Police Across Europe Carry Out Largest Ever Operation Against Botnet Network

Published: 31 May 2024

Police say 8 suspects are still at large and have added their names to Europe’s Most Wanted list. (Photo: Europol, License)

By Henry Pope

Law enforcement across Europe dismantled Thursday a cybercrime organization that earned millions through botnets, whose purpose was to create a network of infected computers from which to deploy malware and ransomware against its targets.

As part of Operation Endgame between May 27-29, police arrested four high value targets and took down several droppers—software used to install viruses, ransomware or spyware—the group deployed against its victims.

“This is the largest ever operation against botnets, which play a major role in the deployment of ransomware,” Europol said. The operation was a near continent-wide effort and included law enforcement and cybercrime specialists across 13 countries, in addition to several private security companies.

Droppers are deployed as a first strike tool in malware attacks; they allow hackers to bypass installed security measures and install harmful software of their own. While usually benign to computers themselves, droppers nonetheless play a role in causing serious damage to affected systems.

Specific dropper programs named by Europol include SystemBC, used to facilitate anonymous communication between infected systems and the cybercriminals’ command-and-control servers; Bumblebee, used to deploy phishing campaigns; and IcedID, used as a banking trojan software tool to steal its victims’ financial data.

Other droppers served various additional purposes such as deploying ransomware and enabling remote access to infected systems.

What makes them so dangerous is their evasion capabilities; they can obfuscate their own code to impersonate legitimate software and operate on an infected computer without saving themselves to the local hard drive, thereby making it difficult for security software to locate and delete them.

Once its mission is complete, the dropper can then delete itself and leave the malware installed to run its intended malicious activities.

Police carried out 16 raids in four countries as part of Operation Endgame against the hackers; four arrests were made in Armenia and Ukraine, while more than 100 servers and 2,000 domains were taken down in 10 countries across Europe and North America.

One of the primary suspects reportedly earned no less than 69 millions euros (US$74.8 million) in ill-gotten gains by renting out criminal infrastructure sites to deploy ransomware, Europol said. Their assets are under surveillance and suspect to seizure at the investigators’ discretion.

Eight fugitives linked to the cybercrime ring are still said to be unaccounted for; Germany has issued outstanding warrants in their names and, as of May 30, they have been added to Europe’s Most Wanted list.

 

2024 Canadian Screen Awards: BlackBerry becomes most awarded title in ceremony’s history

May 31, 2024 by Milton Acorn

In an echo of last year’s duel record-breaking performance by dramas The Porter and Brother, both BlackBerry and Little Bird shattered records at the final night of the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards.

But while those first two titles both became the most ever awarded at the CSAs last year with 12 wins apiece, there was one clear winner on Friday. BlackBerry, the cellphone company-centred drama helmed by Toronto’s Matt Johnson, took home three wins: with achievement in direction going to Johnson, performance in a comedy leading role to Jay Baruchel, and the film taking home the top prize of best motion picture.

BlackBerry had already collected 11 trophies at a gala last night that handed out the bulk of the film prizes, nabbing best adapted screenplay, best cinematography and best supporting comedy performer for U.S. actor Glenn Howerton. Its combined total of 14 is above any other film or TV show in the awards’ history — a sort of highly lauded validation of what industry insiders have called a much needed commercialization of Canada’s flagging cinema industry.

But before BlackBerry‘s trio of awards were handed out, Little Bird — the Jennifer Podemski-created series about an Indigenous woman impacted by the Sixties Scoop — briefly held that same title. After entering the day’s bash having already won 11 trophies (including best drama ensemble, best casting and best supporting drama performer for Braeden Clarke) it added two more wins on Friday. It won both of the categories it was eligible for on Friday, with best lead performer in a drama series going to Darla Contois and best drama series landing in its creators’ laps. 

WATCH | BlackBerry dominates CSA nominations: 

‘BlackBerry’ dominates Canadian Screen Awards with record-breaking 17 nominations

Limited series Little Bird and dramedy Sort Of received 19 and 18 nominations, respectively, dominating their fields of drama and comedy. Final gala ceremony to be broadcast on CBC on May 31

That total haul of 13 wins makes it the highest-awarded TV show in CSA history, though it wasn’t the only series to see some love.

Bria Mack Gets a Life won its sole award, though it was a big one — best comedy series. The Crave-hosted coming-of-age story centred around a Black Canadian woman prevailed in a hotly contested category: Crave’s Letterkenny, CTV’s Shelved, and CBC series Son of a Critch and sitcom Workin’ Moms‘ final season were all up for the award. 

Son of a Critch did grab some gold in the end, taking home the Cogeco fund audience choice award. And on the reality television side, Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. The World capped an impressive performance. After winning six categories on Thursday, it added best reality/competition program or series to its list of accolades.

The annual celebration of the best in homegrown film, television and digital media is run by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.

The awards themselves — with categories spanning from news, to sports to tonight’s big- and small-screen titles — come at a difficult time for the entertainment industry.

The show’s host, Toronto comedian Mae Martin, took a moment to jest about the industry’s troubled state. During their opening monologue, Martin said several friends had sent them an “encouraging” article in the lead-up to the show with the headline, “Can the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards save a film and television industry in crisis mode?”

Martin joked that they were ready to boost Canada’s screen industry with their comedic prowess.

“I think tonight we’re going to do it!” said Martin. “It’s a lot of pressure on my mild jokes, but I think we can do it.”

How successful they were from an audience perspective is still up for debate: Traditionally, the bash has been broadcast live to home viewers, but this year’s edition will air as a one-hour show consisting of taped tributes and highlights from the two-hour gala.

Appreciation for CSAs

But the Canadian talent at the show itself overwhelmingly voiced their appreciation for the night — regardless of their own wins. 

Speaking at a red carpet ahead of the show, Alexandra Billings — nominated for her performance in Queen Tut — said she was particularly appreciative of the nomination, and the night in general. She said the Canadian Screen Awards allowed space for transgender actors like her, and other marginalized voices, to find support. 

“We need to continue to tell our own stories,” she said. “This kind of thing celebrates that. Not just about the awards, but everyone in one room, that’s community. And that’s the foundation.”

And ahead of her win, Bria Mack Gets a Life creator Sasha Leigh Henry told CBC News the simple nomination was validating to her, and to stories about Black life in Canada. 

“It was really, really, really so special to me, to have people affirm that they felt seen in it,” she said. “So this [nomination] is really the cherry on top of the cake, on top of the sundae.”

And in a somewhat surprising showing, Quebec’s Denis Villeneuve made an appearance to accept the Academy Icon award for his “exceptional, ongoing contribution to the media industry.”

And after assuring that work on the next instalment of Dune was well underway, he also expressed his appreciation for the awards — and the Canadian cinema industry in general. 

“The amount of freedom I had here allowed me to experiment. It allowed me to fail, to make mistakes, it allowed me to grow up,” he said.

“The system here allowed me to find my voice. That voice helped me to work abroad, and that’s why it’s a fantastic place to be a filmmaker in Canada.”

WATCH |  Denis Villeneuve talks about the importance of debuting Dune in Quebec: 

Dune director Denis Villeneuve on premiering the film in his home province of Quebec

Director Denis Villeneuve attended the Dune: Part Two premiere in Montreal on Wednesday. The French-Canadian filmmaker was born in Quebec and started his career in Canada before directing Hollywood films such as Arrival, Prisoners and Dune.

Also awarded on Friday were Children Ruin Everything, nabbing Meaghan Rath an trophy for best lead performer in a comedy (the show’s third trophy of the week), Twice Colonized for best feature length documentary, and Amrit Kaur’s best performance in a leading role, drama in The Queen of My Dreams. That film also took home the best original song award for its track Ishq Ki Na Koi Bhi Hud Hai earlier this week.

The decision to shift from a live show to a “live-to-tape” one — where pre-taped events from previous nights will be spliced into Friday’s show to air later in the evening — was contentious. In an interview earlier this week, Academy CEO Tammy Frick said, “The majority of the show will very much feel like a live show.”

She said the organization listened to feedback on last year’s pre-taped, hour-long telecast hosted by Samantha Bee, which was largely panned for featuring segments taped in New York well ahead of the event.

In the days leading up to the telecast, the experiment drew criticism from industry figures including Eugene Levy, who argued Canadian creators deserved a live celebration.

Conservative Ontario premier suggests immigrants guilty of Jewish school shooting

XENOPHOBIA & ISLAMOPHOBIA REVEAL 

CONSERVATIVES FASCIST UNDERBELLY

Controversial remarks met with calls for apology from other political leaders

30/05/2024 Thursday
AA


Ontario Premier Doug Ford landed in hot water Thursday after implying that immigrants to the province are responsible for a shooting at a Toronto Jewish school, media outlets reported.

“Enough is enough. You are bringing problems from everywhere else in the world, bringing it to Ontario and going after other Canadians,” Ford said.

“That's unacceptable. I have an idea: before you plan on moving to Canada, do not come if you're going to terrorize neighborhoods like this. It's simple as that,” he added, CBC News reported.

Ford made the remarks in reply to a reporter's question about an update on the shooting as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood nearby. The two were at an unrelated press conference in Toronto. Ford's remarks were quickly picked up by media outlets across the country.

Ford was referring to an incident where shots were fired at a Jewish girl's school on May 25. It occurred around 4.50 a.m. Police said they have security video of the shooting and are searching for two suspects in a dark-colored vehicle but to date have not publicly identified anyone, CBC News reported.

His remarks were quickly denounced, with the provincial leaders of the Liberal, New Democrat and Green parties all calling for Ford to apologize, NOW Toronto reported.

“I'm appalled by the Premier's racist remarks,” New Democrat Party Leader Marit Stiles said on X.

“Dividing the people of Ontario isn't leadership,” Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie posted on X. “Our province deserved better from its Premier. Doug Ford must apologize now.”

Ford attempted to clarify his remarks in a post on X.

“My comments today meant to stress that there is more that unites us than divides us,” he said. “While there will always be room for disagreement, violent acts that target specific religions or ethnicities do not reflect who we are or the values that represent our province.”

OUTLAW PALM OIL

Malaysia calls for greater collaboration with Turkish producers on sustainable palm oil production 

NO SUCH THING AS SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL

Malaysian plantation minister meets Turkish producers in Istanbul to enhance cooperation

07:12 - 31/05/2024 Friday

Malaysian palm oil producers are already in compliance with global standards on sustainability, the country's plantation minister said on Thursday, calling for more collaboration with Turkish producers.

Addressing a news conference in Istanbul after meeting Turkish producers, Johari Abdul Ghani said Malaysia intensified its engagement because the world is very concerned about sustainability.

Malaysia has a four-pronged approach for producing palm oil, he said. They are: protecting forests, sustainability, planning production areas, and complying with international law.

Noting that Malaysia's palm oil export to Türkiye is around 800,000 metric tons, he said Malaysia invites some of its buyers to witness the procedure first-hand.

He said Malaysia's palm oil production has been at the same level for the last 10 years, which shows that the country has not done any deforestation.

Malaysia has signed many international agreements, such as COP21 in Paris to reduce methane gas and carbon emission, he said.

Although there are no proper regulations in the world, Malaysia complies with all targets, he said.

"We also want to play our part to protect the environment. If you compare the US and Europe, our forest coverage is more than 54%. If you compare other parts of the world, they are very much lesser. Some of them are only 10%," he said.

He said that palm oil is the "most productive and efficient edible oil" because every hectare that produces palm oil gives 3.3 metric tons, whereas soybean gives 0.5 metric tons per hectare and sunflower only 0.8 metric tons per hectare.

All Santander staff and '30 million' customers in Spain, Chile and Uruguay hacked

Joe Tidy,

Cyber correspondent
BBC



Hackers are attempting to sell what they say is confidential information belonging to millions of Santander staff and customers.

They belong to the same gang which this week claimed to have hacked Ticketmaster.

The bank - which employs 200,000 people worldwide, including around 20,000 in the UK - has confirmed data has been stolen.

Santander has apologised for what it says is "the concern this will understandably cause" adding it is "proactively contacting affected customers and employees directly."

"Following an investigation, we have now confirmed that certain information relating to customers of Santander Chile, Spain and Uruguay, as well as all current and some former Santander employees of the group had been accessed," it said in a statement posted earlier this month.

"No transactional data, nor any credentials that would allow transactions to take place on accounts are contained in the database, including online banking details and passwords."

It said its banking systems were unaffected so customers could continue to "transact securely."

In a post on a hacking forum - first spotted by researchers at Dark Web Informer- the group calling themselves ShinyHunters posted an advert saying they had data including30 million people’s bank account details

6 million account numbers and balances

28 million credit card numbers

HR information for staff

Santander has not commented on the accuracy of those claims.

ShinyHunters have previously sold data confirmed to have been stolen from US telecoms firm AT&T.

The gang is also selling what it says is a huge amount of private data from Ticketmaster.

The Australian government says it is working with Ticketmaster to address the issue. The FBI has also offered to assist.

Some experts have said ShinyHunters' claims should be treated with caution, as they may be a publicity stunt.

However, researchers at cyber-security company Hudson Rock claim that the Santander breach and the apparent Ticketmaster one are linked to a major ongoing hack of a large cloud storage company called Snowflake.

Hudson Rock says it has spoken to the perpetrators of the alleged Snowflake hack - who claim that they gained access to its internal system by stealing the login details of a member of Snowflake staff.

Snowflake has not confirmed this but notified customers on Friday that it was "investigating an increase in cyber threat activity targeting some of our customers’ accounts."

If Snowflake is proven to be the source of these ongoing hacks there could be many more victims.

Data allegedly stolen from 560 million Ticketmaster users

Scotland's top law officer urged to pursue investigation into Donald Trump's Scottish resorts after historic criminal conviction

By Martyn McLaughlin
Published 31st May 2024

Former US president’s legal woes reignite calls for probe of Scottish properties

Scotland's most senior law officer has been urged to heed long-standing calls to investigate the source of the funds underpinning Donald Trump’s purchase of his flagship international resort after he became the first former US president to be convicted of a criminal offence.

In a historic decision on Thursday night, a New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to commit election fraud. He was found guilty of all 34 counts he faced, and is due to be sentenced on July 11, just days before the beginning of the Republican National Convention, where he is widely expected to be formally announced as the party’s presidential candidate.

The verdicts have sent shockwaves across the US and intensified debate around the implications for November’s election. However, the fallout is also being felt on this side of the Atlantic, where campaigners say the jury’s decision raises further questions about Trump’s Scottish assets and their financing.

Avaaz, the global activism organisation that led an unsuccessful petition at the Court of Session for a judicial review to force an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) against Trump in 2021, said the guilty verdicts further vindicated of its position. The body said it was unclear what more evidence was required by Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC.

Nick Flynn, Avaaz’s legal director, said: “We have always argued that the low threshold for seeking a UWO over Turnberry has been easily cleared. Trump's criminal conviction for fraud, together with the New York Attorney General's reliance on evidence of fraud at his Scottish golf courses in her massive civil fraud claim, vindicate the position we took in our judicial review of the Scottish Government.

“We established then that the Lord Advocate is responsible for using the power to seek a UWO to protect Scotland's reputation for financial probity, forcing Trump to clarify where he got the $60 million [£47m] in cash he used to buy Turnberry. Her failure to act is, frankly, inexplicable now. What more evidence does she need?”

Patrick Harvie, co-leader of the Scottish Greens, echoed calls for a UWO to be carried out in the wake of Trump’s conviction. “It raises even more serious questions about the trustworthiness of the former president, and I hope it will result in further investigations and questions raised about his business here in Scotland,” he said. “I would urge Scottish ministers and law officers to look again at the request for a UWO. If Donald Trump truly is the 'very innocent man' that he preposterously claims, then he surely has no reason to fear questions about his immense wealth and where it has come from.”

Donald Trump was found guilty on all counts at his New York criminal trial. 

Picture: Mark Peterson/Pool Photo via AP

A spokesman for Scotland’s Civil Recovery Unit said: “Civil recovery investigations, which include applications to the court for an UWO, are conducted on behalf of the Scottish ministers by the Civil Recovery Unit, which reports to the Lord Advocate. The CRU does not confirm or deny whether a civil recovery investigation has commenced. This is a statement of policy and, as such, nothing should be inferred, one way or the other.”

The Trump Organisation and Trump Turnberry have been contacted for comment.

Not being convicted felon in 'plus column’: Libertarian candidate

May 31, 2024 by Mark Debra

(NewsNation) — While much of the country was glued to their televisions and phones for updates on Donald Trump’s hush money trial and eventual conviction, Chase Oliver was busy campaigning for president.

“I didn’t pay a ton of attention to the trial itself,” said Oliver, the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president in 2024.

Oliver told NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas that he didn’t watch much of the trial but believes Trump will now likely have more to say about the criminal justice system.

“Donald Trump is likely to start talking about the problems with our justice system, the injustices in our justice system. But during his four years as president, there were millions of people who had problems in our justice system that he completely ignored,” Oliver said, referencing Trump’s policies on mandatory minimum sentencing and support for the death penalty.

Bill O’Reilly: Biden should pardon Trump, Hunter Biden

“He starts caring about it once it affects him,” Oliver said.

The 38-year-old Tennessee native who worked in the restaurant business prior to getting into politics said he’s more interested in the Libertarian Party’s platform.

“We’re (Libertarians) for maximum freedom, he said. “Ending taxation, getting rid of all this excess government, and of course, we’re the most pro-Second Amendment party in the United States.”

The Libertarian Party nominated Oliver last week, rejecting former Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after they each spoke at the party’s convention. Trump appeared at the convention to give a speech that was repeatedly booed by many in the room. It did not pay off with the endorsement he requested.

Oliver, however, walked with the nomination.

Biden calls on Hamas to accept cease-fire deal for Gaza

His campaign website calls for major cuts to the federal budget with an eye toward balancing the budget, the abolition of the death penalty, the closure of all overseas military bases and the ending of military support to Israel and Ukraine.

Third parties have rarely been competitive in U.S. presidential elections, and the Libertarian candidate four years ago won just 1% of the vote.

Oliver acknowledged the party has work to do in getting its message out.

“What we can do is start working towards reducing the state and showing the proof of concept of what limited government looks like — how we actually can increase prosperity for the average American family,” Oliver said.

A Modi Win Will Only Mean More Trouble for Indian Muslims

A Muslim woman is casting her vote in the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) at a polling station during the sixth phase of the Indian General Elections in New Delhi, India, on May 26, 2024. Kabir Jhangiani

—NurPhoto/Getty Images

TIME\IDEAS
BY ISMAT ARA
MAY 31, 2024 9:14 AM EDT
Ismat Ara is a New Delhi-based journalist. She covers politics, crime, gender, culture and environment.

More than two years have passed since a picture of me, picked up from my personal social media handles, was put up with a price tag for auction on the internet. It was part of a website called Bulli Bai, a religious slur used for Muslim women in India.

Why was I targeted? Likely because of my reporting. The perpetrators wanted to shame and humiliate a journalist who was determined to expose the failures of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party’s gender, caste, and religion-based violence. But more importantly, they wanted to shut up a Muslim woman who had dared to be vocal in Modi’s India.


When the photo was posted, I wondered how the main perpetrator, a 21-year-old student from Assam, who created Bulli Bai could be so consumed by his hatred that he felt compelled to auction Muslim women online for their outspoken criticism of the BJP—journalists, social workers, actors, and politicians. A recent meeting with my lawyer about my case against the Bulli Bai creators, who are still being investigated by the Delhi police, was a painful reminder of the targeted harassment faced by outspoken Muslim voices critical of the ruling BJP.

As the ongoing election in India is set to finish on June 1, it has once again offered deeper insight into how political dialogue is fueling this culture of hate.


Particularly, the political campaign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP has leaned into anti-Muslim sentiment, progressively making Islamophobia one of the defining features of this election.

It was most prominently on display when Modi, in a thinly veiled reference to Muslims, referred to the 200 million Indian Muslim population as “infiltrators” at a BJP campaign rally while addressing voters in the Western state of Rajasthan on April 21. The Prime Minister also accused the opposition Congress party of planning to distribute the country’s wealth to Muslims.


Modi, in his speech, asked, “Earlier, when his [ former Prime Minister and Congress Party member Manmohan Singh’s] government was in power, he had said that Muslims have the first right on the country’s property, which means who they will collect this property and distribute it to—those who have more children, will distribute it to the infiltrators. Will the money of your hard work be given to the infiltrators? Do you approve of this?”

Read More: How India’s Hindu Nationalists Are Weaponizing History Against Muslims

This 2006 statement by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh emphasizing that minorities, particularly Muslims, should have the first claim on resources to help uplift their socio-economic status, has been often quoted out of context in political rhetoric, distorting its original intent to uplift marginalized communities.

The reemergence of conspiracy theories like “Love Jihad,” alleging a covert agenda by Muslim men to ensnare and convert Hindu women, by Modi, has surged back into public attention, prominently surfacing at an election rally on May 28, days before the seventh and last phase of the ongoing elections, in the Eastern state of Jharkhand.

The alarming rhetoric about Muslim population growth too have dominated the election discourse, fueled by the BJP's top leader, Modi, who has been criticized for his Islamophobic remarks, evoking memories of Gujarat's 2002 riots. While he later denied singling out Muslims in an interview with an Indian news channel, his history of linking them to population growth fuels a Hindu-majoritarian conspiracy theory.


Following the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat during his tenure as chief minister, Modi faced scrutiny regarding his administration's lack of assistance to relief camps, predominantly established by non-profit organizations and Muslim communities. During a campaign rally, Modi then insinuated that these camps might transform into "baby factories," implying that Muslims could potentially have families as large as 25 children.

In his Jharkhand rally in May of this year, Modi spoke of "unseen enemies" working to divide society and claimed that the opposition parties were playing into the hands of “infiltrators”. He warned against "Zalim (cruel) love," alluding to Love Jihad.

As the elections progressed, Modi’s speeches transformed slowly from issues such as “development” to anti-Muslim rhetoric. Unlike previous elections, Modi's campaign strategy this time has shifted towards overt Hindu-Muslim politics, drawing attention to his past record and raising concerns among Indian Muslims, as evidenced by the Election Commission's intervention in a campaign video by the BJP inciting hatred against Muslims.

The video, shared by BJP Karnataka wing with a cautionary message in Kannada, depicted a cartoon version of Congress’s Rahul Gandhi placing an egg marked "Muslims" into a nest alongside smaller eggs labeled with categories such as "Scheduled Castes," "Scheduled Tribes," and "Other Backward Castes.” The narrative unfolds as the "Muslim" hatchling is shown being nourished with financial resources, eventually growing larger and displacing the other hatchlings from the nest—implying that a Congress government will give away all resources to Muslims.


This came days after another animated video shared by the BJP’s official Instagram handle was removed on May 1 after a large number of users of the platform reported the video for “false information” and “hate speech.” The video repeats the BJP’s rhetoric on the Congress party, who they allege are“empowering people who belong to the very same community [of] invaders, terrorists, robbers and thieves [who] used to loot all our treasures” while the voice-over says, “If Congress comes to power, it will snatch all the money and wealth from non-Muslims and distribute them among Muslims, their favorite community.”

Despite its controversial content, the video amassed over 100 thousand likes before being removed.

Both videos come after claims by Modi during his campaign speeches that Congress was planning to “steal” reservations in educational institutes and government jobs among other benefits from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Castes and redistribute them to Muslims.

Modi may be the foremost leader, but he's not alone in setting the tone; other top-tier BJP leaders are also walking in his footsteps. Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah's remarks linking voting for the Congress party to "jihad" in the South Indian state of Telangana have also stirred controversy.


Read More: The Modi-fication of India Is Almost Complete

The India Hate Lab, a Washington D.C.-based group that documents hate speech against India’s religious minorities, in its report of 2023 paints a grim picture of rising hate speech incidents against Muslims, totaling 668 documented cases.

These incidents, often featuring calls for violence and spreading divisive theories, were predominantly concentrated in regions governed by the BJP, particularly during key election periods like in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh. Additionally, the report highlighted stark differences in hate speech content between BJP and non-BJP-governed areas, with BJP leaders more frequently involved in non-BJP territories as they strive to expand political footholds.

When leaders resort to fear-mongering, it legitimizes the dehumanization of minorities, creating a fertile ground for extremists. This often isn’t just about one app or incident. It’s about the pervasive atmosphere of intolerance that such rhetoric by the BJP leaders breeds. And those who oppose this type of hate speech want to ensure that no one—regardless of their faith, gender, or caste—has to live in fear of being targeted for who they are.

Modi’s statement received widespread criticism from the opposition, the intelligentsia community including authors, writers, scholars, academics, and the minority Muslim population of India. The Congress party even filed a complaint with the Election Commission, alleging that Modi's remarks violate electoral laws that prohibit appeals to religious sentiments. Despite public outcry and demands from activists and citizens for action, the Election Commission has so far taken no appropriate action.


Modi's Islamophobic statements, which have fueled fears over and over again among India's Muslim population, must be viewed within the broader context of his party's strategies—which often invoke religious and communal sentiments to galvanize their voter base. And this time, the aim is to break all previous records by securing 400 plus seats in the 543 seat parliament.

If the BJP is able to secure such a huge majority in the parliament, Hindu majoritarianism will remain unchecked. The hostility towards the minorities could escalate even more, and opposition parties may bear the brunt of state agencies and crackdowns if they ask questions.

During Modi’s previous terms, Muslims have seen an increased marginalization and discrimination fueled by Hindu nationalist agendas—ranging from difficulty in securing a rented accommodation in urban cities, erasure of Muslim names from roads, cities and railway stations, to the underrepresentation in government jobs and discrimination and vandalism of shops of small Muslim vendors.

Today, India, a country which once took pride in its ganga-jamuni tehzeeb—a term used to refer to the fusion of Hindu-Muslim cultures—has become a global epicenter of divisive politics. While elections will come and go, the impact of the irresponsible words of Modi and the BJP will stay with the 200 million plus Muslims in the country.


These words have real and dangerous implications for the safety and security of India's Muslim population. Muslims in India currently face increased social ostracism, economic boycotts, and even physical violence. And another victory with an overwhelming majority will only mean more trouble.

As Indian voting wraps up, reports of electoral irregularities mount

Opponents of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have accused its supporters of suppressing turnout and intimidating candidates. The BJP denies the allegations.


By Gerry Shih and Anant Gupta

WASHINGTON POST
May 31, 2024 


SURAT, India — As India wraps up a seven-week-long marathon election, reports of irregularities have reached a level not seen in decades. Across the country, supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have been accused by their opponents of working with local authorities to suppress turnout among voters or to remove opposition candidates from the ballot altogether.

In the ancient diamond trading hub of Surat, the election ended before it began. After all eight opposition candidates dropped out under questionable circumstances, local officials declared a winner by default: the candidate from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP.

Independent political analysts say there is no evidence to indicate systemic vote-rigging, and if Modi is declared the winner Tuesday as expected, his victory would be legitimate. But in the world’s largest democracy, the rash of irregularities at the local level — and the brazenness of several incidents publicized by BJP supporters themselves — have alarmed political observers who say India’s ruling party is increasingly wielding state power to tilt the democratic playing field in its favor.

During its previous decade in power, the Modi government has cracked down on critical media outlets, shut down nonprofits, and squeezed opposition politicians by targeting them for criminal investigations and imprisonment, “but the sanctity of elections itself has largely been protected,” said Maya Tudor, a political scientist at Oxford University.

Now, she said, “these are the first signs of the electoral moment itself being called into question.”

So far, election officials have ordered partial repolling in at least nine voting districts, including locations where party workers were caught on video casting multiple votes. But India’s Election Commission, led by a three-member panel nominated by the government, has been criticized for leaving many more allegations of irregularities unaddressed.

Some of these reports involved classic voter intimidation. In Uttar Pradesh state, for instance, baton-wielding police in recent weeks were filmed beating Muslim voters, who generally vote against the Hindu nationalist BJP, and driving them from polling stations. In the far northeast, voting has been marred by gun-toting militias who seized booths and roughed up party workers, according to eyewitnesses and news reports.

“There have been clear failures in election management,” said S.Y. Qureshi, India’s chief election commissioner from 2010 to 2012. Qureshi noted that Indian bureaucrats worked hard in the 1990s to curtail widespread violence that often took place on election day targeting voters from lower castes, but he feared similar abuses from decades ago were creeping back. “How can this happen?” he asked angrily. “What action will be taken?”

Gopal Krishna Agarwal, a BJP national spokesman, dismissed allegations as campaign rhetoric by the party’s opponents. He said the BJP has never tried to suppress turnout. “These things are for the Election Commission to decide,” Agarwal said. “We believe in our institutions. We believe in and respect the democratic values that have brought us where we are.”

At the same time, opposition parties and political analysts have alleged that local BJP officials have tried a new tactic during this election: removing challengers from races altogether.

In the central city of Indore, the sole candidate from a major opposition party dropped out hours before the withdrawal deadline and joined the BJP after a local judge brought fresh charges of attempted murder against him as part of a 17-year-old land dispute. In Khajuraho, another central city, the BJP candidate also ran without a major-party rival after election officials disqualified his opponent, citing incomplete paperwork.

In Gandhinagar, the seat of the powerful home minister Amit Shah in western India, opposition candidates released teary-eyed videos claiming they had received death threats warning them against running.

Adam Ziegfeld, an expert on Indian politics at Temple University, said the use of law enforcement or trumped-up cases came “out of the tool kit of electoral autocrats.”

“This is about who gets scared off from running,” Ziegfeld said. “If you look at who [Russian President Vladimir] Putin lets run against him, it’s no wonder he wins.”

No contest

In Surat, a BJP stronghold in Modi’s home state of Gujarat, opposition candidates began to fall by the wayside in April.

One told reporters he was too depressed to campaign. Another cryptically cited “personal reasons” but posed for a photo shaking hands with a BJP leader. Two other candidates’ nomination papers were rejected by local officials. Finally, there was just one contender left challenging the BJP: Pyarelal Bharti, a veteran of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which represents low-caste voters across northern India

Behind the scenes, BJP officials were waging an intense campaign to bribe and pressure each of their rivals, including Bharti, to withdraw before the deadline on April 22, according to local media reports that were corroborated by interviews with opposition leaders.

But by April 21, BJP officials still could not locate Bharti. Opposition party leaders had conferred and agreed to whisk Bharti out of Surat to the nearby city of Vadodara, where he could hide beyond the reach of BJP party workers, said local leaders from the BSP and the Congress party. But pressure began to mount before midnight, recalled Satish Sonawane, the BSP party chief in Surat.

First, a friend of Sonawane who served in the Surat police called to say that a rich local businessman had offered to pay Sonawane in exchange for revealing Bharti’s whereabouts. “He said they were willing to pay as much as we like,” Sonawane said. “But I told him that I didn’t enter politics for such things.”

The next morning, homes in Vadodara belonging to the BSP state leader, Surender Singh Kaloria, were raided by police, who also surrounded the home of Bharti’s son-in-law where the BJP believed Bharti was hiding, said one of Bharti’s associates, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared retribution.

By midday, BJP supporters found Bharti and drove him back to Surat. He entered the government office through a back door and withdrew his candidacy shortly before the 3 p.m. deadline, according to BSP leaders, Bharti’s associate and one local journalist. That evening, Bharti left Surat and never came back; his phone has been switched off, and he could not be reached for comment.

Manishkumar Rathod, the police inspector who led the raid on Kaloria’s homes, said in a telephone call that Vadodara police had received an anonymous tip that Kaloria was illegally storing alcohol in his home. He denied that his unit tried to locate Bharti or interfere with the election.

“I’ve seen money being involved before,” Kaloria said, referring to the tactic of paying rival candidates to drop out. “This was the first time I’ve seen police involved.”

A step too far

On April 22, with no votes cast or opponents standing, local officials named the BJP candidate, a first-time candidate named Mukesh Dalal, to be the next member of Parliament from Surat. The BJP Gujarat party chief, C.R. Paatil, immediately celebrated on social media, boasting that the BJP had won its first seat even though results were supposed to be announced on June 4.

The episode stunned many in India. Even leaders within the BJP’s Delhi headquarters wondered whether the Gujarat party officials went too far, said a senior Gujarat political journalist who covered the saga closely.

Paatil, the BJP’s state chief, declined to speak to The Post about the race in Surat. But on the day of the scheduled election, his colleagues at the BJP office in town acknowledged that the incident backfired. The state party was under pressure to demonstrate its strength and deliver high voter turnout. Yet the opposite happened, they said: Many residents in districts neighboring Surat believed their elections were also canceled and didn’t bother to vote.

Outside, an uneasy quiet settled. In a working-class neighborhood near the famous diamond polishing center, Bhupendrabhai Brahmbhatt and his daughter-in-law Seema watched boys play cricket in an alley that, on any other election day, would have been teeming with party workers scrambling to mobilize voters.

Both said they were longtime BJP supporters but felt a line had been crossed. “How could we change our rulers if no one is competing?” Seema asked.

“Our politics have become such,” Bhupendrabhai sighed, “that those who rule by might take all of the gains.”


Karishma Mehrotra and Shams Irfan contributed to this report.

INDIA 

HINDUTVA IS FASCISM

Why Is the RSS Distancing Itself From the BJP?

BJP and RSS leaders are going to great lengths to send out the message that the RSS is a cultural organization and uninvolved in the BJP’s political activity.

By Sudha Ramachandran
May 31, 2024



Members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh participate in a “path sanchalan” or route march in Bhopal, India, October 23, 2016.Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Suyash Dwivedi


India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), have stepped up efforts to beef up the RSS’ image as a cultural organization and project themselves as distinct entities.

In a recent interview published in Indian Express, J. P. Nadda, national president of the BJP, went to great lengths to establish the RSS as an apolitical organization that is separate from the BJP. The “RSS is a cultural organization and we are a political organization,” Nadda said, adding that the RSS has “a century-long experience of working on socio-cultural issues.”

Distinguishing the work the BJP and RSS do, Nadda pointed out that their “areas of working [are] very clearly established”: “Woh ideologically apna kaam karte hain, hum apna” (They do their ideology-related work, we do ours). With the BJP capabilities having grown, it “runs itself,” Nadda said, stressing that “we are managing our own affairs in our own way.” In essence, the BJP chief was making the point that the RSS is not involved in the BJP’s political work.

A few days later Ram Madhav, an executive member of the RSS and a former spokesperson of the BJP, reiterated the RSS’ apolitical character in an article. The RSS is focused on “nation-building activities” and not politics, he wrote, pointing out that but for the 1977 and 2014 general elections when the RSS was convinced of the need to involve itself in canvassing for parties, it has “stayed away from active politics.”

What the two leaders said is nothing that the RSS and the BJP have not claimed before. The RSS has always maintained that it is a cultural organization and that it neither has political objectives nor engages in political activity. The RSS denies that it has anything to do with politics, decisions, or policymaking of the BJP, or with the BJP’s election efforts. However, RSS and BJP leaders seem to have initiated of late a concerted campaign to send out this message loud and clear.

During the ongoing campaign in the Indian general elections, BJP and RSS leaders have been “striving really hard to make people believe that the RSS is ‘an apolitical’ and ‘a cultural’ organization which has nothing to do with the BJP’s election efforts or its decision-making process,” Dhirendra K. Jha, author of “Shadow Armies: Fringe Organizations and Foot Soldiers of Hindutva,” told The Diplomat.

Founded in 1925 to “organize the entire Hindu society” through individual character building and instilling “discipline and social consciousness,” the RSS is the parent organization of the Sangh Parivar (literally the RSS’ Family), which is an umbrella grouping of organizations including the RSS, the BJP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), etc.

Although these organizations ostensibly have different stated primary functions — the BJP, for instance, was set up as a party to contest elections and gain political power, and the BMS and the ABVP to organize workers and students, respectively — they work in tandem to achieve objectives. Thus, activists from all Parivar constituents participated in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, and in the anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat in 2002.

Jha described the Parivar as “a multi-headed hydra-like organization in which one can make a distinction [between the different constituent organizations] only at the leadership level; the main body is the same.”

During elections, the entire Parivar, “including the RSS, turns itself into a gigantic election machine,” Jha said, with “the disciplined and extremely intolerant cadres of the RSS providing the sheet anchor for the BJP – from working at the booth level wherever they are present to kicking up polarizing issues for the electoral benefits of the BJP.” According to Jha, “a network of senior RSS men in the BJP act as the representatives of the parent organization, monitoring, directing, and guiding the party’s approach to any major issues.”

The RSS denies that it engages in political activity. While it does admit to participating in election campaigns, the aim is to “sensitize voters” on “cultural values and social problems that plague our society,” an RSS pracharak (propagandist) in Bengaluru told The Diplomat.

“We discuss ‘cultural’ issues, like the building of the Ram Temple,” he said, insisting that the demolition of the mosque and subsequent building of the temple at the site in Ayodhya are “cultural matters.” He categorically stated that RSS workers “do not solicit votes for any party, including the BJP.” At best, “we may speak of the importance of having a government that protects our cultural values,” he said.

Why does the RSS deny its involvement in political activity? Why is it anxious to maintain a cultural façade? The reasons can be traced back to events in 1948-1949.

Following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by an RSS functionary in January 1948, the RSS was banned by the central government. According to Jha, the RSS was “desperate to wriggle out of the ban,” and so pledged to function solely as a cultural organization and not engage in politics. The RSS constitution specifically mentions this; Article 4 states: “The Sangh, as such, has no politics and is devoted purely to cultural work.”

Expanding beyond “cultural work” would not only make the RSS seem like it is violating its own constitution but also, legally this would put the RSS in “a very weak spot,” Jha pointed out. It could even “attract government action, in case and whenever there is a change in the regime.”

According to Jha, traditionally, the RSS leadership has maintained “ambiguity in its relationship with the BJP,” which has helped it to project an “image of an apolitical, cultural body.”

However, over the past decade of BJP rule the ambiguity in this relationship, which previously had provided the RSS with “security cover,” has declined. With the “security cover” eroded, the RSS’ political core lies exposed, leaving the group vulnerable to opposition attacks and government action, Jha said.

The BJP is expected to win the general elections and return to power for a third consecutive time. However, the possibility of the opposition INDIA bloc coming to power cannot be completely ruled out. In his speeches, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has often equated the BJP with the RSS, and several INDIA bloc politicians do not seem opposed to banning the RSS should they come to power. The possibility of government action has unsettled the RSS.

According to Jha, “the whole exercise by Nadda and Madhav is, therefore, aimed at restoring the ‘security cover’ to the RSS by re-emphasizing the ambiguity in the RSS-BJP relationship.”

Some have interpreted Nadda’s remarks distinguishing the RSS from the BJP as a “virtual declaration of independence by the BJP from the RSS,” a public declaration that the BJP “doesn’t need any hand-holding by the patriarch anymore.” Such interpretations have triggered speculation over a rift between the RSS and the BJP.

Although the RSS and the BJP have differences and the relationship between Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagvat is strained, the Parivar is not staring at a split. Indeed, the manner in which BJP and RSS leaders have swung to action to provide “security cover” for the RSS suggests that this is still one family.

Sikh separatist contests India election from jail, a worry for government

A jailed Sikh separatist leader is running in India's general election from prison and receiving significant support, according to his campaign managers.

The New Arab Staff & Agencies
31 May, 2024

Amritpal Singh responding to questions during an interview at village Jallupur Khera on March 2, 2023 in Amritsar, India. 

(Photo by Sameer Sehgal/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

A jailed Sikh separatist leader is contesting India's general election from prison and drawing good support, his campaign managers said, in what could become a concern for New Delhi which has sought to stamp out any revival of Sikh militancy.

Amritpal Singh, 31, is detained in a high-security prison in Assam, nearly 3,000 km (1,865 miles) from his Khadoor Sahib constituency in Punjab state, where villages and towns are dotted with posters depicting him with swords and bullet-proof vests.

Singh was arrested last year and jailed under a tough security law after he and hundreds of his supporters stormed a police station with swords and firearms, demanding the release of one of his aides.

A win for him in an election to parliament could give Singh some legitimacy and spark concerns of a revival of a militancy that killed tens of thousands of people in the 1970s and 1980s.

"People will make their decision on June 1," Singh's father Tarsem, 61, said referring to the voting in the constituency on Saturday. "They will send an important message to those who have maligned his image, to those who are defaming our community and our Punjab."

Tarsem Singh spoke inside a Sikh temple set beside wheat fields and a river canal. Portraits of Sikhs who were killed during the militancy in Punjab, called "martyrs" by Singh's supporters, were pinned on the walls.

Sikhs are the majority community in Punjab but they constitute just 2% of India's 1.4 billion people. Sikh militants began agitating for an independent homeland in the 1970s but the insurgency was largely suppressed by the early 1990s with harsh crackdowns.

However, Sikh separatism has made global headlines in the last year as Canada and the United States have accused India of being involved in assassination plots against Sikhs in those countries, charges New Delhi has denied.

Singh said in a 2023 interview that he was seeking a separate homeland for Sikhs and the people of Punjab, where the religion was founded more than 500 years ago.

Singh's 'tsunami'

To be sure, Singh's campaign is focused on fighting Punjab's drug problem, freeing former Sikh militants from prison and protecting the Sikh identity in Hindu majority India. His father and aides are careful to avoid any mention of the idea of a Sikh homeland.

"There is a tsunami in the name of Amritpal Singh, anyone who stands against him will be swept off," said Imaan Singh Khara, 27, Singh's lawyer.

Community leaders pushed Singh to contest from Khadoor Sahib, a historical centre for Sikhs on the border with Pakistan, despite his initial hesitation, his aides said. Indian law allows undertrials to contest polls.

Singh is contesting as an independent and his main rivals - also all Sikhs - belong to the opposition Congress party, the Sikh-centric Shiromani Akali Dal, Punjab's ruling Aam Aadmi Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Amritpal Singh may have some support but not enough to win, said BJP candidate Manjit Singh Manna. "People have seen the militancy days, they don't want those days toreturn," Manna said.


Demand for a separate Sikh nation has more support abroad, but a rise in support for Singh risks giving new legs to extremist politics at a time when mainstream parties are wrapped in their own rivalries, analysts say.

"Once you weaken the moderates, people get articulation through these fringe radicals, which is a danger signal," said Pramod Kumar, chairperson of the Institute for Development and Communication, based in the city of Chandigarh.

"Amritpal may win, in a four-cornered contest he may win."