Show solidarity with Anand Teltumbde
It has been three years since Rohit Vemula had to sacrifice his life to the system. His death is an example of how the government, police department, politicians and authorities can systematically finish a creative person. This silencing of voices didn’t end with Vemula, in fact his incident was just the beginning of it all.
Today all activists who speak against the dictatorship of the government are facing threat of being jailed. This way, the efforts are on to silence them forever. All those who participated in Koregaon movement a year ago are being branded ‘Urban Naxals’ and are being jailed. Government wants to finish off every person who’d speak against its ideology before the upcoming elections. Koregaon movement is just a pretext. The Real design is to create violence in an event and blame the participants for it so that genuine progressive movements can be finished forever. This agenda is clear from the subsequent incidents.
Unfortunately, the place where the Dalits were instigated by anti-social elements was around the Sambhaji’s burial site. Sambhaji was killed by Aurangzeb’s army as a result of conspiracy between Peshwas, Marathas and Rajputs. His body was collected and given a dignified burial by Govind, a Dalit from Mahar community, and not Peshwes or Marathas. Govind built a burial tomb in his field. After Govind Mahar dies, his memorial was built right around Sambhaji’s funeral site, by his family members.
This narrative from the pages of history is adequate to understand who betrayed Shivaji and his son Sambhaji, and who stood by their side when things went wrong. But Sangh Parivar has always been creating skewed narratives of history. And this incident too has one such stretched story in their version. They believe the body was not buried by Govind Mahar but a person called Shivale, from the Maratha community. Not just that, they almost destroyed the burial site of Govind Mahar that was right next to Sambhaji’s site two days prior to Koregaon day celebrations. This action was clearly aimed at instigating the Dalits who would be taking part in Koregaon day. But the Dalits maintained silence and peace and the event ended on a calm note over discussions and deliberations.
But the Sangh Parivar wanted a ruckus to break out on Koregaon day. So the Sangh Parivar pelted stones at the meeting held on January 1 and attacked the Dalits armed with Saffron flags. Dalits were forced to defend. But all the Sangh Parivar leaders involved in violence were given a clean chit. All the progressive leaders were branded ‘extremists’ and sent to jail. Tragedy is the police made an FIR based on the complaint lodged by those who took part in the violence, blaming the progressive thinkers for it. Sangh Parivar has said the instigating speech delivered by the thinkers led to violence in Koregaon. But the entire video and speech is with the police. If there were any such elements, the police could lodge a suo moto case. The question arises as to why the complaint was lodged as per the convenience of Sangh Parivar, after a whole week.
Tragically enough, writer Anand Teltumbde who never took part in the event has also been named in the FIR. The police are keen to arrest him even when he says he did not take part in the Elgar Parishad convention, and provided all proof and witnesses to the effect. Yet, the arrest seems too imminent. Teltumbde is also being branded ‘Urban Naxal’ with this. His statement carries no weight and his plea before the courts has fallen on deaf ears.
The stage has been set to severe a hand that writes, shut the brain that thinks and a tongue that speaks. It is easy to understand why the government is after Teltumbde. He is a rare writer who helped Dalit writing thrive in the country. He put out incidents like Khairlanji and others before the world that were happening in India. Else, one would have never known the fact behind Khairlanji. Dalits have begun to understand their realities. Writers like Teltumbde are a challenge to the lies that are being spread through Sangh Parivar.
In this background, plans are afoot to clear him off with Koregaon as the pretext. It is rather worrisome that no people or political parties that indulge in Dalit appeasement have spoken in support of Teltumbde. He has not just written for the Dalits but has written and spoken a lot against Modi government too. Just as Vemula was isolated, Teltumbde is also being isolated right now. For all these reasons, he has to be supported by parties, regions and organisations. If he is supported in the strongest voice today, no government would dare quash the freedom of expression in the future.
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Iran Shocks World, Hits F-35
America's most advanced fighter jet, the F-35, was never hit in combat — not once, in its entire history. Countries spend over ₹900 crore to buy just one of these aircraft. The whole world believed this plane was untouchable. Then, on March 19, something happened over Iranian skies that shocked military experts across the globe.
Iran hit it. And nobody saw it coming.
America Was Too Confident — That Was the Problem
Before understanding how this happened, you need to understand what America believed going into this. The US had been bombing Iran since February 28. After roughly 20 days of heavy strikes, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Iran's air defences were completely destroyed — finished, flattened, gone.
US President Donald Trump even said proudly, "We can fly wherever we want, and no one is even firing at us."
Based on this confidence, America flew its prized F-35 deep into the heart of central Iran. That alone tells you how sure they were. You don't send your most expensive jet into enemy territory unless you believe there is zero danger.
But Iran, a country under heavy international sanctions, still had something left. And it used that something extremely well.
So How Did Iran Actually Hit a Stealth Jet?
Here is where it gets interesting for regular people to understand.
We have all heard the word "stealth" — it sounds like the plane is completely invisible. But India Today explained that stealth only means it is hard to detect by radar. Hard — not impossible. It does not mean the aircraft is totally invisible.
Think of it this way. Even if you cannot see someone in a dark room, you can still feel their body heat if they stand close enough. That is almost exactly what happened here.
The F-35's engines produce enormous heat. Iran's weapon likely used an infrared sensor — basically a heat-seeking system — to detect that heat, lock onto it, and follow the jet. No radar needed. The F-35's biggest advantage, its radar-invisibility, simply did not matter.
The weapon Iran likely used was the 358 missile — also called SA-67 — which is a loitering munition. Think of it as a slow, intelligent drone that flies around patiently waiting, scanning the sky for heat signals from aircraft engines. Once it finds one, it chases it down. Iran has used this exact weapon before against American MQ-9 Reaper drones — and since this war started, America has already lost more than 12 of those drones.
This Has Happened Before — In 1999
This is not the first time America's "invisible" aircraft was brought down by a smarter enemy.
In 1999, during NATO's bombing campaign over Serbia, the US flew its F-117 Nighthawk — which was then considered the world's most advanced stealth aircraft. Serbian forces shot it down using an old Soviet missile system from the 1960s. Not with new technology — with clever thinking. They briefly switched on their radar, caught the jet at the right moment when its stealth was less effective, and fired.
The lesson both then and now is the same — no aircraft is completely invincible. Smart tactics can beat expensive technology.
Why This Changes Everything in the Iran War
Here is the bigger picture that really matters.
America and Israel had told the world that Iran's air defences were basically dead. Based on that, they sent massive B-1 and B-2 bombers — aircraft that are normally used only when a country is 100% sure it controls the enemy's sky. That is a huge military risk to take.
But if an F-35 — the most advanced aircraft in the sky — can still be hit, then Iran's defences are clearly not dead. Some pieces are still very much alive and working.
This means the US and Israel may now be forced to completely rethink their war plan. Their jets may need to fly higher, use longer-range weapons, and spend far more time and money finding where Iran's remaining defence systems are hiding underground.
Around 15 countries use the F-35 today. Even India was offered this jet by Trump during PM Modi's White House visit — though India has not shown interest so far.
Geopolitical expert Adam summed it up simply — a heavily sanctioned country just tracked, chased, and hit the world's most expensive stealth jet. That is not a small thing.
Sometimes, one moment changes everything.
(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany.)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or position of the publication, its editors, or its management. The publication is not responsible for the accuracy of any information, statements, or opinions presented in this piece.
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