https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/new-it-rules-centre-draconian-powers-fact-checking-8548308/ Why should any man be allowed to buy a printing press and disseminate pernicious opinions calculated to embarrass the government? Vladimir Lenin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv51mXOvjJw https://www.press.org/newsroom/press-club-leaders-urge-biden-raise-press-freedom-concerns-indian-prime-minister https://www.medianama.com/2021/11/223-facebook-failure-hate-speech-bjp-assam/ https://time.com/5883993/india-facebook-hate-speech-bjp/ Filing police cases against journalists on the flimsiest grounds, ranging from sedition to threat to public order, has become too common in India. Mamata Banerjee government’s arrest of ABP News journalist Debmalya Bagchi is only one example. There is no government, irrespective of which party’s it is, that does not misuse power against journalists. Almost all other state governments have some similar victimisation. Journalists are under increasing pressure. Independent voices are consistently branded as 'unpatriotic'. Free speech of the press has dwindled due to self-censorship, and the new industry standard has become high-decibel, polarising, blustering TV news debates. For anyone who has been cheering for authoritarianism, just remember, one day you're going to become the target too, because it comes full circle. https://metfilmdistribution.co.uk/while-we-watched https://simkl.com/movies/1980933/while-we-watched https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/while-we-watched (by Luke W. Moody from BRITDOC Films & LONO Studio). https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/courage-under-fire-ravish-kumars-lonely-tryst-with-truth/cid/1968935
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2024/Mar/22/centre-planning-its-own-democracy-index-amid-global-rankings-downgrade https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/evm-stolen-from-tahsildars-office-in-pune-ahead-of-lok-sabha-polls-5005779 https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/maharashtra-evm-machine-stolen-from-punes-saswad-police-forms-team-to-nab-culprits-23333793 Black day, murder of democracy https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/chandigarh/chandigarh-mayoral-polls-murder-of-democracy-say-aaps-raghav-chadha-congress-leader-pawan-bansal-demand-fir-against-presiding-officer-585744 'Cheating in broad daylight' https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/chandigarh-mayor-election-result-bjp-candidate-aap-congress-winner-votes-invalid-case-arvind-kejriwal-2495341-2024-01-30 https://twitter.com/AAPPunjab/status/1754548714507841943 Good Journalism v Weaponization of Mass Media What is the definition of a journalist today, and who determines whether someone is truly a journalist or not? This very Indian genre of TV debate has done more to damage journalism than any politician or political party. We are in a situation where the richest media groups no longer send out reporters to research stories on the ground, where the news bulletin has disappeared, and where nobody plays editor on a TV show as the star anchors are themselves their own editors. Who would dare to tell them, this is inaccurate. Forget telling them if something is fair or not. That is all the stuff that the editor is supposed to do in a conventional newsroom. That institution has faded away in TV News in the past two decades. This is a dangerous over-personalisation of journalism, for which the greatest responsibility lies on the shoulders of the owners who run editor-free newsrooms, and on the star anchors. Because they chose to keep it this way. That there is hate on many of our TV channels is a fact. That hate sells and is so TRP/market friendly, makes it worse. Shekhar Gupta. https://www.outlookindia.com/national/india-news-creating-toolkit-not-an-offence-5-major-statements-by-court-as-disha-ravi-walks-out-of-jail-news-375207 https://www.india.com/news/india/toolkit-case-disha-ravi-gets-bail-all-you-need-to-know-4445047/ https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/disha-ravi-gets-bail-in-toolkit-case-key-points-of-the-order-101614156286082.html https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/et-awards-2023-state-bank-of-india-gets-et-company-of-the-year-award-chairman-dinesh-kumar-khara-receives-the-award/videoshow/108530216.cms “The making of economic policy in India tends to be opaque and non-consultative. What went on behind the scenes in several major policy decisions that I was involved in during my time in the finance ministry — such as electoral bonds, printing of Rs 2000 notes, the monetisation of six airports, the takeover of ILFS, the debate around minimum support price (MSP) for crops, the ‘raiding’ of RBI reserves, and so on.” Subhash Chandra Garg. Now the memoir of the-then Finance Secretary confirms that Dr Urjit Patel insisted electoral bonds should only be issued by the RBI https://www.livemint.com/industry/banking/rbi-warned-of-demonetisation-impact-on-indian-economy-no-effect-on-black-money-1552309636104.html The operationalisation of the Electoral Bonds scheme “would expose the government and the RBI to adverse public criticism and consequent loss of goodwill for both.” Both the Election Commission of India (EC) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had initially voiced their objections to the electoral bonds scheme. The EC had described the scheme as “opaque” and pointed out that the bonds could be misused by shell companies, opening up space for foreign companies to influence Indian politics. RBI governor Urjit Patel had warned that the scheme could be misused for money laundering. He suggested that the bonds should be sold in digital format and not in physical form. Patel also reminded the government that it was the prerogative of the RBI alone, not of other organizations like the SBI, to issue bonds. The government overruled the objections and went ahead with the scheme. Over the past year, the EC has reversed its stand and supported the scheme. Instead of cleansing India’s murky electoral funding, the government has replaced it with an opaque scheme that virtually gives a carte blanche to the ruling party to corner large sums of money from unknown sources. The amendment made to Companies Act 2013 to Section 182 of the Act took away the restriction that contribution can be made only to the extent of 7.5% of net average profit of three preceding financial years, enabling even newly incorporated companies to donate via electoral bonds. Also, the amendment to Section 182(3) abolished the provision that companies should declare their political contributions in their profit and loss accounts. Now, this requirement is diluted to only showing the total expenditure under the head. This would "compromise transparency" and could lead to the "increased use of black money for political funding through shell companies". The Electoral Bonds scheme, that came ahead of 2019 elections, was a clever step towards emaciating the opposition parties. Neither will it lead to greater transparency in the funding of political parties nor will it check the flow of black money into the electoral process as claimed by the ruling political party. Finance Minister can always get the information from SBI as to who purchased Electoral Bonds of what amounts and to which parties’ accounts have these been credited. Next is the carrots and sticks approach to increase donations by big companies to the one political party in power, if you know what I mean. Previously, companies were barred from donating more than 7.5% of their average net profit to a political party. "What conceivable logic could explain allowing loss-making companies to donate to political parties — if not to make room for shell companies that can be potential donors." https://indianexpress.com/article/india/3-of-top-5-donors-bought-electoral-bonds-with-ed-and-i-t-knocking-on-their-door-9214783/ https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/electoral-bonds-data-companies-donated-political-parties-probed-by-cbi-ed-income-tax-2515182-2024-03-15 https://www.livemint.com/news/india/sbi-electoral-bond-data-14-companies-under-ed-cbi-scanner-donated-over-rs-4-000-crore-to-political-parties-11710493008447.html https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/electoral-bonds-donation-political-parties-cases-companies-cbi-ed-income-tax-details-election-commission-sbi-2515462-2024-03-15 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/22217-electoral-bonds-purchased-and-22030-redeemed-sbi-tells-sc/article67947056.ece https://www.livemint.com/news/india/electoral-bonds-disclose-all-details-supreme-court-tells-sbi-asks-bank-not-to-be-selective-in-disclosing-data-11710739519032.html https://www.indiatoday.in/law/story/sbi-chairman-supreme-court-in-affidavit-electoral-bonds-all-data-submitted-as-per-order-2517740-2024-03-21
https://news.abplive.com/news/india/bjp-got-rs-335-cr-from-firms-facing-ed-cbi-i-t-probe-via-electoral-bonds-congress-seeks-sc-monitored-probe-1666759 https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/national/30-companies-donated-rs335-cr-to-bjp-kc-venugopal-writes-to-sitharaman-demands-investigation https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/congress-accuses-modi-govt-of-capturing-democracy-through-extortion/articleshow/107915270.cms https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/probe-agencies-being-misused-to-extort-donations-for-bjp-claims-congress-demands-supreme-court-monitored-probe-593812 https://www.firstpost.com/politics/black-money-bjp-gets-81-income-from-unknown-sources-congress-71-why-chase-only-common-man-4017971.html https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/India-s-top-court-lifts-veil-on-political-funding-5-things-to-know https://www-newslaundry-com.translate.goog/2019/11/18/electoral-bond-election-rbi-money-laundering-arun-jaitley-budget-modi?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/electoral-bonds-law-ministry-cec-objected-to-1-vote-share-requirement/article61617050.ece https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/the-big-story/story/20181119-political-funding-who-pays-for-the-party-1384158-2018-11-09 https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/electoral-bonds-explained/cid/1721437 https://www.deccanherald.com/specials/the-bjps-near-monopoly-on-political-funding-1151845.html https://zeenews.india.com/india/bjp-receiving-95-of-donations-through-electoral-bonds-donors-scared-of-funding-others-ashok-gehlot-in-gujarat-2528046.html https://thediplomat.com/2023/11/why-indias-electoral-bond-scheme-must-go/ https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-supreme-court-scraps-opaque-election-funding-system-2024-02-15/
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/ec-uploads-electoral-bonds-data-here-is-the-full-list-of-donors-9214506/ https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/electoral-bonds-data-full-list-of-donors-political-parties-election-commission-sbi-supreme-court-2514946-2024-03-14 https://indianexpress.com/elections/in-list-firms-that-spent-many-times-their-equity-on-poll-bonds-9216943/ https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/megha-engineering-winner-of-marquee-infra-projects-and-second-highest-electoral-bond-buyer-has-been-a-constant-participant-in-auctions/3426920/ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/many-lesser-known-infrastructure-companies-bought-electoral-bonds/articleshow/108538883.cms https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/hyderabad/from-a-small-shed-with-rs-5-lakh-how-uncle-nephew-reddy-duo-built-megha-engineering-second-largest-bond-donor-9214969/ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-14/modi-s-party-biggest-beneficiary-of-now-banned-electoral-bonds https://www.thehindu.com/data/electoral-bonds-data-bjp-received-rs-6060-crore-highest-among-all-parties/article67951830.ece https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chennai/ed-officials-not-police-officers-cant-make-arrests-under-pmla-senthil-balaji-tells-sc-8861978/ https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/enough-if-ed-discloses-grounds-at-time-of-arrest-ecir-not-mandatory-sc-122072700401_1.html https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/legal/will/can-ed-arrest-you-without-giving-written-grounds-of-arrest-under-pmla-heres-what-supreme-court-says/articleshow/105643884.cms?from=mdr https://thewire.in/government/ed-is-claiming-it-has-a-high-conviction-rate-but-its-closed-only-25-cases-since-2005 https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/aap-mp-sanjay-singh-raises-misuse-central-agencies-ed-issue-zero-hour-rajya-sabha-2308280-2022-12-12 https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/narendra-modis-400-plus-seat-goal-reason-behind-ed-cbi-offensive-against-opposition-leaders/cid/1922041 https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/ed-scanner-aap-bjp-satyendar-jain-sanjay-raut-chidambaram-1956298-2022-05-31 https://indianexpress.com/article/express-exclusive/since-2014-4-fold-jump-in-ed-cases-against-politicians-95-per-cent-are-from-opposition-8163060/ https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/bjp-wants-to-eliminate-opposition-allege-india-bloc-leaders-amid-ed-raids-on-aap-leaders/ar-BB1hQ8ML https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2023/10/26/modi-has-resorted-to-tactics-of-fdi-fear-deception-intimidation-congress-on-ed-raids-in-rajasthan.html https://www.deccanherald.com/india/delhi/bjp-trying-to-silence-oppn-leaders-aap-on-ed-raids-on-party-leader-2753166 https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2022/Feb/17/narayan-rane-joined-bjp-after-ed-began-probe-against-him-claims-shiv-sena-leader-2420538.html https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/chhattisgarh-ed-raids-premises-of-congress-leaders-days-before-party-s-raipur-meet-101676883918122.html https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/narayan-rane-quits-congress/story-BXtyBBhqy3Ck1JA0AqBkmM.html https://www.firstpost.com/india/48-hours-after-ajit-pawar-ties-up-with-bjp-nine-cases-in-irrigation-scam-closed-by-anti-corruption-bureau-7697761.html https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/delhi/aap-presses-bjp-for-answers-on-rs-60-crore-bribery-scandal-604059 https://www.deccanherald.com/elections/karnataka/explained-what-is-horse-trading-1217834.html https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/congress-accuses-bjp-of-horse-trading-after-hardik-says-he-was-offered-rs-1200-cr/story-J5RNDBvJKqhu5mHGaUmrPM.html https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/gandhinagar/hardik-patel-bjp-june-2-congress-7945079/ https://www.ndtv.com/south/karnataka-rajya-sabha-elections-kupendra-reddy-karnataka-congress-horse-trading-jab-in-battle-for-4th-rajya-sabha-seat-5092642 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/allahabad/cong-leader-expelled-from-party-for-6-yrs/articleshow/89489686.cms https://www.news18.com/news/politics/made-a-mistake-didi-is-hurt-drama-in-trinamool-congress-as-jitendra-tewari-reconsiders-resignation-3191531.html https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/jitendra-rebel-tiwari-loses-partys-west-burdwan-chief-post-rajib-skips-howrah-rally-7150591/ https://www.hindustantimes.com/elections/west-bengal-assembly-election/after-saying-will-never-leave-didi-tmc-s-jitendra-tiwari-finally-joins-bjp-101614697659908.html The importance of Suvendu Adhikari is because many believe that he has the popularity and organisational muscle to influence the results in as many as 110 seats in the West Bengal Assembly, and could trigger a vertical split in the Trinamool cadre across the state. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/modi-surname-remark-surat-court-convicts-rahul-gandhi-in-defamation-case/article66651933.ece https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65048602 https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-court-rejects-rahul-gandhis-plea-suspend-defamation-conviction-2023-07-07/ https://www.ft.com/content/b3a9821b-3b39-4f5d-a88b-e4abdb145857 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/21/world/asia/india-national-congress-bank-accounts-bjp.html https://www.dw.com/en/india-opposition-says-modis-bjp-froze-its-accounts-ahead-of-vote/a-68636645 https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-congress-party-says-25-mln-frozen-by-tax-department-2024-02-16/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/03/21/indias-opposition-party-funds-frozen-ahead-april-elections/ https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/mp-vivek-tankha-it-dept-disproportionate-penalty-congres-9165074/ https://theprint.in/india/congs-accounts-not-frozen-recovery-of-rs-135-cr-made-more-transactions-under-scrutiny-officials/2010409/ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/cong-disclosed-1000cr-corpus-at-end-of-last-financial-year-tax-dept/articleshow/108688807.cms https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2024/Mar/22/sc-blasts-tamil-nadu-governor-rn-ravi-gives-24-hours-to-reinduct-minister-k-ponmudy https://www.livemint.com/politics/arvind-kejriwal-and-hemant-soren-delhi-jharkhand-cm-under-ed-scanner-what-are-cases-can-chief-ministers-be-arrested-11704302514145.html https://www.livemint.com/politics/news/unlawful-decay-of-democracy-from-shashi-tharoor-to-mk-stalin-opposition-leaders-slam-bjp-over-kejriwals-ed-arrest-11711077887328.html https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/arvind-kejriwal-arrest-enforcement-directorate-aam-aadmi-party-protest-bjp-delhi-liquor-policy-excise-case-2517945-2024-03-22 https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/parliament-law-ministry-committe-eci-member-selection-8885520/ https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2023/Aug/11/bill-in-rajya-sabha-to-axe-cji-from-panel-that-picks-the-chief-election-commissioner-2604062.html https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/centre-tables-bill-to-exit-cji-from-election-commission-appointment-panel-opposition-cries-foul/article67180792.ece https://www.deccanherald.com/india/centre-lists-bill-in-rajya-sabha-to-regulate-appointment-of-cec-ecs-2642383 The second half of the 12th century and the beginning of the 21st century have witnessed the most common type of authoritarian rule under single political Party rule. One party rules have been able to simultaneously minimized threats from the masses and the elites; focusing on the relationship between constitutional democracy and "authoritarian elections"; and focusing on the conditions that foster transitions from one type of authoritarianism to another. https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2021/12/08/cai-xia-on-why-chinas-one-party-system-holds-back-the-country https://www.foreignaffairs.com/india/indias-feet-clay-modi The Army trains soldiers to shoot to kill the foe, strictly following the military chain of command (appointed by an elected civilian). The quickest way to end a battle is to take the enemy's life. War is always bloody and violent. That is not a civilian's job. That is solider's profession. What happens when such a retired general ends up, becomes a YouTuber or an opinion-news analyst? A lot of impressionable people watch these videos. It's worse when the retired general's home is in India's largest state, known for men pull out guns during traffic jams and police doling out street justice. When you become frustrated for any acts of justice, because you feel no action is being taken to fix an issue, this is how you become ready to support radical rhetoric by loud people. The biggest internal danger is a revered leader, surrounded by determined supporters with blind faith, who don't mind unleashing physical violence upon anyone they feel is their 'enemy'. Such nations become disillusioned, when their belief gets shaken by reality. Sometimes there is realisation that, what you thought you wanted, is not what you needed, after you get it. How do we, ordinary citizens, identify bad claims that surface, by people who make things up, to profit by spreading paranoia and by distracting from important current news? Such people often look at the events happening in the World, but they need to reason it with highly biased explanations (without data and reality surrounding it), so that they feel good about their personal belief system. Post-retirement, a solider becomes a civilian. Their job is not in the military anymore, but some don't feel the need to switch their mentality from army to civilian. They only see through the lens of their military training, as either friend or foe, and they are still bound by their training to reflexively support extreme violence as the quickest way to solve the nation's wicked problems. British officers like General dyer believed in quick and max violent action against peaceful civilian protesters too, and UP bhai supports actions of General dyer. Ingrained in binary thinking, people start to justify bad deeds from people (or politicians) they like. Many claim that rapes in UP are becoming less due to UP Police carrying out encounters. Following this logic, in all the places, wherever there are no Police encounters, do we find there high-rate of rapes? No. I bet most places that don't have high rate of rape, also don't have Police encounters. If violence was the sole answer to all problems, then why hasn't the sole superpower US's firepower changed Taliban or Vietcong's behaviour? War is "politics by violent means". Violence is a very important tool, but it works only within set objectives. Wars has a specific purpose, either to crush the enemy's will to fight or destroy enough of enemy's war materials. Big Corporations with the letter 'A' will import food, but what will you eat without farmers? Why is your heart bleeding for Corporation owner who is spending Rs 1000 crore on Silicon Valley, Bollywood and International guests, for a pre-wedding show, but not for farmers & children? France, Germany, Poland, these same types of protest are also happening, but nobody there has said it's a secret conspiracy against their Govt by foreign funding or by Israeli businessman living in another far-off land. Our most educated minds become Indian diplomats, just like S.Jaishankar who promotes Indian interests so much, is a star product of elite JNU education. He writes books & talks to change minds, without using violence. Civilised society can't tolerate threat of violence for the sake of political power. In any society, the vast majority of civilians understand that there are various shades of grey that exists in people's lives. Civilians don't live lives in black and white. They can separate a likeable person from their bad acts. Adults can change, but is it possible for retired soldiers? I hope so. However, when the only tool you had learned to use, is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. With a big enough audience, it leads to influencing citizens to be vocal in their active support of stoic strongman politicians. It's becomes an anti-democratic chain of command because it leads to justify bad deeds from politicians. There are countless examples in history, that it initially brings perceived safety and simplicity in the minds of supporters, but then, it also suppresses citizens who dare to come out to protest on the road. Do we want to be like Arab nations or like China, who do terrible things to their own people with a voice? Indian police job should not be used as a tool to threaten violence. Police job is to protect ordinary civilians by registering FIRs and clearing cases. Instead, our police has always been misused to crush civilian voices, peaceful protests and protect powerful people. That is also hypocrisy. https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/why-supreme-court-has-called-chandigarh-mayoral-polls-a-murder-of-democracy-13693292.html https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2024/02/05/this-is-murder-of-democracy-supreme-court-on-chandigarh-mayor-polls.html https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/mayor-poll-was-murder-of-democracy-cji-881159 https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2023/dec/01/us-senate-likely-to-hold-hearing-over-indian-nationals-alleged-plot-to-kill-sikh-separatist-pannun-2637831.html https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/us-foils-plot-to-assassinate-sikh-extremist-gurpatwant-singh-pannun-warns-india-says-ft-report/cid/1981877 https://www.livemint.com/news/world/us-thwarts-plot-to-kill-sikh-separatist-issues-warning-to-india-report-11700650091904.html https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-11-22/u-s-thwarts-plot-to-kill-sikh-separatist-issues-warning-to-india-ft https://www.voanews.com/a/india-alleged-to-have-plotted-assassination-on-us-soil/7365996.html https://www.livemint.com/news/india/who-is-nikhil-gupta-arrested-for-planning-to-kill-khalistani-leader-gurpatwant-singh-pannun-in-us-11701307876954.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/29/india-us-sikh-separatist-leader/9d37b50a-8ea1-11ee-95e1-edd75d825df0_story.html https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/world/story/5-anglosphere-countries-band-together-new-zealand-slammed-for-post-on-india-canada-row-403335-2023-10-26 https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230922-blinken-calls-on-india-to-cooperate-on-canada-killing-probe https://fox5sandiego.com/news/world-news/ap-international/ap-us-diplomat-says-intelligence-from-five-eyes-nations-helped-canada-to-link-india-to-sikhs-killing/
India never had a covert policy of assassination campaign. Former head of RAW has said, just like David Headley, Nikhil Gupta is also an undercover US agent who set a trap to lure in an overconfident senior Indian govt. CRPF officer, who was fishing for assassins for hire. He was ready to brag, which gave the US enough recorded evidence. India's NSA Ajit Doval is highly experienced professional and would not leave his fingerprints, which means any approval given to senior Indian govt. CRPF officer must have been not through the normal RAW route/system. Here are the major highlights of the indictment:
Strong countries and well-connected people don't have to play by the rules. That's how it is. But not how it should be. Blood For Blood by Terry Milewski Secret World : A History of Intelligence by Christopher Andrew How To Stage A Coup: And Ten Other Lessons from the World of Secret Statecraft by Rory Cormac and Disrupt and Deny: Spies, Special Forces, and the Secret Pursuit of British Foreign Policy by Rory Cormac The Secret History of MI6 by Keith Jeffery The Mitrokhin Archive by Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence by Douglas London Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations by Ronen Bergman RAW : A HISTORY OF INDIA’S COVERT OPERATIONS by Yatish Yadav The Mammoth Book of Covert Ops: True Stories of Covert Military Operations, from the Bay of Pigs to the Death of Osama bin Laden by Jon E. Lewis It is worth recalling that when Israel embarked on a program of targeted assassinations of Palestinian militants in 2000 and 2001, the practice was denounced by the U.S. ambassador to Israel at the time. “They are extrajudicial killings, and we do not support that.” In 1985, an Air India flight from Montreal to New Delhi was bombed by Canada-based Sikh terrorists, killing all 329 people, mostly Indian Hindus, on board. After a Canadian investigation, most of the accused were acquitted. Nijjar himself had been wanted under India’s Terrorist Act for his involvement in many cases, including a 2007 movie theater bombing in Punjab and the 2009 murder of a Sikh Indian politician, Rulda Singh. The Indian government has also been concerned about threats made against Indian diplomats in Canada and the lack of official action against those who made the threats. The Indian government has particularly accused Trudeau of needing the support of a Sikh political base and therefore being soft on Sikh terrorism. India has for years accused Canada of harbouring Sikh terrorists and turning a blind eye to the activities of its Sikh citizens. Whether the Indian government is justified in its complaints about Canada’s laxity on Sikh terrorism or not, if it was behind Nijjar’s assassination, the act would count as a violation of Canadian sovereignty and an interference in Canadian domestic politics. A democracy assassinating the citizen of another democracy, and on the latter’s own soil, is no small action. That will not be easily forgotten by India’s partners. The situation does raise questions about what it means for India to become a great power. Manjari Chatterjee Miller We may not have the capability to carry out assassination in Western nations, however we don't have the capability to do things quietly like the Israelis. Former RAW Head has said that a senior Indian govt. CRPF officer was clumsy and unaware who walked into an American trap. He was ready to brag, which gave the US enough recorded evidence. Americans can leverage it for their pound of flesh. During the second term of this Govt., we risked our hard-earned credibility, in the eyes of the World, over the killing of a nobody, which was not necessary. Demonetization already was a huge blunder in the first term of this Govt. Until we correct the underline issue with our decision-making, we will keep on repeating these types of mistakes. Our operators and our diplomats are not less than anyone, but they should always assume that they are under surveillance. It took a long time for India to gain credibility on the World stage. These type of mistakes made us look too immature and insecure as a nation. The World is not a fair, but we have to live in the real World. We are still a non superpower who has 99 challenges. Whataboutism about Western history of carrying out killing in other nations, won't do us any good. Everyone is thinking, whether this Govt. appetite will stop by going down this path? In UP, killing maybe no big deal, but the rest of India is not like UP. Will farmers, and so-called elites (like journalists, academics and scholars), be targeted if they use their voices to oppose this Govt? The test group is always just the beginning. https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/09/19/canada-expels-an-indian-diplomat-as-it-investigates-a-sikhs-killing-india-denies-an-alleged-link/ https://www.thenation.com/article/world/hardeep-singh-nijjar-narendra-modi/ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12550379/Justin-Trudeau-Canada-India-assassination-surveillance.html https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/09/21/hardeep-singh-nijjar-who-is-sikh-activist-canada-says-india-killed/70907343007/ https://www.reuters.com/world/india-should-cooperate-probe-sikh-leader-killing-canada-white-house-2023-09-20/ https://www.deccanherald.com/world/deeply-concerned-about-allegations-raised-by-pm-trudeau-against-india-antony-blinken-2698003 https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2023/sep/23/us-deeply-concerned-about-allegations-raised-by-canadian-pm-trudeau-against-india-blinken-2617600.html https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-pm-says-he-is-sure-blinken-will-raise-murder-case-with-india-2023-09-28/ https://theweek.com/politics/why-is-canadas-assassination-allegation-against-india-more-destabilizing-than-it-seems https://www.foxnews.com/world/india-demands-canada-recall-41-diplomats-amid-diplomatic-tensions-sikh-leaders-killing https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/03/world/canada/trudeau-india-canada-diplomats.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/19/world/canada/canada-india-diplomats-withdraw.html https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-10-20/us-backs-canada-in-dispute-with-india-over-diplomats https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-world-should-be-worried-about-indias-threat-to-strip-canadian/ https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/uphold-obligations-new-zealand-joins-chorus-against-indias-expulsion-of-canadian-diplomats-a-week-after-five-eyes-meeting https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/after-us-uk-australia-five-eyes-member-new-zealand-too-criticises-india-on-order-expelling-canadian-diplomats/article67459393.ece https://www.reuters.com/world/india-restarts-suspended-tourism-business-e-visas-canadians-2023-11-22/ https://www.livemint.com/news/world/indiacanada-row-justin-trudeau-doubles-down-on-claim-says-if-bigger-countries-violate-law-without-consequences-modi-11699779981046.html https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/canadian-inquiry-into-election-interference-names-india-7e96ad4f https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-24/canada-officially-adds-india-to-its-probe-of-election-meddling https://www.livemint.com/news/world/canadas-intelligence-agency-report-flags-india-as-foreign-threat-amid-sour-ties-of-khalistan-leaders-nijjar-pannun-11706940744514.html India or Bharat? Why is the 'New Right' turning on conservative traditions? Why are conspiracy theories so potent? Why don't humans use wealth and technology in ways that benefit humanity? Renowned historian and 'Sapiens' author Yuval Noah Harari tackles those questions in an extended discussion with MSNBC’s Ari Melber, who asks Harari about his scholarship, its applications, recent AI developments and criticism of Harari's writing. The discussion also covers how history is written and interpreted, storytelling and 'fictions' as a force in society, including 'money' as a fiction; the implications of evolution and Neanderthal DNA; the existence and meaning of God; the enduring impact of America's 'founding fathers'; and Harari's views of his own intellectual reach, success and its perils. There is no denying that India has a long history of inter-religious and inter-ethnic tensions that are sometimes inflamed by both private and governmental actors, but that is part and parcel of the experience of existing in a large, multiethnic country. You can say God is Father of the all the Worlds and all the Universes known & Unknown. Yes, God is inspirational and for prayer. We don't pray to our Father of the nation. Father of the nation can't be a God. The Father of the nation has to be a recent mortal man. India and Pakistan are not comparable to Japan and China. The Partition of India-Pakistan was the bloodiest time in history (more than WW2 but shorter time span). There was no option for people who had lived in the same village for centuries but to brutally fight each other if they wanted to stay or flee. There was no way to stop the daily massacres before the birth of our nation. We Indians must first accept the fact that republic of India started on 1947, and we must keep building unity amongst our wide diversity, (instead of driving backwards which is same as make America/Germany great 'again' slogan).
One of the oldest civilizations of the World is the Indus Valley or Harappan Civilization of 600 B.C. is located in today's Pakistan, and the non-Vedic people are in present day, South India. During the Bronze Age, the name of this land was coined as India, which was derived directly from the name of the western border river, Sindhu or (as the Persians called it) Indu. The people of this region were known as Meluhha. The Sindhu river origin is in the Himalayan glacier, (near Bokhar Chu & Lake Mapam) in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar. Ashoka ruled from 268 to 232 B.C., neither includes two major South Indian present-day states nor any of the north-east Indian states. Maybe for someone from U.P., it's easy to believe that the geographic boundaries of modern India are the same, compared to the time when Puranas were composed, and the empire of Bharata Chakravarti of Chandra (lunar) dynasty. It is said that Bharata Chakravarti was the ancestor of the Pandavas & the Kauravas. Lord Ram was from Surya (sun) dynasty. The Rigveda mentions a war known as the war of ten kings, which was fought between the ten powerful tribes to overthrow King Sudasa of the Bharata tribe on the banks of Ravi River in Punjab. Our national identity is that we all belong to the same young nation, India. Our nation is India, because of our Constitution, which was influenced by the French and American Constitutions and also the parliamentary type western system. India is much younger republic compared to France, USA and UK. There is an alternative idea of India by RSS (formed by K. B. Hedgewar "Doctorji" due to the Hindu-Muslim Malabar riots of 1921) ideologues. Unlike the Indian revolutionaries during colonial time or the Indian National Army, hyper-nationalists leaders like Savarkar & Golwalkar were not against the British rule but were galvanized to counter Jinnah's so-called call for awakening of Indian Muslims for the creation of a brand new and modern Islamic country, Pakistan, which would be safe for all the different sects of Islam. Ironically, when you create a Muslim country, who is a real Muslim becomes the question. In fact, it's high blasphemy to call for a new Islamic country after the passing of the Prophet. Muhammad Ali Jinnah had assured all the atypical sects that Pakistan will be a non-sectarian modern Muslim nation. However, if you establish a country for Muslims, the question of who is a true Muslim emerges, because of long sectarian animosities, should not be surprising. In the 1950s, it was the Ahmadis who faced the charges of holding beliefs subversive of true Islam. They were finally declared non-Muslims by Pakistan’s National Assembly in 1974. The Shia-Sunni conflict emerged in the wake of Gen Zia ul-Haq (Sunni) capturing power in Pakistan, the Ayatollahs in Iran (Shia) and Saudi Arabia (Sunni) challenging the Iranian bid to capture the leadership of the Muslim world. What followed was sectarian radicalisation of Shias and Sunnis. For many decades, RSS 'cultural' organisation (which had a paramilitary wing has become the custodians Sanatan / eternal Dharma) was very careful to remain far away from politics and didn't participate in the 'Quit India' freedom movement. Ironically, gatekeepers of Sanatan / eternal Dharma resist/reject any reforms as they feel it would be an act of insult, yet accepts the evil of caste system (where the priest caste sits at the apex of social order). RSS rejected Gandhi's "muslim appeasement" to co-operate with the Muslims. China too considers Islamism “virus” a mental disease that can be cured. Sanatana Hindu Dharma is certainly not Manusmriti which is riddled with socio- cultural discriminations. Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu also use the term Bharata, but Shaiva in South India (& Advaitis) are anti Sanatana Dharma. "What is Sanathani Hindu," authored by Mahatma Gandhi and originally published in Young India on October 6, 1921, and later included in "What is Hinduism" by Gandhi Ji. I have no desire to be called a Sanatani Hindu or any other if I am not such. It is therefore necessary for me once for all distinctly to give my meaning of Sanatana Hinduism. I call myself a Sanatani Hindu, because, 1. I believe in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas and all that goes by the name of Hindu scriptures, and therefore in avatar as and rebirth. Every Hindu believes in God and his oneness, in rebirth and salvation. I have purposely refrained from using the word divine origin in reference to the Vedas or any other scriptures. For I do not believe in the exclusive divinity of the Vedas. I believe the Bible, the Quran, and the Zend Avesta to be as much divinely inspired as the Vedas. My belief in the Hindu scriptures does not require me to accept every word and every verse as divinely inspired. 2. I believe in the varnaskrama dharma in a sense, in my opinion, strictly Vedic but not in its present popular and crude sense. I believe that our present knowledge of these books is in a most chaotic state. I believe implicitly in the Hindu aphorism, that no one truly knows the shastras who have not attained perfection in Innocence (ahimsa), Truth (satya) and Self-control (brahmacharya) and who has not renounced all acquisition or possession of wealth. 3. I believe in the protection of the cow in its much larger sense than the popular. A religion that establishes the worship of the cow cannot possibly countenance or wan-ant a cruel and inhuman boycott of human beings. And I should be content to be torn to pieces rather than disown the suppressed classes. Hindus will certainly never deserve freedom, nor get it, if they allow their noble religion to be disgraced by the retention of the taint of untouchability. And as I love Hinduism dearer than the life itself, the taint has become for me an intolerable burden. Let us not deny God by denying to a fifth of our race the right of association on an equal footing. I have never been able to reconcile myself to untouchability. I have always regarded it as an excrescence. It is true that it has been handed down to us from generations, but so are many evil practices even to this day. I should be ashamed to think that dedication of girls to virtual prostitution was a part of Hinduism. Yet, it is practised by Hindus in many parts of India. 4. I do not disbelieve in idol-worship. I am a reformer through and through. But my zeal never takes me to the rejection of any of the essential things of Hinduism. I have said I do not disbelieve in idol-worship. An idol does not excite any feeling of veneration in me. But I think that idol-worship is part of human nature. We hanker after symbolism. Why should one be more composed in a church than elsewhere? Images are an aid to worship. No Hindu considers an image to be God. I do not consider idol-worship a sin. I know the vice that is going on today in all the great Hindu shrines, but I love them in spite of their unspeakable failings. There is an interest which I take in them and which I take in no other. "India was Bharata, the holy land of the Hindus, and it is not without significance that the great places of Hindu pilgrimage are situated in the four corners of India — the extreme South overlooking Ceylon, the extreme West washed by the Arabian Sea, the East facing the Bay of Bengal and the North in the Himalayas." I believe, 'India' is for people looking to the future, while 'Bharat' is for people stuck in the delusions of the past dogma. India is already called Bharat in the Constitution itself. The name 'Bharat' wasn't there in the first draft of India's Constitution, introduced by the chairman of the drafting committee, B. R. Ambedkar. However, some like HV Kamath preferred the name Bharat over India. There were Christians in Kerala several centuries before there were Christians in Europe. Unlike their northern counterparts, the Moplah Muslims of Malabar speak Malayalam, not Urdu—besides, no one can accuse them of an identification with invaders or interlopers.
https://www.deccanherald.com/world/indo-canadian-man-held-for-multiple-thefts-at-hindu-temples-in-canada-2829101 https://news.abplive.com/news/india/uscirf-recommends-designate-india-country-of-particular-concern-4th-time-religious-freedom-nijjar-pannun-cases-biden-admin-1650345 https://indianexpress.com/article/world/designate-india-as-country-of-particular-concern-us-religious-freedom-watchdog-9071092/ https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-religious-freedom-watchdog-implores-biden-administration-designate-india-2023-12-16/ https://apnews.com/article/0c8e54f35e1b5739cfd6787d4655a519
A fundamental tenet of American democracy ever since 1965 is to make sure that minorities are not always on the losing end of voting laws and redistricting laws. Ronald Reagan reauthorized the Voting Rights Act and expanded it. It was reauthorized in 2006, 98 to 0 in the Senate. The business community endorsed it, Walmart led the charge to endorse it. However, now, there are more Republicans in the House today with an “F” rating from the NRA than support voting rights. You can be a Republican in good standing and be for free trade or fair trade. The one thing you can’t be is in favor of voting rights. The reason behind the 2019 law is that, since 1947 and 1972, only now we have suddenly realised that Hindu girls are being raped by Muslim men in Pakistan? What about the Hindu or Parsi or Sikh girls, in the rest of the World? The legal way can be wrong way too, like Govt's electoral bonds, which the Supreme Court has said were Legalised way of Govt corruption. If you institutionalise the wrong, it doesn't make it right.
As the National registry of India process means that we must show our grandparents and great-grandparents papers to prove you are an Indian citizen. So if the (2019) law is extended, then all non-Muslims will automatically be granted Indian citizen, but Muslims will not. Isn't that anti-Muslims? Indian Constitution has separation of religion by Gov't, because Gov't is not supposed to support any one religion over another. Assam wants all non-citizens immigrants, to be removed from Assam, whether Hindu or Muslim, as promised in 1985 by Indian Govt. Assam wants 'nrc' Only in Assam, so that if anyone is, say a Nepali person, you are out. But corrupt hindu-rastra politicians wants to filter out Hindu non-citizens (like Nepalis etc) from the Muslims non-citizens who can be thrown. NRC law when applied in ALL States, can be used to remove people, who vote for nonbjp? So in summary, the (2019) law shall be used to bring new voters from Pakistan and Bangladesh; and 'nrc' can be used to dilute, nonbjp votes in nonbjp states? Or like in tribals of India who don't have any IDs, but protest Corporation A's mining in their forest, where they have lived for generations?
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