Page 86 - Social Issues
Tributes paid to Ambedkar, Basaveshwara in UK
Tributes were paid to 12th century saint philosopher Basaveshwara and architect of the Indian Constitution Dr B R Ambedkar on their birth anniversaries to mark the occasion as an anti-discrimination day in London on Sunday. India's High Commissioner to the UK Ruchi Ghanashyam and Deputy High Commissioner Charanjeet Singh paid tributes at the Albert Embankment to Basaveshwara and Ambedkar on their 885th and 128th birth anniversaries respectively. The event was organised by the former mayor of the London borough of Lambeth, Dr Neeraj Patil, on behalf of the Lambeth Basaveshwara Foundation, a non-profit organisation that owns the intellectual property rights of the Basaveshwara statue and its vicinity. Speaking on the occasion, Patil said: "We are paying tributes to both Basaveshwara and Ambedkar jointly because both share a conceptual relationship. Both opposed caste discrimination and gender inequality". Basaveshwara pioneered the idea of democracy in the 12th century and Ambedkar was .
Sanders: Sending migrants to sanctuary cities not top choice
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Sunday the president wants to explore a twice-rejected proposal to send migrants to "sanctuary cities," but it was not the preferred solution to fix the straining immigration system. Sanders said it was one of many options on the table, though she hoped the solution would be for Congress to work with the president on comprehensive immigration reform. The Trump administration is dealing with an ever-increasing number of Central American migrants crossing the US-Mexico border that has pushed the immigration system to the breaking point. Laws make it hard to quickly return migrants, and many spend years in the US waiting for their immigration cases to play out. Others claim asylum and wait just as long, living and working in the US as they wait. So-called "sanctuary cities" are mostly left-leaning locales like New York City and San Francisco where laws prohibit local police and correction officers from working with immigration officials to ..
Those speaking against secularism should get mental treatment: Mehbooba Mufti
Launching a scathing attack on BJP, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said that the leaders who are speaking against secularism should get 'mental treatment.'"BJP leaders are suffering from the disease of fear. Our country is secular. Those who are saying anything against secularism should get mental treatment," she told reporters here.Continuing her tirade against BJP president Amit Shah for his remarks on the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Mehbooba reiterated her demand for an apology from him."Amit Shah should apologise to the people for what he said. This is the country of Mahatma Gandhi, not of Amit Shah or Narendra Modi," the PDP supremo said.On April 11, Shah, while referring to the infiltrators as "termites," had said that the BJP will throw them out, if the party was voted to power again, adding that the party would protect Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhist refugees."The illegal immigrants are like termites. We will ensure the implementation of .
HP Dalit family denied access to cremation ground
Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Devvrat on Sunday took cognizance of a complaint that a lower caste family was prevented from performing the last rights at the common cremation ground in Dhara village of the Kullu district on Thursday.
Would implement the budget drafted by late Parrikar: Goa CM
The BJP-led Goa government would implement the Budget drafted by former chief minister Manohar Parrikar who could not table it in the state Legislative Assembly due to his ill health earlier this year. Incumbent chief minister Pramod Sawant, who took the charge after the death of Parrikar last month, Sunday said the budget would be implemented in the next session of the state Legislative Assembly. Parrikar had read out the financial statement of the Budget in the Legislative Assembly in January with a tube inserted through his nose. "The last budget was already prepared by Manohar Parrikar but it was not placed. During the next Assembly session, we will implement that budget," Sawant told PTI. He said thrust of the budget would be the creation of new infrastructure in the coastal state. Sawant further said the government would tap new resources for generation of revenue. He also said that the state government wanted to usher in human development along the infrastructure ..
Does a modern Mumbai care for caste & language in polls? Analysts say 'yes'
Mumbai might be India's financial nerve centre and a melting pot of culture, customs and fashion, but its voting pattern is still rooted in caste and linguistic considerations, like much of the country, analysts say. The BJP, Congress, Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and others political parties have their pocket boroughs in the metropolis, several of which are urban spillovers, mirroring their rural constituencies, they point out. Language too plays a part as the city was at the centre of a movement for the creation of Maharashtra state, for Marathi-speaking people, from the erstwhile Bombay state which also comprised parts of current Gujarat. "Ever since it came into being, the city has had its own electoral character, in which caste and religion have had limited roles. However, there has been a drift recently and linguistic politics has made an entry," said Sudheendra Kulkarni of the city-based think-tank Observer Research Foundation. He gave the example of the Raj ...
Youth staged a protest in Uri town alleging irregularities in Army's porters' list
Dozens of youth staged a protest in the frontier Uri town in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday against the alleged irregularities in the selection list of porters in the Army, police said. The Army on Sunday issued the selection list of 600 porters for as many vacancies. However, those candidates, whose names did not figure in the selection list, protested against the Army, alleging irregularities in the selection process, a police official said. He said the protesters accused the Army of selecting candidates from outside Uri. The situation was brought under control and the protesters diffused after some time, the official said.
Need to sensitise society on LGBTQ issues: Author Sharif Rangnekar
Scrapping of Section 377 that criminalised homosexuality in India was just a relief for the LGBTQ community and there is still need for a comprehensive campaign to sensitise the society about their issues, says author Sharif D Rangnekar. He has come out with his memoir Straight to Normal in which he narrates his trials and tribulations as a gay man and the discrimination the community has undergone in the country. I think there is just relief (that Section 377 got scrapped off). Relief, that we aren't criminals any longer for doing something as basic as having sex. Yet we are far from freedom, he told PTI. There are a number of areas to be addressed be it at the workplace, anti-discrimination laws covering schools to colleges and so many other spaces of existence. We have issues on insurance and health to inheritance. And what's more is that there has to be a comprehensive campaign to sensitise society which the (Supreme) Court suggested but is still to be addressed by governments and
Holding back NSSO figures a huge mistake: PM's ex-advisor
Calling it a knee-jerk reaction, Surjit S. Bhalla, the former member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Economic Advisory Council, in his book "Citizen Raj" has said that withholding the NSSO unemployment data by the government was a "huge mistake".
Ambedkar Jayanti: President, PM pay tribute to architect of Indian Constitution
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid homage to Dalit social reformer and father of the Indian Constitution Dr. BR Ambedkar on his 128th birth anniversary, also known as Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti."Homage to Dr B.R. Ambedkar on his birth anniversary. An icon of our nation, and Chief Architect of the Constitution, Dr Ambedkar waged a life-long struggle for a modern India free of caste and other prejudices, ensuring equal rights for women and weaker sections," President Kovind tweeted."I pay my homage to the chief architect of Indian Constitution and a person who has worked for social justice - Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar -on his birth anniversary. Jai Hind!" the Prime Minister tweeted in Hindi.In a video tribute on Twitter, Modi said "He (Ambedkar) is an inspiration to crores of people including me. It is not necessary for a person to born in a rich family. In India, a person born in a poor family can also dream of big things and can achieve them."Dr ..
Trump sanctuary city idea could help migrants stay in US
An idea floated by President Donald Trump to send immigrants from the border to "sanctuary cities" to exact revenge on Democratic foes could end up doing the migrants a favor by placing them in locations that make it easier to put down roots and stay in the country. The plan would put thousands of immigrants in cities that are not only welcoming to them, but also more likely to rebuff federal officials carrying out deportation orders. Many of these locations have more resources to help immigrants make their legal cases to stay in the United States than smaller cities, with some of the nation's biggest immigration advocacy groups based in places like San Francisco, New York City and Chicago. The downside for the immigrants would be a high cost of living in the cities. The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University announced this week that an analysis found that immigrants in sanctuary cities such as New York and Los Angeles are 20 per cent less likely to be ...
Yellow Vest protests enter 22nd week
The Yellow Vest protests continued across France for the 22nd week on April 13, with clashes erupting in the city of Toulouse, as Paris remained relatively calm.The police resorted to using water cannon and tear gas to disperse the protesters in Toulouse, local media reported.The protests have been continuing in France despite President Emmanuel Macron's efforts to meet with the protesters' demands.Demonstrators donning yellow vests have been taking to the streets across France since November 17, to protest against rising fuel prices and Macron's policies. Calls for the French President's resignation have been rampant throughout the agitation.The French government has since rolled back its plan to increase fuel taxes, with Macron announcing a minimum wage hike of 100 euros per month for the people of the nation in his "economic and social emergency plan."According to the French authorities, at least 11 people have lost their lives in the protests while over 2,000 have been ...
Man commits suicide by jumping in front of metro train on Blue Line
A man in his 60s allegedly committed suicide Saturday by jumping in front of a moving train at the Tilak Nagar station on the Blue Line of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), police said. The victim jumped in front of the train headed towards Dwarka around 10:40 am, a DMRC spokesperson said, adding that services were briefly delayed on the Blue Line that connects Dwarka in Delhi to Noida. "An elderly man, about 65, jumped in front of a metro train at Tilak Nagar metro station. He was taken to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, where he was declared brought dead," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Metro) Mohammed Ali said. Efforts are underway to ascertain the identity of the deceased, Ali added. On Wednesday, Sita Ram Arora, an elderly resident of Ramesh Nagar, had allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a moving train at the Ramesh Nagar metro station on the Blue Line. Prior to that, a 32-year-old businessman was seriously injured after he allegedly attempted suicide by ..
Teen charged with making death threat to NZ premier
A teenager in Northern Ireland has been charged with making a social media death threat to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after the Christchurch terror attack in which 50 people were killed.
Puducherry government's performance above average: ADR
The performance of the Puducherry government led by Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy was above average on most of the voters' concerns, including healthcare and roads, according to a report published by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Saturday.
Meet Mamata, a specially-abled girl who writes with her feet
When life gives you lemons you turn around and make lemonade, so goes the adage. That is precisely what Mamata Patel did. Crippling disability rendered her hands as useless but that has not prevented Mamata Patel from pursuing her dream of an educational degree. She utilizes the toes of her feet to hold a pen and write.The specially-abled girl has been writing with her feet from childhood.Presently, she is pursuing her education from the prestigious college of Chhatarpur, Maharaja College, where she is enrolled as a regular student.To pursue her passion for education Mamata travelled about 18 Km from Talvampara, her uncle's house, to write her BA first-year examination.Mamata says: "Initially I found writing difficult because of my disability, then got used to it. Every day I faced a lot of trouble in completing my daily tasks but because of the affection of people and my aspiration I am continuing my education.""I want to be educated. I want to do work so that I can earn money to ...
Karnataka government performance below average: ADR
Performance of the Karnataka government was "below average" on voters' top three priorities - drinking water, employment and healthcare, said a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Saturday.
Finland: from suicide hotspot to world's happiest country
When the UN crowned Finland the world's happiest nation last month for the second year running, there were still quite a few eyebrows raised. How could this Nordic country, better known for its harsh weather and high suicide rate, be the world's happiest? Although international comparisons are imperfect due to holes in the data, in 1990 official statistics did indeed indicate that Finland's suicide rate was the second highest in the world, behind Hungary. But Professor Timo Partonen at Finland's National Institute for Health and Welfare, warns against the temptation to blame the problem on Finland's dark, cold climate, or its bleak, concrete, postwar towns. "If you are depressed in any place in the world, you bear a similar risk of suicide," Partonen told AFP. "I think that the social connections and how willing you are to seek help and receive help are the most important things here." Suicides in Finland have now fallen to less than half of 1990 levels. That is thanks largely to a ...
Marquee MNC names trapped in IL&FS bond squeeze (IANS Exclusive-2)
Amazingly, the allure of the triple A rated IL&FS bonds now toxic was such that while both Indian private and public sector got sucked into the honeycomb, a vast swathe of top rated multiple national corporations also decided to invest their employees
Priyanka attacks BJP for instructor's suicide
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday attacked the BJP for its instructor's suicide case in Uttar Pradesh saying that the ruling party had brought its employees to a position where they were forced to commit suicide.