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Security forces unearth Pakistan’s 150 m long secret secret tunnel in J&K

By
The Commune
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Indian security forces have once again unearthed a 150-meter long cross border tunnel near the India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, thwarting Pakistan’s vile attempt to surreptitiously infiltrate into Indian territory.

During an operation on the morning of January 13, the BSF team detected the tunnel following inputs about the possibility of tunnels running underground along the border in Samba and Kathua districts. The tunnel had a n opening that was 3 feet in diameter and depth of 25 to 30 feet.

BSF Inspector-General (Jammu Frontiers) N S Jamwal said that the tunnel originates in Pakistan and opens nearly 20 to 30 meters inside the barbed wire fence on the Indian side. “It shows Pakistan’s hand in the tunnel which has started from Shakargarh in Pakistan. This district is notorious for such kinds of activities especially for launching militants across the border”, he added.

The tunnel’s opening was covered with wild bushes and thick outgrowth. Karachi-made sandbags were also recovered from the tunnel.

This is not the first time that secret tunnels used by infiltrators from Pakistan have been found.

A tunnel was also discovered in November 2020 near the India-Pakistan border in Samba district, Jammu and Kashmir. The tunnel was roughly 150 meters long and was reportedly used by the terrorists neutralised in the Nagrota encounter. Indian security forces had also ventured into the tunnel on December 1, 2020, going as far as 200 meters inside Pakistani territory to find where the tunnel began.

Pastor who boasted of kicking idols of Hindu Gods is HDFC Bank’s ‘Neighbourhood Hero’

By
The Commune
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In a shocking revelation, Praveen Chakravarthy, the notorious Christian pastor who had boasted of kicking and defacing idols of Hindu Gods and creating ‘Christ Villages’ was declared as one of the ‘Neighbourhood Heroes’ by HDFC Bank.

Pastor Praveen Chakravarthy was arrested by the Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID) on Wednesday (13th January, 2021) for promoting enmity between different religious groups and committing offence in places of worship. He has been charged under various 153 A, 153 B (1) (c), 505 (2), 295 A, 124 A and 115 of the Indian Penal Code and has multiple FIRs registered against him.

HDFC Bank in August 2020 had posted a video in its YouTube channel in which it hailed Pastor Praveen as a ‘Neighbourhood Hero’.

According to HDFC Bank, ‘Our Neighbourhood Heroes’ is an ‘initiative that thanks and celebrates heroes from across the country, who’ve gone above and beyond to help those in need during these difficult times’.

“A moment of courage is all it takes, to make the normal, heroic and that is exactly what you’ve done!”, the video put out by HDFC Bank says introducing Pastor Praveen.

The video also says that when underprivileged residents were struggling with ‘Volunteering Service & Time’ and needed help, Pastor Praveen stepped up.

“By providing Volunteering Services & Time to around more than 500 Underprivileged Residents you have truly helped and made a difference”, the video says and goes on to declare that the bank prides itself in calling Pastor Praveen as the Neighbourhood Hero of Kakinada.

This video was published in YouTube on August 28, 2020.

Pastor Praveen Chakravarthy is the President of ‘Sylom Blind Centre’. His activities were brought to light in 2019 by Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF), a legal activism collective. LRPF had lodged a complaint with the Union Home Ministry in December 2019 against ‘Sylom Blind Center’and its President Praveen Chakravarthy for indulging in rampant rabid proselytization.

In a video tweeted by LRPF Pastor Praveen Chakravarthy can be heard saying with impunity in Telugu that he hit the ‘stone God’ and trees [sacred trees like Neem, Peepal, etc that are venerated by village people] with his leg. The video was first made available in a YouTube channel called ‘Bangalore go-sipps’. This video was published on December 11, 2019.

Chakravarty in the video can be seen describing how he converts a village to Christianity. He says that first a pastor would come and stay in the village to teach the Bible. He says that the village becomes a “Christ village” after everyone has accepted Christ as their saviour and adds that ‘stone gods’ and ‘trees’ are kicked as a finality.

“So there are many cases which (sic) I have kicked the God’s heads and I was so happy”, he says in that video.

In another expose, the LRPF released video of Pastor Praveen’s online discussion with his US donor in which he claims “We’ve 3642 Pastors in our association & have made 699 Christ Villages so far. Will make it 700 in a month.”

LRPF has now questioned HDFC Bank if the bank takes pride in calling such a person as a ‘Neighbourhood Hero’ who has multiple FIRs registered against him.

‘Samathuva Pongal’ scenes: DMK chief Stalin cooks Pongal without fire and with shoes on

By
The Commune
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DMK President M.K. Stalin celebrated ‘Samathuva Pongal’ with his party cadres and farmers at Natham panchayat in Tiruvallur district yesterday (January 14) on the occasion of Pongal.

The party had shared photos of the event in which the DMK chief and his wife, Durga Stalin, can be seen posing as if they were cooking Pongal in an earthern pot.

However, netizens were quick enough to point out that there was no fire lit to the Pongal pot. The DMK chief was wearing his shoes while ‘cooking’ the Pongal. They also took a jibe that the pot in fact might not have anything in it and that it was just a photo-op for DMK chief and his wife.

https://twitter.com/sujeeth81461044/status/1349378318840123392

 

 

Amidst de-escalation of standoff, Pangong Tso valley opens for tourists

By
The Commune
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Image Credits: Swan Tours

With de-escalation talks going on between India and China over the Galway valley, Ladakh authorities have now opened the Pangong lake for tourists. The lake was thrown open to the public from the 10th of January. Tourists intending to visit Pangong Lake should apply for Inner Line Permit (ILP) at DC office Leh near polo-ground.

“The tourists with Covid-19 negative test report, which is not earlier than 72 hours, can visit all public places and destinations across Ladakh without any restrictions. Tourists interested in visiting the lake, upon reaching the airport, will undergo a rapid antigen test following which they need to acclimatise to the weather conditions for no less than 24 hours,” said a senior official while issuing the guidelines regarding the same.

Pangong Lake derives its name from the Tibetan word, “Pangong Tso”, which means “high grassland lake”. Pangong Lake is also known to change colours, appearing blue, green, and red at different times. It is one of the highest altitude lakes in the world that is filled with saline water. The saline water lake freezes completely during winters and also known to change colours at different times.

The Ministry of External Affairs announced on Friday that both countries have maintained communication to avoid any “misunderstandings and misjudgements” and achieve complete disengagement at all friction areas along the LAC. Meanwhile, the Union Territory of Ladakh has a total Covid caseload of about 9,600 with 127 deaths.

Indian particle physicist conferred with French Order of Merit

By
The Commune
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Image Courtesy: Twitter (@iiscbangalore)

Indian particle physicist Rohini Godbole has been conferred with the Ordre National du Merite by the French Government. This is one of the highest honours given by France to the most eminent personalities in the field of STEM. It is to be noted that she has already been awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian Government.

Dr Rohini is a professor at the Centre for High Energy Physics in the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. She has been recognised by the French Government for promoting the visibility of women in science and contributing to collaborations between France and India. She completed her bachelors in the University of Pune and her masters from IIT Bombay. She went on to get her PhD from the Stony Brook University, New York, USA.

“We need more women role models in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) to normalise the concept that one’s career or opportunities do not have anything to do with gender. This message is not just to young women but young men as well. We need to build a world where the society shouldn’t intuitively think that a scientist is a man,” said Godbole, in a telephone conversation from her residence in Bengaluru to The Hindustan Times.

The Ordre national du Mérite is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle.

Indian hotel in UK launches samosa into space, crash lands in France

By
The Commune
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Taking things to another level literally, Niraj, the owner of an Indian hotel named ‘Chai Walla’ in the UK loaded a samosa into a helium balloon and launched it across the stratosphere.

Chai Wala is an Indian hotel operating in Bath, UK. The hotel run by Niraj Gadher, an Indian-origin man successfully launched a samosa and a packet of chicken lollipop into space after failing 2 times.

Kather had used helium balloons to implement this idea. His attempt failed the first time before as he accidentally launched the balloon before attaching the samosa. The second time, he ran out of helium.

After launching for the third time, the GPS tracker attached to the camera on the helium balloon seems to have malfunctioned showing that the balloon did not fly. The tracker showed that the samosa was at his home.

However, hours later, Kather found out about the balloon crash landed in France. The package was found in the Picardie area of ​​France.

Kather shared a video of the samosa travelling across the atmospheric layer. Netizens have praised his efforts and congratulated him. Commenting on the balloon idea, Kather said, “I attempted to try to send the samosa into the sky to cheer people up a bit during the Corona era.”

Watch the full video here:

Fake love: College prof who threatened student with fake marriage certificate arrested

By
The Commune
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Image Credits: Deccan Chronicle, Polimer News

Sathish Kumar is an associate professor who works at Meenakshi College of Engineering in Chennai. He was arrested earlier this week for alleged harassment of a female student. He had reportedly been harassing and threatening her showing a fake marriage certificate that claimed that both of them were married.

It is to be noted that he was already a married man. Sathish had been threatening the student who had been studying under him, showing her the fake certificate and asking her to marry him. He went on to say that if not, he would post it on social media and tarnish her character and reputation. The student then complained to the All Women Police Station in Ashok Nagar. Following an investigation, the police found out that her claims were true, and arrested Sathish Kumar.

Parliamentary panel meets to discuss overhaul of NCERT history syllabus

By
The Commune
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Pictured: Dr. Shankar Sharan, Professor, Political Science at NCERT, New Delhi

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education met on January 13 to discuss the much-needed revision of the current National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) history textbooks in schools. The panel deliberated over the arguments presented by the ex-NCERT director JS Rajput and Professor at the NCERT Shankar Sharan, as well as representatives of the Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal (BSM) and the Shiksha Sanskriti Nyas (SSN). Both BSM and SSN are affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Director of NCERT, CBSE Chairman and Secretary of School Education were also present at the meeting.

Representatives of the BSM and SSN submitted to the committee that the publication agency should be able to provide proof and evidence of what is said in the textbooks. They also added that colonial myths and their reality, like the now-dismissed Aryan Invasion Theory, should be discussed in the books too.

Earlier, The Commune had reported on how the NCERT’s history textbooks are actively promoting false historical narratives, thus whitewashing and engaging in a systematic negation of Mughal atrocities on Hindus.

The panel had convened to chiefly discuss the need to remove “references to un-historical facts and distortions about our national heroes”, to ensure “proportionate references to all periods of Indian history” and to “highlight the role of great women in Indian history”.

During the debate over the necessity for change in the history syllabus, former NCERT director JS Rajput and representatives of BSM told the committee that current history textbooks in schools are not doing justice to the subcontinent’s contribution in cultural, artistic advances and a lot of other topics. It sparsely mentions the role of Indian rulers including the Cholas and Pandyas, which has resulted in the distortion of ancient Indian history.

“It has been over two decades since textbook reforms have been discussed at the platform of a Parliamentary Committee. We thought it fit to apply our mind considering the new National Education Policy is in place and new syllabus is being written,” senior BJP leader and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education Vinay Sahasrabuddhe told reporters.

In the meeting, the Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal stressed that history textbooks should be written bearing in mind the civilisational development of India – from the Vedic era to the present; comparison of “scientific temper” with other civilisations on a scientific and objective basis; the linking Indian languages and India’s cultural unity and linguistic heritage, including Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit languages and their international spread and influence; India and its cultural boundaries; influence of Indian civilisation in other parts of the world; ensuring a proper place for “religio-cultural emissaries” from India; the history of sacrifices of various segments of Indian society for preserving cultural values; and, social inclusion.

The representatives of the Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal and the Shiksha Sanskriti Nyas also asserted the urgency to rectify the influence of Marxist historians on Indian textbooks.

The revision of the curriculum framework for school education is being done after 15 years.

Man drowns into dam after following instructions given by Google Maps

By
The Commune
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A man from Maharashtra drowned in a dam after following the directions given by Google maps. 34 year old Satish Ghule from Ahmednagar was driving to Maharashtra’s highest peak along with Guru Shekhar and Sameer Rajurkar, when they lost their way. It was around 1.45 AM and pitch dark. Since they were unable to see the road, they decided to take the help of Google Maps. While they assumed that it was showing the shortest route, in truth, it was actually leading them straight into a dam. The car toppled and fell into a dam, plunging the three of them into water. The other two passengers swam to safety while Satish drowned in the dam.

“While driving towards Kalsubai for trekking, they had lost their way and sought guidance from Google Maps, when they accidentally drove into the water,” Senior Inspector Abhay Parmar of Akole police station was quoted as saying. “There is a bridge there, which is operational for eight months. But for four months after the rainy season, the water of the dam is released and the bridge goes underwater, due to which it cannot be used,” he added.

Ration shop employee falls into honeytrap, loses ₹5.6 lakhs worth of Pongal allowance granted by govt

By
The Commune
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Baskaran, an employee who takes care of of two ration shops in Koyambedu, Chennai had complained to the police on Monday that two women had cheated and robbed him while he was going to the ration shop with the money that had been allocated by the government for the Pongal allowance.

As Baskaran’s complaint was contradictory in several aspects, the police called the Superintendent of Civil Affairs Rajendran and inquired about Baskaran’s past activities at his place of work. Upon enquiry, it was revealed that Baskaran had taken ₹8 lakh rupees from the treasury the day before, for distributing the government’s Pongal allowance for the public.

Though it was true that two women had taken ₹5,60,000 from Baskaran, it was found that it had not been in the way that Baskaran had previously described. Rather, Baskaran had actually spent time alone with them, as he had given in to their flirtations and had tried to make a move at them. They had cleverly used it to their advantage and had robbed Baskaran.

After a detailed investigation, the police explained everything to Superintendent Rajendran about Baskaran’s shenanigans. The police are conducting a search hunt to catch the two women who cheated the money. Meanwhile, Superintendent Rajendran said that Baskaran, who had given government money to random women, has been suspended.

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TheCommune
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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