'Around 5,000 migrant workers from Assam and other parts of the country were rounded up in a supposed 'document-verification drive', after a pro-Hindutva organisation alleged that they were illegal immigrants. On Wednesday evening, the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Kodagu, Suman D Pennekar issued an order to all police stations in Kodagu to conduct a document-verification drive.
'Earlier this month, a resident of Aglar village (name withheld by request) in south Kashmir’s Shopian district received a call from an Army officer, asking him to deposit his private vehicle at the local Army camp by evening. The man did that, turning over the car’s keys to Army personnel. Next morning, he collected the car. It had been used during the night. His is not a one-off case. In at least two villages of Shopian, residents say it has become a regular practice for the Army to call owners of commercial and private vehicles, and use their vehicles at night — for free.
'A letter found on Delhi-based activist Rona Wilson documenting an alleged plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to be a “spoof” that was obtained from suspicious sources, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is believed to have told the Pune police during a review of the chargesheet filed in the “urban naxal” cases. The particular e-mail exchange between Maoists and the alleged “urban naxals” had only a single time stamp and not two — from both the receiver and the sender — thereby raising doubts over its authenticity...'
'“Those people from three neighbouring countries who belong to minority communities and have fled to India to escape persecution, have been provided a measure of help and relief by the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019; they have been shown some leniency. These concessions are not necessarily the outcome of Modi’s thinking. It is not that the idea materialised in Modi’s mind overnight and Modi made it happen. These concessions conform to the very spirit of Gandhi’s thought.
'An FIR was filed against Magsaysay Award winner and human rights activist Sandeep Pandey for allegedly making inappropriate comments against Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar during his speech at the Aligarh Muslim University. On Tuesday, national vice president of Hindu Mahasabha Rajiv Kumar filed a complaint alleging that Pandey made the comments while addressing anti-citizenship law protestors at AMU on Sunday, police said.
'...For the uninitiated, Bagga has been notorious in the capital’s political firmament, fomenting trouble from place to place. In 2011, before he was officially part of the BJP, he led an organisation called the Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena and attacked SC advocate Prashant Bhushan tweeting proudly: “"We hit Prashant Bhushan hard in his chamber in Supreme Court. If u will try to break my nation, I will break ur heads.” He had been detained for the incident.
'BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi has hit out at actor Saif Ali Khan for his recent remarks on Indian history, citing the name of his three-year-old son Taimur. Responding to a question in an interview on the political context of his latest movie 'Tanhaji', which tells the story of a 17th-century Maharashtrian military leader, Saif Ali Khan had said, "I don't think this is history. I don't think there was a concept of India till the British gave it one." Meenakshi Lekhi joined those enraged by the statement on Twitter, calling out the actor for his child's name...'
'Days after BJP MLA Arvind Limbavalli tweeted a video of shantytowns in North Bengaluru’s Kariyammana Agrahara area, claiming that the settlements belong to illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, the houses were razed to the ground on Sunday and rendered thousands homeless. The electricity and water supply to the location was cut off three days ago. After the demolition of the shanties, the residents, mostly migrants from Assam, Tripura, some even from North Karnataka, were allegedly asked to vacate the land... All the residents have valid identity cards, including Aadhaar, pan and voter ID.
'SAYING THAT internet was just used to watch “dirty films (gandi filmein)” in Jammu and Kashmir, NITI Aayog member V K Saraswat said on Saturday that suspension of services in the region, following the government’s decision to revoke J&K’s special status under Article 370 on August 5 last year, did not have a “significant” effect on the economy...'
'...'Framed As A Terrorist: My 14-Years Struggle to Prove My Innocence' is a heart wrenching book by Mohammad Aamir Khan written with noted human rights activist Nandita Haskar. The book was published in 2016, making this review a little late in day, yet I share this book review with you because 'Framed As A Terrorist....' is not only a personal account of immense struggle, pain and survival, but it is a profound and eye-opening commentary on working of Indian criminal justice system and Indian judiciary.
