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How The Wire’s Tek Fog story, now withdrawn, was used to prove falling press freedom and democracy in India on global platforms

OpIndia Staff
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How The Wire’s Tek Fog story, now withdrawn, was used to prove falling press freedom and democracy in India on global platforms

Days after The Wire retracted its reports on the Meta story and ordered an “internal inquiry” into the fiasco, the leftist propaganda website also quietly pulled down its months-old reportage on Tek Fog, an app it claimed was used by the BJP to manipulate trends and automatically spew hate online.

Relying on an August 2020 tweet and some ‘source’, The Wire had claimed that the BJP was using one software named Tek Fog, led by BJP leader Devang Dave, that had unprecedented powers of manipulating online trends and churning out hate to attack its detractors. Even though Dave vigorously rejected the allegations in an email to Wire, they still proceeded to publish the story.

In the report published in January 2022, Wire claimed that the so-called Tek Fog app allowed BJP to ‘hijack’ the Twitter trends, allowed managing multiple WhatsApp accounts and direct online harassment of anti-BJP journalists. The report claimed that the app could bypass all kinds of security features that major social media platforms have. According to The Wire, Tek Fog had some kind of superpower that granted it capabilities that even the NSA of the USA did not have. The Wire alleged that hacking top apps like Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp etc child’s play using Tek Fog, and all security features of those platforms vanish with this magical piece of software.

However, within days, OpIndia punctured holes in The Wire’s report on Tek Fog, highlighting how the leftist propaganda website’s claims on a superpower app did not add up and how the app may be a figment of their fecund imagination. The entire rebuttal can be read here. But it took a span of 10 months and the Meta fiasco that led The Wire, too, withdraw its Tek Fog stories too pending an “internal inquiry”. Incidentally, Devesh Kumar, The Wire staffer who co-authored Meta stories, had also co-authored the Tek Fog stories.

On October 23, 2022, The Wire retracted its stories on Tek Fog, with links to the Tek Fog stories on its website flashing a message. Here’s the screenshot of the message on one of the reports pulled down by The Wire.

Tek Fog
Source: The Wire

While the withdrawal of the Meta and Tek Fog stories is a face-saving attempt by The Wire to pretend that they are transparent and concerned about journalistic ethos, the original lie peddled by them travelled far and wide, finding its way on global platforms and prejudiced organisations that used it to the hilt to tarnish India’s reputation.

How dubious international organisations and leftist media outlets helped spread the lie of Tek Fog

Freedom House, a dubious Human Rights ‘watchdog’ that supported violent protests against a law that gave citizenship rights to persecuted minorities like Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians from Islamic states neighbouring India, dropped the country from ‘free’ to ‘partly free’ in 2021. In 2022, too, the organisation maintained India as ‘partly free’, leaning on prejudiced reports and unfounded allegations, including The Wire’s story on Tek Fog, to claim that members of the BJP used it to shape public narratives and manipulate social media opinions.

Tek Fog
Source: https://freedomhouse.org/country/india/freedom-net/2022

Likewise, other organisations that have been pathologically averse to India, especially after Modi became the prime minister, cited the Tek Fog story as one of the examples to lower India’s ranking on their farcical indexes. For example, the Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s Press Freedom Index 2022 downgraded India from 142 rank last year to 150th this year, placing it even below despotic and dictatorial regimes like that of UAE and Hong Kong, where advances against members of the press are a given.

A report published in HW English cited the Tek Fog story by The Wire to highlight how it has played a part in downgrading India’s ranking from 142 last year to 150 in 2022. In fact, The Wire itself preened on its ‘investigation’ on Tek Fog, which is now suspected to be a case of pure fraud, when they reported on India’s downgrade on the Press Freedom Index earlier this year. 

Tek Fog
Source: The Wire

India’s supposed plunge on the ‘democracy index’ and the ‘Press Freedom Index’ has been repeated ad-nauseam both by Indian politicians and other commentators on global platforms, who want to prove India is living under some dystopian dictatorship, and only white masters from the west can come and rescue the poor brown people being oppressed by an evil regime headed by PM Modi.

The Washington Post, Bloomberg, and Wikipedia peddled The Wire’s claims on Tek Fog that are now suspected of being pure fraud

Not just these two indices, the Tek Fog fiction was cited by several other global platforms to paint a negative picture of India, such as the Washington Post, Bloomberg, and others, who amplified The Wire’s scarcely credible claims that the BJP used an app to manipulate social media trends and firehose its detractors with hate online. The list is indicative but it gives a window into how the lie was spread far and wide by the nexus of leftist global organisations.

Tim Culpan and Andy Mukherjee, two columnists with Bloomberg, had co-authored an opinion article based on the Wire story on Tek Fog, which was published by several media houses. They had made claims not even made by Wire about the so-called app. They claimed that it was a browser-based application, and it was very powerful.

Making more outlandish claims about the app that does not exist, they had written, “Tek Fog is a military-grade PSYOP – psychological operations – weapon.” A capability like this has so far been available only to state actors for use against enemy populations, they had further said quoting a security researcher.

The Wire’s Tek Fog fabrications have also been used as a citation and proof on multiple articles on Wikipedia that paint India in a bad light. Such articles argue how freedom and democracy standards in India are falling and how the Modi government is solely responsible for it. For example, a Wikipedia article titled “Freedom of the press in India” cites The Wire to make this point.

Source: Wikipedia

It is worth noting that Wikipedia is still misunderstood as a neutral platform by millions of unsuspecting netizens around the world, while in reality it has been taken over by ideologues belonging to the leftist camp, who amplify lies and propaganda by the leftist outfits and publications. Wikipedia has domination of left-leaning editors and thus, several pages on Wikipedia are biased, with the information added catering to the whims and fancies of the left-leaning editors.

The co-founder of Wikipedia, Larry Sanger, who is no longer involved with Wikipedia had gone on the record to talk about the bias of the online encyclopedia. Sanger had written that it has long forgotten its original policy of aiming to present information from a neutral point of view, and nowadays the crowd-sourced online encyclopedia “can be counted on” to cover politics with a “liberal point of view”.

The Wire’s Tek Fog story is a perfect example of what the Nazi minister of propaganda Goebbels had famously reported having proposed: “If a lie is repeated a thousand times, it becomes the truth.” The Wire might have withdrawn its article, for now, but the intended lie and propaganda have become part of history and continues to be cited on various global platforms, some of which are listed above.

How The Editor’s Guild of India promoted The Wire’s lies

Apart from the damages that The Wire’s propaganda article has caused to India’s reputation, let us also remind the Editor’s Guild of India that they had issued a ‘brave’ letter condemning the imagined attack on journalists as conjured up by the wire back in January 2022. 

Will they now retract the condemnation and instead write another letter condemning the wire? It is anybody’s guess what The Editor’s Guild of India will do after The Wire is exposed for its fake and prejudiced reportage. 

However, the Tek Fog episode serves as a cautionary tale for Indians, given that the is just one propaganda article by one leftist outlet causing such extensive damage to India’s reputation globally. Readers can guess just how much damage has been done over the years by the entire mesh of leftist publications.

Noida thieves snatch the phone of ‘child activist’ Licipriya Kangujam while she was telling people not to burst crackers on Diwali

OpIndia Staff
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Noida thieves snatch the phone of ‘child activist’ Licipriya Kangujam while she was telling people not to burst crackers on Diwali

On October 23, alleged child activist Licypriya Kangujam’s smartphone was snatched in Greater Noida when she was Live on Facebook giving unsolicited advice on the Hindu festival Diwali. In her video, she linked Diwali to air and noise pollution.

In a video published on her Twitter account that appears to have been clipped from the Facebook live video, she claimed that her heart aches when she watches people bursting crackers. She further urged people not to burst crackers as it hurts the environment. “It is not good for people and animals. If you think about your future generation and animals, I am not asking you to think about me, you will not burst crackers.”

Notably, Licypriya was in the United States in September to attend an event. On September 22, she published a photo cribbing about the high cab price in New York.

She sought help from Noida police in the matter on Twitter.

Licypriya ‘vanished’ from social media for almost a year when her father was jailed for fraud

Earlier this year, Licypriya’s social media accounts became active again after her father, an alleged conman accused of cheating dozens of students, was released on bail. Her father, KK Singh, was arrested in a joint operation by Delhi Police and Manipur police in May 2021. He was accused of cheating multiple people, with amounts as high as Rs 19 lakh. In 2015, he was arrested in Manipur with charges of criminal case number 176 of 2015 under Section 420 (Fraud), 324 (Assault), and 406 (Criminal breach of trust).

As per reports, a place he had rented in Porompat and carried out his clandestine activities under the Club 25 banner was allegedly sold to three different individuals without the knowledge of the real owner. Kanarjit was later released on interim bail and has been an absconder since.

Notably, he also invented the fake achievements of daughter Licypriya Kangujam in order to propel her to international fame. The child activist, over time, built a career out of protesting over anything and everything under the sun. Licypriya enjoys a verified account on Twitter, even though the profile says she does not handle it herself. Her verification was revoked due to inactivity during the period she was off social media, but it was reinstated at her request.

Among several fake achievements her father invented for her, one of the most notable was where she claimed to be on her way to UN HQ in Geneva to address a ‘global UN session’ for ‘Disaster Risk Reduction’. The news was widely reported, and she received a lot of appreciation on social media.

However, it turned out to be fake. After Imphal Free Press uncovered that not only was she not invited to the UN, but her father was also reported to be an alleged conman. An investigation by Imphal Free Press revealed that her entire ‘UN invite’ was a sham and a cooked-up story by her father, Kangujam Kanarjit. IFP got suspicious over the news item since when they investigated the claims, the UN event showed that registration for delegates was still on and the names of speakers weren’t confirmed yet.

In June 2021, it was reported that her father duped nearly 100 children from 12 countries under the garb of activism, as per a Vice report. The fraud amount is estimated to be approximately $44,685, just from fees collected from students.

Paojel Chaoba, a Manipuri investigative journalist, in an interview with the Vice, revealed how the ‘too good to be true’ tall claims made by Kanarjit Kangujam led to journalists flocking to his events.

In 2015, a Manipuri news outlet quoted Kangujam saying that politician and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and now-ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi would be attending a youth conference organized by International Youth Committee, a shady organization run by Kangujam where he portrayed his daughter as ‘India’s Greta Thurnberg’. 

“Myanmar’s supreme leader visiting our small state sounded too wild to be true,” remarked Chaoba in the Vice report.

To add to this were other claims, including a supposed nomination for Licipriya to the “Global Youth Icon Award 2015” jointly with Malala Yousafzai (Nobel Peace Prize 2014 winner) and Felix Finkbeiner (German Child Activists).

Modus operandi of Kanarjit Kangujam

A source on the condition of anonymity informed OpIndia that Kangujam would create hoax events with well-drafted documents claiming that the UN, UNESCO, and the government of India are hosting an exchange program.

He would then call for participants, misusing the logos of the global entities. The proceeds of the participation fee would go into his personal account, informed the source.

Kangujam claimed to host events in Japan, Europe and Mauritius for which he collected hefty participation fees, however, the events never took place. When the volunteers called up the respective organizations and ministries to confirm the event, each one of them declined to know Kangujam or the so-called events planned by him.

When the participants asked for refunds, he declined, threatening elimination from the program, which would make them ineligible for any refunds, and passed every complaint to the volunteers to handle.

Licypriya’s father duped children in the name of ‘exchange programs’

As per a document shared by the source, Kangujam drafted budget documents to justify the participation fee. With this, he duped several Pakistani participants to the tune of $160 each, Bhutanese participants of $300-420 each, and Mauritian participants of €1200 each. As per the source, the participation fee varied per nationality and sometimes individually.

As per the Vice report, a legal complaint by Prajesh Khanal, a youth activist from Nepal, led to Kangujam’s arrest. “I only interacted with him on messenger and email, and to be honest, he looked very legit,” confessed the 20-year-old to Vice World News. Khanal was revealed to have paid over $460 for an exchange program, which is yet to be refunded.

Kangujam’s arrest led to more participants revealing how they were duped by the ‘activist’. Pallabi Roy, a dentist from Delhi, informed that she, along with her friend, paid $410 each in 2017 for an IYC event.

Licypriya Kangujam’s Ketto campaign

Additionally, Licypriya Kangujam’s Ketto campaign reeks of possible FCRA violation. We reported earlier how multiple discrepancies were found in a fundraising campaign being run by Licypriya and questionable association with Noble Citizen Foundation.

Arvind Kejriwal pats himself on the back for ‘least polluted air on Diwali in 7 years’ but does not give the full picture. Here is the truth

Dibakar Dutta
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Arvind Kejriwal pats himself on the back for ‘least polluted air on Diwali in 7 years’ but does not give the full picture. Here is the truth

On Sunday (October 24), AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal stirred the hornet’s test after he credited his government for supposedly improving the air quality in the National Capital.

He shared a news report, which claimed that Delhi has managed to get off the list of the most polluted cities in Asia. The Delhi Chief Minister attempted to hog the limelight for the same and declared that India’s National Capital was no more polluted.

“Some years back, Delhi was the most polluted city in the world. Not anymore! The people of Delhi worked very hard. Today, we have improved a lot. Whereas we have improved, it’s still a long way. We will continue working hard so that we find a place in the best cities in the world.

“We are committed to making Delhi the best city in the world,” Arvind Kejriwal continued.

The Delhi Chief Minister then shared a report by the Press Trust of India (PTI) which said, “Delhi recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 265 on Sunday (October 24), which was lowest for the day before Diwali in seven years, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed. “

Arvind Kejriwal gave the impression to his supporters that the slight improvement in the air quality has been due to his efforts to contain air pollution. However, nothing can be further from the truth.

New Delhi had the highest annual PM 2.5 concentration among 107 regional capitals in 2021

Opindia had reported in March this year that New Delhi featured at the top of a list of 107 regional capital cities with the highest average annual PM2.5 concentration in 2021.

The revelation was made in the 2021 World Air Quality Report published by IQAir. The Swiss air quality technology company collected data from 6,745 cities, spread across 117 countries to prepare the report.

The air quality report pointed out that in 2021, India was home to 11 out of the 15 most polluted cities in South and Central Asia. During that period, PM2.5 levels in Delhi increased from 84 μg/m to 96.4 μg/m3.

Screengrab of the 2021 World Air Quality Report on Indian metro cities, graphic via IQAir

In 2021, Delhi continued to feature at the top in air pollution levels as compared to other metropolitan cities such as Kolkata (59 μg/m3), Mumbai (46.4 μg/m3), Hyderabad (39.4 μg/m3), Bengaluru (29 μg/m3) and Chennai (25.2 μg/m3).

Stubble burning and how monsoon rains delayed the worsening of Delhi’s air quality

Like each year, farmers in the States of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been burning stubble from September onwards. So far, Punjab alone has accounted for a whopping 4598 incidents of farm fires.

According to the data compiled by the Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space (CREAMS), farmers took a break from stubble burning between September 24 and September 29 this year.

“We saw a spell from September 24 to 29, when no fire counts were recorded. This was mainly due to rains in Punjab and the fields remained wet for the next few days, so that paddy stubble could not be burnt,” informed Professor VK Sehgal of CREAMS.

There is, however, no hope of immediate resolution of the problem. Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB)’s member secretary, Krunesh Garg, informed that it would 4-5 years for a complete cessation of stubble-burning activities. He said, “We may again see a spike in the activity from October 10 onwards or a little later than that.”

Due to the monsoon rains and delay in stubble burning activities, the air quality in Delhi was better off, unlike the previous years. And it has now come to light that 85% of the stubble is yet to be cleared out.

“Based on this harvesting pattern, we normally see farm fires peaking around October 26-27, and this year we may see a similar spike by the end of October. We are seeing a gradual increase in numbers over the last few days,” Professor Sehgal said.

This explains the improved air quality in Delhi so far, which is set to be worsened in days to come. And it has nothing to do with governmental intervention.

Misplaced priorities of the AAP government in Punjab

Despite the burning issue of farmer fires, the Punjab Assembly shelved the discussion on the topic. “The issue was not taken up as most of the sitting went into discussing the alleged usurping of SC scholarship funds to the tune of ₹64 crores by the previous Congress party government,” reported Hindustan Times on October 3.

Back in 2018, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal would blame the Punjab government for failing to control farm fires in the State. “If you see honestly, then there are just a few places of Haryana in it. In Punjab, stubble is being burnt in the entire area, especially Bathinda and Amritsar,” he had said then.

However, the same district of Amritsar is a major hotspot of farm fires under the AAP regime. Given that the Kejriwal government got lucky this time around due to monsoon rains, the Delhi CM has been browbeating about it on social media.

The average annual PM2.5 level in the National Capital of India was 96.4 μg/m3 in 2021, which is about 19 times higher than the WHO’s recommended air quality guideline.

Despite this, air pollution in Delhi is a non-issue in both public and political discourse until the festival of Diwali in late September-October each year.

A 2017 IIT-Kanpur report had revealed that construction dust was the biggest culprit for deteriorating air quality in Delhi, followed by vehicular pollution and bad infrastructure.

Politicians and the left-liberal ecosystem channelise their energy into shaming Hindus for burning firecrackers while remaining indifferent to the major contributors of air pollution.

Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif killed in Kenya under suspicious circumstances, was facing FIRs for criticizing Sharif govt

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif killed in Kenya under suspicious circumstances, was facing FIRs for criticizing Sharif govt

According to reports, renowned Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif has been killed in Kenya. His wife, Javeria Siddique, confirmed the news in a tweet early on Monday morning. “I lost friend, husband and my favourite journalist @arsched today, as per police he was shot in Kenya,” she wrote.

Both countries’ governments are yet to confirm the journalist’s death and the conditions surrounding it. Asim Iftikhar, Foreign Office Spokesperson, said Pakistan’s High Commission in Kenya was gathering information from the authorities.

According to DAWN, Arshad Sharif was a vocal opponent of the present government and the country’s leadership. He fled Pakistan earlier this year after sedition charges were filed against him in many cities.

Earlier this year, a slew of first information reports (FIRs) were filed against journalists Arshad Sharif, Sabir Shakir, and Sami Ibrahim, accusing them of sedition and propagating “anti-state” narratives. The cases against the journalists were lodged with police in numerous Sindh provinces and Balochistan, all with similar allegations and patterns. Residents of the regions submitted the FIRs, alleging that the journalists were inciting anti-national sentiments by disparaging the Pakistan Army and federal institutions.

Sharif was also instrumental in a recent documentary based on corruption in the country that was about to be released soon. The film, titled ‘Behind Closed Doors,’ was based on corruption during the Nawaz Sharif government. Adil Raja, the permanent representative of Pakistan at the International Human Rights Foundation stated that the documentary was the reason behind Sharif’s assassination. As per reports, Arshad Sharif had close ties with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Arshad Sharif linked Hindutva with terrorism, hated Modi

During the anti-Hindu riots in Delhi, Arshad was involved in propagating hatred against Hindus. In his tweets, he used terms like RSS-BJP goons and Hindutva.

Sharing a video in which slogans of Khalistan Zindabad are being raised alongside insults to PM Modi, Arshad Sharif said that Narendra Modi has divided Indian society into two parts by bringing fanatical policies of fascist Hindutva and violating the rights of minorities.

In the following tweet, Arshad claimed that Modi’s Hindutva policies are transforming him into the next Hitler of South Asia.

Meanwhile, Kenyan media said that Sharif was shot dead by police in a case of “mistaken identity.” According to the report, the event occurred on Sunday night along the Nairobi-Magadi highway.

While hearing a petition requesting an investigation into Sharif’s murder, Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah directed representatives from the foreign and interior ministries to meet with the journalist’s family as soon as possible. The court also served notices to the federal and interior secretaries, directing them to provide a report by tomorrow.

Russia warns NATO countries that Ukraine may use ‘Dirty Nuclear Bomb’ during the war, Ukraine refutes allegations

OpIndia Staff
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Russia warns NATO countries that Ukraine may use ‘Dirty Nuclear Bomb’ during the war, Ukraine refutes allegations

On October 23, the Defence Minister of Russia, Sergei Shoigu held calls with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) counterparts to warn about the potential use of ‘Dirty Nuclear Bomb’ by Ukraine. In a statement, the Defence Ministry of Russia said that Shoigu informed the French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu that the situation in Ukraine is rapidly deteriorating and moving towards ‘uncontrolled escalation’.

Shoigu added that Ukraine might use a dirty nuclear bomb in the conflict. A dirty bomb uses conventional explosives laced with radioactive material, making it a highly dangerous nuclear weapon. 

Later, Shoigu had phone calls with UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar. In these calls, he again conveyed concerns about the possible provocation by Ukraine with the use of a dirty bomb.

In a statement, the British defence ministry said that Wallace refuted the claims that the Western countries might help Ukraine to escalate the conflict. He cautioned, “Such allegations should not be used as a pretext for greater escalation”.

Shoigu made another call to Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin. This was his second call since Friday to the Pentagon. In his call on Sunday, there was no mention of the alleged ‘dirty bomb’ provocation.

Ukraine refutes Russian claims

While refuting the allegations by the Russian defence ministry, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that only Russia was capable of using nuclear weapons in Europe. He criticised the allegations made by Shoigu during the calls to the Western counterparts suggesting Ukraine might be preparing to use a ‘Dirty Bomb’ in the conflict.

He said in a video message, “If anyone can use nuclear weapons in this part of Europe, it can be only one source, and that source is the one that has ordered comrade Shoigu to telephone here or there.” Zelensky added that the calls made by Shoigu made the matter clear and said, “Everyone understands well. They understand who is the source of all the dirty things imaginable in this war.”

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba said, “I spoke to Secretary Antony Blinken. We both agreed Russia’s ‘dirty bomb’ disinformation campaign might be aimed at creating a pretext for a false flag operation. We also discussed further practical steps to boost Ukraine’s air defense. Secretary affirmed the US spares no effort to this end.”

Ukraine-Russia war

Early this year, Russia launched military action against Ukraine as a Special Military Operation. The Western countries rallied to help Ukraine, making the situation difficult for Russia. The Western world reacted by imposing severe sanctions on Russia. There were calls to stop buying gas and fuel from Russia as well, but Europe remains the highest buyer of gas from the country.

Meanwhile, India issued a fresh advisory for Indians in Ukraine on October 19, in which Indians living in Ukraine were asked to leave the country. Further, Indians were asked to avoid travelling to Ukraine.

The advisory read, “In view of the deteriorating security situation and the recent escalation of hostilities across Ukraine, Indian nationals are advised against travelling to Ukraine. The Indian citizens, including students, currently in Ukraine are advised to leave Ukraine at the earliest by available means.”

Pakistani Hindu cricketer Danish Kaneria greets on Diwali, expresses wishes to pray at Ram Mandir in Ayodhya

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistani Hindu cricketer Danish Kaneria greets on Diwali, expresses wishes to pray at Ram Mandir in Ayodhya

On Monday, Former Pakistani spinner Danish Kaneria wished everyone a happy Diwali adding that his plan is to visit the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and will visit the site soon. In a tweet made today morning, Danish wrote, “Jai Shree Ram happy Diwali to all around the Globe .My aim is to visit RAM Mandir Ram Bhagwan I will come”

Danish Kaneria, the highest wicket-taking spinner for Pakistan in Test cricket, was greeted by several Twitter users after his tweet on Ram Mandir. Twitter user Amit Pandey wrote, “Happy Diwali to you Danish Kripashankar Bhai. May ma Lakshmi bless you with all sorts of happiness and prosperity. Jai Siya Ram.”

Another user wrote, “Happy Diwali to you and your loved ones… Ram willing you will be visiting Ram Mandir in Ayodhya soon… May Shri Ram’s blessings be always with you and your family.”

Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ayodhya on Sunday and celebrated Diwali in the holy city along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor Anandiben Patel.

The programme began at 4:30 PM on October 23, 2022. Cultural activities were performed by artists from eight nations, including Russia, and ten states. A symphonic laser show, projection mapping, and a three-dimensional holographic presentation based on Ramayan were all part of the festivities. Then there were automated fireworks and green firecrackers. The celebrations finished with the Sharayu Aarti in sacred chanting of Vedic Mantras following the cultural performance.

Diwali, the grandest festival of the year, is celebrated with zeal around the country. The festival of light commemorates Lord Rama’s return to Ayodhya after 14 years in exile, representing the divine victory over darkness.

No surprise, the Diwali celebrations in Ayodhya, particularly the ones sponsored by Yogi Adityanath after he became the state’s chief minister in 2017, bear a specific message and significance in addition to their grandeur and holiness. During the Diwali festivities in 2022, Ayodhya set a global record by lighting up more than 15 lakh lamps.

With the construction of a huge Ram Mandir at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi well underway, Ayodhya’s Diwali celebrations will reach new heights in the years ahead. The temple construction is scheduled to be finished by December 2023, and the deity’s statues will be ritualistically sanctified in the temple in January 2024.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in the centre and Yogi Adityanath’s government in the state are leaving no stone unturned to make Ayodhya a world-class city by 2024. Development projects worth Rs 20000 crores are planned to revamp this ancient city. Projects worth Rs 1700 crores will complete by the end of this year.

Danish Kaneria on being a Hindu in Pakistan and getting abused for his religious identity

Kaneria has been regularly on the receiving end of the abuses owing to his Hindu identity and speaking out on Hindu persecution in Pakistan including his ill treatment by his teammates owing to his faith. In May this year, Kaneria was abused on social media for saying that he was made to stay silent on forced religious conversions in Pakistan. He had also accused ex-Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi of forcibly trying to convert him to Islam. Prior to that, he had come out in open and said how his teammates ill-treated him and did not like talking to him because he is a Hindu.

Danish Kaneria is the highest wicket-taking spinner for Pakistan in Test cricket, and 4th on the overall list behind Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Imran Khan.

PM Modi lands in Kargil to celebrate Diwali, continues the trend of celebrating the festival with soldiers since assuming office

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi lands in Kargil to celebrate Diwali, continues the trend of celebrating the festival with soldiers since assuming office

Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Kargil on Monday morning, continuing his yearly ritual of spending Diwali with soldiers. This comes after PM Modi attended Diwali festivities in Ayodhya late yesterday night. The Prime Minister’s Office conveyed the information in a tweet.

PM Modi has been celebrating Diwali with security personnel since he assumed office as the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001. Last year, Prime Minister Modi celebrated Diwali with soldiers in Nowshera, Jammu. PM Modi stated in 2020 while celebrating Diwali with forces at Longewala, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, that as long as the Indian Army is present, the country’s Diwali festivities will continue in full swing and remain luminous.

In 2019, the Prime Minister celebrated Diwali with soldiers in the Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, near the Line of Control (LoC). In 2018, he celebrated Diwali with Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel in Harsil, Uttarakhand. In 2017, the Prime Minister attended the Festival of Lights with army soldiers and Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora District’s Gurez Valley.

In 2016, the Prime Minister traveled to Himachal Pradesh to commemorate the occasion with members of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police at an outpost. In 2015, he went to the Punjab border to celebrate Diwali with soldiers. Prime Minister Modi spent Diwali with soldiers in Siachen in 2014.

PM Modi greets on Diwali

Wishing countrymen on the auspicious festival of Diwali, PM Modi wrote, “Wishing everyone a Happy Diwali. Diwali is associated with brightness and radiance. May this auspicious festival further the spirit of joy and well-being in our lives. I hope you have a wonderful Diwali with family and friends.”

Prior to Diwali, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Kedarnath and Badrinath temples on October 21 and 22. During his visit to Kedarnath, Prime Minister Modi examined the ongoing mega projects. On October 21, the Prime Minister paid a visit to Kedarnath. After visiting the shrine, he traveled to Badrinath the same day. On October 22, PM prayed at the shrine after spending the night there. He also assessed projects that were carried out in accordance with the Badrinath master plan.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai takes down a Pakistani troll asking him to watch the “first three overs” of India-Pakistan match at T20 WC

OpIndia Staff
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Google CEO Sundar Pichai takes down a Pakistani troll asking him to watch the “first three overs” of India-Pakistan match at T20 WC

Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday took to Twitter to share his wishes on Diwali. Pichai said he celebrated the festival by watching again India’s breathtaking victory over Pakistan in T20 World Cup on Sunday. 

“Happy Diwali! Hope everyone celebrating has a great time with your friends and family. I celebrated by watching the last three overs again today, what a game and performance #Diwali  #TeamIndia  #T20WC2022,” he tweeted.

But Sundar’s tweet celebrating Diwali with the last three overs between India and Pakistan did not sit well with Pakistani trolls who descended on Google CEO’s Twitter timeline to take a dig at him. A Pakistani user responded to Sundar Pichai, asking him to watch the first three overs. 

Source: Twitter

However, Sundar Pichai came back with an epic rejoinder. Trolling that user, the Google CEO said, “Did that too:) what a spell from Bhuvi and Arshdeep.” Pichai was referring to the first three overs of the match when a fiery spell from Arshdeep had sent Pakistani captain Babar Azam and prolific run-getter Mohammed Rizwan back to the pavilion. 

Source: Twitter

And predictably, the low-IQ Pakistani user did not understand the quick-witted remark by Pichai as he proceeded to explain that he was talking about India’s batting innings.

Source: Twitter

Nevertheless, Sundar’s witty response had Twitter in its awe as Indian social media users reacted to his epic takedown of a Pakistani troll.

Indian Twitter users react to Sundar Pichai’s tweet on the India-Pakistan match in T20 World Cup

A social media user commented it was an early morning surgical strike by the Google CEO.

Another user responded, “Sundar jawab”.

Still another Twitter user replied, “Bahut Hard, Bahut Hard.”

Kohli scripts an edge-of-a-seat thriller win against Pakistan at T20 World Cup

King Kohli, as his fans affectionately call him, was in sublime form as he blunted the fearsome Pakistani bowling attack, taking India beyond the victory line, which at one point seemed all but impossible. With 48 runs to be scored in the last three overs, many had written off an Indian victory, but not Kohli and his partner, Hardik Pandya, had other plans up their sleeves.

Kohli’s back-to-back sixes to Pakistan’s chief bowler Haris Rauf nearly sealed the game for India. With India needing just 16 off the last over against a left-arm spinner, Hardik and Virat fancied their chances of getting the result in their favour.

But then, Hardik got out of the first delivery, swinging the ever-shifting pendulum in Pakistan’s favour. Dinesh Karthik or DK as he is popularly known, walked off on the pitch to get India home. But it was Kohli’s night as he heaved a massive six of a no-ball to bring the match back into India’s grasp. But the thrill did not end there. With DK getting run out, the equation was down to 2 runs in 1 ball.

Ravichandran Ashwin came in next. An astute cricketer, Ashwin dug deep inside the crease and waited for the bowler to commit a mistake. Nawaz, the Pakistani bowler, played a gamble by firing the bowl on the leg side. But Ashwin went inside the line of the ball and allowed it to travel to Mohammed Rizwan, the Pakistani wicket-keeper, earning the all-important one run of wide that levelled the scores. On the next ball, Ashwin lofted it above mid-off, taking India home.

Irony: Islamist outfit ‘Indian American Muslim Council’ finds the use of term ‘Hindu Americans’ divisive

OpIndia Staff
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Irony: Islamist outfit ‘Indian American Muslim Council’ finds the use of term ‘Hindu Americans’ divisive

On Friday (October 21), the Jamat-e-Islami linked ‘Indian American Muslim Council’ (IAMC) took offence to the term ‘Hindu American’. It claimed that such a word is leading to the erasure of relationships between the Hindu community and South Asians.

In a tweet, it said, “Carving out the category of “Hindu-American”—as opposed to its alternatives, “Indian-American”—has been a key step. It allows a group such as the Hindu American Foundation to erase the relationships between many Hindus and other South Asians.”

IAMC, which has a history of peddling anti-Hindu propaganda, plugged a 2-year-old article by leftist rag, The Caravan, to further its claims.

Screengrab of the tweet by IAMC

While responding to the tweet by the Islamist outfit, the Hindu advocacy group ‘Hindu American Foundation (HAF) pointed out the irony in the claims of IAMC.

HAF stated how an organisation with the name ‘American Muslim’ was objecting to the use of ‘Hindu American’ for representing the Hindu community in the United States. “Said without a hint of irony by the…wait for it…Indian American Muslim Council,” it added.

The IAMC is a Jamat-e-Islami-backed lobbyist organisation claiming to be a rights advocacy group. In the past, it had reportedly collaborated with and even paid money to various groups in the USA to get India blacklisted by the USCIRF (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom).

IAMC hounds BJP leader Sambit Patra

Earlier this month, Opindia reported how IAMC had been pleading with lawmakers from New Jersey to ban BJP leader Sambit Patra from entering the United States. The Islamist outfit had accused Patra of being ‘Islamaphobic’ and hoped that the US government would revoke his visa.

In a press release on October 5, the Indian American Muslim Council said that a delegation met lawmakers from the New Jersey General Assembly and Senate and supposedly handed them ‘evidence’ of Hindu supremacist organisations in India and the US.

The Islamist outfit sought a probe into organisations such as Overseas Friends of the BJP (OFBJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The meeting of the IAMC delegation with New Jersey politicians was part of an ‘outreach programme’ to strengthen the relationships of Muslims in the State with the lawmakers.

The Jamaat-e-Islami-backed organisation has been seeking the revocation of Sambit Patra’s visa since August this year. On August 14, the Indian Business Association (IBA) took out a parade in Edison township of New Jersey in the United States.

Some Indians were seen leading the parade with bulldozers, adorned with pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath. “Baba ka Bulldozer,” read one such banner. The National spokesperson of the BJP, Sambit Patra, was invited to be the Grand Marshal of the parade.

While the purpose of such a display was to congratulate the swift action by the BJP government against illegal encroachments, Islamist outfit IAMC cried foul over it. “Hindu right-wing in Edison, New Jersey marched with bulldozers, which have become a weapon in the hands of the BJP government to destroy Muslim homes and livelihoods.”

Despite this, IAMC has remained fixated on the display of bulldozers in the India Day parade in Edison, where BJP leader Sambit Patra was the grand marshal.

Tamil Nadu: Coimbatore cylinder blast a terrorist attack, accused has ISIS links, says TN BJP chief

OpIndia Staff
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Tamil Nadu: Coimbatore cylinder blast a terrorist attack, accused has ISIS links, says TN BJP chief

A 25-year-old man died on October 23 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, after an LPG cylinder in a vehicle exploded in the communally sensitive Kottaimedu region. A Jamesha Mubin of Kottaipudur, near GM Nagar in Ukkadam, has been identified as the deceased.

The blast caused the vehicle, a Maruti 800 hatchback to shatter into pieces. Another unexploded LPG cylinder, steel balls, glass pebbles, and aluminium and iron nails were also recovered from the spot by police.

Following the incident, Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party president K Annamalai asserted that it was not an accident, but rather a planned terror attack with ties to the Islamic State. He said that the DMK-led government in Tamil Nadu is withholding information about the incident.

“Coimbatore Cylinder blast is no more a ‘cylinder blast’. It’s a clear-cut terror act with ISIS links. Will @CMOTamilnadu come out in the open & accept this? TN Govt is hiding this info for 12 hours now. Is this not a clear failure of the state intelligence machinery & DMK Govt?” Annamalai tweeted.

“The accused who died during the course of planning this attack had clear-cut links to ISIS & was handled from outside the country. Still, some of the elements are active in TN soil. Go mercilessly after these nodes. @CMOTamilnadu, pls come out of your hiding and own your failure,” he further added in a subsequent tweet.

Meanwhile, DGP Sylendra Babu, ADGP Thamarai Kannan, Intelligence IG Senthil Velan, and Special Investigation Division SP Stephen Jesupatham hurried from Chennai to Coimbatore to examine the situation. According to the Tamil Nadu DGP, the man who was killed in the fire has been identified as Jamesha Mubin. He further stated that police searched Mubin’s home in the Kottaimedu neighbourhood of Ukkadam and seized chemicals such as potassium nitrate, aluminium, and sulphur, all of which are used to construct primitive bombs.

“He is not affiliated with any organisation. There is no case against the deceased person, but he has links with a few people under NIA’s radar. We have identified the source of the cylinders and the car. This could not be a suicide attack. The explosion happened when the nails and ball bearing were in the car. Chemicals were in his home. We are going through his call history and contacting the people who were in touch with him,” the DGP further added.

“We have traced him within 12 hours of the incident. It is suspected that Jamesha was on his way to some other place in the car with materials used for making explosives. To evade police checks, he must have parked the vehicle in front of the temple where the blast occurred. We don’t know the full details of his plan. Further probe is on,” Sylendra Babu said.

“In 2019, the National Investigation Agency conducted searches at his house. We are investigating his background, links, and possible association with any organisation,” the DGP concluded.

There are some reports saying that Mubin had tried to run away after noticing the police check post, and had intentionally parked near the temple.

Jamesha Mubin used to work in his father’s scrap store in the city’s Town Hall district. Police have filed complaints under Sections 174 of the IPC and 3A of the Explosive Substances Act, and an investigation has commenced.

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