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HR&CE Dept lists encroachers of Punnainallur Mariamman Temple land in Thanjavur, all of them belong to one community

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The Commune
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temple land encroachment

The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department has issued a list of the names of all the people who have illegally encroached upon the temple lands of the Punnainallur Mariamman temple. This temple is situated in the Thanjavur district in the Aranmanai Devasthanam region.

The names on the list are as follows:

  1. Sheik Moideen, c/o Shahul Mohammed
  2. Shamsudeen, c/o Sheik Ali Rowther
  3. Kubberkhani, c/o Sheik Alaudin
  4. Jaffarlal, c/o Sheik Ali Rowther
  5. Jaleel, c/o Sheik Alaudin
  6. Yaahad Ali, c/o Sheik Dawood
  7. Dulquerna, c/o Sheik Ali Rowther
  8. Siddique Badshah, c/o Sheik Dawood
  9. Mohammed Ibrahim, c/o Moideen Badshah
  10. Alaudin, c/o Sheik Alaudin
  11. Abdul Kafur, c/o Sheik Alaudin

The notice claimed that these were the people who had encroached upon the land that belonged to the temple, and said that there were cases registered against them. It went on to state that by virtue of the verdicts issued during these cases, these people were to immediately hand over the land to the temple over the next 15 days, and that it was a direct order from the government.

It is to be noted that all the names that were mentioned in this list were Muslims. A Twitter user named @iParamanand had posted this list, which immediately became viral.

The notice went viral on Twitter with several users condemning the encroachers and at the same time congratulating the HR&CE department for taking action.

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NASA’s Perseverance rover makes historic landing on Mars

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The Commune
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NASA Perseverance Mars

NASA’s Perseverance rover made its historic landing on the red planet on Thursday as it hurtled headfirst onto the surface of Mars. The rover is the most advanced astrobiology lab ever flown to another world and was headed for a self-guided touchdown inside a vast, rocky basin called Jezero Crater at the edge of a remnant river delta carved into the red planet billions of years ago.

“It’s full of the stuff that scientists want to see but stuff that I don’t want to land on,” Al Chen, head of JPL’s descent and landing team, told reporters on Wednesday. Getting Perseverance to its destination in one piece after its 293-million-mile journey, he added, is far from assured.

According to space.com, this mission has been a decade in the making, which is why various officials from NASA expressed a lot of excitement and trepidation in a press conference held on Wednesday, February 17. A greater and better understanding of Perseverance comes after putting it in context with the 50 or so years of NASA’s Mars missions that came before. The groundwork for this life-seeking mission began with exploring signs of water from orbit, landing a few missions, and then sending out the first rovers in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The Commune has already covered an extensive explainer about the Perseverance mission to Mars and its significance, which you can find here.

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India to test new K-9 Vajra howitzers in Ladakh heights amid Chinese troop disengagement

By
The Commune
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k-9 vajra howitzer ladakh

As the Chinese army disengage from their positions in Ladakh after a nearly nine-month long standoff, the Indian Army is looking to test of its all-new 155mm/52-calibre K-9 Vajra self-propelled howitzers in the terrains of Ladakh, reports Times of India.

The self-propelled howitzers were built in Gujarat in a joint venture between Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and South Korean weapons major Hanwha Defence.

The Indian Army completed the procurement of 100 howitzers at a cost of ₹4,366 crore. The army has now deployed three units of the howitzers in Ladakh to assess their suitability for deployment in the high-altitude region where the temperatures can fall well below minus 20 degree Celsius. The guns have a strike range of 38 km.

The last of the 100 howitzer guns was flagged off by Indian Army’s Chief of Staff General MM Naravane on Thursday, 18 February, from the Armoured System Complex of L&T at Hazira near Surat, Gujarat.

The order for the 100 self-propelled howitzers was placed by the government in 2017. If these guns perform to the standard in Ladakh, the Indian Army could consider placing additional orders.

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Madras HC gives nod for government take-over of 35 acres of temple land in Kallakurichi

By
The Commune
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madras hc arthanareeswarar temple

The Madras High Court has given the Tamil Nadu state government the green signal to acquire 35 acres belonging to the Sri Nareeswarar Temple in the newly created Kallakurichi district. The land will be utilised for the construction of a collectorate and other government buildings.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamurthy gave the ruling in a petition filed by temple activist Rangarajan Narasimhan.

Narasimhan, in his petition, challenged the government order dated 19 September 2020 passed by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, which allowed the government to take over the land. The petitioner also stated that the lands were being sold at a meagre ₹1.98 crores.

The actual value of the land is estimated to be more than ₹88 crores.

However, the bench refused to vacate an interim stay order against the state, which was passed by a bench comprising Justices M Sathyanarayanan and R Hemalatha. The stay order puts a halt on construction activities and restrains the government from altering the physical features of the land until the proposal was finalised.

Narasimhan had also contended that as per the HR&CE Act, only the board of trustees could allow any sale or lease of temple land to anyone, but in this case, the HR&CE Department was seeking permission after handing over the lands.

Furthermore, the petitioner submitted that the temple, which is over a thousand years old, is in a dilapidated condition and may collapse due to a lack of upkeep and maintenance. As the land was the only source of revenue for the temple, it cannot be alienated from the temple, unless it was for the benefit of the temple and not or any other purpose, he argued.

The bench also directed the state government to form a two-member committee comprising the Kallakurichi district collector and district judge to ascertain the value of the land which is to be alienated from the temple.

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As troops disengage at Pangong lake, China reveals soldier deaths in June 2020 clash at Galwan

By
The Commune
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india china galwan clash border disengagement

China has for the first time revealed that four of its troops died during the violent border clash with Indian troops in the Himalayas in June 2020, as both sides completed the disengagement at the Pangong lake.

The men died after fighting “foreign troops” who “crossed into the Chinese border”, said Chinese state-controlled media.

The bloody skirmish, which took place in the Galwan Valley in India’s Ladakh region, involved Indian and Chinese soldiers reportedly fighting one another with stones and nail-studded clubs.

It was admittedly the deadliest clash along the India-China border area in 45 years, after the major border clash in 1967.

Previously, India had said that 20 of its soldiers were killed in last year’s clash, while Beijing acknowledged casualties but did not disclose any further details. Indian intercepts had put the number of Chinese casualties at 43 that includes dead and injured.

On Friday, China’s military news outlet PLA Daily named the “heroic” Chinese soldiers who gave their “youth, blood and even life” – Chen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran. They were all given posthumous awards.

Wang had died after drowning in icy waters while crossing a river to reach his army mates, said the report. Meanwhile, another man, regimental commander Qi Fabao, was also given honours after sustaining “serious injuries”.

There was another violent face-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers at Nathu La in January this year. 20 Chinese soldiers were reportedly injured in the clash, while 4 on the Indian side sustained injuries.

Chinese state-run media had announced on February 10 that both sides had begun disengagement at the Pangong Lake. The disengagement in that area is now complete after troops moved out from both the banks of Pangong Lake in the eastern Ladakh sector along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

India and China will hold the 10th round of corps commander level talks on Saturday to discuss disengagement from other friction points. The talks will be held on the Chinese side of the LAC in Moldo.

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18 border patrol foot tracks to be developed to ease patrolling along the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh

By
The Commune
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Process Of Disengagement Almost Complete: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh On India-China LAC Truce
Featured Image: Indian and Chinese soldiers at Bumla along the Indo-China border, Arunachal Pradesh.
Image Credits: PTI File Photo

As China is disengaging from the Pangong Tso area in Ladakh, India is going ahead to improve patrolling along the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh.

The government has approved the building of 18 border patrol foot tracks in accordance with the proposal from a committee of Union Ministry of Home Affairs, reports Economic Times.

The 18 border foot tracks will cover an area of 600 km and the cost for this project will be ₹1,162 crore. These foot tracks would enhance the patrolling capabilities of the Indian Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). 

It will also help in infrastructure development in the inaccessible areas near the Chinese occupied territory. 

There is a growing necessity to develop such infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh as the state has the longest border with China, at 1,126 km. The rest of the 3,488 km long border between India and China are shared by the states of Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the union territory of Ladakh.

The government has also made it very clear that this project is not connected to the ongoing India-China border tensions in the territory of Eastern Ladakh but is part of a policy to develop infrastructure in this region, which is the sovereign right of India.

It must be noted that China is already building several roads and railway tracks in this region to improve its logistics, which is believed to be a factor for them to have agreed to the ongoing disengagement.

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DMK man promises to give free liquor if party comes to power

By
The Commune
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DMK’s Erode Iraivan lamented on stage about how the prices of alcohol, ‘use-and-throw’ cups, and ‘sidedish’ like ‘half-boil’ were steadily increasing in the state.

The DMK man quite hilariously, took to compare the price increase between alcohol and petrol. He said that more than the fact that there were increasing fuel prices,  it was the price increase of alcohol sold at TASMAC that was actually disheartening. He went on to say that it was only in the AIADMK rule that the prices were increasing, adding that if DMK was to come to power, it would definitely be reduced.

He then rattled off a series of questions to the public who were present there, and asked about the prices of a ‘quarter’ (180 ml of alcohol), a half-boiled egg, a use-and-throw glass, amongst other items, and feigned surprise upon hearing the prices quoted by the public. The highlight of his speech was that he blatantly proclaimed to provide a free bottle of alcohol to anyone who voted for DMK and referred to the party symbol of the rising sun, metaphorically saying that if it rose in the east, they would get free access to alcohol.

It is to be noted that only recently, The Commune had covered the recent incident of how a DMK member was found tongue-tied when asked about the alcohol ban in the state.

Erode Iraivan is known for making crass comments during public speeches. Earlier, in a speech he had made sexist and unparliamentary remarks on DMDK chief Vijayakanth’s wife Premalatha. He had also made unsavoury remarks on Tamil actress Namitha.

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S Jaishankar: “India to gift 2 lakh doses of COVID vaccine to UN Peacekeeping forces”

By
The Commune
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UN Like An Old Company, Occupying Space In Market: EAM Jaishankar
Featured Image: Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar (File Photo)

As India keeps sending its indigenously manufactured vaccines to counter the COVID-19 pandemic, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday (17 February) announced that India would gift two lakh doses of India-made vaccines to UN Peacekeeping forces.

Jaishankar made the announcement while delivering an address at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Open Debate on the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

In his virtual address to the UN Security Council, Jaishankar said, “Keeping in mind the UN Peacekeepers who operate in such difficult circumstances, we would like to announce today a gift of 200,000 doses for them.”

Quoting the Bhagavad Gita, Jaishankar said, “Do your work with the welfare of others always in mind.”
 
Shortly after the announcement, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti tweeted, “Protecting the Protectors! External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar announces a gift of 200,000 doses of vaccines for UN peacekeepers at #UNSC. India responds immediately to request of @UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres.”

Jaishankar told the UNSC that India is now the ‘pharmacy of the world’ and is working to provide critical medicines, diagnostic kits, ventilators and PPEs to more than 150 countries. He added that almost 80 nations will receive aid from India on a grant basis.

“Today, the pharmacy of the world is stepping forward to meet the global vaccines challenge,” he said.

He also informed the council that that two vaccines, including one that is indigenously developed, have already been granted emergency authorisation and as many as 30 vaccine candidates are under various stages of development.

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School teacher accused of sexual misconduct, students also allege he insulted Hindu traditions

By
The Commune
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A volley of complaints by parents against a teacher, who rubbed the vibhooti and saffron off from the foreheads of government high school students near Thuraiyur in the Tiruchirapalli district and conducted a lesson on atheism, has caused a stir.

Shanmugam is working as a math teacher in a government high school in Perumal Palayam, Thuraiyur, in the Tiruchirapalli district. The teacher, who identifies as a follower of Periyar, is accused to have preached atheism to students and insulted their religious beliefs. Shanmugam, who had protested against schoolgirls wearing bangles, flowers, and sacred threads on their wrists, at one point, wiped the vibhooti and saffron from the students’ foreheads and had scolded them using obscene words.

It is said that Shanmugam was also involved in cutting and removing the sacred threads worn by some students with scissors. There were also complaints against him saying that he performed sexual misconduct with a few female students on the pretext of guiding them.

The parents of the victims had then lodged a complaint with the Trichy District Police. A complaint was also filed with the district education office. Based on the complaint, the education authorities conducted a serious investigation on the victim student and the teacher on the orders of the Trichy District Principal Education Officer.

The investigation report was forwarded to the higher authorities of the education department through the Principal Education Officer. The district primary education officer said that action would be taken against teacher Shanmugam in a couple of days. At the same time, the parents of the victims have expressed that they expect the police to take immediate action against the teacher who behaved inappropriately with the students under the POCSO Act.

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Partition 2.0: Kerala Muslim body demands bifurcation of Kerala to create Muslim-dominated Malabar State

By
The Commune
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kerala malabar state
Representational image

The Samasta Kerala Sunni Students’ Federation (SKSSF), affiliated to Samastha (EK Faction), an influential body of Sunni (Shafi‘i) scholars and clerics in Kerala has demanded a new ‘Malabar state’ be carved out from Kerala, reports Organiser.

The SKSSF was formed on 19 February 1989 and is known for its puritanical views on the religious aspects of Islam. It is well known for always politically backing the Muslim League.
 
The SKSSF mouthpiece Satyadhara’s editor Anwar Sadique Faisi triggered a massive controversy when he wrote a post on social media platform Facebook calling for the creation of a new ‘Malabar state’ out of Kerala. This demand is due to the Muslim majority in the Malabar region. According to Faisi, Kozhikode should be the state capital of the newly carved Malabar state.

The demand has been making the rounds for the past few decades.

Kerala has been a breeding ground for Islamic militants for a very long time. There have been more than 45 cases of ISIS-related activities in Kerala as of 2019.

Recently, two Muslim men belonging to the Islamic group Popular Front of India (PFI) were arrested in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly planning to conduct terror attacks,  with police also recovering weapons and explosives from the accused.

Faisi says that Malabar is not given any importance by the Kerala government and lags behind in the education and healthcare sectors, when compared to other areas in the state. He adds that he wants the ‘Telangana model’ of agitation for the creation of a new state. Faisi, in his Facebook post, appealed to all religious-political-cultural associations to stand united for demand for the creation of the Malabar state.

Faisi is not the only one who wants a new Malabar state to be carved out of Kerala. Other Muslim organisations have also made similar demands for the bifurcation of the Muslim-majority Malappuram district in Kerala in the past.

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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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