Reporters Without Borders, a Paris based non-profit and non-governmental based organisation publishes the World Press Freedom Index report annually to evaluate the level of freedom that media gets in 180 countries. India was placed in 80th rank in its debut report in 2002, by then the rank gradually fell to 122 in 2010, 131 in 2012, 142 in 2021 and to 150 in 2022.
The report by Reporter Without Borders goes on to make blanket blatantly partisan political statements as follows:
“The prime example is undoubtedly the Reliance Industries group led by Mukesh Ambani, now a personal friend of Modi’s, who owns more than 70 media outlets that are followed by at least 800 million Indians.
It goes on to brand supporters of PM Modi and the Indian electorate who vote for him as “bhakts”.
“Indian journalists who are too critical of the government are subjected to all-out harassment and attack campaigns by Modi devotees known as bhakts.”, the reports says.
As usual, the usual suspects of the leftist media in India have resorted to satiating their political itch by about making a huge hue and cry about India’s ranking in the index.
How Is the World Freedom of Press Index Calculated?
The index score is calculated based on two components, a qualitative analysis in which press freedom specialists like journalists, researchers, academics, correspondents, and human rights activists will be given an online questionnaire comprising 83 questions related to media freedom, media environment, self-censorship etc and a quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists, and these data will be compiled to arrive at a score.
An Erroneous Methodology
The criteria and methodology are raising serious concerns as they lack transparency. The Organisation has not made it public, the details of respondents, questionnaires, or weightage for each question. The sample size is very tiny and the composition of the sample size is unknown. The questions were answered by 18 Freedom of Expression NGOs, seems like the NGOs are funded by RWB. The correspondents select respondents, the basis and criteria for selection are unknown and opaque.
The questions posed is found irrelevant to the freedom of press, for example, “Is the news media able to achieve financial stability?”,“Are journalists threatened or influenced by corruption?”, Are journalists frequently convicted because of their work, whether for press offences or for common law crimes?”, “Are laws against terrorism, separatism and/or extremism used against journalists?” and so on. The answers to such questions can be highly biased and depend on the ideological mindset of respondents.
Even a legitimate legal process against any individual or media house is counted as an “abuse”, the RSF is basically attacking India’s sovereignty.
Essentially, the RSF seems to believe that no government should take action against journalists who indulge in illegalities or spread misinformation, and no individual can point this out.
Similarly, credible sources are not available for quantitative data on abuse and violence against journalists. The data was not authorised and published by Government agencies and no consultation was made with Government on authenticity.
That India has been ranked at 150 and apparently worse at press freedoms than Hong Kong, which is ranked at 148 says much about the credibility of RSF.
Not only India, many countries pointed out that the report lacked accountability and was opaque. As per NITI Aayog article, The SAB-UNESCO Chair of Media and Democracy at Rhodes University3 had stated “the Freedom of the Press Index (Freedom House) has a neo-liberal predisposition towards the state as predatory, always encroaching on media freedom and independence” – a similar conclusion may also be drawn regarding the WPFI.
The Press Council of India (PCI) had earlier rejected the India’s ranking and said that the report has lack of clarity which were perception-based, not data-driven.
Reporters Without Borders: A Problematic Entity
It’s clear that RSF’s indices, hilarious methodology and grading system do not reflect reality. Reporters Without Borders is supported by Open Society Foundations of George Soros, who had openly expressed his hatred towards nationalism and Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the World Economic Forum at Davos in January 2020.
So, The Freedom of Press Index brought out by Reporters Without Border, an organization of questionable integrity is fit to be junked to the dustbin.
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In Ramanathapuram district, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized a car containing crystal methamphetamine and ganja oil worth ₹160 crore and arrested two people who were attempting to smuggle the contraband from Chennai to Sri Lanka via Ramanathapuram district.
The DRI officials received information that drugs were being smuggled into Sri Lanka via the Maraikayarpatnam beach near Mandapam in Ramanathapuram district. Based on the inputs, a team of DRI officials from Madurai, Trichy, and Tuticorin have been conducting raids in the Ramanathapuram district for the past five days.
In this scenario, DRI officials conducting night rounds in Ramanathapuram district stopped and searched a car from Chennai that had driven suspiciously through the Pogalur toll gate near Chatrakudi last night. When the two people in the car were interrogated, they gave contradictory answers. It was later discovered that they were smuggling drugs to Sri Lanka when the car was searched.
Later, DRI officials notified local police, who arrived on the scene and arrested the two suspects. After taking both of them into custody and conducting an investigation, it was discovered that the drugs are worth up to ₹160 crores.
Following an investigation by local police, they were both taken to the Ramanathapuram customs office and interrogated until this evening. An investigation revealed that they were transporting 50 kg of cannabis oil and 38 kg of crystal methamphetamine, both of which are internationally known drugs. Customs officials estimate the international value to be ₹160 crore.
The two smugglers, identified as Leo Bhagyaraj (39), and Thanasekaran (32), both from Chennai, were brought before the Ramanathapuram Judicial Magistrate. They both confessed to the crime and told the court that they had smuggled the drug from Chennai by car and were on their way to deliver it to a resident of Maraikayar Pattinam, near Mandapam.
Smuggling continues unabated in Tamil Nadu despite the presence of numerous security agencies, including central and state intelligence agencies, the Indian Coast Guard, the Indian Navy, Customs, the Tamil Nadu Marine Police, and local police.
Crystal meth is the common name for crystal methamphetamine, a strong and highly addictive drug that affects the central nervous system. There is no legal use for it. It comes in clear crystal chunks or shiny blue-white rocks. Also called “ice” or “glass,” it’s a popular party drug. Usually, users smoke crystal meth with a small glass pipe, but they may also swallow it, snort it, or inject it into a vein. People say they have a quick rush of euphoria shortly after using it. But it’s dangerous. It can damage the body and cause severe psychological problems.
In a shocking incident, an employee of the Andhra Pradesh government was physically attacked when he raised questioned about the erection of an arch and Christian symbols by encroaching public road.
Venugopal is a person from the Scheduled Caste Mala community, and works as a junior assistant at the Mandal Revenue Office in Kadapa District.
According to the information filed in the FIR, Venugopal was on his way home when he observed some people constructing an arch on the eve of Christmas celebrations by encroaching on the public road.
A person named Prabhudas and a few members of the Bible Mission Church allegedly beat up Venugopal, for merely questioning the legality of an construction on a public road, causing inconvenience to the public. Prabhudas and his gang also reportedly hurled abuses at him.
The incident occurred on 27 November 2022 around noon, near the YSR Statue at Ashok Nagar (Main) in the Chinna Chowk area.
Venugopal’s injuries included a serious head injury, caused by sharp objects and brute force, which was strong enough to draw blood from his ear to the middle of his head.
Based a complaint by the victim, an FIR was filed at the local police station (Chinna Chowk station), a few hours later in the evening of the same day.
In Venugopal’s FIR, he mentions a few names-Prabhu Kumar, Sunil, Bandi Prasad (an ex corporator), Devadas, Vinod and “other members of the Bible Mission Church”. The local police, while filling out the FIR form, based on Venugopal’s complaint, don’t seem to have mentioned the complete names and addresses of the accused attackers.
Though the police have registered the FIR complaint against the attackers they have failed to invoke the much more serious offence of the “SC/ST Atrocities Act” against the perpetrators, in light of the fact that Venugopal belongs to the protected Scheduled Caste (SC) community.
The police have also alleged chosen to ignore the fact that the accused persons were trying to construct a completely illegal structure without obtaining permission of the government authorities.
In a suspicious twist to the case, the local police appear to have registered an FIR against the injured SC victim based on a counter complaint.
In light of this, the SC ST Rights Forum, a non-profit legal activisim organiation has written to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes- Government Of India, requesting the Commission to probe and investigate the actual circumstances of the case to arrive at the truth and to question the local law enforcement officials, for not including the relevant sections under IPC and sections of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in the victim’s FIR, considering the brutal physical attack on the SC citizen and government employee, resulting in a serious head injury and a possible attempt to murder him.
Speaking to The Commune, SC ST Right Forum said “It is clearly appearing that the concerned police first filed a case against the victim intentionally. This raises suspicions that the police are trying to weaken the case and deny the basic rights of the poor Scheduled Castes. This is a deprivation of his rights.”
“People are questioning the blatant minority-appeasement policy of the local police and politicians and opine that, had Venugopal’s attackers been Hindu, the FIR and subsequent case would have likely been registered against the stringest provisions of SC/ST Act. Furthermore, the victim was surprised and disappointed to discover that the timings of the registration of both the FIRs, makes it appear like the attackers were first wronged by the real victim (Venugopal), after which Venugopal had filed a counter complaint against his attackers, implying a false motive and weakening his authentic complaint and potential of the case.”, SC ST Right Forum added.
About Bible Mission Church
The Bible Mission Church is an organization in Gooty of Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh which claims to be the “largest” church of its kind in the world. It has been recognised as the world’s largest church by the World Book of Records (WBR, London). It was reportedly established in January,1938. Presently, the church has 114 branches spread across the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The group’s church in Gooty, sits on 61 acres of land with a sitting capacity of 60,000 people. It consists of facilities like a ‘prayer tower’, a Bible college, a large kitchen, accommodation facilities and water tanks, among other provisions. The Church claims to be working for the “social upliftment” of poor people. It is clear that the church and its mission, are prosperous and quite well funded but the Church denies receiving any foreign funds. The group claims to be conducting “charitable” activities without any foreign aid.
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The police arrested Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi’s Erode district treasurer for taking money from people promising them a house plot and then defrauding them for three months without giving them the house plot or returning their money.
Vijayabalan, who hails from Prabhu Nagar next to Perundurai in Erode District, is the district treasurer of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi.
Vijayabalan, the alleged VCK fraudster, collected up to Rs 54000 from 18 people in Mukasipidariyur, near Chennimalai in Erode district, promising them a house plot at a subsidised rate. It is said that the VCK functionary has collected money from the people for past three months.
In this scenario, the people who had paid the VCK fraudster Vijayabalan requested the house plot after a few months. However, he was not properly responding to those who had paid him.
Realizing they had been deceived, victim Tamil Selvi and her husband Gunasekaran went to Vijayabalan and demanded that he either return the money they had given him or give them the house plot.
VCK treasurer Vijayabalan, on the other hand, became enraged and attacked both the couple for demanding their money back. The couple was seriously wounded and was taken to Perundurai Government Medical College and Hospital, where they were treated for their injuries before being discharged.
After returning from hospital, Tamil Selvi and her husband Gunasekaran made a complaint to the Perundurai police, who later booked VCK fraudster Vijayabalan under four sections, including cheating, fraud, and threatening to kill. Following a preliminary investigation, police arrested and remanded the VCK treasurer.
After months of deliberation, Udhayanidhi, the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, will join his father’s cabinet on 14 December 2022, the auspicious day when the Parthasarathy Perumal Temple at Tiruvallikeni will undergo Thirumanjana Sevai (sacred bath ceremony). The swearing-in ceremony will take place at Raj Bhavan in Chennai at 09:30 a.m.
The date, the penultimate day of the Tamil month of Karthigai, and the time are significant because they are considered auspicious according to the Hindu calendar, even though the DMK claims to profess rationalism. The ceremony is taking place in Karthigai month because the upcoming Margazhi is considered inauspicious.
In this scenario, old tweets and videos of Udhayanidhi Stalin were circulated on the internet with the hashtag #சின்னதத்தி_எனும்_நான், in which Udhayanidhi can be seen saying that he will not enter politics.
In an interview with actress Sangeetha for Puthuyugam on March 6, 2014, Udhayanidhi stated that he is not interested in politics and that it is not mandatory to enter politics if born into a political family. He also stated, “There are many people in the DMK who have worked hard for the party, and I believe they should be given prominent positions.”
On August 6, 2017, during the press meet for his mega-flop movie Pothuvaga En Manasu Thangam, Udhayanidhi stated that no one in his family or friends had asked him to enter politics and that he is not interested in doing so.
On May 26, 2011, Udhayanithi stated that he will never enter politics in response to a fan who wished him good luck for his first film Oru Kal Oru Kannadi and asked him to enter politics.
@rajivputtu I don't hav any intention of gettin into politics
DMK’s crown prince Udhayanidhi Stalin is set to be sworn in as a Minister in his father MK Stalin’s government.
While Udhayanidhi’s coronation shouldn’t come across as surprising as the DMK is a dynastic party, the timing of his coronation has become a talking point.
Udhayanidhi Stalin is being sworn in as a Minister on 14 December 2022 at 09:30 AM at the Raj Bhavan premises in Chennai.
The date and time is very auspicious as per the Hindu calendar. First of all, it is a ‘Subha Muhurtham’ day, which is the day chosen by Hindus to commence any important work. The swearing-in time 9:30 AM falls between the auspicious time of 09:15 AM to 10:15 AM. Incidentally, it is also the day when Thirumanjan Sevai (sacred bath ceremony) is going to be done for the Parthasarathy Perumal Temple at Tiruvallikeni. It is noteworthy to mention that Udhyanidhi is the MLA of Chepauk-Tiruvallikeni.
1. Subha Muhurtham day 2. Swearing in time 9.30 AM. Auspicious time is from 9.15 AM to 10.15 AM 3. Chepauk Triplicane MLA. And on that day in Triplicane Parthasarathy Perumal Temple, Thirumanjana Sevai for Moolavar Narasimha Swamy
Many on social media have said that this auspicious date and time have been chosen by his mother Durga Stalin after consulting a number of astrologers.
The DMK which claims to be a ‘rationalistic’ party is now facing flak on social media for its hypocrisy.
Udhayanidhi's swearing-in: "The choice of the date, the penultimate day of Tamil month Karthigai & the time are significant as they are considered auspicious though the DMK claims to profess rationalism. The upcoming Margazhi is considered inauspicious," writes ETB Sivapriyan. https://t.co/hGdVghTxZQ
After months of deliberations, Udhayanidhi, cabinet on Wednesday choice of the date, the penultimate day of the Tamil month of Karthigai, and the time are significant as they are considered auspicious, though the DMK claims to profess rationalism.#StrangeWorld
Karunanidhi's grandson and Stalin's son Udhayanidhi will be minister on 14-12-2022. 1. Subha Muhurtham day 2. Swearing in time 9.30 AM. Auspicious time is from 9.15 AM to 10.15 AM Is this called Dravida Model ?
Udhayanidhi’s coronation as a Minister was much awaited and has been in the pipeline for quite some time. He was being touted as the successor to his father Stalin ever since the DMK government came to power.
Be it positioning the camera in the Assembly showing Udhayanidhi Stain right behind his father, or the flurry of advertisements given in newspapers and magazines for Udhayanidhi’s birthday, it was only a matter of time before Stalin was seen handing over the DMK’s baton to his son.
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The BJP secured a historic victory in the 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections. The party has won for the 7th consecutive term and has decimated the opposition by making them lose their status as the opposition party.
The party has won a whooping 156 seats of the 182 seat legislative assembly, the highest ever secured by a party till date. This is the first time in the electoral history of Gujarat that the BJP has crossed the majority mark in terms of vote share with 52.5% votes.
The last time that a party got such a huge mandate was when Congress chief minister Madhavsinh Solanki secured 149 seats in 1985 elections that were held against the backdrop of former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s assasination.
However, the DMK in its editorial today tried to peddle half-truths claiming that it’s not that big a victory for the BJP.
Let’s counter the claims one by one.
Number 1
The DMK mouthpiece claimed that while the BJP polled only 1,67,07,957 votes there were 3,23,81,808 votes that were polled against the BJP.
But the number quoted as anti-BJP votes by Murasoli is outrightly false and misleading. Here are the real numbers from the Election Commission.
Total votes polled – 3,14,79,134.
BJP – 1,67,07,957
INC – 86,83,966
AAP – 4,112,055
Others – 13,81,739
NOTA – 5,01,202
SP – 92,215
NCP – 76,949
Total non-BJP votes (INC+AAP+SP+NCP+NOTA+Others) – 1,48,48,126
So, the votes polled for BJP is 18.59 lakh votes more than the non-BJP votes combined.
The inability to do even basic addition and subtraction by DMK folks at Murasoli is a testimony to their Dravidian Model of education.
Number 2
Murasoli claimed in its editorial that the BJP was able to win because the party had announced ‘freebies’. The mouthpiece had tried to spin a narrative that the BJP is hypocritical in its stance on ‘freebies’ saying that while the Centre attacks ‘revdi culture’, it is implementing the same to fetch votes in Gujarat.
However, the people of Gujarat were not wooed by freebies but by good governance. The standard of living of a Gujrati has seen improvement without the state having to dole out freebies.
The BJP won 80 out of 98 rural assembly seats with a strike rate of 82 per cent. This is a testimony to the developmental politics and good governance track record of the BJP.
The successful raising of the Sardar Sarovar dam and the fact that water has reached the dry parts of Gujarat through the SAUNI Yojana has led the people of Gujarat to bequeath their trust on the BJP.
The Jyotigram Yojana, commissioned in 2006, has ensured eight hours of electricity supply for irrigation for all of Gujarat’s 18,000 villages and 24×7 uninterrupted domestic power supply at a nominal charge.
The uniterrupted electriciy and water supply has allowed farmers to increase their agricultural productivity thereby an increase in their income. This has led to the BJP sweep the agrarian regions like Saurashtra.
The BJP has also managed to gain the trust and goodwill of the tribal communities by ensuring holistic development of tribal communities through the Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana. This has helped the party win 24 out of 40 SC/ST seats in Gujarat.
This is the trackrecord of the consecutive BJP governments in the previous years.
Now, let’s take a look at the visionary manifesto document of the BJP for this election.
Make Gujarat a $1 trillion economy by maintaining its position in manufacturing, focusing on services and building capacity for new-age industries.
1 lakh Government jobs to women.
Set up two seafood parks in South Gujarat and Saurashtra and build India’s first Blue Economy Industrial corridor around this region.
Creating anti-radicalization cells to identify and eliminate potential threats, and sleeper cells of the terrorist organizations and anti-India forces.
Create world-class sports infrastructure to host the 2036 Olympics Games in Gujarat.
The family card yojana will enable every family to avail benefits of all state government-run welfare schemes.
Shramik credit cards for labourers with collateral-free loans up to ₹2 Lakhs, Every citizen is to be ensured with a house under AWAS Yojana.
Develop a Saurashtra Express Highway grid to connect important economic hubs and national highways.
Spend ₹1 lakh crore under the Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana 2.0 for the all-around socio-economic development of tribal.
20 lakh new jobs generation in the state.
The ruling party has assured ₹10,000 crores for farmer infrastructure, ₹25,000 crores for irrigation facilities, two seafood parks in South Gujarat and Saurashtra, etc.
There is a difference between the ‘freebies’ of the ‘Dravidian Model’ and the welfare schemes of the Gujarat Model. The Dravidian Model of freebies is a wasteful expenditure of taxpayer’s money in providing substandard services – the case in point being the free bus for women scheme of the DMK government. Other example of freebie promises include providing ₹1000 for women which is yet to be implemented by the DMK government.
Whereas in the Gujarat Model, welfare schemes are oriented in improving the quality of life for the poor. Be it the free LPG scheme or the Ayushman Bharat scheme, these have resulted in the empowerment of the people.
The Dravidian Model of freebie keeps the poor perpetually poor for want of political gain while the Gujarat Model of welfare ultimately results in the empowerment of the individual and the community.
Number 3
Murasoli claims that this victory for the BJP isn’t a big deal as it it banked on son-of-the-soil strategy and communal politics coupled with freebies.
The son-of-the-soil strategy part may be true but the other two are just humbug. The fact that the state has remained peaceful which was earlier marred by frequent communal riots has made the people of Gujarat trust the BJP in maintaining law and order.
But here is a bitter truth that the DMK will find it difficult to digest. The DMK in 2021 won by a wafer-thin margin of 5.66%. The DMK itself polled only 37.7%. On the other hand, the BJP in Gujarat has polled a whopping 52.5% and has secure victory by a huge margin.
The BJP has managed to win Gujarat back-to-back and this time it has won without any major alliance. History is testimony to the fact that the DMK has never managed to win an election without an alliance with major parties.
So, dear DMK folks at Murasoli, please educate yourself and rotate your cane within the four walls of Arvialayam.
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Mandous, which began as a “Severe Cyclonic Storm”, weakened as it approached the coast of Tamil Nadu near Chennai. It had weakened into a deep depression and lay 70 km North-West of Mamallapuram and 50 km West of Chennai.
Cyclone Mandous made landfall off the coast of Mamallapuram on Friday (9 December 2022), causing heavy rain and strong winds in several parts of Chennai. But it wasn’t as severe as Vardah or Thane cyclones.
The Tamil Nadu government officials have stated that there was no “large-scale damage” in the state.
However, the DMK IT Wing, a section of Tamil journalists and other Dravidian Stockists have attempted to portray cyclone Mandous as disastrous as the 2015 Chennai flood, and it was only due to the efforts of DMK Chief Minister MK Stalin that Tamil Nadu was spared.
TRB Rajaa, son of DMK MP TR Baalu and head of the party’s IT Wing collected all the congratulatory tweets in praise of MK Stalin and said “Mandous will be remembered as the first cyclone to pass through Chennai and leave no trace!!! People from all walks of life had nothing but positive things to say about the Hon’ble DMK CM MK Stalin.’
Similarly, DMK IT wing deputy secretary Isai gathered other congratulatory tweets (missed by TRB Rajaa) praising CM MK Stalin and said, “Metropolitan like Chennai always have a kind of fear and allergy when it comes to rain. Tamil Nadu people feared rain because of the unruly growing structure and complacency of incompetent rulers( referred to ADMK). However, MK Stalin has changed that thinking! The rain is sweet”
சென்னை போன்ற பெருநகரங்களுக்கு மழை என்றாலே ஒருவித பயமும் ஒவ்வாமையும் எப்போதும் உண்டு. கட்டுக்கடங்காமல் வளர்ந்து நிற்கும் கட்டமைப்பு + திறமையற்ற ஆட்சியாளர்களின் மெத்தனம் = மழை/புயல் என்றாலே மக்கள் அஞ்சினர்! அந்த எண்ணவோட்டத்தை மாற்றியிருக்கிறார் தலைவர்! மழை இனிது!! #CycloneMandouspic.twitter.com/4OgxX2Qup6
Other journalists and Dravidian Stockists congratulated Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, saying they had never seen Chennai without waterlogging like this before during a cyclone.
Just reached Chennai, can’t believe there was a cyclone here just yesterday! Kudos to @chennaicorp@CMOTamilnadu ❤️
However, the data from Indian Meteorological Department shows that cyclone Mandous is one of the weakest cyclones Chennai has witnessed in recent years. The IMD bulletin issued on December 10, 2022, said “It is very likely to move nearly northwestwards and cross north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts around Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) as a cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 65-75 kmph gusting to 85 kmph during next 2 hours. Thereafter, it would move west-northwestwards and gradually weaken into a Deep Depression by early morning and into a Depression by noon of 10th December.”
According to IMD data the sustained wind speeds of recent cyclones to cross the Tamil Nadu coast are Vardah (130 km/hr), Thane (140 km/hr) and Nilam (85 km/hr). The average wind speed during Mandous landfall was 65-70 km/hr.
According to the cyclone tracker image, cyclone Mandous had the highest windspeed of 100 kmph when it was about 300 kilometers away from Chennai, and it gradually decreased to 55 kmph as it approached Chennai.
The cyclone tracker image of Vardah (2016) shows that Vardah had the highest windspeed of 155 kmph when it was about 300 kilometers away from Chennai, and when it reached Chennai it had a windspeed of 135 kmph, causing widespread devastations.
As per the data, cyclone Mandous is the weakest cyclone to have crossed Chennai in recent years. However, the Dravidian stocks and Tamil media journalists have been on an overdrive to project as if the DMK government under MK Stalin had done a terrific job in containing the damages caused by cyclone when the damage itself was minimal compared to the other devastating cyclones.
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A video of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s wife taking cover from rain by using the temple deity’s umbrella has gone viral on social media.
On 9 December 2022, Chief Minister Stalin’s wife Durga visited the Vadivudai Amman Temple in Thiruvottiyur, Chennai, for having darshan. The temple administration honored her with special treatment.
As it was raining on that day, the temple officials covered Durga Stalin with the umbrella normally used for the procession of the temple deity. The temple’s deity Vadivudai Amman was, however, covered with a normal black colored umbrella.
This video of Durga Stalin using the temple deity’s umbrella has drawn flak from the devotees and general public, who criticized Durga Stalin for abusing power as CM’s wife and acting against the “Agamas” of the temple.
It should be noted that a sizable number of HR&CE officials and police officers were present at the temple as a result of her visit.
The Vadivudai Amman temple lies in northern Chennai in Tiruvottiyur. It is also called the Thyagaraja Temple and is dedicated to Shiva. The presiding deity is in the form of Swayambhu (self-manifested) Shiva Lingam called Sri Aadhi Pureeswarar. The Goddess is Vadivudai Amman, a very powerful Goddess in the form of Gnana Shakthi (wisdom and knowledge). The temple has been praised in Tevaram hymns by the Saiva Nayanars (7th-century Tamil poets) and has been categorized as a Paadal Petra Sthalam. There are 276 Shaivite temples or Punyasthalas selected as Paadal Petra Sthalams based on their antiquity, the rich culture, and the reverence attached to the temple.
All three Thevaram Moovars (Appar, Samandar, and Sundarar) have rendered Thevaram songs in the temple. This is one among the 44 Paadal Petra Sthalams, where all the Moovars have rendered their Pathigams. The temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peetams in the country. Great poets and scholars have eulogized the temple, affirming the splendor of India’s rich tradition and spirituality. The temple is managed by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
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The Hyderabad city police forced the cancellation of book launch on “Halal Jihad” (Telugu Edition) by not granting permission for the said event scheduled on 11 December 2022 at Badruka college auditorium, Kachiguda.
The book is authored by Ramesh Shinde, the national spokesperson of Hindu Jan Jagruti Samiti who has been vocal advocate against Halal for over 15 years.
The Hyderabad police under TRS government headed by K Chandrasekhara Rao refused the permission of book launch on Halal Jihad on the grounds of being a “law and order” issue.
However, it is worth noting that the same KCR government allowed a comedy show by controversial ‘standup comedian’ Munawar Faruqui under police protection despite huge protests against the event by Hindu organisations. Munawar Faruqui is known for his notorious and rabid abuse of Hindu deities in his “comedy” shows.
The TRS government with great fanfare facilitated hosting of the first edition of International Halal Expo in a grand scale with over 15000 people attending the event.
This book by Ramesh Shinde sheds light on the serious societal and cultural damage caused by promoting Halal and also offers solutions to the problem that can be executed at the individual and community level. The book highlights that the money generated through Halal economy is used in funding terrorist organizations worldwide. In India, the Jamat Ulema e Hind Halal Trust is the primary organization which issues Halal certification, which reportedly funds and supports all terror accused by providing them free legal support including getting them the services of best senior advocates for their acquittal. It is presently supporting 700 accused Islamist terrorists belonging to LeT, Indian Mujahideen, Islamic State, etc.
Apart from the Telugu edition, the book is available in Marathi, Hindi, English and Kannada.
Freedom Of Press Index By Reporters Without Borders Deserves To Be Junked To The Dustbin
Reporters Without Borders, a Paris based non-profit and non-governmental based organisation publishes the World Press Freedom Index report annually to evaluate the level of freedom that media gets in 180 countries. India was placed in 80th rank in its debut report in 2002, by then the rank gradually fell to 122 in 2010, 131 in 2012, 142 in 2021 and to 150 in 2022.
The report by Reporter Without Borders goes on to make blanket blatantly partisan political statements as follows:
“The prime example is undoubtedly the Reliance Industries group led by Mukesh Ambani, now a personal friend of Modi’s, who owns more than 70 media outlets that are followed by at least 800 million Indians.
It goes on to brand supporters of PM Modi and the Indian electorate who vote for him as “bhakts”.
“Indian journalists who are too critical of the government are subjected to all-out harassment and attack campaigns by Modi devotees known as bhakts.”, the reports says.
As usual, the usual suspects of the leftist media in India have resorted to satiating their political itch by about making a huge hue and cry about India’s ranking in the index.
How Is the World Freedom of Press Index Calculated?
The index score is calculated based on two components, a qualitative analysis in which press freedom specialists like journalists, researchers, academics, correspondents, and human rights activists will be given an online questionnaire comprising 83 questions related to media freedom, media environment, self-censorship etc and a quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists, and these data will be compiled to arrive at a score.
An Erroneous Methodology
The criteria and methodology are raising serious concerns as they lack transparency. The Organisation has not made it public, the details of respondents, questionnaires, or weightage for each question. The sample size is very tiny and the composition of the sample size is unknown. The questions were answered by 18 Freedom of Expression NGOs, seems like the NGOs are funded by RWB. The correspondents select respondents, the basis and criteria for selection are unknown and opaque.
The questions posed is found irrelevant to the freedom of press, for example, “Is the news media able to achieve financial stability?”,“Are journalists threatened or influenced by corruption?”, Are journalists frequently convicted because of their work, whether for press offences or for common law crimes?”, “Are laws against terrorism, separatism and/or extremism used against journalists?” and so on. The answers to such questions can be highly biased and depend on the ideological mindset of respondents.
Even a legitimate legal process against any individual or media house is counted as an “abuse”, the RSF is basically attacking India’s sovereignty.
Essentially, the RSF seems to believe that no government should take action against journalists who indulge in illegalities or spread misinformation, and no individual can point this out.
Similarly, credible sources are not available for quantitative data on abuse and violence against journalists. The data was not authorised and published by Government agencies and no consultation was made with Government on authenticity.
That India has been ranked at 150 and apparently worse at press freedoms than Hong Kong, which is ranked at 148 says much about the credibility of RSF.
Not only India, many countries pointed out that the report lacked accountability and was opaque. As per NITI Aayog article, The SAB-UNESCO Chair of Media and Democracy at Rhodes University3 had stated “the Freedom of the Press Index (Freedom House) has a neo-liberal predisposition towards the state as predatory, always encroaching on media freedom and independence” – a similar conclusion may also be drawn regarding the WPFI.
The Press Council of India (PCI) had earlier rejected the India’s ranking and said that the report has lack of clarity which were perception-based, not data-driven.
Reporters Without Borders: A Problematic Entity
It’s clear that RSF’s indices, hilarious methodology and grading system do not reflect reality. Reporters Without Borders is supported by Open Society Foundations of George Soros, who had openly expressed his hatred towards nationalism and Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the World Economic Forum at Davos in January 2020.
So, The Freedom of Press Index brought out by Reporters Without Border, an organization of questionable integrity is fit to be junked to the dustbin.
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