Page 213 - Social Issues
Sabarimala review petitions: National Ayyappa Devotees' Association seeks live telecast of proceedings
The National Ayyappa Devotees' Association (NADA) on Friday filed an application in the Supreme Court, seeking video-recording and live-telecast of the proceedings of review petitions, which challenge the apex court's verdict allowing the entry of women of all ages into the Sabarimala Temple.The Constitution bench is scheduled to hear the review petitions on January 22.Protests and violence have gripped several parts of Kerala ever since three women of menstruating age entered the hilltop shrine recently.Accompanied by police personnel, 40-year-old Bindu and 39-year-old Kanakadurga made history by becoming the first women of mensturating age to enter the temple and offer prayers during the wee hours of January 2.This was followed by 36-year-old Dalit activist Manju, who dyed her hair grey in order to look above her age and entered the temple on January 8.On January 3, a state-wide shutdown was enforced in protest against Bindu and Kanakadurga's entry into the temple. A case was ...
2 Rohingyas held for attempt to sell narcotic drugs in T'gana
Two Rohingyas were arrested Friday for allegedly attempting to sell narcotic drugs here, police said. The duo was booked under relevant sections of Narcotic Act. "Both of them possess identity cards issued by UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and are living in Balapur," a police official said. Narcotic substance worth Rs 66,500, which was in the form of tablets was seized and a hunt is on for another accused involved in the case, the release added.
Hiren Gohain, two others get interim bail
The Gauhati High Court on Friday granted interim bail to renowned intellectual Hiren Gohain, activist Akhil Gogoi and journalist Manjit Mahanta, against whom a case of sedition was registered by police.
U'khand: NIT not to be shifted out of Shrinagar
The National Institute of Technology (NIT) will not be shifted out of Shrinagar in Uttarakhand's Pauri district, an official statement said Friday. An agreement to this effect was reached Friday between the state government and the Centre after Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat held detailed discussions with Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar on the issue in Delhi, it said. The NIT, Shrinagar, was in the news late last year when a large number of students left it en masse overnight in protest against lack of basic facilities. They were demanding a well-equipped permanent campus of the premier institute of its own. A high-powered committee had submitted its report on NIT, Shrinagar, to the Union minister saying the state government had already transferred 300 acres of unencroached land at Sumari village in Pauri district in favour of the institute. The NIT campus in Shrinagar will not be shifted elsewhere and a new temporary campus will be built on land belonging to the ITI and ...
7 more accused in vandalising SBI office identified
: Kerala Police have identified seven more accused in the case of vandalising a State Bank of India (SBI) branch here on January 9, the second day of the 48 hour-long nation-wide trade union strike. The treasury branch of SBI was attacked on Wednesday morning by a group of people, who barged into the manager's cabin, threatened him and the staff, damaged a glass table top and a computer monitor. The strike was called by 10 central trade unions against the Centre's "anti-labour" policies. A local court had on January 10 remanded to custody, two state government employees who had surrendered before the police. The Investigating officer told PTI that the remand report had been submitted to the respective heads of departments of the arrested Non-Gazetted Officers Union members. "We have examined the CCTV visuals and identified sevenc more accused. We have gone to their respective government offices and confirmed their identities. All of them are on leave. They will be ...
H1-B visas to undergo 'changes', says Trump
United States President Donald Trump on Friday announced potential changes in the H1-B visas, including the provision of a 'path to citizenship' for highly talented and skilled visa holders."H1-B holders in the United States can rest assured that changes are soon coming which will bring both simplicity and certainty to your stay, including a potential path to citizenship. We want to encourage talented and highly skilled people to pursue career options in the U.S," he tweeted.H-1B is considered the most sought-after work visa among highly-skilled Indian professionals. It is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.However, the visa does not provide any permanent path to citizenship for immigrant workers coming to the US.The announcement of a revision in H1-B visa rules comes at a time when the US government has reached the 21st day of shutdown on Friday, with no solution of ...
Uttarakhand gets Centre's nod for Rs 3,340-cr co-operative development project
The Centre Friday gave its in-principle nod to the Uttarakhand government's proposal seeking Rs 3,340 crore for implementing an integrated co-operative development project in the state. The in-principle approval was given by Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh when Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and the state's Co-operative Minister Dhan Singh Rawat met him in New Delhi, an official releasehere said. Rawat said implementing the project in the state will improve the agricultural economy and will help prevent migrations from remote hilly areas by promoting farming, horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries and related activities.
Akhil Gogoi to hold hunger strike on coming Bihu festival
Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) Adviser Akhil Gogoi Friday announced that he will hold a 24-hour hunger strike on the coming Magh Bihu festival, of which community feast is an integral part, to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill. "I will not celebrate Magh Bihu this time and will not eat anything on 'Uruka'. I will observe a 24-hour hunger strike with other representatives of 70 organisations from afternoon of January 14 to protest against the Bill," he told a press conference. On 'Uruka' night, the first day of the three-day Magh Bihu, people enjoy community feast with new harvest and it is one of the main attractions of the festival. Magh Bihu is one of the three Bihu festivals of the state. The KMSS chief said till the controversial Bill is scrapped, protest will continue as BJP has plans to pass it in Rajya Sabha during the Budget session scheduled to commence on January 31. The KMSS is one the major organisations that was holding protests across ...
'Nayantaras' galore at literary meet as protesters wear masks
Protesters wearing Nayantara Sahgal masks displayed solidarity with the author whose invite to the event was rescinded by the organisers, at the opening ceremony of an all-India Marathi literary meet here Friday. Three women writers wearing the masks, with photos of the 91-year-old Sahgal on them, were asked to leave the venue by women police personnel. The masks were seized. Addressing the meet, the 92nd Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, Maharashtra education minister Vinod Tawde conceded that withdrawal of the invite to Sahgal had caused embarrassment to the state. Some protesters at the venue shouted slogans while the minister was speaking. Laxmikant Deshmukh, outgoing president of the Sammelan, said the Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Mahamandal, which holds the annual event, had failed to stop the meet organisers from rescinding the invite to Sahgal. At a 'parallel' literary meet at Ambajogai in Beed district, social activist Arundhati Lohiya Patil read a Marathi ...
Congress paid lip service to poor among upper castes: Jaitley
Hailing the Prime Minister's decision to force the agenda for poverty-based reservation as the single greatest pro-poor step, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday accused the Congress of grudgingly supporting the bill for 10 per cent reservation for poor among the upper castes.
Board of DCM approves change in nominee directorate
At meeting held on 11 January 2018
Protests against Citizenship Bill in Meghalaya
Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Bill got louder in Meghalaya on Friday with three pressure groups burning the effigies of the NDA government and the legislation.
Amarinder asks sarpanches to make their villages drug-free
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Friday urged sarpanches to make their respective villages drug-free while ensuring their holistic development. The elected representatives have a very important role to play in ending drug abuse and safeguarding the future of the coming generations, he said. "This is the first responsibility I am entrusting on you," he told the people's representatives before administering them the oath as drug abuse prevention officers. He assured them of all possible help from his government for ensuring all-round development. Noting that an entire generation had been wiped out by the menace of drugs, the chief minister said he had sworn to break the backbone of drug smuggling and his government had achieved massive success in destroying the supply chain. He said that it was now the responsibility of sarpanches to finish the problem of drug abuse. In his address, the chief minister observed that panches and sarpanches had been elected through the grassroots ...
10% quota for poorer sections doesn't violate basic structure of Constitution: Jaitley
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Friday said the 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections in government jobs and educational institutions does not contravene the basic structure of the Constitution and termed the move the single greatest recognition for the poor in the general category. He also accused the main opposition party Congress of only paying "lip sympathy" and grudgingly supporting the Constitution Amendment Bill, passed by Parliament earlier this week. Caste in India was considered as a key determinant of either social or historical oppression as in the case of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes or a determinant of social and educational backwardness as in the case of the Other Backward Classes, he said in a Facebook blog. "Poverty, however, is a secular criteria" and it cuts across communities and religions," he said adding that "poverty as a criteria for a carve out does not in any way contravene the basic structure of the Constitution". The union ...
We want capital punishment for Ram Rahim: Chhatrapati's son
The son of Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chandra Chhatrapati, who was murdered by aides of convicted Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in 2002, on Friday demanded capital punishment for the disgraced self-styled godman.
BJP hopes to cash in on Citizenship Bill in Bengal
With the Lok Sabha polls approaching, the West Bengal BJP hopes to cash in on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill to reach out to the one crore odd Hindu Bangladeshi refugees in the state once the bill is implemented. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, passed by the Lok Sabha on January 8, seeks to grant Indian citizenship to the non-Muslims who fled religious persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan and entered India before December 31, 2014. According to a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, the bill will not only endear them to the Hindu refugees in the state but will also help them counter the allegation of being an "anti-Bengali" party. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and several opposition parties in the state had levelled the saffron party as "anti-Bengali", following the publication of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) drafts in Assam last year. Mohit Roy, convenor of the BJP's refugee cell, told PTI that the bill would change the future of the one ...
Thai police: Canada, Australia willing to accept Saudi woman
Several countries including Canada and Australia are in talks with the UN refugee agency to accept a Saudi asylum seeker who fled alleged abuse from her family, Thai police said Friday. Thailand's immigration police chief, Surachate Hakparn, told reporters the U.N. was accelerating the case, though he gave no indication of when the process would be complete. Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun was stopped at a Bangkok airport on Saturday by Thai immigration police who denied her entry and seized her passport. While barricading herself in an airport hotel room, the 18-year-old launched a social media campaign via her Twitter account that drew global attention to her case. It garnered enough public and diplomatic support to convince Thai officials to admit her temporarily under the protection of UN officials. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees eventually granted her refugee status on Wednesday. Alqunun's case has highlighted the cause of women's rights in Saudi Arabia. Several female Saudis ...
Saudi asylum seeker in Thailand pulls Twitter account over 'threats'
The 18-year-old Saudi asylum seeker who fled her family to Thailand and harnessed the power of Twitter to stave off deportation on Friday abruptly suspended her account, with friends saying she had received death threats. Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun's attempt to flee the ultra-conservative kingdom has been embraced by rights groups as a beacon of defiance against repression. Thai authorities initially threatened to deport her after she arrived in Bangkok from Kuwait last weekend. But armed with a smartphone and a hastily opened Twitter account, she forced a U-turn from Thai immigration police who handed her into the care of the UN's refugee agency as the #SaveRahaf hashtag case bounced across the world. Qunun alleges abuse by her family - who deny the allegations - and rights groups also said she had renounced Islam, risking prosecution in conservative Saudi Arabia. On Friday afternoon she posted a final cryptic tweet on her profile saying "I have some good news and some bad news" - ...
Microsoft Bing suggests child porn search terms to pedophiles: Report
Pedophiles searching for child pornography on Microsoft Bing get keyword suggestions that lead to more criminal content on the web, according to a latest TechCrunch investigation, coming on the heel of an earlier one that found similar issues with Facebook-owned WhatsApp.
Pakistan last country to lecture us on plurality, inclusive society: MEA
India on Friday lashed out at Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan over his recent statement and said that Pakistan should be the last country to lecture on "plurality and inclusive society"."If Pakistan is ready for dialogue, why hasn't Pakistan taken any action against Mumbai and Pathankot terror attack perpetrators? They continue to provide support to the banned terrorist outfits," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a media briefing here today."Pakistan said minorities are not treated well in India, I think Pakistan should be the last country to lecture us on plurality and inclusive society. We and the world are fully aware of the situation of minorities in their country," he added.Imran Khan in December last year said that giving equal rights to the religious minorities is the cornerstone of the vision of Pakistan's founding father and that the country will show Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi how to treat these groups.