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BJP asks state units to hold events to mark one year anniversary of abrogation of Article 370 and implementation of the Triple Talaq Act

By
Preetika Parashuraman
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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wrote to presidents and in-charges of state units to organize events on the completion of a year of abrogation of Article 370 and the ban on Triple Talaq. 

The party has asked the state units to conduct virtual rallies and engage with people in their respective regional languages. 

At the national level too, the BJP plans to hold a virtual rally. 

This will be held from July 28, 2020 to August 3, 2020.

According to BJP National General Secretary, Arun Singh, one national office bearer will attend events in Jammu & Kashmir, Srinagar, and Ladakh on August 5, 2020. 

The party has also asked both the Union Territories – Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh to hold events commemorating one year anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370.

According to ANI, the state units will hold 5 video conferences in big states and 2 in other states.

This aim is to engage and connect with social workers and intellectuals in each district to discuss the development of work done in their respective areas. There will be a press conference in this regard on August 3, 2020. 

The party has asked it’s women wing to interact with Muslim women on the abolition of the ‘Triple Talaq’ from July 28, 2020 to August 3, 2020. 

In addition, state units will connect with at least 100 Muslim intellectual women. 

In 2019, the Centre revoked Article 370 which gave special status to previously known Jammu & Kashmir and bifurcated the region into 2 Union Territories – Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir. 

In the same year, President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage), Bill 2019, which criminalises instant triple talaq among Muslims.

Tamil Nadu temples ‘Sri Padam’ staff write to CM

By
The Commune
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The Chinese virus has brought the world to a standstill impacting lives and livelihoods across. Though the nationwide lockdown has been on the ease for the past few weeks, a section of the population is still struggling to return to normalcy and make a living.

It is known fact that temple priests employed by the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments department suffer from insufficient income even on ordinary days. With temples remaining closed for the last four months, the temple staff who lift the deity, known as Sri Padam, are in distress. In light of this, they have written to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu seeking his intervention and placed 10 demands that includes the reopening of temples.

In the letter, they mentioned that the deity lifting staffs in temples across Tamil Nadu have been hit hard by the corona virus lockdown and that their families are on the grip of hunger. They have stated that they make only ₹800 per day with the temple only working for 10 days, which they use for getting essentials. They said that they have been involved in this work for generations but have seen no improvement in their living standards. They alleged that the temple management only call them when their services are required for the deity’s procession but have washed them off when they are in distress. They have asked the government to consider their plight and make their jobs permanent and salaried in nature and have also asked for an ID card as a mark of employment. Appealing to the Chief Minister for his help, they said that their work has been to bring the deity to the doorsteps of the public so that they can worship.

It is said that around 6000 families are in Chennai alone dependent on temples for their livelihood. There are around 20,000 such families across Tamil Nadu, it stated.

“We request the Government of Tamil Nadu and the HR&CE Department to consider these requests expeditiously, taking into account the situation of all the families who depend on the temple for their livelihood.”, the letter read.

A Ph.D sells fruits on the streets of Indore

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
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Raisa Ansari, a Ph.D. graduate in Materials Science, is selling fruits on the streets of Indore because she was unable to find a job. She lashed out on the municipal officials there for having been harassing her and her family by asking them to move places constantly while they were selling fruits, as reported by the Economic Times.

Speaking to ANI, Ansari said, “I have done a Ph.D. in Materials Science and wanted to be a scientist but did not get a job anywhere. I sell fruit here but the municipal officials are bothering us. We are being forced to move from here to there like cattle. I am still looking for a job.”

Raisa’s mother Ayesha Ansari said she herself is not educated but has four children of whom three girls and one boy studied a lot but no one got a job. She had told the Economic Times that she has four children who are well educated, but are now selling fruits due to unemployment.
“When the matter came to marriage, one of the daughters got married. Raisa and Shahjahan Bi wanted an educated boy, but they were not able to find a suitable match because of their complexion and sometimes they rejected the proposal because of dowry, so both are single. Two of my grandchildren are studying biology. They will become doctors,” said Ayesha.

“Long Live Periyar”: DMK Rajya Sabha MPs skip oath taking ceremony because it is ‘Aadi’ month

By
The Commune
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Newly elected Rajya Sabha MPs from the DMK – Tiruchi Siva, Andhiyur Selvaraj and N.R. Elango skipped taking their oath because it was ‘Aadi’ month. Aadi month according to Tamil calendar is considered inauspicious to start any endeavour.

However, they mentioned that they were not able to go considering the prevailing situation due to COVID19 and the lack of accommodation and food facilities.

Dinamalar, a Tamil news daily reported that, though they had cited the above reason it was told that it was not advisable to take oath now as it was Aadi month and that they would anyway go to Delhi in September (when the Parliament is expected to reconvene) during which they will take their oath.

Other MPs elected from Tamil Nadu like GK Vasan of Tamil Maanila Congress, KP Munusamy and Thambidurai of AIADMK took their oath.

DMK is considered as a party that upholds the ‘rationalist’ principles of E.V. Ramasamy Naicker (known as Periyar by his followers).

Love is Love: Leopard spotted courting a Black Panther in Kabini, Karnataka

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
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A few days ago, the image of a black panther and a leopard roaming together in the forests of Kabini, Karnataka became viral on social media. This was shared by a wildlife photographer called Mithun H on Instagram, and immediately grabbed eyeballs.

A similar picture had been shared by Indian natural and wildlife photographer Shaaz Jung, on Twitter under an album titled ‘Earth’ in 2019, as reported by News18. This had been in the manner that the panther was seen peeping atnd the camera from behind a tree. It looks so realistic that people even wondered if it was real, while some others said it looked like Bagheera from Jungle Book. In a similar manner, Mithun H has shared the same panther’s photos on Instagram but it was found to be with a leopard this time. He called the panther,  ‘Saaya’, and the leopard, Cleopatra.

“Usually in the courting pairs generally it is the Male who takes charge and moves around with the female following close behind. But with this couple, it was definitely Cleo who was in charge while the Panther followed,” Mithun wrote on Instagram. He claims that this leopard and panther have been courting each other for the past four years.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CC0-NP3JMmO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

This unlikely pair has garnered a lot of views online and reaffirmed the fact that love is love even in the animal kingdom.

Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal launches Bhabhi ji papad that helps fight COVID-19

By
Preetika Parashuraman
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Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Arjun Ram Meghwal launched Bhabhi ji papad (a thin,crisp and round flatbread), that claims to help the body in developing anti-bodies that can put up against coronavirus.

The video of the Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs explaining the health benefits of the papad brand has gone viral. 

https://twitter.com/scribe_prashant/status/1286484539930341376?s=19

The tweet garnered plenty of reactions across social media platforms.

Mr. Meghwal who is also the the Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, has caught the public eye on several occasions.  Earlier he made news for cycling to the Parliament.. He was awarded the Best Parliamentarian Award in 2013.

 

BREAKING: China deploys fighter jets near Ladakh ahead of diplomatic talks with India

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
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China has deployed more than 70 fighter jets in its Hotan Air Base in Tiber, only 370 KM from Ladakh. Reportedly, this act has been carried out by China ahead of its diplomacy talks with India on Friday. This is the 3rd round of diplomatic talks between the 2 countries, as India is pushing for complete disengagement.

These disengagement talks have been taking place since July 6, by means of representatives from each end. India was represented by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, while Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was present from China’s end.

It is to be noted that China had not recoiled its forces from the “Five Finger” region at Galwan valley, even after a series of talks held between both parties. Though there was some “thinning” of their presence, the levels of disengagement were still very meagre. The statement issued by the India’s Ministry of External Affairs following the first set of diplomatic talks observed that both sides should observe and respect the LAC and not take unilateral action that will alter the status quo and work together to avoid any incident that could disturb peace and tranquillity along the border.

This development has also been seen as a possible result of the news of Indian Air Force’s induction of its first batch of five Rafale fighter jets from France by July 29, to be deployed at Ladakh.

Mathematical model suggests COVID19 may no more be an epidemic in Chennai as R value falls below 1

By
The Commune
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Chennai which was once a COVID hotspot is slowly emerging as the bright spot in the fight against the Chinese virus. The city has effectively strategized and fought the Wuhan virus following the mantra of 5 Ts (Trace, Track, Test, Treat and Tech). Unlike the overhyped ‘Kerala model’, the Tamil Nadu government has actually done some credible work with Chennai seeing a downfall in cases and increasing recovery rates. The hospital occupancy rate has also dropped significantly in Chennai.

In this light a mathematical model developed by Prof. Sitabhra Sinha of Institute of Mathematical Sciences has suggested that COVID19 is no more an epidemic in the city. This model shows that the R-value (the reproduction rate of virus), has fallen below 1 to 0.78+/-0.02 for July 10-14 period. An R value above 1 means that virus is spreading rapidly. The virus is considered to be losing its effect when the R value falls below 1.

If the city manages to maintain this track record with no new clusters cropping up, Chennai may see all patients recovering from the virus in the next 2 weeks. “There may still be isolated cases but not an epidemic”, Prof. Sitabhra Sinha was quoted saying by the Times of India.

However, care needs to be taken with respect to other cities like Madurai which has an R-value of 1.41+/-0.04. Prof. Sinha also warns that there have been instances in the past when R-value fell below zero only for it to bounce back again.

Virologists and health experts are of the opinion that Chennai is still treading on the downslope and that it is no time to relax. They expect it to fall to a few hundred in the next few weeks.

Tamil Nadu Minister Mafoi K. Pandiarajan on July 23 said that the COVID19 pandemic has been effectively contained in Chennai when compared to other cities. He assured that COVID19 will completely be brought under control by the end of the curfew period. Earlier in the day, he had given a send-off to the 25 patients who had recovered from COVID19 after taking Siddha treatment at the Siddha Care facility put up at Ambedkar Arts and Science College in Vyasarpadi.

The Tamil Nadu government had gone in for a rigorous testing cum micro-planning model. Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan has been on the forefront setting up fever clinics at different places in a zone and also increasing awareness about wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.

It is now time for other cities to go the Chennai way.

Permanent Commission for women in Indian Army gets Centre’s nod

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
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After the Supreme Court had called for a “change in mindset” regarding women officers in the Armed Forces, the Indian Government on Thursday issued an order for women officers to apply for permanent commission in the Indian Army. A spokesperson from the government issued a statement that gave the list of streams where women were eligible to apply for permanent commission. They are as follows: army air defence, signals, engineers, army aviation, electronics and mechanical engineers, army service corps, and Intelligence corps in addition to the existing streams of judge and advocate general and army educational corps.

This has been received with welcome, as, so far, only male SSC officers could apply for permanent commission at the end of 10 years of their service. This meant that they could not qualify for a government pension, and were not eligible for any command appointment.

The Indian Express reported that on February 17, the Supreme Court directed that women officers of the Indian Army, serving under Short Service Commission, be considered for grant of a Permanent Commission, irrespective of tenure of service, and also for command posts in non-combat areas since “an absolute bar on women seeking criteria or command appointments would not comport with the guarantee of equality under Article 14”.

Following this, in March, the SC cleared way for permanent commission to women in Indian Navy, saying “the battle for gender equality is about confronting the battles of the mind”. If granted Permanent Commission, women naval officers can serve till the age of retirement and will be entitled to pension.

Heroic fire rescue video from France goes viral

By
Vaibavi Jayakumar
-

Two brothers aged 3 and 10 were saved by a crowd of people in the street below after their house on a multi-story building caught on fire. The crowd had caught these two kids as they fell from the 3rd floor about 33 feet from the ground. Although they were unharmed from the fall, it is suspected that they might have mild issues due to the smoke inhalation. They were hospitalized along with 17 other residents of the building as reported by the Guardian.

The video of this heroic rescue became viral causing quite a stir. It showed the younger brother being dropped from the balcony as black smoke and fire engulfed the adjacent one.

Athoumani Walid, a 25-year-old student who suffered a broken wrist from helping catch the children, said he heard screams and went out to investigate after seeing the fire from his nearby apartment and rushed to help, along with four or five other people. They then went outside and shouted for the boys to jump into their arms. Although he initially feared for the boys, “when they jumped, fear disappeared”, Walid said. “What mattered was to catch them.” Walid had told the Associated Press that he hoped this would change the mindset of those in the neighbourhood, as it was majorly comprised of immigrants.

The mayor, Éric Piolle, congratulated residents on the rescue, which he said underscored the city’s “tradition of solidarity and mutual help”.

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TheCommune
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