Monthly Archives: October 2022

The UAE Ministry of Defence on Tuesday said that its two national tankers, Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, were struck by two Iranian cruise missiles while transiting the southern shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz in Omani territorial waters.

In a statement, the UAE MoD said that the attack killed one Indian crew member aboard the Mombasa and injured eight others, including six Indian nationals and two Ukrainians, four of whom sustained serious injuries.

“The Ministry of Defence announces that the national tankers Mombasa and Al Bahiyah were targeted by two Iranian cruise missiles while transiting the southern shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz, within Omani territorial waters. The attack resulted in the death of one Indian crew member aboard the Mombasa tanker and the injury of eight others, including four who sustained serious injuries. The injured comprise six Indian nationals and two Ukrainian nationals. The attack also caused material damage to both tankers as a result of the fires that broke out on board, which have since been brought under control,” the post read. 

Condemning the strike as a grave violation of international law, the UAE said it reserves the right to respond and has heightened its state of readiness to safeguard its security and national interests.

UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) also condemned and denounced the attack in the strongest terms.

“The Ministry extended its sincere condolences and sympathy to the family of the victim, as well as to the Government and people of the Republic of India, and wished all the injured a speedy recovery,” the statement read.

The Ministry emphasised that targeting commercial shipping and using the Strait of Hormuz as a tool of “economic coercion” or “blackmail” constitutes an act of piracy and poses a direct threat to the stability of the region, its peoples, and global energy security.

“The UAE stressed the need for Iran to halt these unprovoked attacks, ensure its full commitment to an immediate cessation of all hostilities, and the complete and unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in order to safeguard regional security and maintain the stability of the global economy and trade,” the UAE said.

This development follows renewed hostilities between the US and Iran after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) closed the Strait of Hormuz, which triggered American retaliatory strikes on 140 locations across Iran.

Concurrently, the United States announced that it will resume blockading maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports starting Tuesday evening.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump stated that the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz would specifically target Iran, while allowing vessels from other nations to continue transiting through the strategic waterway.

Speaking to reporters after signing an Executive Order, Trump said the blockade would apply only to Iran and those doing business with Tehran. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content

Even as gurdwaras and villages across Jalandhar and its outskirts host special screenings of the controversial film “Satluj” following its ban on streaming platform ZEE5, the film is also drawing attention for the brief yet significant appearances of two actors from the city. 

Jalandhar-based advocate, theatre artiste and actor Neeraj Kaushik plays a human rights activist who accompanies the film’s protagonist, Jaswant Singh Khalra, portrayed by Diljit Dosanjh, on visits to victims’ families. City-based artiste Santosh Basra appears as a neighbour questioned by a CBI team searching for one of the characters.

Actor and singer Santosh Basra made a cameo appearance in the film Satluj. 

Kaushik has previously appeared in projects such as “Kohrra” —where he shared screen space with Suvinder Vicky, who also features in “Satluj” — and “Sadda Haq”, another film set against the backdrop of Punjab’s militancy era. According to Kaushik, while the makers expected some controversy because of the film’s sensitive subject, the scale of the backlash took them by surprise.

“‘Satluj’ was conceived in 2019 and shooting began in late 2020. At the time, many politically correct films were being made, and Honey Trehan and the team never imagined that a film depicting events from Punjab’s past would face objections of this magnitude. The film neither criticises any current political dispensation nor endorses separatist ideology. Therefore, such a large-scale controversy was unexpected, especially since approvals had been obtained from Jaswant Singh Khalra’s family as well as the SGPC. We expected some debate because of the subject, and there were a few permission-related issues during filming, but nothing on this scale,” he said.

Recalling his experience on the sets, Kaushik said his role was inspired by the network of human rights activists who worked alongside Khalra. 

“The work of human rights activist Ram Narayan Kumar, author of book “Reduced to Ashes”, along with several other activists who supported Jaswant Singh Khalra, is well known. I and several other actors portrayed human rights workers associated with Khalra. I was selected after an audition by casting director Varun Bajaj. Honey Trehan liked my audition. We shot for eight days across Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Chandigarh and Patiala. I have great admiration for Honey Trehan. He is a wonderful human being and his research is meticulous. We even filmed in villages where actual disappearances had taken place during the 1990s,” he said.

Kaushik shared screen space with both Diljit Dosanjh and Arjun Rampal, and spoke warmly about working with the two actors.

“Diljit Dosanjh is generally reserved on set, but he enjoys discussing important issues at length. He is deeply spiritual and very protective of junior artistes, speaking up whenever he feels they are not being treated fairly. Once, I asked him how he managed his hectic schedule and superstardom. He simply replied, ‘Kuch nahi haiga yaar, sab ainwai dooron lagda, asi vi onne ku hi khush ya pareshan haan jinna aam banda’ (Stardom seems big from afar. We are as happy or as troubled as any ordinary person),” he recalled.

Speaking about Arjun Rampal, Kaushik said, “He was extremely open, candid and free of any star tantrums. He interacted warmly with everyone on the set and had a very relaxed, easy-going personality. Among the film’s performances, his portrayal is one of my favourites.”

Reflecting on the growing number of OTT films and series centred on Punjab’s social and political issues, Kaushik observed that the state’s changing realities have provided filmmakers with compelling subjects.

“In Punjab, ‘Pehle pyaar mudda tha, ab takraar mudda hai’ (Earlier, love was the dominant theme; today, conflict is). Earlier, Punjabi stories revolved around legendary romances like ‘Heer Ranjha’, ‘Sassi Punnu’ and ‘Sohni Mahiwal’. But the state’s complex social and political realities have made Punjab fertile ground for filmmakers. Just as Anurag Kashyap often turns to Uttar Pradesh or Bihar to explore gang violence, filmmakers increasingly look to Punjab for stories about drugs, militancy, policing and conflict. These films are reflections of both the state’s past and its contemporary upheavals.” 

Jalandhar-based actor, singer and artiste Santosh Basra, who also makes a cameo appearance in the film, says, “It was a beautiful and serious project. Working on the film was a great experience. The controversy surrounding it was something we anticipated, as people have not forgotten 1984 and its aftermath. It was also long felt that a film on Khalra Sahib’s life and work needed to be made. This is an issue that resonates across communities in Punjab, as children from both Hindu and Sikh families lost their lives during those years.”

“On the sets, it felt like one big family. I feel proud to have been associated with such an important cinematic project of our times,” she says. Besides Neeraj Kaushik and Santosh Basra, several theatre artistes and actors from the region are part of the film, including Jalandhar-based theatre personality and actor Gurwinder Singh, Haryana-based theatre artiste and actor Rajindra Sharma (Nanu), and theatre actor Emmanuel Singh, among others. Rajindra has been a familiar presence in Jalandhar’s theatre circles and has also appeared in several Bollywood films.

Related  news: Khalra muder convict DSP Jaspal’s name also figured in abduction, disappearance of Shaheed

Arrests made in Imphal East and Thoubal districts during security operations targeting alleged extortion networks, with one rifle and ammunition also recovered

Another person with alleged links with insurgents was also nabbed and arms and ammunition were seized from his possession.

An insurgent belonging to the banned United Peoples’ Party of Kangleipak (UPPK) outfit was apprehended in Porompat area in Imphal East district on Saturday. He has been identified as Salam Bijanda Singh (37).

A militant of Kangleipak Communist Party (Nongdrenkhomba) was arrested from Wangkhei Ayangpalli in Imphal East district on the same day. Another cadre of KCP (Nongdrenkhomba) was also nabbed the same day from Khurai Nandeibam Leikai in Imphal East district. He has been identified as Md Motim (31).

Meanwhile, security forces arrested a person with alleged links with militants in Yairipok Pechi Road area under the jurisdiction of Yairipok police station in Thoubal district on Sunday.

A self-loading rifle with a magazine and 10 cartridges were also seized from the possession of the man, identified as Chagisongtanbou Nkhamnamai (46), the statement added.

Manoranjan Kalia, Pargat Singh warn minister against reopening Punjab’s old wounds

Video clips of dead, clean-shaven men from Punjab’s dark days of militancy on the X feed of Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu are being viewed with grave concern by both his fellow BJP leaders as well as Opposition leaders in the state. 

Speaking to The Tribune, senior BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia advocated restraint. “Punjab needs to remember that even during the darkest hours of terrorism, the state never witnessed communal clashes, even during the peak of the 1984 riots. That is why the videos posted by fellow party leader Ravneet Bittu on his X handle are not in the right direction. We need to bury our painful past and move ahead.”

Kalia was reacting to an archival documentary clip on the aftermath of a blast in Punjab targeting the minority community that was shared on Bittu’s X handle. “We lived as pehredars (guards) during those dark days. So even now, instead of providing fodder for a possible repeat of the past, we need to learn from our mistakes for a harmonious future. Selective videos and pictures do not tell the whole truth,” he added.

Asked why he was uploading videos and clips of dead people from the militancy era that clearly identified the community they belonged to, Bittu refused to comment. “The government has no role in allowing or stopping the screening of the ‘Satluj’ movie,” he told The Tribune. 

Punjab Congress leaders, both MLAs and MPs, said they were disturbed by the uploads and questioned how they were being allowed and how they had got past X’s strict content norms.

Congress MLA from Jalandhar Cantt Pargat Singh said, “The BJP is hell-bent on disturbing the hard-earned peace of Punjab. He (Bittu) is purely working on a political agenda of polarising voters. The timing of releasing and then banning the movie ahead of the elections raises several questions,” he told The Tribune.

Former Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar said, “The issue that Bittu is referring to is very sensitive. I would like to go through all the details and will address the media shortly.”

Current BJP president Kewal Dhillon refused to comment on the issue. “I can only say that the period in question during the Congress rule was among the most unfortunate the state ever witnessed,” he said.

However, senior BJP leader and former national vice-president of the party, Laxmi Kanta Chawla, who hails from Amritsar, did not hold back. “Showing the black history of Punjab selectively is not good for Punjab and Punjabis. Bittu should refrain from posting such videos. If he is keen to show the reality to future generations, he should quote from ‘The Kashmir Files’ and ‘The Kerala Story’ and get a project done on Punjab Files. If he is genuinely concerned about peace, he should get the screenings of ‘Satluj’, which are reportedly being held across the state, stopped.”

Chandigarh Congress MP Manish Tewari said, “Punjab went through a very traumatic phase between 1980 and 1995 when it became the first frontier in Pakistan’s strategy to bleed India with a thousand cuts. The only thing that saved Punjab was the bond between Hindus and Sikhs — the composite culture of Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat. There is nothing to be achieved by continuously scratching the barely healed wounds of that decade and a half. Anything that weakens Punjab’s composite identity only plays into the hands of the ISI. Politicians across party lines must realise the sensitivity of living cheek by jowl with Pakistan.” 

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Kalia pointed out that “terrorism in Punjab is a very complex subject. I feel there is no need to make movies like ‘Satluj’ or pass comments on the issue because they cannot do justice to a correct portrayal of those days. Depending on which side you defend, the story will never be complete.” 

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