The ‘MoMo Challenge’ is a creepy, bugged-eyed woman offers children instructions on how to take their own lives. The horrifying video has been infiltrating popular children sites like YouTube Kids.
The world is a scary place especially for our children and lately, it seems to be even scarier.
As a parent, you need to know about the ‘MoMo Challenge’ which encourages child suicide because you simply need to know what to watch for to protect your kids.
I am sure your heart just sank, because when I woke up and saw this news, mine sure did.
What Parents need to know about the MOMO suicide challenge
When I first saw these articles circulating on Facebook, I asked myself, “is this real”? As did many other parents.
Truthfully, I didn’t want it to be true. I didn’t want to believe that yet another horrific challenge was making it’s way into children’s shows.
Some parents are quick to say it’s a hoax while many others are expressing their concerns and sharing their own experiences with the scary figure:
From what I’ve seen and read, it’s NOT a hoax.
But, even if it turned out not to be real, we should still be treating it as if it is because why risk it? We should be monitoring what our kids watch and this is just a very scary reminder of that.
What exactly is the MoMo Challenge?
The ‘MoMo Challenge’ is a creepy, bugged-eyed woman offers children instructions on how to take their own lives. The horrifying video has been infiltrating popular children sites like YouTube Kids.
One Utah mom named Sara Markham claims that her son Tanner came across the video and started having nightmares.
“My son, when we would put him to bed he would be scared and he would be like what about MoMo?” Markham said.
Markham and her husband brought their son to a therapist at at local hospital, in part to help cope with his ADHD, and that’s when the therapist noticed Tanner’s fear.
“Momo came up and then the therapist was asking more about it. And he actually got my phone and said, ‘okay, Google. Show me MoMo,’” Markham said.
Markham learned her son saw the disturbing character at a friend’s house and had been haunted by it ever since and with good reason.
This is not only a terrifying and creepy image, but the message is awful and scary.
The best thing you can do is talk to your kids. Find out what they are watching, what they have seen, and inform them about this.
Monitor their online activity and if you feel like you need to, take away their access to the internet.
Note: if you want to search for this, open up an incognito window to do it so it doesn’t go there on your YouTube account.
The National Online Safety published a guide to help parents talk to their kids about this sort of thing. You can check that out below.
After Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan declared to release the captured Indian Air Force Pilot, Abhinandan Varthaman, Indian journalists, columnists, and other notable figures appreciated the gesture through their tweets.
Sudheendra Kulkarni who is a socio-political activist and columnist, and the author of ‘MUSIC OF THE SPINNING WHEEL: Mahatma Gandhi’s Manifesto for the Internet Age’ tweeted.
"We Indians should give credit where credit is due. #Pakistan PM @ImranKhanPTI deserves our appreciation for quick return of Wing Cdr #Abhinandhan. His is indeed a gesture of #Peace.
— Sudheendra Kulkarni (@SudheenKulkarni) March 1, 2019
Famous Indian journalist Rajdeep Sardesai tweeted.
We in India may not like this, but in terms of pure optics, @ImranKhanPTI at the moment is winning the day by taking the moral high ground .. we have a strong case on terror but too many of our leaders busy calculating votes at the moment..
NDTV’s journalist Barkha Dutt who has about 6.86 Million followers on Twitter tweeted.
I think we should welcome this gesture from @ImranKhanPTI on the release of #Abhinandan. The door for deescalation has been opened. And this is really not the time for dumb and needless gloating by tv anchors
Journalist Sagarika Ghose who authored, “Indira, India’s Most Powerful PM” and “Why I Am A Liberal” tweeted.
With apologies & respect to Modiji, but today he has been outdone and outshone in diplomacy, war strategy and public outreach by a swashbuckling cricket captain @ImranKhanPTI
Awardee of Ramnath Goenka Award 2010, Smita Sharma who is Deputy Editor of The Tribune tweeted.
Amid all the surround sound and claims of victory by chest thumping scribes, just so relieved to hear that #AbhinandanVartaman will be back home tomorrow. Thank you @ImranKhanPTI .
Indian Defence Analyst and former Army Colonel Ajai Shukla tweeted that Pakistan won the perception war.
MoD briefing, to announce release of Wing Comdr Abhinandan, has been pre-empted by Imran Khan, who announced it earlier. Now MoD briefing “postponed”. Whatever happens in real battle, Pakistan has comprehensively won the perception war. At every stage, their PR was ahead of ours.
Kashmir’s former Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti tweeted and praised Imran Khan for exhibiting “real statesmanship”.
Pak PM has exhibited real statesmanship today. It is time for our political leadership to step up & take measures to de escalate the current situation. People of J&K are living under unimaginable duress. How much longer will we suffer for?
Abu Dhabi – External Minister of India, Shrimati Sushma Swaraj addressed the OIC meeting on Friday with the verse of the Holy Quran and reiterating the point that “Islam means Peace, and none of Allah’s 99 names means violence”.
Swaraj was invited for the first time by UAE for the inaugural plenary of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to represent 185 Million Indian Muslims, among all the other 57 Islamic countries.
“Terrorism and extremism bear different names and labels. It uses diverse causes. But in each case, it is driven by distortion of religion, and a misguided belief in its power to succeed. The fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion,” Swaraj said.
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, a senior minister in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet who later became President, was invited to attend the Rabat conference in 1969 and then disinvited at Pakistan’s instance after he arrived in the Moroccan capital.
Since then, India has been excluded from all OIC deliberations.
Sawaraj during her address read a verse from the Holy Koran which says ‘La Ikrah fiddeen’ — Let there be no compulsion in religion.
“Just as Islam literally means peace, none of the 99 names of Allah mean violence. Similarly, every religion in the world stands for peace, compassion and brotherhood,” she said.
“I carry the greetings of 1.3 billion Indians, including more than 185 million Muslim brothers and sisters. Our Muslims brothers and sisters are a microcosm of the diversity of India itself,” the minister said and asserted that “very few” Muslims in India have fallen prey to the poisonous propaganda of radical and extremist ideologies.
She asserted the point that she represents the land that has been a fountain of knowledge for ages, a beacon of peace, and a source of faiths and traditions.
However, during her entire 17-minute speech, she did not mention Pakistan.
“They have diverse culinary tastes, myriad choices of traditional attire, and they maintain strong cultural and linguistic heritage of the regions they loved and have lived for generations. They practice their respective beliefs and live in harmony with each other and with their non-Muslim brethren,” Swaraj added.
AS Dulat is among India’s foremost experts on India-Pakistan relations and Kashmir. Since the late 1980s, he has worked in several high-ranking government offices in Jammu and Kashmir, giving him a ringside view of its highest political circles. Dulat went on to serve as the chief of the Research and Analysis Wing and the special director of the Intelligence Bureau between 1999 and 2000, during the Kargil war. From 2000 to 2004, during the term of the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Dulat served as his advisor on Kashmir.
In a conversation with Arshu John, an assistant web editor at The Caravan, Dulat discussed the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan. On 26 February, India conducted air strikes in Balakot, in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, following a militant attack on a Central Reserve Police Force convoy, on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Pulwama. The following day, tensions escalated as the two nations engaged in an aerial confrontation, which resulted in Pakistan capturing an Indian pilot. The Pakistan government has stated the pilot will be released from custody on 1 March. “I did not expect this sort of reaction,” Dulat said, commenting on India’s air strike. He added that it could be seen in the context of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in India.
Pulwama was a terrible tragedy. The immediate government reaction was, “If this is what you are going to do, we will show you.” So I think it was inevitable that something was going to happen, and it had to be something bigger than the previous surgical strike. That is the context in which these air strikes took place. But it was equally inevitable that Pakistan would react, and they reacted immediately, the day after the air strikes.
Though I did not expect this sort of reaction to Pulwama, I am no one to comment on whether the Indian response was a correct one. But the Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s reaction to the Balakot strikes has been interesting—in particular, his offer for peace talks and willingness to discuss everything, including terrorism. Khan is signaling that Pakistan has done what it had to do after the air strikes. The message is: “We did not want to do this, but you provoked us, so we have done it.” The international community has also called for de-escalation. As a result, Khan has now grown in stature—in Pakistan and internationally.
With Narendra Modi, it remains to be seen how the air strikes will affect his perception at an international level. In India, the feeling is that he is going to gain in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as a result of the response. The elections will be in the minds of certain people—that is also why I think something was going to give this time, and also why a response to the Pulwama attack was inevitable.
AS Dulat is among India’s foremost experts on India-Pakistan relations and Kashmir. Since the late 1980s, he has worked in several high-ranking government offices in Jammu and Kashmir, giving him a ringside view of its highest political circles. Dulat went on to serve as the chief of the Research and Analysis Wing and the special director of the Intelligence Bureau between 1999 and 2000, during the Kargil war. From 2000 to 2004, during the term of the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Dulat served as his advisor on Kashmir.
In a conversation with Arshu John, an assistant web editor at The Caravan, Dulat discussed the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan. On 26 February, India conducted air strikes in Balakot, in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, following a militant attack on a Central Reserve Police Force convoy, on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Pulwama. The following day, tensions escalated as the two nations engaged in an aerial confrontation, which resulted in Pakistan capturing an Indian pilot. The Pakistan government has stated the pilot will be released from custody on 1 March. “I did not expect this sort of reaction,” Dulat said, commenting on India’s air strike. He added that it could be seen in the context of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in India.
Pulwama was a terrible tragedy. The immediate government reaction was, “If this is what you are going to do, we will show you.” So I think it was inevitable that something was going to happen, and it had to be something bigger than the previous surgical strike. That is the context in which these air strikes took place. But it was equally inevitable that Pakistan would react, and they reacted immediately, the day after the air strikes.
Though I did not expect this sort of reaction to Pulwama, I am no one to comment on whether the Indian response was a correct one. But the Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s reaction to the Balakot strikes has been interesting—in particular, his offer for peace talks and willingness to discuss everything, including terrorism. Khan is signaling that Pakistan has done what it had to do after the air strikes. The message is: “We did not want to do this, but you provoked us, so we have done it.” The international community has also called for de-escalation. As a result, Khan has now grown in stature—in Pakistan and internationally.
With Narendra Modi, it remains to be seen how the air strikes will affect his perception at an international level. In India, the feeling is that he is going to gain in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as a result of the response. The elections will be in the minds of certain people—that is also why I think something was going to give this time, and also why a response to the Pulwama attack was inevitable.
India should take up Khan’s offer for peace talks, to end this whole thing. I think what had to be done has been done. Now, diplomacy will come into play. Sooner rather than later, this has to end. But whether we talk to Pakistan or we sulk, that is a choice left to the government. In boxing you have three basic rounds, and this was round one. I think the situation has already played itself out, but you never know. There are elections ahead, so there may be a second and third round—who can say what great people think.
As far as the approaches taken by Modi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in addressing the situation in Kashmir, that is for everyone to see—there is no comparison. Vajpayee was a towering personality. It is not for nothing that he’s still revered in the valley. But look at what is happening in the valley now. There is no military solution to Kashmir. When Modi became prime minister, there was a lot of hope in the valley. But we have messed up Kashmir in the last two and a half years, since July 2016.
For the last thirty years or more, India has been in a situation with terrorism next door. There is no doubt that the factory of terrorism is in Pakistan, that is where these guys are manufactured. Pakistan itself is suffering because of that—it has more terror than any other country.
But since we live in a dangerous neighbourhood, every prime minister is tested in some form or another. It is how each prime minister responds to these tests that determines how great they are. Vajpayee was tested three or four times—he faced the Kargil war in 1999, the hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight IC 814 in the same year, and the attack on the parliament of India in 2001. He still avoided provocation. In April 2003, he told the Kashmiris, “I have held out my hand of friendship to Pakistan twice and twice I have been let down, but I am not going to give up.” In January 2004, he went to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit in Pakistan, and that is when Pervez Musharraf, the president of Pakistan at the time, assured Vajpayee that he would not allow Pakistani territory to be used for terrorism against India.
Manmohan Singh also had a huge test with the attack in Mumbai in November 2008. Modi has been comparatively lucky. Pulwama is the only big test that he has faced. Whether it was Manmohan Singh or whether it was Vajpayee, there was very little that was said. Whatever had to be done was done quietly. Modi is milking it to the extreme.
Mandya — The widow of one of the CRPF Jawans killed in the Pulwama terror attack has alleged that her in-laws are persuading her to marry her brother-in-law in order to benefit from the compensation money granted by the Karnataka Government and other NGOs.
Kalavati, the 20-year-old widow of the slain CRPF personnel H Guru, approached Mandya Police of Karnataka on Wednesday to seek help to resolve the issue. She alleged that her brother-in-law is of her age or younger to her, reported Times of India.
Guru, 33, was among the 40 CRPF personnel killed in the Pulwama terror attack, in which a Kashmiri youth radicalised by Jaish-e-Mohammed a terrorist outfit carried out a suicide mission.
Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has announced compensation of Rs 25 lakh to Guru’s family, and promised a government job for Kalavathi.
Infosys Foundation, the CSR arm of the IT giant, promised to give Rs 10 lakh to the families of all the martyrs. There have also been contributions from a number of other organisations and groups, not to mention what is due from the CRPF and the Centre.
Widow of Kannada actor-politician Ambareesh, Sumalatha has promised to give Guru’s family half of acre of land close to their village of Gudigere near Maddur.
However, Mandya Police told Times of India, they are trying to resolve the issue amicably looking at the sensitivity of the family matter. — DNA India
The US has retained its spot as the most powerful country in the world in 2019 according to an annual ranking, followed closely by some of its closet allies and traditional adversaries.
The US News and World Report rankings look at a country’s political and financial influences, as well as its international and alliances, the strength its military and how it acts as an international leader.
The rankings come as part of US News and World Report’s “2019 Best Countries” ranking in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, which surveyed more than 20,000 people on their opinions of 80 countries.
Here are the most powerful countries on earth, according to this year’s rankings.
25: Belgium
Belgium was not ranked in the world’s 80 most powerful countries in 2018, but it was ranked 25th in 2019. The small, highly developed country is one of the six EU founding nations, and hosts international organizations like NATO and the European Council.
24: Qatar
Qatar is rich in oil and gas, making it one of the world’s richest countries. Education and healthcare are free, and the country is scheduled to host the 2022 World Cup, though it has been criticized for its treatment of migrant workers.
Four of Qartar’s neigbors have put an economic embargo on Qatar and boycotted its imports since 2017 for financing and backing terrorism.
Qatar was ranked 20th in 2018, four places higher than in 2019.
23: Spain
Spain recovered from the financial crisis though its resilient export market and a European Union-funded restructuring effort, US News noted.
Spain has a large cultural influence through its achievements in arts and dance, though growing separatist movements in the Basque region and Catalonia threaten its unity.
22: Pakistan
Pakistan is one of the world’s most populous countries and has one of the world’s youngest populations, though conflicts with extremist groups and rising tensions with India over the disputed Kashmir region have hindered its development.
21: Sweden
Sweden has fallen two places in the ranking compared to 2018, when it was ranked 19th.
One of the largest countries in the EU, Sweden is a respected world leader in human rights.
“Health care, as well as a college education, are free, and its people boast one of the longest life expectancies in the world. Almost all of Sweden’s trash is recycled,” US News noted.
20: Singapore
Singapore is one of the world’s wealthiest nations, with high employment.
It faces concerns about the rising cost of living, but US News noted that, as “one of Asia’s four economic tigers, Singapore has seen impressive growth in recent years as efficient manufacturing and production practices have made way for free-market innovation in the booming electronics and pharmaceutical industries.”
It rose four places compared to the 2018 ranking.
19: Iraq
Iraq was not ranked in the world’s 80 most powerful countries in 2018, but was listed as 19th in 2019.
The World Bank notes that the country’s economy is unstable, even as it sits one of the world’s largest reserves of crude oil.
Iraq is a member of international and regional organizations like the IMF, the Arab League, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
18: Italy
Italy’s economy is one of the largest in the Eurozone, though it did slip into a recession at the end of 2018.
Italy has a large cultural influence, from its famous artists to its fashion houses.
17: India
India is the world’s largest democracy, and it plays an important role in the global technology industry.
India also has huge cultural influence. “The film industry based in Mumbai, nicknamed Bollywood, makes more feature-length films than any other nation in the world,” US News noted.
It was ranked two places lower in 2019 compared to 2018.
16: Turkey
Turkey bridges Europe and the Middle East, meaning that it has faced regional fighting, and it has faced internal challenges like a failed military coup in 2016.
But the OECD expects it to be one of its fastest growing members in the next few years. It is a founding member of the UN and the OECD, and is active in NATO.
It was ranked 14th in 2018, two places higher.
15: Australia
Australia is a wealthy nation with a high quality of life and is a member of many leading international organizations.
The country has risen one place compared to 2018. It was then ranked 16th.
14: Switzerland
Switzerland has risen three places compared to 2018, when it was ranked 17th.
Switzerland is one of the world’s wealthiest countries and has one of the highest GDPs in the world.
It is also notable for its banking sector, which privileges clients’ privacy more than many other nations.
Some of the world’s biggest international organizations, like the United Nations, have their international headquarters in Geneva.
13: Iran
According to US News, Iran “has long been of interest to global powers because of its strategic location within the Middle East and its abundant supply of oil and other natural resources.”
There have been protests in Iran since December 2017 calling for removal of the Mullah regime.
11: United Arab Emirates
The UAE has fallen one place in the rankings compared to last year.
The World Economic Forum named it the most competitive economy in the Arab world, while the CIA’s World Factbook said that its GDP per capita “is on par with those of leading western European nations” thanks to its oil reserves.
It is one of the most liberal countries in the region, and it avoided the unrest many of its neighbors faced during the Arab Spring in 2011.
10: South Korea
South Korea has entered the world’s top 10 most powerful countries, having been listed as 11th in 2018.
It is the world’s seventh-largest exporter and 11th-largest economy overall, US News noted. It is a major technology and car exporter, and is a member of many international organizations like the G20 and WTO.
9: Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is a large and wealthy country, with US News describing it as “the giant of the Middle East.”
Saudi Arabia is also the home of Mecca, to which millions of Muslims travel every year, and has vast oil reserves which it exports around the world.
Kingdom has sustained and stood strong against the international media slanders and rumor-mongering.
8: Israel
US News notes that “For its relatively small size, the country has played a large role in global affairs.”
Israel has a strong economy but its boundaries are seriously disputed and it faces ongoing conflict with Palestine.
7: Japan
View from Mount Fuji of Chureito Pagoda, outside of Tokyo.
Japan is “one of the world’s most literate and technically advanced nations,” US News notes. It has the world’s third-largest economy.
6: France
France is one of the world’s oldest countries, and its reach “extends around the globe through science, politics, economics and perhaps above all, culture,” US News said.
The French economy is one of the world’s largest, though US News noted that it faces domestic challenges including how it deals with terrorism and attitudes to Islam.
5: United Kingdom
US News notes that the UK “exerts considerable international economic, political, scientific and cultural influence” on the world despite “new questions and anxieties about the country’s role on the global stage” after it voted to lead the EU.
The UK’s colonial past continues to boost the country’s influence, and London is one of the most-visited cities in the world.
4: Germany
Germany has the biggest population of all EU countries, and has a highly skilled workforce. Chancellor Angela Merkel faced challenges to her power, and resigned as the leader of her party, but Germany continues to play a leading role in the EU and other international organizations.
3. China
China has the world’s largest population and the world’s second-largest economy. It has seen rapid economic development, but millions still live below the country’s poverty line, The World Bank notes.
2. Russia
Vladimir Putin.
Russia is the world’s largest country by landmass, and shares a border with more than a dozen countries. The lasting influence of the Soviet Union, the economic boost that come from its oil and coal reserves, and its emphasis on military might explain the country’s power.
1. United States
US News describes the US as the “world’s most dominant economic and military power.” The country also has a large cultural impact on the world due to how its popular culture is expressed in books, movies, music and TV shows.
US notes also notes that the policy decisions by President Donald Trump have “have raised questions around the world, including from the country’s closest allies, about the nation’s future course on the global stage.”
When I heard the first news report, I assumed it was an Israeli air raid on Gaza. Or Syria. Airstrikes on a “terrorist camp” were the first words. A “command and control centre” destroyed, many “terrorists” killed. The military was retaliating for a “terrorist attack” on its troops, we were told.
An Islamist “jihadi” base had been eliminated. Then I heard the name Balakot and realised that it was neither in Gaza, nor in Syria – not even in Lebanon – but in Pakistan. Strange thing, that. How could anyone mix up Israel and India?
Well, don’t let the idea fade away. Two thousand five hundred miles separate the Israeli ministry of defence in Tel Aviv from the Indian ministry of defence in New Delhi, but there’s a reason why the usual cliche-stricken agency dispatches sound so similar.
For months, Israel has been assiduously lining itself up alongside India’s nationalist BJP government in an unspoken – and politically dangerous – “anti-Islamist” coalition, an unofficial, unacknowledged alliance, while India itself has now become the largest weapons market for the Israeli arms trade.
Not by chance, therefore, has the Indian press just trumpeted the fact that Israeli-made Rafael Spice-2000 “smart bombs” were used by the Indian air force in its strike against Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) “terrorists” inside Pakistan.
Like many Israeli boasts of hitting similar targets, the Indian adventure into Pakistan might owe more to the imagination than military success. The “300-400 terrorists” supposedly eliminated by the Israeli-manufactured and Israeli-supplied GPS-guided bombs may turn out to be little more than rocks and trees.
But there was nothing unreal about the savage ambush of Indian troops in Kashmir on 14 February which the JeM claimed, and which left 40 Indian soldiers dead. Nor the shooting down of at least one Indian jet this week.
India was Israel’s largest arms client in 2017, paying £530m for Israeli air defence, radar systems and ammunition, including air-to-ground missiles – most of them tested during Israel’s military offensives against Palestinians and targets in Syria.
Israel itself is trying to explain away its continued sales of tanks, weapons and boats to the Myanmar military dictatorship – while western nations impose sanctions on the government which has attempted to destroy its minority and largely Muslim Rohingya people. But Israel’s arms trade with India is legal, above-board and much advertised by both sides.
The Israelis have filmed joint exercises between their own “special commando” units and those sent by India to be trained in the Negev desert, again with all the expertise supposedly learned by Israel in Gaza and other civilian-thronged battlefronts.
At least 16 Indian “Garud” commandos – part of a 45-strong Indian military delegation – were for a time based at the Nevatim and Palmachim air bases in Israel. In his first visit to India last year – preceded by a trip to Israel by nationalist Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu recalled the 2008 Islamist attacks on Mumbai in which almost 170 civilians were killed. “Indians and Israelis know too well the pain of terrorist attacks,” he told Modi. “We remember the horrific savagery of Mumbai. We grit our teeth, we fight back, we never give in.” This was also BJP-speak.
Several Indian commentators, however, have warned that right-wing Zionism and right-wing nationalism under Modi should not become the foundation stone of the relationship between the two countries, both of which – in rather different ways – fought the British empire.
Brussels researcher Shairee Malhotra, whose work has appeared in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, has pointed out that India has the world’s third largest Muslim population after Indonesia and Pakistan – upward of 180 million people. “The India-Israel relationship is also commonly being framed in terms of a natural convergence of ideas between their ruling BJP and Likud parties,” she wrote last year.
Hindu nationalists had constructed “a narrative of Hindus as historically victims at the hands of Muslims”, an attractive idea to those Hindus who recall partition and the continuing turbulent relationship with Pakistan.
In fact, as Malhotra pointed out in Haaretz, “Israel’s biggest fans in India appear to be the ‘internet Hindus’ who primarily love Israel for how it deals with Palestine and fights Muslims.”
Malhotra has condemned Carleton University professor Vivek Dehejia for demanding a “tripartite” alliance between India, Israel and the US – since they have all suffered “from the scourge of Islamic terrorism”.
In fact, by the end of 2016, only 23 men from India had left to fight for Isis in the Arab world, although Belgium, with a population of only half a million Muslims, produced nearly 500 fighters.
Malhotra’s argument is that the Indian-Israeli relationship should be pragmatic rather than ideological.
But it is difficult to see how Zionist nationalism will not leach into Hindu nationalism when Israel is supplying so many weapons to India – the latest of which India, which has enjoyed diplomatic relations with Israel since 1992, has already used against Islamists inside Pakistan.
Signing up to the “war on terror” – especially “Islamist terror” – may seem natural for two states built on colonial partition whose security is threatened by Muslim neighbours.
In both cases, their struggle is over the right to own or occupy territory. Israel, India and Pakistan all possess nuclear weapons. Another good reason not to let Palestine and Kashmir get tangled up together. And to leave India’s 180 million Muslims alone.
Article first published in Independent.co.uk.
Robert Fisk is The Independent’s multi-award-winning Middle East correspondent, based in Beirut. He has lived in the Arab world for more than 40 years, covering the war in Syria and Lebanon, five Israeli invasions, the Iran-Iraq war, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Algerian civil war, Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, the Bosnian and Kosovo wars, the American invasion and occupation of Iraq and the 2011 Arab revolutions.
Kashmir – The Central Government of India on Thursday banned Jamaat-e-Islami group of Kashmir as an “unlawful association” for a period of five years for activities “prejudicial to internal security and public order”, and in the major crack-down over 400 Jamaat members have been arrested.
The Government has called the outfit potential to disrupt the
unity and integrity of the country.
Government also claimed that
Jamaat-e-Islami has been hand-in-glove with militant outfits and it supports
extremism and militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Government declared to
immediately curb Jamaat’s activities, otherwise their subversive activities will
escalate including an attempt to carve out an Islamic State, Jamaat is also
charged of propagating and promoting “anti-National and Separatist” sentiments.
In Kashmir, the Jamaat has
participated in elections from 1965 till 1987, including the Assembly as well
as Parliamentary elections.
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Hurriyat
Leader, won elections in Sopore in 1970s and 1980s as a Jamaat-e-Islami
candidate.
With the rise of militancy in the
valley since 1989, Jamaat got actively involved with separatist politics, while
carving out the pro-Pakistan militant group, Hizbul-Mujahideen.
Moulana Abul Ala Maududi in 1941 after being formidably influenced by Iran’s Mullah’s formed Jamaat-e-Islami to promote political Islam while a decade ago the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwanul-Muslimeen) was founded in 1928 by Hasan al-Banna.
Ikhwanul-Muslimeen and
Jamaat-e-Islami have given rise to modern day terrorism, while al-Qaeda and
ISIS are spawn from them.
Center’s decision to ban the
outfit is to curb the growing influence of extremism in the valley.
If India gives priority to peace, Pakistan is ready for peace.
Islamabad – Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that as a peace gesture they would be releasing Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan on Friday.
Earlier today, the Indian Government sources had said Abhinandan had to be repatriated unconditionally and immediately and there was no question of any deal.
The statement of the government came in response to the reported offer of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The announcement during a joint session of Parliament came barely an hour after Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Prime Minister Khan is ready to talk to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to de-escalate Indo-Pak tensions.
As the opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif took the floor of the House, Prime Minister Khan apologised for interrupting and said he wishes to announce that the Indian pilot captured by Pakistan Air Force on Wednesday will be released Friday as a “peace gesture”.
The announcement was greeted by thumping of desks by Pakistani lawmakers.
Qureshi told media that if India gives priority to peace, Pakistan is ready for peace. — PTI
Life is a journey of being someone special and to do something special and extraordinary for yourself, for your family, for your relatives, for your friends and for the entire Ummah. You have to dedicate your life by contributing to the upliftment of your religion Deen al Islaam.
Ask yourself – Who you are? Why you were born? What are your ambitions? What are your goals? What is the purpose of your life? To find these answers and to achieve your goals, you need to bring “the you” out of yourself. Accept your potential, utilize your energy and get rid of your shortcomings if you really want to improve and elevate yourself.
Everyone of has intends to reform the society, but how can we do so if we don’t love your own self? To love ourselves, we need to try best to protect ourselves from the wrath of Allah, let’s try best to protect our own self from hell fire.
Create a shield around yourself which can protect yourself from wrongdoings against your fellow human beings and against your own self. That shield is called nafs al mutmainnah and you really need to strive a lot to achieve it.
If you want to enlighten others, if you want to empower others, if you want to show correct path to others, if you want to motivate others, you must first peep inside your own self and think about the greatest element which will enlighten you. It is none other than The Noble Qur’an – The Word of Allaah.
If you want to save the lives of human beings across the globe, if you want to be a savior, if you want to unite the Ummah and bring everyone on one platform of love, mercy, justice and peace, you should first learn these lessons of peace yourself and must implement them in every aspect of your own life.
There are lots of things we expect from ourselves, but to fulfill those expectations we must first accept our own weakness and should try best to eliminate the sins and imperfections which weaken our soul. Let’s harness our weakness and transform it- energize it into the sources of strength. This is a mission which can’t be achieve by a person who himself feels insecure, this can’t be achieved by a person who is jealous and selfish, this is not a job of an arrogant.
Don’t expect life to award accomplishments to you every now and then. Winning doesn’t always mean being first. Winning means you’re doing better than you’ve ever done before. If your life didn’t feel pain, struggle and failures, it is simply not possible for you to feel the pain of others. Such a person can’t bring uniqueness and beauty in his soul. Attach yourself with the pain of others which you want to relieve.
Transforming the society and bringing revolutions is not the job of a person who is overconfident and who falls prey to worldly desires.
A time will come that your voice will have no words, you will scream but none of the humans will listen and respond, but you have to keep yourself firm on the path of truth, and you must believe that Allaah is the one who will listen to you and will respond to your supplications. Unless and until this belief is established your voice will have no essence. You must set your mind that you in loneliness but not alone. Allaah is with you, if you are patient. When your body gets exhausted, it is your heart full of imaan who will carry you towards the undiscovered horizons of life.
When you think that your limbs are dying, your body is falling apart, your eyes are full of tears, your mind is full of grief, it is the heart full of imaan which carries you towards the destination, it will drive your faith. It is your heart who will fights against injustice, failure and tyranny. The strength of your heart will lead you towards physical, psychological, spiritual, physical and moral heights. It will spark the rays of confidence in your heart.
If you are not leading, someone will lead you. If you are not working, someone will stand up and will work in competition against you, if you are not developing, someone will develop against you. Even your body is not going to respond you if you stop working.
Continuity, consistency, certainty, resistance, patience and hard work are the substances to be connected with your faith and belief, so that you can recharge yourself, and you can make yourself a man of action, not just a dreamer who has nothing but mere talks and unexecuted plans which are based upon improbable or impractical ideas.
You have to change, you have to improve, if you settle for something which is satisfactory to you at one stage of life, and if the futuristic world does not accept your pace, you will be left behind in this race of cut throat competition. Don’t make others take you for granted. Don’t make others treat you as a trash. If you don’t value yourself, others are not going to value your life, your art, your existence and your performance. Think that you are far more valuable and take your action to the next level of productivity. Whether you are an employee, an entrepreneur, a son, a husband, a brother, a wife, a mother, a daughter or a father, you need to constantly improve yourself.
In this journey of struggle, your body will feel pains you can’t imagine but the sweetness of success at the end of that ladder will be so beautiful and promising that it can’t be expressed in words. In this journey you are not going to find everyone who appreciates you, motivates you, promotes you, encourages you and empowers you.
You will find many people discouraging you, they may humiliate you, may create obstacles for you, they might hate you to an unbelievable extent. You will witness breach of trust and broken promises. They will try to push you in the deep valley of darkness and non-recognition. They might play dirty politics against you, will make fun of your ethics and goodness but you should not get depressed. You have to face the opposition with patience, humbleness and good manners.
Be a down to earth personality. Never let arrogance and anger overpower you. If you stick to these golden principles of leadership you will be able to pay a great respect to those haters who slapped you and you will definitely tell them: “If you wouldn’t have done this to me, I wouldn’t have found my true self and true position in the life!”
Sajid Holy is a blogger and writer, he tweets under @SajidHoly.
