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Wednesday, December 17, 2025
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Nidhi Razdan-Harvard scam gets sinister turn, Pak and Chinese links unearthed

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The Commune
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Nidhi Razdan Harvard scam

Former NDTV journalist Nidhi Razdan had, a month ago, revealed in a statement on Twitter that she was the target of a “sophisticated and coordinated phishing attack”.

The people behind the “phishing attack” had pulled off a hoax and led her to believe that Harvard University had offered her a job as “an Associate Professor teaching journalism as part of Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences”. However, it was later revealed that the university had made her no such offer.

“The perpetrators of this attack used clever forgeries and misrepresentations to obtain access to my personal data and communications and may have also gained access to my devices and my email/social media accounts”, Razdan had alleged.

According to Nidhi Razdan, she was invited in November 2019 to speak at an event by the Harvard Kennedy School, the public policy institute of Harvard University, and one of the alleged organisers separately told her of a teaching vacancy. Razdan submitted her CV and was even interviewed online by the ‘recruiters’ for 90 minutes.

Nidhi Razdan had corresponded with email addresses from the harvardcareer.com website. The website has links to a Chinese individual, and the web address was registered as recently as January 2020.

Domain created on 29-01-2020 | Image credits: Falana Dikhana

This is around the same time that Nidhi Razdan met with the alleged organiser.

The website is registered under the name of Guan Wang, a Chinese individual, who allegedly runs more than a hundred fraudulent websites.

Domains registered by Guan Wang | Image Credits: Falana Dikhana

Before Guan Wang, the harvardcareer.com website was registered to one Ron Elitzur, who has registered around 28 similar websites.

Domains registered by Ron Elitzur | Image Credits: Falana Dikhana

According to a news report, the Cyber Cell has completed its investigations into the scam. Two individuals, whose names have not yet been made public, are believed to be the masterminds of the scam and phishing attack. Investigators say that one of them is a Pakistani national, while the other is Chinese.

(Based on a report by Falana Dikhana)

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Chennai-based Muslim donates ₹ 1 Lakh for Ayodhya Ram Mandir

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The Commune
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Sri Ram temple Christians Ram Mandir Ayodhya Karnataka

In Ayodhya, the construction of the Ram Temple at the site of the Ramjanmabhoomi is on in full swing. Donations are being collected from devotees across the country to build the temple on a grand scale. The Bhoomi Pujan ritual that happened amidst the coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdown, in which the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of the temple, was well-attended and well-viewed on television and the internet.

So far, ₹1,511 crore has been collected across the country for the construction of the Ayodhya Ram Temple, according to the Rama Janma Bhoomi Tirtha Kshetra Trust. Funds are also being raised from various states to build the temple.

In light of the same, a businessman belonging to the Islamic community in Tamil Nadu has given ₹ 1,00,008 to build the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Habib WS, the owner of RWD, a Chennai-based real estate and construction company, handed over a cheque made out for the amount to ₹1 lakh. The cheque was received by Mr Ganpath of the HK Foundation and Mr Jagadeesan of the RSS.

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After 19 years, Rafiq Bhatuk, prime accused in 2002 Godhra train burning case finally arrested

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The Commune
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2002 Godhra train burning sabarmati express

Rafiq Hussain Bhatuk, prime accused in the Sabarmati Express burning case, more infamously known as the Godhra train burning, was finally arrested after being on the lam for almost 19 years.

On February 27, 2002, 59 Hindu Karsevaks on their way to Ayodhya were burnt to death, after the train compartment in which they were travelling was set alight by a Muslim mob. The barbaric incident occurred at Godhra, a town in the Indian state of Gujarat, triggering the worst communal riots in the history of the state.

According to the police, Rafiq Hussain Bhatuk was among the core members of the group that had hatched the sinister conspiracy and was also responsible for inciting the mob. He is also alleged to have even arranged petrol to torch the train compartment.

The Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Panchmahal police and Godhra town police raided a house in the Signal Falia locality in the town and nabbed Bhatuk.

“He fled to Delhi immediately after his name cropped up during the investigation. He was facing murder and rioting charges among others,” Panchmahal Superintendent of Police Leena Patil said.

“He was involved in pelting stones on the compartment and pouring petrol inside before it was set on fire by the other accused,” she added.
 
SP Patil also said, “We recently learnt that he had changed his house and visited his family in the past too. However, we couldn’t catch him as he used to leave after a day or two. This time, our teams managed to catch him. We will hand him over to Godhra railway station police for further investigation.”

There are three more accused ― Salim Ibrahim Badam aka Salim Panwala, Shaukat Charkha and Abdulmajid Yousuf Mitha ― who have not been nabbed. They are believed to have fled to Pakistan.

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Modi questions senior civil servants on slow decision-making and delays in projects

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The Commune
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Narendra Modi bureaucrats bureaucracy IAS officers

After the news of forced retirement of over 300 non-performing civil servents by the central government, a meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi where the PM expressed his unhappiness over the functioning of the Indian bureaucracy.

In the meeting, attended by top IAS officers, PM Modi openly questioned them on the slow decision-making process of the bureaucracy, Hindustan Times has reported.

The PRAGATI meeting was attended by Principal Secretary P K Mishra, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, other top Secretaries and state Chief Secretaries. The PM had reportedly cited 10-year delays in implementation of railway and highway projects.

During the meeting, the prime minister expressed his concern about the bureaucratic decision-making in the country.

The report adds that all the bureaucrats sat in “stunned silence”, as Modi said that not only was he concerned about cost overruns, he was also worried about the loss in economic opportunities and jobs due to these delays.

It must be noted that in a recent speech in the Parliament, Modi had hailed and applauded the Indian private sector for its contribution towards nation building and entrepreneurship.

He had also made a veiled criticism of the Indian bureaucracy in his speech when he had said, “Will the Babus do everything? If one becomes IAS will he/she do everything like running fertiliser industries, chemical industries or flying a plane… What are we going to achieve by handing over our country to Babus? If Babus belong to our country, so do the youth (who work in the private sector).”

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Following ‘Megxit’, Meghan and Harry’s second child to be a ‘US citizen’

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The Commune
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Meghan Markle Prince Harry

Following the birth of their child Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from their royal duties and moved to the US in what was popularly dubbed as the ‘Megxit’. Though the couple have renounced their titles of His/Her Royal Highness (HRH), their son has the position of being seventh in line to the British throne, following his father.

On Valentine’s Day, the royal couple announced that they are expecting a child once again.

“We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother,” a spokesperson for the couple said. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child.”

The announcement comes almost exactly 37 years after Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced they were expecting their second child, who happened to be Prince Harry. It is to be noted that the news of this baby comes after the couple suffered a miscarriage last year.

However, their future child will not hold the title of HRH, and will not hold the title of His/Her Lordship. Instead, he/she will be called Master/Miss, with the surname Mountbatten-Windsor, like that of his/her older brother Archie. Furthermore, since the baby is to be born in the US, he/she will immediately become a US citizen. This would make the child the first-ever member of the royal family to hold the citizenship of another country at birth.

No due date for the baby has yet been announced. It will be the Queen and Prince Philip’s tenth or eleventh great-grandchild, depending on whether it arrives before Zara Tindall’s baby, who is also due later this year.

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ISRO to launch Srimad Bhagavad Gita into space along with Satish Dhawan Satellite

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The Commune
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drdo isro satellite
Featured Image: Representational image of a satellite

A copy of the revered Hindu text, the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, is all set to be launched into space by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) along with the Satish Dhawan Satellite (SD Sat). The satellite is scheduled for launch at the end of February aboard the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) rocket, reports Hindustan Times.

The nanosatellite has been developed by SpaceKidz India, an organisation dedicated to promoting space science among students. When asked why the company is sending a copy of the Bhagavad Gita into space, the company’s founder and chief executive Dr Srimathy Kesan said that it is a common practice to send holy books such as the Bible into space.

It would also carry three other scientific payloads, one of which will study space radiation and the other one will study the magnetosphere. Meanwhile, the third payload will demonstrate a low-power wide-area communication network.

The SD Sat will also carry aboard a photograph of PM Narendra Modi and the names of 25,000 individuals.

Dr Kesan said, “There is a lot of excitement in the group right now. This will be our first satellite to be deployed in space. When we finalised the mission, we asked people to send in their names that will be sent to space. And, within a week we received 25,000 entries. Of these, 1,000 names were sent in by people from outside India. There is a school in Chennai that sent in the names of everyone. We decided to do this because it will spark the interest of the people in the mission and space science.”

She also added, “We have also added the name and photograph of the prime minister on the top panel with the words ‘Atmanirbhar mission’. This satellite has been completely developed and fabricated in India, including the electronics and circuitry.”

Additionally, the names of ISRO’s chairperson Dr K Sivan and scientific secretary Dr R Umamaheswaran have also been etched on the bottom.

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PM Modi to inaugurate key gas sector infrastructure projects in Tamil Nadu virtually

By
The Commune
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Narendra Modi

Amid the approaching the Tamil Nadu state assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate several oil and gas sector projects in the state on Wednesday (17 February) via video conferencing.

PM Modi will lay the foundation stone of the upcoming Cauvery Basin Refinery at State’s Nagapattinam district, reports Hindustan Times.

Among other key projects to be inaugurated by PM Modi are the Ramanathapuram-Thoothukudi natural gas pipeline and the gasoline desulphurisation unit at Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited.

The Ramanathapuram-Thoothukudi section (143 km) of the Ennore-Thiruvallur-Bengaluru-Puducherry- Nagapattinam- Madurai-Tuticorin Natural Gas Pipeline cost the exchequer ₹700 crore.

These are important infrastructure projects and would deliver natural gas supplies to industries and commercial customers and help utilise gas from the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) fields.

In another development, the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited’s gasoline desulphurisation that has been constructed at a cost of about ₹500 crore will produce low sulphur (less than 8 ppm) environment-friendly gasoline.

This will help reduce sulphur emissions and contribute to a cleaner environment. The petroleum processing facility will also produce motor spirit and diesel meeting BS-VI specifications, along with polypropylene as a value-added product.

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‘Meesha’, novel denigrating Hindu women wins Kerala Sahitya Academy Award

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The Commune
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meesha novel

In another affront that has hurt the Hindu sentiments in Kerala, the novel Meesha (‘Moustache’), has been awarded the Sahitya Academy Award in the novel category. The novel is infamous for passages containing derogatory sentiments expressed towards Hindu women.

The novel, authored by S Hareesh, was withheld from publication by Mathrubhumi Weekly, after various Hindu organisations had protested against it. However, the book received plenty of support from the liberal left.

Here are some excerpts from Meesha, where two friends are talking to each other:

“Do you know why these young women go to the temples wearing make-up and pretty clothes? ” a friend who had been with me till six months ago, asked during our walk. “To pray,” I replied.

“No, you look closely. Why would they wear the most beautiful attire and makeup to pray? They are subconsciously stating their willingness to have sex.” I smiled. “Or else why would they abstain for four or five days a month? It is nothing but informing others about their non-availability.”

Senior BJP leader and Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan called out the anti-Hindu attitude of the LDF government and questioned why the Kerala government rewards people who insult Hindu symbols and Hindu women.
 
Senior Kerala BJP leader Sobha Surendran also alleged that the Kerala Sahitya Academy decision to award Meesha is an open challenge to the Hindu society and women. Sobha Surendran also said that a time will come when the CPIM will have to face political consequences for this anti-Hindu move.

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‘Hindi Theriyum Poda’: DMK MP Tiruchi Siva, sings a Hindi song for Ghulam Nabi Azad

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The Commune
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Tiruchi Siva Hindi

A video of DMK MP Tiruchi Siva singing a Hindi song, at a farewell function marking the end of Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Rajya Sabha term, has surfaced on social media. The song sung by Tiruchi Siva is a famous Hindi song called ‘Ek Pyar Ka Nagma Hai’ originally sung by Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar for the film Shor (1972). Senior Congress leaders Anand Sharma and Ghulam Nabi Azad were among the listeners and were impressed by the DMK’s singing and Hindi diction, as is evident from their enthusiastic applause in the video clip.

Remarkably, the same DMK leader ― who truly enthralled his listeners with the lovely rendition of the Hindi song ― had in 2019 vehemently opposed what he termed as “the attempt to force Hindi language on the people of Tamil Nadu”. The DMK had even come up with a T-shirt campaign called ‘Hindi Theriyathu Poda’ (“I don’t know Hindi, Get lost!”) last year, which of course failed to gather any traction.

The DMK, well-known for its anti-Hindi stance, regularly tries to resurrect the ghost of “Hindi imposition” in Tamil Nadu. The party introduced language-chauvinism to the Tamil people through the anti-Hindi agitations of the 1960s, which were a culmination of similar agitations by EV Ramasamy and his followers in the pre-independence era. As a result, today, students studying in Tamil Nadu government schools do not have the opportunity to study Hindi. However, political critics have alleged that affluent students have the opportunity to study Hindi in private CBSE schools.

While DMK MPs routinely spew hatred against the Hindi language, the reality is that the MPs and the ministers in the DMK know Hindi very well.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, the senior leader in the Congress party, was elected as a Rajya Sabha MP in 2015 by members of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.

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Film legend Kanchana donates land to build Sri Padmavathi Thayar temple at GN Chetty Road in Chennai

By
The Commune
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Kanchana actress Padmavathy temple

The Bhoomi Pooja of the Goddess Sri Padmavathi Thayar temple at GN Chetty Road, Thyagaraya Nagar in Chennai took place on 13 February.

The land was donated by Yesteryear lead actress Kanchana, known as the Queen of the Seventies and an ardent devotee of Lord Venkateswara. The land had been under dispute, but after a long legal battle, Kanchana won the case and decided to give the land located in prime real-estate area worth ₹ 15 crores for the construction of the temple.  
 
The Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam (TTD) had wanted to build a temple dedicated to Padmavathi Thayar (consort of Lord Venkateswara) in Chennai for a long time. When actor Kanchana and her sister Girija Pandey found out about this, they decided to give the land worth situated in the heart of Chennai to the TTD.

On this auspicious occasion, Kanchi Sankaracharya Shri Vijayendra Saraswathi unveiled a stone plaque at the site and also handed over cows and calves to eight temples in Tamil Nadu under the ‘Gudiko Gomatha’ campaign in Tamil Nadu. The Kanchi Sankaracharya also praised the TTD for spearheading the propagation of the Hindu traditions by constructing more and more temples across the country. The seer said that building a temple dedicated to the Goddess of Wealth in Chennai will usher prosperity into the entire state.

The Kanchi seer also appealed to devotees to take Hindu Dharma to other places and conduct go-poojas regularly. As a prelude to the foundation stone laying function, a series of religious ceremonies like Viswaksena Aradhana, Ankurarpanam, etc were performed on February 10 and Panchasukta Homam was done on February 11 and 12. On the morning of February 13, the Kanchi seer performed Shankusthapana which included Poornahuti and installation of foundation pylon at the site.
 
The TTD has allocated ₹7 crore for the new temple. As per plans made available to the public, the temple will be built on half of the available land while the remaining land will be used for the construction of Mandap, Madapalli (Kitchen to prepare food for the deity), warehouse to keep Vahanas, etc.

In another positive development in Tamil Nadu, the state government has consented to allot 10 acres of land each on Chennai Rajiv Gandhi road and East Coast Road (ECR) to the TTD, where it plans to construct Sri Venkateswara Swamy Divyakshetram in Chennai city. 

TTD will also soon launch Kalyanamasthu programme in Tamil Nadu and will perform Bhoomi Pooja for the construction of fifth TTD temple at Ulundurpet in Kallakurichi district, to be held on 22 February.

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The Commune is a news and views portal focusing on social and political issues of the southern part of India with a focus on Tamil Nadu.
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