In a daring operation carried out on the night of 27/28 Apr 2023, a C-130J aircraft of the IAF rescued 121 personnel from a small airstrip at Wadi Sayyidna, which is about 40 km North of Khartoum. The passengers included medical cases, including a pregnant lady; besides those who had no means to reach Port Sudan.
This convoy was led by the Indian Defence Attaché, who was in continuous touch with IAF authorities all along, till they reached the airstrip at Wadi Sayyidna. The airstrip in question had a degraded surface, with no navigational approach aids or fuel, and most critically or landing lights (that are required to guide an aircraft landing at night).
Approaching the airstrip, the aircrew used their Electro-Optical/Infra Red sensors to ensure that the runway was free from any obstructions and no inimical forces were in the vicinity. Having made sure of the same, the aircrew carried out a tactical approach on Night Vision Goggles, on a practically dark night.
Upon landing, the aircraft engines were kept running while eight IAF Garud Commandos secured the passengers and their luggage into the aircraft. As with the landing, the take off from the unlit runway was also carried out using NVGs. This approximately two and a half hour operation between Wadi Sayyidna and Jeddah will go down in the annals of IAF history for its sheer audacity and flawless execution – akin to that carried out in Kabul.
Amid the rising controversy around the film, ‘The Kerala Story’ some media reports claimed that 40,000 women went missing in Gujarat as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data from 2016 to 2020. However, the Gujarat police fact-checked the reports with numbers claiming out of 41,621 women who had gone missing, approximately 95 per cent, or 39,497 women were traced and reunited with their families.
The police added that the data is part of the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), New Delhi, which was cited by many media organisations to claim that over 40,000 women had been missing in Gujarat.
There are media reports citing data sources of National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), New Delhi that 40,000 women have gone missing in Gujarat in 5-years. However, out of 41,621 women gone missing during the period 2016-20 as per the data published in Crime in India-2020
Taking it to Twitter the Gujarat police from their official Twitter Handle wrote, “Out of 41,621 women gone missing during the period 2016-20 as per the data published in Crime in India-2020 published by National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), New Delhi, 39,497 (94.90%) of the missing women have been traced by Gujarat Police and they are united with their families. The said information is also part of Crime in India, 2020,” the Gujarat Police tweeted.
Based on the police investigation, the primary reasons for women going missing are identified as family disputes, elopement, and academic failures, among other factors. The police, however, clarified that the investigation into missing person cases has not revealed any “episodes of trafficking for sexual exploitation, organ trafficking, etc.”
Shockingly these reports were endorsed by big media channels including New Indian Express, News 24 and other social media influencers and Congress leaders. The big names sharing the story include Radio Jockey Saema, who comments on minority issues and often makes controversial statements against the ruling party and the majority of Hindus in the country. Joining her was the controversial journalist and The Wire fame Arfa Khanum, who is known to be behind the ruling party since the Gujarat riots.
Gujarat filles.. Gujarat fire.. More than 40000 of our India’s daughters are missing. Modi is silent about it.
Modi spoke about Kashmir files. Modi speaks about Kerala files. But Modi never spoke about.. Adani files. Gujarat files. Pulwama files. Hathras files. Unnao files.… pic.twitter.com/gbx1LBnraZ
The figures showed up immediately after the release and demanded the ban against the film ‘The Kerala Story’. The film dropped a teaser last year which showed how 32,000 non-Muslim women were forced into Islamic conversion and were later inducted into ISIS.
Notably, after pleas were heard at the Kerala High Court, the makers removed the part from the film and took down the teaser claiming that 32,000 women were converted and inducted into ISIS. This was a generalised figure, as said the makers.
Even after the court’s approval, the film is banned in West Bengal and parts of Tamil Nadu.
When the teaser for The Kerala Story was released a few months ago, there was a bitter backlash from both overt and covert Islamist groups. As a result, cases were filed against the film’s producer, Vipul Amrutlal Shah, and its director, Sudipto Sen. Having studied Love Jihad and the trafficking of victim girls and boys to Jihadi battlefields in the Middle East, the story was not unfamiliar to me. I had previously interviewed two Christian clerics from different sects in Kerala more than a year ago. During the interview, they discussed their research and meetings with victim families of Love Jihad and explained the techniques used by Jihadis to ensnare girls. Two years ago, approximately 3,000 Christian girls had disappeared from just one sect of Kerala Christians.
However, reading and talking to people is one thing but watching the same story on screen is very different. It hits you hard. I had the fortune of watching a preview of the film and I came out shaken.
The film opens on the big screen with some stunning visuals of huge arid mountains with snow-capped peaks in the background and a haunting song that stays with you even after you come out of the theatre – ‘Na zameen mili na phalak mila….’ by Sunidhi Chauhan. The cameraman deserves kudos for the beautiful cinematography. He is able to capture the majesty and the arid brutal surroundings of forbidding terrain. Director Sudipto Sen has scouted the unseen areas of Ladakh to create Afghanistan and Syria very skilfully.
The story moves back and forth between the brutal present and the enchanting past. There is no attempt to whitewash the truth or brush the story subtly to hype up the facts like the leftist filmmakers do. Dialogues are simple but effective. The story based on facts and evidence remains true to reality. I am not sharing the storyline of the film as I don’t want to play the spoiler. I can only say that it moves you immensely to see the plight of women who get ensnared into the extremist games and the condition of women in Jihadi-controlled Islamic societies. You feel choked.
Sterling performances of actors, none of whom are big names in Hindi cinema, led by charming Adah Sharma lift up the movie. Malayali-accent and the local Afghan accents are very well captured by the young performers. It is a sad reflection on the stranglehold of the established cinema mafia of Kerala and Mumbai that no established actor had the courage to take up the film despite the supposedly fascist Hindutva regime in Bharat for last nine years! However, the director is able to extract remarkable performances from the entire cast. Unknown faces make the film more realistic as you don’t get distracted by the aura of a star.
A special note of appreciation for the music directors Viresh Sreevalsa and Bishakh Jyoti, who have experimented with different genres of music very effectively. The background music enhances the storytelling. The songs fit in seamlessly and deepen the mood of the events.
The director Sudipto Sen is known more in the festival circuit for his award-winning films and short films. With this film, he has moved out of the festival circuit and jumped into the more forbidding commercial cinema where success is measured only through box office collections. The Kerala Story is a result of years of research. The makers produced a huge amount of written and video evidence to the censor board to convince them that they did not create fiction.
Vipul Amrutlal Shah, known for years for producing successful commercial Bollywood cinema has taken a leap of faith with this movie. He told me that after reading the screenplay for the first time, the only thing he asked Sudipto Sen was whether the story was true. Getting an affirmative answer, he embraced it fully. Perhaps, it was his first exposure to the harsh realities of our society that made him commit totally. He worked on the screenplay and dialogues himself. He has not spared any expense as can be seen from the quality of production. I am sure, many top stars of the industry who were just a phone call away from him will shun him now. And it is not easy to lose friends with whom you have worked for decades, for standing up for truth. He has put his money where his mouth is. And he deserves full credit for converting years of hard research into a film that disturbs you, depresses you but also shakes you up to face the harsh realities of the world.
It is strange to hear the state’s current Marxist chief minister saying that The Kerala Story is RSS propaganda and has an ulterior agenda. He forgets that his own party’s former chief minister VS Achuthanandan had said in 2010 that organisations like PFI wanted to convert Kerala into a Muslim majority in another 20 years. The film shows a video clip of his statement.
When you come out of the movie, you don’t come out with hate for Muslims. You come out reflecting on the weakness of Hindu society and families who do not educate their children on the basic tenets of Hindu dharma. We leave them vulnerable and confused in a society where there are people whose only agenda is to convert the Kafirs and bring in the rule of Allah, whatever the cost. It is not the writer’s flight of imagination that the only girl in this film who resists and fights back the conversion is a Christian girl. It is not incidental. She understands her faith and also that of the persons trying to influence her. She pays a heavy price.
In the battle of civilisations, if you do not arm your children with the knowledge of the most global and humanist dharma, you will suffer the consequences. Our ancients have told us, “dharma rakshati rakshitah” – dharma protects those who protect dharma. Those who are protesting against the movie are afraid that we will see through the façade of ‘all religions are same’. The sweet poison fed to the Hindus that it is only their duty to be ‘liberal’ and ‘tolerant’ has been swallowed by unsuspecting Hindus and imbibed in their thinking where non knowing about one’s dharma is cool. Well, the things out there are hot and this is what the people resisting the movie don’t want us to know.
Go watch the movie, feel the heat and come back wiser.
By: Akhilesh Mishra – CEO, BlueKraft Digital Foundation
Recently, Adani group has been projected to be some sort of a Modi government creation. This is not just true about the international media post the stocks downturn, but also in the way vested Indian interests have commented.
What is the reality?
Adani saga began in 1985 when Rajiv Gandhi govt put PVCs in open general license category. PVC was main raw material for Adani family’s plastic business. Adani negotiated a deal with Gujarat State Export Corporation (Congress govt) to import PVC thus earning huge margins.
Flush with profits from PVC business, flagship Adani Enterprises was born in 1988 & listed in 1994. Main business of Adani then: initially import/export of commodities and then soon it became India’s biggest coal trader & coal mining contractor. All under Congress govt.
Next phase of Adani growth came in 1995. Unsuccessful partnership with Cargill to farm salt gave Adani unused 7,000 acres of land in Mundra. With ports liberalized in 1991 by Narasimha Rao govt, Adani entered a deal in 1995 with Gujarat Maritime Board to develop Mundra.
The Mundra port, that Adani started under Congress government, soon became operational. MT Alpha-2, a 1982 built product tanker of 4671 DWT capacity- became the first small tanker ship to have anchored at Mundra Port on 7 October 1998.
First phase of Mundra port completed in the year 2000 itself by which time Adani had already invested over Rs. 3,700 crores. In fact Mundra became a model to develop other ports like Pipavav, Dahej and Hazira under BOOT model of 1997.
Then came UPA Government under Dr. Manmohan Singh. Between 23rd June 2006 & 11th August 2008, UPA approved six SEZs of Adani group in Mundra. All these 6 approvals were merged into one vide S.O. number 1365 (E) of 27th May 2009 with additional land grant of 258.2112 Ha.
Adani’s mining & power generation operations also got their boost during UPA period. The MDO operations first commenced commercial operations on April 8, 2013 under its agreement with Rajasthan power utility. Then government in Rajasthan – Congress.
But much before 2013, in year 2010 itself,Adani group had acquired Carmichael coal mine in Australia, which subsequently faced lot of environmental issues. This international foray took place when central government was of UPA under Dr. Manmohan Singh. But this was not all.
That same year 2010, Adani group signed agreement with Indonesian government mining company PT Bukit for 60% rights over it coal reserves in lieu of Rs. 7,500 Cr investment. Govts of Maharashtra & Odisha also signed MDO agreements with Adani group.
Adani’s group’s plans to emerge as India’s leading power producer were reported in 2008 itself, when UPA was in power. The plans in 2008 included investment of Rs, 45,000 Cr over next 5-7 years to set up 10,000 MW generating capacity.
The first unit of 4,620 MW coal-fired mega thermal plant at Mundra was commissioned in 2009 itself when UPA was in power. By 2011, Adani group had already emerged as India’s leading private thermal power producer surpassing Tata, Reliance & Essar.
Even in renewables, Adani group has set up and commissioned its first solar powered plant in January 2013 itself, again while UPA under Dr. Manmohan Singh was in power at center.
What do all the above links and Adani group’s expansion pre-2014 prove? That the Adani group was already a multi domain mega conglomerate much before 2014; that it had gained approvals across sectors under UPA government and charted future growth plans basis these.
Post 2014 policies of Modi government have helped Indian businesses expand across all domains – fact reflected by more than doubling of the BSE index or the exponential growth in Startups & Unicorns. Adani group’s growth post 2014 is part of same across-the-board phenomenon.
It is not as if post 2014, opposition governments have not courted Adani to leverage the groups’ strengths. Bengal CM
@MamataOfficial met Adani in Dec 2021. Soon enough, Rs. 10,000 Cr investment was announced.
@ShashiTharoor was personally present at ground breaking ceremony of Vizhinjam Port in 2015. More recently, Adani group announced takeover of the Thiruvananthapuram airport. Tharoor again welcomed it.
Thanks to Hon'able @ShashiTharoor ji for his continued guidance for #VizhinjamPort. Appreciate his presence at the groundbreaking ceremony
@PawarSpeaks clan descended to welcome Adani group in Baramati with Sharad Pawar’s nephew personally driving Adani from airport.
But this is not all. There are innumerable examples of non-BJP governments welcoming Adani group in their states for investments in multiple industrial development projects. From Chhattisgarh to Punjab and from Rajasthan to Jharkhand, the list is all encompassing.
Adani group in Chhattisgarh: Permission for mining in Hasdeo Aranya coalfield despite reservations; Hand over of Gidhamudi and Paturia coal mines in Korba district; Jhigador mine given to Adani in auction in August 2021.
Adani Group in Rajasthan: Congress government leased 1,600 hectares of land across various zones in Rajasthan to Adani Group for 1,500 MW solar park; Another Rs. 50,000 Cr investment for 9,700 MW Hybrid energy park (wind+solar).
Adani Group in Maharashtra: Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP coalition government handed over the Dighi port to Adnai group to build alternative gateway to JNPT; A total of 49% stake in Maharashtra Border Check Post Network given to Adani group.
Adani Group in Punjab and Jharkhand: Punjab: Power supply contract under Congress government in 2021; Jharkhand: SEZ award covering over 425 Hectares and Rs. 14,000 Cr investment. Soren govt continues to support this and even gave relaxations.
Adani Group in Kerala: Allotted India’s first ever and ambitious international transshipment project in Vizhinjam. The Left front government has even been accused of giving undue favors to Adani group by not imposing penalties for delay.
To sum up, the spin by international media, aided by perennial Modi haters, has inverted history once more. Adani Group made its entire name during Congress rules under multiple PMs – from Rajiv Gandhi to Manmohan Singh. Post 2014, it has flourished as rest of India has.
Arise Bharat 