Tag: India

  • After backlash, Islamophobic film ‘The Kerala Story’ changes figures from 32,000 to just three women

    After backlash, Islamophobic film ‘The Kerala Story’ changes figures from 32,000 to just three women

    Indian director Sudipto Sen’s upcoming film ‘The Kerala Story’ has attracted widespread backlash for claiming to represent the stories of 32,000 women from the state who were lured into converting to Islam by Muslim men and then taken to Afghanistan to join militant outfit Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

    The trailer for the movie debuted online on November 3 last year. It opens with the story of Fathima Ba (played by Adah Sharma), who is a Hindu Malayali nurse and claimed to be one of the 32,000 Hindu and Christian women who were abducted and sent to Afghanistan. Since then, the film has been criticized by Indian politicians such as Congress leader and Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan for spreading misinformation that would only further marginalise the Muslims living in India:

    “The film is a bundle of lies. It says 32,000 women were converted and sent to Islamic State-held areas. Its trailer gave enough hints of its content. It is intended to defame the state and community and Sangh Parivar outfits are behind this.”

    Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan released a statement on 30 April where he slammed Sen for pushing the so-called claim of ‘love-jihad’ through the film, a conspiracy theory pushed by Hindutva members which alleges that Muslim men lure Hindu and Christian women through seduction or kidnapping to convert them into Islam. He further accused the filmmaker of threatening religious harmony by “sowing the seeds of communalism” through the debunked claim that 32,000 women were kidnapped from India and handed over to ISIS.

    “In the movie trailer, we see a hoax that 32,000 women in Kerala were converted and became members of the Islamic State. This bogus story is a product of the Sangh Parivar’s lie factory.”

    The central controversy surrounding the film was it’s claim that 32,000 women were forcibly converted to Islam in Kerala and were sent to ISIS, which has been debunked by several credible publications to be untrue. But speaking to India Today, the producer of the film, Vipul Shah, said that the focus was not the numbers, but the fact that forced conversions are still happening throughout India:

    “We don’t want to get into the debate on the numbers, we want to talk about the issue. We want to bring notice to the human tragedy happening in Kerala and in India.”

    Actor Adah Sharma also defended the movie’s false pretext, by telling India Today that she had spoken to the women who inspired the story:

    “I spoke to some of these women. There will be testimony from those who will be brave enough to come in front of cameras.”

    Politicians like Shashi Tharoor have also slammed the filmmakers for spreading misinformation regarding the 32,000 figure, and addressed it in a lengthy Twitter post where he also said that his 2021 tweet was not proof that the allegations of the filmmakers were real:

    “Many are spreading this 2021 tweet of mine as if it undermines my present objections to the trailer & publicity for “The Kerala Story”. Yes, I was approached then by three Kerala mothers and was aware of a fourth, and I was open about my concerns about their daughters’ radicalisation. But four cases are a far cry from the 32,000 that the film-makers are alleging. If there really were so many ISIS female members from Kerala, that would mean double the number when you count their husbands, whereas even Western intelligence sources says the number of ALL Indians in ISIS does not approach three figures. This gross exaggeration and distortion of the Kerala reality is what I am objecting to.”

    In a tweet posted on Monday, Tharoor offered Rs1 crore to anyone who would be able to prove that 32,000 women had been forcibly converted and sent to ISIS.

    ALT News, in an investigative piece, revealed that the director Sudipto Sen had first mentioned the figure on a Youtube channel ‘The Festival Of Bharat” where he talked about how he calculated the final number, with the help of a speech delivered by the former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy:

    “In 2010, former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy put a report in front of Kerala assembly. In front of my camera, he denied that anything had happened. But in 2010, I documented a case where he (Chandy) said that every year approximately 2,800 to 3,200 girls were taking up Islam. Just calculate it for the following 10 years, and the number is around 32,000.”

    When the publication spoke to Sen on the phone, the author Shinjinee Majumder writes, the director claimed that he picked the number up from an article published by ‘The Times Of India”:

    “This figure (32,000) is not mine. It was a piece of news in The Times of India… one thing I can tell you is that Oommen Chandy, the chief minister of Kerala, had placed this number in the state assembly. So this is not my number, I have got all the documents with me.”

    However, no publication quoting such a large number has come to light. But ALT News reports that in 2012, India Today reported the Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy informing the state minister about how 2,667 young women had converted to Islam between 2006 to 2012. Especially, Chandy had said that there was no evidence of forced conversions in the state, and the fears of ‘love jihad’ were baseless.

    When ANI news shared this report with Sen, his response was:

    “Let the intolerance reach a crescendo. I’ll share my data after the film is released. Why should I defeat the cause of my film?”

    Similarly, Kerala Police had also refuted the claims that 32,000 women had been sent to Syria as “totally baseless”.

    While a report published in 2020 by the United States Department of State’s Country Reports on Terrorism said that there were only 66 known Indian-origin fighters associated with ISIS in 2020, of which 34 terrorism cases were related to ISIS and NIA arrested 160 people by the end of September.

    Moreover, The Hindu reported in June 2021 that four Indian women were traced in an Afghanistani prison, who had travelled with their husbands to join the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), and it was unlikely that they would come back to India.

    As a response to the growing backlash, the film trailer has now changed the title description from 32,000 women to just three young girls, as shared by several Twitter users.

    With the film set to release on 5 May and despite calls to authorities to ban the film on grounds of hate speech and misinformation, NDTV reported today that the Indian Supreme Court had refused to entertain a petition to seek a stay on the release of ‘The Kerala Story’ because it had been cleared by the censor board:

    “There are varieties of hate speeches. This film has got certification and has been cleared by the board. It’s not like a person getting on the podium and starts giving uncontrolled speech. If you want to challenge the release of the movie, you should challenge the certification and through appropriate forum”.

  • Washington doc leak says Pakistan doesn’t want to appease West anymore

    Washington doc leak says Pakistan doesn’t want to appease West anymore

    Several documents regarding the declining support of key allied countries to the United States (US) have been leaked, a report published by Washington Post has stated.

    According to one of the leaked documents, Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, argued in March that her country can “no longer try to maintain a middle ground between China and the United States.”

    In an internal memo she titled “Pakistan’s Difficult Choices,” Khar cautioned that Islamabad should avoid giving the appearance of appeasing the West. She said that in order to preserve Pakistan’s partnership with the United States, the country will be sacrificing the full benefits of a “real strategic” partnership with China.

    According to another leaked document, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif’s aide ask him to remain neutral in the Ukraine conflict because it could jeopardise the country’s ties with Russia.

    India, likewise, appeared to avoid taking sides between Washington and Moscow during a conversation on February 22 between Indian national security adviser Ajit Kumar Doval and his Russian counterpart, Nikolay Patrushev, another of the leaked documents indicates.

    The leaked documents have surfaced when the US is no longer the unchallenged sole superpower in the world, as its former allies make strategic ties with China and Russia while the Middle East goes through its own course correction as former rivals reconcile with deals brokered by China.

  • ISPR says Bajwa’s statement that Pak isn’t ready to fight India is taken ‘out of context’

    The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has clarified that former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa’s statement about Pakistan army not being fully compatible to fight against India has been taken out of context.

    “To this end, views of the former army chief on the future threats to Pakistan, which he shared with media persons in an off-the-record interactive session, have been quoted out of context,” ISPR said.

    It added that the army “always took and will continue to take pride in our operational preparedness and utmost combat worthiness.”

    Earlier, Senior Journalist Hamid Mir said that Bajwa had told journalists in 2021 that the Pakistan Army is not capable of getting into combat against the rival country.

    He claimed that immediately after the ceasefire, Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi had to visit Pakistan in 2021 but the then-Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi and former PM Imran Khan weren’t aware of it.

    When Khan demanded that details regarding Modi’s visit should be given to Foreign Office (FO) “Bajwa came to the FO with his entire convoy and gave a lecture”.

    “This was the same lecture that he gave in front of us once too that army tanks are not capable of running and there is no diesel for troop movement,” the journalist said.

    The journalist’s claims were picked up by Indian media and reported by major news outlets.

  • Aryan Khan directs father Shah Rukh Khan in ad for ‘D’YAVOL X’

    Looks like the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. After Suhana’s entry into the world of entertainment, Aryan Khan is set to follow in his father Shah Rukh Khan’s footsteps with his directorial debute.

    On Tuesday, the eldest son of the superstar shared a snippet of the ad of the upcoming streetwear brand ‘D’YAVOL X?’, which starred the Bollywood Badshah himself.

    The project has received praise from social media users, with plenty of applaud for Aryan’s acting and his direction skills, saying that he had a bright future ahead of him.

    https://twitter.com/iam_sharukh03/status/1650801280103903232?s=20

    Previously, Aryan had announced on his Instagram page that he had finished writing his first web series, which will be made under the banner of his family’s production house ‘Red Chillies Entertainment’.

  • ‘Propaganda’: DG ISPR dismisses social media reports of possible martial law

    ‘Propaganda’: DG ISPR dismisses social media reports of possible martial law

    Director-General (DG) of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, on Tuesday, held a press conference solely to brief the media on terrorist attacks that have recently taken place in the country.

    However, a journalist asked the DG about social media reports that claimed that martial law is going to be imposed in the country.

    Terming the reports as “baseless”, the general said that every day and night there are accounts on social media with or without names that spread this kind of this propaganda.

    Pointing out that every person is entitled to have an opinion, he stated, “we think the talks on social media against the army, institutions and their officeholders are not only irresponsible and unwise but unconstitutional.”

    “Our discipline doesn’t give us permission to respond to each and every speculation”, he stated at one point.

    He also reaffirmed that the army doesn’t support any particular political party. “All political parties and all leaders are respectable for us”, the Major General said.

    He was also of the view that it is not in the best interest of the country that the army should be involved in political matters.

    Talking about India, Sharif said New Delhi’s “aggressive designs and baseless accusations and claims” would not change history or occupied Kashmir’s internationally recognised status.

    “If need be, we can take this battle into the enemy’s territory. I also feel it is important to say that if India thinks of any misadventure due to any miscalculation or misunderstanding, then let there be no doubt that the army would give a befitting response with national support.”

  • ‘Socho thorda sa’: Indian singer Shaan reacts to backlash over Eid post

    On Saturday, Bollywood playback singer Shaan Mukherjee wished Eid Mubarak to his Muslim fans by posting a picture of himself wearing a white shalwar kameez and prayer cap. However, the picture got backlash from extremist Indian trolls, to the point that the singer decided to restrict comments on his post.

    Now, the ‘It’s The Time To Disco’ singer has addressed the reaction, calling for his audience to be more empathetic and kind towards each other as both Muslims and Hindus celebrated their religious festivals on the same day this year.

    Fans in Pakistan and India have applauded Mukherjee’s empathetic and sensible post, a rare move in the time when religious extremism is rising in India, as the BJP continues to marginalise Muslims.

    Twitter users praised Shaan for calling for his followers to respect all religions.

  • Indian court acquits 69 people of murder of 11 Muslims in Gujarat massacre trial

    Indian court acquits 69 people of murder of 11 Muslims in Gujarat massacre trial

    A court in India has declared 69 people, which includes a former minister from the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), not guilty of the killing of 11 Muslims during communal riots in the western state of Gujarat in 2002.

    The case pertains to the killing of 11 Muslims who died in February 2002 during communal riots in Ahmedabad, when Hindu mobs set their homes on fire and rampaged through the city. An investigation into the attack found that the Muslims received no assistance from the police and were left at the mercy of the attackers.

    The Gujarat riots erupted after a train carriage carrying Hindu pilgrims being set on fire. Suspecting that Muslims had carried out the attack, Hindu groups started retaliatory attacks, and the incident soon turned into one of the most severe outbreaks of religious violence in India’s history after independence. While the official death toll of the violence was approximately 1,000 people, with most of the victims being Muslims, non-governmental organizations argue that the actual number of casualties was much greate

  • BBZ is going to India next month for the Shanghai Cooperation Org

    BBZ is going to India next month for the Shanghai Cooperation Org

    In a major diplomatic development, Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will be visiting India to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which is set to take place on May 4-5 in Goa, India, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch has confirmed.

    The minister is going to India at the invitation of the country’s External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

    Pakistan is currently preparing for the meeting.

    It is pertinent to mention that Bilawal’s visit to India will be the first by a Pakistani foreign minister in nearly 12 years. In 2011, the then-top Pakistani diplomat, Hina Rabbani Khar, now Bhutto-Zardari’s deputy in the foreign ministry, visited India.

    If Bilawal’s visit goes as per plan, it is likely that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit India too for the summit, reports Express Tribune.

    ​Bilawal also attended the last meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers held in July last year in Tashkent.

    The SCO is a regional political and security bloc whose members include Russia, China, India and Pakistan.

  • India’s 5 million coders face uncertain future amid AI advancements

    India’s 5 million coders face uncertain future amid AI advancements

    If the technology underlying ChatGPT were to displace software engineers, India would be the country most affected, as it is home to over 5 million coders. This prospect is causing concern for newly qualified engineers like Palash Hade, who anticipates a reduction in software jobs in India.

    To increase his employability, Hade enrolled in an online degree program in data science and analytics from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras.

    In the past, India’s outsourcing firms were desperate for talent and were willing to train engineers from different backgrounds. However, with the rise of generative artificial intelligence and ChatGPT, firms are now looking for candidates with these specific skills. India’s largest outsourcer, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., made 46,000 campus offers this year, but the CEO of Tech Mahindra warns that change is fast approaching due to advanced AI.

    While students at elite schools like the Indian Institute of Science are not worried about the impact of AI on their future job prospects, tens of thousands of engineers without degrees from such institutions have reason to worry. Entry-level coding jobs are at risk of being eliminated, according to Shraddha Kulkarni, a 21-year-old engineering student in Bangalore who has been actively using ChatGPT.

    According to Bloomberg, developers on Reddit and Quora are also expressing anxiety about the potential impact of AI on their industry. They fear that the time and effort they invested in developing their skills may be rendered obsolete by AI-based programming.

  • Apple CEO Tim Cook to meet India’s PM Modi during store opening

    Apple CEO Tim Cook to meet India’s PM Modi during store opening

    Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, is scheduled to meet India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and the country’s deputy IT minister as part of his visit to inaugurate the tech giant’s first retail store in India.

    Cook’s visit to Mumbai and New Delhi to open the first official company-owned outlets in the country highlights Apple’s growing interest in India, despite only having a 3 per cent market share.

    The company has been expanding iPhone assembly through contract manufacturers and increasing its exports. Cook will meet Modi on Wednesday in New Delhi, and he is also expected to meet India’s deputy IT minister, Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

    Apple and the IT ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Modi’s office declined to comment. Cook’s meetings with Indian officials come as Apple focuses more on India, which is the world’s second-largest smartphone market.

    According to data from the India Cellular and Electronics Association, iPhones accounted for more than 50 per cent of the $9 billion worth of smartphones exported from India between April 2022 and February 2023.

    On Monday, Apple opened its first store in Mumbai, but only for a private event where bloggers and tech analysts reviewed the store layout and design. The Mumbai store is located in the Reliance Jio World Drive mall, which is home to luxury clothing and jewellery brands like Michael Kors, Kate Spade, and Swarovski. It is 20,800 square feet, far larger than the planned Delhi outlet, according to local registration documents.

    Apple has sold its products in India through resellers or e-commerce websites such as Amazon. The Mumbai store will open to the public from Tuesday, while a second store will be inaugurated inside a New Delhi mall on Thursday.

    In India, iPhones are assembled by three of Apple’s contract manufacturers – Foxconn, Wistron Corp, and Pegatron Corp. Apple plans to assemble iPads and AirPods in India as well.