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Hindustan Times
13 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Trump backing off from Epstein case? Tim Dillon claims US prez is scared as he 'knows that they'll kill him'
President Donald Trump called on his supporters Saturday to stop turning on his administration over the release of government findings in the Jeffrey Epstein case. Following Trump's comments, comedian and podcaster Tim J. Dillon suggested that the US President may be staying quiet on the Epstein case out of fear for his safety. Tim J. Dillon weighed in with a video suggesting that Donald Trump may be staying quiet on the Epstein case out of fear for his safety(AFP, Facebook) 'I think Trump knows that they'll kill him,' Dillon said. 'Do you think it doesn't cross his mind that all these people have died? Do you think that doesn't enter into his mind?' Dillon's comments echo the broader distrust among parts of the American public, especially on the right, who have long believed the Epstein case is bigger than the government claims. But for now, Trump appears focused on holding his base together even if it means tamping down the very theories that helped fuel support for him in the past. The comments came after a memo from Department of Justice and FBI, made public last week, stated there was no evidence that Epstein kept a 'client list' or was blackmailing high-profile individuals. The agencies also dismissed the long-standing theory that Epstein was murdered while in jail, confirming again that his 2019 death at a New York prison was a suicide. They also said they would not be releasing any further information from the probe, according to NBC news report. Also Read: 'Turned a blind eye': Leaked audio claims FBI 'missed things' in Jeffrey Epstein case Pam Bondi and Kash Patel slammed The announcement drew backlash from some figures on the far-right, including longtime Trump loyalists. Many took to social media to criticize Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, both Trump appointees, accusing them of covering up details about Epstein's connections. 'What's going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?' They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!' Trump wrote in a long post on Truth Social. 'We're on one Team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and 'selfish people' are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein,' he added, referencing his Make America Great Again movement.
Hindustan Times
13 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Shiv Sena (UBT) workers thrash auto-rickshaw driver over ‘anti-Marathi' remarks: ‘Taught a befitting reply'
An auto-rickshaw driver has been beaten up allegedly by Shiv Sena (UBT) workers in Maharashtra's Palghar district over 'anti-Marathi' remarks, further fueling the language controversy in the state, PTI reported. A video of the incident, which took place on Saturday, has gone viral on social media. (X) A video of the incident, which took place on Saturday, has gone viral on social media. The police have confirmed the incident, but said that they have not received any formal complaint in the matter so far. In the viral video, the auto-rickshaw driver, a migrant, is seen being slapped allegedly by a group of Shiv Sena (UBT) workers, including women, on a busy road near Virar railway station. Also Read | Mumbai tense after police crack down on MNS protest amid language row He is then made to publicly apologise to a man and his sister, with whom he allegedly misbehaved earlier, as well as to the state for "insulting" it and its linguistic and cultural heritage. According to the news agency, the auto-rickshaw driver had earlier allegedly made derogatory remarks against the Marathi language, Maharashtra and Marathi icons. A video of that had also surfaced on social media, drawing sharp reactions from local political groups. 'Taught a befitting lesson' A local functionary of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has claimed the auto-rickshaw driver has been taught a befitting lesson. The functionary asserted that anyone who insults Marathi language or Maharashtra will be given a reply in 'true Shiv Sena style', according to PTI. Shiv Sena (UBT) Virar city chief Uday Jadhav, who was present at the scene, also later justified the action. Also Read | 'If not in Maharashtra': Sanjay Raut's 'Pakistan' jibe at BJP over Marathi row, Pahalgam comparison "If anyone dares to insult the Marathi language, Maharashtra, or Marathi people, they will get a reply in the true Shiv Sena style. We will not sit silent," Jadhav was quoted as saying by PTI. "The driver had the audacity to speak ill of Maharashtra and Marathi manoos. He was taught a befitting lesson. We made him apologise to the people of the state and to those he had offended," he added. A senior police official confirmed that the incident occurred on Saturday, but added that no formal complaint had been filed. "We have seen the viral video and are verifying the facts, but as of now, no complaint has been received from either party," the official said. Marathi language row The incident comes days after a group of men, wearing Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) scarves, assaulted a shop owner for refusing to speak in Marathi in the Bhayander area of Maharashtra's Thane. Also Read | Marathi slapgate row: Four days after assault, police file charge sheet against seven MNS workers Traders from the area later staged a protest against it. However, the MNS also called a march in protest to counter the protest staged by the traders. (Inputs from PTI)
Mint
13 minutes ago
- Mint
Manu Joseph: The defeat of English is the defeat of Amateur Indians
A few weeks ago, Home Minister Amit Shah said at the launch of a book of Hindi poems, 'In our lifetime, we will see a society in which those speaking English will feel ashamed…" He also said, 'A complete India cannot be imagined through half-baked foreign languages." Later, facing some sort of lament from political opponents, he said that he is not against 'foreign languages." About the shame bit, he has a point. I do not believe English is a 'foreign' language anymore in India. Apart from all the obvious reasons, Bollywood operates mostly in English; not only are most screenplays in English, the Hindi dialogues too are written in the Roman script. Very few stars can read Hindi or read it fast. Most people who read this column may not be able to read their mother tongue. I can't either. This could and should bloom into shame. Also Read: Only English please: Trump's language order isn't just symbolism Despite its stature, English has failed in India. Its ubiquity is a residue of its past privilege, like the vast assets of a sinking aristocrat. The class whose world is framed in English, in my view, can be called amateur Indians. And their world is dying. In fact, the death of Indian English is closely tied to the defeat of the Amateur Indian, a person whose pantomime of Western sophistication makes him a cultural misfit in his own nation. In time, the use of English may become an overt sign of being amateur Indians—those people who speak of history and culture but can hardy converse in their own mother tongue, those who cannot navigate their own nation, or communicate with a government clerk, or with a cop or a thug; in many ways, they are 'foreigners' in their own nation and foreigners elsewhere too, even if they give romantic names to this orphanhood and take discreet pride in it. In response to Shah's observation, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi pointed out that English is a language of aspiration.I am not certain anymore that this is true, or at least as indisputable as it was a generation ago. A consequence of progress is that symbols of prestige are exposed as elitist clubs that are useless once the common man gains access to them. Prestige is not prestigious if ordinary people gain access to it. Also Read: As it spreads across the world, who owns English? Once, English was the language of the people who ran India. It was a time when class and money meant the same thing. India has changed. Even though English still has some prestige, its influence is waning because the influence of prestige itself is waning. English now belongs to a confused minority: Upper-middle class. India might be the only society in the world whose educated upper-middle class does not speak any language with complete mastery. Many of us are stranded in English and we speak our mother tongues—or the languages that raised us—very poorly. For instance, many of us cannot read high prose or even give a formal speech in an Indian language. Across India, the mother tongue has risen in prominence, aided by technology. The primary language of the new sahib is not English, but his mother tongue. His poor hold over English doesn't embarrass him. Mastery of English is not a sign of wealth anymore. Also Read: Our literary fiction written in English has lost its spark And class is not as alluring as money anymore. The world of India's new economic and cultural elite is framed in Indian languages. In most of North India, the power of Hindi is almost total. In all southern states, the cultural influence of their independent languages is nearly total. As a result, there is an emotional connection between the poor and the new icons—a bond that the average Indian used to share only with politicians, sportspeople and actors. This has a significant social outcome. Today's rich are able to influence, persuade and co-opt the poor in more efficient ways. The most influential news channels now broadcast in Indian languages. Over-the-top streaming platforms for entertainment are increasingly going lowbrow in Indian languages. They have created a new genre of heartland dramas. That is where 'Bollywood' too is headed in its fight for survival. The reason they fail is that the people who decide what 'the masses' want are still people who think in English, who have only recently begun shedding their cultural amateurishness. Just as wokes are people who have to make bad guesses at what it means to be decent, the new Indian 'heartland drama' is conceived by people who have to make guesses about what the heartland is. Also Read: Three-language formula: Chhattisgarh offers an education case study What is going on in new India is that a true pop culture is emerging that is unifying all classes, except those who are Westernised, who in any case have either migrated or vanished in other ways. This unification does not require a single Indian language; it only requires the absence of an anglicized worldview. A bit of the prophecy of shame is already true and has been for some time. When I was growing up in Madras, a guy who spoke excessively in English was called Peter. And 'delivering Peter"—a weird translation from Tamil—was a way to insult a posh guy who spoke in English. And it was ridiculous even then to see 'national' leaders, meaning people from Delhi, touring Tamil Nadu and speaking to some of the world's poorest people in English. Speaking Hindi carried a political stigma in the state. But then, Hindi films ran to full houses and Hindi was tied to such an advanced economy compared to Tamil Nadu's that one of its most famous men, Rajinikanth, played a sidekick to a Bollywood hero in more than one Hindi film. Even today, political leaders from Delhi who visit Tamil Nadu speak to the masses there in English. They need not anymore. The author is a journalist, novelist and screenwriter. His book, 'Why the poor don't kill us', will release in August.
