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My Festivals Are Not Occasions For Your Virtue-Signalling

By
Anand Krishna
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The attack on Hindu belief system via unethical advertisements has become a common occurrence. Here is a look at instances from the past.

Recently Bharat Matrimony came under fire after their recent advertisement on Holi and International Women’s Day courted controversy over religious sentiments. The advertisement shows a woman washing off the Holi colours from her face and once the colours start to fade, there appear bruises on her skin. And the captions read: “Some colours don’t wash away easy.” Even though the advertisement is thought-provoking, it takes rather an extraordinary route of correlating the Hindu belief system with abuse suffered by women. The violence faced by women in this country is indeed an important issue that needs to be addressed by any means, but, oddly, such a social message is pushed by donning the colours of the Hindu religion; as if it is only during Holi that women are abused. It seems that Hindu festivals like Diwali, Holi, etc are under constant attack, be it in the form of giving Hindu colour to social issues or deliberate attempts to mock the Hindu belief system. These recent events thus give us an impetus to look into instances in the past that have demonstrated offensive attitudes towards the Hindu religion in form of advertisements.

“Idea of secularism should be ‘equality for all and appeasement for none’ and in case of Indian ad industry we can see a constant appeasement of minority and ignorance of the feelings of majority. By propagating pseudo-secularism, the ‘Left-Liberal’ ad agencies and brands conveniently places burden of secularism on already burdened shoulders of poor Hindu community without any obligations from the part of minority communities.”

Wild Stone Advertisement Featuring Bengali Women (2007)


Deodorant ads often use sexual imagery and degrade women to extreme levels. Women, for years, have been protesting such obscene portrayals of their sexuality. Wild Stone deodorant was promoted in an advertisement that caused some controversy. Set amidst the backdrop of Durga Puja, it showed a married woman in traditional Bengali attire being drawn to fantasize about having intercourse with another man right after she bumps into him accidentally, courtesy of the “wild” fragrance. The Bengali community got deeply offended by such blasphemy and protested the defamation of their holy celebrations. 

Manforce Advertisement Featuring Sunny Leone (2017)

A Manforce advertisement featuring Sunny Leone on its poster was released during Navratri to promote condom sales in Gujarat. Later, due to public outrage, the company was forced to withdraw the ad following public outcry. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) urged the then Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan to act against Mankind Pharma and its brand ambassador for misleading consumers. 

“Though they have not used the word condom in their banner but the intention is very clear as the combination of words like ‘play’, ‘love’ and ‘Navratri’ are coined above the large logo of Manforce“, CAIT National Secretary Praveen Khandelwal wrote in the letter. The hoarding showed Leone on one side staring at the text written in Gujarati, “Ya Navratriyon Ramo Parantu Prem Thi”- which translates to, “Play during Navratri but with love”, between two dandiya sticks and above the Manforce logo. “Their large banners in cities across Gujarat are shouting out to encourage youths to use Manforce condoms in the name of Navratri festival,” Khandelwal said. Terming the advertisement as “derogatory”, he further said: “This is a clearly irresponsible and immature attempt to boost sales by putting our cultural value system at stake.”

Jawed Habib’s Ad Featuring Durga (2017)

Habib’s ad featuring the Hindu Goddess Durga and her four children in their salon enjoying a spa day did not settle well with the audience. The advertisement provoked the anger of the Hindu community, who felt that their Gods and Goddesses were always ridiculed in such campaigns. Some people even alleged that Jawed Habib had deliberately insulted Hindu sentiments and called him a Rohingya Muslim on social media. He apologized to the community while assuring them that he had no intention of hurting the sentiments of any community.

Surf Excel’s #RangLaayeSang (2019)

Unilever has faced backlash for its ads that portray Hindu-Muslim harmony during festivals. One ad for Surf Excel detergent showed a Hindu girl protecting a Muslim boy from Holi colours so he could go to the mosque. Another ad for Red Label tea showed a Hindu boy invoking Allah to please his Muslim friend. People accused the company of promoting ‘love jihad’ and insulting Hindu sentiments. They also questioned why Hindus were always shown as needing to be ‘reformed’ by Muslims in such ads.

Red Label Tea Advertisement Of Ganesh Chaturthi (2019)

Red Label tea has been criticised for its ad that shows a Hindu man reluctant to buy a Ganesh idol from a Muslim craftsman during Ganesh Chaturthi. The ad is part of the brand’s campaign to promote ‘togetherness’ and ‘harmony’ among different communities6. However, some people have accused the brand of portraying Hindus as bigots who need to be ‘reformed’ by Muslims and tea. They have also questioned why the brand does not show any other religious groups in a negative light. This is not the first time that Red Label has faced backlash for its ads that depict Hindu-Muslim relations.

Tanishq Advertisement Promoting ‘Love Jihad’ (2020)

 

 A Tanishq ad featuring an interfaith baby shower was pulled off air after a social media backlash. The ad showed a Hindu woman married to a Muslim man and her mother-in-law organising a god-bharai, a Hindu ceremony for her. The ad and the brand were called out for promoting ‘love jihad’ and hurting Hindu sentiments. Social media users cited cases of Hindu women being forced to convert to Islam by their Muslim partners. They also quoted brutal hacking instances where Hindu boys or girls were hacked to death by their Muslim lovers/families. There have also been innumerable instances where Hindu women were forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men.

After receiving severe backlash, Tanishq had to pull down the advertisement. In an official statement, the Tanishq spokesperson said, “We are deeply saddened with the inadvertent stirring of emotions and withdraw this film keeping in mind the hurt sentiments and wellbeing of our employees, partners, and store staff.”

Fab India Diwali Advertisement Campaign (2021)

Fabindia faced online outrage over its Diwali ad that used an Urdu phrase. The clothing brand tweeted an ad for its festive collection, calling it ‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz’ (celebration of customs). Several social media users called out the brand for hurting the Hindu community’s sentiments and demanded a boycott of Fabindia. The brand later deleted the tweet 

Advertisement by AU Small Finance Bank (2022)

 

AU Bank faced criticism for its ad featuring Aamir Khan and Kiara Advani. Director Vivek Agnihotri took to Twitter to question the ad rolled out by the bank featuring actors Aamir Khan and Kiara Advani. Agnihotri tweeted, “I just fail to understand since when banks have become responsible for changing social and religious traditions?” The ad showed a Hindu wedding where the groom, played by Khan, moved into his bride’s house after Vidaai. The ad claimed to promote change and gender equality. However, it only came off as if the bank was disrespecting Hindu traditions. AU Bank later withdrew the ad from Twitter.

Dabur ‘Lesbian Karwa Chauth’ Advertisement (2021)

 

Another advertisement by Dabur that showed a lesbian couple celebrating Karwa Chauth landed the brand in trouble. Dabur’s new ad for its bleaching product featured a lesbian couple preparing for their first Karwa Chauth. The ad aimed to normalise same-sex relationships, but it backfired. The LGBTQ community slammed the ad for endorsing a “regressive” festival and a fair-skin obsession. The ad offended both the supporters and the critics of Karwa Chauth. The former disliked the brand’s promotion of fair skin, while the latter denounced the festival as a backward practice. Karwa Chauth has often faced scorn and ridicule from the liberals. Karwa Chauth has often been criticised by the left-liberals as a festival that promotes patriarchy. By contrast, they maintain a deafening silence when it comes to calling out traditions of other religions that are patently racist, misogynistic, and regressive.

The idea of secularism should be ‘equality for all and appeasement for none’ and in the case of the Indian ad industry we can see constant minority appeasement and ignorance of the feelings of majority. By propagating pseudo-secularism, the ‘Left-Liberal’ ad agencies and brands conveniently place the burden of secularism on already burdened shoulders of the poor Hindu community without any obligations from the part of minority communities.

The idea of secularism should be ‘equality for all and appeasement for none’ and in the case of the Indian ad industry we can see constant minority appeasement and ignorance of the feelings of majority. By propagating pseudo-secularism, the ‘Left-Liberal’ ad agencies and brands conveniently place the burden of secularism on already burdened shoulders of the poor Hindu community without any obligations from the part of minority communities.

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MM Keeravani: A RRRaga Unto Himself And His Different Sagas

By
Shivani
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From the Telugu MM Keeravani to the Tamil Maragathamani and the Hindi M M Kreem, to the world-renowned Golden Globe and the Oscars. It has been an arduous, stressful yet artistically satisfying journey for the music director of the now globally known “Naatu, Naatu” song from SS Rajamouli’s mega global celluloid showpiece, RRR.

Koduri MarakathaMani Keeravani (MM Keeravani) was born on the 4th of July, 1961, in Kovvur, near Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh’s Godavari district. 

Humble Beginnings

MM Keeravani’s journey to success began when he was just 10 years old, playing the violin for the Pranalingam Accordion Party, a travelling band from Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. His musical talent drew crowds, and he often performed a solo version of “Ek Pyaar ka Nagma hai,” impressing audiences with his skills. However, it was a case of misheard lyrics that helped him perfect the song – he thought the second line went ‘Maujo keeravani hai’ instead of ‘Maujo ki ravaani hai’, a common mistake among those growing up on Hindi film music.

His Artistic Family

MM Keeravani comes from a family with a variety of artistic passions – music, painting, storytelling, song lyrics, script writing, and film direction!! However, all his talented family members have had to work hard, withstand financial pressures, persevere with their creative pursuits, and overcome several technical and economic hurdles before their talents finally got recognition, appreciation, and reward. Keeravani’s father and the now well-known film director, SS Rajamouli’s (Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli) father are brothers, artists in their own right, and certainly, appear to have passed on their creative passions to their respective sons. 

Keeravani’s father is Koduri Siva Shakthi Datta (birth name: Koduri Subba Rao) a lyricist, screenwriter, and painter who works in Telugu cinema. In Telugu films, the lyrics he wrote were commonly based on Sanskrit. Inclined towards the arts from an early age, he ran away from his landlord father’s home in Andhra and joined Sir J. J. School of Art in Mumbai, from where he graduated with a diploma two years later. His passion for films led him to move to Madras/Chennai when the Telugu film industry still operated from there before its move to Hyderabad. Keeravani’s father found recognition and reward late in life and as the future would have it, Keeravani also had his share of struggles before his hard-earned break in 1990. 

From Maragathamani To Kreem And Finally Keeravani: A Composer With Multiple Names And Talents

M M Keeravani was how he was known in the Telugu film industry. He called himself Maragathamani in the Tamil film industry and was known as MM Kreem in Bollywood. Some of his well-known compositions in Telugu, Tamil, or Hindi have been enjoyed by millions in India as brooding, melodious tunes, with total absorption in the tune, leaving the music composer in near obscurity!

In Tamil, the song “Sangeetha Swarangal Ezhezhu Kanakka” from the K Balachander movie, Azhagan, is a MM Keeravani super hit song. In fact, the same film was a musical chartbuster – other songs such as ‘Saathi Malli Poocharame’ and the Thathithom song from the same film are still popular among the people. In Hindi, the mellifluous “Tum Mile Dil Khile” from the Mahesh Bhat-directed movie “Criminal” is another chart-busting, pan-Indian super hit song composed by MM Keeravani, whose name remained unknown but his songs earned a place in the hearts of music aficionados. 

For die-hard music lovers in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and the Telugu states, the heavenly notes he struck with songs in the Sridevi-Arvind Swamy starrer ‘Devaraagam’ are all-time favourites – Ya Ya, Yadava, Devaraagam, Sisirakaala Meghamidhuna.

Unforgettable tunes for Telugu audiences range from his path-breaking music for Kshana Kshanam, Pelli Sandadi, Seetharamayya Gari Manavaralu, Garana Mogudu, Sundarakanda, Rakshana, Student No 1, Vikramudu, Yamadonga, Magadheera, and numerous others to the divine ragas in the biopics of the Hindu saints, Sri Annamayya, and Sri Ramadasu. 

One interesting anecdote about how his names caused confusion – MM Keeravani, who composed for several films produced by media baron Ramoji Rao, reportedly had a disagreement with one of the directors and expressed his desire to opt out of the project. This did not sit well with Rao, who may have viewed it as unprofessional. In a conversation with his associates, Rao expressed his intention to replace Keeravani with a new composer who had caught his attention – a certain MM Kreem. However, one of Rao’s associates revealed to Keeravani that MM Kreem was, in fact, Keeravani himself!

How Keeravani Became Kreem

His career took a dramatic turn when he was 33 and his wife was expecting their child. His guru advised him to live like a hermit for 18 months to avoid a fatal danger. A devout follower of Shiva, he obeyed his guru and gave up his worldly possessions and pleasures, he even lived away from his wife. During this period, he met Kumar Sanu, a popular singer, and collaborated with him on the song “Tu Mile Dil Khile”. The song became a huge hit and marked the debut of MM Kreem, an alias suggested by his guru. Keeravani is said to have been inspired by Stephen King, who also wrote under two names.

Keeravani And Rajamouli

Bahubali and RRR movie Director SS Rajamouli’s father is Koduri Viswa Vijayendra Prasad, a screenwriter and film director who predominantly works in the Telugu film industry. He has worked as a screenwriter for more than 25 films, most of which were commercial successes. His notable work as a screenwriter includes films like Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), Manikarnika (2019) in Hindi, and the original Baahubali series and RRR in Telugu. 

The rest of Keeravani’s family’s artistic talents have been recognized too. Music composer and singer Kalyani Malik is his brother and M M Srilekha, the music composer, is his cousin. Keeravani’s older son, Kaala Bhairava is a music director and playback singer. 

Underrated In The Hindi Film Industry

Despite being underrated, Keeravani’s work in Hindi films has endured, with songs that stand the test of time. His later work on films such as Special 26 continued to showcase his exceptional talent. However, it was the success of the two-part epic film series Bahubali that truly changed Keeravani’s fortunes. The film’s grandeur, featuring a confluence of folk, military music, shlokas, and sweet melodies mounted on a symphony structure, was a historic success that made Keeravani and his entire family household names.

How Bahubali Brought Him Back

Keeravani decided to retire in 2014 after being dissatisfied with the quality of his projects. He poured his heart and soul into Bahubali, a two-part epic that he considered his masterpiece and his final work. 

Bahubali, which was supposed to be Keeravani’s swan song, turned out to be the biggest success, and the acclaim the film received made him change his mind. This led him to abandon his retirement plans, and he continues to create incredible music to this day.

Awards And Accolades

M M Keeravani’s awards and accolades are an impressive list and include both national and international ones: 

Indian: a National Film award, 8 Filmfare awards, 11 Nandi awards (Tollywood – Andhra and Telangana state awards), a Padmashree.

Western/global: Critics Choice Movie award, Los Angeles Film Critics Association award, a Golden Globe award, and the most internationally coveted Oscar “Academy” award. 

Here is a complete list of M M Keeravani’s music compositions. 

Keeravani: A RRRaga to riches tale of a musical genius

Keeravani’s story is one of perseverance, passion, and talent. Rising from humble beginnings as a child violinist to become one of the most celebrated composers in India, he faced many challenges and hardships in his career, but he never gave up on his musical dreams. He created songs in different languages and genres and won the hearts of millions of listeners. He reached the pinnacle of his success with Bahubali, a historic film that showcased his musical genius and now his work has got international recognition through the Oscar award for Naatu Naatu. He is a living legend and an inspiration for many aspiring musicians.

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Minors At Orphanage In Nagapattinam Sexually Abused, Home Sealed But Accused Gets Bail

By
The Commune
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Owner of a Christian missionary-funded home in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu Karibeeran Parameswaran,  who has been accused of sexual abuse of inmates and facing POCSO charges, got anticipatory bail along with his wife, her brother, and two others.

Following a complaint of sexual harassment and abuse at the Nagai Christian Home, 30 children in the Children Home were moved to another Home.

Nambikkai (Hands of Hope) Home for the Orphans of Tsunami, run by Parameswaran and his wife Choodamani, has been functioning on New Beach Road, Kadambadi in Nagapattinam. There were 15 girls and 15 boys under the age of 18 living in the home.

A girl who left the home lodged a complaint at the Nagapattinam All Women Police Station on February 23. In her complaint, she said that the children in the shelter are being sexually harassed and tortured. The All Women Police Station registered a case in this regard and investigated the matter.

After getting the necessary orders from the court, Revenue Department officials headed by Assistant Collector and Child Protection Officer Uma Maheshwari went to the orphanage, examined the children there, and learnt that the complaint was true.

Following this, the children from the orphanage were transferred to Annai Satya Illam, a government children’s home. After questioning the employees, authorities sealed the Christian orphanage. Police are looking for the owners Parameshwaran and Choodamani, who were absconding.

According to reports, all of the accused in the case were government employees, which allowed them to prosper without getting caught while getting corporate social responsibility funds from Central government institutions and through through Lion Club, Rotary Club etc.

Though Parameswaran was getting funds from corporate companies, he avoided getting funds directly and routed them through the Christian orphanage. It is alleged that a ruling party MLA, who is a Christian and stirred controversy by garlanding the prime accused in the Thirukattupalli suicide case, is extending his support and protection to the accused.

According to a local BJP leader, the wife of Dharmalingam (Nambikkai Home’s secretary), who works as a lab technician in the district medical college hospital where the victims were medically tested, is attempting to manipulate the lab results in favor of the accused. He continued by saying that Parameswaran’s brother-in-law, who works in the district collector’s office in Nagapattinam, is allegedly using his connections to ensure the case is weakened. He further added that Parameswaran ‘s political, social and other connections helped him in this case.

It is reported that the Nagai court granted anticipatory bail to all of the accused in the case.

(with inputs from Dinamani)

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Tenkasi: Board Of Street Named After PM Modi Removed

By
The Commune
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It is pretty common to name streets and roads after freedom fighters, politicians, and even our colonisers. Some time ago, a street in Tenkasi that was named after Prime Minister Narendra Modi went viral on social media.

Over the weekend, Tamil Nadu BJP Secretary SG Suryah shared a photo of himself standing next to the name board of this street in Tenkasi on Twitter.

This seems to have been noticed by the administration and by the next morning, it was noted that corporation staff was seen uprooting the board. It is not known who named the street so and exactly when it happened.

This comes as an irony because there are plenty of such streets and localities named after M Karunanidhi, former Chief Minister of the state, even when he was in power. The East Coast Road was renamed “Muthamizh Arignar Kalaignar Karunanidhi Salai” last year by the current Chief Minister, MK Stalin.

There was also an attempt to name Manakkalam Street in Karur (Ward 36) after Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of the current Chief Minister but was later withdrawn by the corporation.

The DMK government tried renaming ‘South Car Street’ in Thiruvarur after late former CM Karunanidhi but withdrew after severe resistance from public.

It is to be noted that removing name boards and renaming streets and localities is not happening for the first time by the DMK government. As soon as they came to power, the DMK ensured that welfare schemes started by the previous AIADMK government under J Jayalalithaa, such as Amma Unavagam (canteens) formulated by her in 2013, were shut down and stripped of their name. There was a buzz that it would be renamed Kalaignar Unavagam canteen but it did not happen so far. Many Amma canteens and Amma clinic were shut down after the DMK government came to power.

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BBC Asks Gary Lineker To “Stay Away” After He Tweets Against Govt

By
The Commune
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Gary Lineker, football fans might recognise, is one of the most popular and respected sports broadcasters in the UK. He has been presenting the BBC’s Match of the Day, a football highlights show, since 1999. However, he recently announced that he would “step back” from the role until an agreement is reached on his social media use.

The reason for this decision was an impartiality row that erupted over his tweets criticising the UK government’s new asylum policy.

The policy, which was unveiled in March 2023 by Suella Braverman, aims to deter illegal crossings and make it harder for people to claim asylum in the UK.

Lineker, who has been vocal about his support for refugees and migrants, tweeted that “There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?”

The BBC, which claims to have strict guidelines on impartiality and social media use for its staff and contributors, said that it considered Lineker’s tweets to be a breach of its rules. It said that it had discussions with Lineker and his team in recent days, and decided that he would step back from presenting Match of the Day until a clear position on his social media use was agreed upon.

The decision sparked a backlash from football fans and celebrities who expressed their support for Lineker and his views. Some fans threatened to boycott the show, while others praised Lineker for speaking his mind.

The controversy also had an impact on the BBC’s weekend football coverage, as some pundits and commentators pulled out of their roles in protest. Jason Mohammad and Alex Scott, who were supposed to host Final Score and Football Focus respectively, refused to appear on air. The BBC said that it respected their decision.

The BBC also released a statement saying that it valued Lineker’s contribution to its football coverage and hoped to resolve the issue soon. It said that it recognised that social media was an important platform for its presenters and contributors to engage with audiences, but that it also expected them to uphold its editorial standards.

The case of Gary Lineker raises questions about how much freedom of expression/freedom of speech one is allowed to exercise. A few months back when BBC tried to release a biased documentary on Modi and the Godhra riots and it met with opposition, it gave long sermons on media freedom and the like, but like a true soldier of the British government, it did not stop and apply those principles of media freedom to its own staff.

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Startup Tenkasi: 3 Small Town Startups Get Wings To Fly High

By
The Commune
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Featured Image Courtesy: SG Suryah Twitter

BJP TamilNadu Overseas Tamil Cell’s #StartupTenkasi Programme concluded at Essaki Mahal, Tenkasi on March 12, 2022.

200 startup ideas were pitched at the event, which was a first-of-its-kind initiative by BJP Tamil Nadu. Twelve finalists were selected after rigorous evaluations.

The event on Sunday was attended by Padmashri Sridhar Vembu, founder of Zoho, and other members of the BJP, including Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India, Rajeev Chandrasekar (who attended virtually). During his address, Rajeev Chandrasekhar discussed India’s Startup India initiatives. Sridhar Vembu, founder of Zoho, praised the quality of the startup ideas. Aside from motivating the crowd of youngsters and students, he urged them to be endlessly curious.

Winners of the competition were awarded cash prizes, and Mr. Vembu hosted a dinner for the finalists.

PM Narendra Modi’s pathbreaking initiatives to encourage startups in India were highlighted by the speakers at the event. Since 2016, 80,152 startups have been launched in India, providing jobs to lakhs of people. Currently, India ranks third in the number of unicorns, second in the number of startups, and first in the number of startups emerging every day. Among 23 companies, 13 became unicorns in 2022, by becoming profitable.

The event featured the growth story of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities under PM Narendra Modi’s leadership. Several young entrepreneurs from different parts of India attended the event to showcase their innovative ideas and gain recognition.

Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai was unable to attend the event owing to illness, he shared a tweet regretting his inability to participate.

The top 3 winners were Jeeva Fabtech, Five Max, and Microzoom zones, and were awarded a cash prize of ₹1 lakh, ₹50,000, and ₹25,000 respectively.

Startup Tenkasi is an initiative aimed at making Tenkasi the Estonia of India. Located in northern Europe, Estonia is one of the most technologically advanced countries. A number of innovative educational models, virtual businesses, and digital citizenship are the hallmarks of the country. Tallinn, the capital, has a vibrant start-up ecosystem. Video service Skype was created in Estonia, revolutionizing the way the world communicates, similarly, Tenkasi is the home of Zoho Desk, a successful software product of Zoho Corporation.

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Kerala’s Communist CM Hails Chinese President Xi Jinping On His Re-election

By
The Commune
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Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala’s Chief Minister, member of the Politburo of Communist Party of India (Marxist) and secretary of the Kerala State Committee of the CPI(M) showered praises on Chinese President Xi Jinping on his re-election.

In a tweet, Pinarayi wished his comrade across the border saying “Revolutionary greetings to President Xi Jinping on his re-election as the President of the People’s Republic of China.”

He also implied that under Xi Jinping’s leadership, “China has emerged as a prominent voice in global politics”.

“Best wishes for the continued efforts to achieve a more prosperous China.”, Pinarayi Vijayan wrote in his tweet.

Earlier on 27 August 2021 the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Tamil Nadu sent out a tweet applauding the Chinese government for administering 200 million doses while looking the other way when India achieved several milestones in the vaccination drive. This came at a time when India and China were at loggerheads over the border in Eastern Ladakh.

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DMK Councillor’s Goons Stone Man To Death

By
The Commune
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Featured Image Credits: OpIndia

A property dispute in Tiruvallur ended with one of the men involved being killed. It is alleged that aides of a DMK councillor Elango who was involved in the property dispute pelted a man named Balamurugan with stones ultimately killing him.

This gruesome act was caught on CCTV camera and seems to show the councillor also in the midst.

The DMK councillor in question, Elango of Ward No. 17 in Ponneri, Tiruvallur district, was related to the person who was killed. Two women, Gayatri and Nandini, were involved in the dispute and are also related. Nandhini, the owner of an ancestral house, allegedly attacked her tenant who is also her niece, Gayathri, with a knife. Gayathri had earlier lodged a police complaint against Nandhini for evicting her from the house over some disagreement.

The property dispute escalated when Nandhini locked the house and refused to let Gayathri in. Nandhini was backed by local DMK councilor Elango and his associates, including Ernavur Hariharan. They allegedly assaulted Gayathri and her sister Keerthi outside the house. Gayathri’s relatives Robert and Balamurugan came to her rescue and helped her file a police complaint, as reported by Polimer News.

Balamurugan had helped his friend Gayathri file a complaint with the Ponneri police against DMK councillor Elango and his aides for threatening her over her ancestral property. The police had reportedly dismissed the complaint as a civil matter and ignored the CCTV footage submitted by Gayathri. Enraged by this, Elango and his aides Vinod Kumar, Rajkiran, and Dilip Kumar confronted Balamurugan and his friend Robert and pelted stones at them.  Robert managed to escape with injuries but Balamurugan succumbed to his wounds. While the police have arrested the aides Vinod Kumar and Rajkiran, Dilip Kumar is still at large.

Another such “family dispute” occurred in February this year, when Army Jawan Lance Naik M Prabhu was killed by another DMK councillor Chinnaswamy after an argument at Velampatti near Pochampally because Prabhu washed clothes near the panchayat water tank.

While Chinnaswamy was arrested and a case filed against him for murder, the DMK councillor Elango involved in this killing is still free and no action has been taken yet.

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70-Year-Old Karumariamman Temple Demolished In Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Constituency

By
The Commune
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The Devi Karumariamman temple, which had been in the Koyyathoppu area of Chepakkam constituency in Chennai for the past 70 years was demolished on the early morning of 11 March 2023 with police protection.

A part of the temple, including the Gopuram, was built 30 years ago with the help of former governor and Congress MLA Jyoti Venkatachalam in the 1970s.

This demolition of a 70-year-old temple by the DMK government has sparked public outrage in the locality. In a letter addressed to the engineer of Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB), Hindu Munnani leader Vijay Kumar has condemned the demolition of a temple that has been in place for over 70 years.

It is also reported that the Gandhi statue, which was erected by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Kamaraj near the temple, was demolished along with the temple. However, no Congress leader has condemned the DMK government’s destruction of the Hindu temple or the Mahatma Gandhi statue opened by Congress stalwart Kamarajar.

It is worth noting that the temple comes under Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Chepakkam-Tiruvellikeni constituency.

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Soros’ Indian Sepoys

By
The Commune
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“Modi and business tycoon Adani are close allies. Their fate is intertwined. Adani Enterprises tried to raise funds in the stock market but failed. Adani is accused of stock manipulation and his stock collapsed like a house of cards,” said billionaire hedge fund investor and philanthropist George Soros at the Munich Security Conference on February 17.

Soros then turned to the next page of his speech.

“Modi is silent on the subject but he will have to answer questions from foreign investors and in Parliament. This has significantly weakened Modi’s stranglehold on India’s federal government and opened the door to push much needed institutional reforms. I may be naive, but I expect a democratic revival in India,” he concluded.

Well known as a regime changing agent who funds anarchists and lobbyists to wield ‘soft’ power on various countries, George Soros’ pointed claims of a “democratic revival” did not go unnoticed.

Soros’ interference in the affairs of the former Soviet Union countries, in Israel as well as in some African nations, to force his idea of politics on the citizens of those nations, is well documented.

Soros has been ruthless in his pursuit of wealth and now, in his sunset years, is equally ruthless in his pursuit of power.

Soros’ modus operandi is to identify talents and fund them to set up complex, tangled and inter-linked networks of “do-gooders”.

Thousands of such individuals are roped in to carry out his ideas about what democracy should be. Lawyers, non-profits, activists of every hue, politicians, educational institutes are all roped into this web.

Team Lede spent days following the money trail of prominent and not-so-well-known NGOs in India and zeroed in on the most insidious foreign funder of them all – George Soros.

The Lede’s series – India’s ‘Soft’ Enemies – has tracked several aspects of George Soros, the billionaire hedge fund investor, and his activities in India.

You can read more about Soros and his global regime-changing methods in Part 1.

You can read about how Soros’ philanthropic arm – Open Society Foundations – has circumvented the FCRA restrictions and continues to fund Indian NGOs in Part 2.

The Lede also dug deep into the organised protests in Tamil Nadu post Jayalalithaa’s demise and who funded the NGOs and activists who led them, in Part 3.

In Part 4, we delve into the key individuals who dance to the tunes of Soros and appear to now be trying to effect a change in regime in India.

Salil Shetty

Salil Shetty, Bengaluru born and 62 years old is George Soros’ lieutenant and his pointsman in India. He currently works as Vice President – Global Operations in Open Society Foundations.

Shetty is in India ahead of the 2024 elections. He even joined Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on one leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Here’s a short background of Salil Shetty.

As is evident from Shetty’s background, he appears to be very close to the UK government and has a phenomenal network in at least two continents – Europe and North America.

Shetty is also the mentor and architect of India’s organised non-profit sector, moulding next rung regime change agents within India and helping place them in key positions on the managements of mega NGOs, both foreign and domestic.

From the fount of Shetty flows the money through convoluted routes to a variety of large and small NGOs which feed off and fund each other.

This tony clique has used many social causes to their advantage – from women’s rights, to education and Dalit empowerment. Little real work has been done on the ground though with the funds that have been allocated for specific projects.

Fancy annual reports boasting of claims of having saved thousands, even lakhs of Indians from poverty and distress are just those – claims.

The real intent of these funds is to mobilise the masses for protests for or against the Soros sepoys’ ideology, to impose legislation on the country and now, work towards regime change.

Amitabh Behar

Behar is the CEO of Oxfam India and was a former Executive Director of the National Foundation for India. A mentee of Shetty, the organisations led by him have been the recipients of major funding from Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF) as well as other foreign NGOs that are funded by the OSF.

We will take you through some of the Indian NGOs which have received funding from Oxfam India.

  • Centre for Equity Studies led by Harsh Mander, a former member of Sonia Gandhi’s National Advisory Council who was also recently in the running for a Nobel. This organisation has received Rs 1.2 crore from Oxfam.
  • Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE) which was founded by advocate Ritwick Dutta. This was also highlighted in our Part 3 series as he was counsel for Fathima Babu, one of the leaders of the anti-Sterlite protests in Thoothukudi in 2018.
  • Association for Rural and Urban Needy (ARUN) in Telangana which is run by Bezwada Wilson. Partners of Oxfam in ARUN include the Fund For Global Human Rights, a Washington DC based organisation for building activism and protest groups across the world.
  • Swadhikar or National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), founded in 1998 and now led by Paul Divakar Namala.
  • Oxfam India has also granted Rs 1.4 crore to the Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion (CSEI) between 2016-17 and 2020-21 as shown in their FCRA filings with the Indian government.

Oxfam India itself has, as its donors, the Malala Fund. The Malala Fund is another well-known fund that donates to promote education for girls and is funded by Soros’ Open Society Foundation.

This couple are active in the NGO space and lead and mentor numerous non-profits. Annie Namala, in fact, was one of the brains behind the Right to Education Act which was enacted under the UPA rule in 2009.

It was under Annie Namala’s watch that the much celebrated RTE legislation was drafted to state that the Act was not mandatory for schools run by and for minorities. This exemption has come under criticism from many quarters for being divisive and sectarian. Not only this, questions were raised as to how an individual flooded with foreign funding could be allowed to tweak legislation at her will.

Both the Namalas run organisations that are heavily funded by Soros-affiliated NGOs from across the world.

As a sample, The Lede analysed the foreign funding of Annie Namala’s CSEI from 2016-17 to 2020-21. The details are available on Darpan, a site for NGO details, maintained by the Niti Aayog.

CSEI is funded by GCAP (Global Action to Call Against Poverty), a UN Millennium project helmed by Salil Shetty. GCAP, in turn, funds the Wada Na Todo Abhiyan (WNTA) which is a loose collaboration of activists and NGOs in India. Annie Namala is a Convenor of the WNTA, while Amitabh Behar is a founding member.

Another funder is the Goodwill Community Foundation which is funded by World Vision. World Vision is, in turn, funded by the Open Government Partnership. The Partnership has Soros’ Open Society as one of its biggest donors.

Other donors to CSEI are Oxfam India, National Foundation for India (NFI), both of which are Soros-funded. Another donor is the YP Foundation, which is funded by the American Jewish Service, which in turn is funded by OSF. The American Jewish Service also directly funds CSEI.

Similarly Acumen, another donor, is a charity whose biggest donor is Andreas Soros Colombel, the daughter of George Soros. The Malala Fund, a Soros-affiliated entity, also contributes to CSEI.

One more donor of note is I Partner India. This is a non-profit aimed at helping other non-profits get donations and funding, especially from abroad. It is led by Bina Rani, wife of Salil Shetty.

The final funder of note is called Commutiny – The Youth Collective. This NGO is funded by donations from Dasra and Pravah. Dasra is funded by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, while Pravah is funded by the American Jewish Service and Commutiny, both of which are backed by Soros’ charity.

Gagan Sethi 

Sethi is a key embedded mentee of Salil Shetty and he is now also a trustee at the National Foundation for India (NFI), a non-profit based in Delhi. Apart from this, he is also the founder of Janvikas. Sethi is also a Governing Board Member at Oxfam India. He is also Vice Chairperson of a non-profit called the Centre for Social Justice.

Sethi has actively helped set up organisations, mostly in Gujarat. The Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan, Sahjeevan, Drishti, HID Forum and Transform Rural India are all his initiatives, among others.

As The Lede had already revealed in Part 2 of the series, NFI continues to receive funding from Soros’ foundations, despite severe FCRA restrictions. Funding from the Soros entities are routed through multiple other foreign NGOs and end up in NFI.

The Lede analysed NFI’s funding from 2015-16 to 2021-22. The total amount received from Soros-affiliated NGOs in this period is Rs 10 crore. Of this, Rs 27 lakh was donated directly from Oxfam India.

Biraj Patnaik

“Patnaik is another mentee of Salil Shetty, just as Amitabh Behar is. He was Amnesty International’s South Asia Director. Now he executive director, National Foundation for India”

George Soros is a well known benefactor of Amnesty International and has been accused of using the organisation to organise protests, lobby and push legislation through in various countries. For instance, Ireland ordered Amnesty to return 137,000 Euros to Soros which was its funding to overturn the abortion law.

In 2018, when Hungarian President Viktor Orbán launched his ‘Stop Soros’ campaign, Amnesty published a statement in Soros’ defence.

Amnesty International has also been accused of having jihadi links by several governments and critics. The Israeli research firm NGO Monitor provides evidence for the same and also details how Amnesty backed controversial protests in Israel with intent to change the regime.

Patnaik is a high flyer, speaking at global conferences about the poor state of human rights and basic necessities as he perceives them.

Rohini & Nandan Nilekani 

The IT power couple from Bengaluru have pledged 50% of their wealth to charity and are supporting a number of NGOs which are believed to be fomenting trouble and anarchy within India using foreign funding.

Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies had, in the past, been a donor for one such non-profit – Amnesty International India Foundation Trust. As we already saw, it is an entity funded by George Soros.

Rohini Nilekani also funded and launched a campaign called ‘No Voter Left Behind’ in early 2019. Salil Shetty is part of this campaign or unregistered entity (it is not clear which).

As we have seen earlier, Rohini Nilekani also funds a non-profit called Dasra which in turn funds the CSEI and the Namalas.
It is also worthy of note here that Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani had got a ticket from the Indian National Congress in 2014 to fight the Bengaluru South seat in the Lok Sabha polls. This move was immediately after his stint with the UPA government as Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), better known as Aadhar.

Anurag Behar & Azim Premji 

Behar is the brother of Amitabh Behar, whose connections and network we have witnessed earlier in this piece.

Anurag Behar is the CEO of Azim Premji Foundation and is also the Founding Vice Chancellor of Azim Premji University.

As noted earlier, non-profit Dasra is funded by Azim Premji Foundation among others.

Both Premji and Nandan Nilekani together have provided funding of Rs 9 crore in 2020-21 to CSEI. The reason for funding is stated in the filings – “Humara Bharat goal is to seed a movement by and for young people of all gender An unstoppable force that will galvanise communities, the marginalized, to stand up for our constitution.”

It is not clear as to why so much money from abroad was coming in to support Humara Bharat, a campaign started by Salil Shetty.

A Little Known Experiment 

Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, a number of the aforementioned individuals and their NGO colleagues got together to attempt to change the direction of the election in India. As narrated by a former NFI employee (who did not wish to be named), the small constituency of Kalpi, in Uttar Pradesh was chosen for the pilot.

Yuva Shakti, a “movement” helmed by CSEI to mobilise youth and spread awareness, became the tool for the experiment instead. Youngsters were asked to campaign and influence the voters. However, these efforts came to naught.

This episode, however, gives the reader a glimpse into the intent behind the laborious methods used to set up networks of people and money.

It is clear that the 92-year-old billionaire and his Indian sepoys have set their sights on India a year ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

What is unclear is to what level anarchy and chaos will be taken to, for the regime change agents to get their way.

(This article was originally published in The Lede and has been republished here with permission.)

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