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‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans irk Mamata Banerjee, WB CM declines to speak at event honouring SC Bose

By
The Commune
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mamata banerjee NRC SIR
Feature Image Credits: Mid-Day

The Parakram Divas celebrations honouring Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were marred with high drama when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to address the audience, claiming that she was ‘insulted’. The government programme at the Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata launches the year-long celebrations to be held across India till Bose’s 125th birth anniversary next year.

When CM Banerjee rose to speak to the people gathered at the event before PM Modi, several people among the gathered crowd shouted ‘Jai Sri Ram’, which miffed the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief.

The compère of the show had to ask the crowd to calm down and let the CM speak.

Frustrated, Mamata Banerjee walked up to the dais and said, “I feel a government programme must have some dignity. This is not a political programme but a government programme and it is for the public and all political parties.”

“I am grateful to the Prime Minister and the Culture Ministry that this event is being held in Kolkata. But it is not right to invite someone to a government programme and insult that person. In protest, I am not saying anything. Jai Hind, Jai Bangla,” said Banerjee.

However, the Chief Minister stayed till the end of the event and took her seat alongside PM Modi. They were also seen talking. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) are looking to garner public support ahead of the assembly polls due in March-April this year.

PM Modi took the stage shortly after but didn’t refer to Mamata Banerjee’s refusal to speak or her sudden exit from the stage. He mentioned her name as he mentioned all the other dignitaries attending the event, and referred to her as ‘behen’ (sister).

The celebration of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s 125th birth anniversary has been a matter of dispute between the TMC and the BJP as the Centre announced on January 19 that from this year January 23 will be celebrated as ‘Parakram Divas’.

Questioning why the Centre called it ‘Parakram Divas’ earlier in the day, Mamata Banerjee had said, “I don’t understand the meaning of ‘Parakram Divas’. We celebrate the day as ‘Desh Nayak Divas’.” She also asked why January 23 is not a national holiday, why there is no memorial for Netaji and added that the West Bengal government celebrates the day every year, not only in an election year.

With elections approaching, DMK chief goes out of the way to woo Hindus

By
The Commune
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After the Karuppar Koottam episode, in which the rabid YouTube channel run by ‘Periyarists’ with links to the DMK, abused Hindu God Murugan and Kandha Sashti Kavasam, the DMK has been feeling the heat for its anti-Hindu politics.

The issue had led to a churn in the state with the BJP Tamil Nadu unit launching a state-wide Vel Yathrai in which BJP leaders headed by Dr. L. Murugan covered the six abodes of Lord Murugan.

Since then, the DMK has been sweating over the rising Hindu consolidation in Tamil Nadu with many of its leaders trying to placate the Hindu voters.

Recently Kanimozhi, the Thoothukudi MP and daughter of late DMK patriarch Karunanidhi, said that DMK was the only party and M.K. Stalin was the only leader to give voice to the majority Hindus. Now the DMK chief himself has upped the ante in order to shed his anti-Hindu image.

At a DMK Gram Sabha meeting held in Ammaiyar Kuppam near Tiruttani, the DMK chief was presented with a silver Vel (spear weapon of Lord Murugan) by the party cadres. Reportedly, poojas were done to this silver Vel at the Tiruttani Murugan temple before presenting it to M.K. Stalin.

Many on social media pointed out that the party is now attempting to shed its anti-Hindu that it had brought upon itself over the decades.

The DMK for long is a party known for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus. Earlier, the DMK Chief had on multiple occasions said that if one were to look at the meaning of the mantras chanted during Hindu wedding ceremonies, it would turn out to be ‘disgusting’. He had rubbed off the haldi (turmeric paste) applied on his head by Hindu priests at the Srirangam temple, the one which his father M. Karunanidhi wanted to destroy with a cannon ball. Just a few weeks ago, he rubbed off the vibudhi prasadam given to him at the Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar temple. Even , when the Karuppar Koottam episode happened, there was stoic silence from the DMK chief with only the second rung of leaders trying to defend the party distancing themselves from the rabid Periyarists.

Many point that it has become the norm for ‘secular parties’ to cater to the Hindu vote bank by making temple visits and treading soft on them just before elections which they think will help in attracting some Hindu votes. Amidst already existing anti-DMK wave, the party is trying to placate the Hindu voters and calm the waters so that they don’t get destroyed by an anti-DMK tsunami towards the elections.

“PM Modi is murdering the Constitution” to “Jagat Guru”: Islamists slam Shah Faesal for U-Turn after he praises India’s vaccination program and PM Modi

By
The Commune
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Islamists slammed controversial IAS officer-turned-politician Shah Faesal after he praised India’s vigorous vaccination program on Twitter.

On Friday, in what seems to be a U-turn, Shah Faesal, who has on several occasions been denounced for his involvement in anti-India activities, tweeted, “This is more than just a vaccination program. It’s good governance + human capital formation + nation-building + India assuming global leadership as a Jagat Guru (The Guru of the World).” His tweet was a quote-tweet to a tweet from Prime Minister Modi’s handle on the COVID-19 vaccination.

Taken by surprise on account of his apparent support to the PM, many of Faesal’s enraged supporters took to Twitter to voice their annoyance. Many called him a “bootlicker” of the present government at the Centre.

Shah Faesal had started the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Movement (JKPM) along with career-protester Shehla Rashid of JNU. However, Faesal had stepped down as the president of the organisation last year. It is speculated that he may return to the administrative services as his resignation has not yet been accepted by the BJP government.

Islamist Mohammed Asif Khan, who had earlier praised Faesal, now panned him for being a “bootlicker”.

Image Image

A user going by the name Iqra Altaf accused Shah Faesal of “crossing all limits of boot-licking”.

https://twitter.com/iqra_math/status/1352661322140426243

Several other users accused him of “betraying Kashmir”.

https://twitter.com/abbasskashmiri7/status/1352665969676611584

One user went on a rant, tweeting, “People like Shah Faesal, the Abdullahs, the Muftis etc. are spineless. They willingly sell their conscience and their souls in return of favors from the majority that in turn helps them to enjoy power. They are as much responsible for the situation of Kashmiris, as is the state.”

“People like these deserve no sympathy whatsoever when the majority does the inevitable: show them their place once they’re done with them. Such people have blood of millions on their hands, which should never ever be forgotten”, they continued.

Others wondered how Faesal could go from accusing PM Modi of ‘murdering the Constitution’ in an interview on the BBC to praising the same PM.

A user named Gulvinder Singh even called him a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.

Alleged anti-India conspirator to “bootlicker”

After the abrogation of Article 370, Shah Faesal was detained at Srinagar airport, from where he was planning to fly to Turkey in a conspiacy against India. He had also addressed people at Srinagar and instigated them “against the sovereignty and integrity of India”. He had also attempted to incite violence and threatened that he would not celebrate Eid until “the last bit of insult is avenged and undone”.

It could very well be that Shah Faesal seeks to ingratiate himself with the administration to smoothen his re-entry into service and make it more agreeable to the public as well as the government. One user responded to the drama by tweeting that he hoped that Shah Faesal’s resignation was accepted. “Tax payers are not running a dhamramshala for these people to exit and enter at will”, he added.

Innovative low-cost intervention tackles water supply challenges in Maharashtra towns

By
The Commune
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Feature Image Courtesy: PIB

Two little towns with a population of around 20,000 in Palghar district of Maharashtra have become a model of how challenges like intermittent supply, water losses, deteriorating water infrastructure can be tackled at a reasonable cost.

IIT Bombay has come up with ‘Shaft with Multiple Outlets’ as an intervention for improving the performance of existing piped water distribution networks. The intervention consists of a new strategy of optimal water supply operation by use of scheduling and decentralizing infrastructure.

With support from the Department of Science and Technology (DST)-Water Technology Initiative, IIT Bombay & IIT Madras, with participation of local gram panchayat, implemented the solution in the towns of Saphale, and Umerpada, in Palghar district, Maharashtra, which is currently provided with water from a multi village water supply system.

These solutions will minimize the need for costly infrastructure components and improve the operation of the system. Typically, for population of 2000 habitations, conventionally, ESR (half-day storage capacity) will require a cost of about ₹10 lakhs, whereas shaft with multiple outlets will cost ₹2 lakhs. As per census population 2011, in India, there are about 5 lakhs such habitations with population lesser than 2000. Hence, adoption of shafts with multiple outlets will save thousands of cores expenditures in ongoing governments Jal Jeevan Mission and other urban water supply systems. Apart from cost, the multioutlet provision in shaft provides great operational ease, better pressure management, and better response to future population growth. This low-cost intervention, which has minimised the need for costly infrastructure components and improved the operation of the system, has been recommended by the Ministry of Jal Shakti for implementation in all the states as part of Har Ghar Jal under Jal Jeevan Mission. Many public health engineering departments, municipal corporations, and water authorities have come forward to adopt these solutions as these will lead to huge cost savings.

The solution supported by DST under Water Technology Initiative for Demand-Driven Convergent Water Solutions will minimize the need for costly infrastructure components and improve the operation of the system.

(Published from PIB)

New ant species discovered from Kerala named after evolutionary biologist Prof. Amitabh Joshi

By
The Commune
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Feature Image Courtesy: PIB

Two new species of a rare ant genus have been discovered in India. The species of the ant genus Ooceraea found in Kerala, and Tamil Nadu add to the diversity of this rare genus. They differ from others of the same genus on the basis of the number of antennal segments.

One of them found in the Periyar Tiger Reserve of Kerala, has been named Ooceraea joshii, in honour of Prof. Amitabh Joshi, a distinguished evolutionary biologist from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India.

New species are typically named after some distinguishing attribute or location but are often named after scientists as a means of honouring their research contributions to biology, especially in the fields of evolutionary and organismal biology, ecology or systematics.

The two new species, the first ones spotted with ten-segmented antennae among this rare genus, were discovered by a team led by Prof. Himender Bharti of Punjabi University, Patiala. The discovery has been published in the journal ZooKeys.

The genus is currently represented by 14 species of which eight possess nine-segmented antennae, while five possess eleven- segmented antennae and one species has recently been reported with eight-segmented antennae. In India, the genus was so far represented by two species with nine- and eleven-segmented antennae respectively.

The newly discovered ant species with ten segmented antennae discovered, establish an old world lineage that contains a species emerging as the only model organism among the ant subfamily.

(Published from PIB)

Christian organization to spend $175 billion dollars, send missionaries to convert non-Christians in India

By
The Commune
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The International Mission Board (IMB), an American Christian organization, has set aside $175 billion to convert people in India to Christianity. The members of this organization are engaged in religious conversion targeting every sect of people living in India including Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, etc.

But their primary target are Hindus and share a deep hatred towards Hindu Gods. On their website, they call South Asia as both ‘awe-inspiring’ and ‘heart-wrenching’ as it has the largest concentration of non-Christians.

This missionary organization have openly stated on their website that they are recruiting converted Hindus to champion the cause of converting other Hindus and have around 3,535 missionary families working at the behest of IMB to carry out the conversions in India.

The organization has allotted an annual budget for their mission of converting people which is touted to be around $175 billion, that is a whopping ₹1,27,74,89,50,00,000.

To implement their mission, they run several programmes in the name of tours for sending out missionaries. One such programme is called “Bring Hope To The Slums – Track 1” under which college students aged between 18-25 will be send on missions to slums and villages in ‘South Asia’ (read India). This is set to happen during May 10 to July 26 of this year.

Another programme named “Get Your Extreme Hiking Boots on – Track 2” which is to happen in May – July of this year will have teams visiting ‘unreached places and peoples in the hills’.

Though these do not exclusively mention the country, IMB’s operations and their spread indicate that these trips are being arranged to primarily India.

Snapshot of regions in which IMB has operations. Note how Jammu & Kashmir is shown as a separate shade and Ladakh as part of China

Many such trips are being arranged for college students and those involved in other professions. You can find a list of their trips being organized in this link here.

The IMB is located in 3806 Monument Ave. Richmond, VA 23230, USA. Currently, one Paul Chitwood heads the organization. He previously served as the executive director of the Kentucky Baptist Convention.

The website has several courses for becoming a missionary and also has modules for churches on how to ‘spread the gospel’ (read conversions and church planting).

So far, a total of 103,328 people have been evangelized through their representatives in ‘south Asia’. 65,334 have been trained to convert and another 89,385 are likely to convert with 35,183 in the process of conversion. 29,286 have been fully converted.

Members associated with IMB are said to have come to India many times. It is to be noted that a tourist visa can only be used for non-business purposes, such as tourism or visiting family and friends. Even if one holds a missionary visa, the person cannot use it for proselytizing activities and can only join a missionary organization approved by the Government of India for which the organization must receive a certificate indicating it is compliant with the Foreign Contributions Regulatory Act.

A complaint has been filed by Mission Kaali, a Christian missionary watch for violating the terms and conditions of the India visa.

(With inputs from Mission Kaali)

6 persons who robbed Muthoot Finance branch in Hosur at gun point held near Hyderabad

By
The Commune
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Six person involved in the robbery of gold jewelry worth ₹10 crore at the Muthoot Finance branch in Hosur have been nabbed near Hyderabad. They have been identified as people belonging to Madhya Pradesh. Jewelery worth ₹12 crore along with eight guns, and a knife were seized from them.

At around 9:30 am on January 22, six persons stormed the Muthoot Finance company branch located on Baagalur Road in Hosur, Krishnagiri district, and robbed 25 kg of gold jewelery worth ₹10 crore and ₹90,000 at gunpoint. The incident was captured on the surveillance camera.

A special forces team was formed to track down the robbers. They were caught in Samsadpur near Hyderabad in Telangana. 

Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami  lauded the police for tracking down the criminals within 18 hours and called it another diamond in the crown for the Tamil Nadu police force.

₹120 crores investments, 5 kgs gold unaccounted: IT dept issues summons to Christian evangelist Paul Dhinakaran

By
The Commune
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Pastor Paul Dhinakaran has been summoned by the Income Tax Department after seizing 5 kilograms of gold and ₹120 crore unaccounted investments.

Income Tax department had conducted raids in the premises of the Christian Pastor and Chancellor of Karunya University, Paul Dhinakaran. Intense search operations were conducted day and night for the last 3 days at 10 places owned by Paul Dhinakaran, including in Karunya University, Coimbatore. The searches in Coimbatore came to an end last night.

Documents and evidence seized from other premises in Coimbatore were brought together at Karunya University for auditing. It was reported that 5 kilograms of gold was seized from a guest house at Karunya University.

They also found that ₹120 crores investments have not been accounted. Following this, Pastor Paul Dinakaran has been summoned by the Income Tax Department to appear for trial in Chennai next week, who is currently said to be not in India.

The Income Tax department descended down on the properties of Christian evangelist Paul Dhinakaran’s ‘Jesus Calls’ at Chennai, Coimbatore and other locations in Tamil Nadu. They also raided the Karuna Christian School which is affiliated to Jesus Calls.

The raids began on Wednesday (January 20) morning to check whether the organization was involved in evading tax based on complaints of tax evasion and foreign funding irregularities.

Legal Rights Observatory (LRO), a legal activists collective had earlier complained to the Income Tax department to probe Paul Dhinakaran’s immovable assets located all over the country and internationally.

The complaint had shed light on the anomalies in the Annual Returns filed and the contributions received by various NGOs operated by Paul Dhinakaran.

Paul Dhinakaran, son of D.G.S Dhinakaran, is a Christian pastor and heads the Jesus Calls missionary organization founded by his father. He is also the Chancellor of Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences located in Coimbatore district.

Kerala government issues eviction notice to Tamil families who had been living there for decades

By
The Commune
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There are 32 Tamil families living in 22 cents of government-owned land in Kozhikode, Kerala. They have been living there for four generations and now the Kozhikode Corporation has sent them an eviction notice asking them to vacate immediately.

The ancestors of the families in Kozhikode had settled in the region in 1950 when the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala were not formally divided. At that time, they were engaged in the work of manual scavenging. Following the ban of this practice in 2013, many lost their jobs. Recently, an eviction notice has been sent on behalf of the Corporation to evacuate the Tamil families currently residing in the land owned by the Corporation.

With hundreds of people having settled in this area, they ​​lament that they have no other choice. They state that they have nowhere to go, and are suffering because they have now been rendered homeless by the order of the Kerala government.

They have now requested that the Kerala government allocate another place for them to stay as they have ration cards issued by the state government.

Bolsonaro thanks PM Modi for the vaccines, calls it ‘Sanjeevani Bhooti’

By
The Commune
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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro thanked Prime Minister Modi as the first shipment of the COVID vaccine arrived at Brazil from India. Taking to Twitter, he posted a picture of Lord Hanuman delivering the ‘Sanjeevani Bhooti’, which the COVID vaccine is depicted as in the image, from India to Brazil. ‘Sanjeevani Bhooti’ is the medicine Lord Hanuman delivered for Lakshmana, the legendary warrior and brother of Lord Ram when he was injured in battle in the Indian epic Ramayana.

“Namaskar, Prime Minister @narendramodi Brazil feels honoured to have a great partner to overcome a global obstacle by joining efforts. Thank you for assisting us with the vaccines exports from India to Brazil,” said Bolsonaro on Twitter. Bolsonaro was the Chief Guest at the 70th Republic Day celebrations of India in 2020. Both countries are also part of the BRICS grouping.

Over two million doses of Covishield vaccine were sent on two flights to Brazil and Morocco on Friday, which reached the South American nation later that day. Similarly, 1,50,000 doses of Covisheild vaccine to Bhutan and 1,00,000 doses to the Maldives were sent earlier this week, as a goodwill gesture. The Indian government also sent two million doses of Covisheild vaccine to Bangladesh and one million doses to Nepal under grants assistance, while a consignment containing 1.5 million doses was sent to Myanmar, 50,000 doses to Seychelles on Friday.

It is important to note that while Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield is being manufactured by the Serum Institute, Covaxin is being produced by Bharat Biotech. This is the same Serum Institute that recently had a fire accident.

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