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Supreme Court rejects Tamil Nadu’s plea seeking 50% seats for OBCs in AIQ seats of state-run colleges

By
The Commune
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The Supreme Court of India has rejected the plea seeking 50% reservation for OBCs under the All India Quota in medical seats in the state for undergraduate, postgraduate and dental courses for the academic year 2020-2021.

The Tamil Nadu government had challenged the Madras High Court judgement which scrapped OBC reservation under All India Quota (AIQ) in non-central institutes.

The High Court had said that there is no direct rule which stated that the OBC reservation should be implemented in state surrendered AIQ seats of the UG/PG medical courses in the state-run medical colleges within Tamil Nadu, subject to any further directions or orders of the apex court.

It had disagreed with the contention of the Medical Council of India that permitting reservation in AIQ seats would compromise merit and said that the argument gets diluted as NEET examinations are now clearly designed to allow only such candidates to be admitted, who secure a minimum merit.

The petition at the Supreme Court had been filed by the Tamil Nadu government led by AIADMK along with other regional parties.

An apex court bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao, Hemant Gupta and Ajay Rastogi rejected the petition, since the COVID pandemic has caused the current academic year to be pushed to a great extent.

The panel argued that the OBC community has been compensated under various provisions in the constitution. However, political parties in Tamil Nadu claim that over 10,000 students have been affected in the State in view of the 50 per cent OBC reservation not being implemented in the State.

As per a legislation passed in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in 1994, 26.5% of seats in educational institutions is reserved for Backward Classes, 3.5% for Backward Muslim castes, 20% for OBCs defined as Most Backward Castes, 15% to Scheduled Castes, 3% to a sub-community of Scheduled Castes and 1% to Scheduled Tribes.

India lists 18 Pakistan-based individuals as terrorists under UAPA

By
The Commune
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On Tuesday (27 October), the Centre declared eighteen Pakistan-based individuals as designated terrorists, under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). 

The 18 individuals designated as terrorists include Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) top commanders Sajid Mir alias Sajid Majeed and Yusuf Muzammil (both accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack); Abdur Rehman Makki, brother-in-law of LeT Chief Hafiz Saeed; Hizbul Mujahideen Chief Syed Salahudeen.

In 2019, the Narendra Modi-led Central government had amended the UAPA to include the provision of designating an individual as a terrorist. This amendment now gives security agencies more flexibility because the earlier law only allowed organisations to be designated as terrorist organizations.

By having the power to designate an individual as a terrorist, that individual even if they change terror organisation will still be targeted. 

The Ministry of Home Affairs has now designated 18 more individuals as terrorists and have included their names in the fourth schedule of the amended UAPA.

Others who have been added to the lists are Pakistan-based associates of Dawood Ibrahim including Chhota Shakeel, Shahid Shaikh and Javed Chikna; and Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal, founder members of the proscribed terror outfit Indian Mujahideen, Shahid Mehmood, Abu Sufiyan, Yusuf Azhar, Shahid Latif, Saifullah Khalid, Zaffar Hussain Bhat, Mohammad Anis Shaikh, Tiger Memon and Abdul Rauf Asghar.

Saudi Arabia tells Pakistan to observe “Kashmir Black Day” as low key affair within the embassy

By
The Commune
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Saudi Arabia has asked the Pakistani embassy in Riyadh to keep its “Kashmir Black Day” event a low key affair on October 26, reported The Print.

The Saudi kingdom which has in the last few years have grown closer to India, told the Pakistan embassy all programs and talks must be done strictly within the premises of the embassy.

Saudi Arabia where many Indians live and work did not want to “create issues” for the Indian ex-pat community living in the Kingdom.

The bilateral relations between India and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are at its best. The Saudis have made it clear to Pakistan many times that it will not raise the issue of Kashmir nor it will meddle into India’s internal affairs on subjects like the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two separate union Territories (UTs) despite Pakistan’s efforts at the highest level.

On the other hand, the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan has not been on good terms lately as Pakistan along with its new obsession, Turkey, and Malaysia tried to form a rival Islamic block that the oil-rich kingdom saw as a direct challenge to its leadership among all Muslim nations.

After Narendra Modi became Prime Minister of India, the India-Saudi Arabia relations have strengthened, much to the dismay of Pakistan.

As a result, Saudi Arabia refused to convene a foreign ministers’ meeting on Kashmir. The Imran Khan government had earlier ruined the Saudi-Pakistan relationship further by threatening to split the OIC over the issue.

The threat irked MBS so much that he rebuffed General Qamar Javed Bajwa who had visited Saudi Arabia earlier in August to mend the differences.

All Indians can now buy property in Jammu and Kashmir as Centre notifies new land laws

By
The Commune
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In a move that has been anticipated for a very long time, the Centre has notified the new land laws for Jammu & Kashmir. In a gazette notification, the Union Home Ministry has notified on Monday (26 October), 

The MHA notified what it calls UT of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Third Order, 2020 enabling any Indian to buy land in the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu & Kashmir. This order comes into force with immediate effect.

“With immediate effect, the Acts mentioned in the Schedule to this Order shall, until repealed or amended by a competent Legislature or other competent authority, have effect, subject to the adaptations and modifications directed by the said Schedule, or if it is so directed, shall stand repealed,” read the order.

Also, 12 state laws that includes the Jammu and Kashmir Alienation Of Land Act (V of Samvat 1995), the Jammu and Kashmir Big Landed Estates Abolition Act (XVII Samvat 2007), The Jammu and Kashmir Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1956, the Jammu and Kashmir Consolidation Of Holdings Act, 1962, among others have been repealed as a whole.

This move comes at a time when Pakistan is observing “Kashmir Black Day”. Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and scion of Abdulla family Omar Abdulla took to social media to express his disappointment with the Centre’s move. 

Senior journalist Aarti Tikoo Singh congratulated Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and said, “Thank you for opening up Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh to the rest of India.”

 

 

21 year old Nikita shot dead by one Taufeeq, family says she was killed for refusing to convert to Islam

By
The Commune
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In a horrific incident, a 21-year-old college girl identified as Nikita Tomar was shot dead in broad daylight in Ballabharh, Faridabad near Delhi, Swarajya reported.

The shooter has been identified as Taufeeq and is under police custody.

Nikita was a final-year B-Com student was going home after giving an exam. The whole incident captured in CCTV footage shows the girl attempting to flee when the shooter opens fire, putting a bullet in the head and then running away in a white color car with his associate. From the CCTV footage it is evident that Taufeeq was trying to kidnap Nikita.

https://twitter.com/rajshekharTOI/status/1320926170716663808

The incident reportedly took place on Monday (26 October). Nikita who was rushed to the hospital, was declared dead by the doctors. 

As per ACP Ballabgarh Jaiveer Rathi, the accused Taufeeq hails from Sohna, one of the townships in the state of Haryana and that this was not an isolated incident.  Nikita’s family members had filed a molestation and harassment complaint against Taufeeq a few months ago.

“One of the accused identified as Taufeeq hailing from Sohna was known to the victim and a complaint against him had been lodged by the victim’s kin a few months ago for harassment and molestation but a compromise had been reached”, Rathi has been quoted as saying.

As per reports, Taufeeq was Nikita’s classmate till high school and had been pressurising her to become his friend and had allegedly kidnapped her in 2018, but a compromise was reached between the two parties. 

(This report has been edited after a reader pointed out that some of the facts mentioned in the report earlier was that of an incident that happened coincidentally in the same area to another girl. We express our deepest regrets to the family and friends of Nikita and pay our condolences to the departed soul.) 

VCK cadres lynch and stab Indu Makkal Katchi office bearer

By
The Commune
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An office bearer of the Indu Makkal Katchi (IMK) was attacked by cadres belonging to Thol. Thirumavalavan’s Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) at Vedachandur in Dindigul district on October 26.

The person identified as Manikandan Prabhu, works as the in-charge of Vedanthur Assembly constituency for IMK.

Manikandan has been admitted to the Dindigul Government Hospital and is undergoing intensive treatment.

The police have registered a case two persons in connection with the incident have been arrested while others have absconded.

Speaking to The Commune, IMK’s founder leader Arjun Sampath said that this violent and undemocratic attack by VCK is highly condemnable.

“The VCK which has been indulging and perpetrating violence should be banned and the National Security Act should be slapped on Thol. Thirumavalavan for disturbing social harmony through his distasteful remarks on Tamil Hindu women.”, the IMK head said.

Mr. Arjun Sampath also said that they would be organizing a state-wide democratic protest on October 28 to condemn the undemocratic act of VCK adding that they would be submitting  a petition to the District Collector and Superintendent of Police to take action against the perpetrators. He has also appealed to the IMK cadres to ensure that the protests are peaceful without any hindrance to the public.

Today (October 27), the IMK women’s wing is organizing a protest calling for the ban of VCK for its remarks on women and Manu Smriti

“Their women come in search of our men because their men don’t have ‘stuff'”, Thirumavalavan’s vitriolic speech resurfaces

By
The Commune
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Chidambaram MP Thol. Thirumavalavan seems to have stirred the hornet’s nest with his recent remarks on women and Manu Smriti. The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) head in a recent online seminar organized by Periyar TV had said “All women are prostitutes as per Hindu Dharma.. Manu Dharma.. “. This video had gone viral with Thol. Thirumavalavan facing backlash. Following this, Thirumavalavan had called for a protest to ‘ban Manu Smriti’, that was held on October 24.

Coming against this backdrop, the VCK leader’s remarks on women of certain communities that was made a couple of years ago has resurfaced again.

In that video, Thol. Thirumavalan says that ‘their’ women go behind ‘our’ men because ‘their’ men do have have any ‘stuff’.

“For these people, what has been taught as honor is only ‘women matter’… Not any other darn (mairu) thing… They are jealous that their women are not ‘looking’ at them… Those guys are fair, have moustache, wear ironed clothes, wear shoes worth thousands of rupees, spray scent worth thousands of rupees… Inspite of all this, they [referring to women of those caste] are not looking at them… But if she is looking at a man belonging to a poor household, born to oppressed class people like Chakliyan, Pallan, Paraiyan, then understand what your [referring to men of those castes] worth is… Women from your community show what you [referring to men of those castes] are worth… ‘Despite having everything, there is no use in you. There is no stuff in you [referring to men of those castes]. Even if he is poor, he has stuff and strength (sarakku midukku)… That is why I go behind him… If you have an iota of honor, hang yourself to death’ is what their women say“. Thol. Thirumavalavan says in that speech.

He further adds “Their men… They don’t care even if their women have slept with our men for 10 months.. They will say ‘It is okay… I will wash it off…You come and live with me…’ This is the disgusting politics these disgraceful beings do.”

He says that when women of his village or family runs away with another man, the parents would try to persuade the girl to come with them but if the girl stands her ground the parents would just go take a dip in the river and severe ties with the girl.

This speech by Thirumavalavan was made when the Paatali Makkal Katchi had accused the VCK and its men of where luring the young girls in their community into marriage. This has now surfaced with many voices referring to these anti-women marks made by Thirumavalavan.

BJP leader H. Raja had shared the speech and said that women in Tamil Nadu cannot live with dignity without completely removing the DMK-VCK alliance from the political arena.

A lot of netizens too are now referring to this speech and are calling for his arrest.

https://twitter.com/paaru_par/status/1320095699787108353

Pro-Nation voices come together to form Indian Digital Media Association, India’s largest digital news association

By
The Commune
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At a time when Republic TV and its founder Arnab Goswami is being witch-hunted by the Shiv Sena led government in Maharashtra, few of the Indian digital media outlets have announced the launch of a new self-regulatory board that prioritizes national interest.

The Indian Digital Media Association (IDMA) identifies itself as ‘a pro-nation, Indian-owned, Indian-edited and Indian-controlled digital news association’. OpIndia.com, DeshGujarat.com,  Goachronicle.com, InKhabar.com, NewsLiveTV.com, NewsX.com, OTV Digital, Republicworld.com, Sundayguardianlive.com are the founding members of the association launched on October 26.

The founding members of IDMA have a collective unique viewership of over a 100 million. 25 more digital news media houses are being onboarded. 

Savio Rodrigues, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, GoaChronicle.com said, “The disruption in media in the coming years will be digital. India will see a phenomenal shift towards digital media. Coming together of digital media organisations with their own niche disruptions in Indian Digital Media space  to form an association is the formation of a force to be the true voice of a vibrant India digital media space.”

Nupur Sharma, Editor OpIndia, said that the news cycle is not longer a slave to television media and added that digital media has the potential to not just shape, but change the national discourse. “IDMA is an endeavor to not just strengthen, but organise and advocate for the interest of Nationalist Digital Media that has the potential today to shape the country and what its citizens talks about.”, Nupur Sharma said. 

This is the first time a large conglomeration of digital platforms have formed an association to safeguard the interest of not just member digital platforms but also actively participate in dialogue with all stakeholders, uphold standards of news reporting in national interest and engage with the government for policy formulation.

“As a self regulatory body, IDMA will be the eyes and ears of digital media platforms, to serve as an intermediary on its behalf. IDMA will be the central point of joint action on matters of interest.”, the IDMA’s press release said. 

It added that nationalistic media platforms of the country have come together as IDMA to uphold a vision for India that is not directly or surreptitiously owned by foreign elements.

The IDMA also added that it stands against overseas control of Indian digital media saying that it such an arrangement directly compromises Indian interests and users. “We strongly believe that it should be our aim to take Indian media global, rather than compromising the interest of Indian readers and their right to information by inviting overseas control, which might not necessarily be inclined to protect the interest of Indian readers and platforms.”, it said. 

“We believe that it is time for Indian editors and owners to come together and fight the onslaught of foreign ownership and editorship, since the attempts by foreign entities and organisations to corrupt news by pushing vested global agendas unethically are at its zenith.”, it further added. 

Another prime accused in Kerala gold smuggling case arrested by NIA

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
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Rabins Hameed, one of the prime accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case was arrested on Monday morning after he landed in Kochi International Airport from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Following the Interpol’s instructions to the UAE Embassy, he was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after he had been absconding since the beginning of the case.

A resident of Mavattupuzha, Ernakulam, Hameed while being in UAE and India had conspired with Ramees KT, Jalal and others. He had also arranged funds and brought gold at Dubai for smuggling into India through the diplomatic baggage. He is also alleged to have arranged for the concealment of gold in electronics or electrical equipment and household items in the UAE, for smuggling the contraband to Thiruvananthapuram.

A non-bailable offence case has been filed under his name by the Kochi Economic Crimes Court and will be produced in the court for remand.

MLA Karat Razak has also been named as one of the primary accused in the case after wife of Sandeep Nair had issued a statement to the NIA. Earlier, Sarith PS, another accused in the case, in his statement to the Enforcement Directorate revealed that Kerala Ministers Kadakampally Surendran and KT Jaleel visited the UAE Consulate on several occasions. He also revealed that Kadakampally Surendran once visited the Consul General at the UAE Consulate in connection with a job appointment of his son in the UAE.

This group of environmentalists have reconstructed habitats for birds

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
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In Pudukkottai, the Green Birds’ Involvement in the work of setting up a bush for the use of birds has been well received by the people. Two years ago, the Gaja storm caused great devastation to the delta districts. Especially in the Pudukkottai district, millions of trees were uprooted. Thus, the green district of Pudukkottai was deserted without trees.

The district administration and various private organizations are involved in planting saplings parallel to the fallen trees. As part of this, the Pudukottai Green Birds organization has been planting at least 50 native saplings every Sunday for the first week since August 15.

They are also setting up bushes for birds to use. Following this, members of the Green Birds Organization in collaboration with Mother Youth Moment and Don Bosco planted a variety of native saplings that can be used for birds in Keeranur, Pudukottai District today. This act has been well-received among the public.

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