'On November 23, Aamir Khan made a statement on how his wife is scared of the growing disquiet in the country. His statement attracted opinions from across the country; politicians, fellow actors and people active on social media. But it has not only affected people’s opinion about him, it has also affected the brand he endorses. Snapdeal seems to be drawing a lot of flak only because Aamir is its brand ambassador. People took to Twitter starting another campaign called #AppWapsi asking others to not buy anything from Snapdeal and uninstall the app.
'A Shiv Sena minister in BJP-led Maharashtra government has said actor Aamir Khan "can go to Pakistan" if he didn't love India and that people such as Aamir, Shah Rukh and Dilip Kumar were like "snakes", considering their statements... "From Dilip Kumar to Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir, we gave everyone of them a lot of love. However, the statements coming from them make us feel as if we have nurtured snakes," said Mr Kadam...'
'Film star Aamir Khan found himself at the centre of a raging controversy on the issue of tolerance on Tuesday with saffron parties attacking him for stoking “fear” and telling him to “go to Pakistan” if he felt insecure in the country... “He was a celebrated actor till now. But now it seems that we handed over milk to a snake. If he does not want to stay here, he can go to Pakistan,” Maharashtra Environment Minister and senior Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam said.
'Track legend P T Usha has shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi protesting against the decision of School Games Federation of India to organise the athletic events for boys and girls separately. In her letter, Usha cited the SGFI calendar, showing that athletic events for boys and girls will be held separately in the second week of January 2016 and fourth week of December this year in Nasik and Pune respectively. SGFI is the national apex body for organising various sports and games among all Indian schools.
'Members of the upper-caste Jat community smeared cow dung on the face of a Dalit family residing in Mujadpur village in Haryana’s Hisar district on Sunday. Cow dung was forcibly stuffed inside the mouth of the head of the Dalit family, Ramdhari, who along with his daughter were also beaten in the melee. Tension gripped the village following the incident. The provocation was over a statue of Bhim Rao Ambedkar that the Dalit family had installed at their house.
'Liberal, rebellious and progressive to the core, Ismat Chughtai (1915-1991), enfant terrible of Urdu literature, fought parochialism all her life. She led from the front and lived by her own principles. One of her daughters was married to a Hindu while the other was married to a Parsi. She didn't consume beef, not because of the Hindutva diktat, but to respect the sentiments of her Hindu grandson. And when she died she was cremated at Chandanwadi because she had willed so.
'...Parliament has lost its importance. While Modi described Parliament as the “temple of democracy”, he has, so far, not attended as many of its meetings per year as his predecessors. Instead of promoting inside Parliament the bills he needs passed, Modi has resorted to more ordinances than recent governments. In one year, he has issued about 14 ordinances. In contrast, UPA 2 issued only 25 ordinances (four per year). This is not only because of the NDA’s lack of a majority in the Rajya Sabha.
'The age old practice of shunning menstruating women from temples has been placed effectively under the scanner now by a 20 year old Facebook campaigner named Nikita Azad. Support for her is snowballing into a massive drive. Her campaign ‘#HappyToBleed’ was started in response to a priest of Sabarimala temple in Kerala who said that they will allow women to enter the temple, only after a machine is invented to detect which of them are menstruating. “There will be a day when a machine is invented to scan if it is the 'right time' (not menstruating) for a woman to enter the temple.”
'HRD minister Smriti Irani recommended over 5,000 requests for admission to the Central government-run Kendriya Vidyalaya chain of schools in the current academic year, a more than four-fold jump from quota levels of her predecessors. Of the admissions recommended by the minister, some 3,000 were finally effected after the others apparently opted out on some account or the other... The KVS administration is said to be looking into why only 3,000 of the 5,000-odd admissions recommended by the minister materialised. The HRD ministry did not respond to emailed queries on the matter...
'Jayanta Mahapatra, a celebrated Indian poet writing in English and one of the greatest Odia litterateurs of all time, on Sunday said he was returning his Padma Shri to protest the growing "moral asymmetry" in the country. His would be the fourth Padma award to be returned in the ongoing protest by writers and intellectuals. In a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee, Mahapatra wrote, "Mine is a small, insignificant step. But it's my personal way of showing protest against growing moral asymmetry... (It) should not be considered as dishonour to the country."...
