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Tough for any Congress leader from outside Nehru-Gandhi family to lead party, they have ‘Brand equity’: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

Days after creating an embarrassment for Congress by terming the Kashmir issue as a ‘bilateral matter’ between India and Pakistan, The leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is back again with another controversial remark.

Chowdhury has stated today to the PTI that many regional parties will soon lose their relevance in India’s politics and then the Congress can rise.

Chowdhury stated that the revival of the Congress largely depended upon the weakening of the regional political parties. Claiming that the nation is headed towards “bipolar politics”, Chowdhury stated many regional parties do not have any particular ideology and they will soon lose their relevance.

Chowdhury then prophesied that when the regional parties become irrelevant, Congress can make a comeback as it will be the only party with a strong ideological mooring and ‘pan-India presence’, and can counter the ‘Communal juggernaut’ BJP.

“When there is bipolar politics, we would again come back to power. So, the future of the Congress is bright”, claimed Chowdhury.

Explaining his theory, Chowdhury added that regional parties lack the ideological motivation and mass support that a party like Congress enjoys.

Chowdhury further claimed that it would be tough for any leader outside the Nehru-Gandhi family to lead Congress because the Gandhi name has “brand equity”.

Supporting Sonia Gandhi being declared the interim president of Congress, the 5-time Berhampore MP stated that Sonia Gandhi had led the party to victory in 2004 and 2009 and despite being reluctant, she agreed to become the interim chief after senior functionaries in Congress requested her to.

He even defended the Gandhi family’s monopoly over the party by saying, “If you look at the present BJP, without Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, will it function smoothly?”

Chowdhury had caused a massive embarrassment for the Congress in the parliament during the debate over the abrogation of Article 370 by the government. He had asked how can the government call Kashmir an internal matter when it is being monitored by the UN since 1948.

Chowdhury had faced severe criticism for his remarks over Jammu and Kashmir in the Lok Sabha. When he had also accused the government of neglecting the issue of PoK, Home Minister Amit Shah had roared that whenever he says Jammu and Kashmir, he always means the entire Jammu and Kashmir, including PoK and Aksai Chin.

British medical journal The Lancet publishes anti-India propaganda on Article 370, maintains silence over Islamic terrorism

The Lancet, a leading medical journal, has published an editorial where it has denounced India’s recent decision abrogating Article 370. It has termed India’s administrative decision regarding its internal matter an attempt to subjugate the people of Kashmir.


In its statement, The Lancet wrote, “Despite decades of instability, developmental indicators suggest that Kashmir is doing well compared with the rest of India. In 2016, life expectancy was 68·3 years for men and 71·8 years for women, which are greater than the respective national averages. However, protracted exposure to violence has led to a formidable mental health crisis.”

Interestingly, for a state that has seen so much violence at the hands of Islamist terrorists sponsored by Pakistan, an ethnic cleansing of Hindus, and collapse of the local body governance system, the ‘better than the national average life expectancy’ is the only argument provided by the article to denounce India’s decision to strip Article 370 and make the region a Union Territory.

The journal has also failed to acknowledge the fact Radical Islam has been waging Jihad against the Indian State and people of other religions for decades. It also failed to mention the horror Kashmiri Hindus had to endure in 1989-90. The Lancet’s statement considers Jammu & Kashmir to be a monopoly of Kashmiri Muslims. People of Ladakh and Jammu find no mention in its account of events.

The Lancet also conceded that people of Kashmir are faring better than the rest of India. However, it notes, “it is unsurprising that people in the region have increased anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.” However, it fails to mention how rampant radicalisation by Islamist groups and the open mainstreaming of the terrorist mindset by separatists and jihadis have contributed to it.

It also betrays a certain cognitive dissonance on the part of the journal. If people of Kashmir are scoring better on developmental indices, then why is the region reeling under Islamist radicalism, young men joining terrorist groups and children being taught to join Jihad so they can go to Islamist heaven? The Lancet does not mention the menace of terrorism that Kashmir has been facing at all. It appears they consider Radical Islamic terrorism as a ‘liberation struggle’ as well.

The editorial also grossly misinterprets the stripping of article 370. The government of India has stripped the article and made the Indian constitution prevalent in the region. The editorial insinuates that PM Modi’s decision means ‘alienation’ of Kashmir’s people. It offers no explanation as to how exactly giving a people equal rights as the rest of Indians means ‘alienation’.

This isn’t the first time either when The Lancet has made controversial political statements. In its “open letter for the people of Gaza” earlier, it condemned Israel in the strongest possible terms but made no mention of the atrocities committed by Hamas. The authors of the letter were extremely problematic individuals who held extremely problematic opinions. Eventually, during his visit to Israel, the editor of the journal apologized profusely for publishing the open letter. He stated that he “deeply, deeply regrets” publishing the letter.

People on social media are perplexed that a supposed medical journal is making political statements. However, the Progressive Empire mandates that there is no such distinction. “The personal is political,” is the foundation on which progressivism operates on. Therefore, it isn’t really a surprise that The Lancet is poking its nose where it doesn’t belong.

IAS-turned-politician Shah Faesal was travelling to file case against India in the ICJ over Kashmir issue: Report

According to the reports, J&K Peoples Movement (JKPM) president Shah Faesal was on his way to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to file a case against India for the abrogation of Article 370 when he was intercepted at the New Delhi report attempting to escape the country, according to a report in New Indian Express.

Shah Faesal was to fly to Turkey from where he was to reach the ICJ in Haque, Netherlands, to file a case against India.

On August 6, 2019, the Indian government abrogated the Article 370 that granted special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, by obtaining a Presidential decree and subsequently passed a resolution for re-organisation of the state. A state-wide lockdown and communication blockade was enforced by the government for avoiding any flare-up in the Valley. Prominent leaders have been detained to stop the Valley from slipping into anarchy.

On August 14, Faesal was detained at the Delhi airport and sent back to Kashmir. The former IAS-turned-politician is held at Sheri Kashmir International Convention Centre in Srinagar. SKICC is turned into a makeshift detention centre where many mainstream Kashmiri politicians have been lodged.

However, as per the norms of the International Court of Justice, only member states, and the states which have accepted the jurisdiction of the ICJ under certain conditions can file an appeal. It is, therefore, debatable whether Faesal just wanted to make an international spectacle to get media attention.

Many opposition leaders and Kashmiri politicians have toed Pakistani line in claiming that India had illegally revoked Article 370. Yesterday, Pakistan was delivered a body blow when China’s attempt to internationalise the Kashmir issue failed as UNSC concluded that Jammu and Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan. India has maintained that abrogation of Article 370 and reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir is India’s internal matter and external intervention on the issue is unwarranted.

Did Abhishek Manu Singhvi just admit that Congress doesn’t want India to speak against China at UN?

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On late Friday, India successfully thwarted a move by China and Pakistan to censure India at the UN Security Council (UNSC) in the wake of revoking Article 370 of its constitution. France and the US unreservedly supported India while China was the only nation that backed Pakistan. The UNSC meeting concluded that India and Pakistan should sort out their differences over Kashmir bilaterally. However, the response of Congress and that of its spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi was rather interesting.

Straying astray from the Congress’ avowed stance vis-a-vis China, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi claimed that India should be aggressive and expansive in exposing China’s undemocratic and non human rights oriented policies and practices on global forums.


Asking the Indian government to raise issues of Chinese atrocities and their blatant disregard of democratic and human rights policies on International platforms, Singhvi explicitly mentioned that this is his personal and “Non-Congress” view. He further added that India should highlight the Chinese inequities in Tibet and regarding Uighur in Xinjiang. He claimed that China needs to be responded in the same coin.

One of the interesting facets of this post was Singhvi’s candid admission that his views are in opposition to the opinions held by the Congress party. Despite China overtly manifesting its scant regards for Indian sensitivities, Congress party has avoided accosting the Dragon for its anti-India moves on any global forums.

Historically, Congress and its most revered leader Jawaharlal Nehru’s international policies were directed at striking a bonhomie with the communist nation. India, under the leadership of Nehru, gifted the permanent seat on UNSC granted to it to China. India also lost a considerable area of Jammu and Kashmir, termed as Aksai Chin to China in the disastrous Indo-Sino war in 1962. Far from reciprocating India’s largesse, China refused to even acknowledge it.  Congress party had always been accommodative of Chinese sensitivities and studiously avoided confronting China on its fallacies.

In fact, the Congress party has relied on China’s peremptory advances to slam its political rivals. A few months back, with the aim to undermine PM Modi, the Congress party Twitter handle had shared an offensive video disparaging their political rival PM Narendra Modi. In the video, Congress derided the nation and PM Modi while unduly lionising Chinese Premier Xi Jinping and holding him on a high pedestal.

Earlier, in 2018, while on his visit to Kailash Mansarovar, then Congress President Rahul Gandhi had secret meetings with Chinese leaders without informing the democratically elected government of the day. China claims Arunachal Pradesh to be their territory, their forces regularly intrude into the Indian side of the border. Therefore, any unpublished meeting with the Chinese government by Indian politicians is a cause of massive concern and grave implications for the sovereignty of the country.

Yesterday, after China called an informal UNSC session to discuss the abrogation of Article 370 that accorded special status to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Congress said that it is a grave diplomatic failure on the part of the Indian government for allowing the internationalisation of the Kashmir issue.


Even as Congress slammed the government on its failures, criticism of China was conspicuously absent from its press conference. The fact that Singhvi had to clearly mention in no uncertain terms that taking China head-on is his personal opinion and not of Congress speaks volume of the party’s stand with regards to China.

AM Singhvi’s latest remarks wittingly or unwittingly reveal Congress’ modus operandi with regards to China. When in power, behave obsequiously to the Dragon and go to an extra mile to humour their demands. While being in the opposition, conspire with them to undermine the government of the day. This is perhaps the plausible reason why Congress finds no merit in attacking China on the international forums. Congress’ avenues of scoring political brownie points against the opposition are rapidly shrinking. By advocating exposé of China in the global arena, Congress doesn’t want to shutter one more avenue.

Deplorable ‘journalists’ further Pakistan propaganda and undermine India: Why should their patriotism not be questioned

Indian ‘journalists’ and ‘intellectuals’ have taken up the mantle of peddling the Pakistani narrative on Kashmir it appears. Apart from spreading their usual rhetoric on social media, a horde of articles is now appearing on international media outlets slandering the Indian government’s decision to abrogate Article 370.

‘Eminent Historian’ Ramchandra Guha painted an apoplectic picture of India in the Washington Post. In his article, he argued that it was time to downgrade India’s democratic credentials in light of recent developments. To summarize his argument in a single sentence, it can be said, “Because I didn’t like the outcome of the elections, India’s democracy is under threat.”

Sadanand Dhume, in his article for The Atlantic, wrote, “India has framed its actions in nonsectarian terms, but it’s hard to miss the symbolism of a Hindu nationalist government diminishing the power of elected Muslim representatives.” He argued further, “Who is to say that a future Indian government—or even this one, emboldened by the apparent popularity of its decision—won’t try something similar with a state such as Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, or West Bengal? That many BJP leaders routinely use shrill anti-Muslim rhetoric raises the stakes further.”

He concluded his article by saying, “In the seven decades since it gained independence, India has done well to hold together a large, multilingual, multifaith nation with democratic principles. It’s too soon to say whether this will change, but if Kashmir is a portent for India’s future, we need to start worrying.”

Suhasini Haider, Editor at The Hindu, shared an article by Arundhati Roy, a Far-Left loony with questionable motives, and said that it was an important read.


In the article for the New York Times, Roy argued that it was “hard to feel” that India is great at the moment. She claims that the government has gone rogue and asserted that “it unilaterally breached the fundamental conditions of the Instrument of Accession, by which the former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India in 1947.”

The article was littered with other unfortunate ramblings of a mind softened by the tides of time. At one point, Roy stated, “The passing of the act was welcomed in Parliament by the very British tradition of desk-thumping. There was a distinct whiff of colonialism in the air. The masters were pleased that a recalcitrant colony had finally, formally, been brought under the crown. For its good. Of course.”

It’s understandable why Roy feels that way. Authors of fiction need to have a rather creative mind. Some of them can excel at their art only when they focus their mind on everything dark and gloomy and horrific and dystopian. It’s a fact that the fountain misery is where many writers find their ink in. However, such affinity towards imagined calamity often tends to leave irreparable scars on one’s consciousness. Before long, such scars manifest themselves in the real world.

Roy’s words betray the fact that she is not strictly dealing with facts here. She has allowed herself to use her literary skills to embellish, exaggerate and twist actual events to portray a series of events that have very little to do with facts on the ground. However, Suhasini Haider should have known better. She allows herself significant room to maneuver by proclaiming that one need not agree with everything Roy says. But she never mentions specifically exactly which parts we are not to take seriously, it’s quite a neat trick.

Sunetra Choudhury, the national political editor at Hindustan Times, asserted that no one could disagree with partisan hack Hasan Minaj who peddles his propaganda under the garb of comedy.


Again, it’s understandable why Hasan is quoting facts selectively to further a particular agenda, the Ummah comes first after all. However, for Sunetra to claim that there was no possible way for anyone to disagree with Hasan on the matter is preposterous. It does say a lot about the mentality of liberals. They live under the delusion that there is no possible way for anyone to disagree with the official party line. And anyone who does disagree is because they are too dumb, or racist, or sexist or a genocidal maniac.

The delusion they suffer from makes it impossible for them to appreciate the fact that people can have opinions on a matter that does not conform with the liberal narrative. It doesn’t make them immoral or demons incarnate. It only proves that they are approaching the matter from a different standpoint.

Zainab Sikander, columnist at ThePrint, used Khalistani and Pakistani propaganda to further her personal agenda on the Kashmir issue. Shekhar Gupta had claimed that protests in Kashmir are Pakistan’s best hope, then went ahead to ask the Indian government to lift restrictions so protests can be organized. It’s not just one or two liberal luminaries who have made problematic statements on the matter, liberals across the board endorse a position that undermines the national interests of our country.

The conduct of liberals after the abrogation of Article 370 has been deplorable, to put it mildly. Things have reached a point where it’s virtually impossible to differentiate between the words of our liberals and the Pakistani Prime Minister. People of Ladakh who have been in a celebratory mood ever since the 5th of August find no mention in the liberal narrative. The Hindus of Jammu have been conveniently ignored.

Liberals could never be accused of loving Kashmiri Hindus a bit too much but how they have completely ignored the sentiments of an overwhelming majority of Kashmiri Hindus regarding Article 370 speaks volumes for their integrity. In the liberal world, only the opinions of Kashmiri Muslims matter, the rest of the people in the region can be entirely ignored.

As has been clear for some time now, liberals are incapable of introspection. They are so focused on winning arguments and accumulating power that they never stop to introspect on their actions. If they had, it would have been clear to them why people often question their patriotism. It would have been clear why they have to announce their patriotism from their rooftops.

They have been undermining Indian national interests at the international level. Their conduct has absolutely zilch to do with values. They are supporting Jihadists here. For all their commitment to women’s empowerment, gender equality, religious tolerance, and peaceful coexistence, when the time comes to prove their mettle, they never fail to sacrifice it all at the altar of Radical Islam. Liberals have made it clear once and for all, their alliance with Radical Islam comes first. Everything else is secondary.

Here is why Shobhaa De could be first in a long list to be exposed by Pakistan

An interesting sideshow calls for your attention. It’s serious too and has wider implications. We have long wondered why a few of our journalists, politicians, film personalities, media houses, academicians and historians speak the language of Pakistan on matters of Kashmir and Indian Muslims. Why their concerns for refugees extend to Rohingyas but not to Kashmiri Pandits. Why they get worried about a demography change in Kashmir Valley but stand by the demographic distortion in Assam. Why Hindus lynched doesn’t even elicit a pause while a similar tragedy for a Muslim evokes a diatribe. Why animal-sacrifice is sacred for one while Jallikattu sport is animal-cruelty by others. Why Triple Talaq Bill is persecution of Muslim males but arrests under dowry act is justice. Why a Mamata Banerjee could openly appease the Muslims but the Prime Minister chanting “Jai Shri Ram” is communal.  Why skullcaps knocked off a Muslim head is bigotry but a Durga Temple vandalized, idols broken in the heart of India’s Capital is passé.

The irrepressible Dr Subramanian Swamy has an interesting explanation on such Break-India forces. He says that most of such voices are funded by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan. Even if neutral, all these inimical forces route their ill-gotten money through hawala by Dubai black money channels which in fact is controlled by ISI. The deal of the game is simple: You be of use to us to cause distortion of facts and general amnesia in the Indian state and we won’t spill the beans on what we do for you. But if you don’t, one line in the press and you are finished, Dr Swamy tells of ISI’s implicit threat.

One such line has finally appeared in the press. Shobhaa De, a regular columnist in Times of India, has been called out by former Pakistan envoy to India, Abdul Basit, for writing a pre-separatist piece on Jammu and Kashmir at latter’s prompting. Ms De has denied the allegation but really what other options she had? Nobody neutral is believing her as the outpouring of reactions on twitter show. Her journalistic career is over in disgrace. All this by a stray comment in an obscure blog.

This must-have sets alarm-bells ringing in dozens of such Shobhaa De’s hidden in plain sight amongst us. Twitteratis have composed their own list but we won’t fall for it, not yet. But an educated guess is that the “disclosure” on Shobhaa De wasn’t accidental. A small pawn in a Great Game has been sacrificed to warn other rogues embedded in India’s fabric to do some meaningful damage to a purposeful Modi government. (Or why would you get headlines of “Sober Eid” in Kashmir Valley when governor Satyapal Malik is inviting everybody to come and see the exact opposite happening on ground).

India’s stand on abrogation of Article 370 and 35A and dilution of Jammu and Kashmir from a state to a Union Territory has dropped the baby of pretence. You are either this or that side of the divide: the clever game of rearranging the narrative and peddle the Pakistan agenda won’t work. Pakistan would demand “compliance” from these journalists and academicians; lawyers or social activists; filmi-sets or politicians. What fun would it be when such names are stripped of the cover of immunity and laid bare amidst us, as Shobhaa De currently is.

One has long wondered why a socialite with little idea of complexities and nuances of our political, cultural, economic or historical perspective gets to write in edit pages of India’s premier newspaper. It’s not also if her language is electric—why even a Twinkle Khanna in comparison reads better. Her readers, if any, ought to be on Page 3 and certainly not on the hollowed edit pages were burning, larger issues are in focus.

This is the set which ensures that anger in India is managed whenever a terrible tragedy happens in Kashmir Valley or in the rest of India. Whenever a major attack happens in Kashmir or elsewhere, the bogey of “dara hua musalman” comes into play. It happened in 26/11 which, if it was a Modi government, would’ve certainly caused a war with Pakistan. When Pulwama happened, an orchestrated campaign in Lutyens Media began about Kashmiri students fleeing from the rest of the country. The same narrative is overwhelming the front pages of Lutyens Media about “subdued Eid”, “scared” Kashmiris and the Valley being turned into a new “Palestine.”

We all know this is not true. So far the government has ensured no untoward incident happens in the wake of their sensational decision on the troublesome state. But we all know that Pakistan won’t keep silent. It would use all tricks in the game and one of them is the “sleeper-cells” it has woven into India’s fabric. They are not allowed to be neutral. A goat is fattened not for nothing, to use a typical Eid flavour of the season.

Shifting focus: Is the Khalistan movement really ‘Justice for Sikhs’?

I was a 4 years old incoherent kid, unable to understand why in 1984, the starting of November was horror-filled and blood-soaked for Sikhs. I witnessed my father, my neighbours, guarding their homes, their streets carrying iron rods, sticks in their hands. My father used to tell us, kids, to stay inside and look after each other. We saw those days through.

As I grew up, I began to learn the horrors that were cast upon Sikhs on the streets of Delhi and surrounding areas just because a “big tree had fallen” and “the earth had supposedly shaken.”

Coming from a Punjabi/Sikh family myself, I’ve been raised in both the cultures and never really felt any difference while praying at a temple or at a Gurudwara. I feel the same love and serenity in both places and devote myself equally.

In the present time, through social media, I’ve realized how a particular section of Sikhs hate Hindus and India. This raised my curiosity as to why would one hate their motherland and their fellow brethren, the Hindus. After all, Sikhism was formed out of Hinduism. When Khalsa Panth was established, every Brahmin, Kshatriyas came forward to give away one member of their family to be a Khalsa.

So why after nearly 400 years is there this bitterness that some Sikhs can’t bear India and want a separate land for themselves?

The Khalistan Movement was started by Jagjit Singh Chohan, who through the democratic procedure of election in India, went on to become a Legislature in Punjab Assembly in 1967. After losing a couple of elections post that, he then went to UK to embark his quest for forming Khalistan. Soon he was contacted by Pakistani Army dictator, Yahya Khan.

Yahya Khan played the Khalistan movement to his interest, which is to help disintegrate India. Chohan in June 1984, threatened Indira Gandhi against Operation Blue Star and mentioned that Gandhi will be beheaded in few days. Operation BlueStar was carried out between June 1st to 8th 1984 to take out Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale from Harminder Sahib (The Golden Temple), Amritsar.

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was another monster created by Indira Gandhi herself. During the late 70s, Bhindranwale was supported by Indira Gandhi to weaken Akali Dal by creating a vote bank for Congress. Congress elevated the stature of a not-so-influential Bhindranwale to be a major Sikh leader. Congress then realized a gross miscalculation from them as Bhindranwale came out with his clear intention of creating Khalistan, a separate state, from India.

In 1982, Bhindranwale managed to assemble a large fleet of like-minded Sikh Jatts inside Harminder Sahib to give them arms training. During 1982-1984, there were many casualties reported of Hindus and patriotic Sikhs. In 1984, Indian Govt deployed the Indian Army to carry out Operation Blue Star to counter Bhindranwale. Although official figures report that there were 430 civilians and 83 soldiers martyred, however, some sources claim that figures could be upto 1600 civilians and 3000 Army men. The operation lasted 8 days.

On Oct 31st 1984, the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated by two of her bodyguards, who were Sikhs. After that, some Congress leaders then took charge to create chaos in the city in a fit of rage. It was a rampant onslaught in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. There were lists made from voter cards and Sikhs were searched and hunted for. Faceless cowards, who were hired by Congress, started killing Sikh men, children, raping Sikh women. The Earth kept shaking!

Some protesting Sikhs with whom I’ve interacted so far, blame the Indian government, Hindus for the atrocities of 1984. It is irrespective of who’s in power, their hatred for Indian establishment prevails. They hate Hindus because they feel it was the Hindus at large who massacred Sikhs.

As I’ve already stated above, and as admitted by Ex-President of Indian National Congress, Rahul Gandhi, in an interview to Arnab Goswami in 2014, that there were Congressmen who were involved in riots, then why does a moinor section of Sikh youth want to remain ignorant to the true picture and why hate India at large?

The answer also lies in that #JusticeForSikhs movement has been taken over by ISI in Pakistan as it suits their agenda of dividing India by creating a rift among its people. ISI has been funding Khalistani Separatists, headed by Gopal Singh Chawla whose hatred for India isn’t hidden. Some of the Sikh youth still carries the same sentiment and blames Hindus at large for 1984. The focus has completely shifted from the real culprit Congress to India and Hindus, which plays largely in favour of Pakistan.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannu is one of the radical Khalistani supporters who has been carrying this movement in the current age. He is being seen as one common face who’s trying to gather SFJ activists from across India, Pakistan, UK, US, Canada and other countries. In a recent event, he along with Singer Hard Kaur (Taran Kaur Dhillon), who has been charged for sedition for speaking against Indian establishment, was seen speaking and threatening Indian Govt. Hard Kaur too went on to abuse Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. She is seemingly appearing distressed and delusional in that video.


With such non-entities coming forth to be in the limelight in the name of seeking Justice of Sikhs, it is just Pakistan ISI which is gaining advantage out of this and the real Sikhs are losing the battle. History speaks that many Sikh Gurus laid their lives fighting against radical Islam and yet we have these flimsy Khalsas, colluding with ISI, whose motive is just to carry out Jihad.

It won’t be long when they realize that they had been used as Pawns in the long run. The mighty and intelligent among the Sikh community must come forward to denounce the idea of Khalistan so this dies a natural death. Captain Amrinder, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Sukhbir Singh Badal, Harsimrat Badal are mainstream Sikh politicians, who should speak against Khalistani movement and make people realize the importance of national integrity of India.

(The article has been co-authored by Hitesh and Sudhir)

After slashing military aid by Pentagon, USA further cuts 440 million USD in aid to Pakistan

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The United States of America ahs further cut down its aid to Pakistan by a massive 440 million USD. As per a report in The Express Tribune in Pakistan, the decision to slash the economic assistance to Pakistan was conveyed to the Pakistan government 3 weeks before Imran Khan’s visit to the US last month.

As per reports, the aid was being disbursed under the Pakistan Enhanced Partnership Agreement (PEPA) 2010. The recent slashing of aid has brought down US commitment in Pakistan to just 4.1 billion USD.

It is notable here that the PEPA was signed in September 2010 to enact the Kerry Lugar Berman Act that was passed by the US Congress in 2009 to grant USD 7.5 billion to Pakistan over a period of 5 years.

However, the US-Pakistan ties have seen a gradual deterioration in recent years. It has affected the actual commitments under the act. The Express Tribune has stated that before the latest cut the commitment had stood at 4.5 billion USD. It has now come down to 4.1 billion USD. However, the actual disbursement had stood at just 3.2 billion USD.

It is notable here that the Donald Trump administration had called for a slashing down of military aid granted to Pakistan stating that Pakistan has not done a single thing for the US.

Last year the USA had cancelled military aid worth over 300 million USD. Before that, the Pentagon had slashed aid worth 1 billion USD, citing Pakistan’s failure to crack down on terror outfits.

During Imran Khan’s visit to the US recently, Donald Trump had said to his face that the US has cut down aid to Pakistan because “Pakistan was not doing anything for the US, they were being really subversive”.

India suspends Thar Express Link that connected Jodhpur to Karachi a week after Pakistan suspended service

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The Thar Express Link, a train that ran weekly between Jodhpur, Rajasthan to Karachi, Pakistan was suspended by India on Friday, a week after Pakistan suspended the train service. The train used to run till Munabao, following which, it would cross into Pakistan, from where the Pakistani railway services took it to its final destination of Karachi.

Reported, Abhay Sharma, chief PRO, North Western Railways said, “Services of the Thar Link Express have been suspended till further orders and the train which was supposed to leave today night has been cancelled. Around 35 passengers had booked tickets for tonight’s train”.

45 people had booked tickets to go from Jodhpur to Karachi on Friday, when the train service, to and fro, was suspended.

On August 9th, Pakistan Railway Minister had announced that the train service that day would be the last one from Karachi to Jodhpur.

In response to Pakistan’s decision to suspend bus service to India in the wake of India revoking Jammu and Kashmir’s separate status, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) had also announced the cancellation of the Delhi to Lahore bus service from its end.

The Indian Railways had also confirmed that the Samjhauta Express running at its end of the international border will stand cancelled. This decision came in days after Pakistan suspended services on its side.

“Consequent to Pakistan’s decision to cancel Samjhauta Express 14607/14608 running between Lahore and Atari, the link express train number 14001/14002 running between Delhi and Atari also stands cancelled (sic),” Deepak Kumar, Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railway, had said.

Islamabad had announced it was suspending the bi-weekly Samjhauta train service connecting Lahore and Delhi as part of downgrading of diplomatic ties with India in response to the full integration of Jammu & Kashmir into India

We do not need international busybodies to tell us how to run our lives, Pakistan using Jihad to promote violence: Syed Akbaruddin

After the closed-door consultations of the UNSC over a China-initiated deliberation on the Kashmir issue, India’s permanent envoy to the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin addressed a press conference at New York yesterday.

Akbaruddin’s brilliant presentation of India’s side before the world media has wowed everyone.

Akbaruddin started by asserting that any decision regarding Article 370 are entirely India’s internal matter and they have no external ramifications. Akbaruddin stated that two countries have been trying to pass off their national statements as the ‘will of the international community’ but the UNSC does not work like that.

Akbaruddin asserted that the recent decisions taken by the government of India are to promote good governance and enhance socio-economic development for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9zYDwH9d0E]

Akbaruddin further discussed the new set of measures announced by the chief secretary of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir promising steps towards normalcy. He added that the UNSC has acknowledged the efforts and appreciated the moves.

Akbaruddin further added that India is committed to gradually removing all civilian restrictions and asserted that since the move is is internal to India, it has not made any difference to India’s external orientation. He affirmed that India is committed to ensuring that the situation remains calm and peaceful.

Slamming Pakistan, Akbaruddin stated that there are some who have tried to project an alarmist approach. He added that 1 country is using the term ‘jihad’ and jas been promoting violence against India.

Akbaruddin slammed Pakistan for fuelling terrorism and stated that violence is not a solution. He added that India is saddened that terrorism is being fuelled by Pakistan using incendiary language.

inviting questions from the press, Akbaruddin further stated that history knows that the last agreement was signed in 1972, India adheres to that, but Pakistan also needs to follow that. He added, “We can go back in history. Every new agreement overtakes the past. We have already extended our friendship according to the Shimla agreement and we are committed to that”.

Akbaruddin asserted that Pakistan’s actions do not seem like it adheres to bilateral agreements.

Akbaruddin stated that he has been a diplomat and has been personally associated with many delegations to Islamabad. He asserted that there are normal diplomatic ways of dealing with countries when countries deal with each other, but using terrorism to try to push one’s goals is not the way normal countries behave. No democracy will accept talks when there is a threat of terrorism. He affirmed India’s stand that to start bilateral talks, Pakistan has to stop terrorism.


Akbaruddin stated that any country can bring an issue to the notice of the UNSC for deliberation but that does not mean that India’s stand over bilateral agreements or Kashmir issue has changed.

Akbaruddin stated that the measures taken to impose certain restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir before the major decision was taken to prevent terrorists from harming the people and cause violence. He affirmed that in the days since August 5, there has not been a single fatality. he added that restrictions or preventive measures are the balance of choice that the administrators on the ground make. They should be allowed the time and space.

Answering a question on allegations of human rights violation committed by Indian security forces, Akbaruddin stated that there is not a single intergovernmental body in the world that can accuse India of human rights violations. He asserted that India was the first country to speak against apartheid. India was the country which initiated the efforts to modify the UN charter of human rights declaration that said ‘All men are born equal’ to ‘All humans are born equal’.

Akbaruddin asserted that India is a transparent democracy and it has courts to address the issue. “We don’t need international busybodies to tell us how to run our lives”, he said.

Answering a question on whether the current restrictions on the people of Jammu and Kashmir undermine India’s democracy, Akbaruddin stated that public order is essential for a democracy to function. He added that there are reasonable restrictions but they will be eased as per the decisions of democratically elected leaders.

It is notable here that China and Pakistan’s UN representatives had merely made statements before the media. It was only India’s UN rep Syed Akbaruddin who had agreed to take questions from the media.