08 SEPT. 2019: 08 MUHARRAM 1441:
Vol: 12, No: 07
INDIA
Chandrayaan 2 Mission advisor,prominent scientist
along with his family excluded from Assam NRC
One of
prominent names who was excluded from the NRC list in Assam was Dr Jitendra
Nath Goswami, a renowned scientist and an adviser of Chandrayaan 2 Mission
along with his family, a report in Northeast Now stated. "We have been
living in Ahmedabad for last 20 years. Perhaps we failed to do whatever was
required for inclusion of our names in NRC. But our family is there in Assam,
we have lands in Jorhat. If there is some problem in future, we'll have to do
something by showing the land documents," Goswami said.indiatimes
Room for 3,000: Post-NRC Assam’s brand-new ‘jail’
While uncertainty hangs over Assam’s newly
declared final NRC, for the past eight months, work has been on at a steady
pace to build what would be the state’s first exclusive detention centre to
house people declared as ‘illegal foreigners’ — a category into which people
out of the list who don’t find reprieve at Foreigners’ Tribunals would
eventually fall. On 20 bighas of land in Matia in Goalpara district, nestled
between farmland and forest, at least 15 contractors and 450-500 labourers are
at work to build the centre at a budget of over Rs 46 crore, with a capacity to
house “up to 3,000 illegal foreigners”. Construction began last December and is
expected to be completed by this year end. The facility will be enclosed within
two walls, the first one 6-ft high and the second 20 ft. In a reply in the
Assembly in July, Assam Govt had said it had sent a proposal for 10 such new
facilities to Centre, and was waiting for a response.Assam currently has 6
detention centres to hold ‘illegal foreigners’, but these are all located
inside jails. Together they house 1,000-odd detainees, in conditions which have
been deplored by activists. As per a state Govt reply in the Assembly, FTs
declared 1.03 lakh people foreigners between 1985 and Aug.2018. This number is
expected to swell now after final NRC. The detention centre at Matia, around
150 km from Guwahati, is being built as per guidelines laid down by Centre and
circulated in Jan.2019. A senior Assam Govt officer, who refused to be named,
said, “The guidelines mention numerous points like a facility having a space to
play, a school, etc. All that is being followed.”Rabindra Kumar Das, a junior
engineer at Matia construction site, said the detention centre plan includes a
primary school, a hospital, and a separate water supply system with a capacity
of over 50,000 litres. “For detainees, there will be 15 four-storey
buildings…The construction would have been almost complete if it had not
rained. We are aiming now for the end of this year.”indianexpress
Navi Mumbai to have Maharashtra’s first detention
centre for illegal immigrants: Report
Maharashtra Govt has identified land to build
state’s first detention centre for illegal immigrants, Mumbai Mirror reported. The
home department last week reportedly wrote to City and Industrial Development
Corporation, which is the planning authority for Navi Mumbai, and sought a 3-acre
plot in Nerul for the detention centre. This came days after more than 19 lakh
people out of 3.3 crore were left out of the final list of the Assam’s National
Register of Citizens. The number of people left out in the state’s updated
citizens’ database comprise around 6% of Assam’s entire population. They will
now have to appeal against the decision in foreigners’ tribunals and are at the
risk of being sent to detention centres.The exact location of proposed
dentention centre is not known yet, but the newspaper reported that the plot was
recently used by a NGO.Amitabh Gupta, principal secretary, home department,
said the process to find land had begun in July, after Union Govt sent
instructions to all state Govts in connection with this. The model detention
manual released by Govt states that every city or district which has a major
immigration post must have a detention centre. “There are large number of
illegal immigrants, especially Bangladeshi,”an unidentified official from home
dept.in Maharashtra said. However, no exact figures were given by official. He
said the process of repatriating them takes time and therefore a detention
centre is necessary, adding that presently the immigrants were detained in
jails. Official said the proposed detention centre would not be like a
jail.scroll
No illegal migrant will be allowed to stay:Amit
Shah says in his 1st visit to Assam since
release of NRC
Guwahati: Union Home Minister Amit Shah today
said no "illegal migrant" will be allowed to stay in the country and
that NRC exercise in Assam was completed in "time-bound manner".Shah,
also the chairman of the North Eastern Council (NEC), was addressing chief
ministers of eight northeastern states, in his inaugural address at the 68th
plenary session of the NEC here."Various people have raised all kinds of
questions on NRC. I want to clearly say that not a single illegal migrant will
be allowed to stay in the country by the Government of India. That is our
commitment", he asserted. Referring to the just published NRC, Shah said,
"lt was completed in a time-bound manner". The meeting was also
addressed by Union Minister of State incharge of DoNER and NEC vice chairman
Jitendra Singh, official sources said.news18
People’s Tribunal starts hearing on NRC
New Delhi: A 7-member jury, including ex Supreme
Court judge Madan B Lokur and ex Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice AP
Shah, began a 2-day public hearing on the Assam citizenship issue on Saturday. People’s
Tribunal, a public hearing on “Constitutional processes and human cost”, is
being organised by civil society groups. Jury will hear individual testimonies
of people from Assam participating in the process of updating NRC and legal
experts.The hearing is aimed at educating the public “on what is being called
the largest citizenship purges in history,” advocate Prashant Bhushan said.
Terming citizenship “right to have rights”, advocate Gautam Bhatia told jury
about what he called the lack of transparency in the SC’s supervision of the
process. He also criticised the time-lines set by the top court to publish the
updated NRC. “When people’s citizenship is in question the criterion must be
fairness, not fitness,”Bhatia said.Testifying before the tribunal, Masuma
Begum, a 25-year-old social activist from Assam, said she was left out of NRC
even as her parents and siblings featured in the list.“If people like me, who
have access to information and legal resources, have been left out unfairly,
what about the poor and uneducated in the state,”she asked. Discussing the
legal processes involved in updating NRC, lawyers and people from Assam
criticised the working of the Foreigners’ Tribunals in the state. “There is a
pattern of religious and linguistic bias in the functioning of the tribunals,”
activist Teesta Setalvad said. Justice Shah said, “The term for members of the
Foreigners’ Tribunal must be increased from one year, and their transfers must
be handled by the HC to ensure due process.” Besides Justices Lokur and Shah,
tribunal jury comprises Prof Faizan Mustafa, Syeda Hamid, Deb Mukherjee, Gita
Hariharan and Prof Monirul Hussain. The jury will present its findings and
announce a decision on Sunday.indian express
People’s Tribunal on NRC opens to tales of trials,
tribulations
NRC may be religion-blind but Muslims in Assam feel
they are being singled out, persecuted
“I had to sell my cow for a measly Rs 15,000 to
ensure I have money to go to a foreign tribunal for hearings. Like most people
here, I have a small house and a few cows, but I am a daily wage labourer. The
only other option to have cash is to ask the money lender, but he will charge
5% interest. Where and how do I pay him. The only option left will be to die,”
said a distraught Ajmöl Hoque. He is one of the residents of Pubmohimari
village, which is almost 3 hours away from Guwahati. His village, which falls
within Kamrup district limits, has no public transport and neither does it have
proper roads reaching it. All it has is a cobbled, muddy road lines with paddy
fields and Chinese nets on both sides.Amidst this picturesque setting, there is
a disaster brewing. Hoque’s is not an isolated case. In their cluster of almost
12 villages, with almost 15,000 population of mostly Muslims, names of almost
3,000 have not appeared in final NRC list, which was released on Aug.31.But,
even after a person’s name appears on NRC, their woes do not end. Objections
are filed against their inclusions. This only increases their litany of woes as
they will have to borrow money to keep appearing at these foreign tribunals. It
is nothing but harassment. More so if they are Muslims. Even 40-year-old
Tarabanum’s name has not appeared on the list. Her husband had died last year
and she has no steady income. Her son Shafique Ul’s name is on the list. She
has been forced to borrow Rs 10,000 from a money lender to reach the site of
the foreign tribunal. “The only thing I can call my own is a small ‘kacha’
house. Will I have to sell that too to call myself an Indian citizen? Where
will I go after I sell that. That is why I feel, it is easier to die,” mumbled
Tarabanum. In her case, she was called for hearings four times; two of the
times, the hearings were at the local FT, the third time she was called to
Rongia and the fourth time, she was asked to appear at a foreign tribunal at
Golaghat, which is more than 400 km away.nationalheraldindia
Article 370 different, Centre will not touch
Article 371, says Amit Shah assures northeastern states
Article 371 of the Indian Constitution is a
special provision which will not be altered by BJP-led NDA govt, Union Home
Minister Amit Shah said Sunday. Addressing the 68th plenary session of North
East Council in Guwahati, Assam, Shah said that while Article 370 was temporary
in nature, Article 371 is about special provisions in North East.“After the
abrogation of Article 370 in J&K, there were attempts to misinform and
misguide the people of North East that Article 371 would also be scrapped by
Centre,” PTI quoted Shah as saying. “I think it is important to clarify the
difference between the two. Let me make it clear that PM and the BJP govt
respects Article 371 and 371 (A),” he said.“I have clarified in Parliament that
this is not going to happen and I am saying it again today in the presence of
eight chief ministers of North East that the Centre will not touch Article
371”, Shah added. Govt has asserted it has no intention of removing Article 371
of the Constitution, which includes “special provisions” for 11 states,
including 6 states of Northeast.Fears over its removal surfaced after govt
revoked the special status granted to J&K under Article 370 of the
Constitution and bifurcated the state into 2 union territories.indianexpress
J&K
ISSUE
Curfews in Kashmir re-imposed after clashes
during Muharram procession: Reuters
India on Sunday imposed curfews in several parts
of the contested Kashmir region, after clashes between security forces and
Shi’ite Muslims taking part in a procession, officials and eyewitnesses said.
At least 12 locals and 6 troops were injured on Saturday evening, officials
told Reuters, as worshippers on the traditional mourning procession of Muharram
clashed with troops trying to stop it. Troops used tear gas and pellet guns on
the crowd, which insisted on carrying on with the procession, one in a series
held at this time of the year, and pelted stones at security forces, an Indian
official who declined to named said.“The clashes continued till late night
during which the troops fired tear gas and pellets,” he added. A spokeswoman
for interior ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Today, police vans
fitted with loud speakers announced curfew-like restrictions in Srinagar’s city
center Lal Chowk and adjacent areas, according to 2 Reuters witnesses. “People
are advised to stay indoors and not venture out of their home,” the police
announced.Reuters
Ahead of Muharram, restrictions re-imposed in
most of Kashmir
Normalcy evading in Valley due to ‘civil curfew’
of radical youths: J&K BJP leader
Jammu:Even though J&K administration has
tried to ease many restrictions initiated on August 5, life does not seem to be
returning to normal in Kashmir due to “civil curfew” enforced by “a section of
radicalised youths backed by terrorists,” J&K BJP spokesperson Brigadier
Anil Gupta (Retd) stated on Saturday.The statement came after NSA Ajit Doval
told a group of journalists in Delhi that “at least 92.5% of the geographical
area of J&K is free of restrictions’’. Radicalisation is the root cause of
alienation, which needs to be addressed first to restore normalcy,Gupta said. He
held NC and Congress responsible for creating the present impasse and said
facts speak to the contrary despite claims by both parties to be secular and
worst victims of militancy.Gupta maintained that radicalisation picked up
momentum in Kashmir after re-emergence of Sheikh Abdullah on political horizon
with “full backing” of Congress. It gained impetus after 1977, ostensibly with
the backing of Pakistan when Zia ul Haq was busy giving shape to the
implementation of “bleed India through a thousand cuts” doctrine, he added.
Sheikh’s successor and son Farooq Abdullah, Gupta asserted, first hobnobbed
with radical Islamic parties through an alliance to contest the 1983 elections
against Congress, and later joined hands with Congress and allegedly turned a
blind eye to destruction of Sufi culture and growth of radicalism. Indianexpress
NC MPs move HC seeking meeting with Abdullahs,
court seeks J&K reply
Srinagar:J&K High Court has directed Senior
Additional Advocate General to seek instructions from state authorities and
inform the court after NC MPs Hasnain Masoodi and Akbar Lone filed a petition
seeking a meeting with party president Farooq Abdullah and his son and Omar
Abdullah. The single bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar observed that before
proceeding further in the matter, “it is necessary to first ascertain as to
whether the petitioners have actually been prevented by the authorities from
meeting their party president Farooq and Omar, and if it is true, for what
reasons”. Justice Kumar asked Senior Additional Advocate General Javid Iqbal to
seek instructions from state authorities and listed the matter for Sept.11.
indianexpress
Easing of curbs in J&K depends on Pak
behaviour: NSA
New Delhi:A day after US State Department
expressed concern over “widespread detentions” in J&K and “urged” the
Indian Govt to “respect human rights”, NSA Ajit Doval linked the further
lifting of restrictions in Kashmir Valley to Pakistan’s “behaviour”. “We would
like all restrictions to go but it depends on how Pakistan behaves. It is a
stimulant-and-response situation with the stimulant coming from Pakistan to
create provocations, unrest, intimidate and threaten,” NSA said,in his first
interaction with the media since the August 5. Around a dozen journalists, half
of them from the foreign media, were invited for interaction in PMO. While the
media interaction was a rare opportunity to ask questions to Doval on
developments in Kashmir, he was cautious not to commit himself on a further
easing of restrictions. Though he said restrictions on movement had been lifted
in 92% of J&K, he indicated that further provocations from Pakistan would
only delay both the release of detained politicians, and the restoration of
phone and Internet services. He said the move on Article 370 has long been on
BJP’s manifestos. Doval said all the actions of Centre were “justiciable”,
hinting that issues such as the removal of statehood and preventive detentions
could be confronted legally.indianexpress
Cancelling passports over facebook posts? Govt's
testing new intimidation tactics on Kashmiris
New Delhi:On 29 Aug., a J&K police officer
tweeted out the names and Facebook profile photos of 5 men, accusing them of
“posting fake news, instigating people to disturb peace in the area.” The men,
who belong to Poonch and Rajouri districts of the recently created UT,
currently live in Kuwait and UAE, and were alleged to have posted “sensitive
remarks” on Facebook. Police registered FIRs against them for “promoting enmity
between different groups on the grounds of religion, race...,”and under Section
66B of IT Act, which is “punishment for dishonestly receiving stolen computer
resource or communication device.” When a Kashmiri physicist from Srinagar, who
had published a Facebook post on 20 Aug alleging that the Indian army had
beaten and tortured a fellow Kashmiri, heard the news, he started feeling
worried. The substance wasn’t surprising in itself—booking people for social
media posts has happened too many times in India, especially since Modi Govt
came to power in 2014. What really
startled the physicist, who is studying in Europe, was a news report that
quoted Yougal Manhas, SSP of Rajouri, Jammu, as saying that that process to
cancel the passports of 5 men would be started soon.“Are they going to start
cancelling passports now? I don’t know what to do. Should I take down the post?
I really don’t want to take it down. I know that I’m not lying,” physicist
asked worriedly, speaking on the condition of anonymity. SSP Manhas told
HuffPost India that the 5 people in question had published posts that “set one religious
community against another,” and threatened India’s sovereignty. huffingtonpost
Kashmiri Pandits stage demonstration against
Washington Post for "biased" reporting on J&K:PTI
Washington:A group of Kashmiri Pandits staged a
demonstration in front of The Washington Post office here on Saturday,
protesting against "one-sided coverage" of the recent developments in
J&K.The newspaper has defended its coverage in Kashmir as "fair,
accurate and comprehensive". The demonstration was organised by Global
Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora. The protesters alleged that the prominent US daily
has been giving "one-sided and biased coverage" after Indian Govt
withdrew J&K's special status last month.Kashmiri Pandits, who had gathered
in Washington DC from various parts of US, raised slogans in support of PM
Narendra Modi for taking the "bold and historic step". Across the
road where the protest was staged by Kashmiri Pandits, a group of Pakistani
Americans, separatist Kashmiri and separatist Khalistani held a silent
demonstration in support of The Washington Post. Justifying its coverage,
Washington Post Foreign Editor Douglas Jehl said, "The Post's coverage of
India's actions in Kashmir since Aug. 5 crackdown has been fair, accurate and
comprehensive -- at a time when India has imposed tight restrictions on the
flow of information and has severely limited access by our journalists trying
to cover this important story." A group of US Muslims also held a protest
demonstration in front of Indian Embassy in Washington DC.PTI
OTHERS
‘UFOs responsible for Chandrayaan failure’
Chennai:While the reasons for failure of
Chandrayaan- 2 programme are still being studied, some bizarre theories on what
could have led to it are already making the rounds - extra terrestrials
interfering with the moon landing! Sabir Hussain, a Chennai based independent
researcher on UFO sightings and director of Indian Society for UFO Studies
(INSUFOS) believes the loss of
communication that Isro scientists suffered with Vikram lander just before it
was to land on the moon's surface was no accident but a warning from extra terrestrials. "You will not be
allowed to land on the moon unless 'they' decide to allow you. Unidentified
Flying Objects (UFO) researchers around world believe that the extra
terrestrials have sent a message to Indian Govt to 'get rid of your nukes
before you explore other worlds'," he said."As a researcher studying UFO-Nuclear
Weapons, failure of Chandrayaan 2 is not at all surprising to me," Hussain
added in a chat. "Recently some Indian ministers have been making very irresponsible
and dangerous statements on the use of nuclear weapons. If we had taken the
warnings on UFO activity seriously, this situation could have been averted. Why
do you think Americans refused to go to Moon after 1973?" he asked. "Both
India and Pakistan have been openly threatening each other with nuclear
attacks. But what the leadership of both these nations do not realise is that
they can use their nuclear weapons only if UFOs decide to allow them. In my
opinion, this Vikram episode is just a warning to the Indian leadership from
UFOs, that if you can't take care of your own world then don't come to ours. More
messages are likely to follow. US Air Force Missile Launch Officer,Robert
Salas, who witnessed an UFO switching off 10 nuke missiles under his command in
1967, also concurs with this,"he claimed.AsianAge/DC
Don't miss: Chandrayaan 2 drama after Isro's
last-mile disappointment
Biggest support for Palestine comes from Indian
Muslims, we will get Al Quds freed in our lifetime: Palestinian Scholar
New Delhi:“We will achieve the freedom of Al Quds
and Masjid Al-Aqsa in our lifetime,” said a Palestinian scholar in late 50s
while referring to some white-bearded people among a select gathering at the HQRS
of All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat here Saturday evening. Samir Said, Vice
President, Minber Al Aqsa Association, Turkey, was speaking on “Reality of Al
Quds”. Native of Palestine, Mr.Said has been living in Istanbul for some years.
After opening remarks by Mushawarat president Navaid Hamid and introduction of
the guest by general secretary Mujtaba Farooq, the Palestinian scholar, with
the help of blackboard and chalk, sketched a detailed historic picture of Al
Quds and the history of ups and downs around it.Early in his speech, however,
he talked about his association with India.He said he was visiting the country
for the first time but has always appreciated the love and support of Indian
Muslims for the cause of Palestine.“The biggest support for Palestine from the
global Muslims comes from the Indian Muslims. Palestine is not for Palestinians
or Arabs, it is for all Muslims of the world,” he said.India Tomorrow
Ex-union minister and veteran lawyer Ram
Jethmalani passes away at 95
New Delhi:Veteran lawyer and former Union law
minister Ram Jethmalani passed away Sunday morning at his residence in New
Delhi at the age of 95.He breathed his last at 7.45 am at his official
residence in New Delhi, PTI quoted his son Mahesh Jethmalani as saying. Mahesh
and other close acquaintances said he was not keeping well for a few months and
he died 6 days before his 96th birthday on Sept.14. Mahesh also said his
father’s last rites will be performed in the evening at the Lodhi road
crematorium.Jethmalani served as law minister and as minister of Urban
Development in former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Cabinet. He was also the
chairman of the Bar Council of India.indianexpress
UP: Journalists booked for reports that claim ‘Dalit
family in not allowed to collect water from village hand pump’
Meerut: Bijnor police has said that an FIR has
been registered against 2 journalists — one working with a local daily and
another with a local electronic media outlet — for “fake news reports claiming
that a Dalit family in Titarwala Basi village under Mandawar police station
area was not allowed to collect water from a village hand pump by an
influential family of their community in the same village”.In a video
circulated on social media, Vishal, one of the journalists who were booked,
claimed, “We received a call from one Premchand Valmiki of Basi village on
Sept.4. He claimed that some influential persons of the village had threatened
him and his family not to use a hand pump near their residence. Thus, they
(family) put up posters saying ‘house for sale’. We went to the village to
collect facts and published a report in this regard.” The other journalist who
was booked on Saturday was identified as Rashid, police said.Alleging that the
2 journalists were being “made targets” by the police for “factual reporting”,
several local mediapersons took out a protest march in Bijnor on Saturday. “A
journalist association here has formed an 8-member committee to take their
fight to a logical end,” said Iftikhar Ahmed, a local journalist.“FIR against
us has exposed the malafide intentions of the local police and is a big blow to
the freedom of press .We are not frightened but the manner in which the voice
of the media is being muzzled is a dangerous sign,” Vishal claimed in the
video.“We want FIR to be scrapped and action must be taken against local
police, who are biased against the press,” Vishal can be heard alleging in the
video.Satendra Kumar, in-charge of Mandawar police station said, “An FIR was
registered against two local journalists for fake reporting in connection with
a Dalit family in Basi village. The fact is that a team of Mandawar police went
to the village when Premchand Valmiki registered a complaint with us .The
police team called both the factions and they agreed (in presence of the
police) that they will not fight over the issue of drinking water any further.
I am on a raid in connection with a case and cannot give more details.” Shiv
Kumar, village pradhan, said the issue has been settled due to the intervention
of the police.indian express
5 journalists in Bijnor booked for circulating
fake news reports
Locals thrash 2 Muslim women on suspicion of
kidnapping toddler in Delhi
Delhi: Two women were thrashed by locals in
south-east Delhi’s Okhla Industrial Area on suspicion of kidnapping a
2-year-old child on Friday afternoon, the police said on Saturday.Rehana and
Sakina were arrested and subsequently released on bail, they said. The boy,
Ritesh who resides with his parents in Sanjay Colony, was playing on the street
at that time of the incident.His mother Rinku Devi was at their residence and
father Munna, a labourer, was at work. Rinku allegedly told the police that the
two women came to the spot and held Ritesh’s hand.She said she also saw the
women take him along with them when she started shouting, the police
said.Following this, the neighbours immediately gathered at the spot and nabbed
the duo.They then started thrashing the women thinking they were kidnappers. On
reaching the spot, the officers rescued the women from the mob and took them to
the police station. During interrogation, the women from jhuggis in Badarpur
told the police that they are beggars and did not touch the child. thehindu
‘Bachcha chor aa gaya’: What happens to a village
in grip of rumours like child-lifting?
Around noon on Aug.25, Choti Devi, a tailor, was
hard at work on her sewing machine, rushing to finish pending orders. Her four
children, the eldest 9 years old and the youngest three, were sitting around in
the one-room house, fiddling with their books and toys.Just then, there was a
knock on the door.“I was suspicious… scared… My husband would return only in
the evening,” says 27-year-old. As she gingerly opened the door, she saw a
woman in worn-out clothes and frazzled hair. “She told me, ‘Do you have
children?…Give them these biscuits’.”That was it — Devi’s worst fears had come
true. “Bachche churane waali ab hamare gaon mein aa gayi (child lifter had now
come to our village). I began to scream and warned my children not to step out.
All the WhatsApp messages I had been receiving for the past weeks had warned me
against this. My children had not been going to school for at least a week. I
didn’t want to lose them,” she says, standing outside her house, one of 38
rooms in a building at Echar village in Greater Noida area that mostly houses
security guards, labourers, tailors and their families. “And, this women
particularly resembled one of the two women whose picture I had got
recently,”says Devi, whose husband has a “company job”.She then pulls out her
Samsung smartphone, the one she bought for Rs 6,000 earlier this year, to show
a picture her sister-in-law had sent her. It is a grainy selfie of two women,
one in her 50s and the other in her late 30s. Older woman has her head covered
with a dupatta, while the younger one has a thick line of vermillion on her
head.A message accompanied the picture: “Share this picture as much as possible.
They kidnap little children from neighbourhoods and schools and smuggle them.”“The
woman who came with the biscuits looked like older one,” says Devi, over a week
after the incident. Later, the alleged child lifter was reportedly beaten up by
residents and handed over to the police. “We just held on to her till the police
came, we didn’t beat her…We were a group of 15-20 women, we were all crying,”
says Devi.However, when Sub-Inpector Naseem Ahmed from Echar Police Station probed
the case, it turned out that the ‘child lifter’ was in fact a “mentally
unstable woman who had strayed from her family”.indianexpress
SC judge says criticism of Govt, army, judiciary
cannot be construed as sedition
Supreme Court judge Justice Deepak Gupta said on
Saturday that Indian citizens have the right to criticise the Govt, and such
criticism cannot be construed as sedition. He was addressing a lawyers’
workshop organised by a charitable trust in Ahmedabad.Gupta clarified at the
beginning of his speech, titled “Sedition and Freedom of Expression”, that his
views were personal and not in his official capacity as a judge of the SC. “Criticism
of the executive, the judiciary, the bureaucracy, armed forces cannot be termed
sedition,” Gupta said. “If we stifle criticism of these institutions, we shall
become a police state instead of a democracy.” “For me, there is a very
important right which is not spelt out in the Constitution… the right of
freedom of opinion, the right of freedom of conscience, by themselves, include
the most important right: the right to dissent,” Gupta said. He added that a
society which sticks to traditional rules degenerates.“New thinkers are born
when they disagree with well-accepted norms of the society,” Justice Gupta
added. “If everybody follows the well-trodden path, no new paths will be
created and no new vistas of the mind will be found.”The judge asked the audience
to always question “why”. “Only then the society will develop,” he said.“We
have the right to criticise Govt in power, whichever Govt it may be,” the judge
said. “The misuse of the sedition law is against the very principle that our
freedom fighters fought for.” Gupta added that even the judiciary is not above
criticism, and must introspect its own actions.scroll.in/ Indian Express
Demonetisation sparked the current consumption
slowdown, reveals RBI data
The consumption slowdown which is mostly
responsible for the economic slump we are in is due to the decision of
demonetisation; reveals latest RBI data according to the Deccan Herald. RBI
data points to the gross bank exposure towards consumer goods loans being in a
steep and constant decline mostly in the aftermath of the abrupt note ban in
late 2016.As of March 2017, the gross bank exposure towards consumer goods was
constant at ₹20,791 crore, before which it had been on the rise for about six
years. It then started to radically dip downwards, witnessing a landmark 73%
fall, standing at a mere ₹5623 crore. From 2017-2018, it stood at a 68% fall
and the fall in the loans to the consumer durables has continued to this year,
dipping 10.7% year-to-date. "Basically, it works through the income route,
so there were two factors that seem to have impacted the dip in Bank's exposure
to consumer durables post-demonetisation -- one is that MSMEs had serious
problems in terms of cash crunch, employees' departure which eventually led to
their shutdown, and second is inventory pile-up, as people did not have cash to
buy, along with increased unemployment and loss of income in the same year,"
said Govind Rao, member, 14th Finance Commission. nationalheraldindia
‘Slowdown due to demonetisation effect’: MoS
Finance Thakur heckled at auto industry event
Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur was
heckled at an ACMA event on Friday after he asked auto industry players why
sales had not picked up despite measures taken by govt, RBI intervention and
big discounts by manufacturers, to which a participant interjected and said it
was because of “demonetisation effect”. Thakur was seeking inputs from industry
players on the reasons behind the slowdown, despite Govt’s efforts to support
the ailing sector, at Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India
(ACMA) annual summit here.Jasbir Singh of GS Auto Ludhiana interrupted the
junior finance minister’s address, saying “This is the delayed effect of
demonetisation. People don’t have money!”Thakur, however, kept his composure
and repeatedly said “Thank you”. Seeking to calm down the atmosphere after the
interruption, Thakur said, “If that is the delayed effect (of demonetisation),
how do you move ahead form here? How do you go forward?” “If there is reduction
in interest rates after RBI’s recent actions, discounts by companies (have been
offered) and many other initiatives have been taken by the central Govt, why
the industry is not seeing the same kind of demand? Later on, Minister of State
for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Arjun Ram Meghwal during his speech
took the argument to Singh asserting that demonetisation and goods and services
tax were economic reforms which were needed to make India a USD 5-trillion
economy.“This is economic reform sir. This made India a USD 3-trillion economy.How
much cash can you keep sardarji?” Meghwal asked.After session, many of the
participants were seen going to Singh and congratulating him for speaking for
the industry.PTI
Medicines made with cow urine cure many diseases,
including cancer: Union minister
Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare
Ashwini Choubey has said many medicines, including those which cure cancer, are
prepared from cow urine and hence the Indian Govt has prepared a scheme for the
conservation of Indian cows.He said, “Many medicines are prepared from cow
urine.. even the ones which cure cancer are prepared from the urine of Indian
cow. While Govt has prepared a scheme for their conservation,Ayush ministry is
working on it as well.”indianexpress
Reviewing emeritus status a bid to show regime’s
muscle: Romila Thapar
Historian Romila Thapar spoke about the row over
JNU asking for her CV to review her Professor Emeritus status. She lamented the state of the university, talks
of a “creeping fear” among people in asserting their rights. Thapar said,
"I can’t understand why they suddenly decided to do this, because nowhere
in the world is an Emeritus Professor ever reconsidered for Emeritus status.
The status can be negated if the person has committed a crime that embarrasses
the university. But the status is not routinely reviewed. The statement of JNU
admin.that the status can be reviewed whenever the university so chooses and
that this rule is applied at MIT and Harvard, is simply not correct. Nor is
there a quota of which discipline gets how many Emeriti or that the status has
to be equally distributed between disciplines." She further added, "I
am puzzled as to why suddenly in the last few months, the university
administration decided to go back on the terms and conditions of Emeritus as it
has existed since the beginning of university in 1970. To maintain that a
changed rule can apply retrospectively shows little understanding of legal
systems. Other obvious aspect suggests that this may have been an attempt to
show the muscle of the new regime — such as it is — and reject those that had
been honoured earlier."indianexpress
Alka Lamba resigns from AAP, to join Congress
New Delhi: AAP Chandni Chowk legislator Alka
Lamba on Friday said she had resigned from the primary membership of the party,
adding that she had decided to join Congress.Lamba, who quit AAP’s primary
membership, said, she would shortly join the Congress in the presence of its
president Sonia Gandhi and asked the party’s leadership to accept her
resignation on Twitter where she had announced her decision to quit AAP earlier
during the day alleging that it had now become the “Khas [special] Aadmi
Party.”thehindu
‘Hindutva Lite’ will not revive Congress in Hindi
heartland, says Shashi Tharoor
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor today said offering
voters some sort of “Hindutva Lite” will not help revive the party in the Hindi
heartland, reported PTI. He added that such an attempt would only lead to the
party becoming “Congress zero”. Tharoor made the comments ahead of the launch
of his latest book The Hindu Way: An Introduction to Hinduism.“Those who are
suggesting that the answer to the party’s woes in the Hindi heartland is to
become more like BJP in ‘majority-appeasement’ are making a cardinal error,” he
told the news agency. “If the voter is presented with a choice between the
original article and a pale imitation, he will choose the original every time.”
Tharoor urged his party to stand up for what it has always believed in, and
said it should not be intimidated by the BJP’s success. “loyalist will respect
a party that demonstrates the courage of our convictions rather than offering some
sort of ‘Hindutva Lite’; like ‘Coke Lite’ and ‘Pepsi Zero’, ‘Hindutva Lite’
will only end up with ‘Congress Zero’,” he added. scroll.in
Arrest Warrant Issued against SP Leader Azam Khan
Lucknow – Arrest warrant has been issued against
SP leader and MP from Rampur, Azam Khan, in three cases. He may have to spend
some time in jail. One of the cases includes that which was filed after he
allegedly made derogatory remarks against actress-turned-politician Jaya
Prada.So far 80 cases have been registered against Azam Khan. He has been
ordered to appear in court on Sept.11.As reported by the Daily Pioneer, SP of
Rampur, Ajay Pal Sharma has confirmed that a warrant has been issued against
Azam Khan in three cases. The report added that police have pasted a copy of
the warrant on the outer wall of Azam Khan’s residence.caravandaily
‘Kaur was impressed by Islamic scholar’s
teachings’
Amritsar: In a twist that belies the assertions
of Pakistani authorities, especially its Sikh leadership that claimed to have
“resolved” the issue of Nankana Sahib Sikh girl Jagjeet Kaur who had embraced
Islam and married a local Muslim man, the girl has reportedly told her parents
that she was impressed with the teachings of Islamic scholar Molana Ilyas Qadri
and had wilfully embraced the religion. Human rights activist and advocate from
Nankana Sahib, Mian Sadi Abbas Deoka said, “The girl’s parents had gone to meet
her in Darul Uloom in Lahore on Friday and she explicitly told them that she
didn’t embrace Islam for her husband Muhammad Hassan alone, but was impressed
with the teachings of Islam.” Sadi claimed that the girl had also reportedly
told her parents that she used to watch a religious TV channel and was
impressed with the teachings of its founder and preacher Molana Ilyas
Qadri.Jagjeet had on August 28 embraced Islam at Darul Uloom Jamia Naemia in
Lahore and on August 30 she had recorded her statement in a local court that
she had wilfully adopted Islam and her new name was Ayesha. On the same day she
had reportedly married Muhammad Hassan of Nankana Sahib.After her parents objected
to the said marriage, they registered a complaint with police claiming that
Jagjeet was kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam and married to a Muslim man
that brought Sikhs and Muslims of Nankana Sahib on the brink of a scuffle.As
situation got tense, Pak Govt and Sikh leadership intervened in wake of
ensuring 550 birth anniversary of Guru Nanak and Kartarpur corridor. TOI
Questions about Dalits and Muslims in a class VI
question paper face wrath on social media
A question paper is being circulated on social
media of a Central Govt-run school in Chennai. The question paper has raised
massive controversy as a couple of questions have caused much consternation,
reported The Hindu. Following are the questions quoted by The Hindu from the
question paper: Question no. 17- “What do you mean by Dalit?” and choices for
answers were: (A) Foreigners (B) Untouchables (C) Middle Class (D) Upper class.
Question no. 18 read: “What is the common stereotype about Muslims?” and choices
for answers were: (A) They don’t send their girls to school (B) They are pure
vegetarian (C) They do not sleep at all at the time of Roza (D) All of them.
Although just one of the pages of the entire question paper was circulated, it
is learnt that the question paper was based on a class 6th book of Social
Science which is published by NCERT, the report in The Hindu said. These 2
questions are from a chapter called ‘Diversity and Discrimination’. Questions are
from 2 subheads- ‘On being discriminated against’ and ‘Inequality and
discrimination.’
Govt spending more on ads in Hindi newspapers
In a clear message to make deeper inroads into Hindi
heartland, Modi Govt has spent over Rs 890 crore in advertising in Hindi
newspapers compared to the over Rs 719 crore in the English newspapers in the
last five years, an RTI filed by IANS has revealed.At a time when print media
overall is facing rough weather owing to stiff competition coming from digital
platforms -- chiefly Facebook and Google which together share 68% of digital
ads globally -- Hindi and regional newspapers across the spectrum (large,
medium and small) are defying the trend and flourish in the country.Leading the
pack in 2014-15 to 2018-19 period was Dainik Jagran that received Govt ads
worth over Rs 100 crore in the given time-frame.Dainik Bhaskar received ads
worth Rs 56 crore and 62 lakh, while Hindustan received Govt ads worth Rs 50
crore and 66 lakh in the reported
period. IANS
JNUSU polls: Left maintains lead, Delhi HC
restrains JNU from declaring results
Despite counting process has nearly been
completed, results of JNUSU polls will not be announced today as Delhi HC has
restrained the university to notify the results till Sept.17.Delhi HC, on
Friday has ordered that the results be put off till Sept. 17 on pleas by 2
students, who had alleged illegal rejection of their nominations. Petitioners
have filed their nominations for the post of councilors.As per sources, after
counting of 5,050 ballots out of 5,762 votes, Left Unity’s Aishe Ghosh was
leading race for President with 2,070 votes in her kitty.Till the time of news
writing, there was a close contest between BAPSA’s Jitendra Suna with 985 votes
and ABVP’s Manish Jangid with 981 votes for second position. nationalheraldindia
NEP draft ‘wishful’ document, has no roadmap for
implementation: Manish Sisodia
New Delhi: Draft for Centre’s National Education
Policy (NEP) is a “good wishful” document but there is no roadmap for how the
changes will be implemented, according to Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish
Sisodia.Sisodia, who is also Delhi’s Education minister, said sans a step-wise
implementation plan, NEP may end up in a “disaster” like the no-detention
policy.“Broadly, it is a good draft except a few small things here and there
the concepts they have talked about are good. They have set targets that one
has to reach rooftop but policy does not talk about step one that how will they
reach there,” he said.PTI
WORLD
Trump calls off secret Camp David meet with
Taliban, cancels peace negotiations: Al Jazeera
In an abrupt move, US President Donald Trump has said
he had called off separate secret meetings planned for next day with Taliban
and Afghan president at Camp David.Citing a Taliban-claimed deadly attack in
Kabul last week, Trump also said he was cancelling the talks between US and
Taliban that started almost a year ago in Qatar in an effort to end 18-year war
in Afghanistan.In a statement today, Afghan Govt praised "sincere efforts
of its allies" and expressed its committment to work with US "to
bring lasting peace".A Taliban representative in Doha, who is part of team
that had been negotiating with US officials since Oct.last year, said today
that the group has called a meeting to discuss its next move, without reacting
further to Trump's move. On Sept.2, US and Taliban concluded their ninth round
of negotiations in the Qatari capital, with US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad saying
that a peace agreement had been finalised "in principle". Taliban,
which has long rejected calls by Washington and Kabul for a ceasefire, stepped
up attacks on recent weeks, even as negotiations in Doha were ongoing.Last
week, as Taliban and US negotiators reached a draft accord, hundreds of group's
fighters overran parts of strategic northern city of Kunduz.Attacks were also
launched in provinces of Takhar, Badakhshan, Balkh, Farah and Herat, according
to Afghan local media. Kabul-Baghlan and Baghlan-Kunduz highways were blocked,
too, due to fighting. Taliban also claimed responsibility for 2 major bombings
that killed at least 30 people in Kabul, including one US soldier and one member
of NATO. Jeff Stacey, ex US State Dept official, said that although Trump's
comments were unexpected, they showed a "serious" approach by a president
who has been "very unpredictable" and inconsistent in regards to US
Afghan policy. He said,"They are trying to move Taliban further towards US
and Afghan Govt goals, so it's not really that big of deal - it's actually more
positive than negative."For Intizar Khadim, an analyst, Trump's move was
"a negotiating tactic". "It
is a psychological pressure from US Govt on Taliban to conceded a number of
incentives that the Afghan Govt is asking from US." Location of the secret
meetings came as a surprise to many who pointed out that Camp David has long
been a place reserved for summits attended by world leaders.
Talks cancellation will mean more US lives lost:Taliban
Taliban has said that Donald Trump’s decision to
cancel peace talks with its leadership would lead to the further loss of
American lives and assets.“Americans will suffer more than anyone else for
cancelling the talks,” Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the group, said.He
said the talks were being conducted in a smooth manner until Saturday, and both
sides had agreed to hold intra-Afghan talks on Sept. 23.Reuters
US: Muslim student calls out educational
institute for uploading 'Islamophobic' lecture content
Tayeba Quddus was shocked when she saw a lecture
slide from a subject on diversity suggesting that while "most Muslims are
peaceful", up to 300 million Muslims were "radicals who want to
destroy and murder".The quote — sourced from a prominent anti-Muslim
activist and presented without qualification in online lecture material — left
Ms Quddus feeling "disempowered" and bewildered that a claim she
described as "sickening in its bigotry" would be part of her tertiary
studies."Given what happened in Christchurch, and a huge movement we have
of far-right extremism and political campaigns that seek to vilify most
Muslims, within that climate it's not very helpful to be discussing these
things in a way that seems like it supports these ideas," Ms Quddus
said.26-year-old had already been disturbed by a classroom discussion early in
the unit at Melbourne's Holmesglen Institute, where she said students had been
allowed to talk over her and share false cliches about Muslims.So she
complained to her teachers, who she said took her comments on board but
initially left material online. Unsatisfied, Quddus took her complaint to Victorian
Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission. Shortly afterwards, Holmesglen
Institute took material down and has since offered an unreserved apologised to
her, promising training for teachers involved.abc.net
In a First Symbolic Step, Muslim Rebels Hand Over
Guns in Philippines Peace Deal
Muslim
rebels in the mainly Catholic Philippines began handing over their guns to
independent foreign monitors Saturday, as part of a peace treaty aimed at
ending a decades-long separatist insurgency that has left about 150,000 people
dead.Just over a thousand guerrillas in the country's restive south are turning
in 940 weapons in a single day, in a graduated decommissioning process that
aims to turn Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country's largest rebel
force, into a regular political party. The fighters demobilised on Saturday
represent a symbolic first step towards retiring what MILF says is a force of
40,000 fighters in the coming years."The war is over... I have no firearms
left,"Paisal Abdullah Bagundang, a self-described veteran of over 100
firefights with Govt forces since 1970s, told AFP.PTI
Saudi king names son Prince Abdulaziz as energy
minister
Saudi Arabia's King Salman has replaced the
kingdom's energy minister with one of his sons, naming Prince Abdulaziz bin
Salman to one of most important positions in the country, according to state
media.The new energy minister is an older half-brother to Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler. The new minister replaces Khalid
al-Falih, who had been removed just days ago as board chairman of the
state-owned oil giant Aramco, as the company prepares for a much-touted initial
public offering (IPO).aljazeera
Senior UK Minister quits in new Brexit blow to PM
Embattled UK PM Boris Johnson has been dealt a
new blow after Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd resigned from Govt and
left Conservative Party in protest against his handling of Brexit, the
country's biggest political crisis since World War II. Rudd's move late on
Saturday capped a tough week for Johnson as he tries to steer a divided country
through Brexit, and came just days after PM's brother, Jo Johnson, quit the
Govt, saying he was "torn between family loyalty and national
interest".Rudd said she could no longer endorse Johnson's approach to
Brexit because he seemed determined to crash out of EU without a
deal."Govt is expending a lot of energy to prepare for 'No Deal' but I
have not seen the same level of intensity go into our talks with EU," she
wrote in her resignation letter. Johnson says he wants to take Britain out of EU
on Oct.31 with or without a deal. But he lost his parliamentary majority this
week and subsequently expelled 21 Conservative MPs - known as the "rebel
alliance" - from the party after they supported an opposition plan aiming
to block a no-deal exit.
Flash: NEWS,views,Articles
Dear ISRO Chief, As a Kashmiri I Know How Losing
Connection Feels:Faizan Bukhari
‘Our children are in jail’: How India is keeping
Kashmir isolated and in fear: Rana Ayyub
Archaeological evidence rules out present-day
Ayodhya as city of sacred texts: Rajesh Kochhar
ED’s journey from a small enforcement agency to
becoming ‘new CBI’
Welcome to the land of fools :Rupa Gulab
Kashmir may no longer be a bilateral issue but it
is a global concern:Meghnad Desai
Justice Deepak Gupta: Law of Sedition Needs to be
Toned Down if Not Abolished:Deepak Gupta
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq,(Released at: 8:25 PM)
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