To Harass Hindu-Muslim Couples, Rightwing Activists Are Now Using Their Marriage Documents

In what is not only a serious breach of privacy but also another chapter in the rightwing's allegations of love jihad against interfaith marriages, several such couples have found their marriage notices on social media.

Representative image. Photo: Pixabay/narasimhar1906

Communalism  Rights  12 hours ago

Shiba Kurian

Aswathy* and Rahman* got married on July 15 under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, in Kerala. They were in the thick of starting their lives together, when Aswathy’s friend called to inform her about a disturbing message he received on a WhatsApp group.

The forwarded message had 13 images. These images were the Notices of Intended Marriage of Aswathy, Rahman and 12 other interfaith couples, who got married or whose marriages were yet to be registered under the Special Marriage Act. Aswathy realised that it was the same notice that the couple had signed at a Registrar’s office in Kerala, and which, as a procedure, was put up on the notice boards of the registration offices in their respective native places, for 30 days starting June 9. These notices, which solemnise marriages per section 5 of the Special Marriage Act, contain the name, address, age, occupation, photos and signatures of the bride and groom — essentially, the personal details of two private citizens.

All the images had one factor in common: the bride is Hindu and the groom is Muslim, and thereby, their relationship is branded as ‘love jihad’.

Aswathy and Rahman were shocked as the WhatsApp forward also contained a message: “These are love jihadis. We are the next scapegoats of these people. If you know these people, you should help them.”

Read article: thewire

China cuts Uighur births with IUDs, abortion, sterilization

By The Associated PressJune 29, 2020

The Chinese government is taking draconian measures to slash birth rates among Uighurs and other minorities as part of a sweeping campaign to curb its Muslim population, even as it encourages some of the country’s Han majority to have more children.

While individual women have spoken out before about forced birth control, the practice is far more widespread and systematic than previously known, according to an AP investigation based on government statistics, state documents and interviews with 30 ex-detainees, family members and a former detention camp instructor. The campaign over the past four years in the far west region of Xinjiang is leading to what some experts are calling a form of “demographic genocide.”

The state regularly subjects minority women to pregnancy checks, and forces intrauterine devices, sterilization and even abortion on hundreds of thousands, the interviews and data show. Even while the use of IUDs and sterilization has fallen nationwide, it is rising sharply in Xinjiang.

The population control measures are backed by mass detention both as a threat and as a punishment for failure to comply. Having too many children is a major reason people are sent to detention camps, the AP found, with the parents of three or more ripped away from their families unless they can pay huge fines. Police raid homes, terrifying parents as they search for hidden children.

Read full article: The Associated Press

Trump’s Fox News Sunday Interview Was An Epic Disaster Thanks To Chris Wallace

Posted on Sun, Jul 19th, 2020 by Jason Easley

The interview was a trainwreck for Trump because Wallace didn’t let him skate by unchallenged with lies. Trump was called out for lying about Biden defunding the police. Trump admitted that he doesn’t care about the military. Trump got called out for pushing false coronavirus mortality rates. There was no segment of the interview that wasn’t a disaster for Trump and his campaign.

Chris Wallace did was every journalist should do with Trump. Wallace shrugged off the bluster and intimidation tactics and kept pushing forward with facts.

The main reason why the interview was a nightmare for Republicans is that it painted a portrait of a president whose mind is clearly in decline.

Wallace would give Trump an easy interview, and Donald Trump responded with an epic implosion.

Read full article: politicususa

Silence on Depsang may be linked to Pangong resolution

The area of Pangong Tso has been more in the national spotlight than Depsang, with inhabited areas closer to the saltwater lake than in northern Ladakh.

Written by Sushant Singh | New Delhi |

Updated: July 18, 2020 7:37:22 am

A senior Army officer said Depsang has not been raised with the Chinese so far as it is not a faceoff site, unlike the other four friction points on the LAC where disengagement is being discussed. (File photo)

In the four rounds of meetings at the level of the Corps Commander, India has not raised the issue of Chinese ingress into the Depsang Plains in northern Ladakh, even though the area is more strategically important than the other ‘friction points’ and the territory on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) being denied to Army patrols by the Chinese is much larger than at Pangong Tso.

This has raised concerns within a section of the security establishment that the continued Indian silence on Depsang could result in a new status quo being created in the strategically important area, where Chinese would have effectively shifted their actual control of the territory 18 km to the west. It would deny India access to a significant part of territory close to the Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) airfield and bring the Chinese much closer to the strategic Darbuk-Shyok-DBO (DSDBO) road.

Read article: indianexpress 

Caught in crossfire, Indians in China battle a sense of guilt

Jaya Menon | TNN | Updated: Jun 29, 2020, 15:30 ..

Read article: timesofindia

శ్రీ కౌముది జూలై 2020