SC Gives an Earful to Khaps

Taking a strong exception to the diktats passed by Khaps on matters of marriage, Supreme Court has come out strongly against honour killings. Apex court said that even if a young adults marry within the prohibited degree of relation there are courts and law to declare it null and void.

CJI Dipak Misra warned that Khaps should not become self-appointed conscience keepers when there is law and courts to deal with marriages prohibited by law. He said that irrespective of tradition, gotra, if there is illegality in marriage, its is for law and courts to deal with it and not Khaps.

The court said that a marriage between two adults was governed by the law. The Supreme Court bench said it would set up a high-level committee consisting of senior police officers to deal with issues relating to intervention in marriages by bodies such as khap panchayats.

The SC had in the past said if an adult man and woman marry, no khap, panchayat, individual or society can question them. In a democracy, if an adult girl or boy gets into marriage, no khap, no individual or no society can question them.

Khap panchayats or associations are notorious for attacking men and women opting for inter- caste marriage. Khaps are caste or community organisations in villages which at times act as quasi-judicial bodies and pronounce harsh punishments based on regressive and age-old customs and traditions.

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India Needs Scientific Temper: Dr. Jayant Narlikar

“We have not been able to develop a scientific temper despite 70 years of us achieving independence and we still get to see superstitions and irrational behavior around us,”said Dr. Jayant Naralikar, Padma Vibhushan, Emeritus Professor, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) while receiving the Vigyan Tantragyaan Shreshtha Award by Bharat Asmita National Awards Foundation for his contribution to the field of Science and Astrophysics. 

Other awardees felicitated at the Bharat Asmita National Awards along with Dr. Naralaikar were Smt. Rama Bijapurkar, Management Consultant and Educator in the category of Acharya Shrestha Award, Rajeev Satav, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha & Former National President, Indian Youth Congress in the category of Jana Pratinidhi Shrestha, Manoj Joshi, Padmashri, Well Known Actor, Pt. Rajan & Sajan Mishra, Padma Bhushan Renowned Khayal Style Singers all in the category of Jana Jagran Shreshta.

The Award Ceremony was held on 3rd February 2018 at the Swami Vivekanada Mandap, MIT World Peace University Campus and jointly organised by MIT School of Government, MIT World Peace University and Bharat Asmita Foundation.

Also present at the ceremony were Dr. Vijay Bhatkar, Well Known Computer Scientist, Dr. Vishwanth Karad, Nanik Rupani, Eminent Industrialist, Rahul Karad, Executive President, MIT World Peace University and Sharad Chandra Darade Patil. The Award Selection Committee comprises of stalwarts like Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, Dr. Vijay Bhatkar, Dr. Vishwanath Kard, Shri. Shyam Benegal, Ritu Chhabria, Ritu Nanda, Nadir Godrej and Rahul V. Karad.

Dr. Jayant Naralikar further said, “Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru had envisioned an India which would imbibe scientific attitude or temper but sadly it has not happened. I, on my part, will keep trying to campaign towards restoring a scientific temper among people till my last breath”.

Rama Bijapurkar said, “Often in this world, when one is ready, a teacher will find him and develop him accordingly. The best Gurudakshina one can give to his or her teacher is by going beyond the guru. The most important thing in today’s world is to teach one how to learn.”

Rajeev Satav said, “When I was fighting the 2014 General Elections, I was advised that there is a ‘Modi Wave’ and I should not run for elections this year. But I fought and won against all odds. If you have that ignition in heart, nothing can stop you. I would appeal to today’s youth to join whichever party you like, but contribute to the field of politics in some or the other way.”

Manoj Joshi said, “My father was a teacher of Sanskrit and we led a very simple life. And that is why I feel that despite being in the entertainment industry for years, I have never been fascinated by the glamour world. Acharya Chanakya had said that there is nothing above nation, for us, Rashtraneeti has to be supreme.”

Pt. Rajan & Sajan Mishra said, “Despite achieving tons of knowledge and contributing tremendously to the society, the one who feels that whatever he has done is still little and strives to do more, that person is the real gem of the society. If competition from the education system is removed, then talent will blossom on its own.”

Dr. Vijay Bhatkar said, “The nation that stands for universalization of knowledge has a key role to play in the global society. We have a lot to learn from the awardees who are felicitated tonight. Their life journey holds the vital message of sheer hard work and passion for the field of their liking.”

Rahul Karad explained the background of the awards in his introductory speech. Prof. Gautam Bapat compeered the ceremony and Dr. Saylee Gankar gave away the vote of thanks.

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Reason to Cheer for Donald Trump After Republican Memo's Release

United States President Donald Trump has reason to cheer after the release of the formerly classified Republican memo. "It totally vindicates me," he claimed on Twitter on Saturday (February 3).

Trump's fellow Republicans in the US House of Representatives released on Friday a previously classified memo that portrays senior officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Justice Department as being biased against him in the federal investigation into potential collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.

The memo raised questions about what its Republican authors called "the legitimacy and legality" of FBI and Justice Department interactions with a special court to gain permission to eavesdrop on former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page, an oil industry consultant with numerous contacts in Russia. It cited "a troubling breakdown of legal processes established to protect the American people from abuses" related to the court, set up under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

A remaining issue is whether Trump uses the memo as rational for firing Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Special Counsel Robert Mueller in May 2017 after the president fired FBI Director James Comey, and oversees Mueller's work.

Democrats said the memo mischaracterizes highly sensitive classified information as part of a coordinated propaganda effort to discredit the FBI and Justice Department and terminate Mueller's investigation, which potentially threatens Trump's presidency.

US Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team wanted to question President Donald Trump as part of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential elections. The investigation also reportedly involved a probe into whether the President obstructed justice when he allegedly asked ex-FBI Director James Comey to drop an inquiry into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian Ambassador, becoming the first senior White House official to cut a cooperation deal in Mueller’s inquiry.

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Maratha Light Infantry to Celebrate 250 Years

The Maratha Light Infantry, one of the oldest regiments of the Army and the recipient of 56 battle honours, has entered its 250th year. 

A host of events have been planned to celebrate its legacy. Colonel of the Maratha Light Infantry Lt Gen PJS Pannu told newsmen on Saturday that the celebrations will open with a function on Sunday at the Manekshaw Centre where a coffee-table book on the infantry, 'Victory and Valour', will be released.

He said, the Maratha Light Infantry was the first infantry to be designated as a light infantry during the British Raj, for being swift-footed. The regiment draws inspiration from the legacy of Maratha warriors, who were adept in guerrilla warfare.

The legacy of the Maratha Light Infantry is illustrious and includes two Victoria Crosses won during the Second World War.

February 4 has a historical significance for the regiment, as on this day in 1670 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had conquered Fort Kondana which is famously known as Sinhgad.

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India Joins Ashgabat agreement

India has joined Ashgabat Agreement on the establishment of an International Transport and Transit Corridor between the Iran, Oman, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The agreement was signed in April 2011, which envisages facilitation of transit and transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. 

External Affairs Ministry said the accession to the Agreement would diversify India’s connectivity options with Central Asia and have a positive influence on its trade and commercial ties with the region. Turkmenistan, as depository state of Ashgabat Agreement, informed India yesterday that all the four founding members have consented to the Accession of India. 

India’s accession to the agreement will come into force on 3rd of this month. India had deposited the Instrument of Accession with Turkmenistan in April 2016.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had given its approval for India to accede to the Ashgabat Agreement on March 23, 2016

The Ashgabat Agreement has Oman, Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as founding members. Kazakhstan has also joined this arrangement subsequently. Accession to the Agreement would enable India to utilise this existing transport and transit corridor to facilitate trade and commercial interaction with the Eurasian region. Further, this would synchronise with our efforts to implement the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) for enhanced connectivity. 

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India Announces World's Largest Health Programme

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget 2018-19 in the Parliament on Thursday, where he had a challenge to not just realise the 'New India' dream by spurring growth, but also meet expectations of millions of people and different sections of society and businesses of the country.
World's largest government-funded health programme - 'National Health Protection Scheme' was announced. It will cover 10 crore poor and vulnerable families by providing upto Rs 5 lakh per family per year. The government will launch 'Revitalising of Infrastructure and Systems in Education' by 2022 with a total investment of Rs 1 lakh crore in next 4 years.
This budget is significant as it was Modi government's fifth and final full budget. It is also the first one after GST implementation. Clearly, the focus is on low-cost farming. He said besides 'ease of doing business', the government is also focusing on 'ease of living' now. “
Higher Minimum Support Price of all crops shall be increased to at least 1.5 times that of the production cost.Hardwork of farmers resulted in a record production of more than 275 million tonnes of food grain and about 300 million tonnes of horticultural produce,” FM  said.
The Finance Minister expressed hope that economy will grow at 7.2 percent to 7.5 percent in the second half of 2017-18. He exuded confidence that India is on track to grow at 8 percent.
He proposed to raise institutional credit for agriculture to Rs 11 lakh crore for 2018-19. National Livelihood Mission allocated Rs. 5,750 cr in 2018-19.
Bamboo is green gold and restructured National Bamboo Mission will be launched with an allocation of Rs 1,290 crore to promote bamboo sector in a holistic manner, Jaitley said.
Air Pollution in Delhi NCR is a cause for concern, special scheme will be implemented to support Govts of Haryana, Punjab, UP and Delhi NCT to address it and subsidize machinery for management of crop residue, FM said.
By 2022, every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal people will have 'Ekalavya' school at par with Navodaya Vidyalas.
Government plans to construct 2 crore more toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission, he informed.
Jaitley said the government has successfully implemented series of structural reforms as a result of which India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. He said FDI has gone up and Indian economy is now a 2.5 trillion economy.

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Bravo India! Government Says Country Cannot Become Refugee Capital of World

The central government has taken a very bold stance that must be applauded by every right thinking citizen. The Centre has told the Supreme Court that it does not want the country to become the refugee capital of the world.

  Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told this to a bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, which was hearing a fresh plea by two Rohingya refugees alleging that the BSF was using chili and stun grenades to stop the refugees from entering India.

The ASG said he needed time to respond to the allegations made by the refugees. He, however, said not everyone can be allowed to cross the border and these matters are best left to the government to decide.

The lawyer appearing for the refugees said the government must be prevented from stopping more Rohingyas from entering India because of the persecution faced by them in Myanmar. The court gave the Centre time till the 7th of March to respond to the fresh plea.

The Rohingya crisis has sparked a debate in the country for a time and has occupied central space in the national debate from time to time. There are two groups in India – one that see Rohingyas as "refugees” and another as “illegal infiltrators". A majority opinion inclines towards the view that Rohingya Muslims are certainly not entitled to the refugee status.

For one, India is an extremely densely populated country and it doesn't need more people. . India has accepted Tibetan refugees because Tibet was occupied by China. Besides, there was a humanitarian and cultural basis to what we did. Rohingyas cannot claim any such affinity.

The Indian government has already termed them as illegal immigrants who "will be deported". It is true that some organizations, mainly human rights bodies, are raising pith in the name of humanitarian cause about the planned deportation of Rohingyas from India. But it is because they want to appear politically correct in the world. The arrival of Rohingyas carry a concern with them that there are terrorists hiding in that big pool of people. Besides, India is not signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention therefore it is not obliged to accept them.

The government of India must be lauded as it has maintained its stand that the "issue of national security is involved with regard to illegal immigration which our country cannot undermine". The government had on August 9 told Parliament that more than 14,000 Rohingyas, registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, stay in India. However, aid agencies estimate there are about 40,000 Rohingyas in the country.

Illegal immigrants cannot claim fundamental rights which are otherwise available even to non-citizens, the Centre had told the Supreme Court early this month in its fresh response to the PIL of two Rohingya refugees challenging their deportation to Myanmar.

The National Human Rights Commission had in August issued a notice to the Centre, saying "India has been home to refugees, for centuries" and from the human rights angle, its "intervention is appropriate" in the matter.

The latest stand of the government has to be seen in this light.

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