The True Bargain : How Dr. Ram Rahim Singh Insaan Defined His Time

August 26, 2017

[ Random notes made in the wake of the conviction of Dr. Baba Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insaan of Dera Saccha Sauda for the offense of rape in Panchkula, Haryana, with some attention paid to the testimonials of his close friends. ]

Sometimes, one does not need to write a long post. Some circumstances are themselves so eloquent that they need very little clarification. This evening will go down as a profoundly meaningful day in the evolving history of the Indian Republic. A man of faith, Dr. Baba Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insaan of the Dera Saccha Sauda sect, was convicted by a judge of a sessions court in Panchkula, Haryana of the offense of rape, on a charge brought against him by two women who had been initiates in his order. The facts are well known by now. The brother of one of the complainants was killed, as was a journalist Ramchandra Chatrapati of the Poora Sach (Whole Truth) newspaper published in Sirsa, Haryana, who first broke the story. The enquiry was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation, and the trial ended today. Sentencing is set for the 28th.

As we know well by now, around a hundred and fifty thousand followers of Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insaan had gathered outside the courthouse, despite prohibitory orders under section 144 being in place. They began rioting, committing arson and attacking people soon after the verdict of guilty was announced. More than thirty people have died so far. The Dera Saccha Sauda, which has a considerable following spread across several north Indian states, has been courted by many political parties, the latest of which is the BJP. Previously, everyone, from the Congress, to the Akali Dal, to the Indian National Lok Dal, have sought the Dera Chief’s ‘Blessings’.

As the situation unfolded and I sat riveted to the news on TV. I posted the following updates on my Facebook page. I am clubbing them here, not necessarily in the order that they appeared in. So that I can remember this episode. To me, it is as meaningful as the day when Baba Ramdev disappeared in Drag from Ramlila Maidan. These are the signs of our times.

1. It takes one great man to know another, and a stalker to know a rapist. Saccha Sauda. Narendrabhai Damodardas Modi in praise of Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan. The True Bargain. Bharat Mata ki Hai. But, as the dear leader himself said, ‘is maidaan ko ham saaf karaoke jaayenge’

2. Because, as the RSS Intellectual Prof. Rakesh Sinha reminded us earlier this evening on NDTV, ‘nationalist rapists’, are indeed a cut above. Here, Baba Ram Rahim Singh ji Insaan delivers a rousing musical tribute to the Kunan-Poshpora model of Indian Nationalism.

3. Ravish Kumar said something really significant while signing off on his show just now. He reminded us that no Indian politician, neither President Kovind, nor PM Modi, nor Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, nor Nitish Kumar, nor Arvind Kejriwal, nor Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amrinder Singh, nor Haryana Chief Minister M.L.Khattar have so far gathered the courage to salute the two brave women who took their complaint against Baba Ram Rahim Insaan to court. I heard Ravish say this and thought ‘Contrast this reticence to the alacrity and eloquence with which leaders across the political spectrum commended the courage of Major Gogoi’s illegal act of using a human shield in Kashmir’

4. Arnab Goswami and Suhel Seth are now fulminating against the BJP on Republic TV. I’m forgetting that time honoured adage about Rattus rattus and sinking maritime vessels. Can someone remind me.

5. When asked the obvious question by Sreenivasan Jain on NDTV about the different standards used by ‘law & order’ agencies say, in Kashmir and in Haryana while handling agitated crowds, RSS intellectual Rakesh Sinha just implied in answer that a ‘nationalist who is a rapist’ if he has crores of followers, is certainly more valuable than a ‘separatist’. Different strokes for different folks. Bharat Mata Ki Hai.

6. Narendra Modi’s tweets on Panchkula shows that he is learning well from his friend Donald Trump’s handling of Charlottesville.

7. RSS intellectual Rakesh Sinha defended the BJP Haryana Government’s handling of the situation in Panchkula saying “do you think that the government should use violence against such a large crowd”. I’d like someone in the NDTV newsroom to remind Sreenivasan Jain that only a few weeks ago, the police in Chandigarh and Panchkula attacked students who were peacefully protesting on the grounds that section 144 was in place and even initially slapped a string of sedition cases against them. The police in Chandigarh take orders from the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh because Chandigarh is a Union Territory and Panchkula comes under the jurisdiction of the Haryana Police.So, let’s keep reminding Rakesh Sinha that the BJP ruled government does use force when it wants to in the Chandigarh-Panchkula area. It uses it against peaceful students, but it will not use it against a violent mob. Facts are facts.

8. The BJP MP Sakshi Maharaja just said on live television that the judgement convicting Dera Saccha Sauda Chief Ram Rahim Singh Insaan is a conspiracy against Indian Culture. Followed up by the great RSS intellectual and reptile in chief Rakesh Sinha saying, also on live TV- ‘what is wrong with Haryana minister Anil Vij touching Ram Rahim’s feet and presenting him with a cheque of 51 Lakhs’ – referring to an incident that happened only ten days ago – because it ‘represents a constructive engagement with the faith of millions’. I am reminded of how former Home Minister, later President and devoted Congressman Giani Zail Singh ‘constructively engaged’ with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, even getting him to campaign for the Congress in Punjab elections.

9. Kailash Vijayvargiya-National General Secretary, BJP. Seen here in BJP publicity material thanking and saluting his rapist role model for endorsing the BJP in the UP elections, after doing the same in Haryana. Vijayvargiya is famous for stating that ‘women get raped when they cross the Lakshman Rekha of modesty.’ I guess ‘Love Charger’ Ram Rahim Singh Jee Insaan was just waiting at the other end of the ‘Lakshman Rekha’ to rape the women he did. Meanwhile, the BJP plugged into all the ‘power’ that the ‘Love Charger’ could give. Such Swacch Bharat.

10. The Dera Saccha Sauda is a BJP sponsored terrorist organisation. Any doubts? It has been in the past also been sponsored by the Indian National Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal. Indian mainstream politics is an equal opportunity game.

11. BJP leader and Haryana Minister Anil Vij after handing a cheque of Fifty Lakhs to Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insaan just ten days ago.

Surgical Strike by Baba Dr. Ram Rahim Singh ji Insaan – ‘Hind Ka NaPak ko Jawaab’. Kunan Poshpora Model of Patriotism in Technicolour. The last line of this remarkable trailer hides a key legal principle, especially to be invoked when nationalists are tried for the offense of rape – ‘deshbhakti ka koi sabot nahin hot.

Courtesy: Kafila.online

Hindutva Rule & Anarchy are Two Sides of the Same Coin

August 26, 2017

Is it a coincidence that wherever we have BJP governments mobs rule/destroy unhindered? Go on the rampage ?

In December 1992 despite restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court and the ‘undertakings’ given by the BJP-ruled government to the court and the government of India, that peace would be maintained in Ayodhya during the ‘kar seva’, thousands were allowed to gather at Ayodhya, India still witnessed mob rule and the demolition of a 400 year-old mosque. This criminal act, even as 3,000 paramilitary forces looked mutely on, deeply fractured Indian society, causing a schism even the worst enemies of India could not accomplish.

In 2002, in Gujarat a similar, sinister pattern was repeated. Mobs led by Hindutva criminal organizations were allowed free reign. The result? A genocidal carnageof Muslims. What happened in Gujarat in 2002 was editorially commented by leading English daily, Hindustan Times (March 21, 2002) in the following words:

“Daughters were gang raped in front of their fathers and then their heads bashed in. their fathers were doused with petrol and set on fire. Their property was looted. Their businesses were destroyed. And the police stood by and did nothing.”

In February 2016, the violence allowed to spill over in Haryana was another example of this trait of BJP governance. Haryana turned into a war zone as caste wars were allowed free reign. The mobs were allowed to burn public property and Haryana simmered –held to ransom by the rule of the mob- for 11-12 days. The Army had to be called which fired on its own people, 30 people were killed in the violence, property worth of thousands of crores of rupees was looted/burnt and innocent Indian women were violated.

It has happened again in Haryana. The supporters of one baba Ram Rahim when found guilty of raping two sadhvis by the CBI court went on a bloody rampage. The RSS/BJP baba friendly government despite restrictions on gatherings allowed lakhs of baba’s supporters at Panchkula and what the nation has witnessed is shocking. Railway stations, government offices, bus stands, public/private vehicles and infrastructure were burnt/looted. The media became a special target of the mob violence (such large scale violence against media happened after demolition of mosque at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 too) in which large number of correspondents were maimed and press vehicles destroyed.

RSS/BJP rulers want anarchy to prevail so nobody questions them about poverty, unemployment, price-rise and violence. They believe that by creating anarchy they can establish the Hindutva State. In fact RSS/BJP rulers should also be charged for abetment of violence and destruction of public property.

It is intriguing that brand ambassador of Haryana another baba, Ramdev was missing when Haryana burnt in February 2016, and is missing now too. He should have been around with his Yoga gimmicks for establishing peace in the region.

When RSS likened Hindu Code Bill to “An Atom Bomb on Hindu Society”

August 26, 2017

The sangh parivar which is today claiming credit for “liberating” Muslim women was a fierce opponent of the Hindu Code Bill

Image courtesy: Online Jaibhim

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Sangh Parivar are celebrating the instant triple talaq judgment of the Supreme Court of India, claiming credit for liberating Muslim women from the male dominating Muslim society. But there is no evidence that they took any initiative for empowering Hindu women. On the contrary they took every possible step to stall a major initiative taken by our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nahru and the country’s first Law Minister Dr. BR Ambedkar.

It may be recalled that a draft Hindu Code Bill was introduced in the Constituent Assembly which incorporated several measures to empower Hindu women, including right to divorce. The moment they came to know the contents of the bill, RSS with the cooperation of other like-minded organisations launched a vicious campaign against Nehru and Ambedkar.

What that campaign was and how they maligned both great leaders is described by eminent historian Ram Chandra Guha in his book, India After Gandhi. Relevant contents from the book are being reproduced here:

Outside the Assembly, the cries against the bill grew louder. Already in March 1949 an All-India Anti-Hindu Code Bill Committee had been formed. This held that that the Constituent Assembly has ‘no right to interfere with the personal laws of Hindus which are based on Dharma Shastras‘.

The Anti-Hindu Code Bill Committee was supported by conservative lawyers as well as by conservative clerics. The influential Shankaracharya of Dwarka issued an ‘encyclical’ against the proposed code. Religion, he said, ‘is the noblest light, inspiration and support of men, and the State’s highest duty is to protect it’.

The Anti-Hindu Code Bill Committee held hundreds of meetings throughout India, where sundry swamis denounced the proposed legislation. The participants in this movement presented themselves as religious warriors (dharmaveer) fighting a religious war (dharmayudh). The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) threw its weight behind the agitation. On 11 December 1949, the RSS organized a public meeting at the Ram Lila grounds in Delhi, where speaker after speaker condemned the bill. One called it ‘an atom bomb on Hindu society’.

Another likened it to the draconian Rowlatt Act introduced by the colonial state; just as the protests against that Act led to the downfall of the British, he said, the struggle against this Bill would signal the downfall of Nehru’s government.

The next day a group of RSS workers marched on the Assembly buildings, shouting ‘Down with Hindu Code Bill’ and ‘May Pandit Nehru perish’. The protesters burnt effigies of the prime minister and Dr Ambedkar, and then vandalized the car of Sheikh Abdullah.

The leader of the movement against the new bill was one Swami Karpatriji Maharaj. We know little of this swami’s antecedents, except that he was from north India and appeared to be knowledgeable in Sanskrit. His opposition to the Bill was coloured and deepened by the fact that it was being piloted by Ambedkar. He made pointed references to the law minister’s caste, suggesting that a former “Untouchable” had no business meddling in matters normally the preserve of the Brahmins.

In speeches in Delhi and elsewhere, Swami Karpatri challenged Ambedkar for a public debate on his interpretations of the Shastras. To the law minister’s claim that the Shastras did not really favour polygamy, Swami Karpatri quoted Yagnavalkya: ‘If the wife is a habitual drunkard, a confirmed invalid, a cunning, a barren or a spendthrift woman, if she is bitter-tongued, if she has got only daughters and no son, if she hates her husband, [then] the husband can marry a second wife even while the first is living.’

The Swami supplied the precise citation for this injunction: The third verse of the third chapter of the third section of Yagnavalkya’s Smriti (scripture) concerning marriage. He did not, however, tell us whether the injunction also allowed the wife to take another husband if the existing one was a drunkard, bitter-tongued, a spend-thrift, etc.

For Swami Karpatri, divorce was prohibited in Hindu tradition, while ‘to allow adoption of a boy of any caste is to defy the Shastras and to defy property’.

Even by the most liberal interpretations, the woman’s inheritance was limited to one-eighth, not half as Ambedkar sought to make it. The bill was altogether in violation of the Hindu scriptures. It had already evoked ‘terrible opposition’, and the government could push it through only at its peril.

The Swami issued a dire warning: ‘As is clearly laid down in the Dharmashastras, to forcibly defy the laws of God and Dharma very often means great harm to the government and the country and both bitterly rue the obstinate folly.’

Of course, not all Hindus were of the liberal party either. The reservations of the orthodox, as expressed in Parliament, were carried forward in the streets by the cadres of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). They brought batches of volunteers in New Delhi, to shout slogans against the Hindu Code Bill and court arrest. Among their larger aims were the dismemberment of Pakistan and the unseating of Jawaharlal Nehru – as they shouted, ‘Pakistan tod do‘, ‘Nehru Hakumat Chhod Do‘.

The main speaker at these RSS-organized shows was usually Swami Karpatriji Maharaj. Addressing a meeting on 16 September 1951, the Swami challenged the Prime Minister for a debate on the proposed bill.

“If Pandit Nehru and his colleagues succeed in establishing that even one section of the proposed Hindu Code is in accordance with the Shastras‘, said Karpatri, “I shall accept the entire Hindu Code”.

The next day, in pursuance of this challenge, the Swami and his followers marched on Parliament. The police prevented them from entering.
In the ensuing scuffle, reported a Hindu weekly, ‘police pushed them back [and] Swamiji’s danda [stick] was broken, which is like the sacred thread, [the] religious emblem of the sanyasis.’

Courtesy: Ummid.com

How CIA Can Access India’s Biometric Aadhar Database: Indian Sovereignity Under Threat?

August 25, 2017

How CIA Spies can Access India’s Biometric Aadhaar Database

Aadhar Data is available to USA’s infamous CIA and therefore much more than privacy, India’s soveregnity stands compromised.

Today, August 24, WikiLeaks published secret documents from the ExpressLane project of the CIA. These documents reveal details of one of the cyber operations the CIA conducts against liaison services — which includes among many others the National Security Agency (NSA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

According to Wikileaks, the OTS (Office of Technical Services ), a branch within the CIA, has a biometric collection system that is provided to liaison services around the world — with the expectation for sharing of the biometric takes collected on the systems. But this ‘voluntary sharing’ obviously does not work or is considered insufficient by the CIA, because ExpressLane is a covert information collection tool that is used by the CIA to secretly exfiltrate data collections from such systems provided to liaison services.

ExpressLane is installed and run with the cover of upgrading the biometric software by OTS agents that visit the liaison sites. Liaison officers overseeing this procedure will remain unsuspicious, as the data exfiltration disguises behind a Windows installation splash screen.The core components of the OTS system are based on products from Cross Match , a US company specializing in biometric software for law enforcement and the Intelligence Community. The company hit the headlines in 2011 when it was reported that the US military used a Cross Match product to identify Osama bin Laden during the assassination operation in Pakistan.

So is the Indian government by insisting on Aadhar compromising India’s core sovereignity?

The core components of the OTS system are based on products from Cross Match, a US company specializing in biometric software for law enforcement and the Intelligence Community. The company hit the headlines in 2011 when it was reported that the US military used a Cross Match product to identify Osama bin Laden during the assassination operation in Pakistan.

Cross Match certified by UIDAI

Cross Match was one of the first suppliers of biometric devices certified by UIDAI for Aadhaar program. The company received the Certificate of Approval from the Indian Government in 2011. Cross Match received the Certificate of Approval for its Guardian fingerprint capture device and the I SCAN dual iris capture device on October 7, 2011. Both systems utilize Cross Match’s patented Auto Capture feature, which quickly captures high-quality images with minimal operator involvement.

The Certificate of Approval, was issued after completion of all tests required to demonstrate compliance with the quality requirements of UIDAI. The certification body consists of the Standardization, Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate for the Government of India’s Department of Information Technology (DIT) and the UIDAI. The tests performed by the STQC included the following criteria: Physical & Dimensional, Image Quality, Environmental (Durability/Climatic), Safety, EMI/EMC, Security, Functional, Performance, Interoperability, Ease of Use & Ergonomics.

Majority of the UIDAI certified enrollment agencies use Cross Match devices across India. Cross Match was also the first company to receive the Provisional Certificate for use in the UID program in September, 2010. Video featuring the Cross Match Guardian and I SCAN devices has been taken down from the official UIDAI website.

Francisco Partners

In 2012, Francisco Partners acquired Cross Match Technologies Inc. The company has more than 5,000 customers worldwide and over 250,000 products deployed in over 80 countries. Cross Match’s customers include the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. State Department and various state and local governments; as well as numerous foreign governments and law enforcement agencies. It also provides biometric solutions to customers in transportation, critical infrastructure, financial services, education, and healthcare sectors.
One of Francisco Partners portfolio company is an Israeli cyber weapons dealer called NSO Group. The company’s Pegasus iOS malware was linked to attacks on iPhones of a prominent UAE activist and a Mexican journalist.

Researchers from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab and mobile security firm Lookout raised questions about the ethics of NSO Group, a government spyware provider founded by an alum of Israel’s vaunted intelligence agencies. Francisco Partners bought its stake in the company for $120 million in 2014. Citizen Lab uncovered NSO’s Pegasus malware targeting iPhones of a Mexican journalist and a UAE activist. The same day, FORBES reported that Francisco Partners added Circles to its roster of investments, another Israeli-founded surveillance firm, which sold contentious gear to hack a part of global telecoms networks, known as SS7. That cost the private equity firm $130 million, a source close to the deal told FORBES.

Spying on Governments, Activists & Journalists

Francisco Partners also ran Turkey’s spy operations by selling its deep packet inspection product for surveillance. Deep packet inspection enables surveillance at the outset. Its very purpose is to open up “packets” of data flying across networks and inspect them to check if they should pass. DPI has made headlines for controversial use cases. China, for instance, likes to use DPI in its infamous censorship and surveillance systems. Sunnyvale, California-based Blue Coat Systems, in which Francisco Partners was a significant investor, saw its DPI technology censoring the internet in Syria in 2011, just as the civil war was erupting. Human rights activists looked on agog, but Blue Coat later said resellers were to blame and that it had not given permission for the technology to be shipped to the country. One reseller was later slapped with a maximum fine of $2.8 million by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). (Francisco Partners also has stakes in Barracuda Networks and Dell Software, which both ship DPI products).

Aadhaar’s biometric pioneer

The foundation of the Aadhaar program is based on biometric and demographic data that is unique to each citizen. This data can only be collected by leveraging biometric devices and compatible software – the second and third stages of the Aadhaar value chain.

Cross Match’s Indian partner for the UID program is Smart Identity Devices Pvt. Ltd. (Smart ID). Smart Identity Devices, or Smart ID, has been the biometric pioneer and leader for the Aadhaar program. Smart ID provides biometric technology, smart card, and information and communication technology products and services for numerous sectors, such as financial services, logistics, government, and IT security. Launching commercial operations in 2008, Smart ID is based in Noida, India and is led by Sanjeev Mathur. The company’s devices are being used by enrollment agencies across India for the Aadhaar program.

According to a recent study by Research and Markets, India’s biometrics market is forecast to hit about $2 billion by 2018.

Smart ID’s products and services range from biometric products, to mobile application solutions, to services such as Aadhaar enrollment, training, project management, IT hosting, and business correspondent management. As of 2014, Smart ID was able to carry out enrollment activities across India in states such as, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, West Bangal, and Madhya Pradesh. Smart ID has already enrolled more than 1.2 million citizens into the Aadhaar program through its enrollment agencies. In July 2011, the UIDAI recognized Smart ID as being one of the three best enrollment agencies in Aadhaar for enrolling more than 25 million citizens in a very short time frame.
The price of a Smart ID Patrol ID fingerprint scanner was approximately $2300 in 2014. And these devices were installed across the country. It would be interesting to know how much did the Indian government pay this CIA front company for the exercise. Lets say UIDAI installed 10,000 such bugged CIA devices across the country for enrollment (which is a very conservative estimate), the staggering cost would be 1473554800 Rs.

How CIA agents can access Aadhaar database in Real-time

A number of the CIA’s electronic attack methods are designed for physical proximity. These attack methods are able to penetrate high security networks that are disconnected from the internet, such as police record database. In these cases, a CIA officer, agent or allied intelligence officer acting under instructions, physically infiltrates the targeted workplace. The attacker is provided with a USB containing malware developed for the CIA for this purpose, which is inserted into the targeted computer. The attacker then infects and exfiltrates data to removable media. For example, the CIA attack system Fine Dining, provides 24 decoy applications for CIA spies to use. To witnesses, the spy appears to be running a program showing videos (e.g VLC), presenting slides (Prezi), playing a computer game (Breakout2, 2048) or even running a fake virus scanner (Kaspersky, McAfee, Sophos). But while the decoy application is on the screen, the underlaying system is automatically infected and ransacked.

Fine Dining comes with a standardized questionnaire i.e menu that CIA case officers fill out. The questionnaire is used by the agency’s OSB (Operational Support Branch) to transform the requests of case officers into technical requirements for hacking attacks (typically “exfiltrating” information from computer systems) for specific operations. The questionnaire allows the OSB to identify how to adapt existing tools for the operation, and communicate this to CIA malware configuration staff. The OSB functions as the interface between CIA operational staff and the relevant technical support staff.

Among the list of possible targets of the collection are ‘Asset’, ‘Liason Asset’, ‘System Administrator’, ‘Foreign Information Operations’, ‘Foreign Intelligence Agencies’ and ‘Foreign Government Entities’. Notably absent is any reference to extremists or transnational criminals. The ‘Case Officer’ is also asked to specify the environment of the target like the type of computer, operating system used, Internet connectivity and installed anti-virus utilities (PSPs) as well as a list of file types to be exfiltrated like Office documents, audio, video, images or custom file types. The ‘menu’ also asks for information if recurring access to the target is possible and how long unobserved access to the computer can be maintained. This information is used by the CIA’s ‘JQJIMPROVISE’ software to configure a set of CIA malware suited to the specific needs of an operation.

Here is the official training manual that contains the detailed steps for carrying out the installation and configuration of Cross Match for the Aadhaar Enrolment Client. This manual also describes the process of importing master data after downloading it from the UIDAI Admin Portal.

It is remarkable that Aadhaar and Al-Qaeda mean the same thing, which is “foundation” – Manu Joseph pointed out this tweetable fact in his piece on Live Mint. What we might add is that it is also remarkable that both Aadhaar and Al Qaeda are illegitimate sons of the same mother!

By ararngement with GGI News

In the Name of the Holy Cow, Noida turning Pure Vegetarian

August 25, 2017

Chicken, Mutton, Pork and Even Fish Go Off Market

The crackdown on beef has now extended to all forms of non-vegetarian foods in Noida – one of the satellite towns of the national capital. Meat sellers at Sector 8 talk about the hassles created by district administration and what they personally face as they are left with no means to earn for the past five months.

Courtesy: Newsclick

Encounters of a Dark & Sinister Kind: Gujarat

August 24, 2017

If governments wanted, they could discourage this illegal practice

Image: Reuters

Encounters are safe bets for those policemen who are averse to risk. Get the right information, know the number and colour of the car or of the bus he or she is travelling in (we are talking terrorists here), drag the fellow (s) out, get the info from him and shoot the blighter. The boss, a DIG no less, will pat your back, the reward will be yours, if not the medal. But in this case the DIG, Mr . Vanzara was himself involved! Who can pat a DIG except the Home Minister. And after a decade old war in the press between nouveau liberals and die hard nationalists, we find the court ‘discharging’ the accused.

Not surprisingly people in Gujarat can’t make out what the hullabaloo is about—this talk of genuine and spurious encounters. As long as you shoot the guy all encounters are genuine, Pal. So you can depend on it that people received with considerable glee the news about the CBI Court ‘discharging’ Mr. Vanzara and another officer of all guilt. Your premier investigating agency, under orders and supervision of the highest court charged the accused. The least one expected was that the matter would come up for trial. Cyber space is full of papers on the subject the Sohrabuddin encounter. It is even alleged that Kauser Bee, Sohrabuddin’s wife was raped and strangled and then burnt in a village. All this is possibly false, but the court , after hearing evidence on both sides, should give a verdict. There are accusations that Kauser Bee was bumped off because she was a witness to the earlier ‘aforesaid’ encounter. Over three hundred mobile calls by a politician were allegedly wiped out. The accusations can be false, probably are, but the ‘discharge’ on the face of it, is one sided. Remember Malegaon bomb blast cases and the statement of the fine prosecutor Ms.Rohini Salian that she was pressurised to go slow against the accused Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and Col. Shrikant Purohit, now, ludicrously enough, posing as an ‘army mole’! The bomb was placed on the Sadhvi’s motor cycle, incidentally, killing Muslims.

I should know something about encounters. As UP’s only AIG for three years , I wrote citations for gallantry medals, which were examined by the Directors IB and CBI in the Home Ministry. I reserved my poetic hyperboles for these occasions. Most Inspectors noted in their post-encounter FIR’s, that the dacoit’s bullet passed through their side caps—they didn’t wear peak caps those days in UP in the early seventies. One guy wrote the bullet passed through his muffler. Such originality was not lost on me. I wrote a thumping proposal, something like, ‘Uncaring for life and limb Inspector Shyam Awasthi or Ram Khilawan or Ram Bharosay charged at the dacoits, and braving the fusillade of lead spouting from bandit guns grappled with miscreants, captured two of them, apart from murdering (sorry) shooting in self-defence, three of them.’ Something in that order. Please note the istyle.

Having had two postings in the Chambal I have had occasion to be involved in encounters. In one of them the dacoits were favoured by a sandstorm and escaped. We had taken up positions in a barren field and the raging sand went straight for our eyes. It was a pitch dark night. I was asked by a subordinate if we could kill the informer (a former member of this really notorious gang), because we had nothing to show for a truck load of police moving into Rajasthan. I remember I just said ‘no’. No hysterics, no swear words at the abominable suggestion. After that an officer, a Deputy Supdt. Of Police, placed his Light Machine gun and emptied about three magazines firing at an empty haveli at ten o’clock at night. The villagers had run away hours earlier. He later bagged a gallantry medal for some genuine anti-dacoity heroics he was surely involved in.

I went to Zimbabwe/ Rhodesia as a member of the Commonwealth Observers team for 1980 elections, which ushered in Mr. Mugabe of the ANC. Sigh. Guerrillas had played havoc for seven years. The ANC was trained by the Chinese , incidentally. I went on anti-mine vehicles on roads which had not been used for five years. The white police used the word ‘Contact’ instead of our desi ‘encounter’. So the Zimbabwe police those days had ‘contacts’ (meaning gun duels) with ‘Terrs’, their term for Terrorists. Same syndrome, but a change in nouns. To have elections cancelled outright, police planted a bomb in a bus, killing a few people. What are a few lives when the cause of the nation, in this case the white nation, is at stake? They thought they were doing it for a national cause. When it comes to the nation and national security, as it did in Gujarat, there can’t be any compromises, isn’t it?

If government wants—and neither the centre, nor the Gujarat government want it—it could do the following. (a) The magisterial inquest which has to follow such an ‘encounter’, should be rigorous, and not an eye wash. The distance between the shooter and the victim is a giveaway. Was he or she shot from at least twenty or thirty yards? Let the inquest be forensically-aided.(B) Lessen the reward quotient on ‘heads’. For instance, fifty thousand for taking the man alive, and just ten thousand for the dacoit or terrorist killed. Rewards for heads smells of barbarism.(C) In police Training Colleges, which exist in each state, brand fake encounters as something despicable, dishonourable.

Lastly what I have mentioned is the tip of the iceberg. Things are worse and need to come out in the open –the court for instance.

(A shorter version of this article was published in The Indian Express on August 24, 2017. This version has been offered for publication in Sabrangindia by the author)

(The author, a retired IPS officer, is also a poet and short story writer, and was a member of the National Commission for Minorities)

Declare Floods a National Problem demand Tea Tribes: Assam

August 24, 2017

Guwahati, Aug. 23: The Joint Action Committee of Tea Tribes Adivasi Assam has demanded that the floods in the state be declared a national problem according to a report in The Telegraph.

If this demand is not met by February 2018, the organisation has also threatened to launch an agitation in tea gardens, including a blockade of tea exports from the state.

The organisation took the decision at a recent meeting attended by intellectuals and leaders of the tea tribes.”Assam suffers from floods every year. Many people are rendered homeless. This year, the disaster caused huge damage. So providing compensation and relief is not the only solution. The Centre should declare the floods as a national problem and do their best to prevent it permanently,” the organisation’s chief convenor Israil Nanda said.

“If the Centre and the state do not take any initiative in this regard by February, we will stage protests in every tea garden. As part of the agitation, no worker will do any plucking. We will also block the export process,” he added.

There are more demands: the organisation also warned the government to take a decision on granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities of Assam.

“We seek a clear stand of the state government on this issue. There are some restrictions for the tea tribes in Assam to get ST status. We will demand an autonomous council for the tea tribes. A study committee is working to prepare a proposal for the autonomous council,” Nanda said. The committee also alleged that workers under the Assam Tea Corporation are deprived of various facilities such as provident fund, bonus and other benefits. The organisation demanded release of Rs 5000-crore package for the tea workers.

“There is discrimination over daily wage among the tea workers of the Barak and the Brahmaputra valleys. After decades of service in the industry, many workers are deprived of bonus and other facilities. Under the Assam Tea Corporation, there are around 25,000 workers in 15 tea gardens in Assam. But those workers have not got a single paisa as provident fund and bonus over the past 15 years. They are also deprived of facilities provided as per the Minimum Wages Act, 1948,” Nanda said. The state government has released no funds to the Tea Workers’ Welfare Board, it alleged.

“The former state government used to provide a package of Rs 100 crore to the welfare board. But the present government has reduced it to Rs 53 crore and that, too, is yet to be released. The condition of the board is also pathetic. The Congress government had decided to collect Rs 2 each from the workers and Rs 4 from the owner of gardens against each worker as the fund for the board. The decision was withdrawn,” he said.

Why Govt’s Ban on Blue Whale won’t Save our Children, Here’s what More Needs to be Done

August 24, 2017

More than six children across India in the age group of 12-19 years have taken their lives allegedly playing this game within a span of two weeks.

Although the government has asked companies such as Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Microsoft and Yahoo to immediately take down any links leading to the deadly game it is unclear how these companies would make the game inaccessible. It is because this game is not publicly available and freely downloadable. It is a social media phenomenon where conversations about this take place secretively in closed social media groups.
More Needs to be Done, Here are Some Tips

The Blue Whale Challenge – What Parents Need to Know

FAQs

a) What is the Blue Whale Challenge and why should parents be concerned about this game?

The Blue Whale challenge is an online game. The game is named so because sometimes whales beach themselves intentionally and die.  
Inthisgame,an online administrator assigns tasks to its participants.The participants are given a period of 50 days to complete each task. The players are expected to take photos of them undertaking the challenge and upload them as proofs for the curator’s approval. The last challenge is to commit suicide. Players of this game cannot stop playing because they are blackmailed and cyber bullied into completing the game.

This deadly game has spread all over the globe, and in India there have been reports (Report 1, Report2) of children harming themselves and in a few cases even committing suicides, which are allegedly linked to Blue Whale Challenge.

b) Where can children access this game?
Blue Whale is not a freely downloadable game, application or software. Children cannot access it on their smartphones through app stores or on social media platforms like Facebook. It is shared among secretive groups on social media networks. The creators seek out their players/victims and send them an invitation to join.

c) What kind of challenges do the players face in this game?
Some of the challenges in this game are listed below. It may not be a standard list of challenges and it is possible that curators of the game may come up with new ones.

More than six children across India in the age group of 12-19 years have taken their lives allegedly playing this game within a span of two weeks.

Carve with a razor “f57” on your hand, send a photo to the curator.  
Wake up at 4.20 a.m. and watch psychedelic and scary videos that curator sends you.  
Cut your arm with a razor along your veins, but not too deep, only 3 cuts, send a photo to  the curator.  
Draw a whale on a sheet of paper, send a photo to curator.  
If you are ready to“becomea whale”, carve “YES”on your leg. If not–cut yourself many times (punish yourself)  
Task with a cipher.  
Carve “f40” on your hand, send a photo to curator.  
Type “#i_am_whale (rus. #я_кит) in your VKontakte status.  
You have to overcome your fear.  
Wake up at 4:20 a.m. and go to a roof (the higher the better)  
Carve a whale on your hand with a razor, send a photo to curator.  
Watch psychedelic and horror videos all day.  
Listen to music that “they” (curators) send you.  
Cut your lip  
Poke your hand with a needle many times  
Do something painful to yourself, make yourself sick 17. Go to the highest roof you can  find, stand on the edge for some time.  
Go to a bridge, stand on the edge  
Climb up a crane or at least try to do it  
The curator checks if you are trustworthy  
Have a talk “with a whale” (with another player like you or with a curator) in Skype  
Go to a roof and sit on the edge with your legs dangling  
The curator tells you the date of your death and you have to accept it  
Wake up at 4:20 a.m. and go to rails (visit any railroad that you can find)  
Don’t talk to anyone all day  
Every day you wake up at 4:20 a.m.  
Watch horror videos  
Listen to music that “they” send you

28. Make 1 cut on your body per day 29. Jump off a high building. Take your life.

d) The government has directed internet companies to ban the game. Should parents still be concerned?

Although the government has asked companies such as Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Microsoft and Yahoo to immediately take down any links leading to the deadly game it is unclear how these companies would make the game inaccessible. It is because this game is not publicly available and freely downloadable. It is a social media phenomenon where conversations about this take place secretively in closed social media groups. You can only be part of the game if an administrator contacts you and enlists you as a potential whale, or candidate.  
Also, it is now available under different names such as A Silent House, A Sea of Whales and Wake Me Up at 4:20 AM.

Alternatively, there could be other similar games available as well.

e) Which age group is most prone to participating in this game?
Tweens and teens (i.e. 12-19 years) the most vulnerable group of Social Media, are most prone to Blue Whale Challenge.

f) What are the signs in teens that might indicate their inclination towards this game?
1. Most child psychologists say when a child tends to stay by himself/herself, stops interacting with family and friends, often talks about running away from home or even death, or changes eating and/or sleeping habits must be immediately given special attention. These are the basic symptoms of a child who may be inclined towards participating in this online game. Some relevant links to the signs and symptoms may be found here and here.

g) How can parents prevent their children from participating in such deadly online games or intervene?
Here are a few tips on how you can keep your child safe online

Make sure that your child has access to age appropriate online sites which do not promote  unethical behavior or violence.  
Always ensure that your child accesses internet froma computer placed in the family space.  
Talk to your child more often. Explore the online world together and engage in interesting  activities demonstrating ethical and safe online behavior.  
Use parental controls on all the devices used by your child. Monitor the screen time and  keep an eye on his/her online activities.  
Be a role model to your child. Be conscious of your own online activities.  
Talk to other parents, share concerns if any and discuss best ways to help your children.  
Keep yourself updated with recent internet phenomena.  
Observe your child’s behavior closely. Be alert to any unusual changes like moodiness, less  or no communication, lack of interest in studies and falling grades. If you notice any such changes, closely monitor his/her online activities, talk to school authorities or consult a child psychologist.  
If you find out that your child is already playing the Blue Whale Challenge, immediately stop him/her from using the internet from any devices.  
Inform your local police authority about what has happened and seek their advice on the next safety measures.

h) How can teachers help?
               Teachers need to keep an eye on falling grades and social behavior of the students.  
               They need to monitor the behavior of each and every child.   Theyshouldlookforanti-socialbehavior,theyshouldpersonallytalktosuchchildren who don’t interact with the other children much or are aloof.  
               Iftheyobservesomethingthatmayseemsuspiciousoralarming,theyshouldinform the school authorities immediately.  
               Teachers should also ensure that children do not use any gadgets during school hours.  

They should ensurethat children are sensitized about the pros and cons of the internet  from time to time.

i) In case this information doesn’t help, who can you contact?
               NIMHANS  
               AASRA  
               SNEHA INDIA, CHENNAI  
               THE SAMARITANS MUMBAI  
               CONNECTING INDIA, PUNE  
               MAITHRI, KOCHI  
               SUMAITRI  
               LIFELINE FOUNDATION  
               SAATH  
               ICALL, MUMBAI (+91 22 2556 3291, e-mail – icall@tiss.edu)  
               PRATHEEKSHA, KERALA (+91 484 2448830 E-mail – rajiravi2000@hotmail.com)  
               PRATHYASA, IRINJALAKUDA (+91-480 – 2820091)  
               THANAL, KERALA (0495 237 1100 E-mail – thanal.calicut@gmail.com)  
               MAITREYI, PONDICHERRY (+91-413-339999)  
               ROSHNI, SECUNDERABAD (040 790 4646 E-mail – help@roshnihyd.org)  

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Why Govt’s Ban on Blue Whale won’t Save our Children, Here’s what More Needs to be Done

More than six children across India in the age group of 12-19 years have taken their lives allegedly playing this game within a span of two weeks.

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