Rishab Shetty’s Kannada film “Kantara” has turned into a sleeper hit across India. It managed to enthrall audiences and keep them coming back to the theatres by excellent word-of-mouth reviews. There was very little promotional spending, if any. Its Pan-Indian appeal and success, appears to be the subject matter of the movie and the way in which it is presented.
The “Daiva Narthaka” is an animistic ritual dance performed in Tulu Nadu and parts of Malénadu of Karnataka and Kasargod in Northern Kerala. The film showcases this local Hindu practice and dance form as an integral part of the religious and cultural footprint of coastal Karnataka. The film proudly presents a long-surviving, unapologetic Hindu practice and custom from coastal Karnataka. It evokes a sense of awe, wonder and nostalgia of the unique native, local, Hindu beliefs.
The Narthakas and the “Bhoota Kola” tradition is central to the film, which presents it beautifully and sensitively, bringing India’s attention to little known Hindu customs and instilling in the audience, a curiosity for other local, native practices and rituals.
On Thursday, Bengaluru MP PC Mohan tweeted that the Karnataka state government has announced ₹2,000 monthly allowances for Daiva Narthakas above 60 years of age. While acknowledging the film for highlighting the cultural aspect of Daiva Narthakas, the politician tweeted, “Adoring Daivas, dance, and divine intervention.”
Adoring Daivas, dance, and divine intervention.
The BJP-led #Karnataka government has announced a Rs 2,000 monthly allowance for ‘Daiva Narthakas’ above 60 years of age.
The Bhoota Kola dance ritual is highly stylized and held in honor of the local deities worshiped by the Tulu speaking population. It has also influenced the popular Karnataka folk-theatre art form of “Yakshagana” . Bhoota Kola is closely related to Theyyam of neighbouring Malayalam speaking populations.
The term Bhoota Kola is derived from būta (Tulu for ‘spirit’, ‘deity’) and kōla (Tulu for ‘play, performance, festival’, or ‘shape/form’). A būta kōla or “nema” is typically an annual ritual performance where local spirits or deities (būtas, daivas) are being channelised by ritual specialists from certain scheduled castes such as the Nalike, Pambada, or Parawa communities. The būta cult is prevalent among the non-Brahmin Tuluvas of Tulu Nadu region.
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In yet another instance of secularising Hindu identities, symbols of Christianity and Islam were added to the carvings of Mounasamy Mutt in Kumbakonam.
Mounasamy Mutt also called the Mounasamy Madam is a Hindu Mutt dedicated to “Mounasamy”. It is located in the town of Kumbakonam in Thanjavur District, Tamil Nadu. Mounasamy was a monk in Kumbakonam in the late 1800s. He was given the name because he never spoke to anyone. He was also known as “Mouna Paradesi” among the locals. He never said anything to anyone and had nowhere to go. He was, nevertheless, always welcomed everywhere he went. If they got what they desired, people would pray and break coconuts in front of him.
It has been reported that even Swami Vivekananda and Annie Besant had paid a visit to the monk once. His has been praised by Kanchi Mutt’s Jagadguru Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal.
Mounasamy’s disciples established a mutt at his samadhi. A Shiva Linga has been installed at his samadhi to which special pujas are being held here every day.
On 20 October 2022, the BJP Thanjavur North district from its Twitter handle had poster images of Mutt’s brass engravings with the Christian Holy Cross and the Islamic crescent moon and star symbols.
Later, the handle mentioned that based on the efforts of Thanjavur North district BJP President Mr. Sakkotai N Sathish Kumar, the carvings with Christian and Islamic identities were removed.
However, a stockist identified as a member of the DMK legal wing and the Kurichi IT wing stated that the removal of Christian and Islamic symbols from Hindu Mutt carvings is an attack on the country’s pluralism and calling it the BJP’s act of religious bigotry which should be nipped in bud.
இந்தியாவின் பன்முக தன்மையை தெரிவித்திருந்த ஒரு மடத்திற்குள் அத்து மீறி நுழைந்து தேச ஒற்றுமையை சிதைக்கும் வகையில் செயல்படும் அதிகாரத்தை உங்களுக்கு யார் கொடுத்தது?
“Diversity is not about showcasing a person who lived according to the Hindu way of life with other religious identities. Is it anti-national to resist identity theft? This will no longer be tolerated.” the TN North Thanjavur BJP said to the stockist.
இந்து வாழ்வியல் முறை படி வாழ்ந்த ஒருவரை கருவறை முதற்கொண்டு வேற்று மத அடையங்களை வைத்து காட்டுவது அல்ல பன்முக தன்மை
அடையாளங்களை மாற்றுவதை தடுத்ததால் தேச விரோதமா, இனி ஒருபோதும் அனுமதியோம்,
மடங்களை இழித்து பேசிய திமுக, தேச ஒற்றுமை பற்றி பேசுவது தான் வேடிக்கை @CTR_Nirmalkumar
— சாக்கோட்டை N சதீஷ்குமார் – பாஜக (@N_SatheshKumar_) October 21, 2022
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The NIA’s Chennai branch office has been designated as a police station under the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) by a GO issued by the Tamil Nadu government earlier this week, enabling the agency to file a First Information Report (FIR) in connection with cases involving the entire State of Tamil Nadu.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), India’s premier counter-terrorism task force, is currently handling up to 15 cases in the state and has been negotiating with the Tamil Nadu government to obtain ‘police station’ status for its Chennai branch office in order to register FIRs for cases taken up from the state.
Though the NIA has been operating in Chennai for many years, it formally opened its branch office in Purasaiwalkam in April 2021, shortly before the Assembly elections, and has appointed an SP-level officer to lead its operations.
However, the branch has yet to be properly launched because it is awaiting clearance from the State government to operate as a police station. The agency’s Chennai section now has the full prosecutorial powers of a police station and can record cases here. So far, cases from Tamil Nadu have been filed in Kochi, Kerala, and Delhi.
In a shocking incident, DMK MLA and Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M. Appavu stooped low from the dignified post he holds and took a ‘Gau Mutra’ jibe at BJP MLA Nainar Nagendran.
The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly was convened on October 17, 2022. The House Business Advisory Committee met to decide the duration of the session. Property tax hikes, power tariff increases, and the alleged attempt by the Centre to impose Hindi were among the issues raised in the House.
In an unstarred question to Tamil Nadu Minister for Fisheries and Animal Husbandary Anitha R. Radhakrishnan, seeking the action to protect the cattles in Tamil Nadu from disease like Brucellosis, Bovine Tuverclosis and others, especially with the onset of North East monsoon, BJP MLA Nainar Nagendran started his speech saying,”Hon’ble Speaker of the House, the total number of cattle in Tamil Nadu exceeds 7 crores, which includes cows, buffalo, sheep, and others. They are particularly vulnerable to diseases during the rainy season.”
Appavu, the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Assembly, who interrupted Nainar Nagendran, made a derogatory remark saying, “They (cattles) will pass a lot of urine no?…” before laughing disparagingly. The DMK MLAs in the assembly laughed at the speaker’s derogatory joke.
However, BJP MLA Nainar Nagendran, not lowering the dignity of himself and the houe chose to tide over Speaker Appavu’s remarks, and continued his question on steps taken by the Tamil Nadu government to protect cattle during the rainy season.
Speaker Appavu’s insulting remarks have sparked outrage on social media.
Criticizing the speaker, a Twitter user said that the DMK is the reincarnation of its anti-Hindu parent outfit DK.
திக இயக்கத்தின் மறு உருவம் திமுக. இரண்டும் சாக்கடைகள் என்று உலகுக்கு நன்றாக தெரியும். இந்த சாக்கடைகள் எப்படி பேசுவார்கள் என்று போடி டப்பா, கட்டுமரம்… காலம் முதல் இன்று வரை அனைவருக்கும் தெரியும். இவர்களிடம் நாகரீகம் ஒருபோதும் எதிர்பார்க்க முடியாது.
Another user remarked about the plight of students who studied under the speaker when he was a teacher, saying, “If this is his standard, think about the students who studied under him.”
அவர் எந்த கட்சியை சேர்ந்தவர். இந்த லட்சணத்தில் ஆசிரியர் தொழிலில் இருந்தவராம். இவரிடம் படித்த பிள்ளைகள் லட்சணம் எப்படி இருக்கும்.
In June 2022, Appavu had stoked a controversy saying that the MK Stalin-led government in the state was formed by Christians and for Christians.
Appavu had openly admitted that the DMK came to power because of the ‘fasting’ and support of Roman Catholic Christians and that Chief Minister MK Stalin acknowledges that the DMK government was installed with the help of Christians.
He further added that Christianity and Christian priests were the root causes for the formation of the DMK government which talks about ‘social justice’ and ‘Dravida Model’.
He also said that Tamil Nadu wouldn’t have developed at all without Christians.
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Pakistan is going through an unprecedented food crisis following the devastating floods where the entire nation is on the verge of starvation.
Many videos showed people there fighting over a bag of wheat.
And guess what is the rank of Pakistan in the recently released Global Hunger Index?
99, 8 places ahead of India.
Sri Lanka which saw people queueing in serpentine lines scrambling for food and protesting on streets amidst a massive economic and political crisis is ranked 64. 43 places ahead of India.
What is interesting to note is that it was India which had supplied Sri Lanka with several metric tonnes of food and fuel to tide over the crisis.
This shows how ridiculously wrong the Global Hunger Index is which relies on outdated data and flawed methodology.
The Global Hunger Report 2022 released by Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilfe, Non Government Organisations from Ireland and Germany respectively, has ranked India at 107 among 121 countries.
Three out of the four indicators used for calculation of the index are related to health of children and it surely cannot be representative of the entire population.
The most important indicator is the Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population, which is based on an opinion poll conducted on a tiny sample size of just 3000!
That means that the poll was conducted on just 0.000002% of India’s population.
The GHI has estimated the Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population to be 16.3%.
This estimate is based on “Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)” Survey Module which is an opinion poll based on 8 questions with a sample size of 3000 respondents conducted by an American analytics-cum-advisory group called Gallup.
If one were to take a look at the questions asked in that survey it will become clear that the estimate arrived is not based on facts on the ground or relevant information but on conjectures.
Such data collected from such miniscule sample for a big populous country like India will obviously have a large bias.
Welt Hunger Hilfe does not collect any data on food consumption itself to prepare the World Hunger Index. Only data provided by the World Food Organisation (FAO) is supposed to be used. In the past, the FAO has relied on the National Nutrition Monitoring Board, India. However, it has been reported that the board has not conducted any survey of food consumption in the rural areas since 2011 and in urban areas since 2016.
Welt Hunger Hilfe uses 4 parameters to measure hunger – Undernourishment (PUN), Wasting (CWA), Stunting (CST), Child mortality (CM).
In 2020 Indian Council of Medical Research did a research. They wanted to check whether these 4 parameters actually represent hunger. So they took sample of 40% top rich and upper middle class people of India n calculated their score. on these GHI’s 4 parameters. And guess what? Rich Indians having a good number of meals also failed. Undernourishment, stunted and wasted children in scores were 7.3, 25.7 and 18.6 per cent, respectively, while the under-five mortality per 1000 live births was 25.8.
So, it becomes clear – Global Hunger Index does not really measure hunger.
Hence, the methodology used in the Global Hunger Index is just plain wrong and unethical and doesn’t not reflect the true picture.
So, what is the true picture then?
India’s foodgrain production for the year 2021-22 is estimated at 315.72 million tonnes, the highest ever. Not only did we have enough food for our own people, but also for the rest of the world as India’s agriculture exports touched a historic high of $50 billion.
India also has the world’s largest food security programme where 80 crore people are given free foodgrains through the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.
That’s equivalent to feeding twice the population of USA and almost the entire continent of Europe.
Under Anganwadi Services, since Covid-19 pandemic, supplementary nutrition was provided to approximately 7.71 crore children upto the age of 6 years and to 1.78 crore pregnant women and lactating mothers.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Matri Vandana Yojna, more than 1.5 Crore registered women were provided ₹5000/- on the birth of their first child for wage support and nutritious food during pregnancy and post-delivery period.
Yet, India is ranked at the bottom in the Global Hunger Index placed below Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and other South Asian countries.
By ignoring the measures taken by India to ensure food security and calculating hunger index based on an opinion is not just unscientific but also completely unethical.
The ground reality contradicting the GHI’s score has raised serious questions about the credibility of these global agencies and their indices.
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A private finance company is operating in Manjur, Nilgiris district. Between March 9, 2021 and September 1, 2021, Shanti Priya, manager in this company, jewelery appraiser Raju, cashier Nandini, and computer operator Vijayakumar, who worked in the company, took the original jewelery packets from the lockers of 81 customers and kept fake jewelery in them.
In addition, the group swindled ₹98 lakh by obtaining a loan using forged documents and forged jewellery in the names of existing customers. After the fraud was discovered during the inspection, the private company filed a complaint with the District Crime Branch Police in Ooty. A special team was formed and an investigation was launched in response to the complaint.
In the scenario, appraisar Raju, 32, cashier Nandini, 30, and computer operator Vijayakumar, 30, were arrested in January, but manager Shanti Priya managed to flee. Special force police, led by District Crime Branch Inspector Amsaveni, were looking for Shanti Priya in Karnataka and Kerala.
Shanti Priya, who had been under hiding for several months, was recently apprehended by Ooty crime branch police and lodged in Coimbatore Central Jail in this case. Shanti Priya’s father, Natarajan, is the DMK secretary of Pikkatti Perur, near Manjoor.
Dharmapuram Adheenam Mutt is one of the oldest and most famous Adheenam that promote Tamil development and culture. This mutt owns a number of properties and temples throughout Tamil Nadu. Dharmapura Atheena looks after the temples under the Mutt’s control.
It has been reported that reported that miscreants illegally encroached on Dharmapuram Aadheenam’s property worth over ₹100 crores.
Savithiri Duraisamy of Trichy filed a public interest petition in the Madras High Court’s Madurai branch, requesting that an order be issued to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department (HR&CE) to retrieve Dharmapuram Adheenam’s illegally occupied properties.
In the petition, it was mentioned, that the Dharmapuram Adheenam is an ancient mutt featured in the hymns sung in the Ujjeevanathar Temple at Uyyakondon Malai in Trichy, as well as in Devaram. Several expensive lands owned by the distinguished and culturally rich Dharmapuram Adheenam were illegally encroached upon by miscreants, it said.
The petition alleged that the encroachers took over 5 acres of land worth around ₹150 crores.
The petition observed that lower courts have already ruled that the property belongs to the Dharmapram Adheenam but has not been recovered by the local authority, and that despite numerous complaints, no action has been taken as a result of which the petition was filed at the High Court for an order directing HR&CE to recover the land from encroachers.
The petition came up for hearing before a bench comprising Justices Mahadevan and Sathya Narayana Prasad. During the trial, advocate Karthik appeared on behalf of the petitioner and presented various documents before the judges stating that the lands belonged to the Dharmapuram Adheenam Mutt.
Taking the documents into consideration, the judges questioned why no action had been taken against those who had encroached on properties worth crores of rupees. The case has been postponed to 26 October 2022, with the judges stating that the court will issue a proper order to file a list of those who have encroached on the Adheenam’s property.
The Arumughaswamy Commission that enquired into late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s demise in 2016, is a lesson on how a Commission must not function.
The report was finally tabled in the Tamil Assembly on 17 October 2022, four years after the Commission came into existence following the passing away of the AIADMK supremo on December 5, 2016. (The report disputes the date and time of her death as well). She had been hospitalized for two months in Chennai’s Apollo Hospital.
O. Paneerselvam was sworn in as the Chief Minister and subsequently he launched a “Dharma Yuddham” alleging foul play in Jayalalithaa’s death and that he was forced to resign.
With Palaniswami in the Chief Minister’s seat and V.K Sasikala in jail, a truce was engineered between the two warring AIDMK factions, with the compromise and solution, being the proposed Justice Arumughaswamy Commission, which was to investigate the circumstances of the late AIADMK supremo’s unfortunate death.
After four long years and with crores of tax payer money spent, retired Justice Arumughaswamy submitted his findings in a disappointing and flawed report.
Justice Arumughaswamy incorrectly states Jayalalitha’s date of death as 4th Dec 2016 at 3.50 pm instead of 5th Dec at 11.30 pm. which is a day earlier than what was originally reported by doctors.
Early on in the report, Arumughaswamy makes a strange point.
In this context, it is pertinent to mention about the news item which appeared in “The Times of India” dated 03.10.2016. After seeing the bulletin published by the R.2 hospital, that she was taking treatment and was responding and a few more days’ stay in the hospital is essential for her recovery, the former Chief Minister Dr. Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi gave a statement that she was admitted for fever and dehydration as per the report of the hospital and, in the meantime, there are also reports that she met the officials and political leaders in the hospital and discussed about Cauvery River Water issue and she is capable of dictating the statement filed before the Cauvery River Water issue meeting held in New Delhi. The former Chief Minister stated that a photograph of what transpired in the hospital itself, has to be released. However, it has not been released to the public. It will alone put an end to the rumours. Further, he stated that mystery over her treatment and health condition would be clear only then. But, it has been ignored. He also emphasized that even though he had different ideologies with Selvi J Jayalalithaa, he wished her a speedy recovery. What the former Chief Minister anticipated, had unfortunately taken place. The Chief Secretary C.W.12 also requested to take a photograph along with ailing C.M. after the meeting was over. Even though late C.M. Madam also agreed and they were waiting for the photographer outside the room, the view has been changed by somebody from inside the room. We have to appreciate the statement given to the Press by the former Chief Minister late Dr.Kalaignar M.Karunanidhi, since the same was the view expressed. (Pg 166-167)
The retd judge appears to favour AIDMK’s political opponent DMK and its leader Mr. Karunanidhi when he reports that Karunanidhi could purportedly see the future and that he had demanded to see periodic pictures from the hospital. He claims that the elderly politician’s predictions shared at the time with the press, had eventually come true.
Following a tip of the hat to the late DMK leader, Arumughaswamy then goes to his big conspiracy theory but neglects to provide evidence to back it up.
According to him, VK Sasikala was the mastermind behind ensuring that treatment to Jayalalithaa was botched. He claims that Sasikala, Dr. K.S. Sivakumar (Sasikala’s nephew), Dr. J Radhakrishnan the then Health Secretary, Dr. Vijayabhaskar (former Health Minister ), Dr. Babu Abraham (pulmonologist at Apollo Hospital ) and Dr. YVC Reddy conspired against Jayalalitha by not providing her with the proper treatment at the right time and hence an investigation into the suspicious behaviour of them needs to be conducted.
On 25.11.2016, when Dr.Samin Sharma, from USA, arrived and was prepared to do angio, C.W.106-Dr.Babu Abraham finds a shortcut to postpone the surgery by contacting Dr.Richard Beale, UK Doctor, who in turn conveys to the US Doctor that “now only she is improving”. Hence, the UK Doctor suggested to postpone the angio. In this manner, C.W.106-Dr.Babu Abraham played a trick to postpone the angio treatment of late C.M. under the pretext of Dr.Richard Beale,but, which is not found anywhere in the Medical Records, and because of this, late C.M. was deprived of this critical treatment and at a later stage her clinical condition deteriorated which later led to her unfortunate demise. – (Pg 192)
This report by a retired judge appears more flawed and biased than the A.K Rajan Committee report on NEET.
The worst part is that all of these illogical claims by the venerable retired judge have no basis in fact. The actual depositions that the various witnesses and respondents made, are in complete opposition to his conclusions. It appears that the judge has not just twisted facts but in fact, created them out of thin air.
He also blames the AIIMS doctors panel of not caring about Jayalalithaa.
During their visits,AIIMS Doctors have taken note of the endorsements already made in the R.2 hospital case sheet by R.2 hospital doctor Dr.Ram Gopalakrishnan and Dr.Rajeev Soman and Dr.Jigitivatia from Bombay and the UK Doctor Dr.Richard Beale, who have all suggested for early valve surgery. From their evidence it is very clear that the AIIMS doctors have not taken enough care to consider the cardiac ailment of late C.M. during their first visit and it is not indicated in their report also. – (Pg 206)
Jayalalithaa was suffering from ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome). While the doctors claimed there was a mild heart condition (mild vegetation in the mitral valve ) that was not considered life threatening, Judge Arumughaswamy insists that the doctors should have operated on her heart right away instead of treating the more serious condition of her lungs (ARDS).
He reports that this alleged medical misstep was the likely cause of her death. Such a claim goes against multiple depositions with various medical experts, claiming otherwise. Judge Arumughaswamy reports against the knowledge, judgement and credibility of all the doctors involved in Jayalalitha’s treatment in any capacity – domestic, international (Dr. Richard Beale from the UK) as well as the highly reputable doctors from AIIMS. The doctors had all agreed that it wasn’t Jayalalithaa’s heart but her lungs, the infection in her blood and her high sugar levels, that were slowly killing her.
To put it in context, Mr Arumughaswamy finds fault with doctors for not bandaging and treating a small scratch on Jayalalitha’s hand but focusing on a fractured leg which apparently resulted in her death!
AIIMS Doctors were aware that she was suffering from two vegetations. Two thoracic surgeons and also two Intensivists had recommended for early valve surgery. Thereafter only, AIIMS team had seen the patient with pleural effusion and pulmonary oedema. Because of the ventilation, she had undergone Tracheostomy. Even thereafter, it is not known, what symptom was expected by the AIIMS Doctors to advise surgery? The peculiarity is that no surgeon was invited, whereas Anaesthesist had been called and he came. Further, the Commission wishes to mention that AIIMS Doctors would merely say that they came here only to supervise the treatment of R.2 hospital. Because they are aware if they say that they treated the late C.M. they will come within the ambit of investigation. What is the meaning of “supervise”? Dictionary gives the meaning as “to watch somebody/something to make sure that work is being done properly or that people are behaving correctly.”Supervise means “they should ensure that correct treatment is given” . While looking at it, they have utilized executive class Air ticket and star hotel comforts even though Centralized A.C. State Guest House was available, why the Health Secretary arranged all these thing under the head of hospitality and serving food all along for 75 days incurred more than a Crore Rupees all these are have to be answered at the time of investigation. (they are only doctors, whether they are eligible for Executive Class?) – (Pg 212-213)
He quotes Dr. Sharma from Mount Sinai Hospital in the U.S, who clearly states he was willing to operate on Jayalalithaa’s heart only if it was deemed necessary by her team of doctors. At that point, there was concensus among the doctors that a heart surgery should be performed only after Jayalalithaa had made some recovery because they had all opined that it was not a life threatening heart condition. Imagine conducting a non-emergency heart surgery on a patient that was struggling to breathe!
The Terms of Reference for the Arumughaswamy Commission are clear. They are :
1) the Commission was constituted to enquire into the circumstances and siruation leading to ex Chief Minister, Selvi Jayalalitha’s hospitalization on 22/9/2016
2) enquiry into the subsequent treatment provided to her, till her unfortunate demise on 5/12/2016.
Mr. Arumughaswamy appears to have gone way beyond the scope of the Terms of Reference stated by the Supreme Court by delving into the 2011 rift between Jayalalithaa and Sasikala.
Without a shred of evidence, he has decided that Sasikala was in a “mood of simmering discontent” and took her revenge at the appropriate time.
He seems to have harassed several witnesses about an alleged rift between Jayalalitha and Sasikala in 2011, reaching his own conclusions about the animosity and Sasikala’s vengeance. He fails to account for a birthday gift (a car) that Jayalalitha presented to Sasikala in the intervening years. He arrives at the conclusion that O Panneerselvam’s “Dharma Yudham” was malafide. The additional investigations and conjecture go way beyond the scope of the clearly stated Terms of Reference.
Dr. Madhan Kumar and fellow doctors had even complained to the Supreme Court about Arumughaswamy’s behaviour. Many witnesses complained that the ex-judge would not entertain their requests of any changes to their testimony. Mr Arumughaswamy’s behaviour seemed hostile to most witnesses. There seems to be have been a malafide intent to the commission’s report. The report reads as if the conclusion was already decided upon and the Commission was merely searching for evidence to back the forgone conclusion.
What is the intent of such a report by Mr Arumughaswamy? Many witnesses have complained that his report has misquoted their statements. He gets some medical jargon wrong.
At one point in the report he states thus:
On 4.12.2016 C.W.65-Maheswari and C.W.61-VijayalakshmiNurses, stated that they were fixing Nebulizer to late C.M., at 4.20 p.m.; the rhythm of her heart beat changed and it was seen in the monitor two to three times and her eyes rolled up. Immediately, the available Doctor gave electric shock to her heart and as it did not resume, they called the Surgeon. At that time, C.W.60 Dr.Rama Devi, C.W.102-Dr.Ramesh Venkatraman were present and they immediately commenced CPR – (Pg 368)
Imagine giving electric shock to the heart! That’s how ridiculously he gets the medical references wrong.
Arumughaswamy seems to have a problem with J. Radhakrishnan IAS. He picks on Dr. J Radhakrishnan, the then Health Secretary and unwarrantedly questions his veterinary background. Dr Radhakrishnan was just acting in his capacity as the Health Secretary.He has accused former Health Minister C Vijay Bhaskar of wrongdoing without providing a shred of evidence to back his allegations.
But what is the most appalling aspect of the report is that he has insulted the intelligence of the entire medical fraternity by subscribing to conspiracy theories.
In conclusion, the Arumughamswamy’s report is a job shabbily done that is full of holes, very low on facts, fantastically high on conspiracy theories and malafide intentions.
It is a report that is fit to be thrown back at the retired judge’s face.
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In yet another instance of platforming controversial self-proclaimed ‘author’ Kannabiran Ravishankar, the MK-Stalin led DMK government has appointed the abusive Dravidian Stockist as a member of the Advisory Committee for Tamil Virtual Academy.
The Tamil Virtual Academy has been envisioned to provide Tamil education through internet for the Tamil Diaspora and to promote Tamil Computing.
The Tamil Nadu government had released an executive order dated 19 October 2022 announcing the members part of the advisory committee for the Tamil Virtual Academy.
In the order released, Kannabiran Ravishankar has been mentioned as a member of the primary committee.
தமிழ்நாடு அரசின் தமிழ் இணையக் கல்விக்கழகத்திற்கான ஆலோசனைக்குழு மாற்றியமைக்கப்பட்டிருக்கிறது.. pic.twitter.com/aZDv7AZbWI
Kannabiran was listed as a member of the advisory committee in the order dated February 23, 2022 along with Badri Seshadri of Kizhakku Pathippagam publishing house and 5 others.
But Badri Seshadri was dropped from the committee allegedly for a social media post about DMK founder CN Annadurai.
Kannabiran Ravishankar (KRS) is a rabid anti-Hindu troll known for his viscious social media posts targeting Hindus particularly the Tamil Brahmin community.
He claims to be a full-time investment banker and an ‘Adjunct Professor’ in Comparative Literature (Tamil) part-time, He is also listed as the Editor-in-Chief of Dravida Pozhil, which according to its website is “a quarterly, bi-lingual, academic research journal with focus on Dravidian studies”.
Kannabiran has been accused of faking his educational qualifications claiming to have a doctoral degree from University of California, Berkeley.
UC Berkeley has confirmed that Kannabiran Ravishankar did not attend or receive any degree from any of the institution’s department.
Kannabiran is known for distorting Hindu scriptures and fomenting hatred against Tamil Brahmin community with vile casteist abuses. He has made several derogatroy and vulgar remarks against Hindu Gods. Many of his tweets have foul language objectifying Tamil Brahmin women. He had even used private photos of Tamil brahmin families including that of children to spew the Dravidian ‘anti-Brahmin’ vitriol. Read more about KRS and his anti-Hindu, anti-Brahmin tweets here.
Kannabiran has been platformed and promoted for long by the top brass of the DMK.
In October 2021, Kannabiran Ravishankar called on CM Stalin and gifted a book on the late DMK patriarch Karunanidhi. In the picture shared he is identified as a professor of Paris University, another claim which also has been disputed.
Kannabiran Ravishankar (left) with CM Stalin
He has been regularly featured in Dravidian Professionals Forum, an organization founded and headed by DMK MLA and current Tamil Nadu Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan and shares close ties with him.
People ask why I am so persistent. The Dravidian intensity of hate reaches into the highest reaches. That is really disconcerting to Tamizh Brahmins. I want to put it out.
In September 2021, DMK MP from Dharmapuri Dr. Senthilkumar had shared on his Twitter about his meeting with KRS. In his tweet, the DMK MP said “Met Kannabiran Ravishankar this evening and talked for a long time like friends for several days. Forgot to talk about his and my favorite actress ‘Silk’ Smita.”
முதன்முறையாக தோழர் @kryes Kannabiran Ravishankarஅவர்களை இன்று மாலை சந்தித்து பல நாட்கள் நண்பர்கள் போல் நீண்ட நேரம் பேசினோம்😍
பேச மறந்தது அவருக்கும் எனக்கும் பிடித்த நடிகை சிலுக் ஸ்மிதா வை பற்றி.☹️
On 20 August 2022, Periyar Maniammai Institute Of Science And Technology had held its 30th convocation with Dravida Kazhagam (DK) President K. Veeramani presiding over the function in which KRS was awarded the “Degree of Doctorate of Letters”.
On 18 October 2022, Sanna Irshad Mattoo, an anti-India photo journalist had tweeted about being denied permission to leave India to attend the Pulitzer Prize event in the US.
She said “I was on my way to receive the Pulitzer award (@Pulitzerprizes) in New York but I was stopped at immigration at Delhi airport and barred from traveling internationally despite holding a valid US visa and ticket.”
She added that this is the second time she has been stopped without reason or cause.
“Despite reaching out to several officials after what happened few months ago but I never received ay response. Being able to attend the award ceremony was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me.”, she said.
Her tweet drew varied reactions from netizens with many questioning her double standards over propagating separatism while holding an Indian passport.
How do you hold an Indian passport while calling for separatism ? Move to Pakistan and go from there. https://t.co/tdUIMm2MuN
However, the Indian government’s move to ground her before she could take off comes against the backdrop of her problematic background and associations.
Sanna Irshad Mattoo is a Kashmir-based photo-journalist, who has made her anti-India stance known on several occasions, within India and abroad.
In 2021, she became a “Magnum Foundation Photography and Social Justice Fellow”. She works for Reuters and had declared herself ‘Kashmiri’ instead of ‘Indian’.
In 2022, Mattoo won a Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. On Oct 18, she was stopped from traveling to the US by Indian Immigration authorities at Delhi airport. A few instances of her anti-India opinions and online posts :
She is a terrorist sympathizer and frequently refers to terrorists as “rebels” in her social media posts. Her social media reflects terrorist sympathizing posts about Afzal Guru, Burhan Wani and others. She has referred to cop killer, Maqbool Bhat as ‘Father of the Nation’.
2. Terror sympathizer
▪️ In her social media posts she blatantly calls 'terrorists' as 'rebels' ▪️ Her social media is full of sympathizing posts about the likes of 'Afzal Guru', 'Burhan Wani' etc. ▪️ She even went to extent to call cop killer Maqbool Bhat as 'Father of Nation' pic.twitter.com/YsgU5jUypP
Mattoo also peddles the Pakistani propaganda by referring to Jammu and Kashmir as ‘Indian administered Kashmir’ or ‘Indian controlled Kashmir”.
Once she shared a post from Sarahah of an anonymous user who wrote “There is no power on earth who can abduct a nation forever. The system of disbelievers can work but oppression won’t. Prayers from Pakistan” to which she said “Indeed, Shukria”.
She had compared patriotic Indians to Hitler’s Nazis. One of her posts, displays a picture of Hitler’s propaganda book “Mein Kamph” captioned “Hitler’s Hindus – The rise and rise of India’s Nazi loving nationalists.”
4. Anti-Hindu
In a state like Jammu & Kashmir (which has witnessed genocide of Kashmiri Pandit), any comment on Hindus must be made with utmost sensitivity.
Sanna Irshad Mattoo’s dubious academic record has been questioned, as well. She claims to have studied at “Magnum Foundation” which is funded by the controversial left-liberal George Soros who is also said to have major influence with the Pulitzer Prize event.
Much has been written about George Soros, the American billionaire investor and businessman who is known for his personal distaste of “nationalism”. He is the founder of the “Open Society Foundations” (OSF ), an umbrella organization that includes a network of foundations and charities. Open Society Foundation’s (OSF) professed object is “to work to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable and open to the participation of all people.” This object serves as the foundation for OSF’s often indiscreet activities in both closed and democratic societies that includes hefty funding of political NGOs, left-leaning “charities” as well as left-liberal news and media houses.
The Open Society Foundation (OSF) is well known for funding highly biased political “NGO”s worldwide including India.
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