Evening NEWS DIGEST
25 Dec.2016: 25 Rabiul
Awwal 1438: Vol:8, No:71
Modi govt to commission study
to find out causes behind high dropout rate of Muslim students’
New Delhi: Central
government will commission a study to ascertain reasons for high dropouts of
Muslim students in India. According to 2006 Sachar Committee Report, “1-4th of
Muslim children aged between 6-14 have either never attended school or are
dropouts”. The data collected by the Ministry of Minority Affairs will be used
to frame “policy programmes” to contain the dismal trend. Parliamentary Panel
on Social Justice and Empowerment has noted that no special committee,
including the Sachar Committee—commissioned in 2005 by Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh to prepare a report on the social, economic, and educational conditions
of Indian Muslims—has given reasons behind the dropout rates. Successive govts
have been rolling out populist scholarship schemes without studying the
community’s requirements.Lok Sabha Standing Committee headed by Chhattisgarh MP
Ramesh Bais tabled its report in Parliament on Dec.16, directing the ministry
to conduct the study “immediately” and apprise the committee within three months.
The ministry has provided the govt data culled from National Sample Survey
Office (NSSO) on the number of people per 1,000 from different religions who
have never enrolled in school. Muslims top the list at 134. Christians have the
highest enrollment at 39, followed by Sikhs at 48. 89 of 1,000 Hindus surveyed
have never been enrolled in any educational institution. news indian express
Misconceptions regarding
Muslim personal law should be removed: AIMPLB
Aurangabad: Misconceptions
regarding Muslim Personal Laws need to be removed both among the Muslims as
well as non-Muslims in the country, said secretary of All India Muslim Personal
Law Board (AIMPLB), Khaled Saifullah Rehmani."A few elements are trying to
divide the communities by spreading misconception," said Rehmani during a
press conference here today. He added, “They (community members) are
comfortable with the existing law and it should not be changed."Rehmani
and by his UP counterpart Zafaryab Jilana were in the city to address the
two-day workshop on Muslim Personal Law.Jilana said, “Shariyat includes
everything from nikah (marriage), divorce, wakf and other important subjects.
Some people are spreading fake rumours related to personal laws and dividing
the nation."He said, "It is a misconception that a Muslim can have
four wives without any reason. Till there is love and affection in the relation
the marriage subsists, but once there is hatred and despite repeated efforts
there are no chances of reconciliation only then the option of talaq is
exercised.”Rehmani appealed to various sects of Muslim community to unite to
allay misconceptions of Personal Law among others. PTI
Even Jamat-e-Islami, holds
function on soldiers, should be welcomed: Sareshwala at RSS event for retd
generals
Nagpur: Veterans like
ex-army chief General NC Vij, ex-IAF vice-chief Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale and
Lt General Syed Ata Hasnain, whose name figured in the race to become J&K
governor, shared the dais with RSS head Mohan Bhagwat and a host of seers at
the Dharma Sanskruti Mahakumbh here on Saturday. The event held by RSS had
sadhus delivering fiery speeches on Hindutva."Do you know who is with the
soldiers guarding the Siachen glacier — the Naga Sadhus. Both soldiers and
sadhus lead a strict life in service of the nation and hence should get equal
respect," said Amravati-based Jitendra Maharaj, whose devotees include
alleged conmen Prashant Wasankar, Sameer Joshi and others now behind the bars
for running Ponzi schemes.Vij is the director of Vivekananda International
Foundation which is a think-tank affiliated to RSS. Hasnain is one of the
visiting fellows. The agenda of the programme to highlight that both soldiers
and sadhus do the same job serving the society while going through different
rigours life.Others to speak were Shankaracharya Vasudevanand Saraswati and
Zafar Sareshwala, chancellor of Maulana Azad University, better known as Modi's
PR man in the Muslim world.Hinting at the Muslim reign in the country, Bhagwat
said that in the last 1000 years, "the people of this country did not get
a chance to rule, when that should have been the case in a
democracy".Talking to TOI at the function's sidelines, Vij said it would
be wrong to term the event an attempt to saffronise the army. "The good
things from organisations like RSS can be adopted," he said. Hasnain said
that saffronisation is a wrong term used for any kind of "patriotic
appeal".Said Sareshwala: "It was I who had moved the International
Court of Justice against Narendra Modi, but I also went against my community
supporting him later. For how long can we remain alienated. Initially, when the
RSS invited me for the function I was apprehensive but then I realized that we
are the same people."He added that whenever any organization, "even
the Jamat-e-Islami", holds such a function on soldiers, it should be
welcomed.TOI
Can’t a Muslim become Chief
of the Armed forces in India? Shahnawaz Ahmad, MuslimMirror
Hindu, Muslim minors
assaulted for singing Christmas carols by RSS man
Kollam: A group of minors
was assaulted because they were non-Christians and still singing Christmas
carols. A Kerala man has been booked for allegedly assaulting the minors.A
group of 13 teenagers aged between 14 and 16 years from Chadayamangalam visited
the house of Jayakumar to sing carols on Friday night.16-year-old Abdullah who
was a part of the group told The News Minute that Jayakumar questioned them
what religion they belonged to. When the children said they hailed from Hindu
and Muslim families, Jayakumar asked why a non-Christian group was out singing
Christmas carols."We reached his house around 8.30 pm and after we sang
carols and played drums, Jayakumar asked us to which religion we belong to.
There were no Christians in the group and he shouted at us saying that
Christmas should be celebrated only by Christians and not people from other
religions. We then left his house," Abdullah said. indiasamvad
Does your child really need
all the prescribed vaccines?
The biggest association of
paediatricians in India is heavily dependent on funding from vaccine
manufacturers. The influence allegedly leading to immunisation guidelines being
tweaked to include products of the funding companies. Technical committee
members deciding the guidelines being on the board of vaccine manufacturers and
getting paid by them. Hefty margins on vaccines being given to paediatricians
administering the vaccines. These and several others skeletons came tumbling
out of the cupboard of the Indian Academy of Paediatricians (IAP) when the
convenor of its Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Immunization Practices
(ACVIP) wrote an open letter to the association's president.The revelations
raise the question whether all vaccines recommended by your paediatrician are
actually required or are they pushed to favour vaccine companies that reward
the association and its members generously? The controversy was sparked off by
the IAP's recommended Immunisation Schedule 2016 being removed from the website
of its journal Indian Paediatrics after being approved by the advisory
committee, the IAP office bearers, its executive board and the editorial board
of the journal. It was uploaded on August 27 and removed on Sept.3.Convener of
ACVIP , Dr Vipin Vashishtha, wrote to IAP president Dr Anupam Sachdeva seeking
an explanation and raising doubts whether it had been done at the behest of the
industry . timesofindia
DEMONETISATION
Restrictions on cash
withdrawals may continue beyond Dec.30
NEW DELHI: Restrictions on
withdrawal of cash from banks and ATMs are likely to continue beyond Dec.30 as
currency printing presses and RBI have not been able to keep pace with the
demand of new currency notes.As 50-day deadline for completion of
demonetisation process draws near, there is a growing consensus among bankers
that the restrictions on withdrawal would have to continue even in the New Year
so as to maintain orderly working at the banks.Banks at many places are not in
a position to disburse even the current limit of Rs 24,000 per week due to cash
crunch and are rationing the valid currency depending on cash availability.If
this limit is withdrawn for individual and businesses from Jan.2, it is
unlikely that banks would be able to disburse the higher demand for valid
currencies given the current cash position."Most of us think that the
withdrawal limit would not be completely withdrawn. It is a possibility that it
could be relaxed if the cash situation improves," said a senior public
sector bank official.At a time when banks are struggling to meet the demand of
individual customers, it would be impossible to service MSME and big corporates
which requires cash in large quantity, the official said, the practical way
would be to relax it gradually.PTI
Law against 'benami'
properties to be operationalised soon: PM Modi
New Delhi:Vowing to carry
forward the war against corruption and black money post-demonetisation, PM
Narendra Modi on Sunday said the government will soon operationalise a strong
law to effectively deal with 'benami' properties and this was just the
beginning.Making his last monthly address this year in his "Mann ki
Baat" programme, he defended the frequent changes in the rules of
demonetisation, saying these have been done to reduce the people's problems and
defeat such forces who are out to thwart his government's fight against black
money and corruption.PTI
A U-turn! Manohar Parrikar
says cashless Goa neither possible nor desirable
PANAJI: In a U-turn,
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday said it was neither possible nor
desirable to make Goa a fully cashless state. Parrikar said the state
government aimed to make only up to 50 per cent transactions in Goa cashless.
"Fully cashless is not possible, nor desirable, nor intended; what is
intention is to reduce the extent of use of cash. Wherever possible, start
doing transactions through a digital mode for which we intend to take it to 50
per cent from about 15 to 20 per cent as early as possible. There are so many
difficulties, which are being surmounted now," he told reporters. IANS
‘Cashless? That’s a joke’:
Indian Express
Around noon on a Thursday,
there is no electricity in Lanura. A sudden gust of wind had snapped the power
lines and they now lie listlessly over the tree tops. Sitting in his rundown
grocery shop, Ghulam Mohammad Dar says, “This is how it is here. We barely get
electricity for six hours a day. And when we do, it is in spurts. We can never
plan our day.”Welcome to Lanura, J&K’s first officially declared “cashless”
village. Here, most villagers haven’t seen or even heard of credit cards; the
Internet doesn’t work and when it does, is frustratingly slow; and electricity
is often at the mercy of the elements.“Of course, our village is cash-less,”
says Ghulam Hassan Sheikh, the former sarpanch of the village, barely hiding
his sarcasm. “We are a village of daily-wage labourers. We earn a few thousands
a month and now they say we must learn to live without cash. So yes, we are
cashless,” he says sitting on his haunches outside one of the shops in the
centre of the village.
Demonetisation on a
shoestring: How UP leather industry is hit by cash crunch
Skinners are out of jobs,
slaughter-houses are either shutting down temporarily or are laying off workers
in large numbers, tanneries are running out of hide, and manufacturing units
are unable to meet export orders.As demonetisation hits the home stretch of the
50-day deadline set by the Prime Minister, the simmering discontent in the
leather and shoe-making industry boiled onto the streets on December 14, when
labourers from the leather sector — one of the largest export industries of
Uttar Pradesh — blocked the Agra-Delhi highway for over two hours.Radhe Shyam’s
one-room brick house is among a dozen similar dwellings, mostly built of mud,
at the farthest end of Amaniganj village in Malihabad area. All these houses
are occupied by Dalit families. His house has no door; a cot is placed against
the entrance when Radhe Shyam is out skinning animals in over 70 surrounding
villages. indianexpress
OTHERS
IRF spokesperson passes
away
Mumbai: Manzoor Shaikh,
spokesperson and manager of the India operations of the banned IRF, passed away
late on Friday evening. 83-year-old was associated with IRF, which is owned by
televangelist Zakir Naik, since its inception and was considered a close aide
of Naik. Shaikh, who suffered from heart ailments, was found dead in his Kalyan
house. According to an IRF employee, Shaikh had been bed ridden for a month.
“He was tending to his official duties till a month ago but after that had to
discontinue since his health started deteriorating,”said Aarif Malik, IRF
spokesperson. Shaikh handled the Indian operations of the IRF and, since the
ban on the organisation a month ago, he was “co-operating with the National
investigative Agency”.Sources in the IRF revealed that Shaikh had appeared
before the NIA during the time IRF’s offices in Dongri were raided and locked
down. “His statement was also recorded and he gave the NIA all the necessary
documents and details they wanted as part of their investigation,” said an IRF
employee.ASIAN AGE
Hyderabad: Tension over
prayers at mosque
Hyderabad:Objections by
locals over offering prayers at a mosque in Uppuguda of Old City, which had
reportedly been out of use for nearly past 2 decades, triggered tension on
Friday night. Police rushed to the spot and dispersed members of two
communities preparing for a showdown. Situation was under control on Saturday.
Police posted pickets at the mosque and other sensitive places.After
discussions in the presence of South zone DCP V. Satyanarayana representatives
of the 2 communities agreed not to fight over the matter. “Prayers would be
offered in the afternoon till Jan.30, 2017. Till then, status quo would be
maintained without any group resorting to encroachment or disturbances,” DCP
said.Prayers were not being offered at Mohammadiya mosque in Uppuguda of
Chatrianaka police station area after communal riots had broken out during
early 90s. There was a chillah on the front side and a mosque adjacent to it,
DCP said.The premises were under the custody of Wakf board which eventually
rented out 3 structures in the front of the mosque to 3 persons who were
running shops from there. Of late, some residents of near-by Poolbagh got the
mosque renovated, whitewashed it and started offering prayers.“This was being
objected to by members of another community stating that there could be trouble
when locals organise religious events or celebrated festivals on a large
scale,” Satyanarayana said.the hindu
Dilsukhnagar blast convicts
will be moved from Hyderabad to Tihar:Sunday Guardian
Hyderabad: 5 death convicts
—Yasin Bhatkal, Zia Ur Rahaman, Asadullah Akhtar, Tahseen Akhtar and Ajaz
Shaik—will soon be taken to the high security Tihar prison in New Delhi. The
NIA, which arrested them and ensured their conviction, will move a transit
petition before the special court to this extent and they will be in New Delhi
after Christmas. sundayguardianlive
Kerala Police to review
UAPA cases
The State police on
Saturday said it will review hitherto uncharged cases registered under the UAPA
in Kerala. The terse statement was apparently prompted by widespread criticism
that the police had mindlessly applied the hard provisions of the law against writers,
human rights activists, free thinkers, and cinema enthusiasts who sported
contrary political views.thehindu
Bengaluru: 3 suspects back
in custody
Bengaluru: The
investigations of the NIA court into the blasts in different court complexes in
AP, Kerala and Mysuru is now pointing towards a person in Madurai. The man is
suspected to have radicalised Abbas Ali, one of the 5 arrested early in
November from Madurai and Chennai.In Nov.— Dawood Suleiman, Abbas Ali, Samsum
Karim Raja, Shamsudeen and Ayub Ali were arrested for their alleged involvement
in the low-intensity blast at the toilet in Mysuru Court Complex on Aug.1 and
in court complexes in AP and Kerala.
Following that, they were taken into NIA custody and interrogated. “Our
investigations show that one person in Madurai has radicalised Abbas Ali, who
ran a library in the same city. We have to check if he has done the same to
other youngsters,” said a police source.3 days ago, NIA took Dawood Suleiman,
Abbas Ali and Samsum Karim Raja for further interrogation. On Saturday, they
were produced before the NIA court and sent back to 15-day judicial custody.
the hindu
Pakistan objects to World
Bank pausing processes under Indus Water Treaty
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has
asked the World Bank to "fulfil its obligations" regarding the Indus
Water Treaty as it objected to the body pausing two concurrent processes
related to Indo-Pak dispute over Kishenganga and Ratle project.Pakistan finance
minister Ishaq Dar in a letter to World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said the
Treaty does not provide for a situation wherein a party can "pause"
performance of its obligations under the accord.Dar said the World Bank's
decision to pause the process of empanelment of the Court of Arbitration will
seriously prejudice Pakistan's interests and rights under the Indus Waters
Treaty 1960.PTI
Time is right to open talks
in Kashmir, says Yashwant Sinha
NEW DELHI: With street
protests ebbing in the Kashmir Valley and the winter set in, the former Union
Minister, Yashwant Sinha, has called the current period the “right time” for
the Central and State governments to open dialogue with all stakeholders,
including the Hurriyat. Speaking to The Hindu, Sinha, who along with four other
eminent citizens visited Kashmir twice in the last couple of months, said while
the situation had the appearance of normality, things were unsettled beneath
the surface.The former information commissioner, Wajahat Habibullah, chief
executive of the Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation (CDR), Sushobha Barve,
the former Air Vice-Marshal, Kapil Kak, and senior journalist Bharat Bhushan
were the other members of the group. The group, which has paid for arrangements
on its own and neither sought nor received any security cover for the visit, is
clear that it is not acting on behalf of any government or party. “We are not
even acting under the aegis of CDR, but as a group of concerned citizens,” Sinha
said. thehindu
J&K Govt decides to
lifts ban on ‘Kashmir Reader’
New Delhi: Jammu and
Kashmir government has decided to revoke its ban on Srinagar-based daily
Kashmir Reader and allow it to resume publication after shutting it down for
three months.“The newspaper had made a representation before the government
seeking permission to resume its publication.The case was examined and the
government was satisfied that there is no further need to disallow its
publication,’’ Director Information, J&K government Shahid Iqbal Choudhary
told The Indian Express. “A formal order in this case will be issued in a day
or 2”. In her interview with Indian Express last week, JK Chief Minister
Mehbooba Mufti had said that her government would lift the ban on the paper. Indianexpress
Has Najeeb Jung resigned to
become new VC of AMU?Janta Ka Reporter
The shock announcement of
his resignation by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has left both his
political rivals and analysts stumped. With the central government on his side,
nobody expected Jung to quit.While explaining the reason for his resignation,
Jung’s office said that it was on personal grounds and he wanted to return to
academia.Many suspected that Jung may have resigned after not getting
favourable assurances from the Centre’s BJP government over his ‘wish’ to be
appointed as the next Vice President of India, Congress Party alleged that he
was forced to quit after he decided to make Shunglu Committee report public.
Delhi Congress chief, Ajay Maken, told reporters, “It seems the deal was struck
between the BJP and AAP not to make public the Shunglu Committee report as it
would have exposed irregularities in 200 files of Delhi government.” Najeeb
Jung’s mid-term demission of the office of Delhi’s LG has left the theorists
nonplussed, with most of them trying to wrap their heads around Jung’s parting
shot – his desire to return to academics. However, new reports emerging suggest
that Jung may have resigned after he was reportedly assured of the VC post for
AMU. jantakareporter
Shah Rukh to be conferred
honorary doctorate by Maulana Azad University
New Delhi: Shah Rukh Khan
is slated to be conferred with honorary doctorate by Maulana Azad National Urdu
University tomorrow.President Pranab Mukherjee would be the chief guest at the
sixth convocation of the university where nearly 48,000 students will be
awarded degrees. Telangana and AP Governor ESL Narasimhan would be the guest of
honour at the event to be presided over by the varsity’s Chancellor, Zafar
Sareshwala.Along with Shah Rukh Khan, Urdu aficionado and founder of Rekhta
Foundation Rajiv Saraf would be given ‘honorius causa’ for their contribution
in the promotion of Urdu language and culture, a release from the varsity said.indian
express
In Delhi schools,
3-language formula may tilt the balance in favour of Sanskrit
Delhi:Sanskrit may end up
being the only choice for students in the national capital under the
three-language formula, which aims at promoting regional languages.Currently,
most private schools in Delhi offer Sanskrit along with foreign languages.
Schools say most students choose a foreign language and Sanskrit remains only
an option. But with the 3-language formula coming into place, the students will
only be left with Sanskrit.In its governing body meet on Tuesday, CBSE
recommended that all schools follow a “three-language formula”. Under the National
Education Policy, the formula means that students in Hindi-speaking states
should learn a modern Indian language (22 languages under the Eighth Schedule
of the Constitution) — apart from Hindi and English — and in non-Hindi-speaking
states, they should learn Hindi along with the regional language and English. hindustantimes
Hyderabad: Another
education official held in madrassa scam
Charminar: Central Crime
Station (CCS) sleuths on Saturday arrested an official of the Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan (SSA) in relation to the madrassa funds scam case. This marks the
second arrest in a period of two days.Cops identified the accused as Nagaraju,
who is a filed officer with the SSA's Hyderabad district office. He is alleged
to have taken a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from the prime accused Mohammed Zubair, an
MBA student who runs a seminary in the Old City."We picked up Nagaraj
after the accused number 1, Zubair, revealed his name in the confession and
explained his role in the scam. The matter is under investigation and we are
probing all angles," said investigating officer B Ravindra Reddy.TOI
Allahabad High court: Unaided minority institutions
cannot admit students of their choice
Allahabad: The Allahabad
high court has held that unaided minority institutions cannot admit students of
their choice by adopting a mechanism of their own while ignoring any policy or
regulation framed by the government.Dismissing a writ petition filed by Sankalp
Institute of Education, a minority institution affiliated with the Chaudhary
Charan Singh University, Meerut, Juatice Suneet Kumar gave this decision after
hearing both sides.TOI
Unaided minority
institutions cannot admit students of their choice by adopting a mechanism of
their own: Allahabad HC
I saw death right at my
doorstep during Jat reservation agitation: Haryana opener Nitin Saini
Long before the Babri
Masjid, architectural reuse was an intrinsic part of Indian history
How the Govt
Is Abusing a Wartime Law to Grab ‘Enemy’ Property: Pallavi Prasad
WORLD
Russian military plane
carrying 92 on board crashes en route to Syria, report says ‘no sign of
survivors’
Moscow: A Russian military
plane with 92 people on board has crashed into the Black Sea on its way to
Syria, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday, and it was unlikely there
would be any survivors. Russian agencies, citing unnamed security sources, said
the TU-154 aircraft had crashed in the sea near the southern Russian city of
Sochi after disappearing from radar screens.The plane was carrying Russian
servicemen and members of a renowned military choir and dance ensemble, the
Alexandrov Ensemble, who were being flown into Russia’s Hmeymim air base in
Syria to entertain military personnel in the run-up to the new year, the RIA
news agency quoted the Defence Ministry as saying.Russia’s Defence Ministry
regularly flies musicians into Syria to put on concerts for military personnel.
The base they were heading for, Hmeymim, is in Latakia province. It is from
there that Russia flies air strikes against Syrian rebels. Reuters
'No survivors' as
Syria-bound Russian jet crashes
Russian military plane
crash: All 92, including 60 from Red Army Choir, killed:Reuters
Putin orders probe into
military plane crash: AFP
Military plane crashes into
Black Sea near Sochi
Russian jets step up raids
on rebel-held Idlib and rural Aleppo
Russian jets stepped up
strikes on several towns in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province and rural Aleppo
two days after the evacuation of rebels from their last pocket in the northern
city of Aleppo, rebels and residents said on Saturday.They said at least eight
strikes targeted Binish, Saraqeb and Jisr al Shaqour – main towns in the
northwestern Syrian province of Idlib. There were reports of several
casualties, mainly among civilians. middleeastmonitor
Israel summons 14
ambassadors after UN settlement vote
Israel has summoned the
ambassadors of UN Security Council member states that voted in favour of a
resolution condemning settlement activity, a foreign ministry spokesman said.By
way of rebuke of the vote, Israel's Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman also
announced on Sunday that Israel was cutting civilian coordination with
Palestinians. Foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said that the 14
envoys of UN Security Council members will visit the ministry in Jerusalem
throughout the day. US envoy was not summoned. aljazeera
Pakistan defence minister
threatens to nuke Israel over fake news
New Delhi: It appears like
the Pakistan defence minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, fell victim to a fake
news article on Israel threatening to launch a nuclear strike against Pakistan.
Asif immediately countered the news story, without realising it to be fake, by
tweeting that Israel must not forget that Pakistan is capable of mounting a
similar attack. “Israeli def min threatens nuclear retaliation presuming pak
role in Syria against Daesh.Israel forgets Pakistan is a Nuclear state too AH,”
he wrote.Israel’s Ministry of Defence handle, however, clarified that the
report referred by Asif was “entirely false”. “@KhawajaMAsif The statement
attributed to fmr Def Min Yaalon re Pakistan was never said,” it wrote. The
fake article, which first appeared on awdnews.com, even attributed a fictitious
statement to a former Israeli defence minister, instead of the incumbent. The
story ran under the headline: “Israeli Defense Minister: If Pakistan send
ground troops into Syria on any pretext, we will destroy this country with a
nuclear attack (sic).” Indianexpress
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq (Released at: 8:04 PM)
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