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Pratap Bhanu Mehta Admits Indira Gandhi’s Emergency-Era Pact With Communists On History Textbooks Was A Mistake

By
The Commune
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Political theorist Pratap Bhanu Mehta has triggered fresh debate over his long-standing role in India’s intellectual ecosystem.

The short clip, taken during his interaction with students at JNU after a lecture on “Reflections on Global Political Thought”, shows Mehta acknowledging a controversial episode from the Emergency period.

In the video, Mehta is seen saying or rather admitting, “When I talk about history, the pact made during Emergency by CPI and Indira Gandhi with regard to Indian history department, history textbooks, it was a disaster for academic life in India. The left was also quite happy with it, quite complicit with it.”

While Rahul Gandhi complains about ‘RSS capturing institutions’, Pratap Banu Mehta reveals how Congress and Communists captured India’s academic space for indoctrination.

Who Is Pratap Bhanu Mehta?

Mehta, a former Vice-Chancellor of Ashoka University and ex-president of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), is a part of the global networks linked to billionaire philanthropist George Soros. CPR has partnered with Namati Inc., an organisation that receives funding from the Open Society Foundations (OSF); Soros sits on Namati’s advisory council. Mehta himself is listed on Namati’s Board of Directors.

It is a known fact that Soros-funded NGOs have cultivated a class of intellectuals consistently opposed to the Modi government, naming figures such as Harsh Mander, Indira Jaising, Amartya Sen, and Mehta among them.

Mehta has repeatedly drawn backlash for his columns, including his reaction to the Ram Temple inauguration, in which he wrote that Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir was the “first colonisation of Hinduism by political power.”

Image Source: OpIndia

His commentary on the hijab dispute also stirred debate. In his Indian Express column, Mehta argued the controversy should be viewed as a test of constitutional values, liberty, dignity, and non-discrimination. According to him, “the hijab does not interfere with education, holding a job, voting, participating in public life, or achieving anything in life,” and excluding students or teachers on that basis represented “a moral and constitutional failure.”

He further wrote that the moment reflected “an attempt to visibly erase Muslims from India’s public culture” and that portraying the hijab as a challenge to equality was misguided. Mehta framed the issue as one of state overreach and societal intolerance, warning that current actions “normalise hostility towards minorities” and weaken democratic principles.

Mehta’s disclosure has given the shot in the arm for the long-alleged ideological capture of Indian academic institutions, a charge often levelled by critics who say that key universities, research bodies and textbook committees were steered for decades by tightly knit ideological circles. The comment has reopened scrutiny of how historical narratives were shaped, appointments influenced, and academic ecosystems consolidated during and after the Emergency, issues that have typically been dismissed or downplayed in mainstream discourse.

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Bharatanatyam Meets The Bhagavad Gita: How Pavithra Srinivasan’s Gita Natyam Unites Dance, Storytelling, And Pedagogy

By
The Commune
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Bharatanatyam Meets The Bhagavad Gita: How Pavithra Srinivasan’s Gita Natyam Unites Dance, Storytelling, And Pedagogy

A new artistic-pedagogical experiment is gaining traction across schools, cultural centres, spiritual institutions, and universities: Gita Natyam, a format that uses Bharatanatyam to teach the Bhagavad Gita chapter by chapter. At the centre of this growing ecosystem is Bharatanatyam artiste, educator, Vedanta practitioner Pavithra Srinivasan, whose three-decade journey in the shastriya arts has culminated in a method that blends scripture, storytelling, and movement in a format aimed especially at young learners.

A recent milestone came this month when Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan (PSBB) in Chennai invited Pavithra, an alumnus of the school, to present Gita Natyam: Chapter 1 of the Bhagavad Gita at the Dr (Mrs) YGP Centenary Festival of Music and Dance. 

A Workshop Model That Treats Natya as Pedagogy

Unlike conventional dance classes or lectures on scripture, Gita Natyam workshops are interactive learning environments. Each session unpacks a chapter of the Gita through adavus and classical movement, abhinaya and expressive mime, storytelling and songs, chanting and verse explanation, visual presentations, group reflection, and public performance.

Designed for participants above the age of 12, the workshops position Bharatanatyam not as ornamentation or just a cultural programme but as a teaching tool. Children chant verses, interpret ideas such as self-awareness and right action, and eventually express them in movement on stage. A 10-day programme conducted at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Coimbatore, documented on video, shows schoolchildren progressing from first exposure to a public recital, an indication of the format’s adaptability for schools and colleges.

Gita Natyam describes its outcomes in contemporary terms – self-awareness, purposeful living, clarity of goals, mapping life-skills training onto Vedic knowledge, and traditional aesthetics.

Beyond school and sabha spaces, Gita Natyam is now being trialed in higher-education environments. Notably, a workshop was recently conducted at Rishihood University, introducing undergraduate and young adult learners to the Gita through Bharatanatyam. This expansion signals serious ambition: to integrate classical arts and scriptural wisdom into modern campus education. 

By opening such a workshop to the youth at university level, the model attempts to reach beyond conventional audiences for classical dance or religious education, offering a structured gateway for urban, educated youngsters to engage with the Gita in a dynamic, embodied way.

At the Centre: Pavithra Srinivasan’s Lifelong Tapasya

Pavithra Srinivasan’s artistic journey forms the backbone of Gita Natyam. Trained under many stalwarts, including Padma Bhushan The Dhananjayans and spiritually guided by Swami Dayananda Saraswati of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, she describes her practice as a “lifelong tapasya” in Bharatanatyam, Carnatic music, and Vedanta.

She is the founder of Arsha Kala Bharati, an arts school, and has also served as a research fellow with the Centre for Public Diplomacy & Soft Power. Over the years, her thematic solo productions have centred on Hindu scriptures; Gita Natyam is the culmination of that trajectory, an attempt to make the Gita accessible “chapter by chapter, value by value” as live Natya performance, interactive workshops, talk shows/lec-dems, educational films with animation, graphics, visual effects, stories, life lessons, natya & sangeeta, laya & more – all in unison, chapterwise as a sequel.

Recently, Gita Natyam won an award for the Lokarangam Immersive Arts category at the Adani Global Indology Conclave in partnership with IKS, Ministry of Education.

Her digital presence via YouTube films, Instagram reels, and interactive school and university sessions has helped the project find a growing audience of parents, teachers, students, and young adults.

A Growing Ecosystem of Dance-Based Scriptural Learning

Gita Natyam’s digital footprint suggests a rapidly expanding community. Instagram reels promote “Bhagavad Gita in Natya” workshops; YouTube channels feature interactions with school students and university participants; Facebook and LinkedIn pages highlight collaborations with Dharmic networks, cultural bodies, and youth institutions.

Across platforms, the message remains consistent: the Bhagavad Gita becomes more relatable when experienced through movement, melody, and narrative, when it is not only learned but lived.

To know more about Gita Natyam’s journey, you can check out https://gitanatyam.com/

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Jindal Global Law School Has Hired A Trans ‘Scholar’ Who Says “There Is Nothing Nice About Being Hindu Or Indian”

By
The Commune
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Jindal Global Law School—India’s most expensive, self-proclaimed “world-class” private law university has quietly hired Vikramaditya Sahai (a.k.a. Vqueeram) as Clinical Assistant Professor of Law, despite a well-documented record of making sweeping, inflammatory, and openly derisive comments about Hindus, Indians, men, and the very idea of national belonging.

Sahai’s appointment in February 2025 has triggered outrage not because of their gender identity, as supporters disingenuously argue, but because the said words, conduct, and ideology that raise serious questions about the standards of institutions that shape India’s next generation of lawyers, judges, and policymakers.

This is not about who Sahai is. This is about what Sahai has said, what Sahai has done, and why premier academic institutions keep rewarding it.

A Pattern Of Derision: Sahai’s Public Statements

Sahai’s public record is not murky, it is crystal clear, documented on videos, posts, and interviews stretching back years. In a 2017 public event, Sahai said, “There is nothing nice about being Hindu. There is nothing nice about being Indian. There is nothing nice about being a man. As long as you are Hindu, you exercise power over Dalits, Muslims, Christians. As long as you are Indian, you occupy territories. Your existence is implicated in the murder of Junaid.”

These are not stray remarks. They are ideological claims framed as universal truths, flattening all nuance and branding entire communities as inherently oppressive.

Yet today, the same individual is teaching at a law school and teaching it at one of India’s highest-fee, most aspirational institutions.

From Activism To Academia Without Accountability

Sahai’s CV is impressive, but heavily ideological:

  • Faculty at Ambedkar University Delhi, Gender Studies
  • Consultant at TISS Mumbai, Centre for Women’s Studies
  • Senior Research Associate at CLPR Bengaluru, an organisation known for its activist-driven jurisprudence
  • External member of the NCERT Gender Manual drafting team
  • Law & Justice Scholar at Jindal Global University (2024–25)

Every academic posting is positioned in and shaped by an explicitly ideological ecosystem. But here’s the problem: ideological activism is not the issue; ideological extremism is.

Sahai did not just advocate gender inclusion. Sahai publicly argued that:

Image Source: Sensei Kraken X handle

 

Opposed life imprisonment for trafficking, calling it harmful because it “criminalises trans identities.”

Image Source: Sensei Kraken X handle

Referred to Rohith Vemula’s suicide note as “beautiful.”

These are extreme, absolutist formulations, not grounded in scholarship, but in activism turned into dogma.

And institutions absorbed this without question.

The NCERT Controversy: When Personal Conduct Meets Public Responsibility

When Sahai surfaced in the NCERT Gender Training Manual controversy, journalists and parents raised concerns on two fronts:

#1 Sahai’s ideological statements – open disdain for major religious communities, the nation-state, gender roles, and legal structures.

#2 Sahai’s public posting of semi-nude photographs on Instagram – on a profile that was completely open to the public, even while contributing to documents for school-level teacher training.

Image Source: Sensei Kraken X handle

Instead of accountability, critics were attacked as “transphobic,” even though the criticism targeted content, conduct, and public suitability, not identity.

The NCERT eventually withdrew the manual. Sahai faced no consequences.

The Jindal Appointment: A Case Study in Institutional Capture

In early 2025, Sahai was brought into JGLS, a law school where tuition exceeds ₹8–10 lakh per year and which markets itself as India’s gateway to global legal careers.

So the question asks itself: How does a person who has said “there is nothing nice about being Hindu or Indian” get hired to teach Indian constitutional law, social justice, or gender law?

The answer is uncomfortable: India’s elite academic institutions have blurred the line between scholarship and activism so thoroughly that ideological extremism is not a red flag, it is a credential.

This is not an isolated case. It reflects a pattern across universities, where statements that deride an entire faith community, the dismissal of “Indianness” as inherently violent, open political activism, publicly posted semi-nude images, radical views on crime and justice, blanket characterisations of entire genders, associations with far-left activists such as Umar Khalid and repeated contempt for national identity.

Image Source: Sensei Kraken X handle

…are not seen as disqualifications for teaching law or influencing educational policy. Instead, they become stepping stones.

Why Does This Matter?

Because educational institutions do not merely hire faculty; they legitimise them. They certify that these individuals are fit to shape young minds.

And here lies the core concern: If Sahai’s statements had targeted any other religious community in the same way, would elite universities still hire them? The answer writes itself.

If Sahai had described any other nationality as fundamentally oppressive, would they be appointed to teach law? Again: the answer writes itself.

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No Facts, Full Fiction In English For The West: Rahul Gandhi Repeats Debunked Claims To Undermine India’s Election System

By
The Commune
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Congress scion Rahul Gandhi’s 9 December 2025 speech in the Lok Sabha was remarkable not for its substance, but for its falsehoods. Delivered almost entirely in English, the address seemed designed less for India’s MPs and more for foreign media outlets waiting to publish headlines about a “compromised Indian democracy.”

It is a familiar pattern: statements tailored for Western consumption, allegations recycled without evidence, and an underlying attempt to delegitimize India’s institutions on the global stage.

But beyond the theatrics, the claims themselves collapse under basic scrutiny.

The CJI “Removed” From The Election Commissioner Selection Panel? A Complete Fabrication

Rahul Gandhi dramatically asked why the Chief Justice of India was “removed” from the EC appointment committee.

Fact: There was no removal. The CJI has never, at any point in history, been part of the Election Commissioner selection mechanism. Under Congress’ own governments, the CEC and ECs were appointed directly by the ruling party, effectively by the Union Cabinet.

Today, at least there is a three-member panel that includes the Leader of the Opposition, where Rahul Gandhi himself sits. If anything, the new arrangement reduces unilateral executive control compared to the Congress era.

To claim “removal” of an element that never existed is pure fiction.

The CCTV Footage “Destroyed After 45 Days” Conspiracy

Rahul Gandhi’s next charge was equally unserious. He insinuated that the Election Commission wants CCTV footage erased after 45 days to enable fraud.

Reality: CCTV footage, especially for a country as vast as India, cannot be stored indefinitely. Data retention policies across the world set limits, often 30, 60, or 90 days, due to storage, cost, and technical logistics.

Expecting every booth’s CCTV video to be archived forever is absurd. Even Rahul Gandhi likely deletes emails, photos, and WhatsApp messages. Would that then constitute “destroying evidence”? This is not electoral fraud. It is routine data-management practice.

Additionally, the time period limits are set for any petitions to be filed – so the system allows citizens to question the process in case of mismanagement/foul play.

Immunity For Election Commissioners? Misrepresented Again

Rahul Gandhi claimed the government changed the law so that Election Commissioners “cannot be punished for anything they do.”

The Truth: Election Commissioners remain fully accountable to Parliament. No immunity shields them from action if wrongdoing is proven.

The clarification in law was required precisely because Rahul Gandhi and his bloc were publicly threatening “revenge” against officials should I.N.D.I Alliance ever come to power. The institutional safeguard ensures ECs are not coerced by political vendetta. This is protection of the office, not impunity for the individuals.

Separately from the 2023 Act, Article 324(5) of the Constitution continues to govern removal: the CEC can be removed only like a Supreme Court judge, by a special‑majority resolution of both Houses of Parliament on grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity, and other ECs can be removed by the President on the CEC’s recommendation.

The Recycled Haryana “Vote Chori” Allegations

From here, the speech descends into Rahul Gandhi’s familiar conspiracy catalogue:
– Brazilian woman appearing 22 times on rolls
– One woman appearing 200 times
– “Lakhs” of duplicate voters
– A BJP leader supposedly voting in Haryana

Investigations have already clarified that these were clerical errors, outdated records, or misinterpretations, many of which have existed for decades, long before BJP governments. The Brazilian model claim was outright false; no such photo ever existed in EPIC records.

Rahul Gandhi keeps repeating these claims despite corrections, simply because they serve the narrative, he wants global audiences to believe.

Reviving EVM Bogey After Giving It Up

After months of focusing solely on “voter list manipulation,” Rahul Gandhi has now returned to questioning EVMs, something even his party had quietly stopped doing.

EVMs have been tested, challenged, verified, audited, judicially upheld, and internationally acknowledged as robust. Congress itself won multiple state elections through the same machines without raising doubts.

But now, with cameras rolling and foreign correspondents on alert, Rahul Gandhi revived the trope for maximum amplification.

The Real Target Of The Speech: Global Media, Not Indian Democracy

This was not a parliamentary speech aimed at improving election laws. It was not a domestic appeal to Indian citizens.

This was an international pitch.

A speech crafted in English, packed with unverifiable accusations, designed to appear in Western newspapers as “Opposition leader claims India’s election is rigged.”

Rahul Gandhi knows these claims will not withstand institutional scrutiny within India. But outside India, nuance does not matter, only the headline does.

The goal is simple: To portray India as unstable, unreliable, and institutionally compromised and to blame the government for it.

It is a political strategy that seeks international legitimacy at the cost of national credibility.

And that is precisely what makes the speech not just misleading, but sinister.

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“I Notice A Definite Pattern”: Madras High Court Summons Chief Secretary, ADGP Over Defiance Of Thirupparankundram Karthigai Deepam Orders

By
The Commune
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justice gr swaminathan karthigai deepam

The controversy surrounding the lighting of the Karthigai deepam (lamp) on the Deepathoon (stone lamp pillar) atop the Thiruparankundram hillock escalated further on Monday, 9 December 2025, with the Madras High Court summoning two senior State officials to explain why its directions were not followed in the case.

Justice GR Swaminathan directed the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary and the Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, Chennai, to appear before the Court through video conference on 17 December 2025, after finding “repeated” breaches of his earlier orders permitting the lighting of the lamp atop the hill.

The judge noted that his December 3 order, allowing Hindu devotees to light the lamp, especially after the Subramania Swamy Temple administration failed to comply with the initial directive continued to be defied even after a Division Bench confirmed the order on 4 December 2025.

Justice Swaminathan remarked that such conduct could amount to contempt of court if it constituted wilful disobedience, and therefore said the responsible officers must explain their actions. He also observed that the pattern of non-compliance was not confined to this single case.

“I notice a definite pattern. I am certain that officials at the District Level would not dare to so brazenly defy the orders of this Court. Let me remind the officials concerned that their duty is to enforce the law and not go by dictates that are often issued orally,” the order stated.

The Court said it required clarity from the highest levels of State administration on whether instructions or circulars would be issued to guide district officials in handling such matters.

“But since such conduct is not confined to one District, I have to necessarily call upon the highest officers of the State to clarify the position. I would want to know from them if they propose to issue any circular or instructions for the guidance of the District level officers. I am not here to throw up my hands and helplessly cry ‘O Father, Forgive Them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ I direct the Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu and the Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, Chennai to appear before this Court through VC on 17.12.2025 at 03.00 P.M.,” Justice Swaminathan ordered.

In highlighting what he termed a recurring pattern of non-compliance, the judge referred to two earlier cases involving Hindu religious practices that he said were similarly obstructed by local authorities.

He noted that he had previously ordered the reinstallation of a Lord Murugan statue at Mayiladum Parai in Kanyakumari, after finding that it had been “illegally” removed on a complaint by one Wilson, said to represent the Christian community. “Till date, the administration has refused to enforce the order of this Court,” he remarked.

He also cited the situation in Perumalkovilpatti village in Dindigul district, where Christians, whom he observed form the majority, had allegedly prevented the Hindu community from celebrating Karthigai Deepam at “Mandu Kovil,” near the local Kaliamman temple. The judge said he allowed a petition in February 2025 supporting the Hindu community’s right to celebrate, but the district collector subsequently passed a prohibitory order enabling the police to flout the Court’s directions.

The present dispute concerns the Thirupparankundram hillock in Madurai, which houses both the Sikkandar Badhusha Dargah and the Arulmigu Subramania Swamy temple. A group of devotees approached the High Court after the lamp atop the hill was not lit as part of the Karthigai Deepam festival.

On 1 December 2025, Justice Swaminathan ruled that the temple was obliged to light the lamp, holding that doing so would not violate the rights of the nearby dargah or affect Muslim devotees. When that order was not implemented, he passed a second order on December 3 permitting devotees to light the lamp themselves and directing the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to provide protection.

On Monday, the Commandant of the CISF unit attached to the High Court submitted a report stating that police officials led by the city commissioner prevented CISF personnel from carrying out the Court’s directive. Police cited a prohibitory order issued by the District Magistrate, under which no person was allowed to ascend the hill.

Justice Swaminathan dismissed this explanation, pointing out that “The prohibitory order had been quashed and the order was dictated in the presence of the Police Commissioner.”

He also rejected a request to refrain from proceeding further on the ground that the district authorities had filed an appeal before the Supreme Court. Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, representing the State, submitted that the auspicious dates for lighting the deepam had already passed.

The Court rejected these arguments, noting Singh’s own submission that the State might withdraw the Supreme Court appeal, given that a similar appeal was already pending before a Division Bench of the High Court and that the State did not wish to contest the same issue in multiple courts.

“I, therefore, conclude that as of this moment, the Hon’ble Supreme Court is not seized of the issue,” Justice Swaminathan held.

He further recorded that the Division Bench had confirmed his 3 December 2025 order and granted no interim relief to the State. “The corollary is that the order passed by this Court (permitting devotees to light the lamp) is still holding good,” he observed.

Justice Swaminathan has listed the matter for further hearing on December 17. He also impleaded the Union Home Secretary as an additional respondent.

“Based on the submissions/clarifications to be made by the Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu and the Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, Chennai, I may seek inputs from the Union Home Secretary,” the order stated.

Source: Bar and Bench

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Film Critic Sucharita Tyagi Holds Group Therapy To Cope With People Slamming Their Pakistan-Apologetic Review Of Dhurandhar

By
The Commune
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In a recent online discussion that blurred the lines between film critique and public relations therapy, YouTuber and alleged film critic Sucharita Tyagi found herself in an intense conversation with the makers of the controversial film ‘Dhurandhar’. The core of the exchange, which has since gone viral, centered not on cinematic merit, but on Tyagi’s palpable distress over the fierce public backlash against her and other critics’ reviews of the patriotic film.

Speaking during a group discussion with fellow reviewers, Tyagi said the “disproportionately low” view count compared to the “massive number of angry comments” on YouTube and other platforms made her question whether the responses were coming from real viewers. She floated the idea, briefly, that some individuals may be “designated” or “deployed” to target film critics, though she immediately added that she does not believe the filmmakers themselves would be involved.

Nonetheless, her insinuation that director Aditya Dhar may have “hired people” to troll critics did not go unnoticed, even though she backtracked moments later. Tyagi framed her concern as a question of responsibility, asking whether Dhar should “address” the people who were aggressively defending the film and attacking reviewers like her.

The conversation, which quickly began circulating on social media, was widely mocked as a “cope session” by netizens, who argued that the backlash to her review, described by many as overly sympathetic to Pakistan and dismissive of the film’s themes, reflected genuine public sentiment rather than an organised campaign.

Critics noted that Tyagi, along with several other reviewers, has disabled comments on her review videos following the pushback. Tyagi suggested this behaviour from viewers was creating a hostile environment for critics and asked whether filmmakers should intervene when their fans go “too far.”

Social media users, however, saw the exchange differently. Many argued that reviewers were unable to accept that “regular audiences simply disagreed with them” and accused the critics of constructing conspiracy theories to avoid admitting that their interpretations of Dhurandhar were out of touch with public sentiment.

This “group therapy” was seen as ‘unbelievable cope’ by netizens because Dhurandhar’s audience rejected their reviews. Others pointed out that Tyagi’s own framing, suggesting a coordinated attack while simultaneously denying it, was contradictory and only fuelled the perception that critics were unwilling to acknowledge the widespread criticism of their takes.

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Alleged Fact-Checker Mohammed Zubair Shares Clipped Video Claiming “Poor Vendor Assaulted For Selling Chicken Patties”, Extended Clip Shows Vendor Allegedly Lied About Selling Non-Veg Food

By
The Commune
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Alleged Fact-Checker Mohammed Zubair Shares Clipped Video Claiming "Poor Vendor Assaulted For Selling Chicken Patties", Extended Clip Shows Vendor Allegedly Lied About Selling Non-Veg Food

On 9 December 2025, alleged fact-checker and founder of “AltNews” Mohammed Zubair shared a 1.06-minute video showing a street vendor being “bullied” into apologising and “physically and mentally assaulted” near the Brigade Parade Ground. Now this video of his has gone viral, prompting sharp reactions online. Zubair described the incident as an unprovoked attack on a “poor street vendor selling chicken patties,” alleging that he was “slapped, abused, and had his food thrown away” by attendees of a religious event addressed by Bageshwar Dham’s Dhirendra Shastri in Kolkata.

However, netizens shared the longer version of the video which suggests additional context that was not mentioned in the initial post.

According to accounts shared by multiple eyewitnesses and local groups, the vendor identified as Sheikh Riyazul was reportedly questioned by a group of youths about whether the patties he was selling were vegetarian. Riyazul allegedly responded that the patties were “sabzi (vegetable)” patties. Those present claim that chicken pieces were later discovered inside the items, leading to a confrontation that escalated into violence.

The incident took place near the venue at a time when devotees were participating in a Gita Path recital in Kolkata, West Bengal, considered sacred by many attendees. Local sources said some participants felt deliberately misled and accused the vendor of selling non-vegetarian food while falsely labelling it as vegetarian.

The video clip posted by Zubair showed only the aftermath – the mob “assaulting” the vendor and throwing away his food but not the initial exchange regarding the patties.

The incident has reignited a larger debate about food labelling near religious gatherings, with some groups citing this as an example of why Kanwar Yatra organisers and other Hindu processions often demand that food stalls display the owner’s name and whether items sold are vegetarian or non-vegetarian.

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Kerala Police Bust ₹100-Crore Fake Degree Racket; 11 Arrested Across India, Including 3 From Tamil Nadu

By
The Commune
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Kerala Police Bust ₹100-Crore Fake Degree Racket; 11 Arrested Across India, Including 3 From Sivakasi

Kerala Police have uncovered one of the country’s largest fake degree rackets, arresting 11 people from multiple states and exposing a sophisticated network that may have issued counterfeit university certificates to more than 10 lakh persons across India.

The kingpin, Dhaneesh alias Dany, who had earlier been arrested in 2013 for similar offences, is accused of rebuilding and vastly expanding the operation after completing his jail term. Police said he ran the racket from a rented house in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, where he set up a clandestine printing press capable of producing high-quality fake academic documents.

A Multi-State Operation With Professional Printing Support

According to investigators, Dhaneesh employed skilled workers from Sivakasi, known for its printing industry, and coordinated with a wide network of agents operating across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Delhi and West Bengal.

The arrested individuals include Irshad, Rahul, Nissar, Jaseem, Shafeeq (40), Ratheesh (38), Afsal (31)

Each played specific roles, from printing and transporting fake certificates to distributing them through recruitment agencies targeting job seekers, especially those seeking overseas employment.

Certificates Routed Through Bengaluru for Secrecy

Police said certificates were printed with names of well-known universities and later customised with candidate details. To avoid detection, the documents were first sent to Bengaluru, then redistributed to agents in different states. Investigators seized hundreds of printers, computers, forged holograms, seals and stamps from Pollachi, Sivakasi, and other locations.

Nearly 1 lakh fake certificates linked to 22 universities outside Kerala were recovered.

Lavish Lifestyle Funded by the Racket

Police said Dhaneesh used the profits to finance a luxurious lifestyle, purchasing a luxury residence in Malappuram, two five-star bars, apartments in Pune, and investments in Middle East businesses.

Each certificate reportedly sold for ₹75,000 to ₹1.5 lakh, allowing the accused to earn crores.

Dhaneesh was arrested in Kozhikode while attempting to flee abroad with his family. Jaseem, the transporter of the certificates, was arrested in Bengaluru, while several printing workers were detained in Sivakasi and Pollachi.

Tamil Nadu Leg of the Operation: Arrests in Sivakasi

In a coordinated crackdown, Kerala Police arrested three suspects in Sivakasi, Virudhunagar district, who were printing fake degrees and supplying them to passport holders seeking overseas jobs.

The arrested were identified as Jainulabdeen (40), son of Fakrudeen, Venkatesh (24), son of Selvam Kuppusami, and Aravind Kumar (24), son of Kanagaraj.

A computer, forged seals and fake certificates were seized. The trio were produced before a local magistrate and later handed over to Kerala Police for further investigation.

Universities to Verify Seized Certificates; Job Fraud Also Under Scanner

Police are now investigating whether any officials from the universities named on the certificates leaked templates or sensitive formats to the racketeers. The seized certificates will be forwarded to respective universities for verification.

Authorities are also tracking individuals who used these fake certificates to secure jobs, both in India and abroad.

Source: Mathrubhumi

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The New Indian Express Reports Retired Judge Sanjiv Khanna As Current CJI In News Story

By
The Commune
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As 107 INDIA bloc MPs marched to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla with an impeachment notice against Madras High Court judge Justice G.R. Swaminathan, The New Indian Express (TNIE) carried what should have been a serious, high-stakes report on a move by the I.N.D.I. alliance MPs.

Instead, the story quietly smuggled in a howler that completely undercuts its own gravitas: it named Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the current Chief Justice of India.

“Copies of the notice were also sent to President Droupadi Murmu and CJI Sanjiv Khanna,” – The New Indian Express online / epaper report, 10 December 2025.

There are two problems with that sentence. Both are basic. Both are embarrassing.

Sanjiv Khanna is not the Chief Justice of India

Justice Sanjiv Khanna served as the 51st Chief Justice of India from 11 November 2024 to 13 May 2025. He retired on 13 May 2025. He was followed by Justice BR Gavai, who became the 52nd CJI from 14 May 2025 to 23 November 2025. The current Chief Justice of India is Justice Surya Kant, sworn in as the 53rd CJI on 24 November 2025.

So, on 10 December 2025, any sentence that reads “CJI Sanjiv Khanna” is simply wrong on its face.

Yet TNIE’s national-level report, across multiple city epapers and the web, confidently tells readers that copies of the impeachment notice were sent to “CJI Sanjiv Khanna”. At the time of publishing this article, the line is still live, with no correction note, no update, and no clarification visible on the online text.

This is not a typo. It’s a comprehension failure.

This isn’t a stray spelling mistake or a missing comma. To write “CJI Sanjiv Khanna” in December 2025, you have to not know that Khanna retired seven months ago; not know that Gavai and now Surya Kant have already held that office; not have anyone on the desk pause and ask, “Wait, who is CJI right now?”

AI-generated lazy copy-paste work?

We cannot say definitively that TNIE used ChatGPT or any specific AI for this story. We don’t see their backend. We don’t know their workflow. But for someone to make such a mistake where the CJI name is not just outdated, it matches the sort of stale background fact you would get from an old explainer note, a pre-2025 backgrounder, or a carelessly prompted AI/boilerplate template using this context.

This is exactly how AI + inattentive editing tends to leak nonsense into otherwise straight copy: the structure is fine, the phrasing is fine, but the one factual tile silently rots and nobody checks.

If this line came from a human’s memory, that’s worrying. If it came from AI and nobody proof-read it, that’s worse.

The bigger question: if they missed this, what else are they missing?

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“Sekarbabu Or Hallelujah Babu, Call Him Whatever”: BJP Leader H Raja Slams DMK HR&CE Minister

By
The Commune
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"Is He Sekarbabu Or Hallelujah Babu?": BJP Leader H Raja Asks

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader H Raja launched a scathing attack on the Tamil Nadu government’s Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, accusing it of being “anti-Hindu” and looting temple funds. His remarks came during a media interaction in Karaikudi, Sivaganga district.

In a sharp and sarcastic critique aimed at HR&CE Minister PK Sekar Babu, Raja questioned the minister’s stance on temple administration. “Call him Sekarbabu or Hallelujah Babu, whatever you wish. But under his management, is the HR&CE Department filing affidavits opposing the lighting of lamps in temples?” Raja asked, highlighting what he termed as the department’s contradictory actions.

He escalated his criticism, labelling the HR&CE a “totally anti-Hindu, evil department” that should be abolished. Raja alleged systematic corruption, stating, “Lakhs and crores of rupees are being looted in the name of temple kumbabishekam (consecration ceremonies) as long as this department exists.”

The BJP leader accused the DMK government of siphoning temple offerings, mismanaging temple lands, and rendering the department redundant. “What is the need for such a department? If you ask what is important for a temple, it is the pooja (worship). But I have seen appointment orders for priests that state ‘you will not receive a salary’,” Raja claimed, citing an example from a temple in Maduranthakam. He contrasted this with what he alleged were high administrative overheads: “Joint Commissioners get salaries of two lakh rupees a month while temples survive on the offerings of devotees.”

“This is a government that thrives by siphoning the offerings made by Hindus to their temples. If a government acts against Hindu temples, isn’t it our duty to remove it?” he asserted..

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TheCommune
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