Tag: Indian government

  • Modi’s Man vs. Wild a monstrous propaganda stunt: The Guardian

    Modi’s Man vs. Wild a monstrous propaganda stunt: The Guardian

    Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s Man vs. Wild moment with Bear Grylls has been termed as a “monstrous propaganda stunt” by The Guardian.

    Modi was seen in a never-seen-before avatar on August 12 when he ventured into his country’s wilderness along with Grylls, the host of Discovery Channel’s popular TV show.

    The channel had issued a statement saying the special episode featuring survivalist and adventurer Grylls and shot in the Uttarakhand’s Jim Corbett National Park with Modi, was a “frank and freewheeling journey”.

    In a clip of the show that was shared by Grylls on his Twitter account last month, PM Modi could be seen riding a small dinghy down a river along with the adventure travel show host.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    In another scene, the Indian premier was seen welcoming Grylls to India and holding up a weapon carved out of bamboo and other material collected from the forest.

    However, according to a review published by The Guardian on Friday, the episode was “the most tasteless TV ever”. The critic went on to say: “Strongmen Bear Grylls and Narendra Modi sniff elephant dung in the wilderness while a terror attack plays out in Kashmir. God help us all.”

    According to reports, the episode was shot on the day when 40 Indian paramilitary troops were killed in the Pulwama terror attack (February 14).

    The tragedy, which was termed as one of the worst to strike Indian occupying forces in the held Kashmir region, was followed by heightened cross-border tensions, including an aerial battle, as India blamed Pakistan.

  • US knew about India’s plans for occupied Kashmir: report

    US knew about India’s plans for occupied Kashmir: report

    With Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) being robbed of its special status, it has emerged that the United States (US) already knew about the development that could lead to a Muslim genocide in the troubled valley.

    In a move to tighten its grip on occupied Jammu and Kashmir, India on Monday dropped a constitutional provision that allowed the disputed territory to make its own laws.

    According to The Print, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi-led government’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had told his American counterpart Mike Pompeo of his government’s plan last week.

    It, however, wasn’t the first time Washington was briefed on the matter as two days after February 14’s Pulwama attack, India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had also called his US counterpart John Bolton and shared New Delhi’s plans to do away with the special status, reports said.

    While the decision to bifurcate the state came much later than the Doval-Bolton phonecall, Jaishankar’s meeting with the US secretary of state came on the sidelines of the 9th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bangkok on August 1.

    Jaishankar had also reiterated to Pompeo that the US does not need to mediate in the Kashmir dispute and that any discussion on this issue, “if at all warranted”, will only be with Pakistan unilaterally.

    The Modi government did not want to take any chances when it came to the US, and so, all necessary safeguards were taken, the report quoted sources as saying.

    KASHMIR ROBBED OF SPECIAL STATUS:

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on Monday revoked the disputed Himalayan territory’s special status by abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution.

    With IoK’s autonomy snatched, people from the rest of India would have the right to acquire property in the valley and settle there permanently.

    Kashmiris fear the move would lead to a demographic transformation of the region from majority-Muslim to majority-Hindu, paving way for Modi’s hardliner BJP and resulting in major setbacks to their freedom struggle.

  • Anupam Kher believes Muslim genocide is ‘Kashmir solution’?

    Anupam Kher believes Muslim genocide is ‘Kashmir solution’?

    With tensions mounting in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) as the government revokes special status granted to the valley, calls in additional troops and orders tourists to evacuate the region, a statement by veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher has left people stunned.

    Prominent Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani had on Saturday taken to Twitter to urge the global Muslim community to help “save their souls” from “the biggest genocide” India is about to launch in held Kashmir.

    With the situation in the Himalayan territory worsening as Indian armed forces martyr at least 10 Kashmiri youth within the last three days and the government announcing its decision to scrap Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, actor Anupam Kher believes that “Kashmir solution has begun”.

    Kher, a Kashmiri Pandit, has been seen supporting Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on several occasions. His wife Kirron Kher is also a lawmaker of the hardliner ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

    The veteran actor had earlier said that “all the issues in the valley will be resolved if Article 370, which provides special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir is abolished”.

    ARTICLE 370:

    Article 370 of the Indian Constitution is a “temporary provision” that grants special autonomous status to occupied Kashmir. All the provisions of the constitution that are applicable to other states are not applicable to the disputed territory.

    According to this article, except for defence, foreign affairs, finance and communications, the Indian Parliament needs the state government’s approval for applying all other laws.

    The residents of occupied Kashmir, therefore, live under a separate set of laws as compared to Indian citizens elsewhere in the country, including those related to citizenship, ownership of property, and fundamental rights.

    As a result, Indian citizens from other states cannot purchase land or property in occupied Kashmir. With the government moving to revoke the article, fate of IoK’s 13 million population hangs in balance.

  • BBC clarifies Channel 5 misreporting on Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik

    BBC clarifies Channel 5 misreporting on Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik

    Amid fear that grips Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) ever since the government called in additional troops and ordered tourists to evacuate the region, Channel 5 reported that Hurriyat leader Mohammad Yasin Malik is dead as reported by BBC.

    The reports came a day after the Kashmiri separatist leader’s wife, Mushaal Hussein Mullick, demanded notice of her husband’s fast deteriorating health in the notorious Tihar Jail for raising voice against atrocities unleashed by Indian occupying forces.

    She said that Yasin was in solitary confinement for the past four months, strengthening the perception that unspoken orders to inflict miseries had been given to the jail authorities so that the Hurriyat leader may die a slow and painful death.

    The statement was followed by reports citing BBC as claiming the separatist leader’s death in confinement.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    With the video report taking over the internet by storm, it wasn’t later that BBC took to Twitter and issued a clarification.

    “The claim circulating on social media that the BBC has reported the death of Yasin Malik is fake,” it tweeted, urging the people to verify stories they see on social media by visiting its official news website.

    While the reports regarding his death have been rejected, it is pertinent to note that incarcerated Yasin is being tortured and denied basic health facilities by the Indian government for being a political adversary.

    According to his wife, being a heart patient, the separatist leader suffers from certain serious ailments related to vital organs of his body and needs certain life-saving drugs, which he was not allowed to take in jail.

  • Rowing boats, making weapons: Modi to feature on Discovery Channel’s ‘Man vs. Wild’

    Rowing boats, making weapons: Modi to feature on Discovery Channel’s ‘Man vs. Wild’

    Prime minister (PM) of neighbouring India, Narendra Modi, will be seen in a never-seen-before avatar on August 12 when he ventures into his country’s wilderness along with Bear Grylls, the host of Discovery Channel’s popular show “Man vs. Wild”.

    The Discovery Channel has issued a statement saying the
    special episode featuring survivalist and adventurer Grylls and shot in the Uttarakhand’s
    Jim Corbett National Park, will be a “frank and freewheeling
    journey”.

    In a clip of the show that was shared by Grylls on his Twitter account, PM Modi can be seen riding a small dinghy down a river along with the adventure travel show host.

    In another scene, the Indian premier is seen welcoming Grylls to India and holding up a weapon carved out of bamboo and other material collected from the forest and saying, “I will keep this with me for you.”

    To this, Grylls replies with laughter, “You are the most important man in India, my job is to keep you alive.”

    “For years, I have lived among nature, in the mountains and the forests. These years have a lasting impact on my life. So when I was asked about a special show focusing on life beyond politics and that too in the midst of nature I was intrigued to take part in it,” Modi said while speaking about the show.

    He added that the show was a “great opportunity to showcase
    to the world India’s rich environmental heritage and stress on the importance
    of environment conservation and living in harmony with nature”.

  • India: Govt meeting disrupted after porn video plays on big screen

    India: Govt meeting disrupted after porn video plays on big screen

    A meeting of top Indian government officials was disrupted after a pornographic video clip played for at least two minutes at the Rajasthan State Secretariat, Independent reported.

    As per the details, the meeting, which took place last week, was being chaired by Food Department Secretary Mugdha Singh at a room in the state government headquarters in Jaipur.

    “In the middle of the video conference, an obscene clip started playing on the big screen. I immediately called the director and asked him to probe the matter and give a report on this,” Singh told the Press Trust of India (PTI).

    She said that 10 people, including department officials and representatives from the National Information Centre (NIC) of India, were present in the room while some 33 other officers were participating in the meeting through a video-link.

    “We were reviewing different schemes when out of nowhere lewd sounds and images popped up on one of the laptops hooked up to the video call,” Singh said.

    As the IT team rushed to the meeting room, officials sat red-faced. The initial inquiry revealed that some “privately owned laptops were used for the conference”, PTI reported.

    One of the laptops accidentally started playing the clip and the footage was projected on the giant screen until the technical team managed to stop it.

    “We’ve launched an investigation into the incident. Whoever is responsible will be found and taken to task,” NIC senior technical director has been quoted as saying.