“ DON which was born in 2019, is now available in 117 countries of the world. I was not aware that I will receive so much of Respect and honour because of DON, that too in a short span of time. In Covid time also ,DON got the maximum respect. Today DON has become a household name”. This is Mehmood Ali for you. A renowned film writer, distributor , film producer and now owner of an OTT platform, digital online network [ DON ] for you. Mehmood Ali while talking to Tehelka said that he has spent 25 years in Mumbai film Industry. When he planned to start OTT platform DON, people advised him that it is very expensive business, require 50 to 100 crore to start OTT platform. But Mehmood Ali said that he was determined to start OTT, because he think future is of digital platforms, so with the help of his friends, Mehmood Ali launched DON OTT platform and in no time it became a successful venture for him, add Mehmood Ali.
Mehmood Ali who hails from Bandra, Mumbai started his career as an Assistant writer with an epic Mahabharat. He assisted Mr Rahi Masoom Raza, the dialogues writer in Mahabharat, in translating Hindi into Urdu and vice versa. After that Mehmood Ali never looked back. His first film “Saazish” as a writer ,starring Mithun Chakravorty was released in 1998. And till date he has written scripts for 67 films. He mostly worked with renowned Bollywood actor late Mr. Kadar Khan. Mehmood Ali’s honeymoon with bollywood was not restricted as a writer. He went on to become film producer and distributor. According to Mehmood Ali, so far he has produced 29 films and distributed 200. He said on IMDB he is ranked as the second in top ten film distributors of India.
Mehmood Ali told Tehelka that actor Shah Rukh Khan is a lucky mascot for him. It was Shah Rukh Khan movies through which he has earned good money as a distributor. Mehmood said that he has distributed DDLJ, Dil to pagal hai, Kuch Kuch hota hai, Main hoon na etc all SRK movies and have earned good money. Mehmood Ali is a Nepal distributor of SRK latest film “PATHAAN” which he bought in two lakh dollar ,adds he. Mehmood Ali has just returned from London after completing his Bhojpuri film “Dulhania London Wali. And going to London again for his next hindi film shoot, “ANA” both as a producer. Mehmood revealed to Tehelka that he is also planning three Hindi web series for the OTT platfoms.
While talking to Tehelka about “DON”, Mehmood Ali said that today on OTT, content is the King. People want to see the content about which they have only heard but have not seen. “Tehelka became Tehelka because of one story. The subject which people only heard off not seen”. Said Mehmood Ali. According to Mehmood Ali, his only focus is on the content of his OTT “DON”. According to Mehmood Ali, today more than 1800 foreign projects are on his OTT radar. Out of which 800 film makers are from Iran, known for their best film making are in talks with him for supplying content for DON.
According to Mehmood, his OTT DON is making revenue from subscription and from advertisement. For the content he is mainly relying on outsourcing. People with good scripts are welcome on his platform. when his team like the script he commissioned the project, and sometimes he buys the ready projects from the producers. His OTT also carry good documentaries films. Said Mr. Mehmood . He further told Tehelka that Netflix famous series “Jaamtara” was initially rejected by the Netfilx, when producer approached the platform with the script. But later on when the producer approached Netflix with the shoot. The platform liked the series and rest is the history.
Now on 26th January 2023, Mehmood Ali has launched DON 2.0. The new version of DON. Which can be viewed like Netflix, Hotstar, Amazon etc. With this Mehmood Ali told Tehelka that in coming April he is launching an exclusive show for the writers. called “Writer-tainment” on DON. According to him this will be a reality show like Indian Idol, where all the writers from India, with their scripts can come and narrate their respective works to the producers present in the show. And if they like their script. They will invite them for making a film or a web series based on their scripts. Mehmood Ali said “Since I am a script writer, I have a special regards for all the writers, and wants that good scripts should get a platform like “DON”.
India has cut the overall allocation for aid to foreign countries from Rs 6, 005 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 5, 848 crore in the forthcoming fiscal of 2023-24, a reduction of 2.6 per cent in the union budget for 2023-2024, which was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1.
Some of the countries whose allocation has been reduced under this head include Bhutan, Afghanistan and Mauritius.
At the same time, budget allocation for Bangladesh, Nepal, crisis-hit Sri Lanka, Mongolia and that of Eurasian, African and Latin American countries, have been hiked.
Allocation for Bhutan has been reduced from Rs 2, 500 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 2, 400 crore in 2023-24, for Afghanistan it has been reduced from Rs 350 crore to Rs 200 crore and for Mauritius it has been cut from Rs 575 crore to Rs 460 crore.
However, the government has increased the allocation for Bangladesh from Rs 170 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 200 crore in 2023-24, for Nepal from Rs 425 crore to Rs 550 crore, for Sri Lanka from Rs 75 crore to 150 crore, for Mongolia from Rs 2.50 crore to Rs 7 crore, while African nations’ allocation has been hiked from Rs 160 crore to Rs 250 crore.
For Eurasian nations, it has been increased from Rs 65 crore to Rs 75 crore and for Latin American nations, the allocation has been hiked from Rs 7 crore to Rs 50 crore.
These allocations basically pertain to aid for cultural and heritage projects as well as for disaster relief.
New Delhi: The opposition on Thursday alleged that the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament were adjourned to stop them from raising the Adani issue.
Jairam Ramesh, Congress General Secretary said, “Both Houses of Parliament adjourned today till 2pm because Govt did not agree to combined Opposition demand for an investigation into forced investments by LIC, SBI & other public institutions that have lost huge value in recent days endangering savings of crores of Indians.”
In the Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar rejected the suspension notice of nine members, including Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge (LoP), leading to sloganeering.
While rejecting the notice, the Chairman said, “The notices are not in order to be accepted, ” and referred to the December 8 ruling about the acceptance and rejection of the rule 267 notices which is invoked to suspend business.
Later, the members objected to the ruling and RS Chairman Dhankhar adjourned the House till 2 p.m.
Ahead of the House proceedings, leaders of various like-minded opposition parties met at the leader of the Opposition’s chamber. They included Congress, DMK, AITC, SP, JD(U), Shiv Sena, CPI(M), CPI, NCP, IUML, NC, AAP, and Kerala Congress.
The government is likely to move a motion of thanks to President Droupadi Murmu for her address to the joint sitting of Parliament.
Chandigarh : Punjab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday slammed the Union government for presenting an anti-Punjab, anti-people, anti-farmers and directionless Budget.
“It is shameful that going by its myopic mindset, the Union government has completely ignored the state, thereby bringing a huge disrespect to countless sacrifices made by the brave and hard working Punjabis in pre and post-independent era, ” Mann said in a statement here.
The Chief Minister said he “is peeved to learn that all genuine demands of Punjab have been blatantly ignored and the state has figured nowhere in the Union budget”.
He said after Republic Day, during which the state’s tableau was kept out of parade, this is the second deliberate attempt of the BJP-led Centre government to undermine the contribution of Punjab.
Mann said he “fails to understand why the BJP is meting out such step-motherly treatment with Punjab”.
He said being a border state they had demanded Rs 1, 000 crore for modernisation of the BSF and state police from the Centre. He said this fund is necessary to combat the smuggling of drugs and weapons from across the border, especially through the hi-tech drones.
However, Mann said the Union government gave a cold shoulder to this demand by not allocating budget for it, thereby completely jeopardising security in the border state.
Likewise, the Chief Minister said during pre-Budget meetings they had flagged off the necessity to start Vande Mataram trains from Amritsar and Bathinda to Delhi for facilitating the people.
But, he said, this demand has been completely ignored along with the idea of connecting all the five Takhts of Sikhs through the rail route. This religious circuit would have given boost to tourism in state, besides facilitating the commuters.
The Chief Minister also lamented that the Budget has exposed the anti-farmers stance of the Modi government.
“This is the last budget of the incumbent Modi government but despite fall claims nothing has been done to double the income of the farmers.”
Mann said even the government has ran away from giving remunerative MSP on crops to farmers which is unfortunate.
The Chief Minister said they had been pursuing a case of Rs 1, 500 crore financial assistance by the Centre to farmers along with matching grants by the state for solving the problem of paddy menace.
However, he said nothing has been done in this regard by the Union government.
The Chief Minister said though Scheduled Tribes have been offered various facilities in budgets but the Schedule Caste and backward classes brethren have been completely ignored.
He said it is totally a scripted paper budget which is both directionless and retrogressive.
New Delhi: Giving significant boost to MSMEs, the Union Budget 2023-24 has proposed to continue the financial sector reforms and innovative use of technology which have led to ease of access to credit and participation in financial markets.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced that the revamped credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs, proposed in the previous Budget, will take effect from April 1, 2023 through infusion of Rs 9, 000 crore in the corpus.
“This will enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of Rs 2 lakh crore. Further, the cost of credit will be reduced by about 1 per cent, ” she said.
Aiming to provide relief to MSMEs, the Finance Minister proposed that in cases of failure by MSMEs to execute contracts during the Covid period, 95 per cent of the forfeited amount relating to bid or performance security, will be returned to them by government and government undertakings.
To settle contractual disputes of government and government undertakings, wherein an arbitral award is under challenge in a court, a voluntary settlement scheme with standardised terms will be introduced. This will be done by offering graded settlement terms depending on pendency level of the dispute.
Stating that MSMEs are growth engines of our economy, the Finance Minister said that micro enterprises with turnover up to Rs 2 crore and certain professionals with turnover of up to Rs 50 lakh can avail the benefit of presumptive taxation. She also proposed to provide enhanced limits of Rs 3 crore and Rs 75 lakh respectively, to the tax payers whose cash receipts are no more than 5 per cent.
Moreover, to support MSMEs in timely receipt of payments, Sitharaman further proposed to allow deduction for expenditure incurred on payments made to them only when payment is actually made.
The Finance Minister also announced setting up of a National Financial Information Registry to serve as the central repository of financial and ancillary information. “This will facilitate efficient flow of credit, promote financial inclusion, and foster financial stability, ” she said.
Sitharaman added that a new legislative framework will govern this credit public infrastructure, and it will be designed in consultation with the RBI.
A massive avalanche hit the upper reaches of Gulmarg skiing resort in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, killing reportedly a person and injuring another, officials said. .
The scenic resort witnessed loud shrieks by the tourists as the avalanche hit the famous ski resort. More people are reportedly trapped under snow. Rescue operation is underway.
The officials said four persons — two foreign skiers and two guides — were reportedly missing.
“Avalanche hit the Afarwat peak #HapathKhud at famous ski resort in #Gulmarg.#Rescue operation has been launched by #Baramulla Police along with other agencies,” tweeted Baramulla police.
The country’s top wrestlers have come together and taken to the streets over allegations of sexual misconduct against WFI president and its coaches, forcing the government to order a probe, writes Amit Agnihotri
The nation was shocked as India’s biggest “MeToo” movement in sports unfolded with top wrestlers like Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat, Ravi Dahiya and Deepak Punia taking to the streets to level allegations of sexual misconduct against Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and its coaches, forcing the government to order a probe.
The wrestlers who protested at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar alleged that both the WFI chief and its coaches had been exploiting the young female players sexually and mentally for years. The wrestlers also alleged financial mismanagement in the WFI and demanded an overhaul of the sports body.
The issue of sexual exploitation in sports is not new in the country. Recently, former hockey captain Sandeep Singh, who is the sports minister in Haryana, had been accused of sexual abuse by a junior coach. He remains a minister with the support of the state government.
In 1990, 14-year-old Ruchika Girhotra, a promising tennis player, was allegedly molested by Haryana tennis association chief SPS Rathore, who was also the state’s Inspector General of Police. She died by suicide but the influential police officer got promoted.
Over the past years, Haryana has earned the distinction of being a state which produces world class sportspersons, including wrestlers, who have brought several laurels to the country. Because of this, the allegations made by the wrestlers against the WFI chief and its coaches shocked the sports lovers across the country.
Public anger mounted over the protests as BBS Singh, a BJP MP, denied the charges and termed the protests a conspiracy hatched by the Haryana Congress leaders. Enraged over the developments, the Congress came out in support of the wrestlers and questioned the silence of PM Modi over the issue.
The government had a tough time dealing with the situation as the protests surfaced amidst PM Modi’s claim that work had been done in the past eight years to create a better environment for sports. “Many talents remained away from the field. But in the last eight years, the country had left behind this old thinking. Work had been done to create a better environment for sports, and now more children and youths were looking at sports as a career option,” the PM said at a public event.
Sensing the public mood over the controversy, the Centre then deployed Union Sports minister Anurag Thakur, who, after talking to the wrestlers over two rounds, announced that a five-member oversight committee headed by Olympic medal winner boxer Mary Kom would look into the allegations and submit a report in four weeks. The minister also said that Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh would step aside as WFI chief till the probe was over.
The wrestlers then called off their protest. “We have received assurances from the respected minister. Thank you. We protested only as a last resort. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has really helped our game,” Bajrang Punia said.
IOA probe
As the players had also urged Indian Olympic Association chief PT Usha to look into the allegations, the IOA also formed a seven-member committee headed by boxer Mary Kom to probe the allegations against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and submit a report in 10 days.
The panel includes Indian Weightlifting Federation of India (IWLF) president Sahdev Yadav, archer Dola Banerjee, and Olympic medallist wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt. The committee will also have two lawyers. The decision was taken during IOA’s emergency Executive Council meeting which was attended by the likes of ace shooter Abhinav Bindra, Yogeshwar Dutt along with IOA president PT Usha and joint secretary Kalyan Chaubey.
In a letter to PT Usha, the wrestlers had alleged misappropriation of funds in the WFI and claimed that the coaches and sports science staff at the national camp were “absolutely incompetent”.
Olympic bronze medalist Yogeshwar Dutt said, “There can be no compromise in the case of sexual harassment allegations. If that happened, it should be probed and the accused should be punished.” “If the allegations are false, it should be probed why they were levelled and what was the motive behind this? We will send the report to both the Sports Ministry and Home Ministry as well as to the Prime Minister,” he said.
The charges
Commonwealth gold medallist Vinesh Phogat levelled the allegations in the presence of several top wrestlers at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
“Women wrestlers have been sexually harassed at national camps by coaches and also the WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Some of the coaches appointed at national camps have been sexually harassing women wrestlers for years. The WFI president is also involved in sexual harassment,” said Phogat.
“This exploitation is happening every day. Why does the national camp happen in Lucknow? We have written to the PM and the Sports Minister. The reason it’s happening over there is because he has a house there and so it’s easy to exploit the girls. They trouble us too much. They get into our personal lives and relationships. They want to know everything,” she said.
Vinesh, who hails from Haryana, said she felt threatened for her life after making the charges. “They have become very powerful. I have spoken today and I don’t know if I will be alive tomorrow because of this. I know about 10-20 girls who have been exploited in the national camp over the past 10 years. Those girls are scared because of their family background. They can’t fight against them because they are not powerful. I can do it because I don’t mind if they stop me from wrestling. I have a house, I have food. I am here because I don’t want the future generations to go through this sadness and pain. Wrestling is our only source of livelihood. They are taking away our livelihood. Our only option is to die, so might as well do good and die,” she said.
Vinesh also flagged BBS Singh’s alleged high-handedness saying, “He mentally tortures me for everything.” “To get any permission, we have to beg the president, and even the assistant secretary. The players give him gifts to get into the national camp. Coaches do the same to get into the national camp.”
India’s only Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik supported Vinesh’s charges. “We have just come to save them. We are fighting for them. When the time comes, we will speak up. We will give the names of those who have been exploited to whoever is doing the probe,” said Sakshi.
Besides Vinesh and Sakshi, world championship winner Sarita Mor, Sangeeta Phogat, Anshu Malik, Sonam Malik, Satyawarat Malik, Jitender Kinha, Amit Dhankar and CWG medallist Sumit Malik were also present at the protest venue where around 30 wrestlers had assembled.
Vinesh Phogat clarified that she never faced such exploitation but claimed that “one victim” was present at the ‘dharna’ at Jantar Mantar. She said that disclosing the names of victims would put them in danger and said that it was one of the reasons for having not yet filed an FIR.
“If we disclose the name of the victims, it would put them in danger, including their families. We can’t disclose their identity as nothing has been put on paper and it has not yet been made official. We came here to fight for our dignity and if that is taken away from us what is the point of us protesting? We can’t share all the intricate details as this is a sensitive matter involving the self-respect of female wrestlers. We will share all the details with you once everything is assured to us,” Phogat said.
“We’re presenting all issues. Had it been only about wrestling the matter would’ve been resolved after a discussion. But it’s a big issue. It’s not about just one but several girls. We can’t disclose their identities, and if we do then it would pose a threat to their lives and families,” she said.
Vinesh, an Asian Games gold medallist and an Arjuna awardee, said she had requested the WFI President Brij Bhushan Saran Singh to meet her after returning from the Tokyo Olympics but he did not entertain her request. “He hasn’t met me since the time I came back from the Tokyo Olympics. Several players wrote to the federation about the harassment they faced but there was no response. If we make our issue public, the WFI chief will try to brush it under the carpet using his influence,” she said.
The denial
As expected, BBS Singh, who was elected unopposed as president of WFI for a third consecutive term in February 2019, denied the charges.
“Is anyone saying that the WFI has sexually harassed a wrestler? Only Vinesh has said it. Has anyone come forward and said that they personally have been sexually harassed? Even if one wrestler comes forward and says that she has been sexually harassed, that day I can be hanged,” he said.
Singh during a press conference in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda on Jan 21, claimed he will expose the ‘political conspiracy’ behind the allegations. However, on that day his son Prateek, a BJP MLA from Gonda Sadar constituency, turned up to say that the WFI president will issue a statement on allegations of sexual harassment against him after the sports body’s Annual General Meeting on January 22.
“I am here on behalf of my father and I would like to inform you all that we will issue a written statement only after the AGM of WFI on January 22. We want to discuss the issue with members from all across India and then take any decision. Whatever decision we will take, we will inform the press through a written statement,” he said.
However, the AGM to be held in Ayodhya was cancelled after a stern message from the ministry of sports asked the WFI to suspend “all ongoing activities with immediate effect”, including the Ranking Tournament in Gonda, UP, his stronghold. The ministry also suspended WFI’s assistant secretary Vinod Tomar to ensure a fair probe.
WFI defends itself
Taking note of the allegations, the sports ministry had sought an explanation from WFI and directed it to furnish a reply within the next 72 hours. In its response, the Wrestling Federation of India said the athletes who had levelled sexual harassment charges against its chief had a hidden agenda.
“The protest is not in the best interest of the wrestlers nor for promoting good wrestling in India, but it has some personal as well as hidden agenda to dislodge the current fairest and strict management of WFI and also by conspiracy to create such adverse atmosphere in public to create undue pressure,” the wrestling body said in a letter to the ministry of youth affairs.
Responding to the charges of mismanagement, the wrestling body said that it has always acted keeping the best interest of wrestlers in mind. “The WFI is managed by an elected body as per its constitution, and therefore, there is no scope for arbitrariness and mismanagement in WFI by anyone individually, including the president,” the WFI said.
“The manner and method of protestors/wrestlers to air their allegation by sitting at dharna and also doing press conference certainly is part of deeper and larger conspiracy for vested interest either by putting pressure on some weak wrestlers for vested interest or for gaining ground for themselves by maligning and defaming the management of WFI or its president or the coaches and not otherwise,” the WFI said.
“Not a single allegation of sexual harassment is accepted nor has ever been noticed nor found nor so far complained nor reported to sexual harassment committee to WFI. Hence allegations to that effect are equally malicious and unfounded without any truth in the matter except to come to public through media for making soft targets of the prestige of the present management of the WFI as well as the sitting president of WFI.”
The WFI added that it has always acted in the best interest of the sportspersons. “The WFI in particular under the sitting president WFI has always acted keeping the best interest of wrestlers in mind along with the best interest of India. Under the sitting president, the WFI has enhanced the image of wrestling nationally as well as Internationally,” the letter said.
Meanwhile, BBS Singh’s cook, Vicky reportedly filed a plea against the wrestlers in the Delhi High Court saying that Vinesh was blackmailing the WFI chief over the protests and that the players had gone to the media instead of the court but the same was later withdrawn.
Politics over charges
The controversy around WFI chief BBS Singh, BJP MP from Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh, soon turned political as the Congress and the AAP attacked him. Out of the six-terms Singh has served as an MP, five were with the BJP and one in 2009 with the Samajwadi Party. Singh has represented Gonda and Balrampur in the past, and now Kaiserganj.
On his part, Singh blamed Haryana Rajya Sabha member Deepender Hooda for plotting the controversy and said that all the wrestlers who had levelled allegations against him were from the same community. Deepender, he said, had hatched the conspiracy to gain in the Haryana elections.
The Congress leader hit back saying that Singh was cooking up stories as he had been accused of sexual misconduct. Hooda also threatened to slap a defamation suit on Singh for naming him in the controversy.
Congress general secretary in charge of UP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra backed the protesting wrestlers. “Our players are the pride of the country. They bring laurels to the country by their performance at the world level. The players have made serious allegations of exploitation against the Wrestling Federation of India and its president and their voices should be heard,” she said on Twitter.
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh wondered, “Why are all those who oppress women, are members of BJP.” “Kuldeep Sengar, Chinmayanand, father-son duo Vinod Arya and Pulkit Arya… and now this new case! The list of BJP leaders committing atrocities against women is endless.” “Mr PM, was ‘Beti Bachao’ a warning to save daughters from BJP leaders? India is waiting for an answer,” he said on Twitter.
“You had said that a better environment has been created for sports in the past eight years. Is this the ‘better environment’, in which even our daughters who bring laurels to the country are unsafe?,” Ramesh said.
Congress’ media department head, Pawan Khera said BBS Singh’s resignation should have come on day one of the protests itself. “That should have been the first step. Had it been any other sensitive government, it would have happened immediately. Then, the prime minister should issue a statement and restore the confidence of these families. Our families are conservative, it is a difficult choice to send children to train, fight for the country and win medals,” he said.
The Congress also lined up prominent boxer Vijender Singh and discus thrower Krishna Poonia to demand disbanding of the Wrestling Federation of India, sacking of its head BBS Singh and target PM Modi over the recent controversy in the sports body.
“There is an allegation against WFI president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh related to sexual exploitation. The allegation has come from a woman player whom PM Modi had described as his daughter. Today the same daughter is saying girls should not be born in this country. What can be more painful than this,” Krishna Poonia, a well-known discus thrower said.
“On one hand the nation expects medals from the players. On the other hand, our daughters suffer sexual exploitation. Will the parents now send their daughters to sports?. When we win medals, everyone wants to get photographed along with us. The slogan of “beti bachao, beti padhao’ is being shredded. The WFI should be disbanded,” she said.
Krishna had a distinguished record in India as a player and is also a Congress MLA in Rajasthan. She is a Padma Shri and an Arjuna Awardee besides having taken part in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
“There are serious allegations on the WFI. The PM’s silence over the issue is shameful. There should be immediate action in the matter under the provisions of the IPC,” said Vijender Singh, who had won a medal at 2008 summer Olympics. “Only the players can understand the feelings of the other sportspersons. When a meeting on boxing is held, the players are not called,” he said.
“Vinesh had apprised the PM of the entire matter in October 2021. She had also talked about the threat to her life. The issue is the PM knew all this but took no action. He is still silent,” Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, adding, “The Supreme Court should take suo motu notice of the charges and disband the WFI. What is the National Commission for Women doing which usually takes action over a tweet. There have been several such charges against the BJP leaders but they never take any action.”
The Congress leader further questioned the Centre over the issue of politicians ruling the various sports bodies.
“They used to say that there should be no interference of politicians in sports bodies but many of their leaders hold such positions. For instance, Assam chief minister Hemant Biswa Sarma is head of Badminton Federation, Raninder Singh is head of Rifle Association, Arjun Munda is head of Archery Association, Jay Shah is Secretary BCCI, Dilip Tirkey is head of Hockey Federation and Meghna Chautala is head of Table Tennis Federation,” said Shrinate.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, also AAP founder, said it was “extremely shameful” that no action has been taken against those who have been accused of sexual exploitation by female wrestlers. “From a minister in Haryana to the WFI president, everyone has been accused of serious charges but there has been no resignation nor any action. This party and its government are busy shielding their leaders with respect to the security of women players. This is extremely shameful,” said Kejriwal.
Reacting to the events, Swati Maliwal, chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women, issued a notice against Singh, asking the Deputy Commissioner of Police and Sports Secretary to probe and provide details of the matter.
Former wrestler and BJP leader Babita Phogat warned the Congress against politicising the protests. In a tweet, she pointed out that the fight of the wrestlers is not against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union minister Smriti Irani and the BJP. Hitting out at the Congress, Babita Phogat, in a tweet in Hindi, said, “The players battle against the Federation and against one individual. I want to tell the Congress party to stop doing petty politics on the sportspersons’ movement for their own benefit,” she further said.
Wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik too echoed similar sentiments although they did not name a specific party. “Our fight is not with the government. We are fighting against the players’ federation and its president. No political party should do politics on this movement,” Punia tweeted in Hindi.
Sakshi Malik said the “MeToo” movement was about the players and the future of the game. “Our movement is against the federation and its president. No political party should do politics on this for their own benefit,” she said.
While the government has been basking in the glory of Khelo India, a national programme for development of sports to achieve the twin objectives of mass participation and promotion of excellence in sports, an ugly bout is being played out by the Wrestling Federation of India. In the eye of the storm is none other than WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who also happens to be the ruling party MP.
It’s too serious an issue because Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Commonwealth Games medallist Vinesh Phogat have alleged that the powerful WFI boss and some other coaches have been sexually harassing many young women athletes at the camps. Wrestling is a sport that has been bringing the maximum number of medals for the nation at global competitions. Incidents like these can perpetually shatter the dreams of young aspiring women athletes who harbour hopes of winning medals for the country.
Hundreds of budding wrestlers led by sports veterans had held a protest at Jantar Mantar in the national capital Delhi demanding action against the MP, who has been the federation chief for three consecutive terms. The veteran wrestlers had been lending support to their younger counterparts who were too scared to take on the powerful lobby.
The sad truth is in the past too, there have been allegations against coaches and those in authority. Recently, Haryana minister Sandeep Singh had to resign as sports minister after sexual harassment allegations were levelled by a junior female coach. He has been divested of the charge of sports ministry but ironically he continues to be a minister holding the Printing and Stationery portfolio. Last year, a cyclist had alleged that the IOA treasurer wanted her to share his room and she left the foreign camp.
The Indian Olympic Association, with whom WFI is affiliated, has constituted a panel to probe the allegations after wrestlers sent a letter to its president and began a sit in dharna. The matter needs to be handled with sensitivity ensuring that the aspiring women athletes who have already suffered, must not be subjected to invasions of privacy. After digging his heels in and saying he won’t step down, the WFI President has finally stepped down and relinquished the presidency of the Federation.
However, this is not enough to stem the rot in sports administration. Indian sports also need more women in positions of authority, as coaches and and heads of sports associations, to instil more confidence among budding female athletes and their parents. What can be more scary than custodians turning into perpetrators of crime as heinous as sexual exploitation! Sexual exploitation deals a psychological blow that leaves the victims scarred forever. It’s a sad commentary on the state of sports. It’s time all stakeholders come out and join hands to rid the system of this malice. The allegations call for a police investigation. Zero tolerance should be the norm for such transgressions. No initiative like the well-conceived Khelo India will really succeed till the system is reformed.
The two-part BBC documentary titled “India: The Modi Question” has sparked a fresh row and has put PM Modi in a spot at a time when he has to lead presidency of G-20 nations, with his government coming under a cloud for alleged marginalisation of Muslims, writes Mudit Mathur
The two-part British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) documentary titled “India: The Modi Question” is being extensively seen and reported world over, particularly among the overseas Indian community. The documentary has brought back the ghost of 2002 Gujarat riots to haunt Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a crucial timing when he has to lead presidency of G-20 nations, being a world leader of largest secular democracy, amid charges of marginalisation of Muslims, coincided with aggressive propping up of Hindu majoritarianism – “New India”.
The BBC report triggered intensive reactions over controversies surrounding Modi across the world and particularly in India where clashes are being reported after imposition of ban by the government over its screening and sharing on social media soon after it was screened and shared in India. Many opposition leaders, journalists, student bodies and activists continued sharing its links on social media defying ban order.
The government of India invoking emergency powers, ordered “YouTube” and “Twitter” to block airing of videos and all tweets sharing first and second episodes of the BBC documentary, titled “India: The Modi Question” – labelling it as “a propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrative which lacked “objectivity” and reflected a “colonial mindset”. Denying the charges, the BBC, the UK state broadcaster, stated that its documentary on Modi was “rigorously researched according to highest editorial standards”. The documentary examines the controversies surrounding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership ever since 2002 Gujarat riots and his emergence at national and global stage amid successive ethnic conflicts in India.
The 2002 communal riots in Gujarat had taken a heavy toll of human life
The documentary airing abroad revealed for the first time about the existence of a hitherto classified British foreign ministry report into the deadly 2002 communal riots that resulted in killing of around 2000 people in the riots, much more than the official figures of 1000. While 138,000 people were displaced from their homes and were living in 70 refugee camps of which over 100,000 were Muslim.
The UK government report said the events had “all the hallmarks of an ethnic cleansing”, said Jack Straw in the documentary, who was the UK’s foreign secretary at the time of the violence. “These were very serious claims – that Chief Minister Modi had played a pretty active part in pulling back the police and in tacitly encouraging the Hindu extremists,” Straw observed. “That was a particularly egregious example.” Yet, the UK foreign office has not commented on such exposures in documentary.
“What we did was establish an inquiry and have a team go to Gujarat and find out for themselves what had happened. And they produced a very thorough report,” Straw said in an interview in the documentary. The report also claimed there was widespread rapes of Muslim women during the 2002 violence. It added that the riots’ objective was to “purge Muslims from Hindu areas.” In 2013, the UK ended a 10-year boycott of Modi over the 2002 riots wherein three British citizens were also killed. Many foreign governments, including the United Kingdom, stopped diplomatic engagements with Narendra Modi whereas the United States imposed a travel ban on him.
Straw, who was the British foreign secretary under Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2001 to 2006, said, quoting 2002 Gujarat riots, “I was very worried about it. I was taking a great deal of personal interest, because India is a really important country with whom we have relations. We had to handle it very carefully.” Straw was the Labour MP from 1979 to 2015 for Blackburn, which has a large Pakistani-origin population.
“What we did was to establish an inquiry and have a team go to Gujarat and find out for themselves what had happened. And they produced a very thorough report. It was very shocking. These were very serious claims that chief minister Modi had played a pretty active part in pulling back the police and in tacitly encouraging the Hindu extremists,” Straw was quoted as alleging in the documentary.
On the issue of sending a British inquiry team of diplomats, the former Foreign Secretary of India, Kanwal Sibal clarified in the media, “I was FS during that period. I am aware of the mischief by the UK mission. Sent their diplomat to Gujarat and circulated a highly slanted ‘report’ to EU envoys in Delhi. I was informed by an EU envoy which prompted me to issue a warning to missions in Delhi to not interfere in our internal affairs.”
However, commenting on the documentary, the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that he does not agree with the “characterisation” made by Imran Hussain, who raised the question about Modi’s role and alleged complicity calling the riots “ethnic cleansing”. “The UK government’s position on this has been clear and long-standing and has not changed. Of course, we don’t tolerate persecution anywhere but I’m not sure I agree at all with the characterisation,” Sunak remarked.
Earlier in the House of Commons, Imran Hussain, the Pakistan-origin Labour MP from Bradford East, confronted Rishi Sunak: “Last night, the BBC revealed that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office knew the extent of Narendra Modi’s involvement in the Gujarat massacre that paved the way for the persecution of Muslims and other minorities that we see in India today.”
Modi was the chief minister of the state of Gujarat when it was gripped by communal riots that left more than 1,000 people dead – most of them Muslims. The violence erupted after a train carrying Hindu pilgrims caught fire, killing 59 in Godhra. Accused of failing to stop the rioting, Modi denied the accusations and was exonerated in 2012 following an inquiry by India’s top court that found no evidence against him. This paved the way for Modi to become Prime Ministerial nominee for 2014 elections. Another petition questioning his exoneration was dismissed by apex court last year.
Modi has defended his handling of the worst religious violence in post-independent India and has refused to apologise. In the documentary, he told the BBC journalist that the police under him did “excellent work” to control the violence. “He [Modi] struck me as a very charismatic, very powerful and quite menacing figure,” reminisced Jill McGivering in the documentary, who interviewed Modi 21 years ago in 2002 for the BBC while covering reactionary riots unleashed in Ahmedabad post-Godhra incident after 59 Hindu pilgrims were burnt alive in four coaches of Sabarmati Express who were returning home from Ayodhya.
The documentary also contains clippings of a brief excerpt from an old interview Modi gave to Jill McGivering in which he dismissed the allegations against him. Refuting that people were living in fear, he countered, “I think you have to correct your information first. The state is very-very peaceful.” On the question of Muslims still feeling terrified, Modi replied, “I’m not agree(ing) with your analysis, I’m not agreeing with your information. This (is) absolutely misguided information to you, from where you have pick(ed) up this type of garbage, I do not know.” On the accusation of not doing enough to protect Muslims, Modi replied: “These are all false propaganda made by our opponents and you are also captive of false propaganda.” He told her: “Don’t please try to preach to us human rights. We know what human rights are. You Britishers should not preach to us human rights.” Modi admitted his weak area too saying, “Yes, one area where I was very-very weak was how to handle the media.”
Media reports about BBC documentary depicts how several Gujarat BJP leaders and their supporters were handed lengthy jail terms for their involvement in the violence but many of them are now out on bail and 11 men accused of gang rape were released by BJP-ruled Gujarat government last year. Rights campaigners and officials who helped fight justice for the riot victims have had cases slapped against them, some of them jailed. Since Modi became prime minister in 2014, the country has seen increased attacks against Muslims, who comprise about 15 percent of India’s 1.4 billion population.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi in response to questions at the media briefing, said: “Do note that this (the documentary) has not been screened in India. So, I am only going to comment in the context of what I have heard about it and what my colleagues have seen. The bias, the lack of objectivity, and frankly a continuing colonial mindset, is blatantly visible. If anything, this film or documentary is a reflection on the agency and individuals that are peddling this narrative again.” “It makes us wonder about the purpose of this exercise and the agenda behind it and frankly we do not wish to dignify such efforts,” Bagchi added.
Multiple YouTube videos of the first episode of the BBC documentary, India: The Modi Question, and more than 50 tweets with links to the YouTube videos were ordered to be taken down, Kanchan Gupta, senior adviser at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, tweeted. He said that the content was blocked using the emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021. “Both @YouTube and @Twitter have complied with the directions,” he tweeted.
On the other hand, the BBC, the UK state broadcaster, in its communique claimed, “The documentary was rigorously researched according to highest editorial standards”. “The documentary series examines the tensions between India’s Hindu majority and Muslim minority and explores the politics of India’s PM Narendra Modi in relation to those tensions. This has been the source of considerable reporting and interest both in India and across the world in recent years,” BBC communique added.
“A wide range of voices, witnesses and experts were approached, and we have featured a range of opinions – this includes responses from people in the BJP. We offered the Indian Government a right to reply to the matters raised in the series – it declined to respond.” The BBC claims that more than 30 people in India declined to take part in the series because of fears about their safety.
“Where events involve British nationals, we naturally have an interest both in the provision of consular assistance and in trying to ascertain what happened through police and diplomacy.” Three British nationals from Yorkshire — Imran and Shakil Dawood, and Mohammed Aswat — were killed by rioters when they crossed into Gujarat from a trip to the Taj. A survivor, who was 18 at the time, was interviewed for the programme.
The BBC set out what was covered in part one: “Narendra Modi is the leader of the world’s largest democracy, a man who has been elected twice as India’s Prime Minister and is widely seen as the most powerful politician of his generation. Seen by the West as an important bulwark against Chinese domination of Asia, he has been courted as a key ally by both the US and the UK.
The former member of the Rajya Sabha and national council member of BJP, Swapan Dasgupta participated in the BBC documentary defending Modi, who claimed, “Agenda was to destroy Narendra Modi politically — the agenda was explicitly political.” He also pointed out — as did the programme — that Modi was cleared by the Supreme Court: “The Supreme Court gave a judgment (which) actually brought the whole matter to a closure — the closure was necessary.”
The overseas media reports reveal that in the second part of BBC documentary further analyses deeper into the agenda of Modi government, showing strained relationship with Muslim minorities amid growing incidents of mob lynchings, reading down of Article 370 in Kashmir, raking up of issues of illegal migrants in Assam with introduction of National Register of Citizenship (NRC) and communal violence in Delhi over Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Over three and a half years between May 2015 and December 2018, cow vigilantes “killed 44 people and injured around 280 in cow-related violence, out of which most victims were Muslim.”
Three years after coming to power in 2014, widepread cases of lynchings against Muslims took place allegedly in name of the Pink Revolution. The “Pink Revolution ” expression was used by Modi addressing his concerns over cow slaughtering adversely impacting livestock in the villages. Many states made cow slaughtering illegal, as cows are considered sacred by Hindus.
Documentary features testimony of Marriyam Ansari of Jharkhand whose husband Alimuddin was mob lynched on the suspicion of carrying beef. She recalled how BJP spokesperson Nityanand Mahato was found guilty of Alimuddin’s murder, and sentenced to life in prison. “But one of Modi’s ministers helped him and the other convicted men to secure bail bearing all their legal expenses and welcomed them with a garland of flowers after they were released on bail,” Marriyam added. “They are the rulers of the whole country and when rulers of the country support these people, we poor people can do nothing,” pleads helpless Marriyam Ansari, wife of Alimuddin in the film. Over four years later, the men are still free.
Many opposition leaders had termed the move as “censorship”. Commenting over the controversy, the Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi said during his Bharat Jodo Yatra: “If you have read our scriptures, if you read Bhagwat Gita or the Upanishads… you can observe that the truth always comes out. You can ban… you can suppress the press… you can control the institutions, you can use CBI, ED (Enforcement Directorate) and all the stuff but truth is truth.” “Truth shines bright. Truth has a nasty habit of coming out. So, no amount of banning, oppression and frightening people is going to stop the truth from coming out,” he added.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra and Derek O’Brien shared the link to the controversial documentary and vowed to fight against “censorship” which was removed by Twitter. Senior Congress leader AK Antony’s son Anil Antony quit all party posts blaming “growing intolerance and sycophancy in the organisation”. He tweeted condemning a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling it “a dangerous precedent.”
Campuses are witnessing a battle over the BBC documentary, with some students seeking to screen it while being met with warnings from university authorities, power cuts, Wi-Fi disruptions, police detentions, and retaliatory screenings of The Kashmir Files by RSS student arm, ABVP. Reports of clashes have been reported from JNU and Jamia in Delhi where police detained over a dozen of students. Punjab University students have also been stopped from screening it.
Media groups say the Indian government is abusing its emergency powers under the 2021 IT Rules by blocking a BBC documentary. The International Press Institute (IPI) on Wednesday expressed its “alarm” regarding authorities invoking emergency laws to block the documentary, saying that the country’s 2021 IT Rules allow the government “expansive and unchecked powers” to control and censor online content and news outlets.
“The Modi government is clearly abusing emergency powers under the IT Rules to punish or restrict any and all criticism of its policies,” said Amy Brouillette, the IPI Director of Advocacy. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said that ordering social media platforms to block the documentary constitutes “an attack on the free press that flagrantly contradicts the country’s stated commitment to democratic ideals”.
The Indian diaspora in the UK will stage a protest outside the BBC headquarters on 29th January in London to “raise awareness about the nefarious anti-India reportage” in its documentary on Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. A new online petition has demanded an independent probe into a “serious breach” by the BBC in its duties as a public broadcaster in the U.K. over the controversial documentary series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress has finally shown some assertiveness about pursuing an inclusive political agenda. Looking at the public response the Bharat Jodo Yatra has evoked, the message seems to have had some impact, although its electoral implications are still uncertain, writes Riaz Wani
The last leg of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s yatra in Jammu and Kashmir generated some political buzz. For one, it reinvigorated the party’s rank and file in the union territory boosted further by the return of leaders who had joined the former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s newly floated Democratic Azad Party. And for another, Congress entered the former state with a proper political agenda: it sought Article 371 for J&K.
“Regions like Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and some areas of Assam, some areas of Karnataka-Hyderabad region have special provisions under Article 371,’’ senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in reply to a question about Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti’s demand for the restoration of Article 370.
Elaborating further, Ramesh said that in states like Nagaland, no act of Parliament would apply in matters relating to religious or social practices of Nagas, Naga customary law and procedure, and ownership and transfer of land and its resources.
The Congress also didn’t shy away from its opposition to the way Article 370 was withdrawn, saying it was done in an undemocratic way.
“The bill was passed without discussion and dialogue and was passed by a brute majority,’’ he said. “Jammu and Kashmir was a state. It was a full-fledged state. It turned into a Union Territory. We are against it.”
Gandhi’s entry into the UT was also marked by mysterious twin blasts at Narwal area which injured seven people. Police later said in a statement that it was done by “unknown persons.”
Bharat Jodo Yatra
The takeaway from the J&K leg of the yatra is that the Congress seems to have made a credible bid to re-establish itself as a party that is relevant to the dramatically altered political landscape. However, whether it maintains the political momentum until the Assembly elections – likely to be held this year – or for that matter until the 2024 general polls remains to be seen. In October last year, when most of the major Congress leaders in the region flocked to Azad’s DAP, the party seemed to have been decimated. It had ceased to be a viable political force in Jammu and Kashmir with hardly any vote-gathering leader left in its ranks. Now, many of them are back. And the demand for Article 371 and statehood is likely to find a wider political resonance in the UT, including in the Jammu division, where people have become insecure about losing lands and jobs to outsiders.
Rejuvenation at the national level?
But more than J&K, the yatra has political significance for the party at the national level. It seems to have breathed a new life into an otherwise dying party. Gandhi drew reasonably good crowds. But mobilizing crowds doesn’t guarantee a good electoral performance as was clear in the last Assembly polls in Gujarat , where Congress performed miserably. There will be more tests ahead. Around ten Assembly elections are scheduled to be held before the national elections. Among them, the elections in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana will be very crucial. The BJP will hope to win all of them. But should the party suffer reverses in the majority of these states, this may not bode well for its 2024 chances. The elections in these five major states represent the last chance for the opposition, especially the Congress, to hurtle back into the reckoning.
It appears, however, very likely that the BJP will do well in the upcoming state polls. Despite being in power for over eight years, the party remains untouched by anti-incumbency. So much so, that the governance issues seem to hardly matter as Morbi episode in the run-up to the Gujarat polls yet again demonstrated. Even the deaths of around 150 people in the bridge collapse didn’t affect the BJP’s chances. What is more, the BJP didn’t even lose the Morbi seat. The overarching political persona of the prime minister Narendra Modi seems to trump everything. Neither the Congress nor the combined opposition are in a position to mount a credible challenge to the BJP. Or so it seems.
And these elections would also be a test for the new Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s political smarts. He represents the old guard of the Congress who are increasingly seen as out of touch with people. Besides, he being seen as a proxy for Gandhis doesn’t help his cause. That said, Kharge by no means represents the change that Congress needs for revival. It would be important to see how Congress fares in the states. An even moderate performance would be a sign of improvement.
Rahul Gandhi’s makeover
Many political observers, however, remain skeptical about Gandhi’s ability to generate a public groundswell in favour of the Congress. Some are calling the yatra an umpteenth “relaunch” of Gandhi who has so far singularly failed to match up to the political persona of prime minister Modi. Will he pull it off this time around? Odds are heavily against it. Ever since he took over the leadership of the Congress, both in his formal and de facto roles, Gandhi has proved incapable of rallying people behind the party. True, PM Modi’s charisma, oratory skills and media support have made Hindutva a reigning ideology of the country. But the lack of an alternative ideological narrative has made the BJP’s job even easier.
The absence of a narrative, however, is not the only undoing of the Congress. The organization itself has been falling apart with Gandhis becoming a principal political liability.
Will the tide turn now? The yatra has certainly generated some goodwill, and things look potentially set for a change. The Congress has finally shown some assertiveness about pursuing an inclusive political agenda, even though a proper ideological narrative has yet to take shape. Based on the public response to the yatra so far, the message seems to have had some impact, although its electoral implications are still uncertain. For now, Congress can take heart from the victory in Himachal. It can put some wind in its sails as it prepares for the Assembly elections this year. The party currently rules in Chhattisgarh, Himachal and Rajasthan. It remains to be seen whether the party retains Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan. Its performance in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh will also be keenly watched.
Together, the outcome of the Assembly polls will be a bellwether for 2024. In case the BJP suffers major reverses in the upcoming state elections, the saffron party could apparently face an uphill climb in the elections next year.
