Disinformation Leadership Policy Security

PLA ploy in Nepal may come a cropper

Nepalese maoist leadership move to stop enlisting Gurkhas in Indian Army point to China’s dragon net cast wide to tighten its stranglehold Rahul Pawa Earliest reference to Gurkhas can be found in Hindu epic treatise, the Mahabharata. This poem tells the tale of Bhima, one of the heroes, and his encounter with Kichaka, a fierce warrior who was the chief of Kiratas tribe. This tribe inhabited present-day Himalayan region of Nepal and Kichaka was known for his strength and ferocity in battle. Bhim found it challenging to defeat him but he eventually emerged victorious and spared Kichaka’s life, accepting him as his ally. This encounter is believed to be the first mention of the tribe that later became popular as ‘Gurkhas.’ Known for their bravery and martial prowess, the term ‘Gurkha’ is derived from Gorkha district, part of Gandaki province in western Nepal. The region was ancestral home to Shah dynasty that was founded in 1559 by King Dravya Shah, a descendant of Rajput warriors from northern India. Gurkhas as we know them today came to limelight late 18th and early 19th centuries when they were recruited in British East India Company and later the British Indian Army. It is unclear who precisely coined the term ‘Gurkha,’ but believed to have been popularised by the British during the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-16. The term was used to refer to soldiers from the Gorkha district and surrounding regions that were recruited into the British Indian Army. Since then, Gorkhas became synonymous with Nepalese soldiers known for their fighting skills and reputation for bravery, who continued to serve both British and Indian armies. Recently, rumours were rife on Chinese Communist Party’s (CPC) plans to recruit Gorkhas into People’s Liberation Army (PLA). This renewed concerns over CPC’s influence over Nepalese Prime Minister and maoist ideologue Pushpa Kamal Dahal a.k.a Prachanda and his Communist -dominated Nepalese government. In the elections held on November 20 last year, Prachanda ‘s Maoist Centre secured third largest number of seats with 32 in the 275- member House of Representatives. Prachanda was sworn in as Nepal’s Prime Minister on 130th birth anniversary of Mao Zedong, who was a significant ideological influence on Prachanda. As per a report by EPardafas, CPC activities in Nepal spread far and wide after Dahal-led government took reins of the Himalayan Kingdom. CPC’s attempts to influence Nepal’s politics through targeted information operation appear to be a page from Chinese communist’s larger strategy book to whip up anti-India sentiment in the country. CPC strategy seems to be consistent with Mao Zedong’s historical “Five Fingers of Tibet” policy that was first articulated in his speeches during 1940s. The clandestine formulation was to “liberate” Sikkim, Bhutan, Ladakh, and the NEFA from what Mao perceived as “Indian imperialism.” On the contrary, CPC’s expansionist agenda seem to have led to providing financial assistance in order to advance their neatly designed work programme among Nepal’s 30 million habitants. Over the years, CPC floated or supported several think-tanks in Nepal through Chinese Study Centre (CSC) at Katmandu established in 2009. Thirty two such study centres came into being as part of larger design to set up one centre each in the country’s77 districts. These centres played a key role to provide ground research to push CPC aspirations in Nepal. In addition to teaching Mandarin, these centres researched in different subjects with funding support from China. One subject study was aimed at assessing young Nepali – Gurkhas interest and motivation to joini Indian Army. The study was also to evaluate financial expectations of Nepali youngsters from their stints in Indian Army. This provides perfect backdrop to Nepalese communist leadership request to their Indian counterparts for putting on hold Gurkhas recruitment. This request not only flummoxed the Indian army recruiters but also Nepali youngsters that showed keen interest the new Agnipath scheme. The maoist government justified its stand with the contention that Nepalese lawmakers were yet to discuss the ‘Agnipath’ recruitment issue. This request from Nepal government also provides a window of opportunity to CPC for enlisting Gurkha warriors into PLA. Big question therefore is if the Maoist led Nepalese government turning its youth as “force on hire” for PLA. For most Gurkhas serving as soldiers in the Indian army, it is not just about money, schemes for Nepalese people or the decades-old tripartite agreement. It is about a shared unique closeness and oneness of tradition and faith. Shared history, mutual respect and an inalienable link unite Nepal and India. This bond of combat brotherhood is maintained by the Gurkha troops who serve between the two nations. Nepal and India have had shared more than just this idea for thousands of years. Soldiers of Nepalese and Indian ancestry have formed a common relationship as Gurkhas and brotherhood that bonds them. Nepal and India relations go beyond contemporary disputes and conflicts with both countries sharing a distinctive tradition of anointing each other’s Chiefs of Army Staff as Honorary Generals. The Gurkha hat and Khukuri are not just symbols of courage and bravery but represent the brotherly relationship and cultural affinities shared by both nations. They won several gallantry awards together including the Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra for their bravery and sacrifice. Indian Army and CPC’s PLA contrast hence becomes significant. In particular, PLA’s differential treatment of their own people and that of neighbours come to the fore. CPC occupation of Nepali land, attempt to sow discord within Nepal and luring the country into a debt trap have become points of larger public discourse. CPC’s actions in Nepal and its disregard for universal human rights and freedoms make it an unlikely recruiter for the proud Gurkhas. Nepalese people and Gurkhas will have to remain vigilant against attempts by foreign powers to interfere in its internal affairs. Decisions on Gurkhas recruitment must be made in the best interests of the Nepalese people and not influenced by external pressures or agendas. Gurkhas have served both Nepal and India with distinction for many years and

Disinformation Hindus Human Rights Media

565

Is it outright ignorance?

Western media’s refusal to acknowledge India’s Progress and transformative changes should be brought to closer scrutiny. K.A.Badarinath / Neha Dahiya Why’s it that several Western media editors are anti-India in their stance? Many media friends from Western world are either outright ignorant, pursue an editorial line given by their top management or oblivious to transformative changes that have turned this country into bulwark against tyranny, intolerance and is bustling with multifaceted activity. The view from London’s West Minister or US Capitol Hill may not fit into what’s on ground zero in India. Pathetic abhorrence about the country’s economic heft, celebration of diverse faiths, rule of law, thriving democracy and not for profit organizations that operate in multitude tantamount to driving a view point. It may not be easy for western trained minds to understand Indians sensitivity when casual and flippant comments are made. These commentators just may not fully comprehend this complex country, Hindutva, Modi or BJP and would have taken a line that’s far from truth. For that matter, rise of patriotic Hindus that love their country being equated with Mussolini’s forces is something that borders on ignorance par excellence. For instance, when The Guardian, The New York Times or BBC says 200-odd million Muslims in India are either being treated as second class citizens or subjected to genocide, do these responsible media outlets fully gauge the implications? I’m tempted to quote a recent research paper produced by Indian Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council member Shamika Ravi titled ‘A secular Democracy in Practice: Objective assessment of Amenities Programs in India’. The study that focuses on bottom 20 per cent households demolishes this preconceived view that minorities have been targeted in India. On the contrary, the study based on a nationally representative sample of 1.2 million households across 2015-21 shows no discrimination whatsoever against minorities. If at all, there’s bias in favour of minorities especially the Muslims who have been large beneficiaries of government schemes and projects to provide electricity connections, open bank accounts, access to toilets, mobile connectivity. In a few cases, the minorities dominated by Muslims have gained more than Hindus. The study cites the case of access to electricity provided to 71 per cent Muslim households while it was 68 per cent for Hindus. Bank accounts coverage in Muslim households was as high as 77 per cent. Even the myth that Hinduism purportedly dominated by ‘Brahminical order’ discriminates against low caste communities and tribes gets busted. While access to bank accounts for backward classes was 75 per cent, for scheduled castes and tribes it was over 70 per cent. Centre for Integrated and Holistic studies (CIHS), as a think tank based in New Delhi has recently put together a detailed report on State of Religious Minorities in India. The report’s in-depth analysis based on evidence and data provided by Indian Government and other agencies establishes that minorities have been big beneficiaries of specific schemes and projects for socio-economic progress of these faith-based groups. As per the report, 49,000 major infrastructure projects were sanctioned by Central Government for minorities including Muslims and their demarcated areas in last nine years till date. From schools, medical colleges, universities, top-notch health care centres, skill development institutes, service centres to sports facilities and handicraft hubs have either already become operative or in the process of execution. As per Ministry of Minority Affairs, students of religious minorities will have to study subjects that place them on par with other students. While the Ministry does not interfere in their traditional systems of education, it promotes subjects that enhance critical thinking, reasoning and incorporates scientific thinking. Religious minorities were allotted 35 graduation colleges, 177 residential schools, 1,572 school buildings, 23,473 classrooms, 14,311 smart classrooms and modern teaching aids, 689 student hostels, 94 ITI buildings, 20 skill centres, 15 polytechnics, 2,397 health projects, 413 sadbhava mandapas (community centres), 168 common service centres, 553 market sheds, 100+ hunar haats, 6,762 toilet and sanitation projects, 84 sports facilities, 27 working women hostels and one unani medical colleges. Central Government’s scheme for Education of Madrasas and Minorities (SPEMM) was reportedly rolled out. Madrasas which avail these schemes benefit from curriculum redesign and redevelopment that includes introduction of subjects like science, mathematics, social studies, Hindi, and English. Other skill development schemes like Seekho aur Kamao (i.e. Learn and Earn), USTTAD (Upgrading The Skills and Training in Traditional Arts / Crafts for Development), Nai Manzil, Haj Management were introduced by the government that were specifically for Muslims in India. A recent editorial in ‘The Guardian’ talked about laying an epitaph to multi-ethnic secular democracy in India. Again, this is a line that’s completely misplaced given that Election Commission of India is the most authoritative, independent and autonomous institution that does not allow elbow room for discrimination against any religious class, faith practice, castes, tribes or a political class. Even women representation in all four tiers of well-established Indian democratic structure has been on the rise. As per data provided by Law & Justice Minister Kiran Rijiju on December 9, 2022, Lok Sabha or lower house of Indian parliament has 14.94 per cent women members while upper house or Rajya Sabha accounts for 14.05 per cent. Similar is the case with state legislative assemblies, district councils to panchayats that represent lowest rung of Indian democracy at village level or clusters. If strong democratic institutions, law and order machinery coupled with judiciary were not enough, public scrutiny at virtually each level makes Indian democratic experience all the more unique though it’s a wee bit chaotic. This again demolishes Western perception that Indian democratic institutions ‘serve a particular ideology’. Western media reportage claims time and again that information gets censored routinely by the government and civil society organizations were hounded out. This is far from truth. As per Registrar of Newspapers for India, over 114,000 newspapers and publications in over 100 languages have formally been registered by the time Covid 19 set in India. This does not include scores of TV channels, websites

Disinformation Fact Sheet Hindus

799

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/

Disinformation Fact Sheet Human Rights Misinformation

513

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.)

Blog Post

PLA ploy in Nepal may come a cropper

Is it outright ignorance?

IAMC: A US-Based Islamist Disinformation Factory

Depressed Subgroups Under Notified Indian Minorities