'In its July 16, 2019 issue, Organiser, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) mouthpiece, spat venom against the public sector in general and against BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd) in particular. The magazine published an article, wherein it is stated that, “laziness, indifference and barren dullness are the well-known marks of the public sector”. By publishing such an article in the Organiser, the RSS has exposed its true colours vis-à-vis the public sector of the country.
'The release of richest people’s lists is usually a signal for much back-slapping and triumphalism in the corporate world and its hangers on in the media. It is seen as some kind of symptom that India is doing well, people are getting wealthier, achhe din (good days) are here, although such lists are only for a 100 people (as in the case of the Forbes India list) or perhaps more (as in IIFL Hurun list), in a country of 1.3 billion people.
'Only 2.2% of children under the age of two years in Maharashtra receive the minimum acceptable diet, according to the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) 2016-2018 that was published by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare earlier this week. According to the survey, the proportion of children between 6 months and 2 years of age receiving the minimum acceptable diet across the country is shockingly low, at just 6.4%. However, this proportion varied greatly across various states.
'In what it claimed was an “exclusive story”, broadcast at around 3.30 pm on October 11, the Times Now channel claimed that Pakistani social media accounts were responsible for the hashtag #GoBackModi trending on Twitter ahead of the Prime Minister’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Chennai... Though many media reports claimed that Pakistani users were behind trending #GoBackModi in India, Twitter trends are region-specific. This means that for a topic to trend in India, users from India need to tweet on the issue.
'Home minister Amit Shah was the chief guest at the National Human Rights Commission’s Foundation Day celebrations on Saturday, October 12. The NHRC has existed as a body for 26 years, since 1993, and has reportedly disposed of nearly 18 lakh cases. It has directed about Rs 176 crore of relief to various victims of human rights violations. The current chairperson of the NHRC, a quasi-judicial body with the powers of a civil court, is Justice H.L. Dattu.
'In Assam, civil society groups have long accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government of allowing illegal coal mining to thrive in the state. Now, these allegations could singe Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal himself. In the last week of September, members of the Congress distributed what they claimed were incriminating photographs to journalists. The photographs showed Sonowal with a man named Sunil Kumar Gurung alleged to be involved in illegal mining operations.
'In yet another case of crackdown on dissent in academic institutions, six students of the Mahatma Gandhi Antarastriya Hindi Viswavidyalaya (MGAHV), Wardha (Maharashtra), have been reportedly been sent suspension letters for allegedly violating university orders. All the six belong to socially marginalised sections of the society, So, what was their crime and what order did they violate?
'On October 7, Times Now channel’s “India Upfront” programme claimed that the Congress was attempting to present a “counter-narrative to the RSS view of history” by circulating a 128-page booklet among its members. Few should have any objection to the idea of pushing back against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s majoritarian view of history, which, in many instances, involves grave misrepresentations of fact, deliberate distortions and, on occasion, complete fabrications.
'The Bihar police on Wednesday ordered the closure of a sedition case lodged against 49 acclaimed artists and intellectuals, including Ramachandra Guha, Mani Ratnam and Aparna Sen, who wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year seeking his intervention in the rising incidents of mob lynchings. Muzaffarpur SSP Manoj Kumar Sinha said he had ordered that the case be closed as the investigation had so far revealed that the allegations levelled against the accused were out of “mischief” and “lacked substance”...'
'Naveen Dayal, one of the two accused in the near fatal attack on former JNU scholar, Umar Khalid last year, has been given a Shiv Sena ticket for the upcoming state polls from Bahadurganj in Haryana. Currently, out on bail for the assault, Dayal is a self-proclaimed gau rakshak, Dalal said he joined the Sena six months ago because their ideologies on “nationalism and cow protection” matched. When he shot at Umar Khalid, his gun had jammed, saving Umar’s life.
