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Monday, December 15, 2025
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Myanmar’s new cybersecurity bill adds fuel to protests against coup

By
The Commune
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In addition to the recent army coup by the military in Myanmar that effectively sidelined the country’s celebrated leader Aung San Suu Kyi, their new draconian cybersecurity bill is now causing a stir for all the wrong reasons. As tense situations prevail throughout the country’s capital, the new bill is only adding fuel to the already raging fire amongst the public.

This new bill gives the army the authority to ban any content that reflected against the sentiments of the army, and even “permanently undermine internet freedom in the country.”

The new rules would also require providers to hand over information to authorities “under any existing law” and give the state powers to intervene in cases that threaten Myanmar’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

The 36 pages outlining the proposed laws were given to mobile operators and telecoms license holders for comment on Tuesday ― just over a week after the army overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, a statement from the protesters to Reuters said. “The so-called bill includes clauses which violate human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression, data protection and privacy, and other democratic principles and human rights in the online space,” said the statement, signed by more than 150 organizations.

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‘Perform or retire’, Modi govt shows door to 340 officers for being deadwood

By
The Commune
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he took the oath of office in 2019 after winning the Lok Sabha elections, had said that the bureaucracy had created a lot of hindrance for him and he will not let them get away in his second term.

Living up to this promise, the Modi government has shown the door to as many as 340 officers between July 2014 and December 2020 for non-performance or being ‘deadwood’ under Fundamental Rule 56(J) and other similar provisions, reports Times of India.

The Fundamental Rule 56(J) allows the government to send employees on compulsory retirement.

Between 2014 and 2020, under the said rule, the government made 171 Group-A central government officers to retire, which include All India Services (AIS) officers.

Other than these, the rule’s provisions have also been invoked against 169 Group-B officers employed under different ministries and departments, as per details shared by Minister of Personnel Jitendra Singh in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

The government also made it very clear that all vacancies in respective ministries and departments and their attached or subordinate offices must be fulfilled in a timebound manner.

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200 ft bridge to be constructed in flood-affected Chamoli to reestablish connectivity

By
The Commune
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A portion of the Nanda Devi glacier which broke off in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on February 07, 2021, triggered a deluge in the Dhauli Ganga River washing away hydroelectric stations and trapped many workers. The mid-day sudden flood in the Dhauli Ganga, Rishi Ganga and Alaknanda rivers, all intricately linked tributaries of the Ganga, triggered widespread panic and large-scale devastation in the high mountain areas.

The flash flood also washed away a 90-metre span RCC bridge on Joshimath-Malari road located just downstream of the Rishi Ganga Hydel project and approximately two kilometres upstream of the Tapovan Hydel project, which was the only link to the Niti border. The bridge’s destruction has stranded more than 13 border villages in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.

Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has quickly swung into action for rescue and rehabilitation work by inducting more than 100 Vehicles/Equipment and plants, which include about 15 Heavy Earth Moving Equipment like Hydraulic Excavators, Dozers, JCBs, Wheel Loaders, etc. The BRO has also brought in critical equipment with the help of Indian Air Force. Almost 200 personnel of 21 BRTF of Project Shivalik have been deployed for rescue and rehabilitation purposes.

After initial recce, the BRO has started work for re-establishing connectivity on all required fronts. The site is very challenging due to a steep cliff on the far bank and 25-30 metre-high debris and muck on the other side. However, the BRO has overcome these challenges and on the fourth day cleared and established a path for construction of the bridge abutment. The BRO is working round the clock to re-establish connectivity at the earliest by launching a bailey bridge of 200 feet. The BRO is also assisting Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) & National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in rescue operations. Several BRO teams part of Project Shivalik are deployed in the area for relief operations.

Source: PIB

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Defence Expo Empowering MSME TN 2021: B2B push to make defence sector Atmanirbhar

By
The Commune
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Chennai based thinktank Swatantra Foundation ― in association with Aerospace Industry Development Association of Tamil Nadu (AIDAT), an organisation that works in aerospace and defence ecosystem development in the state ― is organizing a defence expo in Chennai from March 19-21, 2021.

The event “Defence Expo Empowering MSME TN 2021” will be held at the Chennai Trade Centre Complex in Nandambakkam, Chennai.

The Department of Defence Production of the Ministry of Defence has given permission for the event and will also be taking part as a partner along with Tamil Nadu Industries Development Corporation (TIDCO), the nodal agency for the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor. The MTIPB, an initiative by the Tamil Nadu Government to support MSME units has also extended support to organize the defence expo.

Large Defence Industries such as Larsen & Toubro [L&T], Bharat Forge, HAL, BEL, DGQA, DRDO, Super Auto Forge, Hindustan Shipyard, LMW, LCC, Ordnance Board Factories, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra, Adani, TATA Aerospace, TITAN, Carborandum Universal and other DPSUs and private industries are expected to participate.

Direct procurement and maintenance depots of the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force and BSF are also expected to participate.

The expo will cover five important segments in defence production –  Engineering, Leather, Clothing, Food and Services. This Defence Expo event will present a great opportunity for MSME units in giving a push to making the sector Atmanirbhar.

Industries that are part of the Tamil Nadu Defence Corridor are participating in the second defence expo being organized in Chennai after the DefExpo 2018. The Defence Ministry will be presenting a seminar on the purchase preference for Indian MSMEs in defence procurement, off-set policies, defence export opportunities and indigenization opportunities. The Nodal officers in-charge of indigenization are also expected to participate.

B2B Collaborative meeting will be the highlight during the three day expo. Large DPSUs and private industries are expected to meet MSME units during this B2B meetings to take the Atmanirbhar initiative and indigenisation to the next level. The B2B meeting is free for exhibiting industries.

The event is expected to have thousands of B2B visitors from across the country, including high profile visitors from the Armed forces, Defence Ministry and other Ministries.

Overseas defence manufacturing industries are also expected to participate through their Indian representatives. Foreign Embassies and their Trade departments have also been invited. Several Small and Micro Industries Associations, such as TANSTIA, Laghu Udyog Bharathi, CODISSIA, AIEMA, etc. are also expected to participate.

The main aim of this event is to connect MSME companies that have the capacity and the capability to cater to the Aerospace and Defence Sector. A conference and seminar on opportunities for MSMEs in Indian Defence Sector – Building an Atma-Nirbhar EcoSystem is also being planned concurrently with the expo.

Exclusive B2B sessions during which the potential supply chain partners can exchange business-related information is said to be the highlight of the event. The event is expected to benefit Tier-1 and Tier-2 companies to meet up with their potential supply chain partners.

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Dharmapuri DMK MP peddles half truths in Parliament

By
The Commune
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DMK MP from Dharmapuri Dr. Senthilkumar peddled half truths on the floor of the Parliament, saying that the Public Distribution System (PDS) in Tamil Nadu was introduced by C.N. Annadurai.

Speaking on the budget, the Dharmapuri DMK MP said that the PDS system and the ‘rice subsidy’ was introduced during the time of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai.

However, the PDS system was first introduced in 1964. It should be noted that the DMK first came to power only in 1967.

A study on the effectiveness of Public Distribution System in Tamil Nadu submitted by Dr. S. Nakkiran of TBML College to the Planning Commission of India notes that the Government of Tamil Nadu has been implementing PDS since the year 1964. In 1964, M. Bhaktavatsalam was the Chief Minister.

The scheme was back then named as Village Shop Programme introduced with the intention of having one shop in every village in order to ensure the supply of essential items to the people. The scheme was subsequently converted into PDS to provide essential commodities to the public at subsidized rates, both in rural and urban areas.

Karunanidhi, after taking office in 1996, introduced the ‘universal’ PDS which has been in operation where certain items were given to all families with a ration card. Karunanidhi is also credited with founding the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation, the organization that is responsible for providing food grains and other commodities under Public Distribution System through ration shops.

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PM Modi condoles Saathur fire accident

By
The Commune
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the 12 people killed in a fire at a firecracker factory near Sattur in Virudhunagar district.

“The firecracker factory accident in Virudhunagar is saddening. My thoughts are with the families of the deceased.” he said in a statement. “I hope the injured will recover soon. My deepest condolences to the families of the victims. 2 lakhs will be given to the families of the victims and 50,000 rupees will be given to the families of the injured,” he added, in a tweet in Tamil.

Earlier on Friday, a firecracker factory called Mariyammal Fireworks at Achchankulam, owned by one Sakthivel and operating near Sattur in Virudhunagar district, had caught fire. More than a hundred workers were employed in the factory. While the workers were on duty, there was a sudden fire at around 1:30 PM.

Twelve people were killed in the accident. Their bodies were charred beyond recognition, and so, their identities are yet to be revealed. Since the remaining victims in the hospital are at a highly critical state, it is expected that the death toll is likely to go up.

“Twenty-two workers were admitted to the government hospital at Sattur. All of them have suffered less than 50% burns,” said District Revenue Officer, R. Mangalaramasubramanian.

Congress high command Rahul Gandhi had also expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

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“Converts to Islam or Christianity cannot claim reservation benefits under Constitution”: Law Minister

By
The Commune
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Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in response to a question in the Rajya Sabha today said that as per the Constitution of India and Indian statute, Hindu persons eligible for reservation benefits, like those belonging to Scheduled Castes, cannot avail the same benefits if they convert to Christianity or Islam.

Speaking on eligibility, Prasad said, “Para 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order outlines that… no person who professes a religion different from Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist religion shall be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste.”

The Law Minister was responding to a question that was raised by BJP member G V L Narasimha Rao.

To understand the historicity of the reservation, in 1950, the Nehru government passed an order restricting the definition of “scheduled caste” only to members of the Hindu faith. However, it was later extended to Sikhs in 1956 and to Buddhists in 1990 because they are seen as an extension of the Sanatana Dharma.

Previously, the Supreme Court in a 2015 ruling had said, “Once such a person ceases to be a Hindu and becomes a Christian, the social and economic disabilities arising because of Hindu religion cease and hence it is no longer necessary to give him protection and for this reason he is deemed not to belong to a scheduled caste.”

The Court, citing the doctrine of eclipse mentioned in the Kailash Sonkar vs. Maya Devi case, said “when a person is converted to Christianity or some other religion the original caste remains under eclipse, and as soon as during his/her lifetime the person is reconverted to the original religion the eclipse disappears and the caste automatically revives.”

The other important ruling the court made was that if the person whose ancestors belonged to a caste categorized as a scheduled caste, chose to return back to the Indic faiths from Christianity or Islam, they will be entitled to reservation benefits. However, in reality, the above mentioned restriction is easily bypassed.

While the Minister has stated what is in existence as per Constitution and other statutes, things on the ground are very different. Large numbers of Christians, claiming themselves to be members of the Scheduled Caste community, have been cornering reservations meant for Scheduled Castes. 

For instance, in September 2020, investigations conduction by Legal Rights Protection Forum found that 70% of the 29,841 Christian pastors, who received one-time government honorarium of ₹5,000 through the Disaster Relief Fund, hold Scheduled Caste / Other Backward Caste certificates illegally.

Comparing the Census data of 1971 and 2011, it was found that while there is a huge jump in population of SCs, there is sharp decline in number of Christians. LRPF noted that this is possible only when large numbers of Christians have started declaring themselves as Hindu-SCs and obtaining relevant community certificates enabling them to illegally corner all the benefits designed to uplift the livelihood of SCs.

The state of Tamil Nadu too is a hub of Christian evangelism where missionaries lure Dalits and convert them to Christianity. Recently, a Christian pastor from Tamil Nadu ‘Bishop’ Godfrey Noble claimed that Christians make up 35% of the population in the state.

“Officially Christians make up 7% of the population. It is said that this has gone up to 12% now. But in reality, Christians are 35% of the population. You may ask how.. there are so many Dalits who have converted to Christianity. Apart from the Christians present in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, and Kanyakumari, across India, Christians are Dalits who got converted. Since after conversion, they do not get benefits meant for Scheduled Caste as they get shifted to BC (Backward Community), close to 91% of the converts declare themselves as Hindus in government records to enjoy those benefits”, the Christian pastor had said.

Hopefully, the response by the Law Minister will be a hammer blow to organizations and individuals engaged in conversions.

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Arvind Kejriwal photo adorns the wall of the homes of Rinku Sharma’s killers

By
The Commune
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Rinku Sharma killers

Agniveer activist Sanjeev Newar has posted a very interesting photo on Twitter where one can see the photo of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the wall of the house purtported to be of the killers of Rinku Sharma. Rinku Sharma was a a 26-year-old Bajrang Dal activist from Delhi who was stabbed to death after arguments over Ram Mandir donation drive.

Newar further said in his tweet that he did not see the AAP sticker on any other house in the lane.

The left-populist AAP is known for showering largesse on the Muslim community and often would generously compensate Muslims while the Hindus always get the short end of the stick.

The Delhi CM is furthermore known for playing appeasement politics and enjoys the strong support of the Muslim community in the national capital.

To maintain his voter-base among Delhi’s Muslim population, the AAP chief increased the salaries of imams from ₹10,000 per month to ₹18,000 per month and the salary of the imams’ helpers was increased from ₹9,000 per month to ₹16,000 per month. This decision went very well with the Delhi Waqf Board that controls all the mosques, unlike the Hindu temples which is controlled by the Indian state.

After the infamous Nirbhaya rape, Arvind Kejriwal had rewarded the so-called ‘minor’ criminal, who was the biggest tormentor of Nirbhaya with ₹10,000 and a sewing machine. At the same time when a AAP volunteer was molested, he had asked her to “compromise”. The victim later committed suicide.

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Cryptocurrency to be banned in India?

By
The Commune
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cryptocurrency ban India

A draft bill is on the works that is reportedly all set to ban cryptocurrency in India. If this bill is passed, there will no longer be a possibility for Indian companies to pull a Tesla and mine cryptocurrency by the heaps.

The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 which is in the draft stage reportedly proposes a complete ban on all private cryptocurrencies –  a form of digital currency where records are stored in a ledger existing in a form of computerized database using strong cryptography to secure transactions. Since these currencies do not have a centralized regulatory authority and are untraceable, governments across the world are skeptical of private cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, ethereum, titcoin, etc.

The bill will, however, lay the groundwork for an official digital currency to be managed by the Reserve Bank of India which can be regulated.

While this proposed bill will produce a blanket ban on all cryptocurrency, the RBI is expected to set guidelines for the use of other forms of digital currency.  Nearly 7 million Indians hold cryptocurrencies worth over $1 billion and there has been an over 700 per cent increase in the last year, according to official estimates.

The decision was taken after an inter-ministerial panel, including representatives from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), felt that private cryptocurrencies pose a risk to the financial stability of the country.

It is to be noted that this bill comes after an announcement by Tesla’s owner Elon Musk that he will be making a $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin with plans to accept the cryptocurrency from customers purchasing its electric vehicles. This drove the digital currency to an all-time high.

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Knife In The Back : Demands Of Good Secularism

By
V.B. Routray
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Ankit Saxena. Ankit Sharma. Ratan Lal. Kamlesh Tiwari. Rinku Sharma.

59 Kar Sewaks in Godhra. 15 Hindus in Delhi. 400+ policemen on Republic Day.

Without them, all of the incidents involving them would be pogroms and genocides by Indian media semantics. A wave of Hindutva savagery, led by bloodthirsty hoodlums of the Indian right, searing into homes of Indian Muslims and Sikhs. But thanks to their sacrifices, the scales have been balanced and we can all go back to vanilla discussions about how secular our roots are, how we must keep preaching and how we shall repeat these exercises over and over to feed the demons of our secularism.

Every time there is a communal incident in this great nation of ours, we immediately look for the fulcrum and our own balancing act. Hindu? Must have been ‘naughty’ and chanted Jai Shri Ram and tormented poor Muslims. Muslim? Must have been tormented by the Hindu or questioned on patriotism. Sikhs? Must have been challenged by the Government and backed into a corner by Hindus. Christian? Must have been tormented by Hindus for duping tribals and encouraging conversions. Suddenly, the scales start tipping in favour of everyone not a Hindu.

Just when you were thinking that it is time to shun your religion in this intolerant nation, a Rinku Sharma will take a knife in the back and tip the scales again, force you to think again. Now, both sides have lost people. Must have been the fault of both…stupid communal events. Good secularism is back in the discussion.

This cycle continues till you have another Muslim hurt or allegedly so. But, what happens the day the Hindutva savages have no Rinku Sharmas left? Factually, an incorrect argument to start with because there are close to 100cr Hindus in India as per the last census. But, what happens when they no longer wish the scales to be balanced or offer their sacrifices for good secularism?

With no good secularism in the picture, what would distinguish us from Pakistan or Syria? Would we not disgrace this country forever? Would we not shame our founding fathers and mothers of the Indian Constitution? The price this nation would pay is much bigger than what some of us would endure to keep good secularism alive.

The goal is clear. India comes first. And for that, good secularism must be protected at all costs. My Hindu brothers and sisters, we must become the samagri in this havan, the ashwa of this ashwamedha.

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TheCommune
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