Evening NEWS
DIGEST
27 Jan.2018:09 Jamadiul-1 1439:Vol:9, No:108
INDIA
Violence continues in UP's Kasganj: Mobs sets
shops, buses on fire in Kasganj, 49 arrested
Violence erupted once again in Kasganj city in
UP on Saturday, when groups of people returning from the cremation of a youth
identified as Chandan killed in clashes on Friday committed arson,NDTV
reported. While one group burnt down shops in Kasganj’s main market, another
vandalised shops at an intersection and set two buses on fire.Kasganj District
Magistrate told ANI that the police had arrested 49 people so far in connection
with the violence. He said Section 144 – which prohibits assembly of more than
four people –had been imposed in the city and its borders sealed.Chandan’s body
was taken to Kali Nadi area early on Saturday for cremation. MP Rajveer Singh
alias Raju Bhaiyya and Kasganj MLA Devendra Singh Rajput were present for the
ceremony, HT said.But the cremation was delayed as people demanded that Chandan
be declared a martyr, and that his family be provided compensation and a
government job. They consented to the cremation only when the MP and MLA
informed the state govt and assured the crowd that the demands would be
considered. However, people returning from the cremation, raised slogans and
burnt a kiosk at Ghantaghar. Uttar Pradesh Police said a special team had been
constituted to investigate the incidents. The police have registered 2 FIRs.
The first is in connection with the clashes during the motorcycle rally on
Friday and the violence that followed. The second is over the death of Chandan.
“Interrogations are taking place and those involved would be nabbed soon,” ASP
PM Tripathi. Scroll.in
Violence continues in UP's Kasganj; buses,
shops set on fire
UP's Kasganj Continues to be on Edge, Shops
and Religious Structure Attacked
Illegal, Unscheduled ABVP Rally Leads to
Communal Riots at Kasganj in UP; One Dead, One Injured
Fresh violence erupted this morning in UP’s
Kasganj district where communal tension began on Friday after some unidentified
people hurled stones at an “unauthorised” ‘Tiranga Yatra’ allegedly being taken
out by RSS-affiliated ABVP and the VHP to mark the Republic Day.Despite
imposition of a curfew, 2 buses were damaged and 5 shops belonging to a
particular community were set ablaze following the cremation of Chandan Gupta
who died in firing on Friday during the clash between 2 groups.Despite deployment
of several companies of RAF and PAC along with the local police, eyewitness
claimed that rioters were spotted with petrol bottles near Ghantaghar and
Nadrai Gate area. “At least 5 shops owned by traders of a particular community
in Ghantaghar area were set on fire, while two buses were vandalised in Nadrai
Gate area on Mathura-Bareilly highway, after which the police rushed to control
the situation,”a local told Newsclick requesting anonymity. Nearly 50 people,
said a police officer, took out a bike rally from Bilram Gate area to
commemorate the Republic Day “without the permission of the district
administration”.“They were raising some objectionable slogans, which were
objected to by a group of people in Badu Nagar. This led to clashes between the
two groups that finally resulted in the stone pelting. Following this, an
exchange of bullets took place in which Chandan Gupta, 22, who was part of the
bike rally, died after he was fired in the chest. He succumbed to injuries on
the spot. A Muslim youth Noushad also received bullet injuries on his leg and
has been admitted to a hospital in Aligarh,” he said on the condition of
anonymity. Footage shot at a Muslim-dominated Buddan colony at Balram Gate,
where the clashes occurred on Friday before violence took place, shows youths
with the national flag shouting slogans ‘Hindustan Mein Rehna Hoga, Toh Vande
Matram Kehna Hoga’ (If one wants to stay in India, he has to chant Vande
Mataram). newsclick
Assam tribals demonstration against RSS
activist’s comment on Naga Accord: Curfew leaves train commuters stranded
following death of 2 protestors in police firing
Assam officials imposed an indefinite curfew
in the Maibang area of Dima Hasao district on Friday leaving more than 1,000
train passengers stranded, NDTV reported.Curfew was imposed to counter the
violence that broke out following the deaths of 2 protestors after police
police fired at them during a demonstration on Thursday. Trains bound for
Silchar and Guwahati were stopped midway. The protestors were among the
hundreds of Dimasa tribals who were demonstrating against a RSS activist’s
purported comment that the draft plan for the Naga Accord showed that the
district is part of Nagalim. RSS leader Jagdamba Mall, however, claimed he was
misquoted, NDTV reported.The protestors have damaged the railway tracks, Dima
Hasao Deputy Commissioner Deva Jyoti Hazarika told IANS. “It will take time to
repair them [the tracks] and resume the movement of trains,” Hazarika said. “We
have requisitioned 25 buses from Guwahati to send the stranded passengers to
their destinations by road. However, the picketers did not allow the buses to
proceed to New Haflong.” The passengers have been provided with security, food
and water, Hazarika said.Southern Assam, Mizoram and Tripura are totally cut
off due to this agitation, said Northeast Frontier Railway Chief Public
Relations Officer Pranav Jyoti Sarma said. “The passengers have been waiting at
the stations for more than 24 hours now. We cannot run trains till we are sure
of the safety of the track,” Sarma said.On Friday night, protestors carried the
bodies in a rally in Haflong, HQRS of Dima Hasao. Tribal groups called for a
48-hour bandh in district to protest against the killing. The protestors have
demanded that the state govt clarify their stance on the draft plan in writing
as well as the immediate suspension of police officials. They have also
demanded a compensation package for the family members of the dead and
injured.scroll
2,000 train passengers stranded, curfew in
Assam town as 2 die in police firing
J&K: Pune girl suspected to be a suicide
bomber free to go, police say ‘misinterpreted’ intel inputs
J&K police on Friday arrested an
18-year-old girl from Bijbehara town in south Kashmir after receiving
intelligence inputs that she may attempt a suicide bomb attack near or inside
the Republic Parade venue in the valley. Girl, identified as Sadiya Anwar
Shaikh, was on the radar of security agencies for the past few years and had
undergone a de-radicalisation programme also. She was suspected of joining IS.
The girl had come from Pune and was living as a paying guest in Bijbehara. On
Jan 23, an alert was sent out from the zonal headquarters of J&K Police in
Srinagar and they arrested the girl. However, after extensive questioning, it
was revealed that the girl was not planning an attack and was a school dropout
who had been radicalised on social networking sites about alleged suffering of
the Kashmiri people at the hands of security forces. J&K Police said they
have informed the girl’s parents and she will be handed over to them as there
is no case pending against her in Kashmir or Maharashtra.Police also said that
it was a case of misinterpretation of an intelligence input by central security
agencies that a Pune-based woman, who was detained by Maharashtra ATS on
various occasions, was planning an attack on Republic Day in the Valley. ADG,
Police Munir Khan issued an alert to all districts saying that a suicide bomber
was planning an attack on the Republic Parade. “All are directed to please
ensure that frisking of ladies at the (venues) is done meticulously and with
utmost caution so as to thwart the designs of ANEs (anti-national elements),”
the note, circulated on 23 Jan, read.However, Sadia’s family refuted all the
allegations levelled against their daughter and said they will not believe the claims
of security agencies. newx
An intel error? Suspected to be a suicide
bomber, Pune girl is free to go
Counselled once, Pune girl held in Kashmir
Valley after cops get Republic Day attack alert
Pune Woman Was Not A Suicide Bomber: Kashmir
Police
J&K: Army Fires on Protestors, 2 Killed,
12 Injured
Srinagar:
Two youngsters were shot dead and close to dozen civilians suffered injuries
after the Army resorted to “indiscriminate firing” at protesters in South
Kashmir’s Shopian district which was observing shutdown for fourth consecutive
day today against the killing of two local militants and a teenager earlier
this week.Witnesses said violent clashes broke out in Ganawpora village of
Shopian on Saturday afternoon when a group of youth pelted stones at a
cavalcade of the Army's Rashtriya Rifles moving through the area. As the
locality shut down and stone pelting intensified, the cavalcade came to a
halt.“Some troopers got down and initially fired in the air to scare them but
when the boys didn’t relent, they shot them. At least dozen youth were injured
in the firing of whom two have died, the condition of one is critical while the
others are stable,” a resident of Ganawpora told The Citizen over phone, on the
condition of anonymity.thecitizen
Is governance getting too centralised, asks
Raghuram Rajan
Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan raised
doubts about BJP-led govt’s administration getting too centralised, the
Economic Times reported on Friday. In an interview, Rajan expressed concerns
about the Centre sidelining the bureaucracy. He said that while Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley had talked about removing impediments to bureaucratic
efficiency, this had not happened. “I worry that the bureaucracy is not making
decisions,” he said.“But we also have to ask...if we are trying to run the
economy by a very small set of people.”On International Monetary Fund’s view
that India would become the fastest growing economy in the world, Rajan said
economic growth should translate into job creation. “We really need growth for
the jobs that our young people need. Even with this level of growth, are we
creating those jobs?” he asked.Rajan said India needed “massive investments” in
job-creating activities like infrastructure and construction. He added that the
govt had not implemented big infrastructure projects that could create jobs. He
told the government that it needed to protect the privacy of the Aadhaar data.
“I do think that we have to assure the public that their data are safe,” he
said. “All these reports about easy availability of data are worrying. We
cannot just say trust us, trust us, it is all secure and then have these
reports coming out.”scroll.in
Raghuram Rajan opens up on what's working and
what's not working for India
There is a "climate of fear" and
"helplessness" in the country: Arun Shourie
Kolkata: Describing the current political
situation in India as a "sort of decentralized Emergency", renowned
journalist and ex-Union Minister Arun Shourie on Friday said there is a
"climate of fear" and "helplessness" in the
country."The immediate circumstances are that today we have not a
centralized Emergency but sort of decentralized Emergency... There is climate
of fear and a sense of helplessness which I did not see during the
Emergency," he said at Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet here."Forces
that are to battle against this situation are divided. I have been long saying
that you have to recognise the mortal danger that (Narendra) Modi and others
represent to the country," he added.According to Shourie, there has been
over the last 30-40 years a decline in the quality of persons in public life."The
decline ... is the great problem. Even you look at the persons who were
involved in the fight against the Emergency, their quality and the quality of
persons today. There is a vast difference... That is the central problem for
India today." He also questioned the system of selecting rulers in India.
"This is not the way to select rulers for a billion people.Asked to spell
out the constructive steps to ensure that better quality persons come to public
life, he said: "We can think of stricter qualifications for persons who
enter the legislature."IANS
#SaveConstitution March: Thousands Walk With
Opposition Leaders in Mumbai
Mumbai: Thousands of people from different
walks of life came out on the streets of Mumbai on the Republic Day on Friday
to take part in the massive, silent #SaveConstitution march.Top leaders from
almost all major Opposition parties attended the demonstration against the
threats that the Constitution, Secularism and Democracy have been facing since
the BJP came to power in the centre three and half years ago. Eminent leaders
included Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel (NCP), Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), D Raja
(CPI), Omar Abdullah (NC), Sushil Kumar Shinde, Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj
Chavan (all from Congress) and Patel youth leader Hardik Patel.Opposition
leaders holding sit-in at the end of #SaveConstitution march in Mumbai on 26
Jan 2018.The march started from the Ambedkar Statue and culminated into a
public sit-in at Shivaji Maharaj Statue near the Gateway of India.caravandaily
In Adityanath’s UP, education gets a visibly
saffron curriculum
Lucknow : Saffron appears to be the colour of
choice in BJP-ruled UP’s schools, colleges and universities — be it curriculum
or competition for students.Identified as the colour of the BJP and the Sangh
Parivar as a whole, a hint of the shade being stirred to paint the party’s
ideologies in the education system showed up at a quiz contest last August in
UP schools, where students had to answer questions about the state govt’s
schemes on Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya’s birth centenary.Then again in
December, a singing competition based on the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita Rahasya was
held at schools across the state. A boy from Gorakhpur, the home constituency
of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, was declared the winner. Aliya Khan of
Meerut finished second. They carried home winners’ cheques of Rs 50,000 and Rs25,000
respectively.Srimad Bhagavad Gita Rahasya is freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak’s
seminal work on the Hindu text, which gives critics of the government led by
monk-politician Adityanath reasons to believe that the state’s education is
undergoing a saffron change. Such events are allegedly adding to the students’
workload, although these are not mandatory and many academics encourage children
to participate. “Holding quizzes is a good initiative, and all schools should
participate. They should be inclusive and must not dwell solely on the Bhagavad
Gita,” historian Rana Safvi said. But the government-sponsored quiz contest
failed to impress academics such as Safvi. “We should definitely organise
historical quizzes in schools, but they should represent our glorious history,
not a blinkered view,” she said.The state govtt has also asked universities to
set up a chair named after Upadhyaya, a leader of Bharatiya Jana Sangh which is
considered the predecessor of the BJP. A government order, dated December 1
last year, says Rs 7 crore will be given among 14 state universities to promote
his ieology through seminars and workshops. Filmmaker-writer Sohail Hashmi
criticised the move. “It is sad the government is establishing a chair to
promote its ideologue at a time when scholarships for poor students are being
cut. Why couldn’t they create a chair in the name of Nobel Prize-winning
economist Amartya Sen or Homi Jehangir Bhabha?” he asked. According to
historian Makkhan Lal, opposing Upadhyaya’s philosophy amounts to politics.
“Why Left thinkers were silent when chairs were created in the name of Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru?”he questioned. So-called saffron-tinted extra-curricular
activities have spawned fears that the is trying to rewrite history to suit
their ideology, an allegation the Opposition often fires at the party that came
to power in UP in 2017 after 15 years. Also, experts believe the changes could
turn into a drawback for the state’s students. Saffron shade is visible at BHU,
the century-old institute in Varanasi, where the RSS has 15 shakhas or units on
the campus — up from four three years ago. RSS, BJP’s ideological mentor, began
stepping up its activities when GC Tripathi was appointed BHU vice chancellor
in Nov.2014 — 5 months after BJP-led NDA wrested power at the Centre.HT
BJP objects to Tipu Sultan portrait in Delhi
Assembly, Kejriwal asks them for names of RSS freedom fighters
The row over Tipu Sultan has spread from
Karnataka to Delhi.While BJP has been trying to paint Tipu Sultan as a villain,
presenting its own version of history and opposing his alleged ‘glorification’
in Karnataka, on Friday, this Republic Day, Delhi chief minister Arvind
Kejriwal unveiled his portrait along with 69 other eminent personalities
including freedom fighters, revolutionaries and heroes on Republic Day, to be
put up in the Assembly’s galleries. BJP objected. BJP MLA Om Prakash Sharma
said that the Delhi Assembly should refrain from putting up a portrait of a
controversial personality. Manjinder Singh Sirsa, BJP-SAD MLA from Rajouri
Garden, was reported by The India Express as saying, “I asked them (AAP), why
include someone who is this controversial? Why not include people who are from
Delhi? Why put someone’s portrait in the Delhi Assembly, who has not
contributed in any way to Delhi or its history?”Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said they
had asked the BJP to suggest names from their party or the RSS. “We asked the
BJP and their MLAs to suggest names from either their party or the RSS who had
worked for the freedom struggle. But they couldn’t come up with any,” claimed
AAP MLA and spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj, according to media reports.Assembly
Speaker Ram Niwas Goel dismissed the objection to the portrait, saying that BJP
leaders “always try to create controversy on any issue”.“I want to tell them
that the Constitution of India also carries a picture of Tipu Sultan on page
144. So, either the people who fought the British to free the country and wrote
this Constitution were ‘gaddaar’ (traitors) or they (BJP) are the ones… They
should leave this cheap politics and do politics of development,” Goel said.According
to officials, work on the portraits began six months ago. They have been
painted by artist Guru Darshan Singh Binkal, who is a part of Shaheed Smriti
Chetna Samiti, an organisation working to spread awareness on freedom
fighters.apnlive
No Muslim involved for School Bus Attack:
Gurugram Police Shoot Down Social Media Rumours
New Delhi: Denying social media rumours,
Gurugram Police issued a statement on Friday saying there were no Muslims among
those detained for the attack on a school bus during protests against
Padmaavat. “It is to bring it to your kind
notice that no member from Muslim community has been detained/ arrested by
Gurugram police in connection with Bhondsi violence or anywhere else in
Gurugram,” a statement from Gurugram Police said.“The situation in Gurugram is
peaceful and fully under control. It is, therefore, requested please do not
listen to any rumours,” the statement added.This is to clarify that no Muslims
boys have been detained in relation to the recent acts of vandalism on a
Haryana Roadways bus and a School bus in Gurugram.The bus carrying 24 students,
five teachers and an attendant was attacked by a group of protesters, believed
to be supporting a fringe group. The mob pelted rocks and shattered the
vehicle's window panes, forcing the children and teachers to crouch on the
vehicle’s floor to avoid being injured. Gurgaon Police PRO Ravinder Kumar had
said that 31 protestors were arrested for violating prohibitory orders under
Section 144, while 18 were charged with torching a Haryana roadways bus and
pelting the school bus with stones.Of the 18, 11 were sent to 14-day judicial
custody, while seven minor will be produced in a juvenile court.Certain posts
and tweets on social media, however, claimed Muslim men named Saddam, Nadim,
Firoz, Aamir and Ashraf were among those arrested.news18
No Muslim involved in Gurugram school bus
case: Police
Karni leader arrested for attack on school bus
in Gurugram
New Delhi: Karni Sena national secy Suraj Pal
Amu was arrested for anti-Padmaavat violence.Hours after detaining the national
secretary of Shree Karni Sena, Suraj Pal Amu, Gurugram police on Friday
arrested him on the charges of breaching peace in the city.Amu has been sent to
judicial custody in Bhondsi jail for four days. The police had detained him on
Thursday morning to question him about his involvement in the anti-Padmaavat
violence in the city.Police suspect Amu’s role in Wednesday’s attack on a
Gurugram school bus and violent protests where fringe elements took to roads
torching vehicles and destroying public property to oppose Padmaavat’s
release.Mail Today
Jaipur Literature Festival: Not as bad as
being a Muslim, to be Dalit, says Christophe Jaffrelot
Jaipur: Eminent French political scientist
Christophe Jaffrelot on Friday said that in the absence of reservation, Dalits
would not have reached anywhere, and it was “not as bad as being a Muslim, to
be a Dalit”. The author of ‘Dr Ambedkar and Untouchability’ said that BJP and
RSS were now focusing on Dalits because they have realized that the community
couldn’t be ignored anymore as a “vote bank”.“When there is no
reservation…where will be the Dalits? So if you remove reservation, where are
they? They will be no Dalits anywhere. Because the stigma is still there. It is
not as bad as being a Muslim but pretty bad (being a Dalit),” he said, citing
the example of media. Speaking at a session titled “Dr Ambedkar and His Legacy”
at the 11th Jaipur Literature Festival here, Jaffrelot also spoke about the RSS
and BJP focusing on Ambedkar. “They have started paying attention to them not
because of goodwill, but because Dalits couldn’t be ignored anymore. “In 1989,
when JD (Janata Dal) did better than BJP in Uttar Pradesh elections, they had
to realise, and look at these emerging ‘vote banks’, and use divide and rule
kind of policies,” he said.Despite having the “best laws” in the world, India,
according to Jaffrelot, needed to implement them better to see that it becomes
the country of Ambedkar’s dreams.“At a time when the issues we are fighting
for, freedom of expression, equal rights, where are NGOs, universities, the
media who do not self censor themselves.PTI
May drop cases against minorities, farmers,
Kannada activists: Poll-bound Karnataka CM
Bengaluru: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah is
considering the withdrawal of cases filed against “minority communities”,
farmers and pro-Kannada activists over the last five years. A circular seeking
details of such cases —fourth in two months — was sent Thursday to all police
divisions in state, prompting a sharp opposition BJP response.While BJP accused
the Congress govt of “working against Hindus”, Siddaramaiah after Friday’s
Republic Day event said, “We are considering withdrawal of not just cases filed
against people from minority communities during communal disturbances but also
farmers during agitations and pro Kannada activists during agitations.”He added
that the proposal was pending with the Home Dept and that the govt would take a
decision after “obtaining the opinion of the home department”. CM’s remarks
came after a state police department circular to all police divisions seeking
details of cases from the last five years where people from minority
communities were booked in the course of communal disturbances was posted on
Twitter by BJP.“Just when we were thinking that things can’t get more worse for
Hindus in K’taka tyrant @siddaramaiah has moved to drop criminal cases pending
against members of minority community involved in communal riots in the last 5
years,” BJP said on its Karnataka party Twitter handle.The circular was issued
by the state police department and signed by AIG, Police, Shivaprakash Devaraju
on January 25. It renewed calls issued earlier to state police units for
details of cases filed against members of minority communities in the course of
communal disturbances in the last five years. The circular was the fourth
reminder in the last 2 months. According to state Home Minister Ramalinga
Reddy, no “big cases” were under review. “We are looking at minor cases where
people have been booked and considering their withdrawal. No big cases will be
withdrawn,” he said on Friday.indianexpress
Law no solution to social ills: Owaisi says triple
talaq bill ploy to send Muslim men to jail
Hyderabad: Law is not the solution to social
problems, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has said, claiming that triple talaq
bill was a ploy to send Muslim men to jail.“Will triple talaq stop after the
law is brought?” a release from AIMIM quoted Owaisi as saying at `Tahafuzz e
Shariayat’ (`Save Sharia’) public meeting here late last night.Dowry deaths and
other crimes against women did not stop even when specific laws were made
against these practises, he said.“Between 2005-2015, there were more than
80,000 dowry deaths in India. 22 women die daily on account of dowry, and even
after the Nirbhaya incident, there was a rapid increase in number of rape
cases. Law is not the answer,” he said.Further, triple talaq bill is a
conspiracy against the minority community, Owaisi alleged. “It is a ploy to
bring the women of the community on road and send the men to prison,” he
alleged.BJP-led NDA govt tried to push the bill through Parliament without
consulting Muslim clerics, he alleged.PTI
Pak again rakes up Kashmir issue during UNSC
debate
Islamabad’s top envoy to the world body raised
the Kashmir issue yet again during a UNSC debate on the Middle East, days after
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres ruled out any mediation effort between
India and Pakistan.While participating in the Security Council discussion on
Thursday, Lodhi said, “Pakistan will continue to support the legitimate
aspirations of the Palestinians, as indeed, people living under foreign
occupation elsewhere as for example in Kashmir.”She further said, “This esteemed
body must live up to its responsibilities and ensure the implementation of its
own resolutions on Palestine and other longstanding disputes such as Kashmir so
that people of the world do not lose entire faith in the UN.”But, like before,
there were no takers for Lodhi, the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to UN,during
the debate on the current volatile situation in the Middle East. Following
continuous ceasefire violations and firing from Pakistan side, which is causing
casualties on both sides, the relation between the two countries have been
strained these days.indianexpress
UK: Pakistani-origin lawmaker leads protests
in London to call for Kashmir, Khalistan freedom
Clashes erupted outside the Indian High
Commission in London on Friday evening when demonstrators, led by
Pakistani-origin British MP Lord Nazir Ahmed, staged protests calling for the
independence of Kashmir and Khalistan. The protestors planned the “black day”
demonstration to coincide with India’s Republic Day. Police had to intervene
after scuffles broke out between them and some pro-India counter-protestors,
ANI reported.Billboard vans with messages such as “India Leave Kashmir: Free
Kashmir”, “Khalistan Zindabad” and “70 Years of Indian Brutality” were seen in
London during the demonstrations.“Not only us [residents of Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir], but Khalistanis, and our brothers from Nagaland and Manipur, and
minorities, who are oppressed in India, will also join us in the protest,”
Ahmed, who organised the protest, had said on Thursday.“It will be a peaceful
demonstration by a small gathering because we cannot have very large numbers
outside the High Commission,” he had said. Ahmed, one of the first British
Muslim members of the House of Lords, was born in PoK. scroll
Clashes in London after Lord Nazir calls for
Kashmir's independence on Republic Day
RSS pracharak
from Kerala gets Padma Vibhushan
New Delhi: The senior most RSS pracharak from
Kerala and 90-year-old bachelor boy of Sangh politics in the southern state, P
Parameswaran, has been selected to be conferred with country's second highest
civilian award the Padma Vibhushan. A formal announcement to this effect was
made on the eve of Republic Day.A strong Hindutva thinker, orator, Parameswaran
is the Director of Bharatiya Vichara Kendram and is also associated with the
prestigious Vivekananda Kendra in Kanyakumari.
A passionate reader and ardent admirer of Bhagawad Gita, in 1998, as an
answer to the rising crime rate and other social evils in Kerala, Parameshwaran
had proposed observation of a 'Gita decade'.He joined the Jan Sangh and in
1968, he became and All‑India General Secretary of the organisation and later
its vice president.UNI
34-yr-old woman Imam leads Friday prayers in
Kerala
Malappuram: A 34-year-old woman has led
Jumu'ah, a Friday prayer service of Muslims, here in Kerala.Jamitha, the
general secretary of Quran Sunnat Society, took the role of the 'imam' of the
prayers held at the office of the Society in the Muslim-dominated district
yesterday.Jumu'ah, the congregational prayer held every Friday, is usually led
by men.Around 80 people, including women, gathered to attend the prayers, led
by the woman 'Imam', the Society sources said.Jamitha, known as 'Jamitha
teacher' among her fellow people, claimed the Holy Quran never discriminates
between men and women and Islam never stops women from being 'imams'."It
is for the first time that a woman is leading Jumu'ah in the history of our
country. It was held at the central committee office of our Society, where we
used to gather every Friday for the prayers," she said. Jamitha also said
she would continue to lead the prayer service on Fridays.PTI
Pre-Budget Session All-party Meetings on
Sunday
Pre-Budget Session All-party Meetings on
Sunday Two all-party meetings will be held on Sunday, ahead of the Budget
Session of Parliament which is due to start on Monday, govt sources said on
Saturday. New Delhi: 2 all-party meetings will be held on Sunday, ahead of the
Budget Session of Parliament which is due to start on Monday, govt sources said.IANS
3 Muslim held for raising ‘black Pakistan
flag’ at Republic Day rally in MP
Bhopal/Shajapur:Madhya Pradesh police have
arrested three people for allegedly raising what seemed to be a black version
of the Pakistan flag during a Republic Day rally in Shajapur district.The trio
– Sadaab Khan, Adil Khan and Samir Khan – were booked under provisions of the
Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act-1971, and later remanded in
judicial custody. The law prohibits any form of desecration or insult to
India’s national symbols, such as the Tricolour and the national anthem.“The
accused raised a black flag with a crescent and a star during a two-wheeler
rally taken out by members of the Muslim community on Republic Day. The others
were all carrying the Tricolour. This created a law-and-order problem in the
area for some time,” said Dinesh Prajapati, Shujalpur police station
in-charge.An investigation is on. hindustantimes
Abdul Hakeem Faizy: The first Indian to join
the governing body of League of Islamic Universities
Malappuram might be thousands of miles away
from Cairo, but that has never deterred the exchange of ideas and scholars. And
Abdul Hakeem Faizy Adrisseri, a 60-year-old resident of the Malabar district is
the latest addition to the list of Indian Muslims who have made it big in the
world of Islamic education. A few days ago, Adrisseri became the first Indian
to be selected to the 21-member apex body of Cairo-based League of Islamic
Universities (LIU) as its first executive member. The functionaries were
impressed with the integrated education model of which Faizy is an untiring
advocate. It is an apt reward for Adrisseri, who started almost four decades
ago in much simpler surroundings.TCN
WORLD
Saudi billionaire Alwaleed 'released' from
detention
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/01/saudi-billionaire-alwaleed-walk-free-days-180127062138896.html
Prominent Saudi businessman Prince Alwaleed
bin Talal has been released after more than two months of detention on
allegations of corruption, according to a family source.Prince Alwaleed, who
was arrested among dozens of other royal family members, ministers, and top
businessmen, arrived to his residence in Riyadh on Saturday, the Reuters news
agency reported. Hours earlier in an exclusive interview with Reuters, he said
he expected to be cleared of charges and released from custody within
days."There are no charges. There are just some discussions between me and
the government," the 62-year-old said in a televised interview."I
believe we are on the verge of finishing everything within days."He and
his counterparts were arrested in early November during the kingdom's
"anti-corruption purge", and were held collectively in the country's
Ritz Carton hotel.In his interview, Prince Alwaleed said he was continuing to
maintain his innocence of any corruption in talks with authorities. He also
said he expected to remain in full control of his global investment firm,
without being required to give up assets to the government.During a previous
interview, a Saudi official said charges against the billionaire prince
included money laundering, bribery and extorting of officials.Also speaking to
officials in the kingdom, Reuters said Saudi authorities were asking detainees
to hand over assets and cash in return for their freedom.The deals involve
separating cash from assets, such as property nd shares, and looking at bank
accounts to assess cash values, one source told Reuters.aljazeera
US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s
capital ‘null and void,’ : Saudi
Saudi Arabia denounced on Friday the US
recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The move is enough to cause
“tension” in the Middle East and weaken the chances of finding a comprehensive
solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict, said the Kingdom’s representative at
the UN Security Council. Abdullah Bin Al-Maalami made his comment during a
discussion of the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian
issue. “UN stressed that all Israeli measures regarding Jerusalem are null and
void, and have no basis in international law,” he reiterated.Saudi official
pointed out that the Israeli measures meant by the UN include Israeli control
of the holy city’s future, the displacement of its indigenous residents, the
building of [illegal] settlements, confiscating land and property, harassing
Jerusalem’s Palestinian residents and declaring the city as Israel’s
capital.middleeastmonitor
Indonesian youth: Saudi has 'politicised' Hajj
Depok, Indonesia - Saudi Arabia has "politicised"
access to the Hajj, according to organisers of a Muslim youth conference in
Indonesia.Ziyad Abdul Malik, chairman of the Muslim Students Association's
(HMI) branch in South Jakarta, lambasted the kingdom for using the pilgrimage
to Mecca, considered Islam's holiest city, to impose its policies on other Gulf
nations and Muslim-majority countries.HMI, the largest student group in
Indonesia, organised the event - dubbed "Islamic Holy Places for All of
the Ummah"- at the Indonesia University in Depok.Malik went on to accuse
Saudi Arabia of interference in the conference itself. The event was originally
slated to take place at the State Islamic University in Jakarta, located in the
Indonesian capital, but it was cancelled at the request of the Saudi embassy."We
are students, and students usually discuss many things," he said.
"Why is this a problem for [Saudi Arabia]?" Other organisers echoed
Malik's criticisms, arguing that Saudi Arabia had let political rows with
several countries - Qatar, Syria, Iran and Yemen, among others - influence its
Hajj regulations. aljazeera
Israeli army block entrances to West Bank
village affecting 7,000 Palestinians
Israeli
human rights organisation B’Tselem has said the Israeli army have restricted
the movement of more than 7,000 Palestinians living in the village of Hizma,
northeast of Jerusalem, in the West Bank.“For more than a week the Israeli
military has been severely restricting access into and out of the Palestinian
village of Hizma in the West Bank, apparently in response to stone-throwing
along a nearby road. Soldiers have been deployed at all entrances to the
village, and physical roadblocks have been put in place barring vehicular
access,” the centre said in a report issued yesterday.According to the report
at various periods during this time the army denied non-residents from entering
the village and men over 40 from leaving.The report pointed out that this
violation of the freedom of movement of about 7,000 people is collective
punishment, which is prohibited by international law.middleeastmonitor
Hamas calls on Abbas to give up on US as
mediator
Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement has
called on President Mahmoud Abbas to stop banking on the US as a mediator in
the peace process with Israel. Instead, said Hamas, the Palestinian Authority
leader should align with the Palestinian people’s choice to resist the Israeli
occupation. “Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and
transfer the US Embassy from Tel Aviv will not change the Palestinian people’s
adherence to their land, including Jerusalem as their future capital for
Muslims and Christians,” Osama Hamdan told Quds Press. “The decisions taken by
the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organisation a few days ago are
below expectations,”senior official added. MEMO
95 Killed, 158 Injured As Bomb Hidden In
Ambulance Goes Off Near Embassies In Kabul:AFP
kabul:An explosives-packed ambulance blew up
in a crowded area of Kabul on Saturday, killing at least 95 people and wounding
158 others, officials said, in one of the biggest blasts to rock the war-torn
city in recent years.The suicide bomber passed through at least one checkpoint
in the ambulance, saying he was taking a patient to Jamuriate hospital, an
interior ministry spokesman told AFP."At the second checkpoint he was
recognised and blew his explosive-laden car," Nasrat Rahimi said. The
Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Kurds call on Syrian regime to help fight
Turkey
Kurds in Syria have called on the regime of
President Bashar Al-Assad to help them to fight against Turkish forces in the
country’s north-western province of Afrin. In a statement released by Hawar
news agency, the de facto official media channel of the US-backed SDF, Kurds
appealed by claiming that Turkey’s aim is to occupy Syrian land.“We call on the
Syrian state to carry out its sovereign obligations towards Afrin and protect
its borders with Turkey from attacks of the Turkish occupier… and deploy its
Syrian Armed Forces to secure the borders of the Afrin area,” said Kurds in a statement.MEMO
Ceasefire takes effect in Syria's Eastern
Ghouta
A Russian-negotiated ceasefire has gone into
effect in Syria's Eastern Ghouta, the last remaining rebel stronghold near the
capital, Damascus.The truce, which started Saturday, is expected to bring
temporary relief to an estimated 400,000 people in the area suffering from
acute food and medicine shortages. Eastern Ghouta has been under a government
siege since 2013.Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker, reporting near the
Turkish-Syrian border, said Eastern Ghouta's proximity to Damascus underlines
the importance of the area to the government of Bashar al-Assad.It is reported
that the region "has the worst cases of malnutrition in the entirety of
the Syrian war", our correspondent said.Not all opposition factions in
Eastern Ghouta signed up to the deal, and it remains to be seen how long it
will hold, our correspondent said. aljazeera
Iraqi officers say US plane mistakenly kills 7
Baghdad:Two senior Iraqi army officers say a
US military plane has mistakenly fired at a gathering of tribal fighters and
civilians west of Anbar, killing seven and wounding 11 others. The officers
said Saturday the U.S. forces had thought the victims in the al-Baghdadi area
were militants.AP
UN experts call for Egypt to halt executions
Egypt must stop executions until it has
reviewed all death sentences and retry any convictions that are found to rest
on unfair trials, five independent UN human rights experts said on Friday.Egypt’s
mission to the United Nations in Geneva did not immediately comment on the
appeal, but Egyptian prosecution and judicial sources rejected the criticism.“We
have raised multiple specific cases with the Egyptian authorities and continue
to receive more. In the light of these persistent serious allegations, we urge
the Government to halt all pending executions,” the experts said in a
statement.“The authorities should ensure that all death sentences are reviewed
and, where convictions were based on unfair trials, ensure that individuals
have retrials during which Egypt’s human rights obligations are fully
respected.”An Islamic State insurgency in North Sinai has expanded to include
civilian targets in the past year. Egypt this month renewed its state of emergency
for three more months, broadening the power of authorities to crack down on
what it calls enemies of the state.The five experts who issued the statement –
special rapporteurs reporting to the UN Human Rights Council – said the death
penalty should be used only for the most serious crimes and after a process
with all legal safeguards.The experts were José Antonio Guevara Bermúdez, Agnes
Callamard, Bernard Duhaime, Nils Melzer, and Fionnuala D. Nà Aoláin, who report
to the Council on arbitrary detention, extrajudicial executions, enforced
disappearances, torture and the protection of human rights while countering
terrorism. middleeastmonitor
Trump apologizes for his anti-Muslim retweets
New Delhi: United States President Donald
Trump has apologized for re-tweeting three anti-Muslim videos, which were
originally posted by the deputy leader of one of the United Kingdom's most
far-right groups.Trump had re-tweeted the tweets of Britain First's Jayda
Fransen in Nov.Speaking to the U.K. broadcaster ITV on Thursday at the World
Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Trump said, "If you are telling me they're
horrible people, horrible, racist people, I would certainly apologise if you'd
like me to do that". "I am often the least racist person that anybody
is going to meet. Certainly, I wasn't endorsing anybody", he added.The
U.S. President drew widespread condemnation, including from the British Prime
Minister's office for the re-tweets.ANI
Philippine President Duterte offers '42 virgins' to visitors
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte told a
group of Indian and Filipino business leaders in New Delhi that he would like
to attract visitors to his country by offering "42 virgins". In a
speech on Friday aimed at luring investors to the Philippines, Duterte also
said Indian businessmen should "avoid Mindanao" because "there's
still martial law there", referring to the southern Philippine island,
where armed Muslim rebels and fighters continue to battle government
forces.Duterte was on a 3-day trip to the Indian capital to attend a regional
summit between India and leaders of the ASEAN, and participate in the country's
Republic Day celebration. In a statement on Saturday, a women's activist group
called Duterte an "international embarassment", Rappler reported.
FLASH: VIEWS & NEWS
The Power of Dissent And the Silence Within:BY
AVANI BANSAL
As Virtual Foreign Policy Advisor to PM, Was
Jaishankar Left With Enough Time For His MEA Tasks?VIVEK KATJU
Democracy in Danger: The Deep Strategy Behind
the Movie Mob Violence:THE CITIZEN EDITORIAL
Gulf between promise and reality: Karni Sena is
only one of saffron frankensteins:Amulya Ganguli , Caravan
The Story of Three Bengali Muslim Households
Which Lost Their Men to Lynching in 2017:Souradeep Roy
Does Madrassa Education Harbour Terrorism in
India?Umer Beigh
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Anwarulhaq (Released at: 8:04 PM)
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