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Indian Express
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Special Ops 2 trailer: India faces UPI data theft threat and Kay Kay Menon is the only one who can save us now. Watch
Special Ops 2 trailer: 'India is the largest user of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and the data of the users is stored on the servers of the National Payments Department. I want access to these servers; just for 10 minutes,' demands the leader of the squad that has taken the country's 'most brilliant scientist' hostage. Upon learning this, Himmat Singh (Kay Kay Menon) declares, 'Now, the country that wins this cyberwar will win it all', setting the stage for a high-octane battle against cyber-terrorism, with a looming threat of data theft that could potentially derail the lives of millions. The trailer for the latest season of the hit action-espionage thriller streaming series Special Ops is here, promising an even more gripping and exhilarating ride as Himmat Singh, a member of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), and his squad gear up to take cyber-terrorism head-on. 'The enemy country in this crisis is China,' Himmat reveals, indicating that creator Neeraj Pandey is aiming even higher this time in terms of canvas. Also Read | Aamir Khan on photo with Turkey President Erdogan, receiving hate post Operation Sindoor: 'I met him when Indian govt was helping…' However, it is not just the enemies outside that they must battle, but also the ones within. Referring to this, we hear Himmat telling one of his subordinates, '(Desh ke liye nahi) Hum ch***yon ke liye kaam karte hain (Not for the country; we work for fools).' Yet, as always, he refuses to back down as a crisis grips the country, determined to root out the enemies once and for all. Besides Kay Kay Menon, Karan Tacker, Vinay Pathak, Muzammil Ibrahim, Saiyami Kher and Meher Vij, who reprise their roles from Special Ops (2020), Tahir Raj Bhasin and Prakash Raj are also part of the cast of Special Ops 2. According to reports, parts of the upcoming series have been filmed in foreign locations such as Budapest, Turkey and Georgia. While Shivam Nair and creator Neeraj Pandey return to the helm, Benazir Ali Fida and Deepak Kingrani are back as writers, along with Pandey himself. The latest edition of the series will begin streaming on JioHotstar from July 11.
The Print
10-06-2025
- Politics
- The Print
From Brutus to hero—How former Sikkim CM Dorjee's image changed in state's history
Sidhu was a well-connected IPS officer. He was the son-in-law of then Foreign Affairs Minister Swaran Singh under Indira Gandhi when he took up his posting in Gangtok in 1973 as the head of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). Sidhu noted that Gandhi's approach to foreign policy was quite different from that of her father, and by this time, Jawaharlal Nehru's key foreign policy and intelligence advisers, TN Kaul and BN Mullik, had given way to Kewal Singh and RN Kao, masters in the strategic game. But the most significant factor was the forceful personality of Indira Gandhi. In fact, Sidhu states clearly in the Preface that one of the reasons he wrote the book was to resurrect the reputation of Dorjee, who had led the movement for democracy in Sikkim. After spending years in political wilderness in Kalimpong ( where I met him both as SDO of Kalimpong and later as the CEO of Himul Milk Project), he received the Padma Vibhushan – India's second highest civilian award in 2002 and the Sikkim Ratan in 2004. If Datta Ray's book Smash and Grab: Annexation of Sikkim had portrayed the Kazi Lhendup Dorjee as the ungrateful Brutus who betrayed the trust of the Chogyal to become the first Chief Minister of the new state, GBS Sidhu's book Sikkim: Dawn of Democracy reversed the stand. After India's decisive military victory of 1971, which changed the cartography of South Asia, she was determined to assert India's role as the dominant regional power. The UN recognition of Bhutan took her by surprise, and the foreign office got quite an earful as India was not consulted on this move. Sidhu highlights Chogyal's antipathy toward his Nepali subjects – whom he felt were outsiders, but by then they were 75 per cent of the population. The more he supported the claims of Bhutias and Lepchas as the first inhabitants of Sikkim, the greater was the anti-Chogyal feeling in the majority community. This was also the key point stressed by BS Das, in his book The Sikkim Saga (1984), the Administrator of Sikkim present along with Sidhu during the period of turmoil. According to Das, had the Chogyal accepted the peaceful transition to adult franchise with a Nepali majority assembly and accepted the position of a constitutional head with symbolic powers per the 1973 arrangements of Sikkim as an Associate state of India, the applecart might not have been rocked. However, Das also admits that there was a lack of ground-level coordination among the different agencies of the government of India. There's also Sikkim: Requiem for a Himalayan Kingdom by the Scotsman Andrew Duff (2015), who was trying to trace his grandfather's travel to the Sikkim Himalayas undertaken over a century ago. He had access to the weekly letters of the Scottish Headmistresses of the Paljor Namgyal Girls' school in Gangtok. Both Martha Hamilton and Isabel Ritchie had maintained their journal, and also wrote regularly to their family in Scotland. These letters and journal entries give a first-hand, contemporaneous account of the events in Gangtok from 1959 to 1975, including the fairytale marriage celebrations of the Chogyal with Hope Cooke. Of course, the perspective is largely that of the royal palace, as the missionaries were often invited to dine with the royal family and shared some of their confidences. However, to be fair to Duff, he also gives the viewpoint of the other dramatis personae, including Kazi Saheb, in his narrative. In Kolkata, at a literature festival in 2016, I spoke to Duff. The focus of the book is not political – but the major events do find a fair coverage in its pages. Also read: Sikkim's accession to India has 6 stories. And 3 strong-willed women India's 22nd state In 2021, Ambassador Preet Mohan Singh Malik, who had been posted in Sikkim in the late 1960s, penned his memoirs under the title Sikkim: A History of Intrigue and Alliance in 2021. He delves deep into history and has a keen interest in historical reasoning. Even before listing the contents, he quotes professor and former Ambassador of India to China KM Panikkar: 'But a nation can neglect geography only at its peril.' The thesis advanced in the book is that India under Nehru neglected 'geography'. But in hindsight, Panikkar too can be accused of giving a clean chit to the Chinese Communist Party's 'imperial ambitions' concerning the non-Han nationalities. In fact, Nehru's China policy was shaped, over and above the protestations of the Secretary General of the foreign office, Girja Shankar Bajpai, by the dispatches from Panikkar, who was, in many ways, a fellow traveller. The 18 chapters are divided into three parts: Britain, Tibet and Sikkim; Britain and its perfidious dealings with Tibet; and India, Tibet, and Sikkim. Malik combines insights into the erstwhile kingdom's unique history with the intriguing story of how Sikkim became India's 22nd state. He examines the often-fraught relationship between the Lepchas (Rongpas) — its original inhabitants — and the Bhutias, people of Tibetan origin who established institutions of religion and governance, and founded the Namgyal dynasty that ruled Sikkim until it became a part of the Indian Union. He also traces the clash of both with the Nepali settlers who would eventually form the majority. Last, but not least, let us look at a book written by Biraj Adhikari, an insider: Sikkim: The Wounds of History (2010). As his name suggests, Adhikari is a Sikkimese of Nepali origin. He was a school-going teenager when he had to learn a new national anthem and salute a new flag. He writes about the dilemma of talking about the 'merger' in public, while calling it an 'annexation' in private conversation. Adhikari is not an apologist for the Chogyal either – he points out that for all his pretensions of sovereignty, the Chogyal always held an Indian passport. Adhikari blames the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi for describing the 1956 Chogyal trip to New Delhi as a 'state visit', and playing the Sikkim National Anthem on his ceremonial arrival. His book talks about the multiple dilemmas faced by his generation. Are Sikkimese full-fledged Indians, especially in the context of 371 F? Well, even though Sikkimese have all the privileges of Indian citizenship, what about Indians living in Sikkim? They are denied several privileges reserved for Sikkim state subjects—preferential access to education, employment and land rights and exemption from the payment of income tax. As Sikkim grows at a double-digit pace, it would certainly attract many more non-Sikkimese Indians, and a demographic change of a magnitude similar to the one in the latter half of the 19th century may be in the offing. And if demography is indeed destiny, then those currently enjoying the privileges of being Sikkim state subjects may resist the extension of similar rights to the rest of their countrymen. Adhikari tried his hand in the democratic polity of Sikkim—but was always second in the hustings. However, he was always an influential voice in Sikkim poetics – having been associated with Sikkim National Congress, Sikkim National Peoples Party, and Hamro Sikkim. But he hopes for a closure to the apprehensions which many people in this state, with a fragile demography, are legitimately concerned with. One hopes that this extended essay gives us an insight not just into the facts of the case, but also about the multiple perspectives that shape our understanding of the events in the past. History, as they say, is always in the making. Sanjeev Chopra is a former IAS officer and Festival Director of Valley of Words. Until recently, he was director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. He tweets @ChopraSanjeev. Views are personal. (Edited by Ratan Priya)
The Wire
07-06-2025
- The Wire
Nikhil Gupta Sought Dismissal of Charges, Lawyers Say Filing Was ‘Inadvertent'
Menu हिंदी తెలుగు اردو Home Politics Economy World Security Law Science Society Culture Editor's Pick Opinion Support independent journalism. Donate Now World Nikhil Gupta Sought Dismissal of Charges, Lawyers Say Filing Was 'Inadvertent' Devirupa Mitra 39 minutes ago Pre-trial proceedings for Gupta, who is accused of plotting to hire a hitman on behalf of a former Indian intelligence officer to assassinate US citizen and Khalistani separatist lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, are scheduled to begin this month. File image. A screengrab from a video released on June 18, 2024 by Czech police, of the extradition of Nikhil Gupta to the US. Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute now New Delhi: In an unexpected twist ahead of his trial later this year, jailed Indian businessman Nikhil Gupta submitted a signed letter to a federal New York judge seeking dismissal of his indictment, only for his lawyer to inform the court that the filing had been made 'inadvertently.' Gupta, who is accused of plotting to hire a hitman on behalf of a former Indian intelligence officer to assassinate US citizen and Khalistani separatist lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, is scheduled to go on trial in November, with pre-trial proceedings set to begin later this month. He has been in US federal custody since June 2024, following his arrest at Prague airport and subsequent extradition from the Czech Republic. The former Research and Analysis Wing officer Vikas Yadav is also charged in the indictment, but his whereabouts in India are still unknown. On May 29, the court formally received Gupta's seven-page letter, in which he asked the judge to throw out the charges against him and release him immediately on bail. The move raised eyebrows, as Gupta submitted the motion himself despite being represented by court-appointed attorneys. In his letter, emailed to the court, Gupta argued that the indictment was legally flawed because it did not cite a specific state or federal law that would have been broken had the alleged murder-for-hire plot been carried out. He also contended that his extradition from the Czech Republic was invalid because it was based on what he called a 'defective' indictment. The next day, Judge Victor Marrero of the Southern District of New York asked defence counsel whether they were aware of the pro se motion and whether Gupta truly intended to proceed with it. The judge noted that not only was Gupta already represented by two lawyers, who were appointed by the court, but that they had already decided on a pre-trial motion schedule. 'Defense Counsel is directed to confirm whether they are aware of Defendant's filing and whether it is Defendant's wish to proceed with the Pro Se Motion,' said Judge Marreo in his order dated May 30. Incidentally, Gupta is now on his third set of defence lawyers since arriving in the United States. His first lawyer withdrew in October last year, citing non-payment and 'irreconcilable differences' with client. The next set, appointed by the court at Gupta's request, remained on the case for about five months. His current lawyers, also court-appointed, have been representing him since April. In response to the judge's order, Matthew LaRoche and Nola B. Heller submitted a letter on May 30 itself, stating they had spoken with Gupta and that he had confirmed he was 'very satisfied with our representation' and did not wish to move forward with the self-filed motion. As for the filing, the lawyers said Gupta had 'inadvertently filed it.' However, the prosecution recommended, as per the letter, that the judge confirm Gupta's position in open court at the next pretrial conference. They said the judge should ask Gupta directly if he was satisfied with his lawyers and whether he still wished to withdraw the motion. The defence disagreed, saying Gupta's position had already been clearly conveyed. When contacted by The Wire, Matthew LaRoche declined to comment. Speaking to The Wire, former assistant US attorney and a partner at New York law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman, Jacques Semmelman, said that that the argument 'in Mr Gupta's letter to the court, that a defective indictment makes the extradition invalid and requires his release, is entirely incorrect' 'There is no remedy in the US legal system that provides what he's asking for. I am not agreeing that his indictment is defective as he claims, but even if it were defective, that would not invalidate the extradition. Once he is here, the US court does not inquire how he arrived,' he said. Semmelmans also noted that Nikhil Gupta has an 'extremely well-regarded defense attorney, Mr. LaRoche'. 'He's a top criminal defense attorney at a very prominent law firm, Milbank. Mr Gupta has top-notch representation,' he added. A week after the court acknowledged the letter, the federal judge on June 6 accepted the defence's request to withdraw Gupta's motion to dismiss all charges. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments. Make a contribution to Independent Journalism Related News As India and Canada's Foreign Ministers Speak Over Phone, Signs of a Further Thaw in Ties Lalu's Son Tej Pratap Is Expelled from RJD For the Second Time in Five Years Following Backlash, Delhi PWD Removes Photos of People Cleaning Drains Without Safety Gear Five Stark Instances Counter Environment Minister's 'Democracy Walking Alongside Development' Remark 'Numbers Matter, Else CDS Would Have Made Them Public': Sushant Singh Interview | What to Do When Your Mother-Tongue Fades Away Watch | 'Numbers Matter, Else CDS Would Have Made it Public': Sushant Singh Six Times Misogyny Overshadowed BJP's Symbolism Post-Operation Sindoor India's Inability to Produce Engines Makes Its Forces Vulnerable to Geopolitics and More View in Desktop Mode About Us Contact Us Support Us © Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
The Print
05-06-2025
- Politics
- The Print
NSAB chief Alok Joshi bats for intelligence sharing among agencies
'India stands at a pivotal moment where technology can revolutionize law enforcement. However, success of this revolution depends on collecting data and analysing it, sharing it swiftly within and across agencies and recalibrating systems through feedback, all the while placing the human factor at the heart of our efforts,' said Joshi in his address. Joshi, who was addressing delegates at the 'Police Technology Summit 2025' at Rashtriya Raksha University in Gandhinagar, headed the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), apex level agencies in the country's intelligence mechanism, before helming NSAB. Gandhinagar, Jun 5 (PTI) National Security Advisory Board chairman Alok Joshi on Thursday emphasised the need for intelligence sharing among government agencies for better results and asserted that one of the challenges agencies face is breaking the silos in which they operate. 'One of the challenges that India is facing is breaking the silos without compromising on the principle of 'need to know'. I think that is something which is central to our system and it will not go away,' Joshi said. He emphasised that analysing and operationalising intelligence is equally important. 'So, my request to the police officers here is that if you are receiving information or sharing information, remember that there's somebody who is a consumer of that information. What would you expect the consumer to do with that information? I think this is something that has to be ingrained in the system, both at the time of collection, and both at the time of dissemination' said Joshi. He said no intelligence is complete without feedback, but it is equally difficult to get feedback on the input shared with other agencies. 'It is very difficult, but as a producer, it is your duty to chase it. Ensure that you get feedback or have a relationship with that organization where you have the trust and the confidence built in to give you that feedback,' he told the delegates. Asserting that analysing and operationalising intelligence is equally important, Joshi said all officials must remember that someone is the consumer of the information they are receiving. 'What would you expect the consumer to do with that information? I think this is something that has to be ingrained in the system, both at the time of collection, and at the time of dissemination,' he said. He said no intelligence is complete without feedback, but it is equally difficult to get feedback on the input shared with other agencies. 'It is very difficult, but as a producer, it is your duty to chase it. Ensure that you get feedback or have a relationship with that organization where you have the trust and the confidence built in to give you that feedback,' he added. During his address, Joshi also said the government should share the development cost incurred by entrepreneurs building indigenous technologies. 'If you want to strengthen your indigenous effort, you have to pay the cost for it. The development cost has to be shared by the government. At NSAB, we have started taking a re-look at the procurement process, especially for policing and security agencies. It is necessary because you can't have a no cost-no commitment principle. Working in this kind of environment, it will just not work. It will not encourage the industry' he stressed. PTI PJT PD BNM This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Express Tribune
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
RAW funding Fitna al Hindustan: Bugti
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti has stated that India's intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), is sponsoring the terrorist group "Fitna al Hindustan" to destabilise Pakistan. Addressing a news conference in the provincial capital alongside Provincial Minister for Planning and Development Zahoor Ahmed Buledi and Balochistan Chief Secretary, the chief minister said that India's intelligence agency RAW is actively supporting terrorist groups to destabilise peace in Pakistan, especially in Balochistan. He added that the group was "purely terrorist" and has no connection to the Baloch people or the province of Balochistan. During the news conference, misleading reports by Indian media were also shown, including false claims about Karachi Port amid recent tensions between Pakistan and India. Audio recordings of Fitna al Hindustan operatives Shanbay and Rehman Gul were also played for journalists, in which they could be heard exchanging information with their RAW handlers. The chief minister further said that the terrorists responsible for the killing of innocent children in Khuzdar were acting under the instructions of Fitna al Hindustan, with funding and directives provided by RAW. "These terrorists are not representatives of the Baloch people; they are merely tools of RAW." "India cannot tolerate Pakistan's growing economy and aims to harm us through proxy warfare," he said. The chief minister dismissed reports of enforced disappearances.
