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“Writer-activist” Meena Kandasamy targets ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar for wearing sacred thread, calls it ‘rarefied undergarment’

The “accomplished poet, writer and activist” Meena Kandasamy has once again courted controversy by making an undignified comment about cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar.

In December of 2020, Meena Kandasamy had gone on a hateful tirade against Brahmins on the social media platform Twitter, where she had called Brahmins ‘di*ks’. She had also invoked ‘Periyar’ EV Ramasamy Naicker, the anti-Brahmin Dravidian leader who had called for a genocide of all Brahmins, in her hateful rant and had gone on to  say that Naicker was ‘needed’.

Now, the “accomplished writer-activist” is doing more activism by targeting the beloved Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar over a photograph where he is wearing the sacred thread. In a tweet, the activist called the sacred thread a ‘rarefied undergarment’.

Image source: Twitter

In her tweet, Meena Kandasamy said, “Is this a real picture, isn’t the poonool (sacred thread) some sort of rarefied undergarment which you wear inside your clothes??” She was quote-tweeting another tweet where the Twitter user was derogatorily referring to the sacred thread as a ‘string bra’.

The picture had been posted by Sachin Tendulkar on his Instagram handle on August 22, 2020 to mark the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi .

Meena Kandasamy went after Sachin Tendulkar for a photo he shared on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi

Image source: Instagram

Earlier, it was revealed that the “poet and writer”, who has allowed herself to be portrayed as Dalit on several occasions is a non-Dalit allegedly masquerading as a Dalit. She had also allegedly tried to extort money from her ex-husband, in order to settle the pending legal cases she has lodged against him under sections 498A & 506(ii) of the IPC.

Shocking: Kerala Govt has a separate organization that promotes SC/STs to convert to Christianity

In 2019, the Kerala government issued a curious gazette notification which received a lot of attention on social media.

The Pinarayi Vijayan led Communist government in a clear case of appeasement, invited applications through “One Time Registration Scheme for Assistant Surgeon and Casualty Medical Officers with a caveat – the notification had a specific mention that only Scheduled Caste Converts to Christianity (SCCC) could apply.

In India, there is caste-based reservation however, there is no provision under the law which allows reservation under religion. By giving reservation to Hindu converts to Christianity, the Kerala government violated the law.

The decision to reserve seats for SCCC community was due to the failure of the Kerala government’s inability to fill the vacancy even after the third NCA notification, due to paucity of candidates from the SCCC category, or formally Hindus.

After the Kerala government issued the gazette notification, there was a protest on how a government can discriminate on the basis of religion and only allow converts to Christianity who can apply which also limits the loss of qualified individuals.

However, this should not come as a surprise because an entire department in Kerala has been dedicated to the ‘welfare’ of people who have left Hinduism to convert to Christianity which is called Kerala State Development Corporation for Christian Converts from Scheduled Castes and the Recommended Communities Ltd.

About KSDC for CC&RC

In its stated goal, the department, which is a government undertaking mentions:

Kerala State Development Corporation for Christian Converts and the Recommended Communities (KSDC for CC & RC) has been created with the aim of enhancing the social and financial needs of the scheduled castes converted to Christianity and the other Recommended communities to the scheduled castes from other backward communities(OBC) of Kerala.

The website notes that the company was formed in came into existence on 1980 ‘for those who have been converted from SC to Christianity and those recommended communities of the SC, with the objective of implementing various loan schemes to uplift their social, educational, economic and cultural developments’.

As per records from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), its balance sheet was last filed on 31 March 2014.

The directors of these companies are also present as directors in other government organizations like Kerala State Pottery Manufacturing Marketing and Welfare Development Corporation Limited, Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation Limited, etc. 

Schemes provided for SC/ST converts to Christianity

The Kerala government website could not be more clear that this department was created specifically for SC Hindus who convert to Christianity and one can easily view a host of schemes offered to them from Agricultural Land Purchase Scheme to Foreign Employment Scheme, Marriage Loans to Personal Loans etc.

There are 53 communities which includes Adi Dravidar, Adi Andhra, Adi Karnataka, Arunthathiyar, Chakkiliyan, Chandala, Kalladi, Kudumban, Kuravar, Malayan, Pallar, Paraiyar, Valluvan, listed under the heading ‘Converted Castes’ to which the various loan schemes are benefited.

The following Scheduled Tribes are listed as ‘Recommended Castes’ – Chakkamar, Chemman/Chemmar, Deevara/Deevaran, Kudumbi, Kusavan, Kulalan, Kumbharan, Velaan, Odan, Andhra Nair, Andhuru Nair, Madiga, Pulayan Vettuvan and Scheduled Caste Converted to Christianity. 

According to the their website of the Backward Classes Development Department of Kerala, people who became Christians after leaving Hinduism (SC Converts to Christianity) is a separate class recognized as a Backward Class and is given reservation in State Government Services. This reservation is in addition to the reservation given to Latin Catholics and Anglo Indians. The ‘SC Converts to Christianity’ is recognised in the State OBC list as well.

It is noteworthy to mention here that none of the regional managers of this organization have a Christian name. 

In 2010, the Kerala government waived off ₹159 crores that were given to the people belonging to the SCCC category and this decision was hailed by Archbishop Vattappara of the Anglican Church of India.

According to a report in The Hindu, “In his address at the inauguration of the loan waiver scheme, undertaken by the Kerala State Development Corporation for Christian Converts from Scheduled Castes and the Recommended Communities Ltd. here on Thursday, Mr. Balan said the current loan waiver scheme would write off ₹159 crore and this would benefit nearly one lakh people, mostly belonging to the poorest sections of the society, he said”.

In 2010 for individuals who left Hinduism to convert to Christianity, loans up to ₹25,000 maturing on 31 March 2006 were to be written off fully. 

The presence of this body under the Kerala government raises serious concerns as a government body, which is supposed to be secular in nature seems to be blatantly promoting Scheduled Caste Communities to convert to Christianity so that they can avail these benefits. 

Not just that, some of the posts in the different department of the state government are only filled by SCCC community members.

 

This is in direct violation of Article 16 of the Indian Constitution that states that no citizen shall be discriminated in matters of employment under the state, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them. 

None of the mainstream media or activists seem to have flagged this problematic organization under the government. It remains to be seen whether any action will be taken on this body which on the face of it seems unconstitutional. 

(With inputs from OpIndia

Now you can Arattai instead of WhatsApp, Chennai based Zoho comes out with indigenous msging app

With growing concerns and discussion on the recent privacy policy changes in WhatsApp, Chennai based firm, Zoho Corporation is developing a messaging app called Arattai.

Arattai in Tamil literally means chit-chat and Zoho Corporation which is a multinational technology company specialized in software development headquartered in Chennai will be releasing the new chat app for users in the coming weeks. 

On Sunday, company’s founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sridhar Vembu had tweeted, “Our Arattai team asked me to not talk about our instant messaging app yet but since it is already being talked about, I guess I can talk too. This is a friends-and-family trial release. We will do a formal launch in a few weeks. We have a lot more in store. Stay tuned! 

Vembu said he was compelled to tweet about the new app Arattai after it received a lot of attention in social media.

“As a company, we value our users’ privacy and do not share any data with third parties and do not have an ad-revenue model too. The data will also be stored in India as a homegrown company,” Zoho’s Vice President of marketing Praval Singh told The Times of India.

As per Arattai’s privacy policy, the app collects data including profile name, phone number, country code, address, profile picture (optional) and contacts (optional), and data is not shared or disclosed without the user’s prior specific consent.

In India, many users are upset with some of the unilateral decisions taken by major social media companies like Twitter and Facebook and have welcomed the move, as another achievement under ‘Made In India’ alternative to messaging app Whatsapp.

After Twitter permanently suspended President Donald Trump many in India are of the strong opinion that the time has come for India to come up with indigenous alternatives to Twitter and Facebook to decrease the risk of control by foreign-based big tech corporations.

Trump to visit US-Mexico border on Tuesday to highlight the border wall

US President Donald Trump is expected to travel to to the town of Alamo, Texas near the United States-Mexico border on Tuesday to highlight his administration’s work on the border wall, the White House said on Saturday.

President Trump will mark the completion of 400 miles of border wall and his administration’s efforts to reform the nation’s broken immigration system.

Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign focussed extensively on the need to construct a border wall along the US-Mexico border. He also promised his voters that Mexico would pay for the wall, but it has been paid for by US taxpayers.

Most of the border wall went up in areas that had smaller barriers. The US government has this year built hundreds of miles of fencing as high as 30 feet (9 meters) in a short amount of time.

The visit will likely be the President’s first public appearance after he addressed supporters on Wednesday, riling up a crowd that later stormed the U.S. Capitol. He is anxious to highlight his achievements as his presidency winds down.

Meanwhile, Democrats in the House are pushing for an impeachment vote this week and are looking to formally introduce the second impeachment proposal on Monday, with a vote possible by Wednesday.

Breaking: SC wants stay on farm laws, wants to stall implementation till amicable solution is found

The Supreme Court which is hearing a petition on the three farm laws that were recently passed by the Parliament has signalled that it wants a stay on the farm laws and hold off implementation till an amicable solution is found.

The bench led by CJI SA Bobde is hearing a bunch of petitions seeking the removal of farmer protesters and petitions challenging the Constitutional validity of the three farmer empowerment laws. 

CJI Bobde expressed disappointment with the way Centre was dealing with this episode. “What consultative process has been followed for farm bills that entire states are up in rebellion?”, the CJI asked. 

The CJI added that the intention is to see there can be an amicable resolution to the problem. “That is why we asked you why don’t you put the farm bills on hold. You want time for negotiation. If there is some sense of responsibility showing that you will not implement the laws then we can form a committee with ICAR members to look into this. Till then you can continue to put the law on hold. Why will you insist on continuing the law anyhow”, the CJI said.

The Solicitor General submitted to the bench that many farmer organizations have extended support to the laws saying it was progressive to which the CJI observed that they may express their views before the committee.

“But you have to tell us whether you stay the Farm Acts or we do it. Keep it in abeyance. What is the issue?? We are not in favour of easily staying a law but we want to say don’t implement law”, the CJI said. 

The CJI observed that people are committing suicides, suffering cold and went on to raise questions about why are old people and women present in the protest. “We don’t want to comment on the agitation”, the CJI said.

“We propose to form a committee and if government does not then we will stay the implementation of the farm acts.”, the CJI added.

Senior Advocate Harish Salve submitted that consensus has been achieved on MSP and that all other areas that farmers are not agreeing with the Centre can be resolved through judicial orders adding that the objectionable parts of law can be stayed. In the course of his submissions, he also highlighted how Sikhs for Justice, a Vancouver based organization has put up posters that 10,000 will be paid to anyone who joins the protest.

“Talks are breaking down because Centre wants to discuss point by point of law and farmers want the entire laws to be repealed. We will stay the implementation of the Farm Acts.”, the CJI observed.

The Supreme Court expressed concerns that there will be some incident which may breach the peace. “We don’t want anybodys injury or blood on our hands!” the CJI said.

The Attorney General submitted to the court that a law cannot be stayed unless its beyond legislative competence or violative of Fundamental rights of against any constitutional provision. “None of the petitioners have argued on this. Each one of this in support of farmers and Farm Acts are in their benefit.”, the AG argued. 

The AG also pointed out that farmers in the southern part of India are not protesting as they have understood that these laws are of their benefit.

The CJI said that their actions should not be understood that they are protecting any law breaker. “If someone breaks the law they will face the consequences sequences. We are not encouraging breaking of law. We propose to pass this order to prevent loss of life and property”, the CJI observed.

The CJI also noted that the Centre was not handling the issue properly. “We have to take some action today. We don’t think you are being effective.”, the CJI said.

“We will make the atmosphere comfortable and conducive for talks. Till then the farm laws can be put on hold. Who is going to be responsible for blood shed? We need to uphold Article 21 as a constitutional court. What if some conflagration takes place.”, the CJI said.

 

Won’t apologize for remarks on EPS and Sasikala, DMK youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin says

DMK chief M.K. Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin who made vulgar remarks on Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Sasikala, the confidante of late AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa, has said that he will not be apologizing for the comments he made.

Speaking at a party event organized by the DMK legal wing at the YMCA Grounds in Royapettah, Chennai, the party’s youth wing secretary said: “I did not speak with the intention of hurting women. I won’t be apologizing for the comment I made. The comment has been wrongly understood by people. If some women feel hurt because of it, I apologize. Kalaignar [Karunanidhi] and Thalaivar [M.K. Stalin] did not raise me like that. I have been facing defamation cases wherever I go on the campaign trail. I have boldly given out challenges in many places believing that the party’s legal wing will save me.”

These statements come in the light of the recent crass remark made by Udhayanidhi Stalin at CM Palaniswami while speaking at a party event in Chennai.

Addressing the party cadres at the Chepauk-Tiruvallikeni Assembly constituency, the son of DMK chief M.K. Stalin was trying to take a dig at Chief Minister Palaniswami rise to power. He had said that CM Palaniswami went under the table, chair to fall at Sasikala’s feet and that given the chance, he would have gone inside her legs as well.

This crass comment has come under severe condemnation lashing out at Udhayanidhi Stalin for plunging the political discourse in the state to abyss.

WHO distorts India’s map: Separates J&K and Ladakh from India, shows Ladakh as China’s territory

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been facing the flak for separating  Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh from its colour-coded COVID dashboard map. Times of India reported that the newly created union territories have been separately marked in the organisation’s new map. They have been depicted in grey colour, while the rest of India is marked in navy blue.

Another cause of this conflict is the fact that the disputed border between India and China has been marked with the identical shade of China despite there being no solid conclusion on the ownership of the territory between the two countries. This has been demarcated in grey with blue stripes that are of the shade marked by China.

This map was released on WHO’s COVID scenario dashboard, showing the coronavirus statistics for each country. It soon became viral, causing widespread outrage after being shared across WhatsApp groups.

Strong reactions were registered especially amongst the diaspora. Nandini Singh, who heads social media at Reach India (UK), a diaspora group, lashed out at the WHO saying that depicting Indian territory in different colours demonstrates it is in a nexus with China.”Instead of thanking India for what it has done to fight Covid-19, including supplying PPE and vaccine to the world, this is a deliberate attempt to hurt India. WHO needs to apologise to India and correct the error,” she said.

Many observers say that WHO which has failed to make China accountable for unleashing the pandemic on the world, could have been pressurized by the Communist Party of China into distorting the map.

13 year old boy from Hyderabad makes world record by playing 20 songs on the keyboard blindfolded

Hariharan, a 13-year-old student from Hyderabad has made it to the Wonder Book of Records by playing 20 songs in three different languages on the keyboard for 30 minutes blindfolded. He was awarded by renowned music directors Venugopalachari and Anup Rubens.

Speaking to IANS, South India Chief Coordinator of the Wonder Book of Records named Dr G. Swarna Sree, said, “he played 20 songs in 30 minutes and that too with a blindfold. In fact, he completed this in 29 minutes and 19 seconds.

Hariharan’s mother Aruna Tumma said in an interview that she was extremely proud of her child’s achievement, “Every child will have some hidden talent. It’s for parents to identify the talent and encourage them.” Former minister and special representative of Telangana in Delhi, S. Venugopala Chary, who presented the certificate to Hariharan, was all praise for the boy and said he has made Telangana proud.

He studies at the Gitanjali Devshala and has been learning the keyboard for the past 5 years. He started a YouTube channel during the lockdown called “Chill with Hariharan” which now has 3000 + subscribers and over 50,000 views. He had recently posted a tribute to the late Sushant Singh Rajput. He also plays chess in his free time.

Is TNPSC recruiting for government services or DK, DMK, VCK, Communist groups?

On 3rd January 2021, the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) conducted preliminary examination for recruitment to  Group-1 services that include the post of Deputy Collector, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Assistant Commissioner (Commercial Taxes), Assistant Director of Rural Development, etc.

More than 2 lakh people had applied of which 1,31,264 candidates appeared for the examination, to compete for a total of 69 posts.

The TNPSC which usually makes news for its delay in announcing results, that sometimes take years to come, found itself in limelight because of this year’s question paper which has left many bewildered.

“Who brought Christianity faith to South India?”

“Which political association became known as Justice Party?”

“Which of the following idea does not fall within Thanthai Periyar’s definition of civilization?”

“The editor of Tamil daily Kudiarasu”

“Name the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu during Anti-Hindi agitation in 1965”

“Where did C N Annadurai work first as a journalist?”

The General Studies paper had around 18 questions directly or indirectly on E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker (known as ‘Periyar’ by his followers) and the secessionist Dravidian movement.

Many critics of the Dravidian movement like journalist Rangaraj Pandey, appalled at this subterfuge attempt to impose Dravidian and Communist ideology, had put out a video on the kind of questions asked for an examination meant for recruitment into civil services, which is supposed to be politically neutral.

But, the kind of questions asked in the examination should not come as a surprise given the fact that the syllabus blatantly mentions “contributions of Thanthai Periyar and Perarignar Anna”.

The question paper also had a lot of questions on Thirukkural, the timeless work of Sage Thiruvalluvar. In fact, there are around 9-10 questions on Thirukkural. But there is nothing to feel reassured about it because the syllabus issued by TNPSC mandates the candidates to study the significance of Thirukkural as a ‘secular literature’.

Thirukkural, the ancient Tamil text that reflects the thoughts and values of Indic ways of life; a literary treasure which contains references to Hindu Gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, Lakshmi, Yama, and Indra, a text that acts as a moral and ethical compass for human beings to follow, has been construed into a ‘secular literature’, thanks to the efforts of DK, DMK and Christian missionary forces who have placed their apologists in the academic sphere as well as in governance institutions of the state.

While there were around 10 questions on E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker, the question paper had just 1 question on the great nationalist poet Subramania Bharathiar.

M.C. Rajah who dedicated his entire life for the marginalized sections of the Tamil community gets marginalized as ‘options’ to be excluded.

Here is another important thing to note in the question paper – E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker, C.N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi are addressed by their popular sobriquet – ‘Thanthai (Father)’, ‘Arignar (Learned)’ and ‘Kalaignar (artist)’ respectively, while ‘Karmaveerar’ Kamarajar who laid the foundations for Tamil Nadu’s growth story is mentioned as just Kamaraj.

Here are some more things that substantiate the ideological bias in the question paper.

No questions were asked on ‘Tamil Thatha’ U.Ve. Swaminatha Iyer, the great Tamil scholar who the entire Tamil community is indebted to for his contributions to Tamil history and heritage.

No questions on the Pallavas, Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas and their architectural marvels but there are enough questions on Mughals and other Islamic rulers like Tipu Sultan.

Neither there were questions about freedom fighters like Velu Nachiyar, Kuyili, V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, Arthanareesa Varma, Tirupur Kumaran, etc in the questions about Indian National Movement.  But Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad gets 3 questions for himself.

The standard of the question paper takes a nosedive with the presence of two questions that are neither relevant nor is part of the syllabus.

One is a question on the critically acclaimed and celebrated Tamil film ‘Pariyerum Perumal’. Now this film is definitely a must watch and is one of the gems that Kollywood has produced.

But what was the need for asking a question about it in TNPSC Group-1 services examination? Why not a question on ‘Tamil Thatha’ or Tirupur Kumaran instead?

Another question that definitely needs to be called out is the one on Su. Venkatesan, an incumbent Lok Sabha MP belonging to Communist Party of India (Marxist). If the intention was to ask a question on Tamil writers and their literature, there are so many who are admired across the spectrum like Kalki Krishnamurthy, Kannadasan, Balakumaran, Sujatha, Jeyakanthan, Jeyamohan, Sandilyan, etc., who have produced stellar works. What is the need to refer the book of a Communist here?

The cat comes out of the bag in the following question.

“Which ideology threatens Indian Unity?” for which the candidate has to choose the answer from the following options: a) Communalism; b) Communism; c) Democracy; d) Socialism; e) Answer not known.

If a candidate were to apply the principle of ‘choosing the most correct option’ and answers ‘Communism’, he/she will lose marks.

Now all this makes one wonder, if this is an exam conducted to recruit people for government service or into the DK, DMK, VCK and Communist groups?

It is conspicuous that the paper has been prepared by people who are heavily politicised and having the influence of ‘Periyarist’ and Communist organizations. Being ideologically or politically aligned is not a problem. But it is a matter of serious concern if a government body mandates that this is the ideology that one should read and subscribe to enter into service.

This kind of ideological indoctrination is not new in Tamil Nadu. For long, it has been said, written and ingrained in the minds of people that EVR was conferred with the title of “Socrates of South-East Asia” by the UNESCO.  This lie was peddled for more than 40 years with several articles and research papers on EVR written based on this lie. This had found its place even in school textbooks of Tamil Nadu and was even asked as a question in annual examinations and TNPSC exams.

However, this award turned out to be a sham. An email response from the UNESCO office in Delhi had confirmed that no such award/title was given to E.V. Ramasamy Naicker. In fact, the sham shines in all its glory with the title of the award being “Socrates of South-East Asia”. India does not even fall under the South-East Asia grouping. This lie was rectified only recently when the state textbook development authority came out with new textbooks following the syllabus revamp.

This is the level of ideological brainwashing that has happened in the state for decades ever since the Dravidian parties rose to power. This has led to systematically placing Dravidian and Communist ideologues in academic and government bodies of the State, with the TNPSC being no exception.

The TNPSC draws its powers from Article 315 of the Indian Constitution that provides for establishing Public Service Commission in each State. The Chairman and other members of the body are vested with enormous power that they can be removed from office only by an order of the President of India on grounds of misbehaviour, that too after the Supreme Court has conducted an inquiry.

Such safeguards are put in place for members to perform their duties without fear or favour. But, this Constitutional body seems to have been hijacked by ‘Periyarists’ and Communists for long.

American netizens trend “Hang Mike Pence” on Twitter; Twitter later removes trend

A day after Twitter permanently banned US President Donald Trump from the social media platform due to “the risk of further incitement of violence”, American netizens trended “Hang Mike Pence” on the platform.

It is believed that the phrase and its variations began trending on Twitter because of a viral video from the Capitol riot, which showed pro-Trump protesters chanting the phrase. Some protestors built a makeshift gallows and tied a noose on it, while others used tied a noose from a camera cord after they had destroyed the equipment of the assembled journalists and TV crews. Several pro-Trump protestors believe that Vice President Mike Pence betrayed President Trump, after he certified the Electoral College votes — thus giving Democrat Presidential candidate Joe Biden the victory in the 2020 US elections — despite President Trump asking VP Pence to reject the votes.

 

Eventually, Twitter noticed the term trending and blocked it and its variations from trending. “We blocked the phrase and other variations of it from trending,” a spokesperson for Twitter told Fox News. “We want trends to promote healthy discussions on Twitter.”