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Kozhikode Police seize 117 gelatin sticks, 350 detonators from the Chennai-Mangaluru Superfast Express

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The Commune
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kozhikode railway station
Featured Image Credits: Mathrubhumi

Police seized a massive amount of explosives in Kozhikode railway station on Friday (26 February) morning. The police were able to recover 117 gelatin sticks and 350 detonators from the Chennai-Mangaluru Superfast Express.

At present, a woman has been arrested in connection with the incident. The Railway Police Force is probing the matter further.

The police are investigating all angles and is also looking into whether the explosives were being taken for works in quarries or for terror operations. But the most important aspect of the probe is to trace the origin of the explosives.

Recently, the Popular Front of India (PFI), an Islamic organisation, had held a march, wherein some people dressed in RSS uniform were bound with chains on their hands. The PFI also held an unauthorised rally in Mayiladuthurai and Kayalpatnam in Tamil Nadu. Over 5,000 members of PFI came out in a rally in Dakshina Kannada in Karnataka to showcase ‘Muslim strength’.

Nandu Krishnan, Mukhya Shikshak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was brutally murdered, allegedly by members of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). The SDPI is the political wing of Popular Front of India (PFI).

Assembly elections are scheduled in Kerala in the coming weeks. It is expected that such crimes will increase the stress on an already strained security apparatus.

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Newly-discovered inscription records Emperor Krishnadeva Raya’s death

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The Commune
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krishnadeva raya
Featured Image: An artist's rendering of Vijayanagara Emperor Krishnadeva Raya

In a discovery of significant historical importance, the first-ever epigraphical reference to the date of the demise of Vijayanagara Emperor Krishnadeva Raya was discovered at Honnenahalli in the Tumakuru district of Karnataka.

The inscription states that the day of the monarch’s death was marked by a lunar eclipse.

K Munirathnam, Director, Epigraphy Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India, said that their office received photographs of the inscription from KR Narasimhan, a retired professor who currently resides in Yelahanka, Bengaluru. Prof Narasimhan mentioned that a friend of his, M Dhanpal, who is a BMTC bus driver and an archaeology enthusiast, brought the inscription to his attention.

The 15-line Kannada inscription is engraved on a slab installed on the northern side of the Gopalakrishna Temple at Honnenahalli in Tumakuru district.

It refers to the death of Krishnadeva Raya (vīrakr̥ṣṇarāya mahārāyalu yī tathā tithiyalu astamayarāgalu) as having occurred on Śaka 1451, Virōdhi samvatsara, Kārtika māsa, śukla 15, lunar eclipse. This date of the Shaka calendar, according to historians, corresponds to 17 October, 1529 CE.

The inscription also traces the reign of Harihara Raya (also known as Hakka Raya) and Bukka Raya, the founders of the Vijayanagara Empire, in 1336 CE, to the death of Krishnadeva Raya. Krishnadeva Raya was one of the foremost military generals and diplomats in India’s history. His military campaigns made several inroads into enemy territory. He conquered strategically important fortresses and resource-rich regions from the Bahamani Sultans and the Gajapatis of Odisha.

Written in ancient Kannada script, the inscription also has the boar (varāha) icon and symbols of the sun and the moon ― these being the Vijayanagara insignia ― along with an icon of Hanuman engraved on the top. The inscription also mentions an endowment of the revenue from a village to a Veeraprasanna Hanumanta temple.

According to Dr Munirathnam and Prof Narasimhan, the Kalahasti inscription refers to the coronation of Krishnadeva Raya’s successor Achyuta Raya, as having taken place on October 21, 1529 CE.

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New drug developed by JNCASR Scientists could potentially treat Alzheimer’s

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The Commune
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Scientists have developed a molecule that disrupts the mechanism through which neurons become dysfunctional in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The molecule could be a potential drug candidate to halt or cure the leading cause of dementia (70-80%) worldwide.

In a brain suffering from Alzheimer’s, abnormal levels of naturally forming protein clump together to form plaques that collect between neurons and disrupt cell function. This is caused by the production and deposition of the amyloid peptide (Aβ) that accumulates in the central nervous system. The multifactorial nature of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) attributed to multifaceted amyloid toxicity has kept researchers from developing effective treatment.

A team of scientists led by Professor T. Govindaraju from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, designed and synthesized a set of novel small molecules and identified a lead candidate which they found could reduce the toxicity of Amyloid Beta (Aβ) toxicity.

The detailed studies established the molecule called TGR63 as the lead candidate to rescue neuronal cells from amyloid toxicity. Remarkably, the molecule was also found to reduced amyloid burden in the cortex and hippocampus, or a complex part embedded deep into the temporal lobe, thereby reversing cognitive decline. This research has been published recently in the journal Advanced Therapeutics.

Currently available treatments provide only temporary relief, and there are no approved drugs that directly act on the disease mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, there is an unmet need to develop drug candidates to halt or cure Alzheimer’s disease.

Mice brain affected with Alzheimer’s disease when treated with TGR63 showed a significant reduction of amyloid deposits, validating its therapeutic efficacy. The mice also showed a reduction of learning deficiency, memory impairment, and cognitive decline as revealed by distinct behavioral tests. These key attributes have validated the potential of TGR63 as a promising drug candidate for the treatment of AD.

AD severely affects the patients, families, caregivers and hence is a major societal and economic burden globally. The novel drug candidate TGR63 developed by the JNCASR team has the potential as a promising drug candidate for AD treatment.

(Source: PIB)

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Mangaluru: Condoms and abusive letter found in temple hundi again

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The Commune
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condoms in temple hundi
Featured Image picture: Locals and police at the scene of the crime | Credits: DaijiWorld

In the third such incident in two months, condoms and a letter with abusive messages were discovered in a hundi (donation box) in the Kordhabbu Daivasthana, a Hindu shrine. The shrine is located at Dhaddalkad, in Mangaluru’s Urwa locality, in the state of Karnataka.

The offensive objects were found on Thursday, February 25. It is believed that the perpetrators of this vile act dropped the materials into the hundi on the night of Wednesday, February 24.

Shashidhar Hegde, the city corporator of the area, came to the spot and spoke with police officials. A case was registered at the Urwa police station.

A similar crime had taken place early in January when used condoms and fake currency notes with abusive scribbles were found in the hundi of three Hindu temples in the city’s Attavara area.

In another temple in Ullal, condoms and posters with defaced faces of BJP leaders were discovered in the hundi. A cross was also drawn on the poster. The posters also had hateful messages written on them.

Furthermore, a saffron flag had been soiled with fecal matter by miscreants in January, but the police managed to nab the culprits. The culprits had turned out to be two Muslim youth who were also involved in the serial thefts targeting Hindu temples in the city.

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UK Court calls Justice Katju’s remarks as ‘astonishingly inappropriate and grossly insensitive’

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The Commune
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As fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi’s extradition gets clearance from United Kingdom’s (UK) district court, it has also come down heavily on former Supreme Court Justice of India Markandey Katju for his comparison of the Government of India to Hitler, as reported by Bar and Bench.

Justice Katju made a very contentious statement in the UK court when he had said that “It is just like Hitler and the Jews’. Nirav Modi is the Jew that must be blamed for all the problems in India”. He gave this testimony concerning the treatment of Modi who had fled from India. The UK court called Justice Katju’s assertion “astonishing, inappropriate and grossly insensitive.”

The UK court went on to trash Katju’s assertion that the Indian judiciary is compromised and dismissed his expert testimony in the case. Apparently, Katju, who was famous for making very controversial and insensitive remarks, asserted before the UK court that the “Indian judiciary is compromised” and that Modi would not get a fair trial in India.

However, the court rejected such assertions, and the court’s District Judge Sam Goozee had said, “I reject any submission that the GoI has deliberately engineered a media onslaught. I attach little weight to Justice Katju’s expert opinion.”

The judge went on to state, “His evidence in Court appeared tinged with resentment towards former senior judicial colleagues. It had hallmarks of an outspoken critic with his own personal agenda.” He further said, “I found his evidence and behaviour in engaging the media the day before giving evidence to be questionable for someone who served the Indian Judiciary at such a high level appointed to guard and protect the rule of law.”

“Despite being highly critical of the “trial by media” and its impact on NDM’s case, he took the astonishing decision to brief journalists in relation to the evidence he was giving in these proceedings, creating his own media storm and adding to the heightened media interest to date,” the judgement added.

Indian Newspaper Society demands 85 percent of revenue made by Google from using their content

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The Commune
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News organizations all over the world have now started demanding social media companies like Facebook and Google to pay them for using their content, and now, the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) has written to Google India demanding pay for using the news content generated by Indian newspapers, as reported by Economic Times.

In a letter addressed to Google India’s country manager Sanjay Gupta, INS said that Google has recently agreed to compensate and pay the publishers in France, the European Union, and Australia, and Google should similarly do so in India by sharing 85 percent of the advertising revenues earned on their content.

The reason behind this demand has been stated as that advertising has always been the financial backbone of the news industry and that over the years, newspaper publishers have suffered terrible losses as the money from advertising has rapidly shrunk. In addition to this, digital media has forced many major news outlets to even shutdown as Google has been taking a giant share of advertising spends.

The INS has also called for more transparency in the revenue reports as they find Google’s advertising system to be very opaque and that it does not provide details of Google’s advertising value chain. 

Left hits out at Rahul Gandhi for Kollam photo-ops, reminds Cong of Italian sailors who shot Kerala fishermen

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The Commune
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rahul gandhi kerala cpi(m)

The Left in Kerala lashed out at senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his photo-ops at Kollam and his remarks against Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan government.

This all-out attack against Rahul Gandhi by senior Left leaders in Kerala on Thursday was the second day in succession that the Left made these scathing remarks against the Nehru-Gandhi scion.

The CPI-M state Secretariat had, on Wednesday, slammed Gandhi, saying he was speaking “like a recruiting agent of the BJP”. Gandhi then slammed the CPI-M and linked the gold smuggling case to the office of the Kerala Chief Minister. He said that if one carries a CPI-M flag, then they will get jobs through the backdoor.

Congress govt in Centre let Italian marines go free after they shot Kerala fishermen, alleges CPI(M)

Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPI-M) Politburo member and former state minister M.A. Baby on Thursday said that if this was the way Gandhi was campaigning in Kerala for the Congress-led United Democratic Front, it would be an easy victory for the Left in the Assembly elections. He hinted that Rahul Gandhi spells trouble for the Congress party, when he said that the Congress government in Puducherry collapsed when Rahul Gandhi was busy touring his Lok Sabha constituency of Wayanad.

“If nonsense is going to be said by Rahul and (Congress General Secretary) Priyanka (Gandhi) during the Assembly election campaign, it would be easy for the Left. We all saw (Rahul) Gandhi driving a tractor in Wayanad the other day… what he should have done was, using that time, he should have gone to Puducherry and try to save his party’s government,” he said.

Senior CPI Rajya Sabha member Binoy Viswam on Thursday also made scathing remarks on Gandhi’s recent photo-ops in the seas at Kollam. He said that the Gandhi “show” in the Kollam seas on Wednesday ― where he travelled on a fishing boat, interacted with fisherfolk, jumped into the sea and frolicked in the ocean’s waters ― was superficial, lacking sum and substance. It also had no serious concern for the fishing community, he added.

“If he (Rahul Gandhi) really had any real concern for the fishing community he would have visited the house of the fishermen (at Kollam) who, while fishing in the high seas, were shot dead by two Italian naval officers. It was the then Congress government in the Centre which saved them because they were Italians,” he alleged.

Left is sleeping sleep over Gandhi, says Congress leader

Responding to these attacks, AICC General Secretary and Rajya Sabha member K.C.Venugopal on Thursday told the media that the CPI-M in Kerala is feeling jittery about Gandhi and the way he has entered into the hearts of people of Kerala. He said that the CPI-M in Kerala was losing sleep over Gandhi and that Gandhi does not require any certificate from the CPI-M.

“It would be good for the CPI-M not to forget that in Tamil Nadu, their candidates used the picture of Gandhi and won the Lok Sabha polls there,” he said.

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UK court denounces Congress leader and ex-judge Abhay Thipsay in Nirav Modi extradition case

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The Commune
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abhay thipsay Nirav Modi

As the prospect of getting deported to India gets stronger for the fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, the UK court came down heavily on the Congress party’s Abhay Thipsay. Thipsay is a retired High Court judge who gave testimony in favour of Modi in the court.

Thipsay “never disclosed his party-political affiliation” or “any potential conflict of interests”, the court observed, while making its remarks on Thipsay’s testimony.

Nirav Modi on Thursday (25 February) lost his legal battle against his extradition to India, as the UK court ruled that Nirav Modi can be extradited to India to face a criminal trial.

Modi has been fighting a nearly two-year-long legal battle to stop his extradition to India, where he is accused of fraud and money laundering amounting to nearly ₹ 14,000-crore.

During the extradition proceedings, Abhay Thipsay, a retired judge turned Congress leader and a close confidante of senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, gave his testimony to the court via video link. He told the Court that the charges levelled against Nirav Modi — which include criminal conspiracy, cheating and dishonestly inducting delivery of property — would not stand scrutiny under Indian law.

Thipsay, who testified via video link, claimed that under Indian law, some of the police statements in the case against Nirav Modi, as well as the definition of deception, would be “inadmissible”.

Abhay Thipsay, who started his career in judicial service in 1987, served as a judge in the Bombay and Allahabad high courts. During his career, Thispay presided over several high-profile cases including the Sohrabuddin encounter case and Best Bakery case. He joined the Congress party in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

He was presented as a character witness appearing on behalf of Nirav Modi, who has challenged the Indian government’s request for him to be extradited back to India from the UK.

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Prehistoric grooves dating back to Neolithic era found in Krishnagiri

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The Commune
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Neolithic grooves

Prehistoric grooves dating back to the Neolithic period, believed to have been used by people of that era to sharpen their axes and tools, have been found in Krishnagiri. Members of Krishnagiri District Historical Research Centre, Suresh and Anbarasu, first recognized the grooves. Experts, who later confirmed the time period of this discovery, stated the grooves could also be more than 5,000 years older to what was previously assumed.

Suresh and Anbarasu, who had first discovered the Neolithic grooves, noted that it was a hectic trek towards the interior of the Kundukottai site, where the grooves were found. The site is close to the popular Yaanaipallam falls.

“The place is also significant as British writer and hunter Kenneth Anderson used to trek the hills in the region. Anderson has mentioned the place in his book, ‘The Black Panther of Sivanipalli’ ”, said Memorial and hero stone expert Sugavana Murugan. “The place is inhabited by people since the Neolithic ages. Pottery, dating back to the Neolithic period and Iron Age, is also found here. The pottery shows that there was continuous human habitation in the region,” Murugan added.

The Neolithic period (6,000 BC to 2,000BC) is considered the culmination period of the Stone Age. Neolithic stone tools have been found in Kundhukottai and the Yaanaipallam falls, where these tools are worshipped by locals in the nearby Jalaveerabthirar temple and other temples.

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BJP Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Tendulkar speaks out against reservation, says there are other ways of empowerment

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The Commune
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vinay tendulkar reservations

Reservation is a hotly debated topic. Naturally a debate on reservation can be very polarising, with both proponents and opponents of reservation having strong feelings about the issue. While there are several sides to the debate, to put it simply — proponents of reservation argue that reservations are a way of reparations for the historical wrongs that were purportedly perpetrated against them, while those against reservation contend that the historical wrongs being talked about are grossly exaggerated. Reservations can in fact be an impediment in the development of the nation as the policy isn’t meritocratic, they contend. Instead, reservations should be replaced by other policies and schemes that can help the economically weaker

The debate extends to political parties and politicians, with each having their own views on it.
The entire debate is marred by vote-bank politics, as can be expected in a functioning democracy, with different groups seeking to ensure they get as large a portion of the pie as the possibly could.

Recently, JD(U) spokesperson Ajay Alok stated that if an individual once makes use of the reservation benefits availed to them, their family must not avail of the benefits for the second time.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Tendulkar too gave his opinions on the issue in Parliament. On social media platform Twitter, Tendulkar tweeted that there are several ways to empower and assist the weaker sections of the society, such as the mid-day meal scheme, free education, etc. Referring to the policy of reservations of seats in higher educational institutes and vacancies in the government sector, he further said that pulling down other sections of society to empower the rest is “unjust” and that it will create more problems in the future.

Tendulkar also clarified that he does think that there must be “equality in opportunities, but never the equality in results”. “Result is all about competition and that must be just and fair for all”, he said.

Several opponents of the government’s reservation policy agreed with Vinay Tendulkar and tweeted in support of his tweets.

Punjab BJP leader Varun Puri tweeted, “Reservation can give you job, but not the working brain [sic].”

One netizen shared a creative cartoon making a pun on the idea of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ being pushed by the Centre to make the nation self-reliant.

https://twitter.com/Prajjval_p/status/1363542458005557248

[With inputs from Falana Dikhana]

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