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Surat man gives Triple Talaq to wife after her parents could not give dowry to buy auto rickshaw

OpIndia Staff
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Surat man gives Triple Talaq to wife after her parents could not give dowry to buy auto rickshaw

A 23-year-old Muslim woman in Surat has lodged an FIR against her husband accusing him of giving her triple talaq illegally after her parents could not provide him Rs. 40,000 to buy a cycle-rickshaw, reports ANI.

Speaking to the media, the victim woman said that her husband gave her Triple Talaq orally in front of his family, just 40 days after her mother died.

The victim has now lodged a complaint at Chowk Bazar Police Station, senior police officer  PL Chaudhary said.

“The woman said that her in-laws used to torture her physically and mentally. Her husband had asked for a dowry of Rs. 40,000 to buy a cycle-rickshaw, which they didn’t give. After that, she was given death threat and her husband asked her to leave the house after giving her triple talaq,” police officer Chaudhary said.

The illegal divorce through barbaric practise of Triple Talaq came just a day after the Lok Sabha passed the bill to criminalise triple talaq. The practise of Triple Talaq has already been declared as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019, seeks to criminalize the act of instant divorce among Muslims with a three-year jail sentence for men who practice triple talaq, which has been made illegal by the Supreme Court.

Outlook and The Leaflet columnist Fahad Zuberi says ISRO Chief should be ‘sacked and penalised’ for violating ‘secular ethos’

K Bhattacharjee
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Outlook and The Leaflet columnist Fahad Zuberi says ISRO Chief should be ‘sacked and penalised’ for violating ‘secular ethos’

Fahad Zuberi, a freelance contributor to Outlook Magazine and The Leaflet, has asserted in a Facebook post that the ISRO Chief K. Sivan ought to be ideally sacked or penalized for “consulting astrologers/priests in the matters of ISRO’s recent launch”. He should at least be ridiculed, says Zuberi.

Zuberi provides two reasons for his claims. Firstly, “He violates the Secular ethos of the constitution by involving worship in a government project.” And secondly, “he violates the constitution where the government is to encourage, observe, and uphold scientific temperament.” He adds, “In his capacity as the ISRO chief, it’s a violation. At his personal level, he can pray to the celestial orbs that he is tasked with demystifying himself, all he wants.” In the postscript, Zuberi implies that by “consulting astrologers/priests”, the government is discriminating against other faiths.

There doesn’t appear to any evidence to suggest that the ISRO Chief consulted astrologers for matters related to the launch of the Chandrayaan-2 mission. However, a report by IANS recently quoted an unnamed retired official from ISRO saying that the scientists have their own superstitions and beliefs, therefore, they try to avoid countdowns during the time that is considered inauspicious.

As for Zuberi’s claims that the ISRO Chief consulted priests, it has been a long tradition at the institution to offers prayers at a Temple before the launch of every significant space mission. K Sivan was as much practising his own religious faith as he was upholding the tradition set by his predecessors.

Regarding Zuberi’s claims that the ISRO Chief deserves to be ridiculed, one wonders why he ought to be considering the fact his beliefs are extremely ordinary and commonplace. That apart, there are not too many people who are qualified enough to criticize a person who heads ISRO, an organization that has given the country a lot of occasions to be proud of in recent times.

Zuberi appears to be a ‘New Atheist’ in the mould of Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins. He has written columns eulogizing Hitchens and asserted that section 295A, which is essentially a law against blasphemy, be abolished. He has also written on the necessity to ban Islamic practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM). However, as is the case with most ‘New Atheists’, they take their worldview beyond the realms of what can be considered sensible.

Furthermore, the ‘secular ethos of the Constitution’ is not violated if scientists in their individual capacity visit Temples and worship the Gods. Scientists have as much right to practice their religious faith as anyone else in the country. Justice Nariman of the Supreme Court is himself a priest of the Zoroastrian religion.

It’s not only Zuberi who has been voicing his concerns against the practising Hindus at the ISRO. Numerous ‘New Atheists’ and ‘Rationalists’ have been making the same arguments since years. However, we can all agree that sacking or penalizing one of the most brilliant minds of the country because of his religious faith is taking ‘rationalism’ way too far. It’s the point at which ‘rationalism’ stops making sense.

Uttar Pradesh: Muslim clerics object to Lucknow University’s decision of including Triple Talaq in curriculum, demand it to be dropped

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Muslim clerics object to Lucknow University’s decision of including Triple Talaq in curriculum, demand it to be dropped

The decision of the Lucknow University to introduce ‘Triple Talaq’ as a subject in the curriculum has not received well by Muslim clerics. The Muslim clerics have now protested against varsity’s decision claiming that it will ‘paint a wrong picture’ of the Shariat, reports Deccan Herald.

According to the reports, the sociology department of the Lucknow University had introduced the subjects of Triple Talaq, LGBT issues in their postgraduate level curriculum. The aim was to educate students and create awareness so that the misuse of triple talaq (instant divorce) by a section of Muslim men is checked.

“Triple talaq will be taught in the paper ‘Law and Society’ under the topic of law related to marriage and divorce. Under it, laws related to divorce for Hindus, Christian and Muslims will be taught. The issue of triple talaq has also been included with the view to develop understanding among the students about contemporary issues,” said Prof Sukant Chowdhury, a faculty in the Sociology department.

However, Muslim clerics have protested against such decision claiming that it would “paint a wrong picture” of the Shariat (Islamic Laws) among the students and must be “dropped”.

Sunni cleric and senior All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) member Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangimahali said, “We are not against the teaching of topics like marriage, divorce and other social systems… but to teach only about triple talaq will portray the Shariat in the negative light,” he said.

Maulana Rashid said that already there are a lot of misconceptions about triple talaq in society. “The current debate on triple talaq does not convey the truth,” he added.

Another senior Muslim cleric also echoed similar sentiments and demanded that the topic should be “dropped” from the syllabus immediately.

The officials at the Lucknow University defended the decision to introduce the issue of Triple Talaq in its curriculum. “Triple talaq has ignited a serious debate in the society… the students need to be taught about the effects of such a system on the society… there is nothing wrong in its inclusion in the syllabus,” Deccan Herald quoted an official.

The senior varsity official also rejected the contention that such controversial issues should not be made part of the syllabus.

NBF formed to take on the Lutyens media hegemony of NBA: Is Editors Guild next?

Nupur J Sharma
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NBF formed to take on the Lutyens media hegemony of NBA: Is Editors Guild next?

The media landscape is going through a sea-change. There seems to be a clear divide between Delhi based ‘Lutyens’ media and the rest of the media fraternity, be it the National media or regional players. The long-held hegemony that a few players exercised has not only been challenged by the alternate media but now, the broadcast channels are also organising themselves to break the stronghold of the few.

Over 50 channels have now formed a National Broadcaster’s Federation (NBF) to challenge the hegemony of National Broadcaster’s Association (NBA).

Among the founder members of the NBF are the following: Republic Media Network (Republic TV and Republic Bharat), Puthiyathalaimurai and V6 News (Tamil Nadu), Orissa TV (Orissa), IBC24 (MP and Chhattisgarh), Asianet News Network (Asianet News and Suvarna News, Kerala and Karnataka), TV9 Bharatvarsh, Newslive and Northeast Live (Assam and Northeast), First India News (Rajasthan), Kolkata TV (West Bengal), CVR News (AP & Telangana), Polimer News (Tamil Nadu), Khabar Fast (Harayana), Living India News (Punjab), Prag News (Assam), NTV (AP & Telangana), Maha News (AP & Telangana), TV5 News (AP & Telangana), MKTV (Tamil Nadu),  Vanitha TV (AP & Telangana), DNN and IND24 (MP), Shri Sankara TV  & Ayush TV (Karnataka), A1 TV (Jaipur), Power TV (Karnataka),Raj News (Tamil Nadu), Flowers TV (Kerala), CVR News Network (AP&Telangana), National Voice (Uttar Pradesh), Nirman News (Gujarat), Anaadi TV (MP&Chattisgarh), VRL Media (Karnataka), Calcutta News (West Bengal),News 7 (Tamil Nadu), DNN & News World ( MP & Chattisgarh), M H One ( Haryana), Mantavya News (Gujarat), Gujarat Television ( Gujarat), S News ( West Bengal) Bansal TV ( MP) and Onkat TV (West Bengal).

This is the first time in Media history that broadcasters have come together to form an alternate regulatory body that will be based out of Delhi. In fact, the strong presence of regional media is a welcome move to break the hegemony of a select few.

In an interesting development, the government too welcomed the formation of NBF. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar said that India has more than 700 channels and if more associations are formed in genres like news, it is a positive development. He also said that the government believed that the media should self regulate.

“I am very happy today that more than 50 news channels have come together to form the News Broadcasters Federation. These members of the NBF are from various regions and broadcasting in various states of India. India has more than 700 channels and if more associations are formed in genres like news, then it is a very positive development. We don’t believe in censorship but believe in self-regulation. I am very sure and confident that the News Broadcasters Federation will be a platform to discuss matters relevant to the TV News Industry. I also hope that NBF gives its recommendations and ensures discipline in broadcasting where truth does not become a casualty. I wish the NBF all the very best”, he said.

The NBF is a body that is set to function independently from the NBA which has exercised a stronghold on broadcasting media since its inception. The NBA has exercised the sole privilege of negotiating with the government and dealing with all issues concerning the broadcasting fraternity thus far. The board of directors interestingly has members only from a select group of channels that often peddle fake news, including NDTV which not only peddles fake news but is also under investigation for financial irregularities.

According to the NBA website, their mission is, “To serve as the eyes and ears of the private news & current affairs broadcasters, to lobby on its behalf and to act as a central point of joint action on matters of interest”.

However, while they aim to serve the interests of broadcasters, it is intriguing to note that there aren’t many representatives from smaller regional channels. The newly minted NBF seems to challenge the stronghold of not just the select players, but also the notion that large English and Hindi news channels are the only ones who deserve the right to lobby for and speak on behalf of the entire broadcasting fraternity.

Other than the lacking representation, the NBA also seems to be rather politically motivated and biased. One recalls the treatment met out to Republic TV journalist who was heckled and manhandled at Jignesh Mevani’s Hunkar rally by his hired goons. The NBA insisted that Republic TV apologises on air for referring to the goons as… goons. In fact, they made the journalist face her harassers in the most shameful manner possible.

For long, the NBA seems to have exercised disproportional power in negotiating with TRAI, other regulatory bodies and the government, with the minimum presence of regional channels. NBF has challenged that organisational supremacy by getting regional channels together. One of the national channels that is involved in NBF is Arnab Goswami led Republic TV. This, when Arnab Goswami was a founding member of the NBA itself.

When OpIndia spoke to Arnab Goswami, he said that the hegemony of the NBA is now being challenged by NBF and this association will not have a ‘UN security council’ sort of permanent body. He also said that he welcomes other channels joining NBF and there is no restriction that members of NBF cannot be members of NBA as well.

What the NBF does it to ensure that when there is a discussion to be held with the government or any regulatory body, the several regional channels which are mighty in their own states, have an equal seat on the table and the discussion will no longer be dominated by the very same Delhi based Lutyens lobby. The NBF, unlike the NBA, will have no permanent body.

With the NBA’s monopoly being challenged and how one wonders if the Editors Guild would be the next to be challenged. The Editors Guild has often shown massive bias and is led by Shekhar Gupta, who himself has been caught peddling fake news and motivated agendas several times. Under the garb of speaking up for journalists, one saw how the Editors Guild could not even bring themselves up to name the journalist killed by Naxals but had no problem vociferously lobbying for an official communist mouthpiece. In fact,

While alternate media has already posed a challenge to the information flow, one wonders if associations likee NBF are only the beginning in challenging the larger power structure within the media fraternity.

Will we see an alternate association take on the motivated and biased Editors Guild? Will we see like-minded digital news platforms come together to challenge the power structure of the Left? Only time can tell.

After a week of the passing away of Sheila Dikshit, Rahul Gandhi finally appears to meet her family

OpIndia Staff
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After a week of the passing away of Sheila Dikshit, Rahul Gandhi finally appears to meet her family

One week after senior Congress leader and former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit passed away on July 20, Congress president Rahul Gandhi finally visited the grieving family today.


After missing from action for almost two weeks, Rahul Gandhi appeared today and visited the family of Dikshit and met her son Sandeep Dikshit. ANI reported that he arrived in India yesterday morning from abroad.

The Congress president was not present when the mortal remains of former Delhi CM were kept at the AICC headquarters and also at the time of the funeral of the at the Nigambodh Ghat in Delhi, which had raised a few eyebrows. According to reports, a wreath with Rahul Gandhi’s name was kept ready at the funeral venue, but he disappointed the party workers by not being present. The entire senior leadership of Congress was present to pay their last respect to the departing leader, including Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra.

Most Congress leaders didn’t know that whereabouts of Rahul Gandhi, but according to media reports he was in the United States on a vacation. Although Rahul Gandhi has submitted his resignation letter from the post of Congress president, he still remains the party president as the CWC has not met yet to accept the resignation and decide on a replacement. He went on vacation when the Congress-JDS was going through an extreme crisis, and ultimately the HD Kumaraswamy government fell when he was in the US.

‘Jo na bole Jai Shri Ram, bhej do unko Kabristan’ singer arrested by UP police

OpIndia Staff
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‘Jo na bole Jai Shri Ram, bhej do unko Kabristan’ singer arrested by UP police

Youtube singer Varun Bahar, who is famous for his viral song ‘Jo na bole Jai Shri Ram, bhej do unko Kabristan’ has been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police from Gonda district on Friday.

According to reports, Varun Upadhyay, also known as Varun Bahar, has been arrested from Bandarah village in Mankapur late last night for allegedly uploading provocative songs on the social media, the police said.

He shot to fame after he posted a song on YouTube which translates to “Those who do not chant Lord Ram’s name should be sent to the cemetery.”

Varun Bahar had released a song titled “Jo na bole Jai Shri Ram, bhejo unko Kabristan”, which has been found objectionable by many. An FIR was lodged in the Hazratgan police station in Lucknow against Varun Bahar alleging that his song was inciting violence.

As per reports, all singer Varun’s YouTube videos have also been deleted.

The Uttar Pradesh will produce Youtube singer Varun Bahar in the court later in the day.

Arnab takes dig at ‘unemployed journalist of Radia fame’ without naming anyone, Barkha hits back

OpIndia Staff
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Arnab takes dig at ‘unemployed journalist of Radia fame’ without naming anyone, Barkha hits back

The quintessential face of the Congress media ecosystem – Barkha Dutt, has scored a massive self-goal on Thursday. Barkha Dutt proceeded to humiliate herself after she reacted to a statement made by Republic TV Chief Arnab Goswami without realising that there was no specific reference to her in those statements.

The heartburn for Barkha Dutt comes as a result of a series of events that took place after ’eminent intellectuals’ wrote a letter to the Prime Minister against ‘rising intolerance’ in the country after BJP came back to power.

On Wednesday, Arnab Goswami had ‘hacked’ into the press conference of ‘intellectual’ Aparna Sena to pose twelve questions at these ‘achievers’ who had alleged the rise of hate crimes across the country.

However, Barkha Dutt seems to have got triggered after Arnab Goswami exposed these political lobbyists masquerading as intellectuals. A ‘hurt’ Barkha Dutt targetted Arnab Goswami and insinuated that what he did was not journalism. Barkha said if what Arnab Goswami did was journalism, she was the Prime Minister of India.


On Thursday, Arnab Goswami began his show by targetting some of the ‘journalists’ for having an ‘opinion’ on him. In an indirect attack, Arnab Goswami made references to certain ‘unemployed’ and ‘permanently unemployable’ journalist, without making any direct reference to Barkha Dutt or any other specific journalist. He has also targetted them for writing a ‘500$ sell-out piece’ for some American piece of crap.


However, the generalised reference made by Arnab Goswami seems to have hit Barkha Dutt where it hurts her the most.

As soon as the video went viral, an upset Barkha Dutt posted her reactions on Twitter. ‘An anchor spent more minutes to huffing, puffing, frothing, fuming against her after she had punctured his bombast’, wrote Barkha Dutt. Barkha Dutt took offence to Arnab Goswami attack on some ‘unemployable’ journalists jibe despite the fact that he did not make any reference to her. By dragging herself, Barkha Dutt has now put her foot in the mouth and ended up embarrassing herself.


This is not the first time that Barkha Dutt has taken offence after Arnab Goswami exposed some of the icons of the Congress-backed Lutyens media ecosystem. In 2016, Arnab Goswami had launched a monologue against a set of “pseudo-liberals”, who he did not name. But, he had asked specific questions of those people who were known for toeing Pakistani line, projecting a terrorist as an innocent, people who had given away operational details of the movement of the armed forces.

Barkha Dutt, who was one of those people who ticked all those boxes, got extremely agitated and had targetted Arnab Goswami, who was then in Times Now.

Arnab Goswami had also slammed Editor Guild’s Chief Shekhar Gupta and his print for being the beneficiaries the ‘Freebie’ culture and stated that there is a section of Lutyens Delhi elites who have lived on freebies all their lives and they are the people who hail and celebrate this freebie culture.

Arnab had also emphasized some ‘UnPrintable’ facts where a certain journalist, allegedly Shekhar Gupta, had obtained lands in Chhatarpur to build large farmhouses in the name of NGOs. He added that there are journalists who had obtained cars from private companies during the 2g case.

62 celebrities write an open letter to point out hypocrisy of the ‘achievers’ who wrote an open letter on ‘rising intolerance’

OpIndia Staff
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62 celebrities write an open letter to point out hypocrisy of the ‘achievers’ who wrote an open letter on ‘rising intolerance’

62 celebrities and artists including film star Kangana Ranaut, lyricist Prasoon Joshi, classical dancer and MP Sonal Mansingh, filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, Vivek Agnihotri have written an open letter against ‘selective outrage and false narratives’.

The letter is in response to the letter written by ‘achievers’ who had written to PM Modi on ‘rising intolerance’. The 62 celebrities say that the previous letter by ‘achievers’ express selective concern and demonstrated clear political bias and motive.

Calling the letter as an ‘attempt to foist a false narrative with an intention of denigrating the democratic ethos and norms of our collective functioning as a nation’, the 62 undersigned say that their concern ‘smacks of dishonesty and opportunism’.

Open letter by 62 celebrities (image: ANI)

The letter further points out the hypocrisy of the 49 ‘achievers’ by stating their silence on other hate crimes where they remained uncomfortably silent. They also question their silence when the widely pedalled ‘hate crimes’ turned out to be false cases. The silence on political murders and violence in West Bengal under Mamata Banerjee is also questioned by these celebrities.

Open letter by 62 celebrities (image: ANI)

The celebrities assert that they are confident that India shall continue to develop and progress without paying heed to the ones with those who want to destabilise the country.

Signatories of letter (image: ANI)
Signatories of letter (image: ANI)
Signatories of letter (image: ANI)

In the letter dated to 23rd July 2019, 49 celebrities, including filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap, Konkana Sen Sharma, Mani Ratnam, Aparna Sen and many others, wrote to PM Narendra Modi, stating that they are ‘deeply concerned’ about a number of tragic events that have been happening in the country in recent times. The letter said claimed that ‘Jai Shri Ram is now a provocative ‘War-cry’. One of the signatories to the letter is a convicted Naxalite, Binayak Sen.

BJP stakes claim to form government in Karnataka, Yeddyurappa to take oath as CM at 6 PM

OpIndia Staff
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BJP stakes claim to form government in Karnataka, Yeddyurappa to take oath as CM at 6 PM

Days after the fall of the HD Kumaraswamy led Congress-JDS government in Karnataka, BJP leader and CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa arrived to meet the governor today and staked claim to form the government.

Yeddyurappa will take oath as the CM today evening at 6 PM. The BJP will have to prove their majority by 31st July.

It is notable here that the Karnataka government led by HD Kumaraswamy had fallen three days ago after failing the floor test. An intense political drama that has been unfolding in Karnataka since earlier this month has seen many rebel MLAs from Congress and the JDS hole up inside resorts. The coalition has been alleging that BJP has poached its MLAs to dethrone the government.

Yesterday, 3 rebel MLAs Ramesh Jarkiholi, R Shankar and Mahesh K were disqualified by the speaker.

Note: The story has been edited to reflect latest changes.

Azam Khan should be appreciated: NCP’s Majeed Memon endorses sexist ‘poetry’ on BJP MP Rama Devi

OpIndia Staff
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Azam Khan should be appreciated: NCP’s Majeed Memon endorses sexist ‘poetry’ on BJP MP Rama Devi

A day after Azam Khan’s sexist remarks against BJP MP Rama Devi created a massive outrage in the Lok Sabha, NCP ‘s Majeed Memon has now stood behind the Samajwadi Party (SP) leader stating that the comment made by Azam Khan was not disrespectful and should be seen as something said in appreciation.

According to an ANI, the NCP leader said, “What he (Azam Khan) has said does not seem to be offensive. He did not say it meaning any disrespect to the honourable chairperson. I don’t think Azam Khan would do such a stupid thing. I don’t think an issue is to be made out of this. On the contrary, it may be taken as a complimentary comment for which there should be appreciation.”


On Thursday, Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan had stoked controversy in the Lok Sabha with his sexist and disrespectful remarks against BJP member Rama Devi, who was presiding over the House. During the debate of Triple Talaq Bill, Speaker Rama Devi had asked Azam Khan to speak looking at the chair and address the house through the presiding officer.

Reacting to this, Azam Khan told BJP MP Rama Devi, acting chair of the Parliament, that he wished to stare into her eyes for an eternity. He further said that he likes her so much that he wants to keep staring into her eyes and that he will keep staring at her until she feels compelled to tell him to stop staring at her.

MP Rama Devi was visibly upset with Khan’s remarks and ordered them to be expunged from the records. She told him that it wasn’t an appropriate way to talk to her. Other members of the Parliament, too, were outraged by Khan’s conduct and demanded that he apologize.

Most shockingly, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav, however, found nothing wrong with it. He said that Khan’s remarks were nothing but ‘poetry’.

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