The previous 2 parts of the article can be accessed here Part 1, Part 2. This is the third part
Responsible citizens be a ‘fact-checker’ yourself
How do governments typically handle serious charges leveled against them by the opposition? They dismiss them as conspiracies against the government. And the opposition hit back calling these conspiracy theories.
Most often, we don’t get to know which of the charges against the government are true. Nor do we get to know which of the conspiracy charges are true.
Often, cases are filed against the government. When the charges are not backed by any evidence, courts dismiss them. The issues die down or get muted. With this, the conspiracy charges against the opposition also die down.
As a responsible public, we should know which of the charges against the government are true… And which of the conspiracy charges against the opposition are true.
Often, we succumb to confirmation bias, believing only what we want to believe.
Some of us go the extra mile and try to authenticate the charges. Usually, we become no wiser as proving or disproving is not easy.
Some third-party websites, platforms, and organizations came up offering ‘fact-checking’ help. It took a while for us to realize that most of these fact-checkers were fake too, as they were biased.
Getting skeptical, some of us started dismissing most of these charges and counter-charges as Conspiracy theories.
But we are discovering that at least some of the counter-charges we discarded as Conspiracy theories could very likely be true.
When the Hindenberg report about Adani shares surfaced, doubts surfaced if this was part of an international conspiracy… Despite the strong possibility of truth in the report of wrongdoing by the Adanis. Then Adani stocks tumbled, and short sellers profited hugely. Then Modi was targeted nationally and in the Parliament.
Recently OSF published a report, damning Adani companies further leading to a further drop in Adani share prices and more profits for short-sellers.
The Supreme Court is seized of the matter and should find the truth about the charges against the Adani Group soon.
But the international conspiracy charges would be given a decent burial, as this is not pending resolution anywhere.
Luckily, recently New York Times (NYT) published a story about a web of conspiracies. It’s well-publicized and has been elaborated by the national media. I don’t propose to go into the details of the story. It will need more than a separate article.
Though the NYT story was about recent conspiracies like the Hindenberg report, the web of conspiracies of the main players of this gang dates back over 2 decades.
The main people involved in these conspiracies range from the global don George Soros and Neville Roy Singham to the likes of local Teesta Setalvad, Dhanya Rajendran, and P Sainath.
The philanthropic, NGO, and media organizations involved in these conspiracies include the US-based Ford Foundation and Rockerfeller Foundation, to CIA, to India based News Click, Free Software Movement of India (FSMI), Open Society Foundation (OSF),… profound names these, Sabrang, Digipub, the Wire, etc.
The countries involved in these conspiracies include China.
The targets in these conspiracies are not just Modi and BJP. They involve the very sovereignty and integrity of the nation, the issues ranging from Indo-China border disputes, and immigrant issues in the North East, esp, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, to exploiting inter-religious issues in many states including Gujarat.
These conspiracies include but are not restricted to the Godhra train burning and subsequent riots to CAA protests and riots, resulting in deaths, injuries, and displacement of people, also affecting the livelihoods of millions of people over 2 decades at least.
Recently OSF published a report, damning the Adani Group of companies further.
Clearly, the conspiracies are extremely serious and diabolical.
Courts will need proof beyond all reasonable doubt to punish the accused as guilty. And give them all kinds of benefits of doubt, like putting the burden of proof on the government.
But public opinion should not require such rigorous proof to even start seriously doubting the suspects.
When the Delhi riots were in full swing in 2020, we got WhatsApp messages that AAP, through some of its leaders, was behind the riots. Soon we dismissed them as fake, conspiracy theories.
But later, Delhi HC said: “2020 Delhi riots pre-meditated conspiracy, did not take place on spur of moment:”[1]. It then framed murder charges against AAP’s Tahir Hussain and Others[2].
Even to this day, Wikipedia (?) presents these riots as an attack by Hindus against Muslims.
So, we realize that the 2020 Delhi riots were indeed a very likely conspiracy, and the messages we received were at least partly true, and not mere conspiracy theories.
What are the consequences of dismissing the initial suspicions as conspiracy theories without due diligence? We would be emboldening the conspirators. Especially in these troubled times of international conspiracies against the nation.
Similarly, when ED and CBI went after AAP leaders, what were we told? That these were fake cases and the charges were conspiracy theories. But subsequently, damning charge sheets have been filed against Satyendra Jain and Manish Sisodia. Bail has been denied to these two top AAP ministers repeatedly. Then we realized that they indeed appear to have indulged in corruption, money laundering, and instigating dangerous riots.
What are the consequences of dismissing the initial suspicions against them as conspiracy theories without due diligence? We could be supporting anti-nationals, emboldening them.
Was Spectrum 2G a conspiracy or a conspiracy theory? A Raja may have been acquitted as not guilty for want of incontrovertible proof. But the sequence of events in the 2G Spectrum allotment makes it abundantly clear that he was fully guilty. So at least in the people’s court, he should be considered guilty. Otherwise, we will be only increasing the tribe of the ultra-corrupt.
The suggestion here is not to jump at every suspicion and accept it as conspiracy, but to keep suspicions about vested interests alive, and to not close the cases, at least in people’s court.
The consequences of repeatedly ignoring conspiracies as conspiracy theories by default will be disastrous for the nation.
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
Reference:
[1] Delhi riots 2020 ‘pre-meditated’ conspiracy, not in spur of the moment: HC – Sep 8, 2021, Deccan Herald
[2] Court Frames Murder Charges Against AAP Leader, Others In Delhi Riots Case – Mar 23, 2023, NDTV
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