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India gets its 39th World Heritage Site – Kakatiya Rudreswara Temple

In yet another landmark achievement, India’s nomination of Rudreswara Temple, (also known as the Ramappa Temple) at Palampet, Mulugu district, near Warangal in the state of Telangana  has been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. The decision was taken at the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO. Ramappa temple, a 13th century engineering marvel named after its architect, Ramappa, was proposed by the government as its only nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage site tag for the year 2019.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed happiness on UNESCO declaring KakatiyaRamappa Temple a World Heritage site. He also urged the people to visit this majestic Temple complex and get a first-hand experience of it’s grandness.

Reacting to a tweet by UNESCO, the Prime Minister said;

“Excellent! Congratulations to everyone, specially the people of Telangana.

The iconic Ramappa Temple showcases the outstanding craftsmanship of great Kakatiya dynasty. I would urge you all to visit this majestic Temple complex and get a first-hand experience of it’s grandness.”

Union Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) G Kishan Reddy thanked the Prime Minister for his guidance and support as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conferred the World Heritage inscription to Rudreswara Temple, (also known as the Ramappa Temple) at Palampet, Mulugu district, near Warangal in the state of Telangana.

The Rudreswara temple was constructed in 1213 AD during the reign of the Kakatiya Empire by Recharla Rudra, a general of Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva. The presiding deity here is Ramalingeswara Swamy. It is also known as the Ramappa temple, after the sculptor who executed the work in the temple for 40 years.

The temple complexes of Kakatiyas have a distinct style, technology and decoration exhibiting the influence of the Kakatiyan sculptor. The Ramappa Temple is a manifestation of this and often stands as a testimonial to the Kakatiyan creative genius. The temple stands on a 6 feet high star-shaped platform with walls, pillars and ceilings adorned with intricate carvings that attest to the unique skill of the Kakatiyan sculptors.

The sculptural art and decoration specific to the time and Kakatiyan Empire have an outstanding universal value. The distinct style of Kakatiyas for the gateways to temple complexes, unique only to this region confirm the highly evolved proportions of aesthetics in temple and town gateways in South India.

European merchants and travelers were mesmerized by the beauty of the temple and one such traveler had remarked that the temple was the “brightest star in the galaxy of medieval temples of the Deccan”.

(Published from PIB)

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Medical journal The Lancet deliberately suppressed crucial COVID virus information at the behest of China

The Lancet which is one of the worlds foremost and respected medical journals have deliberately suppressed crucial information at the behest of the Communist Party of China that proved the Covid virus could jump from human to human and was spreading outside of Wuhan in the early days of the pandemic, reports Dailymail.

Already this medical journal has been discredited for publishing a politically biased article targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Coronavirus crisis in India

As per reports, the editors of the journal failed to share critical evidence that was given to them by brave Chinese scientists who were trying to alert the world to the danger of the new disease capable of spreading by people who were not displaying symptoms.

This new information has come from a new book by Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and a member of the UK Government’s Sage committee who said he was shocked by the behaviour of the journal for suppressing this information that could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives if speedy action had been taken to deal with any emerging virus outbreak. 

In his book, he revealed that he was contacted by Thijs Kuiken, a Dutch professor and government adviser, over a scientific research paper that he was sent by The Lancet to review on January 16, 2020, and refers to the paper’s contents as, “One of the standout moments in the whole epidemic, the reddest in a constellation of red flags,”.

The report states that the role of influential scientific media must be questioned for appeasing the Chinese authorities and stifling debate about suggestions that Covid could have leaked from a Wuhan lab.

The lancet in a scathing article published in The Mail last month had revealed how to outrightly refused to publish an article critical of China’s industrial-scale human rights violation and the repression of Uighurs in the Xinjiang province as it might cause problems for staff at its Beijing office.

The medical journal has also been accused of parroting China’s version that Covid-19 does not have a “natural origin” that was drafted by Peter Daszak, whose charity funded high-risk experiments on coronaviruses in a Wuhan lab.

According to Prof Kuiken who had instantly realised this was crucial information unfolding as the entire world faces a health crisis, but his role as a confidential reviewer precluded him from sharing details and had sent his review the next day to The Lancet, expecting it to be published immediately hoping ‘the information should be made public because it was the first scientific proof that the virus was spreading human to human. They either would not or could not do it.’

But when Lancet did not publish his finding, within 24 hours, Kuiken sent an email to Sir Jeremy who agreed the findings should be shared urgently.

‘If there was a novel contagious disease that could spread asymptomatically between people, the world needed to know immediately,’ said Sir Jeremy. ‘Speed matters perhaps more than anything else in disease outbreaks.’

Sir Jeremy then emailed and messaged Richard Horton, The Lancet’s editor-in-chief expecting a reply to no avail. 

The following day Sir Jeremy contacted the World Health Organisation (WHO) and that led to and within 24 hours, China belatedly confirmed human transmission and confirmed people in southern China who had caught Covid from family members. 

A key study conducted by Southampton University found that if China had acted to lock down Wuhan even one week earlier, according to its estimate the number of cases would have been cut by two-thirds, significantly limiting Covid’s spread. But the Communist regime known for suppressing truth silenced doctors through intimidation, covered up the outbreak’s severity and ensured there was no public discussion.

A leaked memo from a Chinese health official admitted ‘human-to-human transmission is possible’, and warned of ‘a major public health event’.

Richard Ebright, a bio-security expert, said what The Lancet did was “unconscionable and unforgivable and the practice has cost lives”.

Fiona Godlee, editor of the British Medical Journal, said the reviewer was put in a difficult position and The Lancet should have ensured the Shenzhen evidence reached the public domain immediately.

The Lancet, which finally published the study on January 24, refused to divulge when it received the research but said all papers of major public health importance were shared as soon as possible while ensuring rigorous peer-review.

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“Sarpatta Parambarai is a DMK propaganda film”: Former AIADMK Minister lashes out at Pa. Ranjith for portraying former TN CM MGR in bad light

Former AIADMK Minister D. Jayakumar came down heavy on film director Pa. Ranjith for peddling propaganda favourable to the DMK and for portraying former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Dr. MG Ramachandran in his recent film Sarpatta Parambarai.

“We know people who try to hide whole pumpkins within rice but director Pa. Ranjith has concealed the 30-year good rule by wantedly. In the recently released film Sarpatta Parambarai, the scenes are set as if there is no connection between MGR and the sports industry. The film is entirely a propaganda film of the DMK.” he said. 

Jayakumar said that MGR was took up the domain of sports both in his movies and during his political career. He said that MGR was an inspiration for many athletes as he in his films had popularized traditional sports like Maankombu Sandai (Deer horn fight0), kickboxing, sword fighting, etc. He said that MGR particularly liked wrestling and kickboxing.

Jayakumar pointed out the instance when MGR brought the international fame boxer Mohammad Ali to Chennai in  1980 for the fundraising tournament of Tamil Nadu Amateur Boxer Association. “After the match, he (MGR) took Mohammad Ali to his Ramapuram house where he served him with Meenkozhambu (fish curry). That is the amount of love he had for boxing”, Jayakumar noted.

He said that he had brought out many initiatives for sportspersons during his time as Chief Minister. “But Sarpetta film shows as if it was only during the DMK regime that sportspersons were given importance and that MGR had not cared for them”.

He said that art is more sharp than history and hence concealing the truth is not just an injustice to the people who made history but also to forthcoming generations.

“What happened to Ranjith the spade who had teared the DMK when it was not in power? Has it become blunt now? For you to seek refuge at the power centre now, is it necessary for you to throw dirt on the opposition? Getting compromised is not just bad for the art but is also not good for the artist”., he said condemning the gross misrepresentation of MGR in the film.

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BJP state president Annamalai’s bid to revive the party magazine ‘Orey Naadu’

Annamalai has urged party cadres and functionaries to avoid shawls, garlands, and sweets when greeting him, and has urged cadres to use the money for party’s magazine ‘Ore Naadu’ subscriptions.

“The state president’s appeal increased online subscription inquiries by 60%, and we are delighted with the surge in new online subscriptions to our fortnightly,” said Nambi Narayanan, editor of ‘Ore Naadu.’

“We closed down our print circulation due to overheads and were just able to manage the break-even, but this announcement by the state president has boosted the morale of the magazine staff and now we will reach out to more karyakarta’s to spread the agenda and the objectivity of BJP,” Narayanan said.

According to BJP sources, the concept is similar to what Dravidian stalwarts Annadurai and M Karunanidhi did to boost subscriptions to the DMK party newspaper Murasoli.

“We are confident that like our vote bank, the party’s mouth organ will now reach to more homes and this will force the BJP workers to read a lot and help them to be a better campaigner for the BJP which is trying hard to strengthen its vote bank in the Dravidian heartland,” BJP sources said.

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“Churches decide who Christians should vote for”: IMK chief Arjun Sampath calls out pseudo-secularism

Indu Makkal Chief Arjun Sampath said that the churches in Tamil Nadu are deciding who Christians should vote for, claiming that the practice is a threat to secularism and the churches should respond to this allegation.

AIADMK has announced that it will hold protests on the 28th across Tamil Nadu condemning the DMK government. In light of this, Arjun Sampath paid a courtesy call on AIADMK co-coordinator and opposition leader Edappadi Palanisamy at his residence on the Salem Highway. He added that Indu Makkal Katchi would extend their support for the protest of ADMK against DMK’s silence on key issues affecting Tamil Nadu.

Arjun Sampath who later spoke to the press, said,” The Union Water Resources Minister has given a written reply in Parliament to allocate Rs. 950 crore to protect the rivers of Tamil Nadu. This is a boon for Tamil Nadu. The Government of Tamil Nadu should use this to protect rivers in areas including Nellai, Coimbatore, Chennai, Trichy, and Tanjore.”

He also stated that the central government is showing interest in the development projects of Tamil Nadu and that the Tamil Nadu government should work in harmony with the Central Government and implement development projects in Tamil Nadu.

He further said,” George Ponnaya, is currently under arrest for the speech he made. Churches determine who Christians should vote for. What is the opinion of the Bishops Council on this issue? It is unconstitutional for Christian religious institutions to control all political activity of Christians through Churches.”

He added that the political affiliation of churches is a threat to secularism and that the Election Commission should take action in this regard.

The Indu Makkal Katchi has expressed support for the AIADMK’s 28th protest against the DMK government in Tamil Nadu, party founder Arjun Sampath said.

(with inputs from News18Tamil)

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On Guru Purnima, Sadhguru launches Project Samskriti

In his online Guru Purnima address that was broadcast in 14 languages worldwide, Sadhguru called for a more aesthetic and inclusive model of human development that goes beyond academics to explore the full depth and dimension of human potential. He said the world needs human beings who will invest in endeavours that go beyond the basic survival process. To facilitate a culture that nurtures the aesthetic and subtler aspects of life, he announced the launch of Project Samskriti that will offer Indian classical music, dance and martial arts by alumni of Isha Samskriti, a school dedicated to the classical arts. Project Samskriti will be anchored by young people who have dedicated at least 15 years of their life to the full-time practice of these arts, not as a hobby but as a doorway to experience the higher dimensions of life.

Project Samskriti is an invitation to the world to access a doorway to the Divine through music, dance and martial arts based on Yoga. Transmitted in their pure and undiluted forms, these arts allow human beings to enhance their attention and perception leading to a more profound and enriching experience of life while also offering peak physical, mental and emotional wellness.

Sadhguru said that there are two ways in which a human being can transcend physical limitations and experience higher possibilities: by perceiving or by receiving. He said enhancing one’s perception is the aim of all spiritual processes and requires a certain amount of striving. For those unable or unwilling to strive, he said the alternative is to become open and receptive to higher dimensions.

Project Samskriti will be delivered online. Anyone above the age of 7 can enrol to learn ancient chants, classical music, dance and Kalari which is the genesis of martial arts. Details about the structure and format of Project Samskriti are available on the Project Samskriti website.

In the Indian culture, the practice of classical art forms has always been anchored in spirituality. The arts are rooted in devotion and are often practiced as an offering rather than as entertainment. They date back several millennia and have been evolved to bring peak wellbeing and balance to the human body, mind, emotions and energies.

For the second year running, Isha’s Guru Purunima celebrations were live streamed to an online audience. The Satsang with Sadhguru began at 7 p.m. IST. It included performances by students of Isha Samskriti and guided meditation by Sadhguru.

Guru Purnima is celebrated on the first full moon after the summer solstice. It is the most significant festival on the Indian spiritual calendar because it is the day that Adiyogi, the First Yogi, chose to transmit his teachings and became the Adiguru or the First Guru.

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Watch: BJP cadre single-handedly made Madurai Assistant Commissioner Akbar Khan apologize publicly for slandering RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

A video of BJP cadre forcing an Assistant Commissioner to publicly apologize for slandering the RSS Chief has gone viral on social media.

The alleged incident occurred in Madurai following RSS Chief Mohan Bhagawat’s visit to Madurai, who will be in Madurai for four days beginning July 22 to attend an RSS function.

Thallakulam Assistant Commissioner, Akbar Khan, is accused of making lewd remarks about RSS Chief Mohan Bhagawat. Upon knowing this, Praveenraj, former vice-president of the Madurai district BJP youth wing, protested in front of Madurai Assistant Commissioner Akhar Khan’s vehicle, forcing him to apologize publicly for his lewd remarks on RSS Chief Mohan Bhagawat. The video was shared by BJP Tamil Nadu general secretary Professor Srinivasan and congratulated the BJP cadre on his bravery.

https://twitter.com/profsrinivasan1/status/1418829429963476992?s=20

Praveenraj was heard saying in the video, “You record the scene, brother. Even if they shoot and kill me, I will not forgo this issue. How can someone speak like this and then leave without apologizing? I don’t care whether he’s an assistant commissioner, a deputy commissioner, or a commissioner. I want him to apologize.”

Assistant Commissioner Akbar Khan stepped out of his vehicle and tried to console him, saying, “Leave the issue as I have apologized.”

Earlier, on Thursday, the zonal Assistant Commissioner of Madurai Corporation was relieved of duty for ordering to repair roads and streets lights, as well as keeping the road clean during the RSS Chief Mohan Bhagavat visit to Madurai.

As per a circular released by Shanmugam on July 20, the RSS chief was slated to attend events at the Saibaba temple in Zone 4’s Sathya Sai Nagar between July 22 and 26. All zonal officials were asked by Shanmugam to repair street lights and damaged roads along the RSS chief’s route from the airport. During the planned time, he also ordered that all other civic activity, including road renovation, be halted across the four zones.

The internal communication circular went viral after Madurai MP Su Venkatesan demanded an explanation from the Madurai Corporation and the district administration on Twitter.

Corporation Commissioner KP Karthikeyan clarified that as part of the Z Plus protectee protocol, only routine arrangements were made and no extra maintenance work was done. The Corporation Chief released a statement hours after the circular went viral, ordering the Assistant Commissioner to be relieved of duty. “The assistant commissioner has been asked to explain why he issued a circular without the consent of senior officials,” he said.

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N. Ram takes dig at Malini Parthasarathy for meeting PM Modi, gets rebuked

After the Chairperson of the Hindu Publishing Group, Malini Parthasarathy met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (July 22), fissures have developed between her and N Ram, the director of the group, who has now distanced himself from the meeting.

All this started after Parthasarathy posted a tweet in which she said, “Had the privilege of calling on Prime Minister today & had an illuminating conversation in which he shared his perspective on issues of current public interest,”. This tweet evidently did not go well with N Ram who always had contempt and disdain for the current administration. 

When a Twitter user asked N Ram why Parthasarathy is squandering away the reputation of this newspaper, responding to the tweet, he said, “I have nothing to do with this. What I can assure you is that we will do our very best to prevent The Hindu’s “hard-earned” reputation and legacy of 142+ years “being squandered away”.

However, Parthasarathy responded to the former editor-in-chief of the Hindu newspaper and tweeted that,”Our 142+ years of hard-earned reputation was built by reporting that was factual & not driven by political prejudice or bias. We @the_hindu are determined to restore the honesty & credibility of our reporting & commentary. This is the only way forward to revive our great legacy,”.

It appears that the faultlines between the top executives of The Hindu started after Malini Parthasarathy called for accepting the Supreme Court verdict on the Rafale fighter deal which N Ram continues to peddle the lie which is also the view of the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress.

Perhaps what really drove the wedge between them is when Parthasarathy personally believes that the integrity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unimpeachable and unquestionable as regards the Rafale issue.

This is contrary to N Ram’s post-truth school of journalism where his newspaper published cropped and incomplete pictures of documents on the Rafale deal during the run-up to the 2019 general elections.

Both top honchos of the newspaper had also publicly argued over an article published by The Hindu when it criticised the Akshay Patra Foundation which provides meals for children. The issue was the absence of onion garlic in those free meals provided to school students by the foundation and the news that was published was children were not finding them delicious.

However, the article received wide criticism on social media, Malini Parthasarathy distanced herself by claiming she does not handle day-to-day news content and called the attack on Akshay Patra unwarranted and called the Akshaya Patra story as an example of shoddy journalism.

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Tokyo Olympics finally observes silence to honour 11 murdered Israeli athletes nearly 50 years after the 1972 Munich games

During the opening ceremony of 2021, Tokyo Olympics, for the first time in five decades, a moment of silence was observed to honour the memories of 11 Israeli athletes murdered by Palestinian terrorists.

“One group still holds a strong place in all our memories and stands for all those we have lost at the games – the members of the Israeli delegation at the Olympic Games Munich 1972,” the announcer said on Friday (July 23) during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics.  

She added, “We remember those who lost their lives during the Olympic Games.”

This gesture was welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett who tweeted, “Today, for the first time at the Olympic Games, the brutal massacre of 11 members of the Israeli delegation at the 1972 Munich Olympics was officially mentioned. I welcome this important and historic moment. May they rest in peace.”

Israel had earlier asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to observe a minute silence for the 2012 London games to mark the 40th anniversary of the attack. However, this request was rejected and the IOC was criticized for not honouring the memories of the Israeli athletes killed in 1972.

Eight Palestinian terrorists belonging to the Black September terror group murdered 11 Israeli athletes participating in the Munich Olympics of 1972. The leaders of the Black September were later hunted down by Isreal under operation “Wrath of God”.

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Miscreants disfigure Amman idol at temple in Ranipet, ejaculate semen over idol

Devotees of Ambaal Amman in Ranipet district, who are celebrating the first Friday of the “Aadi” month, have been outraged after discovering that the idol of Amman was desecrated by miscreants.

The alleged incident took place at Panchalingeswarar temple next to Kaveripakkam in the Ranipettai district. Miscreants had undressed the statues of Amman and ejaculated semen over them.

According to residents, this is the third such incident in a month. Hindu Munnani, who had previously filed a complaint about the incident, claimed that the Police Department and the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department (HR&CE) had failed to act on the complaints.

T.V. Rajesh, a Hindu Munnani office bearer, explained that the temple is on the outskirts of the city, and that people of many castes reside around it. He said that they have not been able to determine who is involved in the issue. He further said that the organization had filed complaints with the district superintendent of police, who promised to install CCTV cameras around the temple.

He added that the Hindu Munnani had protested after the incident occurred for the third time, and that the issue had come to light as a result of the protest. He further explained that they were taken aback when Chitra, HR&CE official in charge of the temple, refused to visit the site after the tragedy, claiming she had other work involving land grab.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad state organizer Saravana Karthik condemned the unfortunate incident, saying that only swift police action in the case will restore Hindus’ faith in the police department. “Whenever the DMK comes to power, crimes against Hindus and Hindu temples become rampant,” he claimed.

(with inputs from Dhinasari)

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