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Keralites in Kuwait to be most impacted as 8 lakh Indians may be forced to leave over new immigration law

OpIndia Staff
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Keralites in Kuwait to be most impacted as 8 lakh Indians may be forced to leave over new immigration law

Kuwait has proposed a new bill on 4th July to limit the number of foreign nationals in the country. The bill will be submitted to the Assembly in the next two weeks. According to the Kuwait Times, Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem said that Kuwait’s main problem is its population structure. 70% of the total population are expats.

As per reports, Kuwait has around 3.35 million expats and a staggering 1.3 million are either illiterate or can barely read and write. Kuwait does not need them. He added that 100,000 of these people are workers who are illiterate.

The interior minister of Kuwait has said that visa trading is another problem the country is facing. It is a brutal practice and involves human trafficking that must be stopped. In the proposed bill, the number of Indians should be reduced to 15% of the total population. The legal and legislative committee of the National Assembly has said that the draft expat quota bill is constitutional. Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait had last month proposed to bring the number of expats to 30 percent of the population. The reduction is supposed to be done in phases.

Officials have stated that they constantly face complaints of visa trading and human trafficking.

Around 14 lakh Indians are reportedly living in Kuwait (For details click here: PDF). If the bill becomes a law, around eight lakh, Indians have to return home. The bill also calls for reducing the number of Egyptians in the country that makes to 10% of Kuwait’s total population. As per 2008 estimates, 80% of all Indians living in the Gulf are from Kerala. If Kuwait’s new law comes into force, it is expected that Keralites will be the most impacted.

A slump in oil prices among reasons of new proposed law

In 2018, India received close to $4.8 billion from Kuwait in remittances. At present, the citizens of Kuwait have turned into minority and the administration is trying to reverse it. Kuwait is largely dependent on the workforce from different countries. In the background of Covid-19, there has been a slump in the oil prices across the world that is believed to be one of the reasons for such a step.

The Indian embassy is closely following the developments and no official statement has been released by the Ministry of External affairs so far. India and Kuwait have pleasant diplomatic and trade relationships. There are more than a million expats from India living in Kuwait. Out of these, around 80 percent are from southern states of India, the majority being from Kerala. MEA has mentioned it multiple times in its statement that Indians are present in all segments of society in Kuwait and are largely considered disciplined, hardworking, and law-abiding.

Congress does u-turn on public-private partnerships in Indian railways since the UPA era: Here is what happened then and now

OpIndia Staff
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Congress does u-turn on public-private partnerships in Indian railways since the UPA era: Here is what happened then and now

The Congress party, of late, has been protesting against what it calls the ‘privatisation’ of Indian Railways. Recently, the Indian Youth Congress held a symbolic ‘shirtless’ protest against the same.

“Since the present BJP led NDA government came to power in 2014, many government PSUs and otherwise government-held assets have moved towards privatization. The anti-poor government at the Centre has also consistently moved towards privatization of Indian Railways, which will gradually lead to the railway becoming unaffordable for the common man,” the IYC said in a press release.

Ostensibly, the protests are regarding the decision of the Indian Railways to permit private entities to operate 109 trains on its rail network. Senior Congress leader and leader of the party in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Choudhary claimed that it was adding “salt to the injury of common people”. “It is easy to privatize the 109 pairs of trains but for whose interest?” he asked.

For its part, the Railways said, “The objective of this initiative is to introduce modern technology rolling stock with reduced maintenance, reduced transit time, boost job creation, provide enhanced safety, provide world-class travel experience to passengers.” The 109 origin-destination routes have been formed into 12 clusters across the Indian Railway network. Each train shall have a minimum of 16 coaches, it said.

It is important to remember here that the initiative of the Indian Railways in question is not exactly ‘privatisation’ so to speak. The correct term to use here is Public Private Partnership (PPP). The PPP Model has been used extensively in the past to fuel the growth engine of the Indian economy and usher in development. Not so long ago, the Congress itself was predisposed towards such partnerships as is evident from the conduct of the UPA Government.

It is only when they lost power that they suddenly appear to have discovered the perils of it. Like everything else, even the current issue is being embroiled in petty politics so that the Congress party could gain at least some political mileage from it. Distressed by its current political irrelevance, it is throwing everything in its arsenal at the BJP in the deluded hope that something sticks.

Favourable comments by senior Congress leaders during UPA regime

In his inaugural address at the Conference on PPP in National Highways in September, 2011, then Prime Minister Manmohan Sinmgh said, “I have often said Public Private Partnership is private profit in service of public at large”. P Chidambaram said in his budget speech in 2004, “I believe that the key to growth is investment – public and private, domestic and foreign. It is therefore my intention to considerably enhance investment in all sectors of the economy.”

In his 2005 Budget Speech, P Chidambaram said, “In agriculture, we shall enhance public and private investment in the infrastructure required to support expansion, diversification and value addition. In the industrial sector, both the public sector and the private sector will be allowed the space to grow and compete with each other. Government will play the leading role in providing and facilitating investment in public goods such as roads, railways, power, seaports and airports. In the services sector, Government will recognize the leading role played by the private sector, and provide a supportive policy environment and stable tax policies.”

In his 2005 Budget Speech as the Railways Minister of the country, Lalu Prasad Yadav said, “To ensure the commercial utilisation of surplus railway land and air space I had, during the last Parliament session, presented a Railway (Amendment) Bill, 2004 in the Rajya Sabha, for setting up of RLDA. This authority will, through public-private participation, develop surplus land adjoining railway stations and goods sheds for constructing warehouses and logistics parks. It would also generate additional resources for the development of railways.”

Lalu Prasad Yadav said in his 2006 Railway Budget Speech, Lalu Prasad Yadav said, “We will not allow resource constraints to hamper expansion of the rail network. We will encourage public-private partnership schemes for effecting significant improvements in rail services. This is the need of the hour.”

It is pertinent to mention here that Lalu Prasad Yadav was the Railway Minister during the UPA regime. Thus, quite clearly, the Congress party itself was not averse towards public-private partnerships when it was in power. It is only now that the NDA government is treading the same path that it is suddenly finding fault with it.

Opinion on Disinvestment and Privatisation of Congress party

Close aide of former Congress president Sam Pitroda said in an article in May 2018, Rajiv Gandhi “emphasised privatisation, liberalisation, free market economy, democratisation, deregulation, technology, entrepreneurship, innovations, etc, in the mid-eighties, with a commitment to expedite the process of development in India.”

Former Commerce Minister Kamal Nath had told ET in 2009 that “disinvestment of government equity while maintaining management control will only improve the efficiency of some of these public sector undertakings”.

Allegations of Scam involving PPPs during UPA regime

Lalu Prasad Yadav, his son Tejasvi Yadav and his wife, Rabrfi Devi, were accused of corruption during his tenure as Union Minister in 2006. He was accused of facilitating the lease of two hotels to a private company Sujata Hotels in return for a 2-acre plot in Patna, Bihar during his tenure as Railway Minister from 2004-09.

The Central Bureau of Investigation conducted raids at 12 locations associated with the RJD Supremo and others accused in the IRCTC hotel Lenders Case in July, 2017.

In 2018, movable assets worth Rs. 17.55 crores be;onging to R.K. Associates and Hoteliers Pvt. Ltd., Satyam caterers Pvt. Ltd. And others were attached by the Enforcement Directorate in a scam related to Rail Neer. The CBI discovered in its investigation that private caterers were mandated to supply Rail Neer water bottles to Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains.

Instead, other packaged drinking water brands were supplied in collusion with officers in the railways department causing a loss of Rs. 19.55 crores to the government exchequer between January 2013 and December 2014. Furthermore, it was revealed that the private entities had laundered Rs. 17.55 crores to their bank accounts.

Success stories of public-private partnerships in Indian Railways

Numerous contracts have been signed under the ‘Make in India’ initiative that is expected to increase average speed of goods trains in freight corridor. 19 electric locomotives and 2010 diesel locmotives have been delivered to Indian Railways under a PPP programme. The first such locomotive has already been put under operation by the Indian Railways.

One of the greatest success stories of the PPP Model, however, is the corporate trains being run by IRCTC in three routes currently. The Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas Express Train, the Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express train and the Kashmi Mahakal Express train are operated by the IRCTC. Onboard services are provided by the IRCTC in association with private partners and have been well received by the people at large.

NIA files charge sheet Jammu and Kashmir tainted cop Davinder Singh, Hizbul terrorist Syed Naveed and 4 others in a terror case

OpIndia Staff
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NIA files charge sheet Jammu and Kashmir tainted cop Davinder Singh, Hizbul terrorist Syed Naveed and 4 others in a terror case

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Monday, filed a charge-sheet against 6 people, including Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorist Syed Naveed and the Jammu and Kashmir tainted cop Davinder Singh. All have been charged in a terror case, reported ANI.

Last month, NIA had confirmed that it had “adequate evidence” against the rogue cop and would be filing a charge-sheet against him in due course of time. He was arrested under the anti-terror UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) law.

Davinder Singh granted bail by Delhi Court

Last month social media was abuzz with the liberals casting aspersions on the government and the police mechanism, insinuating that the disgraced cop was going to walk free after there were reports that the Court has granted bail to Davinder Singh and lawyer Irfan Shafi Mir. However, soon it was confirmed that the bail was awarded to Davinder Singh in a separate case and he would continue to remain in judicial custody in the NIA case. In a brief statement, a spokesperson of the NIA had confirmed that Davinder Singh continued to be in judicial custody in a case filed by the agency.

The suspended Jammu and Kashmir cop was escorting Naveed Mushtaq (alias Babu), a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist and resident of Nazneenpora in Shopian district, and his associate Asif Ahmad, when he was arrested on 11 January at Kulgam. According to the police, Naveed Mushtaq was wanted in the killings of apple traders, drivers and labourers (a total of 11 people) in October last year. 

Davinder Singh’s terror connection

It was reported that DSP Davinder Singh, who was on the payroll of the Islamic terror organisation, had been taking money not only for transporting and sheltering Naveed but was also receiving money on a regular basis from the terrorist for extending assistance throughout the year. Singh was involved in multiple operations of trapping and killing militants or forcing their arrest or surrender. 

The other accused in the case are two Hizb-ul terrorists Naveed Mushtaq alias Babu, Rafi Ahmed Rather and lawyer Irfan Shafi Mir. The three were arrested with the DSP from a checkpoint on the highway at Wanpoh area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district.

The fifth person to be arrested was Naveed’s brother Irfan Mushtaq. He was held on January 23 for allegedly being part of the conspiracy and the sixth accused arrested in the case was the ex-president of cross-LoC trade Tanveer Ahmed Wani.

Kanpur encounter: Three cops suspended on suspicion of connection with Vikas Dubey, 115 police personnel under scanner

OpIndia Staff
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Kanpur encounter: Three cops suspended on suspicion of connection with Vikas Dubey, 115 police personnel under scanner

IG Kanpur Range Mohit Agarwal on Monday said that three police officers have been suspended after their suspicious activities linked to Vikas Dubey surfaced. According to a report published in TOI, the investigators are analyzing call records of around 115 police personnel. They have found that three of them could be on the payroll of gangster Vikas Dubey. The investigators think that these three could be the moles who informed Dubey about police movement.

IG Agarwal said that the probe is still underway. The three personnel who got suspended are sub-inspectors Krishna Kumar Sharma and Kunwarpal and a police constable Rajeev. All three were deployed in Chaubeypur police station. The station in-charge of the same police station, Vinay Tiwari, fled from the encounter scene on Friday night. He was suspended on Saturday. Kanpur SSP Dinesh Kumar P said that preliminary inquiry had been initiated against all three policemen.

The story of sabotage

On Friday night (3rd June), three teams of UP police comprising 30 police personnel went to arrest gangster Vikas Dubey. It is alleged that someone from Choubeypur Police station informed Dubey about the police movement. Dubey, along with his 50-60 goons, took the position in his house. The moment police personnel reached his house, they opened fire at them.

Taking advantage of the altitude and dark surroundings, they managed to kill eight police officers. As per the witness, no one from Choubeypur police station fired any shot. The station in-charge, Tiwari, fled from the scene. In the aftermath of the incident, the administration has demolished Kanpur house of Dubey. Twenty-five teams are aggressively searching for Dubey since the attack happened.

If their involvement is proved during the inquiry, an FIR will be lodged against them, and they will face further action, said SSP Kumar.

Vikas Dubey operated like a Maoist, had hidden arms and explosives inside bunker and walls of his house: UP Police

OpIndia Staff
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Vikas Dubey operated like a Maoist, had hidden arms and explosives inside bunker and walls of his house: UP Police

Kanpur police have revealed that Vikas Dubey, the hardened criminal who had killed 8 police personnel in an ambush on the intervening night of July 2 and 3, operated like a Maoist. The history-sheeter had a bunker in his house which was used to store weapons and explosives.

Kanpur inspector general (IG) Mohit Agarwal confirmed that the bunkers were stocked with arms, ammunition and explosives. He added that like black money hoarders hide currency notes, the walls in Vikas’ house were found hiding guns and ammunition.

The police officer added that the gangster had hidden arms and ammunition in the walls of his house. After the demolition of Vikas Dubey’s palatial house in Kanpur district, Saturday, the police recovered a large number of country-made guns, ammunition and explosives.

It is being reported that Vikas Dubey and his henchmen were in possession of dangerous weapons like the AK-47. According to reports, Dubey and his gang members had fired 200-300 shots at the police during the ambush, the cartridges of which have been recovered by the police during the demolition of Dubey’s house in Kanpur.

According to recent reports, Kanpur police has initiated a preliminary inquiry against sub-inspectors Kunwarpal and Krishna Kumar Sharma and constable Rajeev, the three who have been suspended. It is being believed that the three cops were in touch with Vikas Dubey and his accomplice.

Injured cop narrates how policemen were trapped

Today, Kaushalendra Pratap Singh, an injured station officer of Bithoor police station, described the incident which transpired on July 2 in Bithoor area in Chaubepur, explaining how and why things went south for UP Police. The police officer revealed that the local team of Chaubeypur police station had stood watching as the other teams were ambushed by Vikas’ men.

Singh suffered bullet injuries and he is currently under treatment at Regency Hospital in Kanpur. 

Police demolish the house of gangster Vikas Dubey in Bithur

On Saturday, Uttar Pradesh police had demolished the gangster’s house in Bithur besides deploying several teams to raid different areas in search of Vikas Dubey. These places are residences of Dubey’s relatives and family members and the police believe that Dubey might be hiding at one of the places. On these lines, a team raided Vikas Dubey’s house in Lucknow, where the police found no one except a servant.

Continuing their search for the hardened criminal who fled after the ambush, the police thereafter raided the house of Deep, Vikas’s brother and recovered a revolver from Deep’s wife.

What transpired on the intervening night of July 2-3

Eight police personnel, including Deputy SP Devendra Mishra, were killed and six cops were injured in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district, when the police team went to nab gangster Vikas Dubey on July 2 late night. According to the police officer, Dubey’s gang had laid a trap for the police officers, possibly alerted about the raid. As the police team reached the spot, they were ambushed by Dubey’s men who were prepared with arms on the roof of a building and continuously shot at them. Shockingly, the criminals had already stationed a JCB machine on the road to block the police team. Eight police personnel were killed and six cops were injured in the ambush.

The Kanpur police had arrested an aide of gangster Vikas Dubey in Kalyanpur in Uttar Pradesh, following an encounter on Saturday night. The accomplice who was identified as one Daya Shankar Agnihotri had confirmed to the police that Dubey had received a call from the cops before they came to arrest him. Moreover, Dubey’s call records have revealed that he was in touch with at least 24 police officials, including some from Chaubeypur and Shivrajpur stations.

Jamia violence: Supreme Court orders petitioners to remove objectionable content against Home Ministry

OpIndia Staff
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Jamia violence: Supreme Court orders petitioners to remove objectionable content against Home Ministry

On Monday, 6th July, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan of Supreme Court heard multiple petitions against violence that took place in and around Jamia Millia Islamia University during anti-CAA protests on the evening of 15th December 2019. The petitioners asked for an independent inquiry into the violence that broke out at Jamia Milia Islamia University. SG Tushar Mehta appeared for the Delhi Police while senior advocate Colin Gonsalves appeared for the petitioners.

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta objected to the language used in certain portions of the pleadings. He said that the petitions suggest that the Home Minister has ordered police to beat the students and break their bones mercilessly. The pleadings say that there is a common opinion that police had instructions from the top to beat the students.

Allegations without evidence look good only in speeches not in affidavits

SG Mehta said that without any evidence, the petitioners could not make such a claim against the constitutional authorities. “Such allegations cannot be made before a constitutional court,” He added. The allegations that are without any evidence should be removed from the pleadings. SG submitted that such allegations might look good in the public speeches but not an affidavit filed before a constitutional court.

The Court asked Senior Advocate Gonsalves to consider deleting the objectionable content from the petitions. When Justice Jalan asked SG Mehta if the objection had to be decided at a preliminary stage, he replied that it could be decided at the stage of hearing.

Senior Advocate Salman Khurshid, who was appearing for the petitioners, asked the court if there can be a consolidated list of petitions and counter-affidavits, which was supported by Advocate Indira Jaising. In the final order, the court asked to submit a consolidated list of issues, and categorically asked that the objectionable content without any evidence should be removed from the petition.

Anti-CAA protests, Jamia Violence and Delhi Riots

The Jamia Milia Islamia violence took place in the background on anti-CAA protests on the evening of 15th December. There were allegations that the police attacked unarmed students studying in the library and beat them up. It was alleged that the police broke the furniture in the library as well. However, later video evidence showed that the rioters who were pelting stones on police were hiding in the Library taking cover as students.

Anti-CAA protests that led to the Delhi riots in February caused the loss of lives and property across the country. Delhi police have submitted several charge sheets against conspirators like ex-AAP MLA Tahir Hussain, Shahrukh Pathan, Sharjeel Imam, Devangana Kalita, Safoora Zargar and many others.

The Supreme Court has set 13th July 2020 as the next date of hearing in the Jamia violence case.

Disengagement reported from LAC’s Galwan and Pangong Tso after talks between NSA Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister, China confirms

OpIndia Staff
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Disengagement reported from LAC’s Galwan and Pangong Tso after talks between NSA Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister, China confirms

In the first signs of de-escalation of the conflict between India and China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) personnel have reportedly retreated about 2 km from the site of the violent clashes in Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh. According to reports, China has confirmed disengagement along LAC.

China’s Global Times has quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry Spox Zhao Lijian as saying on Monday: “There is progress made on frontline troops taking effective measures to disengage and ease tensions.”

NSA Ajit Doval intervenes to resolve the deadlock between India and China

Journalist Aditya Raj Kaul informed that NSA Ajit Doval had a two-hour long video call with Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi yesterday, where they spoke on how to resolve the deadlock between the two countries and the steps to be taken for disengagement. It is being said that the discussion between the two ended on a positive note and an official statement from the Indian Government on the disengagement can be expected any time soon.

According to reports, NSA Ajit Doval has been closely monitoring the Ladakh crisis and has been keeping a close watch on the actions being taken by China amidst the escalated tensions between India and China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). It is being believed that PM Modi’s sudden visit to Ladakh was also a part of Doval’s strategy. Apart from him, no one was reportedly aware that the Prime Minister would be accompanying COAS Naravane and CDS Bipin Rawat to Ladakh.

PM Modi’s Leh visit

The PM had arrived in Leh, Ladakh early morning on July 3 with Gen Bipin Rawat and COAS MM Naravane. PM Modi was there to meet soldiers and boost the morals of the Indian troops present there.

Meanwhile, there are reports that after Galwan Valley, China has also been pulling back from Finger 4 area of Pangong, the 1st such Chinese pullback from the area since May 10. Some Chinese posts have been dismantled at Finger 4 ridgeline and some of the 62 new PLA Finger 4 positions have also been moved.

Pangong Tso is believed to be one of the most contentious areas of the current stand-offs, with the PLA moving about 8 km inside up to Finger 4. India’s claim is till Finger 8 as per the alignment of the LAC.

A violent face-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers had taken place between finger 4 and 5 areas on May 5 and since then the stand-off between the troops of the two countries has continued.

Kaul later shared a statement from the Chinese authorities confirming the disengagement but adding, “China will continue to defend its territorial sovereignty and the border area and peace.”

Earlier we had reported that the Chinese troops have retreated about 2 km from the site of the violent clashes in Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh. Following the high-level meeting between the Commanders on both sides on June 30, a survey was conducted to verify whether China acted upon its assurances. Physical verification reportedly revealed that temporary structures were removed by both the sides from the site of violent confrontation in Galwan Valley.

As per the June 30 plan, de-escalation was to take place at critical sites such as Galwan, Pangong Tso, and Hot Springs. Once de-escalation took place in the said areas, a similar course of action would be implemented in ‘depth areas’ such as Depsang plains.

On June 19, China had made new claims suggesting that the Galwan Valley was located on the Chinese side of the LAC.

In fact, the June 15 deadly clashes in Galwan Valley which left 20 Indian soldiers killed, after the Chinese troops had attacked with stones, batons, and barbed wires, had taken place after Indian troops strongly opposed the erection of a surveillance post by the Chinese near patrolling point 14 in the Galwan Valley.

China’s Inner Mongolia reports suspected cases of bubonic plague: Here is all you need to know about ‘Black Death’ plague

Jinit Jain
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China’s Inner Mongolia reports suspected cases of bubonic plague: Here is all you need to know about ‘Black Death’ plague

Even as the raging coronavirus gallops through the world, authorities in China’s Inner Mongolia have sounded an alert after the region reported a suspected case of the bubonic plague, the disease that had caused the Black Death pandemic. According to the reports, Bayannur, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, called for a Level III warning of plague prevention and control.

The Level III warning outlaws the hunting and eating of animals that could carry plague and calls on the public to report suspected cases. The Xinhua News Agency stated that the warning will stay in place until the end of the year.

The case was first reported by the state-run Xinhua News Agency on July 1 which said that the lab results of two suspected cases of bubonic plague from Khovd Province of Western Mongolia came out positive. Two brothers, one a 27-year-old one and the other 17-year-old have been confirmed of being infected by the pestilence. They both had consumed marmot meat, prompting Health officials to issue an advisory against the consumption of marmot meat. Recently, a herdsman in the Inner Mongolia region was also confirmed to have been suffering from the bubonic plague

In addition to raising an alert, the Bayannur health authorities have also stepped up the measures to avert the spread of the plague asking people to take extra precautions to reduce the risk of human-to-human transmission and to prevent hunting or eating animals that can cause infection.

“At present, there is a risk of a human plague epidemic spreading in this city. The public should improve its self-protection awareness and ability, and report abnormal health conditions promptly,” the local health authority said, according to state-run newspaper China Daily.

What is a plague and how are humans affected by it?

Plague is a highly contagious disease that is caused by Yersinia pestis bacteria and transmitted through flea bites and infected animals. The plague is spread by a zoonotic bacteria that is usually found in small mammals and their fleas, with the symptoms of the disease appearing after an incubation period of one to seven days. The malady typically spreads from bites of fleas that have fed upon infected creatures like mice, rats, rabbits and squirrels.

What is Black Death?

The Black Death, also known as the Pestilence and the Great Mortality, was one of the most fatal pandemics recorded in human history. Estimated to have killed 75-200 million people in the world, most notably in Eurasia and North Africa, the pandemic is believed to have rampaged in the Medieval times from 1346 to 1353.

The pandemic was believed to have originated somewhere in the central Asia before sweeping through Europe and North Africa in the middle of 14th century. While the antibiotics can treat the disease now, during the medieval times, the epidemic wreaked havoc, killing healthy people overnight and causing a great social, political and religious upheaval.

What are the different forms of the plague?

There are three types of plague—Bubonic, Septicemic and Pneumonic plague.

The bubonic plague causes painful inflammation of lymph nodes, along with fever, chills and coughing. This form of plague is generally caused by an infected flea bite. The bacteria breeds in the lymph node closest to where the bacteria entered the body. If the patient is not treated with appropriate antibiotics, the pathogen can spread to other parts of the body, eventually resulting in a fatality.

Marmot behind the cause of bubonic plague in China?

Marmots, a type of large ground squirrel that is a staple diet in some part of China and the neighbouring Mongolia, which have a history of plague outbreaks in the region. Bayannur authorities have cautioned people against the consumption of marmots and asked people to report on the findings of dead or sick marmots.

Marmots are also believed to have caused the 1911 pneumonic plague epidemic which killed about 63,000 people in northeast China. Marmots were hunted for its fur, its popularity rising among the international traders. The diseases fur products that travelled across different countries infected thousands along the way. While the epidemic was contained within a year, marmot-related contagions have continued for decades. Last year, a couple in Mongolia died after they consumed the raw kidney of a marmot, thought to be a folk remedy for good health. Months later, across the border in China’s Inner Mongolia, two people got affected by the pneumonic plague, another form of the disease that affects the lungs.

“Jahaan hue balidaan Mookherjee, wo Kashmir hamara hai”: Remembering Dr S P Mookherjee on first birth anniversary after abrogation of Article 370

Abhishek Banerjee
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“Jahaan hue balidaan Mookherjee, wo Kashmir hamara hai”: Remembering Dr S P Mookherjee on first birth anniversary after abrogation of Article 370

According to the state government of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Syama Prasad Mookherjee died from a heart attack while in custody on June 23, 1953. Nobody knows what really happened, but this is the official version endorsed at the time by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

We will never know if Nehru was telling the truth. But what we know for sure is that Dr S P Mookherjee’s dream did not die with him. It lived in the hearts of people for over sixty years. And then, on Aug 5 last year, Article 370 ceased to exist. It was obliterated by an act of Indian Parliament and Jammu and Kashmir was fully integrated into India. For ever and ever.

Today is July 6, the birth anniversary of Dr S P Mookherjee, the first one sine this dream was fulfilled. And it is extremely special.

“Ek desh mein do Vidhan, do Pradhan aur Do Nishan nahi chalenge”

This was Mookherjee’s slogan. At the time, organizations such as the Jana Sangh or the Hindu Mahasabha had almost nothing in the way of political power. But they did have a dream. This was a time when there was no glory and no money in dissent. No media cheerleaders to carry “dissenters” on their shoulders, no five star receptions and no international prizes. There was no career in dissent. They were in it to make sacrifices and they did.

And Mookherjee followed his dream straight into the jaws of the hostile government in Srinagar. He died there. But there was born the new slogan : “Jahaan hue balidaan Mookherjee, wo Kashmir hamara hai.”

This became one of the rallying cries of the Sangh, one of the slogans they internalized over the years. Here is Amit Shah raising the slogan at a rally in Raipur last year.

And here is the Late Sushma Swaraj remembering this slogan in the Lok Sabha.

Sushma Swaraj remembering the slogan in Parliament

And here is Sushma ji’s final tweet, before leaving us all.

Sushma Swaraj’s last tweet before she passed away.

My aim is not to make you emotional. My aim is to remind you that we – each one of us – holds the land of Bharat in trust. Each one of us will be gone one day. But this land is not ours to give away. Our ancestors gave us this land. We hold it in trust for future generations.

Underneath the republic is a nation that is as old as time itself. The Republic of India is only the latest expression of it. When you understand this point, you have learned that which those who set out to “discover” India never understood. It does not matter whether a blade of grass grows somewhere or not; it is just not ours to give away.

And while we hold this nation in trust, it is our duty to do right by our people. The removal of Article 370 brought an end to many injustices. Here is just one.

Retired Gorkha soldiers get J&K Domicile

In the last one year, thousands of retired soldiers of the Indian Army have received domicile certificates of Jammu and Kashmir. They are finally entitled to buy land and get government jobs in the (now) Union Territory. Imagine fighting for your country and then finding out that you are a second class citizen where you live.

All these decades, they bore the humiliation silently. Our media never flashed their faces across newspapers and TV channels. Theirs were not the shiny faces of celebrity dissenters who chant Bharat ke tukde from five star luxury. Theirs were the faces of honorable men and women who served the nation with their lives but had to live as second class citizens.

We are fortunate to belong to a generation that saw this important step towards the unification of India. The petty politics of 2019 or 2020 will be forgotten some day. Only this big step shall be remembered.

Rajdeep Sardesai tries to claim Nehru’s Himalayan Blunder is a ‘narrative’. Here is how Nehru failed against China

OpIndia Staff
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Rajdeep Sardesai tries to claim Nehru’s Himalayan Blunder is a ‘narrative’. Here is how Nehru failed against China

On Friday, in his programme ‘Neta Nagri’, journalist Rajdeep Sardesai was made to acknowledge the failure of the erstwhile Congress government led by PM Jawaharlal Nehru in safeguarding India’s border with China. Speaking on the current situation in Ladakh over the faceoff with China, Sardesai claimed that the ghost of Nehru still haunts the BJP.

As seen in below clip, Sardesai claims that BJP has ‘built a narrative’ that ‘Nehruji‘ had completely failed against China during the 1962 war and that he was a weak leader.

Speaking on the current government, he said that PM Modi wants to show that we are not like Nehru. “We are that kind of government that can look at China in the eye. Rajdeep suggested a sinister perception game of the BJP. He was then interrupted by his colleague Saurabh Dwivedi who asked Sardesai to elaborate on his usage of the term ‘narrative’. “What do you mean ‘built a narrative’? It is truth, right? What is ‘narrative in this?” he questioned.

At this point, Sardesai is at a loss of words and shifts goalpost to the NDA government banning the Chinese apps over privacy and security reasons. Dwivedi again interrupted him and said how he is not talking about the optics of the current union government but the ‘narrative’ bit Sardesai is talking about. “In 1962 from the point of view of military we were completely unprepared. With regards to Nehru’s decisiveness, and how without any experience the soldiers were sent on the field… Nehru had many achievements but 1962 war has been a failure,” Dwivedi said.

Taking aback by the rebuttal, Rajdeep Sardesai conceded, “I am just highlighting the ‘narrative’ part of the story. This is, however, the truth. It was his (weakness). It was a Himalayan blunder.”

Nehru’s Himalayan Blunder

In the 1962 India-China war, India faced a rather humiliating defeat. After the Indian independence in 1947, Britain left India to settle boundary disputes with Pakistan, Nepal and China on its own. China was not prepared to let Nehru get away with his “forward policy” of aggression. On its Western (Ladakh) border, Nehru’s “forward policy” in September 1962 tried to force the Chinese out of territory it claimed as its own. Nehru announced on October 11 that the army had been ordered to “free our territory.” That’s how the war began with China reacting to the situation.

Nehru at that time was away from India. The Chinese attacked simultaneously on the Ladakh area and NEFA, India bordering China on the Tibetan side. The Chinese managed to capture 11,000 km² of area in Aksai Chin and substantial area in NEFA. The Indian army was not prepared to go to war and did not even have basic essentials like warm clothing and boots and other protective gear needed to fight in such cold conditions. In his book Himalayan Blunder, a war memoir, Brigadier John Dalvi writes how China had planned the attack while maintaining a different position on war officially. You could read in detail about the same here.

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