INDIA

A documentary by BBC has revealed the tensions between India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Muslim minority in India, while the Indian Government has called the documentary as a piece of propaganda. The report also claimed mentioned PM Modi's concerning his role in the large-scale communal violence in Gujarat in the months of February- March 2002 that left "over a thousand dead.” The violence erupted in the aftermath of the February 27, 2002, burning of a train carrying Kar sevaks, which resulted in the deaths of 59 people. In 2005, Parliament was informed that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus had been killed in the subsequent violence, 223 people had gone missing, and another 2,500 had been injured. On Tuesday evening, the first part of a new series aired on BBC Two in the United...

On Wednesday the Editors Guild of India in a statement said that they are deeply concerned by the draft amendment made to the Information Technology Rules, 2021, by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MEITY) that gives authority to the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to determine the veracity of news reports, and anything termed 'fake' will have to be taken down by online intermediaries, including social media platforms. The amendment was uploaded on the Ministry's website on January 17, 2023. At the outset, the determination of fake news cannot be in the sole hands of the government and will result in the censorship of the press. Already multiple laws exist to deal with content that is found to be factually incorrect. This new procedure basically serves to make it easier to muzzle the f...

The Gujarat government ran bulldozers over  36 commercial establishments and 6 madrasas in Kutch area of the state. The bulldozers came into action in the border coastal area action plan, Muslim Mirror reported. During the Gujarat assembly election campaign in November, BJP workers in Surat campaigned on JCB (bulldozers). The event took place when the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh was on his way to the election campaign in the state. Notably, the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is also known as Bulldozer Baba as he has used bulldozers on 'illegal constructions' of criminals in the state. During the election campaign, BJP had boasted about using bulldozers against criminals and illegal encroachers in Gujarat too.

Oxfam India report has made shocking revelations on the growing disparity in economic conditions, and tax collection in India in its latest report stating that 21 Indians have more wealth than 700 million people in the south Asian country. From the time the pandemic began till November last year billionaires in India have seen their wealth surge by 121%, or Rs 3,608 crore per day in real terms, ToI reported. According to Oxfam India's latest report, "Survival of the Richest: The India Story," only 5% of Indians owned more than 62% of total wealth in the country in 2021, while the bottom 50% possessed only 3%. The report, which highlights the total number of billionaires in India increasing from 102 in 2020 to 166 billionaires in 2022, will be presented on Monday at the World Econo...

The Government of Assam has continued its unabated campaign of bulldozers in the eastern state against what it calls "encroachers." According to an official press release the administration in Lakhimpur Assam on Tuesday began a massive eviction drive to clear around 500 hectares of "forest land". The Lakhimpur Superintendent of Police P B.M. Rajkhowa said that around 450 hectares of land would be freed from the encroachers. B.M. Rajkhowa also claimed that the eviction drive is underway and going on peacefully.a Videos from the spot, now viral on social media, show deployment of heavy security personnel in the area amid the usage of excavators and tractors for the eviction operation. As many as three hundred families have been evicted from the area, most of whom are muslims. ...

A fresh controversy has erupted in Karnataka after Sri Ram Sena leader Pramod Muthalik called upon Hindus to display swords at homes, saying it was not a crime to do so. He made these remarks while addressing a convention of religious leaders at Yadrami in Kalaburagi on Thursday and the comments have gone viral on social media, raising concerns. “Talwars (sword) should not be kept to attack others, it has to be kept for the protection of the religion and the country,” he maintained. Muthalik added that if the police come and question for the display, the people should ask them to file cases on Hindu deities Kali, Durga, Hanuman and Ram. “Hindus used to worship weapons before. Now we are worshipping pens, books and vehicles. Police also worship their guns, they don’t worship doc...

The Supreme Court on Friday said the television channels are creating divisions in society, as they are agenda-driven and compete to sensationalize news, and anchors who try to create divisions in society through their programmes should be taken off the air. It emphasised that a free and balanced press is wanted in India. A bench of Justices K.M. Joseph and B.V. Nagarathna orally observed that channels are competing against each other, they sensationalise things and serve an agenda. Justice Joseph orally told a counsel, representing The News Broadcasters & Digital Association: “You (the news channels) create divisions amongst the society, or whatever opinion you want to create is much faster…”. As counsel said they are guidelines for anchors, Justice Joseph asked: “How many...

The Delhi Police has granted a gun licence to the former BJP leader Nupur Sharma, who was suspended last year from the party for her alleged derogatory remark against Prophet Mohammad. According to police, Sharma had applied for the license which has been granted after assessing threats and following due procedure. She has been allowed to carry a gun for her safety, police said. Her remarks over the Prophet during a TV debate had triggered protests across the country and drew sharp reactions from various quarters. Several FIRs were lodged across the country against the then BJP spokesperson in connection with her remark. In June last year, the Delhi Police had provided security to Sharma and her family after an FIR was registered on a complaint which alleged that she was gettin...

Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Rajouri has been put on hold as Air Traffic Control has not given clearance for his onward chopper journey due to adverse weather conditions. Official sources told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that depending on weather conditions, a call will be taken on Shah’s travel to Rajouri. They said Shah will now chair a security review meeting in Jammu following a halt to his journey to Rajouri due to bad weather. Shah arrived at the Jammu airport today afternoon and was scheduled to leave for Rajouri to meet the families of those killed in a militant attack in Dhangri village on January 01—(KNO)

The Indian National Congress said it has invited 21 like-minded parties to participate in the concluding program of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar on January 30 to strengthen its message of harmony and equality. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has sent out the invite to presidents of the parties, NDTV reported. According to the report, the list of invited parties includes the Trinamool Congress, Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United, Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party, CPM, Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal, Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party. Senior party leader and its communication chief Jairam Ramesh tweeted Mr. Kharge's letter. The Bharat Jodo Yatra, being led by Rahul Gandhi, has seen the participation of various like-minded partie...