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Pfizer withdraws its application to supply Covid-19 vaccine in India due to competition

Pfizer, one of the worlds largest Pharma company on Friday (5 February) said it has decided to withdraw its application for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) of its COVID-19 vaccine in India.

It must be noted that Pfizer was the first pharmaceutical company to seek clearance for emergency use authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for its COVID-19 vaccine as it secured such clearance in the UK and Bahrain.

“In pursuance of the Emergency Use Authorisation of its COVID-19 vaccine, Pfizer participated in the Subject Expert Committee meeting of the Drug Regulatory Authority of India on February 3. Based on the deliberations at the meeting and our understanding of additional information that the regulator may need, the company has decided to withdraw its application at this time,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

Pfizer also stated that it will continue to engage with the Indian authority and resubmit its approval request. In its next attempt, Pfizer will provide additional information said the statement said.

“Pfizer remains committed to making its vaccine available for use by the Government in India and to pursuing the requisite pathway for emergency use authorisation that enables the availability of this vaccine for any future deployment,” the spokesperson said.

Pfizer is one of the most influential pharmaceutical company tried it very bet in its application to the drug regulator in December 2020, and sought permission to import the vaccine in India and at the same time asked for a waiver of clinical trials on Indian population in accordance with the special provisions under the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019.

The other reason for Pfizer to withdraw its application to supply Covid-19 vaccine was the introduction of the indigenous covax vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech which is cheaper with a high efficacy rate. 

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Madras HC quashes Goondas Act slapped against Karuppar Kootam

The Madras High Court on Friday (February 6) quashed the Goondas Act slapped against arrested members of the Karuppar Koottam – Surendran and Senthilvasan.

Karuppar Koottam was a YouTube channel run by a group of ‘Periyarists’, Communist ideologues and DMK sympathizers. They had indulged in targeted attacks against Hindus posting videos abusing Hindu Gods, Hindus and Brahmins for a long time under the garb of ‘rationalism’.

On July 15, 2020  one Senthilvasan Muthusamy was arrested by the Central Crime Branch after cases were registered from different quarters for their vile and abusive video on Hindu God Murugan.

Nathikan alias Surendar Natarajan of Karuppar Koottam had surrendered at the Ariyankuppam police station in Puducherry on July 16 and was charged under the Goondas Act.

Krithika, the wife of Nathikan, and Senthilvasan had filed a petition seeking that the Goondas Act be repealed. In her petition, Kritika stated that her husband’s arrest amounted to violation of his freedom of expression and ‘against the principles of natural justice’. She had also stated that slapping Goondas Act against her husband was politically motivated. She also argued that the both her husband and Senthil were ‘fighting superstition’ and spreading ‘education’ and ‘awareness’

The Crime Branch which had argued that there are no provisions in the Goondas Act that states that it can be slapped only where the accused is booked under more than one case, the court rejected this argument. The bench comprising Justices BN Prakash and V Sivagnanam, which ruled in the case on Friday, dismissed the petition on the ground that there was a delay in issuing the arrest warrant.

It is alleged that Karuppar Koottam enjoyed the patronage of DMK. Evidences which emerged during the controversy clearly establishes the close relationship shared by Karuppar Koottam and the DMK. Surendar Natarajan, the host of the show ‘Aabasa Puranam’ had campaigned for the DMK in the last General Elections in 2019. Senthilvasan had gone on a luncheon with DMK IT wing head and Madurai Central MLA Palanivel Thiagarajan.

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MPs must be role models for other public representatives: Vice President

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday (February 5) called upon the people’s representatives and governments to ensure that the development reaches the people without any delay, dilution or diversion. He also wanted the MPs to shun populism and guide the people on their developmental needs.

Speaking at a virtual event after releasing the book titled “Parliamentary Messenger in Rajasthan”, the Vice President also urged parliamentarians to use MPLADS funds for Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojna to develop villages as model villages. The book is written by Dr K.N. Bhandari and focuses on the health and education initiatives undertaken through the MPLAD Scheme on the recommendation of Dr Abhishek Singhvi in Rajasthan over 12 years from 2006 to 2018.

Noting that MPLAD Scheme aims at empowering people’s representatives by enabling them to serve their constituents, Shri Naidu said that since its inception in 1993, over 19 crore and 47 thousand works have been completed and the scheme has helped in creating assets across the country.

Referring to some shortcomings mentioned in monitoring reports on the implementation of the scheme, the Vice President also drew attention to several positives of the scheme such as high degree of involvement of local communities in the identification of works.

He expressed his happiness over the Government’s decision to put in place third party monitoring of MPLADS works for their execution in a transparent manner. “I am sure that third party monitoring mechanism coupled with the wisdom and experience of MPs would help streamline the processes for creation of assets through the scheme”, he added.

The Vice President also mentioned several suggestions made by the parliamentary committees to further improve the scheme such as the timely release and proper utilization of funds, a mechanism to monitor the quality of works/projects and their timely completion and the need for effective coordination between MPs and administrative authorities.

The Vice President also called upon the state governments and local administration to ensure timely execution of MPLADS projects by following the recommendations of the MPs in letter and spirit.

Observing that the level of debates in the House and image of the politicians in people’s eyes are going down, the Vice President wanted the MPs to uphold dignity and decency and do their duty sincerely. “Members of Parliament must be role models for other public representatives”, he said.

Praising Dr Abhishek Singhvi for his work as a lawyer and a parliamentarian, the Vice President mentioned his many a contributions, including as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law & Justice many years ago. He said that the book illustrates the power of doing public good through sound, targeted and efficient use of MPLAD funds and hoped that it will serve as a guide for all stakeholders involved in the developmental work under MPLADS.

The Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh, Union Minister Thawarchand Gehlot, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Dr Abhishek Singhvi and other MPs participated in the virtual event.

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Kerala: Hindu Aikyavedi leader arrested for calling boycott of Halal products

The ruling Communist government in Kerala arrested R.V. Babu, General Secretary of Hindu Aikya Vedi, who had called for a boycott of Halal products.

The Kerala Police arrested the Hindu Aikya Vedi leader from his workplace who had earlier posted a video on social media where he explained how Halal impacts the economy.

Babu has been arrested under non-bailable sections citing that his post ‘could lead to communal tensions’. The Hindu Aikyavedi has now called for state-wide protests condemning the arrest of RV Babu.

BJP Kerala President K. Surendran condemned the arrest and said that the Pinarayi Vijayan Government was resorting to pleasing Muslim extremists. He said that Hindus would not be cowed down by  Left government’s attempts to .

Earlier, five Hindu Aikyavedi activists were arrested for asking a bakery owner to remove the halal certificate. The organization has been protesting against the Halal system stating that it is discriminatory against non-Muslims leading to the monopoly of Muslims in certain businesses.

(With inputs from Organiser)

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Madras HC warns notorious Christian pastor for spewing venom against Hindu religion, pastor expresses ‘regret’

On Friday, the Madras High Court came down heavy and issued a warning to Christian pastor Mohan C Lazarus for making reckless statements against Hindus and Hindu religion.

The Court while quashing the FIRs filed against the rabid evangelist pastor said that spewing venom against another religious faith and developing hatred among the followers of a particular religion against another defies the very purpose of religion.

The court observed that religious leaders must realize their responsibilities and be watchful while propagating their religion. It said that reckless statements made by such persons would only sow the seeds of hatred across people of different religions.

The whole object of religion is to enable humans to evolve themselves into better beings….Unfortunately, in many instances, people get blindly attached to their religious beliefs and tend to make demeaning statements against other religions. They do not realise that spirituality is not a medium through which each religion competes with each other to show its superiority over the other,” Justice N Anand Venkatesh observed, as per the report by Bar and Bench.

Justice Venkatesh also said that the whole object of religion is to enable humans to evolve themselves into better beings.

Mohan Lazarus in an affidavit filed earlier this week had ‘expressed deep regrets and sincere remorse’ for his remarks. He had stated in his affidavit that ‘it was not his intention to hurt to defy either the sacred places of Hindus or their Gods or any other faith’ adding that he felt remorse that ‘his words had led to such kind of impressions among the Hindus’.

“I assure that I would take adequate care so as to avoid such occurrences in future.” he had stated in his affidavit.

The Court in its observation noted that Indian Secularism is not one that is anti-religious but one that gives equal freedom of conscience and religion to all its citizens.

Mohan C Lazarus is a problematic Christian evangelist who runs the missionary organization, Jesus Redeems, which receives funding from abroad through FCRA. He is known for his hate speech against Hindus. controversy by claiming that prostitution is rampant in temples. Mohan C Lazarus also said that Satan’s grip is tight only in Tamil Nadu as it is the state with the highest number of temples in India.

FIRs were filed against Mohan C Lazarus under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion etc.), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings) and 505 (public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.

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TN Govt announces ₹12,110 crore farm loan waiver, DMK loses one more ball

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Friday (February 5) announced waived of farm loans worth ₹12,110 crore that were availed by 16.43 lakh farmers. These loans were taken by farmers from cooperative banks.

Announcing the move in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, CM Palaniswami said that the waiver would come into immediate effect and the required finances would be arranged and allocated by the government.

He said that the decision was taken as farmers suffered huge losses due to two cyclones – Nigar and Burevi – and the COVID19 pandemic.

It is to be noted that this move of the AIADMK government comes ahead of the Assembly polls.

DMK on its side is trying to take credit for CM Palaniswami’s move. In a tweet, Lok Sabha MP from Thoothukudi and the DMK Women’s Wing Secretary Kanimozhi ‘thanked’ CM Palaniswami for ‘fulfilling MK Stalin’s demand’.

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Munawar Faruqui, who insulted Hindu deities, gets bail from Supreme Court

Munawar Faruqui

Serial abuser of Hindu culture and deities, stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui has been granted interim bail today by the Supreme Court today (5 February).

Also, the apex court has told the Madhya Pradesh government and put on hold a warrant against him in Uttar Pradesh.

Issuing notice to Madhya Pradesh on the comedian’s request that the FIR (First Information Report) against him be cancelled, the Supreme Court agreed with his lawyer that procedure was not followed because Munawar Faruqui’s lawyer has successfully argued that “a person cannot be arrested without a magistrate’s order or a warrant, which is stated in Section 41 of the Criminal code.”

Faruqui has been in jail for over a month after videos emerged wherein he could be seen and heard “insulting Hindu Gods and Goddesses” during a show.

After his arrest, many left-liberals came out to support him and called his arrest an attack on freedom of speech and expression. 

Munawar Faruqui had been denied bail thrice before and the Madhya Pradesh High Court refused to grant him bail on January 28.

Immediately after the verdict was given, Swati Goel Sharma who is a journalist with Swarajya Magazine, tweeted, “Only one of the five arrested men have been able to move Supreme Court for bail and that man is Munawar Faruqui.”

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AAI to sell 10 loss-making airports, new budget allocated funds for regional connectivity

airport privatisation

The 2021-2022 budget has been hailed as the most revolutionary since the path-breaking budget of 1991 when India liberalised its economy. On that basis, the government has started the third phase of airport privatisation and is all set to begin the process of awarding up to 10 airports in the country to private players, reports Economic Times.

According to the report, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), under the plan, is giving serious consideration on selling loss-making airports along with a profitable one.

“AAI is examining giving non-profitable airports and profit-making airports as a package. We could see six to ten airports being taken up,” Pradeep Kharola, Civil Aviation Secretary, was quoted as saying.

“The airports will be given to the private sector for a period of 50 years,” Kharola said.

This information was shared by the Civil Aviation Secretary while interacting with media on Thursday (4 February). On the aviation-related key points in Budget 2021 were an increase of 35 per cent at Rs 600 crore for the regional connectivity scheme has been allocated.

Kharola also mentioned that the new Budget provides several tax incentives for aircraft leasing companies to set up their operations in GIFT city in Ahmedabad.

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Villagers rise in protest to rename ‘Karunya Nagar’ to its original name ‘Nallurvayal’

People of Nallurvayaal have risen in protest demanding that their village be renamed to its original name, which is now called ‘Karunya Nagar’, named after Karunya University belonging to Christian pastor Paul Dhinakaran.

Karunya University, run by Christian evangelist Paul Dhinakaran, is located near the Velliangiri Hills in Coimbatore district. It was established as an engineering college in the year 1986 at the village of Nallurvayal. It is said that the local tribes living in the village were removed from their habitat. Post its arrival, the village was renamed as ‘Karunya Nagar’ which is now dotted with churches and ‘prayer halls’.

The village which is officially known as Nallurvayal in all government records however has police station, post office and telephone exchange identifying their location as Karunya Nagar. Boards and milestones also have ‘Karunya Nagar written on them.

Image result for karunya nagar police station

Image result for karunya nagar post office

After Paul Dhinakaran made news for hoarding crores of money and gold in his Karunya University premises which came to light during the raid by Income Tax Department, villagers have used the attention brought to their to village and have risen in protest demanding that their village be renamed to Nallurvayal.

A group called Nallurvayal Meetpu Kuzhuvinar (Nallurvayal Rescue Team) has been formed. The group had undertaken a protest rally and a signature campaign in the nearby Alandurai town to prevent the usurpation of their village by Paul Dhinakaran. Police arrested more than 350 people who took part in the demonstration leading to tense situation. Following this, more than 500 members sat in protest on the road holding placards of #SaveNallurvayal

The village panchayat had under the chairmanship of the Panchayat President Kittusamy convened a meeting and passed a resolution to change the name of Karunya Nagar in government offices in the Madvarayapuram panchayat area of ​​Coimbatore to ‘Nallurvayal’.  The panchayat meeting was attended by village panchayat Vice President Vetrivel, Panchayat Secretary Devi and 11 other members.

Coming to know of this, Thondamuthur Regional Development Officer (RDO) Jayakumar contacted the panchayat leader and had reportedly asked based on whose permission they passed the resolution. The panchayat members had told him that they need not take any permission to pass a resolution on the demand of the villagers. The RDO had then told them they could have informed him before passing the resolution. They were then told to appear before the District Collector Rajamani.

The Panchayat President, Vice President, Secretary and a few others went to meet Collector Rajamani. Srinivasan, Assistant Director, Rural Development Department (Panchayat) was present during the meeting. The officials had received the book in which the details of the resolution passed was recorded. The Collector had reportedly told the panchayat members that they could have informed before taking up such a resolution to which the panchyat member showed them a copy of the official gazette in which the village was mentioned as ‘Nallurvayal’.

Collector Rajamani was quoted saying in Tamil news daily Dinamalar that the members were not called for any inquiry and that they had come only to show the information. He had said that he is studying the situation and will take steps accordingly.

Meanwhile, the villagers have now blackened the milestone and boards with ‘Karunya Nagar’ and have erected a new board with the village’s original name ‘Nallurvayal’. A movement #SaveNallurvayal has been started by the villagers now.

(With inputs from Dinamalar)

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What connects a protest in Vancouver, Canada to the Republic Day riots in Delhi?

Poetic Justice Foundation

Protesters gathered in downtown Vancouver on Tuesday January 26 for what they called a “Global Day of Action”. Coincidentally, the day of the protests in Canada did coincide with the tractor rally and the ensuing riots that shook India’s capital. On 26 January 2021, Republic day, agitators protesting the Centre’s farm laws took out a massive tractor rally in Delhi. However, the rally soon turned violent and the agitators ran riot on the streets of the national capital. They destroyed cement barriers and police barricades, attacked security forces with swords and caused great destruction to Delhi’s public property. While some rioters rode horses and tried to run down policemen, others attempted trample policemen under tractors.

Protestors in Vancouver
Protestors in Vancouver, Canada

Protestors in Vancouver, Canada
Protestors in Vancouver, Canada

However, it is not just the day of the protest at Vancouver that connects it to the riots in India. The protests were held outside the Indian consulate on Tuesday in support of agitating farmers in India.

Scenes from the 26 January protests at Vancouver
Scenes from the 26 January protests at Vancouver, Canada

Scenes from the 26 January protests at Vancouver, Canada
Scenes from the 26 January protests at Vancouver, Canada

A poster put out by Sikh Press Association

One of the groups behind the protests is called Our Avaaz. The group has been organizing local protests in Metro Vancouver, in solidarity with the violent agitators who planted Sikh and Khalistani flags on top of the Red Fort in Delhi. According to the organizers, similar rallies in support of farmers have been taking place “in Canada, the United States, Australia, the UK, Germany and Denmark to bring attention to India’s history of oppressive actions as vulnerable farmers and their families continue to protest in Delhi.”

#AskIndiaWhy

In a statement, a spokesperson for Our Avaaz said that “the focus of today’s protests was to mark a Global Day of Action, which would encourage global citizens and the Indian diaspora to #AskIndiaWhy”.

“This hashtag will connect efforts by supporters around the world to keep India accountable for human rights abuses and to highlight that global attention is turned to the farmer protest in Delhi with the expectation of a peaceful resolution.”

While one wonders what human rights abuses the Canadian protestors are talking about, one must also note that this is the same hashtag mentioned under the ‘prior actions’ list in the ‘toolkit’ document that was earlier shared by Swedish radical Greta Thunberg. The now-altered document had called for a ‘Digital Strike’ and a ‘Global TweetStorm’ by trending #AskIndiaWhy and tagging the Twitter handles of the PMO, the Agriculture Minister, other Indian government officials and press-persons.

This coincidence of the hashtag can be explained by the fact that another group involved in the Vancouver protest was the Poetic Justice Foundation (PJF), and the PJF is the group that created the ‘toolkit’ document and other campaign materials and social media templates to frame the farmers’ agitations in a particular narrative.

According to the group’s website (the website being registered in Germany): “Poetic Justice Foundation challenges structures of oppression and discrimination through intersectional grassroots advocacy. We develop content, workshops and events to provoke, challenge and disrupt systemic inequities and biases. We create safe spaces for exploration, learning and healing to foster societal change. Our goal is to educate, organize and mobilize Canadians to achieve and protect equal rights in all aspects of social, political and economic life.”

The website also adds: “Currently, we are most actively involved in the #FarmersProtest that has activated Indian diaspora worldwide as a rebuke to India’s oppressive policies towards farmers.”

There is also a website AskIndiaWhy.com, registered to a UK address. This website is owned by PJF.

Mo Dhaliwal: The PJF’s front-man   

Talking of the protests in Vancouver, Mo Dhaliwal, co-founder of the Poetic Justice Foundation, stated in a press release, “These protests might feel like they are worlds away, but they are fighting for the same things we all value here at home – including the right to earn a living and feed our families. Farmers believe the agricultural reform laws introduced by the Indian government will drive down crop prices, devastate their earnings and allow private players to dictate food prices, driving small farmers even further into debt. Their concerns must be heard and their right to peacefully protest must be protected.”

According to data available with Corporations Canada, Canada’s federal corporate regulator, Monminder Singh Dhaliwal, Hardeep Singh Sahota and Sabrina Sohi are the three directors of PJF. Dhaliwal, who runs Skyrocket, a digital marketing agency, is also a friend and brand manager of Canadian MP Jagmeet Singh Dhaliwal. He even designed Jagmeet Singh’s campaign for the 2017 leadership of the federal New Democratic Party. Jagmeet Singh is known for his Khalistani sympathies and his endorsement of violence as a tool to achieve political goals. He had even been denied a visa to India in the past.

Mo Dhaliwal, co-founder of Poetic Justice Foundation, with Canadian MP Jagmeet Singh Dhaliwal
Mo Dhaliwal, co-founder of Poetic Justice Foundation, with Canadian MP Jagmeet Singh Dhaliwal | Instagram

Now, by his own admission, Mo Dhaliwal is a ‘Khalistani’ and wants “an independent Punjab”.

Mo Dhaliwal expressing his views on Facebook in September 2020
Mo Dhaliwal expressing his views on Facebook in September 2020

Did the ‘Global Left’ use the Sikh diaspora to undermine India, or is it the other way round?

Dhaliwal also gave an interview to Canadian broadcaster Global News in the aftermath of the Republic Day riots, wherein he made accusations of fascism against the Indian government, and expressed hope that there would be enough international pressure on the government to force it to repeal the farm laws. He also mentioned the role of the Sikh diaspora in creating international awareness to put pressure on India.

Moreover, these rallies are not in any way recent, and nor are they limited to Canada alone. Under the umbrella of the California Sikh Youth Alliance (CSYA), Sikh activists in California, USA celebrated the Republic Day riots and also clashed with activists of the Hindu American Foundation recently. They also opposed the re-installation of a vandalised statue of MK Gandhi.

To go back farther, in November 2020, a rally was held in Surrey in support of agitating farmers in India. Rallies were also held in Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary in Canada in December 2020.

farmers

A rally in Canada organised by the Sikh diaspora in support of the farmer agitations in India
A rally in Canada organised by the Sikh diaspora in support of the farmer agitations in India | Images: dailyhive.com

Special mention must be made of the placards and the Sikh insignia used by those protesting against the Indian government’s farm laws. The phrase “Free Punjab” occurs more than once, on the placards attached to the windscreen of the cars participating in protest-rallies across Canada. The black jackets of two protestors shows the Khanda, a Sikh symbol, merged with the red maple leaf, a widely used national symbol of Canada. The words “Legendary Sikh Riders” are emblazoned on the jackets as well. Perhaps these protestors see themselves as a modern version of the sword-wielding, horse-riding Nihang Sikhs, generally identified as the “warriors of Sikhism”, who attacked Indian policemen during the riots in Delhi.

What all these rallies have in common is that the global Sikh diaspora play a huge role in organising them. That is very telling.

Where does the Sikh diaspora stand?

In some sort of protestors’ manual and ‘strategy deck’ released by the PJF, called “Global Day of Action: Protesting for Farmers on India’s Republic Day January 26, 2021”, it is clearly mentioned that the organisation aims “to develop a campaign in the Diaspora to support the people and the cause that awoke us.”

A page from the PJF's Global Day of Action strategy deck, explicitly mentioning the significance of a campaign in the diaspora
A page from the PJF’s Global Day of Action strategy deck, explicitly mentioning the significance of a campaign in the diaspora

Another page of the 'strategy deck' stressing on the significance of the diaspora
Another page of the ‘strategy deck’ stressing on the importance of the Punjabi diaspora

In another page of the ‘strategy deck’, the PJF clearly says that the support to the protests from the Sikh and Punjabi diaspora is seen as “extremism of militant factions”. There is also some lament that while “communities worldwide [are] engaged in protest actions to drive awareness”,  the “Indian liberals and urbanites aren’t fully expressing their support”.

In a notable SWOT analysis of the movement in the same document, the PJF expresses the sentiment that “being overtly Khalistani” may be a bad thing as they enjoy “goodwill with [the] common people of India”.

More remarkably, the document notes that “social media activism in the west” and “mainstream media accessibility” are opportunities, seemingly with the view that such activism from Western celebrities on mainstream media (and perhaps also social media) can be exploited to force the Indian government to repeal the farm laws. “Volunteerism” and “seva” are mentioned as well, in what may possibly be a reference to the langars the Sikh community is famous for.

Detailing the ‘situation’ and giving a SWOT analysis

The document further calls for a “united global disruption in the Diaspora on Jan 26th”. Was this “disruption” the riots that happened in Delhi, or something else entirely, is not fully ascertained.

Pages from the PJF's 'strategy deck'
Pages from the PJF’s ‘strategy deck’

The document also contains samples of messages on how protestors and other supporters can frame the narrative. It also claims that the Indian government “persistently” “oppress[es] its citizens in favour of corporate interests”, “persecute[s] critics” and “harass[es] journalists”. Here, the document is clearly signalling to the widely-held belief among several members of the international community and a section of the Indian populace that the Indian government is some sort of authoritarian regime.

Pages from the PJF's 'strategy deck'
Pages from the PJF’s ‘strategy deck’

The document also explicitly mentions that through these protests, the PJF aims to “develop a compelling message for the world to take notice of India’s ongoing oppression of its citizens.”

Pages from the 'strategy deck' shared by the PJF
Pages from the ‘strategy deck’ shared by the PJF

The document also asks protestors to “access” networks of Sikh organisers and Punjabi cultural groups to influence policy makers, other social and political movements and the general public.

'sphere of influence'
‘sphere of influence’

One section asks protestors to target “Indian consulates or intersections or community gathering places in major metros”; in other words, places related to the Indian government and/or places where lots of people can notice the protests. It is noteworthy that the site of the anti-CAA Shaheen Bagh protest too was a major traffic intersection with heavy footfall.  Another interesting section of the document is called “The Plan”. This section is mostly devoted to media management and how to garner good PR for the protests.

'Call to Action' and 'The Plan'
‘Call to Action’ and ‘The Plan’

 

'The Plan'
‘The Plan’

Mo Dhaliwal is listed at the end of the document.

Mo Dhaliwal's name appended to the document
Mo Dhaliwal’s name appended to the document

The PJF has also released a document for the benefit of the protestors, highlighting a few templates for social media.

The template also contains the picture, Twitter handle and a tweet by Thenmozhi Soundararajan, of the Equality Labs initiative. Equality Labs is a well-known Periyarite organisation seeking to foment hatred towards Hindus and Brahmins.

Given that the motive of the protests ― both within India and abroad ― is to de-legitimise the current Indian administration in the eyes of the world, one can only wonder what steps, if at all any, the Indian government will take to ensure that such an attempt does not succeed.

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