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Evening NEWS DIGEST
26 March. 2017: 26 JamadiulAkhir 1438:Vol:8, No:150
INDIA
Rise of Hindu ‘extremist’ spooks Muslim minority in India’s heartland: The Guardian report
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/26/modis-man-flexes-muscular-hinduism-shock-election?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Tweet
Pastor Ritesh Joshua had just called a tea break when he saw men in the saffron scarves. More than a hundred, some wielding sticks, had massed outside his white stucco church on the outskirts of Gorakhpur, a temple town in eastern UP. It was 3 days after Christmas. “They started shouting, ‘You are converting people. We will not allow any conversions here’,” he says. “They shoved people, turned over furniture, and told me, ‘You are the main culprit’.” Men, allegedly part of a religious activist group called the Hindu Yuva Vahini, cornered one of the parishioners. Smartphone footage shows the woman pulling her blue shawl tightly around herself as she answers questions about her involvement with the church. “No one is forcing me to convert,” she insists.“If the police hadn’t arrived, we don’t know what would have happened next,” Joshua says. “After the men left, everyone in the church was silent, so frightened. This is a time of testing for us.”Last week, the monk who founded the HYV, and whose firebrand Hindu supremacist vision guides the organisation, was selected by the party of PM Narendra Modi to lead the most populous state in India – the equivalent of the sixth largest nation on earth.Yogi Adityanath’s appointment as CM of UP, about a fifth of whose 200 million people are Muslim, is “stunning”, says Milan Vaishnav, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a foreign policy thinktank. “He is an extremist in terms of his speeches, a very proud rabble-rouser, and somebody who doesn’t have a claim to fame other than a dedication to a strident form of Hindu nationalism.”“It is an important and disturbing moment,” agrees Ramachandra Guha, an author and historian. “It is the fringe moving to the mainstream.”Another addition to the city streets last week were squads of police officers hunting so-called “Romeos”. Along with a ban on buffalo slaughter, cracking down on amorous young men was a key campaign promise of the ruling BJP. Officially, the police are targeting “Eve-teasing”, the endemic sexual harassment that blights some Indian streets. But critics instead see a crackdown on mixed-religion couples, in line with Adityanath’s fevered, baseless warnings that Muslim men are trying to seduce Hindu women as part of “love jihad”.The surprise appointment of Adityanath to run the state has deeply rattled Manoj Singh, a Gorakhpur journalist who has spent the last 2 decades tracking the new CM and the HYV men he labels a “private army”. He recalls, 10 years ago, when the city boiled with religious tension after the murder of a Hindu man, and Adityanath rose to address a crowd of HYV supporters outside the Gorakhpur railway station.“We cannot tolerate such incidents any more,” he told the men. “It has crossed all limits. If someone sets ablaze the houses and shops of Hindus, then I do not think that someone stops you from doing such things.“Get ready for a final battle,” he says. Court documents allege Adityanath’s followers then went on a rampage, burning Muslim-owned properties and an Islamic mausoleum. “I saw the burned shops,” Singh says. “I saw the Muslim men who ran the shops trying to douse the fire. I knew one of the shopkeepers. He was very emotional. He said, ‘Look what has happened to me. I’m ruined’.”Adityanath was arrested and imprisoned for 11 days. He broke down in parliament recalling the ordeal. But, Singh says, his fiery rhetoric was unchanged. “If [Muslims] kill one Hindu man, then we will kill 100 Muslim men,” he has said since. But Adityanath began to distance himself from frontline violence. “He took a political turn,” Singh says. “He started having political dreams.” Hinduism is a poor soil for fundamentalists such as Adityanath to grow. The world’s third most-practised religion has no pope, no mandatory scripture, no impulse to convert new believers. Caste system has sown division deep into its DNA. Wherever Hinduism has taken and flourished across Asia it has blended with and infused local cultures, forming what author Sunil Khilnani has called a “bewildering internal pluralism”. In Zafara Bazar, a Muslim district of Gorakhpur, Gulshan Ali is talking bitterly near the butcher shop where he worked until last Monday: “They talked about ‘development for all’, but the moment Adityanath became CM he started taking away our jobs,” he says. That was when – less than 24 hours after Adityanath was sworn in – police officers told him the business was being shut. “We didn’t get any notice,” another butcher, Jawad Ali, says. He pleaded that his shop sold only buffalo, not the cow meat that many Hindus eschew. “But they told me, ‘From today, your business is closed’.” Crackdown on butchers has left up to 2,500 families in Gorakhpur without an income.
Has 'secularism become a form of COMMUNALISM'? Is India's way of life under attack? Why should anyone, 'go to Pakistan?' Nationalism under the microscope at the Culture Conclave:DailyMail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-4349440/Has-secularism-form-COMMUNALISM-India.html#ixzz4cRGDVAlH
Ground report: What AMU campus thinks about UP CM
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/yogi-adityanath-what-aligarh-muslim-university-campus-thinks-about-up-chief-minister/1/913222.html
HC reserves order on plea probing UP CM's role in riots
http://www.news18.com/news/politics/hc-reserves-order-on-petition-probing-up-cms-role-in-2007-riots-1363872.html
Lucknow: Allahabad high court on Friday reserved its order on a petition demanding a CBI probe into UP CM Yogi Adityanath's alleged role in the 2007 communal riots in Gorakhpur, his home constituency.The case, registered in Gorakhpur under section 302, 307, 153A, 395, and 295 of the IPC, is presently under probe by CB-CID of the UP Police and has remained stranded for close to a decade now.It was only in 2013 that the probe was undertaken, and the voice sample test was found positive in the forensic probe. news18
UP Minister Mohsin Raza urges rich Muslims to spare Haj subsidy for poor
http://www.india.com/news/agencies/up-minister-urges-rich-muslims-to-spare-haj-subsidy-for-poor-1961106/
Lucknow: UP ’s Muslim Waqf and Haj Minister Mohsin Raza Khan on Saturday urged rich Muslims to leave Haj subsidy for the deserving poor.“Haj pilgrimage is a very important aspect for all Muslims across the world as it is like a dream for them. A poor also wishes for the same. Therefore, I urge to the people who have enough facilities to go on Haj pilgrimage to not take subsidy and kindly think about those who are unable to earn enough to fulfil their dreams,” Raza told ANI.He added that PM Narendra Modi has increased the subsidy from Rs. 21,000 to Rs. 29,000 for UP .“It is our responsibility to act in a transparent manner and let the deserving person get hold of the scheme,” he said.He further said that it would be his priority to ensure ‘deserving Muslims’ get Haj subsidy.ANI
Haj application process in UP likely to be linked with Aadhaar
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/haj-application-process-in-up-likely-to-be-linked-with-aadhaar-4586401/
UP govt is mulling to link Haj application process with the Aadhaar number of the applicant to ensure “greater transparency” in selection of pilgrims. Officials believe that this would help in identifying those who had undertaken pilgrimage more than once. Minister of State for Minority Affairs in UP govt Mohsin Raza, said, “We are planning to link the process of filing of the Haj application with Aadhaar number of the applicant, so as to check whether the applicant had undertaken Haj earlier or not. This would ensure greater transparency.”PTI
Cases against ‘innocent’ in Muzaffarnagar violence will be withdrawn: Riots-accused minister Rana
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/cases-against-innocent-in-muzaffarnagar-violence-will-be-withdrawn-riots-accused-minister-rana/story-aTdV1QaElSXbzwFkIfdWLK.html
Muzaffarnagar riot accused minister Suresh Rana has said that cases against “innocent people” in connection with the 2013 violence in the district and its neighbouring places would be withdrawn by Yogi Adityanath govt after an inquiry.Rana himself had been arrested for allegedly making provocative speeches in the 2013 riots and had been booked under the NSA. He also said the govt would ensure improvement in the law and order situation in the state to prevent a “repeat” of the alleged Kairana mass exodus in other towns in western UP.PTI
I will break hands and legs of anyone who disrespects or kills cows: Muzaffarnagar riot accused BJP MLA Saini
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/i-will-break-hands-and-legs-of-anyone-who-disrespects-or-kills-cows-muzaffarnagar-riotaccused-bjp-mla-vikram-saini/articleshow/57836054.cms
Even as his party colleagues tried to shut him up, a UP BJP MLA accused in Muzaffarnagar riots case said yesterday he will "break the hands and legs of anyone who disrespects or kills cows."Saini, who was arrested under NSA for his role in the deadly Muzaffarnagar riots, has rioting and criminal intimidation cases filed against him."Any person who is unwilling to say 'Vande Mataram', or isn't proud to voice nationalistic slogans, or doesn't consider the cow to be a mother, or kills cows, I promise I will break their hands and legs," said Vikram Saini, BJP MLA from Khatauli, who was attending a felicitation event for another MLA.Saini's comments were met with effusive applause from the audience at the event, but his party colleagues were highly discomfited and tried to stop him from speaking, Navbharat Times reported.TOI
UP : Meat sellers go on strike to protest dwindling supplies; locals fear veggie price hike
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-uttar-pradesh-lucknow-meat-sellers-go-on-strike-to-protest-dwindling-supplies-locals-fear-veggie-price-hike-2368839
Lucknow:Protesting against the crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughter houses in UP, meat sellers in Lucknow have gone on an indefinite strike. The mutton and chicken sellers who have pulled down their shutters have threatened to intensify their stir from Monday, said Mubeen Qureshi of the Lucknow Bakra Gosht Vypar Mandal.As a result, non veg food outlet, including the famous Tunday and Rahim's, who had shifted to mutton and chicken dishes after buffalo meat became scarce, too kept their shops shut. The meat sellers are piqued over the crackdown on slaughter houses which has adversely hit the livelihood of lakhs of people, Qureshi said.He added that fish sellers too may join the protest. After coming to power, the Adityanath Yogi govt has ordered closure of illegal slaughterhouses and ban on cow smuggling aiming to fulfill a key electoral promise.Quoting the president of the mandal, Mohd Kaseem Qureshi, another functionary of the meat sellers association Majid Qureshi said that they don't want a showdown with the authorities but have been forced to close the markets in the interest of people involved in the trade. "We contacted religious leaders and they have also advised us against any protest demonstration. So we are treading the path with utmost caution," Majid said.There is no stock in the 'mandi' now and even those who had stocked some finished it off on Saturday and joined the protestors, he said adding that no trucks bringing fresh material from nearby districts arrived in the mandi on Saturday. Mandal functionaries said that mutton and chicken markets in Hamirpur, Banda and Barabanki besides some other districts have also remained closed. The absence of raw material has hit the non vegetarian food joints in the state capital which is famous for the variety of its non vegetarian cuisine. "We came to know that there will be no supply of the material today and so we did not open today...how can we serve our customers without supply of meat though we have been receiving calls since the morning asking for opening the shop", Bilal Ahmed of Rahim's, famous Avadhi food seller said.Another person in the food business, Abu Bakar regretted that govt is silent over the issue and it is left for the meat sellers to run from pillar to post to get their issues settled. The restaurant owners have also lent their support to the meat sellers now as there is no supply of mutton and chicken now in the markets, Bakar said.PTI
Crackdown on slaughterhouses has led to loss of livelihood, says UP minister:TPI
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/allahabad/crackdown-on-slaughterhouses-has-led-to-loss-of-livelihood-up-minister/articleshow/57833549.cms
Allahabad: For the first time after the crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses in UP, a representative of Yogi govt admitted on Saturday that the move had resulted in loss of livelihood for many. However, Siddharth Nath Singh, the medical and health minister in Yogi govt, said those selling mutton, chicken and eggs had been affected due to the "negative propaganda" by opposition. Accusing opposition of giving the issue a political colour, Singh said the state govt had never ordered closure of legal slaughterhouses and licenced mutton and chicken shops. he said.Reports suggest that crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses and butcher shops across the state has led to production of buffalo meat dipping by 40% and mutton by 30%.
Lucknow goes veg as chicken, mutton sellers go on strike
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/lucknow-goes-veg-as-chicken-mutton-sellers-go-on-strike/articleshow/57833333.cms
Meat committee goes on indefinite strike against slaughter house ban
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-meat-committee-goes-on-indefinite-strike-against-slaughter-house-ban-2369384
Illegal Meat Shop Crackdown : All shops in western UP shutdown
http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/illegal-meat-shop-crackdown-all-shops-in-western-uttar-pradesh-shutdown/602969/
Lions forced onto diet of chicken and mutton amid Yogi's slaughterhouse crackdown
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-4347022/Yogi-makes-lions-eat-chicken-Uttar-Pradesh-meat-ban.html#ixzz4cRGTxHYY
Serving mutton and chicken to those used to buffalo meat in their daily diet could well mean a tasty delight, but not in this case. The lions of Lucknow Zoo and Etawah Wildlife Safari Park are the latest victims of new CM Yogi Adityanath's abattoir crackdown.This move by the state means authorities have been forced to switch over to mutton and chicken which is not going down well with the king of the jungle and is also burdening the exchequer.Deputy director of Etawah Lion Safari, Anil Patel, said they were facing a problem arranging food for their 8 lions, including cubs. DailyMail
Pamphlets in Bareilly mosques ask Muslims not to use loudspeakers while praying
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bareilly/pamphlets-in-bareilly-mosques-ask-muslims-not-to-use-loudspeakers-while-praying/articleshow/57817956.cms
Bareilly: After eviction posters appeared in Jianagla village, a pamphlet was found in two city mosque on Friday asking Muslim residents to either stop using loudspeakers while offering namaz or they will not allow residents to pray there. The letter is undersigned by 'all Hindus'.The incident is suspected to have occurred on Thursday night in Subhash Nagar area, but it came to light next morning when the mosque was opened.The message on the pamphlet read, "Muslims should learn to behave themselves now as our govt has come to power. Stop using loudspeakers for praying or else we will not let namaz be held at both the mosques. It's not merely a warning."Speaking to TOI, superintendent of police (city) Sameer Saurabh, said, "We received a complaint that inflammatory pamphlets were thrown inside two mosques, following which an FIR has been lodged against unidentified persons. Police is trying to get nab the culprits." timesofindia
2 Killed, 10 Injured in Communal Violence in Gujarat:PTI
http://www.news18.com/news/india/two-killed-10-injured-in-communal-violence-in-gujarat-1364263.html
Ahmedabad: 2 persons were killed, one of them in police firing, and 10 others injured while around 50 houses were ransacked and set ablaze along with many vehicles following a communal clash in a village in Gujarat's Patan district on Saturday evening, police said.Patan Superintendent of Police Ashwin Chauhan said a minor altercation between two students over some dispute while going for the high school examinations in Vadavali village soon assumed communal overtones and flared up into a major clash involving people from at least three surrounding villages.Violent mobs first ransacked and then torched around 50 houses of a particular community. More than 2 dozen vehicles parked in front of the houses were also burnt down.Police carried out a baton-charge and used teargas shells to disperse the mob but the violence continued, forcing them to open fire in which one youth was killed. At least 10 people sustained injuries in stone throwing between 2 groups.
Gujarat student clash turns communal, 1 dead
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/gujarat-student-clash-turns-communal-one-dead-vadavali-village-4585973/lite/
Saffron surge in Bengal: DailyMail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-4349242/RSS-begins-Saffron-SURGE-West-Bengal.html
The distance between Malda, a small district town of West Bengal, and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu is 2,464 km.But this week, Malda resonated in the southern town at the RSS' 3-day long convention called Akhil Bhartiya Pratinidhi Sabha (AVPS). Sangh passed a resolution against alleged atrocities on Hindus and the alleged appeasement of minorities by West Bengal Govt. Malda riots featured prominently in that as did mention of places like Burdwan, Kaliachak, Dhulagarh. Burdwan bomb factory turned out to be a terror incident, Kaliachak a communal incident where one community gathered and burnt down a police station and Dhulagarh where riots and arson were reported but Mamata govt rubbished it as a 'small incident blown out of proportion'. Message from Coimbatore was clear: Sangh has decided its next target, West Bengal. And not without reason.Right wing Hindutva ideology is increasingly gaining foothold in the traditionally 'communist' West Bengal.And with each passing month there's not only growing acceptance but a reasonable surge from Kolkata to the district and down to block level.
India expects that every man will do his duty... polishing boots and folding clothes: Army to recruit 10k civilians for controversial 'buddy' posts: DailyMail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-4349330/Indian-Army-recruit-10k-controversial-buddy-posts.html
Against the backdrop of controversy over using combat soldiers as buddies, the Indian Army is now planning to employ 10,000 civilians to be provided as sahayaks (buddies) for officers and JCOs posted in peaceful areas for helping them in their official work. The move being undertaken by the Army headquarters - in consultations with the defence ministry - will help in freeing an equal number of combat soldiers from performing tasks of sahayaks, which have been under the scanner after a number of jawans made videos criticising the system, before posting them on social media.'We are going to employ around 10,000 civilians who would be helping officers and JCOs in pace stations by performing the roles of sahayaks,' Army sources told Mail Today.
Assam govt fires absconding madrasa teacher declared Bangladeshi by high court:HT report
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/assam-govt-fires-absconding-madrasa-teacher-declared-bangladeshi-by-high-court/story-jFa22YkXDgojel3aeSz12K.html
Guwahati:BJP-led Assam govt has fired a madrasa teacher six years after a foreigners’ tribunal declared him a Bangladeshi. Police said the man, his wife and children are absconding. In an order issued a few weeks ago, the director of madrasa education dismissed Maqsood Alam Dewan who was an assistant teacher at Telahi Islamia Senior Madrasa in Morigaon district. The madrasa is situated about 75km east of Guwahati.“A case was initiated against Dewan and his wife in 2007 on the suspicion that they were not Indian citizens. They approached the Gauhati High Court after a foreigners’ tribunal adjudged them Bangladeshis in 2010, but the HC upheld the tribunal’s verdict in October last year,” Swapnaneel Deka, Morigaon district superintendent of police, told HT.“Dewan and his wife have been absconding since the HC ruling. We are hopeful of catching them if they are holed up anywhere in the district,” Deka said.Dewan’s was one of more than 2.62 lakh cases pending with 100 foreigners’ tribunals – up from 36 last year – across Assam. A few, declared Bangladeshis under the Foreigners’ Actof 1946, have been deported while about 300 people are in detention camps awaiting deportation.In January this year, 17 people kept in such a detention camp in southern Assam’s Silchar were deported to Bangladesh. These 17 were among 54 people from Bangladesh and Myanmar who were caught after illegally entering India during the past few years. NGOs and political parties such as All India United Democratic Front say the religious minorities are often victimised in the name of checking infiltration. A case they cited is that of 11 descendants of Moulavi Muhammad Amiruddin, who was Assam legislative assembly’s first deputy speaker from 1937-1946.The 11, including Amiruddin’s nephew Rafiqul Islam, had voted in the 2016 assembly elections in Assam. But border wing of Assam police have referred them to a foreigners’ tribunal where they have to prove they are India.
Naqvi: 'Modi govt has put an end to minority discrimination'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-4349380/Naqvi-Modi-end-minority-discrimination.html#ixzz4cRFkTUvV
Most think culture and economics are worlds apart and ideologically contradictory. But, according to union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the Narendra Modi govt 's new vision to uplift minorities brings these two contradictory two realms together.The idea to bring together culture and tradition for economic empowerment, is the new mantra of the govt otherwise identified with Hindutva (Hindu way of life).The Hunar Haat concept of the ministry of minority affairs has realised this idea of marrying culture to economics, he said at the Mail Today Culture Conclave via video message.The ministry is also in the process of making a national registry of artisans from the minority communities.'Under PM Modi, this govt is set to bring the light of development to the last man in the social-economic ladder,' Naqvi said. daily mail
Jamiat’s efforts to unite Muslim sects gathers pace from Khwaja land
http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/india/story/244664.html
Ajmer:BJP's stunning victory in UP and the elevation of firebrand Hindutva leader Aditya Nath Yogi as state CM appears to have lent an added urgency to efforts to unite different sects of the Muslim community, from the land of Sufi saint Khwaja Muinuddin Chisti.Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, one of the biggest Muslim organisations in India, on Saturday accelerated its unification efforts by inaugurating a medical relief camp for "zaireen" or pilgrims arriving here from different parts of the country and world for the 805th Urs festival in Ajmer, that began on March 2.This move by the Jamiat is being viewed as a very important initiative to unite different Muslim sects, as the organisation had stopped providing such service since 1970. However, leaders of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind say this effort is not aimed against any particular community or any govt , but to create a "conducive atmosphere" in the country where everyone can live together with harmony and peace. Inaugurating the medical relief camp, Secretary of Jamiat Maulana Hakimuddin Qasmi said the organisation decided in November last year to organise more than 100 conferences focusing on unity of different sects of community."Despite ideological differences all the communities working on different platforms should join hands to solve their 'necessary' issues," Qasmi told the gathering.He said holding of medical relief camps during the Ajmer Urs festival is "a beginning" towards unification efforts. "Due to some reason we could not hold the relief camps, but now to create an atmosphere it has become necessary," Qasmi said. For the past 150 years, Islamic sects of Deobandi and Barelvi have been at loggerheads over ideological issues including bowing of the head at Dargahs. Besides, the doors of mosques of both the sects are closed for each other, and even burials of each sect cannot be held in the other's cemetery. Qasmi said the unification move shouldn't be seen as an effort against any community."This move is to counter the current situation of the country where communal hatred is being spread by some fringe elements," Qasmi told IANS. However, another leader of Jamiat, who didn't wish to be named, said that unification efforts had started last year but they felt the need to accelerate it after Yogi took the reigns of UP. Haji Sayed Wahid Hussain Chisti Angara, Secretary of Dargah committee Ajmer, welcomed the move of Jamiat."Sufism and its teachings have played a great role in the fight against communal forces. Jamiat has taken an initiative against it and also to unite the community. It's a welcome move and we would help them as and when required," Chisti said. Jamiat's General Secretary Maulana Mahmood Madani in his message expressed hope that "efforts to unite various groups will be materialised one day". IANS
WB:Muslim outfit raises the pitch against Mujib bust
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/muslim-outfit-raises-the-pitch-against-mujib-bust/article17664642.ece
Kolkata: In a watered-down version of his earlier statement,the general secretary of the Minority Youth Federation (MYF) has said the organisation is not against installation of the bust of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh, “in any place in the city” except at Baker Hostel, a hostel for minority students. General secretary of the influential minority body, Mohammad Quamruzzaman, has also blamed the erstwhile Left Front govt for installing the bust of Mujibur Rahman in a Muslim hostel even as it was “against the tenets of Islam to install idols.”On Saturday, he insisted again on removing the marble bust, which was described as “unfortunate” by the senior officials of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata. “We have been paying tributes (at the statue) for such a long time, but suddenly some people started questioning it,” a senior official said. The Hindu had earlier reported the MYF demand for the removal of the bust of Mujibur Rahman from the third floor corridor of Baker Hostel in central Kolkata. thehindu
‘I was not allowed to enter my own studio at Times Now’: Arnab Goswami’s candid admission
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/arnab-goswami-interview-times-now-not-allowed-to-enter-my-studio-4585568/
New Delhi:Ex- Editor-in-Chief at Times Now, Arnab Goswami’s Newshour at 9 pm witnessed high-charged debates on various issues of national importance. Goswami threw in the towel after his last show on Times Now as he announced his new venture ‘Republic’. Meanwhile, Rahul Shivshankar filled in Goswami’s big boots as Editor-In-Chief of the news channel.In an interview to News24, Goswami frankly revealed his reasons for quitting the job. He said he wanted to establish an unbiased media publication that could raise tough questions which others usually steer clear of. In a tell-all speech, Goswami said, “I have declared my independence from the fake media, compromised media. I don’t need security, but we will raise these questions. The only question is this: Will we ask difficult questions or will we avoid them?”He didn’t stop there.“Should I stop asking these questions or play safe?” Goswami asked the audience. He seemed visibly hurt when he said, “Two days before I left Times Now, I was told you can’t do the program. 18th Nov.was my last day, I was not allowed to enter my own studio. The studio I built. I was stopped.”He further added: “I was very upset. When you build an institution and are not allowed to enter your own studio you feel sad. It hurts you somewhere,” Goswami told the news anchor. indianexpress
Mecca Masjid blast case: BJP condemns Telangana govt's assurance on revoking Aseemanand's bail
http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Telangana/2017-03-25/2007-Mecca-Masjid-blast-case-BJP-condemns-Telangana-govts-assurance-on-revoking-Aseemanands-bail/288983
Hyderabad: BJP said on Saturday the Telangana govt's statement that it would take steps to get the bail granted to the 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast accused Swami Aseemanand cancelled was an "insult to judiciary and legal system"."BJP strongly condemns and disapproves Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy's statement in the Legislative Assembly yesterday in response to an AIMIM MLA's contention on the bail," said party spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao.PTI
Delhi: Terror alert turns out to be hoax but cops recover 1.25 crore after checks
http://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi/terror-alert-turns-out-to-be-hoax-but-delhi-cops-recover-1-25-crore-after-intense-checks/story-dkwIZNPd71bOSfWBHO4aAN.html
Delhi: Delhi police went into a tizzy on Saturday after receiving an alert about 3 alleged terrorists planning serial blasts, who were to sneak into Delhi from UP in vehicles full of explosives. Special teams were deployed on borders for checks,a bomb disposal squad was kept on standby and all vehicles were stopped for a thorough check.Though the information was declared a hoax, the police during the checks stumbled upon R 1.25 crore that was being transported in three different cars from UP to Delhi.“A picket near Machli farm in Seelampur was set up after the police received information about terrorists trying to sneak into Delhi through UP.Each vehicle was stopped and checked. In the last 12 hours, we recovered R 1,25,30,000 in new currency from 3 cars,” joint commissioner of police, eastern range, Ravindra Yadav said.HT
EC must take a more firm stance against hate speeches during polls. A violation is a violation: H S Brahma
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/evm-tampering-former-chief-election-commissioners-s-y-quraishi-h-s-brahma-a-violation-is-a-violation-ec-must-take-a-more-firm-stance-against-hate-speeches-during-polls-4585799/
New Delhi: Allegations of EVM tampering by BSP chief Mayawati and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal during the recently concluded Assembly elections have reignited the transparency debate. Violations of the Model Code of Conduct and hate speeches during the elections have also turned the spotlight on the powers of the Election Commission and the need for electoral reforms. Two former chief election commissioners, S Y Quraishi and H S Brahma, defend EVMs and talk about the extent of the EC’s powers.Former chief election commissioners S Y Quraishi and H S Brahma back Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail for transparency in voting, say simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies are “not feasible”, are optimistic about electoral reforms, and support a collegium system for recruitment to the election body. Indian express
Aadhaar verification mandatory soon for all existing mobile phone users
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/soon-aadhaar-verification-for-existing-mobile-phone-users/story-zvxDJTYXWBJ5R1Q375QrjL.html
New Delhi:All existing subscribers of mobile services will have to go for Aadhaar-based re-verification soon, with the govt instructing telecom operators to initiate the process.Cellular operators’ body COAI said its members may meet this week to discuss the modalities of rolling out the verification process for the existing one billion-plus mobile phone users.“... all licencees shall re-verify all existing mobile subscribers (pre-paid and postpaid) through Aadhaar-based eKYC process...,” a notification issued by the telecom department said.PTI
Aadhaar to be mandatory for driving licence
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/aadhaar-to-be-mandatory-for-driving-licence/articleshow/57834023.cms
First bandh in Manipur after BJP-led govt took over
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/first-bandh-in-manipur-after-bjp-led-govt -took-over/articleshow/57840897.cms
Manipur witnessed first bandh on Sunday under the regime of newly elected BJP-led govt. Bandh called against induction of Independent MLA Ashab Uddin as parliamentary secretary has rekindled the migrant and indigenous debate. ET
UCC will ensure justice for women:CIC Acharyulu
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/telangana/2017/mar/26/ucc-will-ensure-justice-for-women-1586080.html
Hyderabad: Central Information Commissioner (CIC) M Sridhar Acharyulu said that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), once introduced, would put an end to injustices being done to the women folk in the country. Sridhar said that the main objective of the UCC was to herald a just society, fair polity and a family with equal rights to women of the society. newindianexpress
Enemy Property Act: Legal heirs of migrants to Pakistan, China find themselves on shaky ground
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/enemy-property-act-legal-heirs-of-migrants-to-pakistan-china-find-themselves-on-shaky-ground/articleshow/57830053.cms?google_editors_picks=true&google_editors_picks=true
Said Ali would not have imagined that his frequent trade trips to Karachi and Lahore in the 1940s would make him less of an Indian — or not an Indian at all. Seven decades after Ali lugged gunny bags of areca nuts plucked from his farms in north Malabar to the cities that are now in Pakistan, the third generation of his family is fighting a battle in the Kerala High Court to prove that their great-grandfather was indeed an Indian. In 1996, Ali passed away peacefully at the age of 99 in his village in north Kerala, but over two decades later, his descendants face a rather peculiar challenge: to prove the nationality of their long-departed valiyuppa (grandfather). The need arose when the family was told a portion of their land, acquired by Ali several years ago, was “enemy property”. “The new bill is depriving citizens of their ancestral properties. This may be open to a constitutional challenge,” reckons senior SC lawyer Anand Grover, who has dealt with a few enemy property cases in past. According to a govt submission in Lok Sabha in March 2016, there are close to 9,300 enemy properties in India; of these 149 (mostly in Assam, West Bengal and Meghalaya) belong to Chinese nationals. The government estimates the net value of all enemy property in India Rs 1.04 lakh crore. “Most of the persons who would be deprived of property are Muslims. They’re being treated like non-citizens,” says Grover. “It is unfortunate that under the guise of confiscating enemy property, citizens are being deprived of their inherited properties,” he adds. economictimes
OPINIONS & ARTICLES
University must speak without fear of intimidation:Hamid Ansari
https://thewire.in/118907/the-university-must-speak-without-fear-of-intimidation/
'BJP is taking revenge on Muslims': UP's crackdown has left the meat industry panicked & scared:Shoaib Daniyal
https://scroll.in/article/832802/bjp-is-taking-revenge-on-muslims-ups-crackdown-has-left-the-meat-industry-panicked-and-scared
Hello Aadhaar, Goodbye Privacy: JEAN DRÈZE
https://thewire.in/118655/hello-aadhaar-goodbye-privacy/
End of privacy: Aadhaar is being converted into the world’s biggest surveillance engine:Saikat Datta
https://scroll.in/article/832592/the-end-of-privacy-aadhaar-is-being-converted-into-the-worlds-biggest-surveillance-engine
It's a tragedy the media failed to see how Finance Bill endangers idea of India:Angshukanta Chakraborty
http://www.dailyo.in/politics/finance-bill-2017-lok-sabha-media-tax-aadhar-arun-jaitley/story/1/16345.html
Watch: "If politicians can talk of raping dead women of a particular faith, my poem is far too soft"
https://video.scroll.in/832693/watch-if-politicians-can-talk-of-raping-dead-women-of-a-particular-faith-my-poem-is-far-too-soft
Changing the Name of Deoband Will Not Have Any Impact on Darul-Uloom, Mr MLA: Nadeem ul Wajidi
https://www.urdumediamonitor.com/2017/03/26/changing-name-deoband-will-not-impact-darul-uloom-mr-mla/
WORLD
US confirms coalition strike in Mosul district where 200 civilians reported killedl:Reuters
http://in.reuters.com/article/mideast-crisis-iraq-mosul-idINKBN16W0MW
MOSUL: US military said on Saturday a US-led coalition strike had hit an Islamic State-held area of Iraq's Mosul where residents and officials say as many as 200 civilians may have been killed as result of an air raid.American confirmation followed a decision by Iraqi govt forces to pause their drive to recapture west Mosul on Saturday because of the high rate of civilian casualties, a security forces spokesman said, a move apparently motivated by the incident.With fighting intensifying to recapture Mosul, around half a million civilians remain in Islamic State-held areas in the west of the city, complicating use of air strikes and heavy artilliary to drive the hardline militants from their last major stronghold in Iraq.Iraqi forces are pushing into Mosul's Old City, where fleeing residents say militants are hiding among the civilian population, sheltering in family homes and using the narrow alleyways and streets to their advantage.
Coalition says it hit Mosul site where civilians died
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/voices-concern-high-civilian-deaths-mosul-170325111006277.html
Pakistan clears Saudi move to make Raheel Sharif head of Islamic Military Alliance
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pakistan-clears-saudi-move-to-make-raheel-sharif-head-of-islamic-military-alliance/story-CFegcZyRqhIz9Q7mGz0uzK.html
New Delhi: Pakistan govt has cleared a move to make former army chief Gen Raheel Sharif the head of a military alliance of 39 Muslim countries created by Saudi Arabia, defence minister Khawaja Asif has said.Soon after Sharif completed his term last year, it was reported in December that he would lead the Islamic Military Alliance, which was formed by the Saudis in 2015 to fight terrorism, especially the Islamic State and other groups.Asif told Geo News channel on Saturday that Pakistan had cleared the move to make Sharif, 60, the head of the alliance.HT
Gaza-Israel border shut after Hamas commander killing
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/gaza-israel-border-shut-mazen-faqha-killing-170326074751094.html
Hamas authorities have shut the Gaza border with Israel after the killing of a senior commander, which Hamas blamed on "Israel and its collaborators".The rare measure reflected Hamas' shock after the killing of Mazen Faqha , who was found shot dead at the entrance of his Gaza City home late on Friday.Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman Iyad al-Bozum on Sunday announced (Arabic) that the Beit Hanoun checkpoint, which faces the Israeli crossing of Erez in the north of the Gaza Strip, would be closed until further notice."In light of the humanitarian situation, only the residents of Gaza with humanitarian cases will be allowed to return to Gaza via the Beit Hanoun checkpoint," Bozum said. Aljazeera
Israel's false narrative on land swaps:byBen White
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/03/israel-false-narrative-land-swaps-170312095110936.html
Almost 4,800 civilians killed in Yemen conflict: UN
http://aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/almost-4-800-civilians-killed-in-yemen-conflict-un/779140
GENEVA:Almost, 4,800 civilians have been killed and over 8,000 injured in Yemen’s ongoing conflict, the UN said on Friday."The actual death toll is certainly considerably higher. Another 21 million Yemenis -- 82 per cent of the population -- are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance," the UN High Commission for Human Rights said.Sunday will mark two years since the escalation of the current conflict.AA
Kamwina Nsapu militia kill 40 policemen in DR Congo
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/kamwina-nsapu-militia-kill-40-policemen-dr-congo-170325181319668.html
Rebel fighters have killed at least 40 policemen in the central Democratic Republic of Congo, in one of the deadliest attacks on security forces since a violent uprising began late last year.The Kamwina Nsapu militia reportedly killed the police officers on Saturday and only spared those who spoke their local language."They ambushed the policemen as they travelled from Tshikapa to Kananga," Ambrose Muwasa, a senior security officer, told the Anadolu Agency.Anadolu Agency
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq (Released at: 9:14 PM)
