t fear what destiny awaited him. He did what he felt was right for the country.

And I am doing the same. The least I can do is to speak up, before it’s too late.

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