Within two days after the expansion of the cabinet in Maharasthra, a rift has cropped up in the Congress camp as senior leaders of the party are unhappy over allocation of portfolios, reports Times Now.
#Breaking | Rift between @INCIndia ministers over Maharashtra cabinet portfolio.
According to reports, a rift broke out within the party over the cabinet minister selection and portfolio of those ministers. Senior Congress party leader Ashok Chavan has reportedly demanded powerful ministeries of either Revenue or Public Works Department in the new cabinet causing a conflict with Balasaheb Thorat, who currently holds Revenue portfolio. Senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde has been allocated with the PWD ministry along with the Home department. When CM Uddhav Thackeray had taken over as CM of Maharashtra, he had inducted only 6 ministers. As a result, all of them hold several portfolios, most of which will be distributed among the new ministers now.
On Monday, there were also reports that a disagreement had occurred between factions of Congress over the inclusion of ministers in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government. It is reported that senior party leaders, including former Chief Ministers Prithviraj Chavan, Sushil Kumar Shinde, and leader Amin Patel, were purportedly disappointed over missing out on being ministers in the new Maharashtra coalition government.
The rift is not just limited to the Congress party but there is also some dissatisfaction among leaders of Shiv Sena regarding the allocation of portfolios in the government.
Even senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, one of the prominent faces of the party during the recent power tussle in Maharashtra, had skipped the oath-taking ceremony of state cabinet ministers on Monday, fuelling speculation of internal bickering.
Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana also published an article alleging that the Maharashtra cabinet expansion has caused discontent among the party ranks who lost on the ministerial berths to accommodate the Independent legislators from Sena quota.
Validating the dissatisfaction brewing among some members of the Shiv Sena, the Saamana editorial asserted that “Original Shiv Sainiks lost ministerial berth due to induction of three independent legislators through Sena quota”. The executive editor of Saamana is firebrand politician Sanjay Raut, who is considered as a chief architect of the alliance stitched up between the Shiv Sena, Congress and the NCP.
On Sunday, 36 Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders took oath as ministers in the newly-formed Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government during the state Cabinet expansion ceremony. Out of the 36 ministers, 26 were sworn-in as cabinet minister while 10 were inducted as ministers of state.
Ajit Pawar, Dhananjay Munde, Anil Deshmukh, Hassan Mushrif, Ashok Chavan, Jitendra Awhad, and Amit Deshmukh were the prominent leaders who took oath on Sunday.
Sharing pictures with the popular Bollywood classic ‘Main tera, tu meri, jaane saara Hindustan’, Pandya let his fans know of his engagement.
Natasa Stankovic is a Serbia-born actress who did her Bollywood debut in Prakash Jha’s Satyagraha. She has also appeared in reality show Bigg Boss hosted by Salman Khan. She too took to Instagram to share pictures with her fiance.
On cricketing front, Pandya is currently recovering from a back injury and has missed out on the Twenty20 International (T20I) and One-Day International (ODI) series against Bangladesh and the West Indies. He will also not be part of India’s upcoming home series against Sri Lanka and Australia. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named him in India A’s squad for the New Zealand tour.
Singer Sona Mohapatra, known for her brazenness, yesterday took to Twitter to upload her bikini photos, after a group of Internet users slut-shamed her for what she wore. Slamming the naysayers, Sona posted a series of tweets, making a powerful statement that she is not the one who gets intimidated from critical comments made by the users.
Grateful for all writing in.The first category of people show themselves to the rest of the world & hopefully someone in their life’s will teach them the concept of ‘consent’ & how clothes or lack of them doesn’t justify anyone attacking a woman. 2020 here I Come. #SonaOnTheRockspic.twitter.com/VrsJLggMKc
“I shared some last evening and people wrote in saying ‘wearing slut clothes and then saying #MeToo?!’ Some felt let down, “Thought you were a serious person?!” Many sent (hearts and fire emojis). I refuse to fit in to any box, just like I refuse to suck in my well-earned belly. 2020 here I come!” Mohapatra tweeted.
Earlier, Mohapatra had uploaded her pictures in bikini which elicited unsavoury messages from her followers who criticised her for posting her “semi-nude” pictures online while being a #MeToo crusader. A set of users replied on her bikini photos as contradictory to the ‘MeToo’ campaign she is associated with and censured her for uploading the pictures.
Sona Mohapatra slut-shammed by netizens for posing in a bikini
While many others trivialised the allegations of harassment raised by Mohapatra against Anu Malik by cautioning her that Malik will approach her after watching her images.
Sona Mohapatra slut-shammed by netizens for posing in a bikini
Another Twitter user said that Mohapatra has posed like a “promiscuous woman” on one side, while she had levelled false allegations of harassment against Anu Malik.
Sona Mohapatra slut-shammed by netizens for posing in a bikini
Similar comments were also posted on her Instagram post.
Comment on Sona Mohapatra’s Instagram post
Instagram user pratikrose likes to give honest opinion on bodies of women.
Comment on Sona Mohapatra’s Instagram post
Instagram user benudharswain thought Mohapatra posting her pictures are desperate cries for attention.
Comment on Sona Mohapatra’s Instagram post
Similarly, one user singer.soni is of the opinion that because she posted a photo in bikini, how could she accuse musician Anu Malik of sexual harassment.
However, undeterred by the mind-numbing misogyny, Mohapatra lambasted the critiques by educating them on the concept of ‘consent’ and how clothes or lack of them does not justify anyone attacking a woman.
For the third lot who sent me love, right back at you!You give me strength everyday.
I hear the music.
I hear a beat.
From the universe around.
From within.??
Own your spirit.
Own your journey.
Own your belly.
Don’t suck any of it https://t.co/ry3O1dMlcy
2020 here I Come pic.twitter.com/gXyWjVttaM
She also added that people should dispel any belief of she being an intense, thinking, serious, loving & therefore shackled only by khadi or fully-covered clothes. “Your Sanskari’pan or idea of ‘worthy woman’ is not mine, no apologies from me therefore,” she tweeted.
In 2018, while the MeToo campaign took the country by storm, Singer Sona Mohapatra had levelled serious allegations of harassment against the popular music director Anu Malik. Mohapatra had alleged that Malik called her “Maal” in front of her husband Ram Sampath and would giver her random calls at uncordial hours and talk incessantly about random things. Mohapatra also alleged that one Sunam Sridhar had to leave the country after facing continuous harassment from Malik.
In the first women’s bodybuilding competition held in Bangladesh, women contestants were seen with most of their muscles covered to avoid any untoward controversy in the conservative Muslim nation of Bangladesh.
While wearing bikinis at such events is the usual norm at such international events to show the muscles, which is the sole criteria to select the winners, the Bangladeshi contestants wore body-hugging attires and tight leggings during the three-day event in Dhaka that concluded on Sunday.
One of the participants, Awhona Rahman, 29, expressed her happiness over the completion of the event. “We were already informed that there would be proper attire and the outfit provided was in line keeping with the Bangladeshi sentiments. It never occurred to me that I might be subjected to criticism for showing my body. My brother runs a fitness centre and he encouraged me to participate in this contest,” she said.
Nazrul Islam, the Bangladesh Bodybuilding Federation general secretary claimed that the response to the landmark women’s competition which has been aimed to encourage health and fitness among the women in the country has been phenomenal.
“We were very particular about the dress code because of our religious and social culture. We selected long sleeve crop tops and leggings for the girls,” he said.
Islam further added that the success of the event would help in creating jobs for women in a large number of gymnasiums where women now have memberships.
An overwhelming majority of Bangladesh is adherent of Islam which has a primordial set of rules ordained for women. Pursuant to such conservatism, the Bangladesh Bodybuilding Federation kept a modest dress-code for the women participants in a country where they are often forced to remain under the veil. The women in Bangladesh are now breaking the proverbial glass ceiling and having a growing impact in sports such as cricket, football and archery. The bodybuilding federation, however, does not want to impede this growth by courting needless controversy.
Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana has published an article alleging that the Maharashtra cabinet expansion has caused discontent among the party ranks who lost on the ministerial berths to accommodate the Independent legislators from Sena quota.
Validating the dissatisfaction brewing among some members of the Shiv Sena, the Saamana editorial asserted that “Original Shiv Sainiks lost ministerial berth due to induction of three independent legislators through Sena quota”.
The executive editor of Saamana is firebrand politician Sanjay Raut, who is considered as a chief architect of the alliance stitched up between the Shiv Sena, Congress and the NCP. He was reportedly unhappy with the Maharashtra cabinet expansion over the exclusion of his brother, Vikhroli MLA Sunil Raut, in the cabinet and did not attend Monday’s swearing-in function at Vidhan Bhawan.
A total of 36 ministers sworn-in as ministers in the Maharashtra cabinet expansion. Other prominent leaders who are included in the cabinet are- Ajit Pawar, Dhananjay Munde, Anil Deshmukh, Hassan Mushrif, Ashok Chavan, Jitendra Awhad, and Amit Deshmukh.
In the editorial piece that was published on Tuesday, the Shiv Sena mouthpiece said that former ministers Diwakar Raote, Ramdas Kadam, Tanaji Sawant, Deepak Kesarkar and Ravindra Waikar were denied a second chance to the ministerial berths in the cabinet to include three independents-Bachhu Kadu, Shankarao Gadhak and Rajendra Yedravkar.
According to the sources, Ramdas Kadam, who was a minister in the previous BJP-Sena government, is currently mulling on tendering his resignation after he was denied a ministerial berth in the cabinet.
Though the editorial piece clarified that the ministerial positions in the cabinet were decided based on the number of legislators each party had in the state assembly, it stated that the party’s sole legislator from Kolhapur, Prakash Abitkar, lost the position in the cabinet because of the party’s commitment to offering independent legislators positions in the cabinet from its share of seats.
The rumblings against the Maharashtra cabinet expansion is gradually gathering steam as Sena’s 5-time MP Bhavna Gawli from Yavatmal-Washim (Vidarbha) openly expressed her displeasure over the selection of Sanjay Rathod as a cabinet minister. According to her, more deserving candidates from the region have been ignored by the party. “The party should have included either Sanjay Raimulkar or Gopi Kishan Bajoria in the cabinet from Vidarbha West instead of Sanjay Rathod. All of us, including MP Prataprao Jadhav, submitted a written memorandum to party chief Uddhavji Thackeray. However, the party inducted him against our wishes and we are not happy with it,” Gawli said.
Since the time Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, announced on 2 October 2019 to phase out Single-Use Plastics (SUPs) by 2022, there has been much speculation as well as deliberations across industries. The main reason for the worry on an outright ban on SUPs is escalating economic costs and job losses for people involved in the sector. According to one estimate, a complete elimination of SUPs would result in the unemployment of 4.5 lakhs people engaged in the sector and 10000 units will be on the verge of closure. Therefore, concerned industries have urged the government to issue clear guidelines on phasing out SUPs by 2022. Given the multiple concerns emanating from SUPs, here are some of the steps need to be undertaken by the government to address them.
SUPs: Ban or Elimination?
According to the United Nations, any plastic made out from polymers of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polystyrene (PS), Polycarbonate, Polypropylene (PP), and Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) is SUPs. In simple language, SUPs refer to those plastics which are used in disposable packaging such as bottles, grocery bags, plates, cutlery, and straws. The main reason resulting in a worldwide campaign for its elimination is plastic pollution caused by the unprecedented large volume of plastic waste that is being generated every day. According to a report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) more than 60 countries have introduced bans and levies to curb SUPs waste. It also estimated that one to 5 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. Five trillion is almost 10 million plastic bags per minute.
Most of the plastic waste of the world is generated in Asia. In India, there are an estimated 50,000 plastic manufacturing units in the country. On an annual basis, India produces about 15 million tonnes of plastic waste. Out of this about only one-fourth is recycled on account of lack of proper functioning waste management system. The remaining plastic is either burnt leading to air pollution or end up in landfills or leads to clogging of drains/sewers. About 43 per cent of India’s plastic is used in packaging and most of it are SUPs.
Considering the pervasive use of SUPs and the concerns associated with it, one of the major challenges is to whether to ban or eliminate it?
Finding Alternative Solutions
To address the growing concerns, the Indian government has undertaken certain initiatives offering pragmatic solutions. In the most recent times, the Indian government banned non-compostable plastic bags below 50 microns under its Plastic Waste Management Rules in 2016. Additionally, several states and cities have also passed local regulations, ranging from stricter regulations to total bans.
Through available technology the government has started using plastic to build roads capable of withstanding future monsoon damage, and at the same time facilitated to solve the problem of disposal of non-recyclable plastic. Reiterating the use of SUPs, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has supported the construction of such roads for greater durability against extreme weather conditions, cost effectiveness and pothole resistance. Given that one kilometer of road can be made with one tonne of plastics, India has constructed more than one lakh kilometers of roads using plastic waste in atleast 11 states, including, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu among others.
In addition, a growing number of governments at the state and local levels has been taking actions to address the challenge of SUPs through imposition of bans or introduction of regulations. Several states such as Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab, Kerala, Sikkim, Delhi and West Bengal, to mention a few, have introduced bans on manufacturing, production, distribution, use and storage of plastic carry bags and other single use plastic materials. However, there are wide variations in such bans across states.
Roadmap for Addressing Multiple Concerns
Taking the environmental impacts into consideration, imposing a ban on SUPs, combined with adoption of better waste management models like the segregation of wastes or proper division of wastes, can go a long way in achieving the targeted goals in different parts of the country. As has been already mentioned, cumulative actions by different states can help sensitize masses and go a long way in formulating deliverable action-plans and drive innovation at the national level. However, there is a need to build on these best practices from across states by assessing the effectiveness of such bans and levies to develop a set of standard and uniform regulation that can be applicable across the country.
Considering the negative impact of an immediate all-out ban on SUPs for both industries and employment, both short term and long-term solutions needs to be considered in India. As such, a step-wise plan to deal with the challenge of SUPs would be more meaningful. In this direction, the government must engage a broad range of stakeholders in the decision-making process to address major concerns of industries such as the financial losses as well as job losses. During the gradual phase-out period, an organized system for management of plastic waste, with stricter regulations, needs to be established to prevent widespread littering. In doing so, the government needs to further improve waste management practices, including separation of degradable and non-degradable waste as well as their proper disposal. In order to develop alternative materials to replace SUPs, the government must also consider providing financial support for more research and development. Considering the amount of environmental problems created by SUPs, there is an urgent need to address the multiple issues at hand and translate the commitment in a timely manner.
The left-wing media house – The Hindu, which has been caught several times in the recent past for spreading fake news, was yet again schooled for spreading misinformation regarding the National Population Register.
On Tuesday, journalist Vijaita Singh, who is notoriously known for spreading fake news on social media, wrote a report on The Hindu stating that the trial form for NPR has got the government nod ahead of the rollout. In her article, Vijaita Singh also claimed that govt officials have stated to her that the families of the respondents will be informed in advance about the visit of an enumerator so that the documents of all individuals are readily available for verification.
Creating panic about the this “verification procedure” during the NPR, Singh wrote that there were apprehensions among people that will have to dig out old documents to prove their residency in India on the lines of the exercise conducted in Assam. Further, she wrote that the enumerators would give the respondents a prior notice so that they keep their documents ready when the field visit is undertaken. The enumerator will see the documents, she wrote quoting an officer.
Responding to the Hindu’s report regarding the NPR, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday renied the claims made in the report and reiterated that there was no need for any individual to submit any document to any authority or enumerator visiting their household for NPR survey.
The story incorrectly quotes government officials that
“Respondents to NPR exercise will get time to provide papers
families would need to dig out old documents and ensure that such documents are readily available for verification & enumerators would see those documents”
2/4
— Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) January 1, 2020
According to the MHA, Vijaita Singh’s claims on the verification process quoting an unnamed government official contradict official government position on the issue. The government has already stated that no individual need to submit any document to any enumerator when he/she visits him for verification, MHA informed.
Taking to Twitter, the official spokesperson of the MHA said, “The story ignores Government’s stated position that no individual will be required to submit any document to any authority or enumerator visiting his/her household for NPR survey.”
The MHA reiterated that the information provided by the individual would be accepted and recorded accordingly, and there is no need to submit any document.
It is brought to the notice of the media to ensure accuracy of facts while publishing any story on such sensitive issues in order to avoid misconception in public.
4/4
— Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) January 1, 2020
The Home Ministry also schooled the Hindu for distorting facts and urged the media to report sensitively to avoid misconception in public domain.
Following the backlash, Hindu ‘journalist’ took to Twitter to argue that MHA had merged two paragraphs of her report. However, she did not provide a convincing clarification on why she resorted to a misinformation campaign by stating that respondents needed to dig their documents to submit it to the enumerators during the NPR process.
Our story says this: “Another official said families will be informed in advance about the visit of an enumerator so that the documents of all individuals are readily available for verification.”
Where have you picked the quoted line from?
You have merged two paras. https://t.co/owv4WoEboM
Although MHA merged two paras from the report, it didn’t misquote The Hindu report, the text quoted by MHA can be found in the report. So, responding to the allegations of spreading false information, the journalist came up with the allegation that MHA merged two paras of the report.
It may be noted that the NPR manual prepared by the census authority for the enumerators also do not talk about any advance notice to be given for documents, or any document verification. The manual only mentions that if some people are not willing or unable to give correct names and date of birth of family members, then the enumerators should ask for documents containing those details. For example, in many cultures, women don’t take the name of their husbands and other elders, and often people may not remember the correct date of births. In such cases, the documents can be used to record correct details, but it is not mandatory like the Hindu report suggests, and if people can provide the details themselves, no document will be needed to be shown.
Meanwhile, This is not the first time that Vijaita Singh of the Hindu has been indulging in such propaganda to target the Modi government.
Vijaita Singh, a journalist at The Hindu who is known to have a complicated relationship with the truth, had peddled misleading information on Jammu & Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370 which attracted a strong condemnation by a Police Officer from the state.
She had also came to the defence of NDTV journalist Pallava Bagla after his atrocious behaviour with ISRO scientists after the elite space org lost touch with Vikram Lander of Chandrayaan-2. She had attempted then to shift the blame to those who were legitimately criticizing his vile conduct.
Vijaita Singh has also spread Fake News about OpIndia.com in the past. Amusingly enough, it was right after The Hindu joined hands with the BBC to combat Fake News. Recently, she had landed herself in troubled waters recently and had to face severe embarrassment after she took to Twitter to outrage over Paytm’s paid advertisement on Doordarshan channel.
Singh had failed to understand the basic as the difference between revenue and profit which led to social media schooling her for ignorance.
The year 2019 has come to an end and 2020 is upon us. 2019 was an epochal year in the history of Independent India and there were as many protests as there were efforts by the government to resolve the contradictions that persisted even seven decades after India became independent.
Apart from the usual antics in these protests that involved calling everyone who disagreed a Nazi or a Nazi enabler, there was another distinct feature in these protests. In almost every protest, there were placards that could be found which used a Harry Potter analogy for the current situation. The same could be observed in the case of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Protests.
There were numerous nonsensical Harry Potter placards that could be found. There was one that spoke of the manner in which teenagers had taken down Voldemort. “You are not even half as smart,” the placard told the Modi Government and ended with the proclamation of “Expelliarmus!” The Disarming Spell was Harry Potter’s Signature move and it was the one he used to kill Voldemort in the final battle at Hogwarts.
The ‘Expelliarmus’ anti-CAA placard
There was another that declared “Dumbledore” won’t let this happen. The placard does not make any sense at all given the fact that Dumbledore had died by the end of Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts. So, he is pretty much dead and dead men tell no tales and fight no battles.
The Dumbledore anti-CAA Placard
Other than the fact that the teenagers do not really care about grammar, these posters were not even original.
Dumbledore placards from another protests from another country (image: weheartit.com)
There were more such placards that could be found in these anti-CAA protests. There was one that said, “If Hogwarts can get rid of Dolores Umbridge, there is hope for us too.” In the Harry Potter books, Umbridge appears in the fifth installment ‘The Order of the Phoenix’ where she is a Ministry of Magic stooge who makes life hell for everyone at the Hogwarts School of Magic.
The Dolores Umbridge Placard
One thing that is clear from these placards is that the millennial anti-CAA crowd take the Harry Potter books very seriously. Whenever they have to make some argument and convince others, the fantasy series is the one they rely on every single time. Some of them even used excerpts from the Harry Potter books to make their argument on social media.
Amidst the ensuing ruckus, one individual on Twitter, presumably from the anti-CAA crowd, even wondered why was it that all the Harry Potter analogies were coming from liberals. Gautam Bhatia asked people whether people in the rightwing weren’t too fond of Harry Potter in general.
To answer Bhatia’s question, ‘rightwingers’ realize that the Harry Potter books fall in the fantasy genre of literature. The real world is much more complicated than that and analogies from the book are not really applicable in the world of politics as such. The world of Harry Potter is divided into clear shades of Black and White and there’s really no shades of grey in between. For instance, Voldemort and his army of Death Eaters are out and out monsters while Hogwarts is the brightest shade of white. The real world is much more complicated than that. On the best of days, it’s a million shades of grey. In modern day India, it could very well be argued that the ‘death eaters’ have taken control of the academia and proudly call themselves ‘liberal’. But let us not go down that route.
Some might argue that Severus Snape was a character in the grey zone but no one could really doubt that a morally complicated individual he may be but he died fighting for the forces of good. Some might even argue that Albus Dumbledore made some morally questionable decisions with regards to the main protagonist, as his brother Aberforth does in the books, but even then, no one could doubt that Dumbledore put Harry through all the mess because he believed it was for the greater good. Therefore, the world of Harry Potter was much too simple with clear shades of Black and White. The real world is not configured that way.
Coming back to the placards, they reflect the sort of juvenile, childish and immature mannerisms that the millennials have come to embody in recent times. Students at Hogwarts may have taken down Voldemort but they stand no chance against the current government. It’s obvious because while an overwhelming majority of students in the Wizarding World were with Dumbledore, it’s the reverse with regards to the CAA.
As we discovered soon after the CAA protests across Universities spread like wildfire, the anti-CAA brigade was a stark minority even within the University campuses. Furthermore, there’s no Dolores Umbridge in Indian Universities. Well, there may be odd one or a couple of them but really, who are we kidding here? It’s another one of those attempts to force fit a Harry Potter analogy into a political debate in order to appear ‘cool’.
Time and again we have witnessed this phenomenon. Whether it be the election of Donald Trump as the President of the United States or Brexit, there’s always a bunch of millennials who are aggressive in the demonstration of their remarkable naivete and utter stupidity. And the Harry Potter books are the preferred tools in their arsenal which they use to prove to the world how they are completely out of touch with reality. As we have said before, the Harry Potter books represent a world where everything is divided into black and white. The real world, as we know it, is much more complicated than that.
Astonishingly, however, there’s a remarkable hubris that these millennials suffer from. According to them, it appears, unless you have read the Harry Potter books at least a million times and worship them like the Holy Vedas, you are not well-read enough. There’s also a self-serving myth that is perpetuated by this millennial class that the ‘rightwing’ is not well-read enough. Obviously, it could not be farther from the truth. ‘Sanghis’, as they like to call ‘rightwingers’, are often quite well-read and in many cases, they have read a vast number of more books than these millennials.
An argument could be made that Sanghis are not as fond as fiction as millennials are, but then again, it is more likely a consequence of the differences in their personality traits than a measure of intelligence. Personally speaking, as soon as I started turning towards the ‘rightwing’, I became progressively less interested in fiction. I am not saying this is a good thing or a bad thing, I am just saying it is how it is. And I have noticed a similar trend among my friends where ‘right’ leaning people are more interested in nonfiction while my liberal friends tend to read fiction primarily.
It is a symptom of remarkable intellectual inadequacy to draw analogies from a fantasy series and apply them to contentious matters of public life. The Harry Potter placards in the anti-CAA protests also provide us with a glimpse of the moral compass of millennials. Adults are expected to comprehend and appreciate the intricacies of public life, however, millennials appear to believe that every individual is either a saint or the devil incarnate himself. It reflects a morally stunted worldview and is ample evidence of the fact that the moral compass of millennials haven’t developed as well as they should have.
Millennials really need to escape the world of Harry Potter where everything is divided into clear shades of Black and White. And there’s only one cure for that. Read more goddamned books. And when I say more books, I mean books of a different genre, broaden your horizon, do not remain trapped in the same fuzzy world where everything is always alright in the end. Where the world is divided into good people and bad with no one in between. Books that make you think, that make you question your own perspective, read books that challenge your ideology with an open mind. When I say an open mind, I mean a mind that reads contrary points of view in order to learn something and not refute them.
Most importantly, for the love of Gods, stop using analogies from the fantasy world to real-world politics. It’s annoying and only makes one appear much more stupid than they actually are. If millennials are under the impression that they are convincing anyone with these Harry Potter placards, then I have to admit, they are a million times more stupid than I previously assumed them to be.
This new year, millennials should broaden their horizons enough to appreciate that not everyone who disagrees with them is a literal Nazi or an idiot. In the real world, people can have different perspectives on a matter without being evil. Controversial issues are controversial precisely because there are good men and women on both sides of the debate. And if, as an adult, millennials do not understand, then one can only sympathize with their stunted sense of morality.
In Gaglehdi thana area of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, communal tension prevailed after Muslim men stopped people of other community from celebrating. As per reports, some youth were dancing and making merry on retirement of one Dharampal Singh who was retiring from local college when some Muslim men asked them to stop the celebration. The matter escalated quickly and they resorted to stone-pelting. Upon receiving information, police reached the spot and arrested three and brought situation under control.
As reported by Dainik Jagran, on Tuesday, in Kutubpur Kusani village Singh was retiring from inter-college. In his honour, a small farewell party was organised. After participating in the same, he was returning home with his friends and family while celebrating. When they passed by residence of one Shahid alias Rajik and Taufiq, they asked them to stop making noise. This led to altercation which escalated.
Dainik Jagran report
After matters escalated, people of both communities came out and started pelting stones at each other. Soon, police was called in and forces dispersed the crowd. Four youth, namely, Sachin, Brijesh, Vipin and Kunal were injured who were sent to hospital for treatment. As per the report, the situation is now under control.
After Muslim mob went on a rampage and had attacked police officials during anti-CAA riots in the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) campus, the Aligarh police have decided to book twelve rioters, including two erstwhile students’ union office-bearers, under the Uttar Pradesh Control of Goonda Act for instigating the Muslim mob.
According to the reports, the Uttar Pradesh police have identified five ex-students through the CCTV footage of December 15, which was provided by the AMU authorities. He said all the five have a criminal history and “are a threat to peace” in the district.
“I have written a letter to district magistrate CB Singh to take action against them under the Goonda Act, and they can be extended from the district for six months,” Aligarh SSP Akash Kulhar Kulhary said.
The former students have been identified as Huzaifa Amir, former secretary of the students union, Hamza Sufiyan, former vice president of the students union, Nadeem Ansari, Aamir, Mintoe, and Sarjil Usmani. In addition to these five, the name of AMU’s students’ union president Salman Imtiaz is also included in the FIR.
Among these, Hamza Sufiyan and Huzaifa Amir had been rusticated by the university administration for five years for creating ruckus at the vice chancellor’s office and for allegedly misbehaving with the varsity employees in July 2019.
Reportedly, the UP police have filed three FIR against the protestors, including students of the AMU, in the December 15 violence that took place on the campus. 26 identified ‘protesters’ including seven AMU students have been arrested for violence during the anti-CAA riots. They were booked along with other 1,200 to 1,300 unidentified people.
The violent rioters were booked under IPC sections 307 – attempt to murder, section 147 – rioting, section 332 – voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty, section 336 – act endangering life or personal safety of others, section 504 – intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace, section 506 – criminal intimidation and section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act (CLA).
Another FIR was registered against 1,000 unidentified protesters under IPC sections 147 -riot, section 153 – provocation with intent to cause riots, section 332 – voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty, section 353 – assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty, section 336, section 188 – disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant and section 3, 7 the Prevention Of Damage Of Public Property Act on the complaint filed by the Rapid Action Force.
Earlier, the students and the mob associated with the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) had unleashed violent riots against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The ‘students’ of AMU had clashed with UP Police on December 15. The violent rioters had broken a police cordon and fought pitched battles with the security personnel.
DGP Singh had informed that 16-17 policemen had received injuries in the violent clashes with students. The police had to fire tear gas shells. The UP Police had also shared images on Twitter where they said the AMU Proctoral team was trying to block the gates and prevent AMU students from going out. The police team, they said, was at AMU circle at that time.
The police stated that despite the proctor team’s attempts, many students had scaled the gates, and had come outside to clash with the police at AMU circle. Another video showed the police warning the students not to resort to violence and breach orders of unlawful assembly. When the rioters continued to pelt stones, the police had to fire tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.
