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Disinformation Fact Sheet Hindus Misinformation Policy
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Islamist Crime Syndicate Stopped in Its Tracks

India imposed ban on PFI and eight of its affiliates spreading terror.  On September 28, 2022, the Indian government imposed a five-year ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and all of its affiliated organisations. PFI, an extreme Islamist organisation that took over from the National Development Front (NDF) in 2006, is infamous for its total disdain for the Indian constitution and its participation in anti-India activities. India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) therefore determined that the PFI was an unlawful organisation in violation of India’s 1967 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and as a result, the PFI is banned. PFI and its associates have customarily engaged in forced conversions, funding of terrorism, illicit hawala transactions, criminal conspiracies, inciting violence through hate speech, and other acts of terror. These atrocious crimes against humanity have included the cruel murder of innocent Hindus, Christians, and even moderate Muslims. The PFI was established in 2006 as a reformation of the National Democratic Front  (NDF) in Kerala, the southernmost and most literate state of India. Originally founded in 1994, NDF was disbanded as a pan-Islamic group that was exposed to multiple instances of hate speech and related crimes. By combining the approaches of NDF, Manitha Neethi Pasarai, Karnataka Forum for Dignity, and other organisations, PFI a developed with a multi-state worldview. PFI advertises itself as a neo-social movement empowering people to achieve justice, freedom, and security, yet its actions point to it being a spiteful crime syndicate. To further its nefarious criminal agenda, PFI has a number of organisations that engage with different socio-economic groups, including but not limited to the Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organisation (NCHRO), National Women’s Front (NWF), Junior Front, Empower India Foundation, Rehab foundation Kerala, and others. At the time of its banning, PFI’s crime syndicate maintained operations in 23 Indian states, with major concentration in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Kerala provided as the organisation’s primary base. Wherein, PFI assets that it works with human rights activists (rather people who may be viewed as HR activists) to stop human rights violations in the country, however in reality, the organisation works to incite Islamist hate against people of other faiths and cultures while ostensibly defending the rights of minorities. In a notification dated September 27, 2022, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs highlighted PFI’s connections to terrorist organisations like ISIS and Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh. Furthermore, PFI cadres have taken part in terrorism in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Besides this, the organization’s founding founders were the heads of the outlawed jihadist terrorist group Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). In the course of its investigation leading to the ban, India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) discovered that PFI opened 27 bank accounts, 9 of which were RIF accounts, and that a total of INR 120 crores was routed by PFI through a rogue network in West Asian nations, particularly Qatar, Kuwait, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. The funds were covertly moved to India for nefarious and extremist activities. The money was transferred in such a deliberate manner that cash deposits and withdrawals occurred every day, and payments were restricted to a maximum of INR 50,000. so that they are exempt from giving tax number or other forms of identification. On September 22, 2022, the PFI offices in the Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Puducherry, Assam, and Rajasthan were searched by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). PFI Chairman O. M. A. Salam, its National General Secretary Anis Ahmed, its Member of the National Executive Council P. Koya, its National Vice Chairman E. M. Abdur Rahiman, its National Secretary Afsar Pasha, its Member of the National Executive Council Abdul Wahid Sait, its National Secretary (Media and Public Relations) Mohammed Shakib, and its President of the West Bengal unit Minarul Sheikh were all detained during the search and seize operations carried out as part of Operation Octopus of the Indian Investigation agencies. So far, 247 PFI members have been detained as further investigations are ongoing. PFI has a long history of engaging in several anti-humanity and anti-india actions. Rifles, bombs and bomb making manuals, provocative literature outlining how to further the ideology of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda were seized by police from the offices of PFI members in July 2010. In 2012, the Kerala government briefed the Kerala High Court at a case hearing that PFI was connected to 27 community-based murder cases, 86 murder attempts, and 106 instances of communal violence, and that its activities were detrimental to national security. PFI centres across the nation were the targeted of many searches in April 2013 that resulted in the seizure of lethal weapons, foreign currency, and human shot targets in addition to explosive raw materials like gunpowder, swords, and other weaponry. In wake of the Assam clashes of 2012. the criminal syndicate PFI cooperated and worked with Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), a Pakistan based Jihadi terrorist group that calls for Jihad against the people of diverse faiths, in order to spread inflammatory messages,. Roughly 28 to 30% of these messages originated in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Towing the line of proscribed international Anti-Jew terrorist organisations. In July 2014, Anti-Jewish demonstrations and antisemitism were stoked in many Indian regions by Islamist minded PFI. The PFI office in Shaheen Bagh, Delhi served as an outpost during the Anti-CAA protest in 2019–20, and the criminal group was actively involved in a misinformation campaign with the sinister goal of peddling false information  about National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) to Muslims in order to incite violence and Anti-India and Anti-Hindu hatred. The evil scheme of the criminal gang PFI was to provoke a civil war in India over the NRC and CAA. The criminal organisation was also involved in establishing an illegal helpdesk in Goalpara and Kamrup, Assam, to fabricate false documents. When the world was struggling with the

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Disinformation Misinformation World
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Wikipedia: An Islamist-Leftist Global Propaganda Tool

It is widely believed that Wikipedia is a reputable online encyclopedia but according to Wikipedia itself, “Wikipedia is not a reliable source for academic writing or research.” In light of numerous instances of bias, factual misrepresentation, and the dissemination of false information, Wikipedia cannot be trusted to provide impartial and authentic information. This is a need of the time to know about the Wikipedia’s management, ownership and guidance board, are they impartial and focused or a part of larger nexus of the Evangelists, Islamists, and leftists. Rohan Giri / New Delhi (Rohan is a journalism graduate from Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) New Delhi, and Manager Operations at CIHS.)

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Disinformation Fact Sheet Hindus
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IAMC: A US-Based Islamist Disinformation Factory

 Rohan Giri / New Delhi Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), formerly known as Indian Muslim Council (IMC USA), is a US-based organisation that is in the news for supposedly advancing the interests of Indian Muslims in America. The organisation’s mandate states that its goal is to safeguard India’s pluralism, tolerance, and respect for human rights, however this is far from the reality. Through the dissemination of organised false information and the portrayal of India as the oppressor of Indian Muslims, its efforts frequently demonise India. IAMC routinely spreads its agenda-driven, biassed ideas about India and Hindus in particular, utilising disparaging and Hinduphobic slurs, under the guise of interfaith and inter-community debate. IAMC and its representatives have been defaming India’s sovereignty, culture, tradition, and government efforts over the past few years, misleading the American people about Indian events and happenings. Thereby continuously attempting to sow strife between the oldest and largest democracies in the world. Over many years, the agenda-driven leadership at IAMC created numerous organisations with the same members. In order to conceal the organisation’s dubious identity, support, and foreign ties—including those with United Nations-prohibited terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Islamist extremist organisations like the Jamaat-E-Islami—the entities were given new names. Deeper investigation reveals that Shaik Ubaid, the founder of IAMC, BTF, JFA, and ImamNet, and Abdul Mujahid, the founder of Sound Vision and a co-founder of JFA and BTF, are the major protagonists in the nexus. Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) can be found backing all of these the major organisations. Select  organisations are detailed below. It’s crucial to note that the Islamic Circle of North America ICNA is a nexus of Islamist fundamentalist organisations like  Jamaat-e-Islami and its affiliated terrorist groups and entities. The US government indicated in a resolution that it is concerned about the threat that theocratic organisations pose to democracy and human rights and that ICNA receives funding, shares leadership, and is openly associated with Jamaat-e-Islami.[1] Claims and realities don’t always match up, and IAMC is not an exception to this common occurrence. Even while the Indian American Muslim Council claims to be a non-profit organisation that advocates for Muslim rights, the truth is that it has close ties, both directly and indirectly, to extremist and terrorist organisations that are run by jihadis and islamists. Mohammad Siddiqi, the founder of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), a terrorist group that has been proscribed in India and has carried out multiple bombings aiming to establish an Islamic state in India was once hosted as a guest at the Shaik Ubaid-founded IAMC.[2] Moreover, IAMC’s founder Sheikh Ubaid is associated with ICNA, which has links with Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba.[3] At the inaugural convention of the IAMC, they lined up the extremist guest speaker, Asim Ghafoor, aka Asim Abdur Rehman Ghafoor. Ghafoor was a former spokesperson for the terrorist-linked groups Global Relief Foundation (GRF), and Care International[4]. The IAMC is run by Rasheed Ahmed. From 2008 to 2017, he was the executive director of the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA). Three islamist humanitarian organisations, including IMANA, raised millions of money under the guise of assisting India but provided little to no relief to India during COVID-19. IMANA is connected to a number of terrorist organisations, including the Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.[5] Top IAMC functionaries like Kaleem Kawaja have vociferously advocated the cause of Taliban, once he recorded to have stated “Brother, can you spare a tear for Taliban?”[6] Additionally, IAMC has a history of advocating against India, whether it is through the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) or by glorifying motivated and agenda driven journalists, actors and writers like Rana Ayub, Swara Bhaskar, Angana P. Chatterji and Barkha Dutt. IAMC began influencing the supposedly independent, bipartisan United States federal government panel USCIRF in 2013–2014. Through the commissioner Nadine Maenza, Shaik Ubaid was able to influence the USCIRF with the assistance of the US-based lobbying group Fidelis Government Relations (FGR). The lobbying’s objective was to designate India as country of particular concern (CPC) and draw attention to the country’s human rights issues. In 2020, when USCIRF recognised India as CPC, the well-funded lobbying efforts of IAMC and its nexus would finally yield results. In its 2014 report, the USCIRF altered the map of India by defacing regions of India’s Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, and Arunachal Pradesh.[7] IAMC awarded extraordinary reward money for some of its favoured journalists in the annual Human Rights and Religious Freedom Journalism (HRRF) Awards. Select names decided by IAMC for various cash prizes included Shahid Tantray of The Caravan Magazine, Aishwarya S Iyer of Scroll, Ismat Ara of The Wire, Sumedha Mittal of The Caravan, Naomi Barton of The Wire, Priyanka Thirumurthy of The News Minute, and Akanksha Kumar of Newslaundry, among others.[8] Each prize has gone to an individual who supports the pro-Pakistani, Islamist narrative that the Indian government is terrorising Indian Muslims. To further its jihadist and Islamist goal of destabilising relations between the two progressive nations, India and the USA, IAMC frequently spreads misleading information about India. IAMC has been at the forefront of demonising both America in India and India in America while disguising itself as a pluralist and advocacy group. It has been working continuously against American and Indian interests. Whether it is by encouraging Journalists by compensating them for their activities against India and America, or by lobbying and coercing USCIRF to label India as a country of particular concern. IAMC aggressively supports an anti-Hindu and anti-Indian agenda in the US while publicly promoting its vile lies. Strong checks and balances must be in place to ensure that such propaganda organisations do not have free reign in a free and democratic America. (Rohan is a journalism graduate from Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) New Delhi, and Manager Operations at CIHS.) [1] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-116hres160ih/html/BILLS-116hres160ih.htm [2] https://www.hinduamerican.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Coalition_Against_Genocide_A_Nexus_of_HinduphobiaUnveiled.pdf [3] https://organiser.org/2022/06/05/84205/bharat/equality-labs-nexus-of-anti-bharat-forces-in-the-united-states-which-is-creating-division-and-rancor/ [4] https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1006295370821952160 [5] https://twitter.com/DisinfoLab/status/1457625435823493122 [6] https://www.milligazette.com/Archives/01032002/0103200254.htm [7] https://thedisinfolab.org/uscirf-an-organization-of-particular-concern/#rb-Chapter—5-JFA-IAMC-ICNA-and-other-Alphabets [8] https://iamc.com/indian-american-muslim-council-iamc-is-thrilled-to-announce-the-shortlist-across-five-categories-of-the-first-ever-human-rights-religious-freedom-journalism-awards-2022-hrrf/

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World
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The Queen Cherished Her Time in India

Neha Dahiya / New Delhi, India Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, the first child of the then future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (The Queen Mother), was born on April 21, 1926 in Mayfair, London. At twenty five years old, Princess Elizabeth ascended to the British throne and became Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms on February 6, 1952, and was commonly known as Elizabeth II. The British throne is inherited according to descent, gender, legality, and religion. According to British common law, a sovereign’s children or a sovereign without children’s closest collateral line inherits the Crown. Elizabeth was third in line for the British throne during her grandfather’s rule, behind her father and her uncle Edward. Even though her birth sparked curiosity in the public, it was not anticipated that she would become queen as her uncle Edward was still young and was most likely to be married and have his own children, who would succeed Elizabeth in the line of succession. She became second in line to the throne after her father when her grandfather passed away in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII. After his anticipated marriage with divorced socialite Wallis Simpson sparked a constitutional crisis later that year, Edward abdicated. As a result, George VI, Elizabeth’s father, ascended to the throne. It was then that Elizabeth became the presumed successor because she did not have any brothers. After her father, George VI, passed away on February 6, 1952, Elizabeth II succeeded to the throne and was immediately crowned queen by her privy and executive councils. The custom of waiting a proper amount of time after a king dies before holding such events meant that the coronation was held more than a year later. Elizabeth II was crowned on June 2, 1953, at Westminster Abbey in London. Until her death on Thursday, September 8, 2022, at age ninety-six, Elizabeth II was the oldest current monarch and head of state in the world. In her record-breaking 70 years as monarch, Queen Elizabeth II set a lot of milestones. Elizabeth ruled for approximately seventy years and four months, during which over fifteen British prime ministers, including Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Boris Johnson, and Liz Truss, served under Queen Elizabeth II. The finest achievement of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, who passed away on Thursday after serving as monarch for 70 years, was to keep the monarchy popular throughout decades of seismic political, social, and cultural change that threatened to render it out of date. In the spotlight of an increasingly intrusive and frequently hostile media, she helped steer the institution into the modern era by eliminating court ritual and making it somewhat more open and accessible. Queen Elizabeth II travelled to India on multiple occasions. In 1961, her first state visit with her husband, Prince Philip, came over 15 years after India gained its independence from the British in 1947. She was the first British monarch to ascend to the throne. On her official visit to India, the Queen visited historical sites including Taj Mahal in Agra, Hawa Mahal in Jaipur, and the ancient Hindu city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh while touring the cities of Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata. She participated in several events, spent days at a maharajah’s hunting lodge, and rode an elephant. The royal couple attended the monumental Republic Day parade on January 26, 1961, as special guests. Following their state visit in 1961, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip returned to India in November 1983. Almost two decades later, her visit coincided with a summit of Commonwealth leaders and in 1997, when India was celebrating 50 years of its Independence from the British. It was the Queen’s first public appearance following Princess Diana’s funeral. During her three state visits, the Queen treasured her time in India.”The warmth and hospitality of the Indian people, and the richness and diversity of India itself, have been an inspiration to all of us,” she said. Today, as a mark of respect towards the longest reigning British Monarch, India will observe a one-day state mourning on September 11, 2022. Subsequently, in a statement issued by the ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, it was stated that the Indian National Flag will be flown at half-mast on all buildings in India on the day of mourning, and on that day, there won’t be any formal entertainment. (Neha Dahiya is a specialist content writer at Centre for Integrated and Holistic Studies)

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Disinformation Misinformation
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Vicious Attack on Religious Freedom of Minority Hindu Americans

By Neha Dahiya Is Hindumisia on the rise in the United States? Over the past few decades, Hinduphobic radical organisations like Hindus for Human Rights (H4HR), Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), and Equality Labs have waged disinformation and slur campaigns against Hindu culture, events and identity. The Hindu American community had scheduled a religious discussion and cultural event for August 30 and 31, 2022, at Impact Hall, Global Mall, Norcross, Georgia. A spiritual figure in the Hindu community, Sadhvi Ritambhara was invited to grace the occasion. Several extremist Anti-Hindu groups waged an online and offline smear campaign to disparage the Sadhvi and the event organisers. This continuing hate campaign is intended to terrorise and intimidate American Hindus barring them of their rights enshrined in the Constitution of the United States. This is not new as over the years, one may recall various hate and misinformation campaigns by motivated and foreign backed, abetted organisations and individuals which are habitual of spreading misinformation and hatred against Hindus like Equality Labs with its baseless “Smash Brahminical Patriarchy” campaign, Council on American-Islamic Relations(CAIR) with its constant and vile hateful attacks on Hindu cultural organisations like the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), Pieter Friedrich, Audrey Truschke, Bhajan Singh Bhinder for their Pakistan supported Anti-Hindu agenda are some names, but the list goes long. Similarly, by instilling doubt and dread in the minds of Americans about Hindu culture and its saints, the hate campaign against Sadhvi Ritambhara launched by H4HR, IAMC and their supporters enlisted above is aimed to demonise the very persona of such noble Hindu saints, so as to further their nefarious, divisive and communal agenda in the United States. The hate campaign against the Sadhvifollows patterns and trends closely aligning with earlier campaigns and appears to be a part of an organised ecosystem of organisations and individuals who are well known around the world for their Hinduphobic views and discriminatory and divisive views about the Hindu society. On the contrary and in reality, Sadhvi Ritambhara is also known as DidiMaa(Lit. Sister and Mother), has motivated countless people all over the world. In Vrindavan, India she founded orphanages, special schools for underprivileged kids, and homes for women who have been abandoned. She established the “Param Shakti Peeth” organisation to protect India’s underprivileged people. To help women become more self-reliant and confident, Shakti Peeth also offers training in karate, horseback riding, and other sports. The collective name for these organisations is “Vatsalya Gram.” She also manages widows’ ashrams and shelters in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. In addition, she founded and serves as the chair of DurgaVahini, a Hindu women empowered organization. Durga Vahini seeks to inspire more women to take part in Hindu prayer gatherings and cultural activities. By providing social services and aid to struggling families, the organisation hopes to foster a sense of togetherness and solidarity. Sanyasini Sadhvi Ritambhara has devoted her entire life to advancing Hindu causes including strongly advocating for Ram Janamboomi (Lit. Birthplace of lord Ram) in Ayodhya, India. On November 9, 2019, the five-judge Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, presided over by the now-retired Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, unanimously ruled that Lord Ram was born on the Ayodhya ground where the Babri Structure previously stood. Over the years, her motivating speeches, which are backed up by Hindu texts, have gained a tremendous global following that transcends caste, gender, and nationality. In light of this, acknowledging the gross violation of human values of Vis-a-Vis Hindus in America. HinduPACT, a policy research and advocacy collective based in the USA, suggested in a statement that American law enforcement agencies pay attention to the surge in such hate speech on social media and its potential to hurt people. Political favouritism must not be used to support these kinds of targeted assaults on the religious liberty of Hindu Americans and Hindu organisations. The First Amendment, which is a cornerstone of the US Constitution, guarantees Hindu Americans the freedom to profess their beliefs. But because of some radical organisations, Hindus in the USA are not allowed to freely practise their religion. Whether it be through the physical assault on Hindus expats or the entanglement of intellectuals in a web of false propaganda, Hindus are made into very easy targets in the west. Maligning Hindu culture, rituals and values using hate-tricks by radical cells is not a new phenomenon. They made groups, organisations, and networks with selective ill mind people to target India and Hindus from all spheres. Islamists, Separatists and Evangelists masked themselves as an innocent Hindu rights advocacy organisation, which didn’t spare any chance to malign Hindus and India. On the contrary, they sponsor events of Anti-India entities and fully support every measure to lead their malicious agenda of wiping out the Hindu community from the world. (Neha Dahiya is a specialist content writer at Centre for Integrated and Holistic Studies)

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Disinformation Fact Sheet Human Rights Misinformation
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Depressed Subgroups Under Notified Indian Minorities

 Rohan Giri / New Delhi Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, and Zoroastrians (Parsis) are among the five religious groups or sects that are granted minority religion status under the Indian Constitution. These designated Indian minorities do, however, contain depressed subgroups that experience prejudice on a daily basis from their own community members. This report reflects on the state of affairs of such depressed minorities under notified Indian minorities. (Rohan is a journalism graduate from Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) New Delhi, and Manager Operations at CIHS.)

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Leadership
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Introspect, Deliberate and Move Ahead!

Swarajya@75 should lead to work on tackling new internal & external threats, recast policy institutions and achieve economic self-reliance Dattatreya Hosabale Having completed 75-years after attaining independence from foreign rule, Bharat has embarked on new journey to play a rightful lead role globally. While next phase of its civilizational journey has begun, every citizen is in a boisterous and jubilant mood as the Amrit Mahotsav got underway with new purpose. Our nation completed this journey of 75 years after having crossed numerous obstacles and problems. This has been an arduous, exciting and momentous journey to cherish. Both achievements and the challenges faced by Bharatiya society during the renewed self-rule are before us. We also have a vivid picture of the nation that became independent but faced the tragedy of the partition. She suffered the trauma of violence that got unleashed after the divisive partition. Immediately after this tragic experience, its borders were attacked. But these challenges were not un-surmountable. The issues faced post-independence could not dent our resilience; defeat our capabilities and potential of our nation. Taking the challenges head-on has led to strengthening Bharat’s democratic foundations. Today, we can hardly imagine as to how the nation celebrated its greatest festival of democracy in 1952 and set up an elected government after having suffered the trauma of partition and the attack on its borders. It was indeed will power and effort of the people that ensured integration of those areas that were left out after 1947 like Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Hyderabad and Puducherry. Many a time, a question arises as to how a nation that secured political independence only a few years before could pick up pieces and move ahead fast? One cannot comprehend this without understanding the Bharatiya society in fulsome. Even while suffering the acute pain and suffering of attacks and crises, Bharatiya society did not forget the sutra of its unity. If genuine attempts are made, only then would one understand the freedom struggle of Bharat that had its footprint all over in towns, villages, forests, mountains, coastal regions etc. Whether it is the Santhal uprising or armed struggle of heroes in southern states, there’s a single underlying principle. Each and every one amongst greatest heroes desired independence.  This desire and craving for swarajya was not for themselves alone but for larger society and the nation. Restlessness in the Bharatiya society was so intense that people cared very little in making supreme sacrifices willingly and tread the toughest paths. This was precisely the reason for Bharat’s independence movement to spread as far as London, United States, Japan and so on. In fact, the India House located in London emerged as one of the major centers of Bharat’s freedom movement.  Bharat’s Independence movement was so comprehensive that it united the masses transcending geographical, economic, and societal boundaries. It would be unfair to take the name of one particular individual or a few as innumerable people sacrificed their lives in the Bharatiya independence movement.   Some of them are household names while we hardly know about several others who submitted at the altar of independence.  This was a movement which had countless participants and all of them had one goal. This legacy of heroism, unparalleled patriotic fervour, supreme sacrifices and bloodshed seems to have served as perfect launch pad for Bharat’s citizens urge to work towards attaining supreme glory. This is Bharat’s societal aspiration rather being fueled by political leaders alone. The very aspiration came to fore when the internal emergency was imposed and democratic institutions were systematically denigrated during 1975 – 77. Citizens from across the spectrum were at forefront of the struggle against anti-democratic and authoritarian forces. Seventy five years of independence may also be the right time to introspect and plan for our centenary year in 2047. Also, at a time when the entire world was coming to terms with post-Covid 19 social order and global uncertainty looming large, we should set our own distinct goals as a nation and society. Undoubtedly, the last decade has been a period of achievements for Bharat. We may have to build on our recent successes. Providing access to affordable and quality healthcare, housing, education and achieving financial inclusivity apart from citizens’ empowerment were areas in which we made large strides. For instance, Bharat’s ingenuity and intelligence was at its best in development of most affordable and safe vaccine against Covid 19 in short period possible. This was done at a time when Bharat was at the receiving end. The vaccine served as the perfect anti-dose and saved billions of lives globally. Going forward, we may have to recognize and confront several internal and external threats from known as well as unknown sources. Achieving societal harmony should get flagged as a priority area for Bharat. Given the inalienable link between society’s strength and harmony amongst her communities, we may have to channelize our energies in this direction. On the economic front, Bharat has made rapid strides notwithstanding the crises that were either domestic or imported. There’s lot more to that can happen on development front given the 1.4 billion population’s aspirations. There’s untapped potential for faster growth in several economic areas. Unless we place Bharat’s home grown businesses and enterprises at the forefront of our policy formulation, intervention and achieve self-reliance, providing work opportunities to all may remain a pipe dream. Bharat will emerge stronger in the true sense only when it’s self-reliant. A reorganization of our policy and democratic institutions may have to be done in sync with expectations our people and requirements at a time when Bharat seeks to play a lead role among the global communities drawing strength from its millennia-old civilizational evolution. Making judiciary and politically driven executive and all public institutions accessible to common people that feel distraught and helpless may be very significant in our onward march. Global challenges in short term can also be faced only when our internal systems were strong. Apart from economic and political empowerment, finding home

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