On Saturday, twenty second July 2023, an FIR was registered in opposition to Mukesh Machkar – editor of Marathi Cartoon Weekly Marmik – for inciting hatred and violence in opposition to Brahmin ladies over the current Manipur situation. Mukesh Machkar mentioned in his Facebook publish that he would contribute cash to those that pack the ladies with surnames Bhide, Gadgil, and Nadkarni in a sack and ship them to Manipur. He additionally added that he’ll sponsor a half-litre of petrol if anybody needs to do “something else” with them.
This FIR is filed within the Cyber Police department of Pune City on the Alankar Police Station within the Erandwana space of Pune and it’s based mostly on the criticism filed by 35-year-old Marathi creator Ashwini Kulkarni. While Mukesh Machkar represents the so-called “moral compass” of the progressive ideology of Maharashtra, it’s essential to first perceive the background of the issues which went on to construct this controversy.
It began with the viral video of the Manipur Tragedy
On July 19 horrifying visuals of two ladies being stripped bare and paraded bare surfaced from Manipur. The visuals present two ladies being paraded bare whereas a gaggle of males round them heckled them, after which being dragged right into a paddy subject. It was reported that the 2 victims have been then gang-raped. It was additionally reported that the victims have been from the Kuki neighborhood and the assailants have been from the Meitei neighborhood.
A wave of condemnation unfold over social media. While many individuals lively on social media condemned the incident as a real response to this heinous incident, many others had their private agenda of sieging the BJP authorities within the state and within the Center over this situation. They not solely questioned PM Modi on this late-reported situation but in addition disregarded the agency resolve he confirmed about coping with such crimes in his assertion the following day.
While everybody condemned this heinous crime and demanded motion, the Leftists and Islamists who have been expressing their horror over the Manipur incident, glossed over comparable incidents from West Bengal the place Hindu ladies have been raped, paraded bare and overwhelmed up.
Mukesh Machkar significantly focused Brahmins – and that too Brahmin ladies – from this clout of social media customers and spewed venom in opposition to them. It is notable that Mukesh Machkar has greater than 25000 followers on Facebook and holds a reasonably widespread compounding affect on the opinion of the Marathi diaspora being an editor of a 63-year-old Cartoon Weekly based by none aside from Balasaheb Thackeray. Weekly Marmik served as a mouthpiece of Shiv Sena earlier than it began a every day newspaper “Saamana”.
What did Mukesh Machkar publish?
Mukesh Machkar wrote in his Facebook publish, “I will give a contribution of rupees one thousand to pack Bhide, Gadgil, and Nadkarni women in a sack and send them to Manipur. Also, will give half a litre of petrol if there is any other plan!”
Notably, Bhide, Gadgil, and Nadkarni are the surnames generally discovered within the Marathi Brahmin Community. Peshwas of the Maratha empire, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Veer Savarkar, and lots of different eminent Marathi personalities belong to this neighborhood. Nathuram Godse who shot MK Gandhi lifeless additionally comes from this neighborhood. What Mukesh Machkar incited by means of this publish is nothing however a genocide of this neighborhood just like the one witnessed by Maharashtra in 1948 after MK Gandhi’s assassination.
Facebook publish by Mukesh Machkar
In this publish Mukesh Machkar not solely incited hatred and violence in opposition to one neighborhood, however he focused ladies of the neighborhood. By ‘sending to Manipur’ he basically meant that the ladies of this neighborhood deserve an analogous therapy because the one obtained by the Kuki victims within the viral video. It due to this fact looks as if Mukesh Machkar by means of this publish was basically declaring a reward of rupees 1000 for raping the ladies of the Brahmin neighborhood.
Mukesh Machkar is a author and has labored in famous secular liberal media homes like Maharashtra Times. Presently. He is the editor of Weekly Marmik which was began by Balasaheb Thackeray with a tagline that learn – “For Justified Rights of the Marathi People”. Mukesh Machkar incited hatred and violence in opposition to Marathi ladies whereas “decorating the editorial chair of this Weekly Marmik with his distinguished presence”.
Ashwini Kulkarni’s Complaint in opposition to Mukesh Machkar
Noted Marathi author Ashwini Kulkarni filed a criticism in opposition to Mukesh Machkar within the Pune City Cyber Police. Ashwini Kulkarni is thought for her guide based mostly on the lifetime of Shrimant Peshwin Kashibai (श्रीमंत पेशवीण काशीबाई) – the spouse of Peshwa Bajirao the First. OpIndia has secured a replica of this criticism. In her criticism, she mentioned, “The above post was uploaded from the Facebook profile of Mukesh Machkar. Mukesh Machkar has a lot of followers as he is the executive editor of the weekly magazine Marmik. The post, which he uploaded to Facebook, has garnered a total of 751 likes, 178 comments and 18 shares so far.”
Ashwini Kulkarni additional mentioned, “A video and news of women being stripped, paraded and tortured in Manipur have gone viral on social media. This type of thing is condemnable and slanderous in nature. There is a sense of anger among all the citizens about this incident. We also condemn this practice.”
Ashwini Kulkarni added in her criticism, “However, in response to the incident in Manipur, the social media user Mukesh Machkar posted the above on his Facebook profile, expressing his hatred towards the particular community and women of that community. By making such provocative statements, he instigated people to commit violence against women of a particular surname and caste, he instigated to use petrol by putting them in sacks and posted posts with a strong possibility of promoting enmity among the classes by stifling enmity between the castes or different religions and creating enmity between them.”
Ashwini Kulkarni concluded her criticism by saying, “The response his post received shows that many people are willing to get involved in such violent activities. So, I think there is a strong possibility of a law and order problem as atrocities are being fuelled in the state along the lines of Manipur. I have a legal complaint against this Facebook profile holder, Mukesh Machkar, for posting a post that would defame these women of a particular community and would incite hatred and enmity between different castes and religions.”
The FIR in opposition to Mukesh Machkar
The Pune Police filed an FIR in opposition to Muksh Machkar on the idea of the criticism filed by author Ashwini Kulkarni. The police have booked Mukesh Machkar beneath sections 153A, 500 and 505 of the IPC. OpIndia has secured a replica of this FIR.
While talking about this case, Ashwini Kulkarni mentioned, “We all know about the heinous incident that took place in Manipur. It tarnished humanity. We all condemned it. It is sad that a few people are using this incident for their political gains. I saw a post by Mukesh Machkar who is the editor of Marmik. This post is objectionable and low-grade. He said that women of particular surnames should be sent to Manipur and burnt with petrol. He was ready to sponsor the act. Surprisingly, many people expressing themselves in the comments below that post were ready to assist Mukesh Machkar in this activity. To protest this, I filed a complaint in the police station. It contains non-bailable sections too. As soon as Mukesh Machkar knew that someone has filed an FIR, he realised that his post was wrong. He deleted the post and shared another post of apology on his Facebook profile.”
Ashwini Kulkarni added, “But, once a post is shared, its screenshots are viral on the internet, it does not make any sense even if you apologise or delete the post. It is useless. Therefore, an action shall be taken against him. I will not take my complaint back. I want to ask that when the whole country is outraged against the incident that took place in Manipur, how can one dare to share such a post? Who gives right to Mukesh Machkar to pack those ladies in a sack and send them to Manipur? If a common man shares such a post, it can be ignored. Mukesh Machkar should have realised that being the executive editor of a popular Weekly like Marmik, he should have shared the social media posts responsibly. I urge the government and the police to take firm action against this person as soon as possible and set an example so that no one should dare again to share any such post against any woman. If anyone dares to do so again, we will file a complaint again.”
Mukesh Machkar deleted the publish and furnished a meaningless apology
Mukesh Machkar deleted the publish after it reached to lots. Later he issued a virtually meaningless apology on his Facebook profile. He wrote, “My post in reference to some persons who have posted insensitive posts in the context of atrocities against women in Manipur has gone viral in the sense that it is a hate speech against a particular caste. That wasn’t my intention. I don’t hate any race. However, the post remained ambiguous as it simply spelt out the last name and did not explicitly mention the people involved, leading to this misunderstanding.”
Mukesh Machkar added, “In a fit of rage, I also made inflammatory comments and mis-wording. I’m sorry about that. Let me reiterate, I am not a hater of any caste or religion. I have deleted this post after noticing the mess. Nevertheless, I sincerely apologise to those whose feelings have been hurt by that post. Sorry!”
Facebook publish by Mukesh Machkar
Even within the feedback of this publish of apology, many followers and supporters of this Mukesh Machkar have been seen backing him. One of them mentioned, “Do not apologise at all Sir. These people deserve the same. I shared the screenshots of their posts. You did not post anything wrong at all. We are with you.”
Tushar Damgude calls out the progressive liberals of Maharashtra
While digging extra in regards to the situation, OpIndia contacted Pune-based Hindu activist Tushar Damgude. He is without doubt one of the fundamental complainants within the Bhima-Koregaon case that unearthed the city naxals racket activated within the Elgar Parishad in 2018.
Tushar Damgude mentioned, “Mukesh Machkar is an executive editor of an old weekly named Marmik. Marmik was started by Balasaheb Thackeray to uphold the interests of the Marathi people. I feel sad as a Marathi Manus to see that the same Marathi weekly editor is spewing venom against Marathi women who have surnames like Bhide, Nadkarni, etc. It is a day to mourn as a Marathi Manus indeed. It is high time for Uddhav Thackeray and Rashmi Thackeray to think about whether this pervert person Mukesh Machkar should be continued as an executive editor of Marmik. Marathi Manus will know the thoughts of Thackerays about Marathi people and Maharashtra from the action they take against Mukesh Machkar.”
Tushar Damgude additional mentioned, “For the past few years we have repeatedly seen that the so-called progressive liberal seculars in this country are setting up a narrative that supports violence. We all have seen what happened in America. News spread that the electoral results are not in favour of a particular group of American people. These people captured the capitol hill. They stood against their own armed forces. Some people are trying to incite this kind of situation in India. We have seen it in Manipur. Indian people stood in front of the forces. Women stripped themselves to ensure that declared rioters get a free hand. Even in the past, we have seen rumours spread saying that mosques are demolished in Tripura. It was done to incite riots across the country.”
The Mukesh Machkar incident represents an extension of the anti-social toolkit
About social media and its accountable utilization Tushar Damgude mentioned, “One should not take the use of social media so lightly. Even mainstream media should not ignore it. Why this is being done so? It is because of the upcoming elections. If Narendra Modi is voted to power once again in 2024, these people will deduce its meaning as ‘The democracy in the country is doomed. So we will take the democratic establishment of this country into our hands by acting against the state, the armed forces and by blocking the roads, etc.’ There are some people who think in this way only and propagate this thought. This is a sign of imposing anarchy here. It is a sign of inciting people to create riots and a civil war-like situation.”
Tushar Damgude additional mentioned, “It is nothing but what we call urban naxals and the fifth-generation war. It is nothing but an attempt of capturing power by making the people of the country stand against each other. These self-proclaimed liberal secular progressive people do not trust the election commission. They do not trust the judiciary. They do not trust any news channels too. they do not trust the government elected by the people of this country through a democratic electoral process. They do not trust government officers. All they want is that everyone should accept their demands and agree to their thoughts without raising any doubts or questions. If it is not agreed and accepted, they are ready to block the roads. They are ready to attack you by gathering a huge number of people. They incite the people against you by writing on various media platforms like this Mukesh Machkar did. Such incidents are repeated frequently. The government should take serious cognizance of this and act on it. There should be some restrictions on social media and news channels too. The government should send a message to the people that this country is still ruled by law and order.”
Conclusion
Marmik which as soon as was Shiv Sena mouthpiece is now revealed by Prabodhan Prakashan. It is led by Rashmi Uddhav Thackeray. Mukesh Machkar – a left-leaning so-called progressive liberal author in Marathi was introduced on board as an govt editor through the MVA interval solely. This incident is seen as a manifestation of the novel ideological shift in Uddhav Thackeray’s stance. In the prime years of the Eighties the identical ‘Weekly Marmik’ had stalwart journalists like Bhau Torsekar on its editorial board who regardless of all odds continued to be related and most adopted Marathi journalists even within the digital period.
Mukesh Machkar’s appointment as the manager editor of the Weekly Marmik thus represents the about flip of the pro-Marathi pro-Hindu periodical and Uddhav Thackeray and Rashmi Thackeray giving a free move to Mukesh Machkar’s pervert publish in opposition to Marathi Brahmin ladies signifies the violent anti-Hindu inside self of the established and self-proclaimed progressive liberal secular thought leaders in modern Maharashtra.