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NASA satellite images exposed the environmental laws in force to check the air quality in Delhi

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Delhi often remains in headlines for the degraded air quality and level of contamination in the city. Garbage burning significantly contributes to polluting the air quality. Another major problem looming over the city is the number of exhausted landfills, which hardly suffices the daily production of 10,000 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste. In a fresh development, some images caught by the NASA satellites have exposed the worsening condition of pollution in Delhi along with cases of serious law noncompliance.

“Nasa satellites have picked up several red dots within Delhi, in areas such as Narela, Najafgarh and Bawana. Red dots have also appeared in Gurugram. These, however, can’t be incidents of stubble burning as agriculture is not practised in these areas. These dots mostly likely indicate burning of plastic and garbage in the open in industrial areas,” reported Bhure Lal, chairman, EPCA.

It has come after NASA has disclosed several satellite images that indicated red spots over the national capital, indicating the continual waste burning. This has backlashed the decision of Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority to heavily crack down on garbage burning in Delhi. It made it an offence and issued a fine of Rs 5,000 for polluting air last year.

The Supreme Court-empowered EPCA had warned in a statement last year that the civic officials can penalize people with a fineRs 5,000 if they are caught burning garbage. The decision had come after the meeting of EPCA members to strictly implement the Graded Response Action Plan until March 2018. This was to ensure the quality of already poor and severe air pollution in Delhi and NCR.

This action was set to counter the air pollution but unfortunately, the situation is worsening day by day.

“A satellite won’t be able to detect small fires such as a burning matchstick or a chulla (oven) inside a house. The fire has to be big, generate a huge amount of heat and should continue for a few hours for satellites to detect it,” a senior official of the DPCC has reported.

The air quality of Delhi has declined since the retreat of monsoon on October 1. It has been registered as ‘poor’ for consecutive days. The AQI value for Delhi was 209 on Saturday. Meanwhile, farmers in Punjab and Haryana are gearing up to burn the stubble which will further deteriorate the air quality.

Calling Akbar, the Mughal, the father of the nation is an insult to history and common sense

On Saturday, an extremely convoluted and strange article was shared on social media. Tufail Ahmed, who is a former journalist and commentator, shared an article which asserted that Akbar the Mughal is the real father of the nation and not Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. The article was authored by a man who is quite well known for his eccentricity and his illogical stance on many issues, Markandey Katju.


The entire article focuses on Akbar’s alleged tolerance for people of all faiths and communities. But it appears to be the case that Akbar was quite the Islamic bigot during his early years. It was only later that he developed a profound respect for other religions and a deep disdain for Muslim clerics. And according to some accounts, he returned to the fundamentalist aspects of Islam again towards the end of his life.

Both Katju and Tufail Ahmed appear to be unaware of what a nation means and what nationhood truly represents. A nation represents a people united by ancestry, common heritage, traditions, culture and inhabiting the same piece of land for centuries. Considering the ideology Akbar was wedded to and his ancestry, Akbar was, by all means, an outsider to the Indian subcontinent. Since he was essentially a Muslim, it is still understandable if Pakistan considers him the father of the nation but for Hindus, whom he and his ancestors and descendants oppressed and pillaged and raped and murdered, it is nothing less than an insult to the memory of our brave ancestors who resisted the assault on our civilization.

The author states in his article, “To remain united and progress the only policy which can work is the policy of Akbar, that is, giving equal respect to all communities and sects. That is why he is the real Father of the Nation.” It is unadulterated garbage. Akbar the Apostate may have accomplished great things but he did not represent our nation nor was he one of us. It has become fashionable to critique Gandhi’s stature as the father of the nation and I even agree that Gandhi shouldn’t be considered the father of India but to assert that Akbar was the real father is sheer idiocy spurred by an inane urge to appear secular.

India is more of a civilizational state than a nation-state and over the course of our glorious history, we have had great monarchs who have accomplished astonishing feats. Considering the magnitude of our history, it appears quite impossible to imagine a single person who deserves the title of Father of the Nation. But a person who can be granted that title may be Bharata, the ancestor of the Pandavas and Kauravas, after whom India is still called Bharat today.

If Bharata is too ancient a monarch to deserve that title, then, perhaps we could consider Samudragupta as a contender for the title. But maybe we should consider another monarch, one who is regarded by many wise scholars as the greatest Hindu king to have ever lived, for the honour of being called the Father of the Nation. I speak, of course, of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the legendary king who conceived and achieved the dream of Hindavi Swarajya.

When Shivaji Maharaj entered the arena, the Mughals had complete control over most of India. He laid the foundations of the Maratha Empire and by the time Maratha Empire was done, the Mughals were reduced to paupers. It was Shivaji who breathed new life into an ancient civilization and for his vision and contribution towards ensuring the continued existence of the Hindu Civilization, he is perhaps the best contender for the title of Father of the Nation.

There is a small problem, however. Shivaji Maharaj no doubt paved the way for Hindavi Swarajya. But there have been several great Hindu dynasties and great Hindu kings throughout the tumultuous medieval period who kept alive the flame of Dharma. There was the Vijayanagara Empire and its great monarchs who valiantly resisted the invaders in the South. There was Lachit Borphukan who vanquished the Mughals in the Battle of Saraighat. There were Prithviraj Chauhan, Maharana Pratap and a great many others who made a valuable contribution towards the Hindu cause. Under such circumstances, it is really impossible to honour just one among them as the Father of the Nation.

For intellectuals to ignore the plethora of great Hindu Kings and designate a Mughal as the Father of the Nation for the sake of secularism is disgusting and remarkably obtuse, to say the least. It also shows that they do not quite fully appreciate India’s significance and stature in the world. India is the last heritage of the Hindu civilisation.

It is our inheritance bestowed on us by the valour of our ancestors and the glory of their sacrifices. India has a special role to play in the world’s destiny as apart from Japan, it is the only pagan power in world politics today. India may be officially a ‘secular’ country but at its heart, its soul is still Hindu. And a Mughal can never be called the Father of a nation the soul of which is Hindu.

Mother of Kerala youth who allegedly left to join ISIS, turns hostile

According to a report, a key witness in the case against Islamic research foundation’s manager Arshi Qureshi for influencing youths to join ISIS was declared hostile by a special court after she refused to support the prosecution’s case after earlier deposing before a special court in Malayalam. Ayesha Majeed, a mother of three, hailing from Kerala, denied telling the crime branch about any involvement of her son with Arshi and IRF.

Ashfaque Majeed was alleged by the police to have fled the country along with his wife, one-year-old toddler daughter and other youngsters in 2016 to join the ISIS Terror ranks. Ashfaque’s father, who runs a lodge in Mumbai had filed a missing person’s complaint when he was unable to establish any contact with his son for several days. Serious allegations of radicalizing youth and instigating them to join ISIS have been levelled against Arshi Qureshi, a religious preacher.

While Qureshi was arrested, the NIA let off the other two — Maulana Haneef and Rizwan Khan — as no evidence was found against them. Qureshi, along with absconding accused Abdul Rashid Abdulla, who worked in a Kerala school were named by the NIA in its charge sheet. Qureshi is facing trial under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Earlier, in her deposition before a special court in Malayalam, which was translated in English, Ayesha Majeed had admitted that whenever his son spoke with his friends who went along with him to join ISIS, he suggested them to solicit advice from ‘Arshi Bhai’. Now she has retracted on her statements. She has also denied telling police that when she asked her son who is funding his trip to Srilanka for his studies in Holy scripture, Majeed allegedly replied, “All expenses will be borne by Arshi Bhai from IRF.”

Majeed was cross-examined by special public prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves after she had been declared hostile. She replied in affirmative when asked if his son has informed her of him joining the ISIS.

Qureshi’s defense was represented by advocates Pathan Tehwar Khan and Ishrat Ali Khan. When asked if she had herself attended the call and spoken to her son. In reply, Majeed said she had not.

Based on the testimony and evidence it gathered, the NIA had filed a 4000-page charge sheet in February 2017 in the missing Ashfaque Majeed case. According to the NIA, Ashfaque and others who fled the country were indoctrinated by proselytizer Arshi Khan and IRF, responsible for instigating and motivating them to join the ISIS.

Remember when Kanhaiya was accused of flashing his d*ck to a woman?

On the internet and particularly on social media, the air is thick with allegations of gender-related crimes against the entire star cast of India’s liberal comedians. Some of them were outright predators, sending d*ck pics to women, including minor girls, over the internet. Almost everyone who is an insider on the circuit admits that they knew about these allegations for a long time and knew that they were quite credible. And that they went on collaborating with as well as promoting these people.

What a coincidence that all the predators and their enablers have decided to “think” and “learn” at the exact moment when the dirt has come out in the open.

Not surprisingly, the larger liberal left, including outspoken, placard-carrying liberal women, have decided that not just the specific predators but the entire race of men (whatever that means) are collectively to be blamed for the situation. This after spending the last four years of their lives holding Modi personally accountable for any abusive tweet against any woman by any person who may have ever expressed a pro-BJP view.

For liberals, it is time to spread the blame instead of concentrating all of it against one man. The more they spread it out, the thinner it is supposed to get. Perhaps an inter-continental task force needs to be formed to make sure that the focus of blame is shifted away from the small gang of left-wing comedians?

Yet other liberals wanted to “understand” these predators rather than punish them.  Of course, I think these people just want to rationalize the behaviour of their friends, but let’s indulge them anyway. Let us explain to these liberals how their “woke” icons got to be this way.

Remember this?

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Remember how the victim told her story to anyone who would listen:

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See there? The same anguish that you can read in the words of the women who are now coming out and telling their stories of being sexually harassed by the “woke” comedians of the left.

And he told her to get lost, to get psychiatric help. As she says, the entire JNU community ganged up against her.

Don’t forget that her accusation was backed by solid corroborative evidence; the formal inquiry at JNU had found Kanhaiya guilty of misbehaving with her and fined him Rs 3000. This happened long before anybody outside JNU knew who Kanhaiya was.

At that time, liberals didn’t care. What mattered to them was that they had found an articulate rabble-rousing voice against the Modi government. They had no qualms about making him a big hero. They gushed towards him with tributes. All sense of right and wrong was sacrificed at the altar of their compulsive need to hate Modi.

Remember that this is the media environment in which the celebrated left-wing comedians of today grew up. In fact, the whole JNU fracas around Kanhaiya Kumar was sort of a debut for the “cool” young radical leftist on the Indian social media scene. This was just the time that avenues were opening up for social media stars to begin making some real-world money.

The leftist comedians we see today latched on to the opportunity. The media said being anti-national was cool. These unimaginative, untalented “performers”, who had to rely on child rape jokes back in the day, decided to board the liberal ship. No wonder that they also imbibed the belief among leftists of the day that it was okay for Kanhaiya to expose himself before a woman and misbehave with her. Kanhaiya has remained a pied piper for anti-national “coolness” to this day. Journalists are still beating a path to his door, hanging on to his every word, worshipping the ground he walks on. Every other day there is an editorial in major newspapers talking about how India needs “youth leaders” like him. And there are multiple reports that he might be contesting the next Lok Sabha election.

His uncouth, unbecoming, harassing, menacing ways became a celebrated symbol of “Azaadi”.

For the wannabe “woke” comedians, the message was clear. Trampling over women didn’t matter as long as you became a star of cool and hip anti-Modi “dissent.”

This is the entitlement mentality behind sending unsolicited d*ck pics and demanding nude pics from women, including minor girls.

Case after case tumbled out of budding young liberal stars who were acting as sexual predators. In each case, nothing happened to them. Often times, the publicity even gave a boost to their careers.

Of course, the predators noticed. They noticed that being anti-Modi was a magic armour which would excuse all possible crimes. Their friends on the liberal circuit were happy to promote them as well because the ends always justified the means.

Make no mistake, there is not one liberal who is actually ashamed today about what was happening on the left wing scene until the moment they all got caught. They are just waiting for people to forget about the matter so that they can return to business as usual.

BSF officer, arrested for Hizbul links, was directed to train new recruits: reports

The Jammu and Kashmir police confirmed in a report by The Tribune that the Border Security Force (BSF) officer, who was arrested in the North Kashmir’s frontier district of Kupwara, was directed by the Hizbul Mujahideen to teach basics of handling of weapons to new recruits.

Days after a special police officer fled with eight weapons, the police on Thursday had busted a Hizbul Mujahideen module by arresting two members of the terrorist outfit including a BSF man from Kupwara district.

Shakir Ahmad Wani, who had joined the BSF in 1994, was arrested along with his associate Ghulam Mustafa Sheikh, both residents of Tekipora (Lolab). The two were over-ground workers (OGWs) of the terror outfit and were engaged in providing logistic support to militants apart from luring youths into the path of terrorism.

The police had confirmed that Wani, posted in the North-East, had gone home on leave for his marriage. “We had an input that there were some militant activities in Kupwara. We arrested the duo and it led to recovery of a weapon. They were running a module to recruit youth for terror activities. We are investigating the case and looking at all angles, including how and when he got in touch with the militant group.”

A police officer on condition of anonymity said that Wani came in contact with the Hizbul in July when he came on 10-day leave to finalise his wedding date. He was given a pistol by the terror outfit, which was recovered after his arrest.

IG, Frontier, BSF, Abhinav Kumar said the arrested man was “posted in Aizawl (Mizoram)”.

A case, FIR No. 77 of 2018 under Sections 7 and 25 of the Arms Act, and under UAPA was registered at Sogam police station.

In July 2018 the younger brother of an IPS officer of the Northeast cadre had joined the terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen after disappearing from his Kashmir university campus on 22nd may this year. Not very long back, one such incident of an Indian army man, Mir Idrees Sultan, who was posted in Bihar, joining the Hizbul Mujahideen had surfaced. His picture too, holding an AK47 rifle had gone viral on social media and Shopian SSP Ambarkar Shriram Dinkar had confirmed that he had joined the terrorist organization.

Earlier in July last year, it was reported that Zahoor Ahmad Thokar of 173 Territorial Army had also joined Hizbul Mujahideen. In May last year, a J&K Police member had joined the ranks in Hizbul Mujahideen. J&K Police constable Syed Naveed Mushtaq Shah had decamped with service rifles.

Rajasthan Congress MLA threatens to relaunch Jat agitation if demands not fulfilled

Congress MLA from Deeg-Kumher Constituency in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, Vishvendra Singh, who belongs to the erstwhile royal family, has openly threatened to relaunch a massive Jat Reservation agitation on October 4, 2018. He has demanded the government to either withdraw cases against his community members or file charge sheet in them within three days, failing which he will galvanize such a massive protest that the state government will be unable to handle it.

According to a report, Singh was arrested on Tuesday for demanding the withdrawal of cases lodged against his community members during the June 2017 protest. They were arrested for blocking the railways and roadways route and obstructing smooth implementation of law and order in the state. “72 cases were lodged during the agitation which was held to demand reservation for Jat community in Dholpur and Bharatpur districts. The government had assured to withdraw the cases but no progress has taken place in one year,” he said.

Maintaining that an intervention from the chief minister can resolve the issue, the minister handed out an ultimatum of 3 days after which he will launch a massive Jat agitation. The Congress MLA reached the police superintendent’s office along with his supporters and courted arrest with the demand. They were later released.

Earlier, in 2017, Singh launched an agitation to secure reservation for Jats in OBC. He, subsequently, called off the stir then after the government assured him that it would take up the OBC commission’s report in the next cabinet meeting and senior officials shared with him the timeline to implement quota process.

Rajasthan is just a few months away from its Vidhansabha polls and considering how sensitive jat reservations issue is for the locals there, Congress is leaving no stone unturned to compound the problems for the incumbent chief minister Vasundhara Raje. The state is yet to act on his demands.

Kerala : LDF government to invite Sabarimala priests, members of Pandalam royal family to hold discussion on SC verdict

The Communist government in Kerala on Saturday softened its stand and decided to invite the three tantris (supreme priests) of the Sabarimala shrine and also the members of the erstwhile Pandalam royal to hold a discussion on the recent Supreme Court order to allow women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple, which has attracted a lot of furore in the state of Kerala.

According to the reports, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan will invite the priests and the members of the royal family for talks on Monday. However, the CPM has backed the Supreme court verdict on Sabarimala and also advised the Kerala government to be careful while dealing with the issue and not to create a negative impression on the critical religious issue.

The Kerala government’s decision to hold talks with the concerned stakeholders comes in a backdrop of a massive ‘namjapa’ marches taken by lakhs of women on the streets of Kerala following the Kerala LDF government’s decision to implement the order of the Supreme Court without filing a review petition in the apex court.

Kerala Temple Affairs Minister Kadakampally Surendran said that they will meet all persons concerned and convince them that as an elected government they are duty-bound to implement the verdict of the highest court of the country. “Eyeing votes, some parties are fanning trouble. Their mischief won’t succeed”, the minister lashed out at the opposition parties.

Sasikumar Verma, member of the Pandalam royal family and Sabarimala chief priest Rajeevaru Kandararu had participated in a protest rally in Changanassery in Kottayam district on Saturday. Reportedly, this was the first time a high-ranking priest of the shrine and members of the royal family had protested against the decision of the top court. The chief priest said that everybody should stand together to preserve their traditions, rules and faith of the Lord Ayyappa traditions.

However, the Sabarimala chief priest Rajeevaru Kandararu said he is yet to receive any invitation from the CM. “Feelings of devotees have been hurt. Women are coming up in large numbers saying they will not enter the temple. But some people are adamant that women in certain age-group will be allowed, come what may,” said Verma.

The Supreme Court in its recent judgement had ordered Sabarimala Shrine to open its doors to women of all ages, repealing the age-old tradition to not let women of a reproductive age of 10-50 enter the Sabarimala shrine.

Following the Supreme Court order, many men and women came on to streets to protest against both Supreme Court and the state government for interfering in their religious traditions. The members of the Pandalam royal family, members of the People for Dharma movement, members of the ‘Ready to Wait campaign, various members of Tanthri families and devotees of Lord Ayyappan were part of the protest.

HP Youth Congress leader arrested over derogatory slogans against PM Modi

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The state secretary of Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress, OP Thakur was arrested after some derogatory statements against the Prime Minister were found written on the walls in Nahan, which is about 86km away from the state capital, Simla.

The objectionable slogans were found on the walls of Mehlat, Mahima library and Shimla road area here. Police checked the CCTV footage and Thakur was arrested after registering a case under sections of Prevention of damage to public property Act 1984 and section 426 of IPC (mischief), an official said.

The leader was, however, later released on bail but the arrest triggered protests against police action, which the Congress alleged was taken under pressure from BJP.

The state president, Manish Thakur, accompanied by the workers, assembled at Congress Bhawan and took out a protest march. They went to the office of Superintendent of Police, raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, state government and the local BJP MLA.

Protesters also demanded an immediate release of their leader and withdrawal of the case.

Youth Congress workers also took out a protest march in Sangrah, and submitted a memorandum to the Sub-divisional Magistrate, Sangrah, demanding an immediate release of their leader.

Meanwhile, District BJP President Viney Gupta and several other party functionaries condemned the incident and demanded strict action against the culprit.

Assistant Superintendent of Police, Sirmour, Virender Singh Thakur told PTI that the arrested youth Congress leader has been released on a bail. However, investigation in the matter will continue.

Chhattisgarh: Congress may not give tickets to all sitting MLAs for upcoming state assembly elections

In poll-bound Chhattisgarh, Congress is contemplating fielding those candidates who had lost the 2013 assembly elections as reported by The Sunday Guardian. As per the report, not all sitting MLAs from Congress may get the ticket as the party is looking at only winnability as the sole criteria for selecting candidates. Betting on the anti-incumbency in the state where the BJP has won the election in the past three terms, Congress is hopeful of getting more seats especially since the loss margin was 1% last time.

Congress is yet to form up an alliance and the announcement of an alliance between former Congress leader Ajit Jogi-led Janata Congress Chhattisgarh and Mayawati’s BSP has put Congress in a fix. While BSP is to contest of 35 seats Jogi’s party will contest on 55 seats. In 2013, BSP had fought on all 90 seats but one just one seat with total vote share at 4.27%.

BJP, too, is upping its ante in the state. On Friday, BJP President Amit Shah targeted the Congress in Chhattisgarh over the alleged involvement of Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel in circulating a ‘sex CD’ purportedly featuring a state minister.

Yesterday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced dates for elections in the five poll-bound states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh and Telangana. The elections to the Chhattisgarh legislative assembly will be held in two phases, in the first stage, elections will be held in 18 assembly constituencies on November 12. In the second phase, the election in 72 constituencies will be held on November 20 and the results will be announced on 11th December in all five states.ma

22-year-old woman set ablaze by her stalker, Ibrahim, for refusing to marry him

A 22-year-old woman, Shabana Begum, working in a beauty parlour, was set ablaze in her house in Kumarwadi, Tappachabutra in Hyderabad, by her jilted lover, Ibrahim, for refusing to marry him.

Ibrahim, a resident of Barkas in Hyderabad, is married and has two children, but he was adamant on wooing Shabana Begum as his second wife. The two got to know each other on Facebook a year ago, but Shabana’s family was not keen on getting the two married as they learnt that he was already married. However, this did not go down well with Ibrahim.

On Saturday morning Ibrahim reached Shabana’s house and set her ablaze while immolating himself also. While Shabana succumbed to her injuries later in the day, Ibrahim, the accused who suffered 85 per cent burns, is battling for his life. Shabana’s sister-in-law, who was present there, suffered 65 per cent burns while trying to help Shabana.

“After dousing himself with kerosene, he entered the house, threw the fuel on Shabana and lit the match, Ibrahim and Shabana were engulfed in flames and the sister-in-law who tried to help them also suffered injuries in the process“, west zone DCP AR Srinivas said.

All three were rushed to Osmania hospital at 9 am. Osmania hospital superintendent Dr Nagendar said, “The chances of his survival is low. All three have suffered over 30 per cent burns; this brings down their chances of survival.” The doctor has also painted a bleak picture for Shabana’s sister-in-law’s survival as her burns are over 50 per cent.

Shabana’s brother while speaking to Times Of India said that his family had specifically asked Ibrahim to stay away from Shabana after they had refused to get the two married, but Ibrahim hell-bent on marrying her started harassing Shabana. The family also had lodged a police complaint in Tappachabutra police station six-months ago. Though he was warned by the police to stay away from Shabana, Ibrahim was persistently trying to convince her to marry him. Failing in his attempts Ibrahim resorted to this extreme step.

The Tappachabutra police have booked cases under 462 and 307 against Ibrahim for now.

In December last year, The Tribune had reported, Sandhya Rani, 24, a receptionist at a private company in Secunderabad, was set ablaze by a jilted lover in full public view. In November 2017, a 21-year-old BTech graduate was set ablaze by a former schoolmate in Chennai for refusing his marriage proposal.