- 6 weeks ago
As a political war over the Aravalli mountain ranges has intensified, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday accused the Congress of spreading "misinformation" and "lies" on the issue.
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00:00Good evening, hello and welcome. You're with the news today. This is your prime time destination news.
00:04Newsmakers, talking points, our big talking point.
00:07Are the Aravli ranges really under threat now from mining?
00:12One of the country's most eco-sensitive zones.
00:15Will mining destroy and desertify the Aravlis?
00:20That's going to be our big talking point tonight.
00:23Also, Javed Akhtar is among our special guests.
00:26He will be speaking out on Nitish Kumar's hijab rao.
00:29Why he believes the Bihar chief minister owes an apology.
00:34But first, as always, it's time for the nine headlines at nine tonight.
00:40Bangladesh continues to simmer as another youth leader is shot dead in the head.
00:47Bangladesh now suspends visa services temporarily in Delhi and Agartala, citing security concerns.
00:55Khatizgarh native is misidentified as a Bangladeshi national and lynched in Kerala after being accused of robbery.
01:08Family demands strict action.
01:10The Kerala chief minister vows justice.
01:13A political war over the Aravli mountain ranges intensifies.
01:22Center says activists and opposition are spreading misinformation.
01:26Insists Aravli range is protected.
01:29Only 0.19% of the area is eligible for mining.
01:33But in India today, reality check shows mining is going on in forest land.
01:41Delhi air pollution crisis continues.
01:45AQI remains in the very poor category.
01:48Delhi chief minister chairs a high-level meeting to discuss steps to ease traffic congestion.
01:53Opposition says it's only an eyewash.
02:00Delhi high court issues are noticed to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi seeking their response in the National Herald case.
02:06The enforcement director has challenged the trial court order.
02:09The Delhi court has refused to take cognizance of the ED charge sheet so far.
02:13Attentions continue at Madurai's site where protesters clash with TN police after being stopped from lighting the Deepam at the ancient hilltop stone pillar despite citing court orders.
02:29At least 18 young wrestlers from Odisha are forced to travel in inhuman conditions to the 69th National School Wrestling Championship due to unconfirmed train tickets.
02:43They are seen sitting near toilets.
02:45State Education Department has not yet responded to the video.
02:51And back-to-back trade deals for India after Oman and the UK.
02:55A free trade pact now signed with New Zealand.
02:57India has guarded the dairy sector though from New Zealand imports.
03:03And the US Department of State has expanded the scope of online presence reviews to all H-1B.
03:10And H-4 applicants is part of standard visa screening who are aimed at curbing abuse of H-1B program.
03:18But tonight's top story, where a political firestorm is building a month after the Supreme Court order defined the Aravallis,
03:34a mountain range in one of the country's most eco-sensitive regions that cuts across four states,
03:42Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
03:45The opposition claims that the SC order is likely to be used by the Narendra Modi government to indiscriminately grant mining licenses to favored industrialists that will impact the eco-sensitive zone.
03:59The government today hit back, claimed a targeted misinformation campaign is being run.
04:05And the Environment Minister, Bhupendra Yadav, said that mining will be possible only in 0.19% of the total forested area.
04:14An India Today ground report though tonight shows that the hills are already being hollowed out by mining.
04:20This is our exclusive report at the top of the news today.
04:29Aravallis is the range of mountains that stretches from Delhi to Gujarat.
04:34Spanning 37 districts is at the centre of a national debate on ecology and conservation.
04:40An agitation by civil society and opposition parties is taking shape in the affected states,
04:57including Rajasthan and Haryana,
05:00against a recent Supreme Court verdict that defined the Aravallis ranges
05:04based on recommendations by a committee appointed by the court.
05:08The Supreme Court has defined an Aravallis hill as any landform located in the Aravallis districts
05:19having an elevation of 100 metres or more from the local relief.
05:24And the Aravallis range as two or more Aravallis hills
05:27located within the proximity of 500 metres from each other.
05:31The court ordered the Environment Ministry to prepare a management plan
05:36for sustainable mining or MPSM in Aravallis,
05:40like one already done for Saranda in Jharkhand.
05:44The court ruled that no new mining licence should be granted
05:47till the management plan is ready,
05:50but refused to ban existing mining leases.
05:55Activists have questioned the definition of Aravalli hills.
05:59They claim hills below height of 100 metres would be opened up for mining in future.
06:08And Aravalli hills and ranges would lose continuity and integrity.
06:13They point out that according to a Forest Survey of India assessment,
06:17out of the 12,081 mapped hills,
06:19only 1,048 or just 8.7 per cent meet this threshold of 100 metres.
06:29The Narendra Modi government defends the definition
06:33and claims mining is allowed in only 0.19 per cent of the Aravallis.
06:41An India Today ground reality check reveals
06:43the protection promised to Aravallis often remains on paper.
06:47At Kairani near Alwar,
06:51hills are being hollowed out.
06:53Workers at the site evaded questions on licence.
07:10While forest areas are barred from mining,
07:13this is what our reporter found.
07:18Kairani near Alwar
07:23We'll see you next time.
07:53We'll see you next time.
08:23We'll see you next time.
08:53We'll see you next time.
08:56The government is rejecting the charges, claiming a misinformation campaign is on.
09:00Listen in now to Bhupendra Yadav, Environment Minister and Sachin Pilot of the Congress.
09:05This is a monumental mistake that the government of India and the state government are doing.
09:10I think the Aravalis are a heritage of this country.
09:14It is protecting the environment, the crops, the wildlife and giving a cover to the entire northern belt.
09:20The courts also have to be told facts.
09:21Courts depend on reports of the governments.
09:24If the governments are happy to allow the Aravalis to be destroyed, we will oppose it.
09:27I would like to say this.
09:29Thank you very much.
09:59Thank you very much.
10:29Let's turn to our guests at this moment.
10:33I'm joined by special guests.
10:35Chetan Agarwal is founder of the Climate Spring Innovation, Integrity and Transparency.
10:43He's tracked the Aravlis for years.
10:45MD Sinha is former Principal Secretary Government of Haryana.
10:48He's looked at environment.
10:50Sangeeta Nair is core member of the Aravli Bachao Citizens Movement.
10:53We also hope to be joined by Rajendra Singh, Max SA Award winner and described as the waterman of India.
11:00I want to come to you though, Chetan, first because the minister today is saying that there is fear mongering going on.
11:06He claims that this 100 meter rule A is only as of now going to be subject to further discussion with the forests and geological departments.
11:19It's not cut in stone.
11:20Plus, 100 meters is from the very bottom of the landforms and therefore mining will only take place in a fraction of the entire Aravlis.
11:29How do you respond?
11:30Is Bhupendra Yadav being economical with the truth?
11:33Or do you believe that activists like yourself are fear mongering as he claims?
11:43You're on mute.
11:44You're on mute, Mr. Agarwal.
11:47Yeah, just to clarify, I'm an independent forest policy analyst.
11:51So I'm not with that whatever firm was mentioned.
11:54Yeah, so Mr. Yadav is correct when he says that earlier only the top of hills which were more than 100 meters were kept in the Aravli as per the mining department of Rajasthan.
12:08And with this, what the committee has proposed has gone slightly, they have gone one step further.
12:14And they have said that if a hill is more than 100 meters, then the entire slope of the hill, the part above 100 meters as well as the part below 100 meters will be called Aravli.
12:25What he has not talked about and which the report has also not talked about is what happens to the hills which are below 100 meters in height.
12:34So those will lose the tag of legal Aravli.
12:38So currently, the both the parts…
12:41And what percentage of the total area you believe would be below 100 meters?
12:47So there was a report in the press two weeks ago in the Indian Express.
12:52So data from the Forest Survey of India was shared in the press.
12:56And according to that data, they are in 15 districts of Rajasthan, which the Forest Survey of India surveyed on the directions of the Supreme Court.
13:05They found 1,18,000 hills.
13:09They have identified individual hills of 1,18,000, of which only about 1,048 hills are above 100 meters.
13:17So even if those entire hills are protected, that's only about 1,000-odd hills.
13:23And there are 1,17,000 hills which are below 100 meters as per the FSI and their mapping.
13:30So that means 99…
13:31So you're saying even…
13:32So you're saying actually 99% of the hills could be below 100 meters, am I correct?
13:39Not could be.
13:40This is the FSI has done this mapping for over 10 years and come up with this data.
13:44So this data was not shared by the MOEF committee with the Supreme Court for some strange reason.
13:51So they have claimed that their definition will include more Aravli area.
13:57But the data which in terms of number of hills, it's just 1% of the hills.
14:02You're telling me something significant.
14:04You're saying the expert committee appointed through the Supreme Court did not share this data with the Supreme Court?
14:12Yes, they just made a bold assertion in the court that the 100-meter definition will include more Aravli areas than the Forest Survey of India's three-degree slope definition.
14:26Okay.
14:28Sangeeta Nair, you're a member of the Aravli Bachao Citizens Movement.
14:33You've heard what the minister has said today.
14:35He seems to suggest this is fear-mongering.
14:37He's assuring only 0.19% will come under mining.
14:42Why is it?
14:43Do you trust the government or not?
14:45Sir, it's not a question of trusting the government.
14:48It is trusting the facts that they are telling us.
14:51Like Chetan has said, that is exactly what it is.
14:54I am not talking for any government.
14:55I'm not going to be blaming anybody.
14:57Because this is not today's event.
14:58This has been going on for years.
15:00We have been fighting cases for Aravli for years, trying to protect it from different challenges.
15:06So, right now, what he said that almost 99.9% will be open to mining or to deforestation and to desertification of the North Area.
15:16So, you can understand what are the challenges we are going to face if this thing comes to force.
15:20So, in your view, your experience of being part of the movement is that you fear the worst, right?
15:28You fear that there will be rampant mining and rampant construction will be taking place across the Aravlis.
15:35Am I correct?
15:36Rajdeep, will be is not the question.
15:38It is already happening.
15:39And this is going to open more doors.
15:42You know, let me just play those visuals again.
15:45Mr. MD Sina, you are a former Principal Secretary Government of Arianna.
15:48Just play the visuals of our reporter who went to the ground.
15:52And you are seeing mining taking place in Alwar even now, even before the Supreme Court order has come out,
16:00which clearly shows that there is a complete blatant disregard for even established environment rules.
16:07And as was just pointed out by Sangeeta, this has not happened today.
16:11This has been going on for years.
16:13The Supreme Court, according to Mr. Agarwal, has not been told the truth about what the actual findings were about how many hills are below 100 meters.
16:22He says 99% of the hills that are there are below 100 meters and therefore could come under, could be allowed for possible mining or construction.
16:33Is the government aware of what is happening or is the government lying to the people of this country?
16:40See, this is not the first time that there have been attempts to change the definition.
16:45There have been many attempts and many, many esoteric definitions have been sought to be sold.
16:52There was one definition propounded that said that the Aravlis are not mentioned in the revenue record, so they don't exist.
16:59There was another definition that was propounded that said that any hills below, which is not 500 million years older, it will not be Aravli.
17:08And this is the third one.
17:09So, since I have been in the field in the Aravli regions for almost 30 years now, so I have seen a lot of times, I have seen officers being charge-cheated, I have seen ACIs being spoiled, I have seen officers nearly being arrested and all.
17:24The lobby, the mining lobby and the reality lobby is so powerful that they would continue the definitional issue till a definition that suits them comes.
17:36And this is, Mr. Sina, across the states, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Gujarat, in all these states you are saying the mining and reality lobby is trying...
17:47Money is the most apolitical of things.
17:51It cuts across all political things.
17:56In 2010, the Supreme Court itself did not agree to the 100-meter criteria submitted by the Rajasthan government
18:04and directed the FSI to do a study without taking into consideration the 100-meters criteria.
18:11The FSI did a study on behalf of the ministry and submitted it to the court.
18:17For 15 years, that was not followed because that criteria did not suit.
18:24In fact, if you really talk about it, what is the need to define the Aravlis?
18:29It's a geological structure which has been present before the advent of man.
18:33Have we defined any geological structure in India for mining purposes?
18:37Are we going to define the Himalayas, the Ganga, the Yamuna tomorrow?
18:42If the Shivaliks are below a certain height, are they not going to be Shivaliks?
18:46So this is just obfuscation and a smokescreen to allow, to remove the policy framework for protection of the Aravlis.
18:54No, but should the court have not seen through it?
18:58Has the Supreme Court also failed us that the Supreme Court did not see through this?
19:02It is quite amazing that since I have been following the Supreme Court's order since 2002,
19:10the Aravli orders, the whole series of Aravli orders in the MC Mehta cases.
19:13And this is the first time that the court has completely gone by an assertion made by the learned ASG in court,
19:22which categorically stated that the 100 meter criteria will include more areas than any other criteria.
19:30So that's a lie?
19:31You are telling me the ASG of the country has lied to the Supreme Court?
19:35The report of the committee also does not give any data like this.
19:41So the statement was a very suo-moto kind of a statement in the court.
19:47Right.
19:47A lot backed by data.
19:49And in a way, having worked, see, I have no political affiliations.
19:54I am not a politician.
19:55So the entire issue can be settled in one minute if the Ministry of Environment just directs the FSI to release the data
20:06regarding the height of the hills vis-a-vis the two criteria.
20:10And the area of the hills, why the two criteria?
20:12I believe the FSI has already done a study, but the officers have been prevented from releasing that study.
20:19For some instance, if suddenly in government files, the data gets lost, the AFSI has enough wherewithal to reproduce this within two, three days.
20:32So let's talk about data.
20:34Let's not talk about...
20:35Yeah, you're making up very...
20:37You know, clearly this is absolutely shocking what you're telling us.
20:40Rajendra Singh, waterman of India, you are a Max-Asi Award winner.
20:44You are saying that you are saying that Rajasthan is particularly important, but this is Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat,
20:50that this is the protected biodiversity area, which is trying to finish the area of the area.
20:56And that's why the water will increase the issue of the water.
21:00You want to tell us what is happening?
21:02What you're saying is that you will finish the area of the area?
21:05Or the minister is saying that you are trying to scare people to people?
21:09This is not the truth.
21:10See, in 1988, I was in the Supreme Court.
21:20in 2021 when Supreme Court has held the 478 of the area in the Sarska
21:29in 200 square kilometers of the jungle.
21:33We had the 50th century and had the justice of the area.
21:40He said that this area is our origin.
21:44It is the world's most dangerous.
21:47If we will not save it, then what will we save it?
21:50So, the Ministry of Environment has the notification of the 7th May 1902 to protect the entire area.
22:00First of all, the 4488 was closed.
22:04Then, the Alwar and Gurgawa were closed.
22:08Then, the 2nd October to 22nd November,
22:14I was in the entire area of 700 people with Himmatt Nagar, Gujarat, from Delhi to the parliament.
22:23The people in the Sivaraj Party had said that they were doing their job.
22:28They were going to close the area of the area of the country.
22:31One time, in 1993, all of them were closed.
22:37My saying is that we can see that it was the Supreme Court
22:43that had been closed.
22:48Now, what happened to the Supreme Court
22:52where the definition of the Supreme Court has come from?
22:55I don't understand.
22:57The Supreme Court has the details.
23:00It's okay to listen to the details.
23:04The Supreme Court has been closed.
23:05The Supreme Court has been closed.
23:06The Supreme Court has a long term.
23:09It's very clear.
23:11foreign
23:21foreign
23:29foreign
23:39The same Supreme Court, let me just tell our viewer, the same Supreme Court which in 92-93 ensured that the mining was stopped in the Aravalis, has now opened the door.
24:02We don't have a Supreme Court judge on the panel, but we have people who have been tracking this story for years.
24:07Chetan Agarwal, you know, the more you hear these stories, Rajendra Singh has tracked this for 30 years, you've tracked it for years.
24:15It almost seems as if the Supreme Court today is opening up the Aravalis.
24:20The government is turning around and saying we will only follow what the Supreme Court is saying.
24:25So the Supreme Court also will have to start giving an explanation as to what has changed between 93 and 2025.
24:32Yeah, so the government is saying we will follow what the Supreme Court is saying and the Supreme Court has said that we will follow whatever the government is saying.
24:41So who is speaking for the environment here?
24:44The Environment Ministry is speaking for the Mining Department and maybe the Town and Country Planning Department which gives the licenses.
24:50So basically, the environment and the Aravalis were unrepresented in the court in this matter.
24:57The hills which were over 100 meters were kind of represented by the MOF, but the hills which were below 100 meters, which is the vast section of the Aravalis, were orphaned in a way.
25:09There was no one to speak for them in the court.
25:12But certainly not the MOF or its committee.
25:16In fact, I joined as a young probationer in Faridabad in 1991.
25:25So I have gone through what Rajinder Singhji mentioned, leading to the 92 notification banning mining in Faridabad and Alwar because of the water issue.
25:37And the 92 notification very well lays down the Aravali landforms.
25:43Gair Mumkin Pahaar...
25:44No, so, so, what is...
25:45But, you know, but are we saying this is therefore a...
25:49What I am saying...
25:50That somewhere, somewhere the government bureaucrats, the courts...
25:54Just, just, just, let me finish, Radheep.
25:55Yeah, go ahead.
25:56The Aravali notification of the ministry itself very clearly lays down all the Aravali landforms.
26:03The Gair Mumkin Pahaar classification is entered in all revenue records across these three states and has been working for the last four hundred years.
26:15There was no need for any definition.
26:18It is...
26:19It...
26:19Every...
26:20The committee itself in its report says that there is complete conventional understanding what constitutes the Aravalis in all these states.
26:28There was no need for a definition.
26:30The definition will only lead to mischief.
26:34Can I, can I just for a moment tell our viewers, I want you to see the numbers I am about to put on your screen.
26:40This is what is happening in the country.
26:43Diversion of forest land in the last ten years.
26:47Please take a look at these numbers.
26:482014 to 15 to 23, 24.
26:51Over 1.73 lakh hectares diverted for non-forestry purposes in ten years.
26:5640,096 hectares diverted for mining and quarrying.
27:0240,000 hectares diverted for hydropower, energy and irrigation.
27:0530,000 hectares diverted for road projects.
27:08This is government's reply to the Lok Sabha.
27:10But that's not all.
27:11Just in terms of mining activity.
27:13Just take a look at how much of land is being diverted for mining alone.
27:18And the numbers are staggering.
27:20I am playing them on your screen.
27:21Year after year, they've gone up.
27:23And they show that you've got non-forestry purposes.
27:28Many would say that's part of the new development paradigm.
27:31And that's the argument, of course, many will make.
27:34That this development, we're doing it.
27:37Sangeetha Nair, how will you respond to those who will say that, look, government needs to build roads.
27:42You need to, this is part of our connectivity.
27:45And therefore, we need to change definitions.
27:48So, first and foremost, yes, development.
27:53But at what cost?
27:55Are you going to destroy something to do a development?
27:58Secondly, the existing roads, are they maintained?
28:02Are they functioning properly?
28:04Is the traffic moving properly?
28:06Are we having last mile connectivity?
28:08We are not doing any of that.
28:10Then why are we adding to the load, making more roads, going into, you're not decongesting the cities?
28:16So, there are so many other issues which you can look at at the moment.
28:20Rather than reducing the green cover, which is already so low.
28:25Sir, I mean, if you know what is the green cover of Haryana, you'll be shocked.
28:31The standard forest cover that we need to have is, I think, anything between at least anybody logically would say 20% to 30%.
28:38But, right, Haryana had a green cover of 3.6%.
28:43But, and also now that the reports.
28:46Yes, that's exactly what I was going to say, Mr. Sena.
28:48Actual cover is 2%.
28:49Now, with all this deforestation that has happened, we have gone, we were already in a critical level.
28:56At this point of time, at 2%, you can imagine, we are literally gasping for breath.
29:00Actually, the death mill is this Aravali.
29:04If anything happens to that moment, we are in for a big, big problem.
29:08Rajinder Singh, what do you say?
29:10They say that this is going on because of the work.
29:12Because of the work, these projects are being made.
29:15That you can't stop the work.
29:17It's not the work.
29:18It's the work.
29:19It's the work.
29:19It's the work.
29:49It's the work.
30:19And India's first great eco-warrior, I can tell you, was someone called Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
30:41There was no bigger eco-warrior than what Gandhi was.
30:45And he didn't need to do it by going to a temple.
30:48And I think God resides in nature.
30:50But I appreciate my guest joining us.
30:52I'm glad that there are some wake-up calls that have been given by all four of you.
30:56I hope Supreme Court judges are listening to what you're saying.
30:59Because clearly the judges need to now ask for data.
31:03It's not enough to have reports.
31:05You need hard data before you make definitions.
31:08Thank you all very much for joining me here at the moment.
31:11The concerns over the Aravlis are only the latest wake-up call for India's growing insensitivity to environment concerns.
31:21Or at least the government of India's growing insensitivity.
31:24Fact is, the destruction of forests, the encroachments in coastal areas, the pollution of our rivers, mining and construction in eco-sensitive zones has carried on over a considerable period now.
31:36Sustainable development is a mantra in climate change conferences.
31:41On the ground, there is a growing disregard for environmental rules.
31:45This can have frightening consequences.
31:47As we have seen in recent times with the devastation in hill states like Himachal and Uttarakhand.
31:53The fire in a Goa nightclub that was built on a saltpan land.
31:57The horrific landslides in Vyanard last year.
32:00I don't know how many more wake-up calls it will take for governments to realize the cost of this environmental degradation.
32:07Maybe there are no votes to be garnered in raising environment issues.
32:11As they are in appealing to caste or religious identity.
32:15Jati or dharm par aap vote le lete ho.
32:17Or giving cash handouts.
32:19But don't forget this.
32:21You destroy nature, it will find a way to strike back.
32:25And no religious fervor or temples being built will protect those who choose to put greed above greenery.
32:33Let me repeat that.
32:34No religious fervor will protect those who choose to put greed above greenery.
32:42Okay, let me turn to another big story today.
32:46Because what we are now learning is visa services have been stopped between New Delhi and Bangladesh in Delhi and Agartala.
32:54Because the Bangladesh High Commission cites security concerns.
32:58But all of this can't take away from what is going inside Bangladesh.
33:03Remember, there has been violence there, lynching of a Hindu man.
33:07Now another youth leader, Mottalib Sikdar of the National Citizens Party has been shot in the head.
33:14The second such case in the last few days.
33:18Bangladesh remains tense.
33:20Even as the former Hasina government is targeting the interim government of Muhammad Yunus for their failure to protect minorities.
33:30Take a look at a ground report from our correspondent Ashutosh in Dhaka.
33:35Bangladesh is on the edge of anarchy, ahead of upcoming elections in February.
33:48After Osman Hadi's killing that unleashed a wave of violence last week,
33:53now another youth leader, Mottalib Sikdar of the National Citizens Party is shot in the head.
33:59Mottalib Sikdar, who had taken part in protests that led to Sheikh Hasina's ouster,
34:11is critical and undergoing treatment in the hospital.
34:15The attempt on Sikdar's life comes even as the country grapples with violence by Islamist extremists.
34:22Mottalib Sikdar, who targeted an Indian mission in Chittagong, media outlets, cultural centre in Dhaka
34:28and lynched a Hindu man in Meemansingh.
34:37On Monday, several Hindu organisations held protest against the lynching of Deepu Das.
34:44India Today's reporters visited Meemansingh,
34:47where Deepu Das was dragged from his workplace and beaten to death by a mob.
34:53I'm in the Meemansingh area.
34:55I remember the Meemansingh where exactly Deepu Das was lynched by the mob.
34:59He was burned in a square at a public place.
35:02Ten people have been arrested, including the floor manager of his company.
35:06So Meemansingh looks like mostly the industrial area.
35:08He was dragged out from this gate.
35:09Eventually, we have seen those vehicles.
35:11The mob was coming in a huge number.
35:13But he was dragged out of this gate and they took him, the beating up to death.
35:17And they took him nearby to the chalk where he was burned.
35:20The incident that shocked the whole world.
35:23So this is the tree in Meemansingh.
35:26Where he was brought up Deepu Das.
35:28And here he was burned.
35:29This tree was burned up to Deepu Das.
35:31The trees were burned down.
35:33The trees were cleaned down.
35:35A little bit earlier, there is a police in Dhaka.
35:38And with this, the Okula Police, the Oluka Police,
35:40So his detective branch came to the investigation.
35:44Deepu's family is demanding capital punishment for the accused.
35:48As Bangladesh Chief Economic Advisor, Mohammed Yunus, struggles to keep his house in order,
36:12former PM Sheikh Hasina has hit out at the regime.
36:15Hasina, who has taken shelter in India,
36:19has criticised the Yunus government over its failure to control the violence and protect minorities.
36:26Hasina claimed that Yunus was powerless to stop the attacks on diplomatic missions.
36:31She accused Yunus government of giving immunity to hooligans.
36:35As the situation in Bangladesh remains tense, India is keeping a watch on every development in its backyard.
36:45Euro Report, India Today.
36:47Troubling scenes there from Bangladesh.
36:53Let's turn from there to another row that continues to build.
36:56Because days after Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar allegedly tried to lift the hijab of Ayush doctor,
37:03Dr. Nusrat Parveen, during a public event.
37:05The young woman has still not joined duty at Patna's Sabalpur Primary Health Centre.
37:11While 63 other doctors have reported, her absence is under the spotlight with even the Jarkhan government now stepping in and offering her a job.
37:21The Congress is slamming Nitish Kumar for insensitivity, calling it a threat to women's dignity.
37:26While BJP leaders have defended his action, insisting that Indian law was followed.
37:32Take a look at just why a hijab has become such a contentious issue in Bihar.
37:39Nusrat Parveen
37:40Days after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar tried to lift hijab of Nusrat Parveen at a public event to give appointment letters,
37:49the Ayush doctor has still not joined duty at the Sabalpur Primary Health Centre in Patna, Sadar.
37:56Officials confirm that 63 doctors have already reported for work, making Dr. Nusrat Parveen's absence stand out.
38:05The state government is giving the doctor more time to join duty.
38:08The controversy has sparked a political storm.
38:34Congress leader Pawan Kheda lashed out at Nitish Kumar for the insensitivity.
38:39The BJP, on the other hand, has strongly defended Nitish's actions.
39:07The UPA government in Jharkhand is offering Dr. Nusrat a job there.
39:32Dr. Nusrat Parveen
40:02Nusrat Parveen and her family have maintained silence on the incident.
40:06The hijab rao has reopened a wider debate on women's dignity and safety in society.
40:11Bureau Report, India Today.
40:15And joining me now on the Nitish Kumar hijab controversy is someone who's always spoken his mind fearlessly.
40:22Javed Akhtar now joins me.
40:24Appreciate your joining us, Javed Saab.
40:26You've come out very strongly against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar pulling down the hijab of a Muslim woman,
40:33Dr. Nusrat Parveen, in public during her appointment letter ceremony as a doctor there.
40:40Why are you so angry with Nitish Kumar?
40:43Do you believe he has committed an act which is a personal violation?
40:49Or are you making a broader political statement?
40:54Well, I don't need to make any broader political statement.
40:59It was an indecent act.
41:01It is beyond any doubt for many years.
41:04And on this issue, my effigies have also been burnt exactly on this issue by some conservative Muslims in Lucknow,
41:14perhaps 15 years or 17 years back.
41:19Because your effigy was burnt because you've opposed hijab.
41:24You've opposed hijab, the practice of hijab.
41:26Very right.
41:27Any kind of further.
41:29This is wrong.
41:30But it doesn't mean that you can take this car.
41:33Maybe I'm an atheist.
41:34I don't believe in religion.
41:36It means I should go and pull people out of temples and mosques and church.
41:43Should I do that?
41:44Or should anybody do it?
41:46You can oppose it.
41:48You can give your reason why.
41:51And you should try your best to see to it that people think your way and understand what you intend.
42:01But you cannot do this.
42:02And particularly with a woman, it's not a Muslim woman, it's a woman.
42:05There are certain pockets in India where women have long ghungats, which is as bad as hijab.
42:28Perhaps worse because you can't even have free eyes.
42:31So you'll go and pull that ghungat.
42:35How can you do that?
42:36How can anybody do it?
42:39It is indecent.
42:40It is not cultured.
42:42It is coming from a male shamanistic, powerful, I am the monarch of all I survey attitude.
42:50Not acceptable.
42:51Sorry.
42:52You know, how do you then respond to someone like the BJP minister and the Modi government, Giriraj Singh, saying,
42:59if someone is going to collect an appointment letter, should they not show their face?
43:03Is this some Islamic country?
43:05Nitish Kumar has acted as a guardian, is what Giriraj Singh said after this entire controversy broke out.
43:14I must tell you one thing.
43:16Actually, I appreciate Giriraj Singh, not for this particular statement, but for his very being.
43:24Because, you know, he's unadulterated.
43:27He's honest.
43:29He says what many people of his group means.
43:33But they are diplomatic, how much they should say and how much they should write.
43:36He pours out that righteous belief and philosophy and ideology in total purity.
43:47I mean, whatever you may say.
43:50But you have to respect his innocence as his honesty.
43:54This is what most of the people of his kind think.
43:59This is it.
44:00But he is the only honest or innocent person who says everything which most of them believe.
44:08So, we should listen to Giriraj Singh very carefully.
44:12Because that is the belief.
44:14That is the ideology they are following.
44:16Which, unadulterated, comes out from Giriraj Singh.
44:23I like him.
44:24I like him for that.
44:26He keeps us informed.
44:27You know, your tongue is firmly in your cheek when you say that.
44:31But the fact, Javed Akhtar Saab, is that for a long time, Nitish Kumar has positioned himself as a secular politician.
44:41He even once famously said,
44:43Do you see this as Nitish Kumar in a way?
44:52Is there a sense of disappointment that you and others who perhaps saw Nitish Kumar as a secular alternative in this country a decade ago feel today?
45:02I think you are asking the wrong person.
45:06I didn't see him at all.
45:07Whether secular person or communal person, he doesn't matter to me.
45:12But he had drawn my attention by doing this.
45:16That's all.
45:17So, I thought, what is his value?
45:19Who is he?
45:20Maybe he is the minister of one of the states.
45:22So, so what?
45:24How did he affect my life?
45:26The worry is, of course, that there will be Nusrat Parveen, the doctor, has not even joined her work.
45:33And there could be pressure from within the Muslim community also on her.
45:36She becomes caught in this political tangle in a ways.
45:40A woman who has, a well-educated woman, suddenly finds herself caught in this political crossfire.
45:47What happens to her?
45:49Which crossfire?
45:50What is the crossfire?
45:54Now, the crossfire is the kind of responses that are coming to what happened that day.
46:02She obviously…
46:03I want to know, any decent person who has certain respect for women's dignity,
46:10whether this man is a Jew or a Parse or a Hindu or a Buddhist or whoever he is,
46:17what will be his reaction?
46:19If he is a decent person.
46:22So, it is not an issue of Hindu and Muslim.
46:26So, the crossfire that you are suggesting is a misnomer.
46:31If this would have been the crossfire between two fundamentals, I wouldn't have been there.
46:37Because I dislike both of them equally.
46:40And both of them dislike me equally.
46:43But this is a matter of decency.
46:45Principle, dignity of a woman.
46:48You give her a long lecture at the right moment, right time, that this is not right.
46:54Why do you do it?
46:55I have done it many times.
46:56It is pathetic.
46:57I must tell you, sir, that four girls whose only eyes are shown, their face is totally covered.
47:10They come to me and they say, can we have a good photo with you?
47:13And I didn't know whether I should laugh or cry.
47:19But how could I say no?
47:21So, I stood between these two on this side, the two on that side, with slit that showed their eyes.
47:28And they got photographed with me.
47:31It is pathetic.
47:32Pathetic.
47:32But if anybody would have come and pulled the naqaap or hijab from their faces, I wouldn't have liked it.
47:42Now, I'm just wondering whether this all underscores somewhere a failure in educating people in public life of the importance of respect for diverse traditions and the respect for individual dignity.
47:57Now, somewhere, somewhere, somewhere that seems to be lost today.
48:01Respect for them.
48:04They don't, in their heart of hearts, they don't respect women.
48:10They may pretend for their political expediency.
48:15Actually, they don't respect women.
48:19And then, somewhere, yes, it is also true that Nitish,
48:25somewhere knew that he'll get away with it.
48:31Nitish, if he had gone to some pockets of India, women have a long gungat.
48:37Do you think you would dare to put a gungat up?
48:41You would have dared to do that?
48:45So, yes, woman, minority, they are two big handicaps.
48:50But I am fighting for that woman's dignity.
48:53And I say, it is wrong.
48:56I believe naqab is wrong.
48:58I believe hijab is wrong.
49:00I believe perda is wrong.
49:02But this act is wrong.
49:04I don't believe in religion.
49:06So, can I put somebody while he's praying?
49:09I mean, if it is wrong, if it is wrong, it is very difficult.
49:15I have done a lot of prayers for this.
49:18But I can't put somebody out there, you pray.
49:22That's not done.
49:23So, you are making an important distinction.
49:27You are saying, do not treat this as an issue of religion.
49:30Treat it as an issue of an individual's rights and dignity.
49:34And that's why Javed Akhtar is wrong.
49:37So, if it is religion of an issue, then I don't have to be in this.
49:42I don't have to be interested in it.
49:44This is humanity's dignity, women's dignity, and their rights.
49:50So, should Nitish Kumar apologize to this girl?
49:54Should he give her a public apology?
49:57If there is an iota of decency in Nitish Kumar, which I suspect, he should apologize.
50:03He has misbehaved with a woman.
50:08Okay.
50:08Those are very strong words.
50:10I hope Nitish Kumar will be...
50:11No, no, they are not strong words.
50:12You asked me whether he should apologize.
50:13They are appropriate words.
50:14Okay, let me...
50:15So, why is that strong word?
50:16Bilkul, they are appropriate words.
50:18I hope Nitish Kumar listens to you, Javed Saab.
50:21And I hope, at the very least, he gives a public apology.
50:25But I thank you for joining me here on the show today.
50:28Thank you so much.
50:32Loud and clear from Javed Akhtar.
50:35If Nitish Kumar has an iota of self-respect, he will apologize to Nusrat Parveen.
50:42Can we expect a politician to apologize to a young woman?
50:47Think about it.
50:51Let's turn to a story that's coming in from Kerala.
50:53A shocking incident of mob lynching.
50:55Gruesome crime has come to light where a mob can be seen assaulting a Dalit laborer, Ram Narayanan,
51:01from Chhattisgarh, after accusing him of theft in Kerala's Palaka district,
51:06even branding him as a Bangladeshi.
51:09An unfortunate term used in that context.
51:13The chief minister has got into the act, but clearly, this is Kerala's moment of shame.
51:18Take a look at Get Real India.
51:20He's asked where he hails from.
51:34He's repeatedly asked, are you Bangladeshi?
51:49And when he says yes, the mob begin their ruthless assault.
51:54A migrant laborer from Chhattisgarh was beaten to death in Kerala's Palakad as locals suspected
52:08he was a Bangladeshi infiltrator.
52:10Five people have been arrested and charged for murder.
52:28One murder case has been registered and five persons have been arrested.
52:32Five of the main accused have been arrested and remanded.
52:35As per our investigation, we are still trying to collect a lot of evidence.
52:40So we think that there is involvement of more number of accused
52:45and accordingly legal action will be taken against them.
52:49Kerala chief minister Pinaray Vijayan has also condemned the lynching
52:53and has assured that strict action will be taken.
52:57The Kerala chief minister also said that such acts tarnish the reputation of Kerala.
53:02The CPIM has blamed the Arsas for spreading hate in Kerala.
53:07The family of the migrant laborer who was killed in the mob attack
53:34has refused to receive his mortal remakes until all the culprits are nabbed and punished.
53:39This mind-numbing lynching has rocked Kerala
54:09a political showdown on who is responsible for the hate attack.
54:16Biora Report, India Today.
54:18I want to leave you though with an image of the day which is just as shocking
54:29because outrage is growing in Odisha after 18 young athletes
54:35were forced to travel in inhuman conditions to the National School Wrestling Championship in Uttar Pradesh.
54:40They didn't have confirmed tickets, no basic arrangements were made
54:44and the 10 boys and 8 girls were made to sit next to train toilets in freezing winter cold.
54:49Their return journey was just as appalling.
54:51No tickets, no guardian, no safety.
54:54Videos have gone viral triggering political reactions, public anger.
54:58Odisha has positioned itself as a state which is committed to sport.
55:03But how do you create future champions when basic dignity is often denied to them?
55:09Think about that.
55:11I want to leave you there.
55:13We bring you stories that we believe need to be told.
55:17Thanks for watching.
55:19Stay well, stay safe.
55:20Good night.
55:21Shubhraatri.
55:22Jai Hind.
55:22Namaskar.
55:29Namaskar.
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