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I challenge any political party, especially Congress, to announce that they will bring back Article 370: PM Modi at Udhampur rally

ANI
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I challenge any political party, especially Congress, to announce that they will bring back Article 370: PM Modi at Udhampur rally

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday threw a challenge at Opposition parties, especially the Congress to bring back Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. He alleged that for the sake of power, the opposition had built the wall of 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing a public rally in Udhampur, PM Modi said that statehood will be granted to Jammu and Kashmir with the blessings of people he had demolished the wall of Article 370 and buried it.

“For the sake of power, they had built a wall of 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Due to your blessings, Modi demolished the wall of Article 370. I have also buried the debris of that wall in the ground. I challenge any political party in India, especially Congress, to announce that they will bring back Article 370,” the prime minister said.

“This country won’t even look at them,” the PM said.

He further accused the opposition of spreading confusion among the people regarding the abrogation of Article 370, and said, “They used to say that if Article 370 is removed, there will be fire and Jammu and Kashmir will leave us. But the youth of Jammu and Kashmir showed them the mirror.”

“Now, when they did not succeed here, the people of Jammu and Kashmir came to know their reality, so these people are now playing the game of spreading confusion among the people of the country outside Jammu and Kashmir. They say that the country did not get any benefit from the removal of Article 370,” he added.

Dismissing the opposition’s claim that the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya was an election issue for the BJP, PM Modi said that the struggle for the Ram Mandir had been going on since the time BJP was not even born.

“These family-oriented parties are against development as well as against legacy. Congress says that Ram Mandir is an election issue for the BJP. Ram Mandir was not an election issue, nor is it and nor will it be. The struggle for Ram Mandir has been going on since the time BJP was not even born. The struggle for Ram Mandir is 500 years old when there was no trace of elections,” he said.

The Prime Minister said the leaders of Congress and its allies lived in big bunglows while Ram Lalla was in a tent.

The Prime Minister said that in the last decade, Jammu and Kashmir have completely changed as roads, electricity, water, travel, and migration, all are available.

“In the 10 years, we have tightened the noose around terrorists and corrupt people. Now in the coming five years, this area has to be taken to new heights of development. Within 10 years, Jammu and Kashmir has completely changed. Roads, electricity, water, travel, migration, all these are there. But the biggest thing is that the mind of Jammu and Kashmir has changed,” he said.

“In 2014, I had returned after visiting Mata Vaishno Devi and on this very ground, I had guaranteed you that I will free you from whatever several generations of Jammu and Kashmir have suffered. Today, with your blessings, Modi has fulfilled that guarantee,” the Prime Minister said.

“This is the first election after decades, when terrorism, separatism, stone pelting, bandhs, strikes, cross-border firing are not election issues. Then whether it was the Mata Vaishno Devi Yatra or the Amarnath Yatra, the concern was about how to conduct these in a safe manner. Today the situation has completely changed. Today, development is taking place in Jammu and Kashmir and confidence is also increasing,” he said.

“That is why today, from every nook and corner of Jammu and Kashmir, only one echo is being heard – Ek baar phir Modi Sarkar. (Modi Government once again).” The Prime Minister was in Udhampur to support the campaign of Union Minister and BJP candidate Jitendra Singh who has been representing the constituency since 2014. Singh had defeated former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad from Udhampur in 2014.

The Congress has fielded Choudhary Lal Singh from Udhampur. The Congress took Lal Singh back into its fold six years after he was forced to resign following his participation in a rally held in support of the Kathua rape accused, in which a child was raped. The Peoples Democratic Party, partner in the INDIA bloc, has extended their support to Lal Singh.

Udhampur will vote in the first phase on April 19. The BJP had won three out of six seats in Jammu and Kashmir in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The National Conference won the remaining three seats.

This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Repeated rape, hand burnt with hot water, forcible conversion to Islam: 2 ISIS terrorists arrested in Germany for sexual abuse of minor Yazidi children

OpIndia Staff
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Repeated rape, hand burnt with hot water, forcible conversion to Islam: 2 ISIS terrorists arrested in Germany for sexual abuse of minor Yazidi children

On Tuesday (9th April), the law enforcement authorities in Germany apprehended two ISIS terrorists, responsible for the sexual abuse and enslavement of two minor Yazidi girls in Iraq and Syria.

As per reports, the terrorists were identified as Asia R.A. and Twana H.S. They were nabbed from the Regensburg and the Roth districts in Baraia State of Germany.

According to the office of the federal prosecutors, the ISIS terrorists were accused of crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes and holding the membership of a foreign terror outfit.

While Asia R.A. put make-up on one of the victims and prepared a room, Twana H. S. raped both children repeatedly. The victims, aged 5 and 12 at that time, were subjected to inhuman atrocities and physical violence for committing ‘mistakes.’

The punishment included thrashing the elder child with a broomstick while the hand of the younger child was burnt with hot water. The victims were also forced to do housework and convert to Islam as part of ISIS ideology to destroy the Yazidi religion.

It has now come to light that Asia R.A. and Twana H. S were married under Islamic law and were associated with ISIS between 2015-2017. Prior to leaving Syria, they handed over the victims to other ISIS terrorists. The duo are now being held in pre-trial detention.

Not the first case in Germany

In October 2021, a court in Munich sentenced a German woman to 14 years in jail for enslaving a Yazidi girl and denying her waster, leading to her death. Identified as Jennifer W, she was convicted on two counts of crimes against humanity.

In January 2023, Germany recognised crimes against the Yazidi community as genocide. More than 1000 Germans fled the country to join ISIS when it began spreading its terror.

Persecution of Yazidis by ISIS

The Yazidis are an ethno-linguistic minority, who reside in the Middle East including the terror-prone areas of Northern Iraq.

They are practitioners of the monotheistic Yazidi religion, one of the world’s oldest religions, and indigenous to Upper Mesopotamia. Ever since the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the Yazidis have been at the receiving end of religious genocide.

When the Islamist terror outfit made inroads into the Sinjar province of Northern Iraq in August 2014, about 50000 Yazidis were forced to flee their homes.

Their plight was worsened following the withdrawal of Kurdish Peshmerga forces from the region. Since Yazidis were non-Muslims, the Islamic State viewed them as ‘devil worshippers’ who ought to be converted and enslaved.

As such, the old and elderly Yazidis who failed to flee were executed while women were forced into sex slavery. The ISIS demanded that the minorities pay jizya (a religious tax) or convert to Islam or be executed.

Eyewitness accounts narrated that several Yazidi women who were raped by the terrorists were forced to commit suicide. Many young girls were sold as brides, and repeatedly raped and subjected to brutal torture.

The Islamists would often build makeshift slave markets in Mosul in Raqqa, to sell women to the other terrorists. In 2014, the United Nations reported that about 5000 Yazidis were murdered while 5000-7000 women and children were captured.

In its digital magazine Dabiq, ISIS justified, “One should remember that enslaving the families of the (non-believers) and taking their women as concubines is a firmly established aspect of the Shariah, that if one were to deny or mock, he would be denying or mocking the verses of the Quran and the narrations of the Prophet.”

Chats with an ‘alien’, afterlife, and dinosaurs: 3 persons from Kerala found dead in Arunachal Pradesh under weird circumstances

OpIndia Staff
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Chats with an ‘alien’, afterlife, and dinosaurs: 3 persons from Kerala found dead in Arunachal Pradesh under weird circumstances

Three people from Kerala, in southern India, were recently discovered dead in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh under strange circumstances. Arunachal police have identified a probable “alien link” to the case. According to police, the documents and discussions discovered during the inquiry show that the deceased three studied extensively about the afterlife, extraterrestrial life, and the presence of aliens.

Naveen and Devi, a married couple, and their female companion Arya were discovered dead in a hotel room in Ziro on 2nd April. The lifeless bodies showed evidence of injury, probably self-inflicted. According to the hotel staff, on March 28 Naveen Thomas from Kottayam in Kerala, booked into the hotel with his wife Devi B and their friend Arya B Nair from Thiruvananthapuram. Police said that hotel staff informed them that these people had not been seen since 25th March.

“The hotel staff, to find their whereabouts, checked the room in which the guests were staying and found it locked from inside. Doors were broken and three guests were found dead,” the Police said.

Police discovered Arya B. Nair dead on the floor with her wrist slashed with a blade, while Devi B. was found dead on the floor with cut marks on her neck and right wrist. However, Naveen was found dead in the hotel washroom. The Police also found a suicide note stating, “We lived happily and we leave now.” The note also included the phone number of Devi’s father.

The Police further said that a missing person complaint was filed about Arya in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. When authorities searched Arya’s laptop, they discovered a 466-page PDF document on extraterrestrial life and “aliens visiting Earth”. The paper also revealed conversations with an unknown persona known as ‘Mythi’, who is thought to be an “alien from the Andromeda galaxy.” 

Picture of the alleged “alien” Mythi, as depicted in the PDF document

The text contains a full paragraph dedicated to the talks of ‘Mythi’ under the heading ‘Answers of an alien from Andromeda-video on – September 10, 2010’.

The document also included an illustration of ‘Mythi’, dressed in a black t-shirt and tights, with a bald head and wide-open eyes. The police also found numerous stones and photographs in the deceased’s car, indicating a possible connection to black magic.

PDF document claims dinosaurs didn’t go extinct but were transported

According to the document, the ‘alien’ claimed that dinosaurs did not die extinct on their own but were transported to another world by aliens. The 484-page document accessed by OpIndia read, “The dinosaurs are still alive and active on other planets that are more conducive to their survival. Why have the archaeologists found so few fossil specimens if there were millions of them walking around here? Should we not find dinosaur bones everywhere with ease? This owes to the fact that those few found in the excavations had died of natural causes before the mass transfer that happened in the last passage cycle on Earth, and were buried here as evidence that they were populating the world in previous eras.”

It further says that at least 58 different extraterrestrial ethnic groups have made regular visits to Earth.

The text predicts that 90% of the Earth’s human and animal inhabitants will be relocated to two other planets shortly.

“As this is a very specific time, these beings will be sent to those planets where they have a better chance of development along with 90 percent of your current population that has not reached the level of understanding to stay in this new Era,” the document reads.

Further, around 10-12 years ago, there was a popular belief that had scared almost every human on this planet. The ‘belief’ stated that the world would end in the year 2012 based on the Mayan Calendar. Crucially, the alien in the document is also seen making such claims saying that “the Earth would officially go to the new age on 21/12/2012 at 11:11 am as widely reported during the zero alignment with the center of the galaxy.”

“The biggest changes will start happening in 2011 and will actually finish the course of 2013. This is a cyclical change and expected,” it added.

Screenshot from the PDF accessed by OpIndia

The weird PDF also mentions that the alien communicated saying that there is a colony of aliens living on the Earth. “There are two submarine stations in deep waters that are home to many transport ships. There is a station in the Antarctic with a complete infrastructure to maintain an intergalactic base of research, and support, including a warehouse where many ships from different planets have a safe haven and supplies during their stay on Earth,” the conversation read.

Devi and Arya became friends while working as teachers at a school in Thiruvananthapuram several years ago, and their bond got stronger over time. Arya used to teach French and Devi German. According to police, they live a solitary life. 

“They were not active on social media but used to spend considerable time on the internet researching topics such as life after death, existence of aliens, intergalactic travel, different realms; etc,” the Police said. 

At present, it is suspected that the three died of suicide. However, the reason behind the same is being investigated given the curious documents and items found in their possession.

Villagers had stopped drunk driver, school staff allowed him to drive: Haryana govt orders probe into Mahendragarh school bus accident, principal among 3 arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Villagers had stopped drunk driver, school staff allowed him to drive: Haryana govt orders probe into Mahendragarh school bus accident, principal among 3 arrested

The Haryana government has launched an investigation into the tragic school bus accident that occurred in Mahendragarh on 11th April (Thursday) which resulted in the deaths of at least six students and the injuries of twenty others. The driver was reportedly under the influence of alcohol and the bus was missing crucial paperwork, including a fitness certificate. The accident happened when the vehicle carrying school children overturned.

Witnesses unveiled that the accident could have been prevented. Some locals had taken the key from the driver Dharmender who was visibly intoxicated and barred the four-wheeler from proceeding forward. However, the key was returned to him after the administration of the institution gave their word that Dharmender would be replaced. They were told that a different driver would be sent in the future.

Sanjay Kumar, a farmer from Jhaadhli disclosed, “The principal told the parents to give back the key to the bus driver as the children were getting late. She assured the parents that a new bus driver would come from tomorrow. We had complained about the driver to school authorities several times but they failed to change him.”

Unfortunately, at about 8.30 am the driver lost control of the bus and it slammed into a tree close to Unhani village in Kanina. The bus had only travelled a short distance. The collision caused the bus which was transporting about 40 students from Class 4 to 10 to GL Public School to topple over. The school authorities were informed about the driver’s alcohol consumption not just by the villagers but also by a few parents also. They had notified the school that the driver was inebriated on the fateful day.

“At Kheri Talwana, the bus was stopped by a few villagers who saw that the driver was drunk and driving rashly. They took the keys out of the ignition. They returned it after the school staff on the bus made them. Around 6 km away from the village, the accident took place,” voiced Hanuman Singh, the grandparent of two children involved in the accident. “The school authorities are equally responsible for this,” he charged and claimed that the school management was aware that the bus driver was drunk.

Inspector Ramnath, the station house officer (SHO) of Sadar Kanina, confirmed the occurrence and pointed out that the bus driver nearly collided with another vehicle. “The driver of the vehicle stopped the bus and took the keys prompting the villagers to gather. They called the school authorities and informed them that the driver was drunk and driving rashly. Later, they gave the keys back and he drove away.” 15-year-old Harsh who was inside the bus divulged that the driver was speeding and when they asked him to slow down he claimed that the school administration would reprimand him.

“The bus driver lost control of the vehicle and it rammed into a tree. The students sitting in the front and last rows of the bus received injuries after the glass of the windows broke. The bus driver jumped off the bus when it collided with the tree,” informed Class 9 student Aditya.

Currently, three individuals have been taken into custody in connection with this case, the driver Dharmender, the school principal Deepti and another school official Hoshiar Singh. Dharmender was apprehended at the scene of the collision, according to the police and it was determined by his medical assessment that he had consumed alcohol. In addition, the private school has been given a show-cause notice to explain why it remained open on 11th April even though it was Eid, a national holiday. A four-person team has also been assembled to look into the accident.

Kanina Deputy Superintendent of Police Mahendra Singh stated, “We will investigate why the school was open even on a holiday. The driver has been arrested, and a medical test will be conducted on him.” The vehicle’s fitness certificate expired in 2018, and according to Haryana Transport Minister Aseem Goel, the school administration’s regular usage of the bus constituted a glaring oversight. The bus was found to be missing some paperwork, which led to the suspension of an assistant secretary in the Mahendragarh district transport-secretary’s office. The officials added that the Additional Transport Commissioner (Road Safety) has been instructed to conduct an extensive inquiry into the accident’s causes and identify those accountable.

On 12th April at 3 pm, the Haryana Education Department has scheduled a meeting to discuss vehicle safety policy. Video conferencing will be used to enable participation from all of the state’s District Education Officers, Elementary Education Officers and Block Education Officers from different parts of the state.

Unsettling details concerning the circumstances leading up to the crash came to light during the initial probe. Study materials, school bags and shoes were strewn among the wreckage after the collision. While some kids yelled out in pain, others lay in bloody puddles. Authorities revealed that while fourteen of the pupils who were admitted to the hospital following the incident have been released, three remain in severe condition.

Seema Trikha, the Haryana Minister of Education, visited the school and noted that the institution had received a show-cause notice asking it to explain why it was open on an Eid holiday. She added that every private school must submit an affidavit certifying that its vehicles adhere to transportation laws and regulations. She announced that the driver, the school’s owner and the principal would all be the subject of a First Information Report.

She declared, “I want to tell the whole state that today a show cause notice has been issued to the school and apart from that, we have taken self-affidavits from the private schools. Second, they have to provide an affidavit of the transportation vehicle saying that their vehicles functioned according to the transport rules and norms, third, whoever is driving their vehicles, if they are found drunk, then they (schools) will hold the responsibility.”

However, the district education officer submitted a request to the state government to revoke the school’s recognition because it was operating on a gazetted holiday, per Mahendragarh Deputy Commissioner Monika Gupta. She mentioned “Despite repeated warnings from the children, he continued to drive recklessly, endangering our lives. On our way, to Kheri Talwana, parents confiscated the keys from Dharmendra and informed the school. However, the school administration threatened them and they had to return the keys.”

She added, “Besides the driver, there was no helper or female staff on the bus, which is a violation of the instructions given by the school administration. Therefore, I urge you to take strict legal action against Dharmendra, the driver, as well as the school principal and administration for their negligence.”

Meanwhile, the state government has launched an investigation into the instance, based on Transport Minister Aseem Goel who added that a formal complaint has been submitted. “We had challaned the bus for Rs 15,500 due to a lack of documents, but clearly, a lapse of the school authorities has been found,” he highlighted. He warned that if the investigation finds that the motor vehicles inspector in the area didn’t act despite knowing the bus lacked proper documents, they would face consequences as well.

Furthermore, he gave officials orders to examine the condition of every school bus. An FIR has been filed at the Kanina City police station under sections 109, 120B, 279, 336, 337, 304, and 185 of the Indian Penal Code as well as the Motor Vehicles Act against the bus driver, the principal and the school administration by a twelfth-grade student.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu and other dignitaries offered their profound condolences and demanded immediate action to avert such catastrophic mishaps in the future.

Crime cases rise in Pakistan amid economic turmoil: 19 killed, 55 injured in Karachi over resisting robberies during Ramzan

ANI
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Crime cases rise in Pakistan amid economic turmoil: 19 killed, 55 injured in Karachi over resisting robberies during Ramzan

During Ramzan 2024, Karachi witnessed a surge in crime, with 19 fatalities and 55 injuries resulting from resistance to robberies, as reported by ARY News.

A police official disclosed that armed robbers were responsible for the deaths of 19 citizens in Karachi during robbery attempts.

This year, the city has seen a notable escalation in robbery-related fatalities, totalling 56, with over 200 individuals injured thus far. In comparison, the corresponding period last year saw 25 fatalities and 110 injuries due to resistance against robberies. In 2023, the figures were alarmingly higher, with 108 deaths and 469 injuries resulting from similar circumstances.

Karachi police have engaged in 425 shootouts with robbers this year, resulting in 55 dacoits being neutralized and 439 sustaining injuries. According to a report by the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), the first three months of 2024 saw 22,627 reported crimes, including 59 fatalities and over 700 injuries stemming from robbery resistance. Additionally, 373 cars, 15,968 motorbikes, and 6,102 mobile phones were reported stolen or snatched during this period. The CPLC report also documented 25 extortion incidents and five cases of kidnapping for ransom in Karachi, ARY News reported.

Karachi’s Police Chief, Additional Inspector General Imran Yaqoob, attributed a significant portion of the city’s crime to outsiders, including individuals from interior Sindh and Balochistan. Yaqoob highlighted that approximately 4,00,000 “professional” beggars and criminal elements flock to Karachi during Ramzan and Eid-ul-Fitr.

He also said that the city’s daily crime rate of 166 cases per day, while concerning, was comparatively lower than that of other major cities in Pakistan.

Addressing Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and other stakeholders during a meeting on April 8, Yaqoob reiterated that Karachi’s crime rate was relatively modest, averaging less than one case per police station, despite the challenges posed by external criminal elements, ARY News reported. (ANI)

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Agniveer Scheme: Let us look at it differently and objectively

Virender Kapoor
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Agniveer Scheme: Let us look at it differently and objectively

       “America without her soldiers would be like God without his angels“: Claudia Pemberton

Every nation needs to defend itself from external aggression. It is also true that every nation has different priorities, different challenges and different level of affordability for defense. You cannot expect Maldives or Sri Lanka to have an Aircraft carrieer- it may be on their wish list though. The United States has a total of 11 aircraft careers and 9 helicopter careers- so be it.

India has only two. India also has a very large standing army, sizeable navy as well as air force.

All nations need to keep themselves battle-ready and battle-worthy all the time. Defense forces are like Insurance for people of the nation- you like it or not you get your personal life insurance, health insurance and car insurance- and pray like hell that you should never require it. Who wants to die, who wants to go to a hospital or meet with a car crash?

You go abroad for a holiday, you take out insurance with substantial cover, no? But most do not get to encash it and it goes down the drain for you but a profit for the insurance company. This is what life is all about.

There are around two hundred nations in the world and each has tailored its defense needs and forces according to several strategic factors and most importantly the economic condition. One thing is clear: defending a nation is not a welfare scheme. Least seen as an employment scheme. You need it and you recruit accordingly- need-based.

If a nation thinks that way then it is welfare for some and ‘farewell’ for the nation.

How to augment your fighting or combat strength without actually augmenting it?

It is a strategic paradox that has to be handled differently to work. Most nations have found a way out by thinking out of the box. Let me say this categorically that in this case ‘one size fits all’ does not work and cannot work.

Compulsory military service is a way forward which several nations have adopted. They all have tweaked it to fit their body size- like you buy a readymade suit but a bit of tailoring is required. Or you get a tailormade suit stitched- which can be expensive.

For instance, Singapore a tiny nation has made military service mandatory for all citizens where people between 16.5 years to 40 have to serve for two years. After this, they are let go. At the bottom most level, new recruits gets around 755 Singapore dollars per month which is INR 46,800 per month approximately.  

After that you go back to where you came from. You go back to your job or if not employed back to looking for a job or studying. Their standing army is around 70,000 people and they take around 50,000 people every year for compulsory service.  The guys going out are on the reservist list for the next ten years and also undergo a physical fitness test every year! Russia, France, Kuwait, Taiwan, Thailand and some more have a similar system- of course with different conditions of service. There is no state obligation to give you a job after this- you give yourself to the state and not the other way round. If the government has to absorb you then you become a part of regular standing army- these are totally two different things.

“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave”: Elmer Davis

Look at the force multiplier effect.

It is a force multiplier in the literal sense!

Israel mobilized some 360,000 reservists, roughly 4% of country’s population—functionally tripling the size of its force, within days, these forces were at the border fighting the Gaza war.

Need of Indian armed forces are unique- a hybrid model is adopted

Agniveer scheme has been formulated to keep the forces young and also build some kind of a reserve which can be called upon when required. Of course this would be economical too. You are taking a raw guy and training him for several months- investing your resources and also paying him money for this. An entry level person can be a school pass out (10+2) and trained for around 6 months and serves three and a half years thereafter.

In the first year, Agniveers receive a monthly package of INR 30,000, with an in-hand salary of INR 21,000. They contribute INR 9,000 to the Agniveer Corpus Fund, which is matched by the Government. As the years progress, the salary increases, with the fourth-year package amounting to INR 40,000 per month. Twenty five percent are retained and rest go back to their respective homes- now fully confident to take on the world- yes, they can then do a graduation course of their liking thereafter. He also gets a tax-free lump sum of INR 12 lakhs.

Look at the other scenario.

Let us say if a person finishes his four year graduation after school, what does he do after that? He fends for a job and mostly struggles for next three to four years, making ends meet. An average graduate gets no more than ten to fifteen thousand INR/- per month. After 8 years (4 years graduation + 4 years experience) he is not at all at an employability curve/quotient equivalent to an Agniveer with 4 years sterling experience and a 4 year degree which he does after his Agniveer stint. He is a trained, disciplined, hardened horse- with 12 lacks as bonus giving a head start of 4 years @ INR 25,000/- per month.

All of them get a work experience of 42 months. Today work experience of any type turns a greenhorn into an effective human resource. As compared to a plain graduate spending 4 years whiling away time on their parent’s money remains unemployable thereafter. Here he gets exposure to leadership, teamwork and a feeling of belonging to an elite organisation.

I have interviewed more than 8000 graduates and groomed 2000 MBA managers and I have seen that a two-month summer internship transforms their personality. 42 months is a huge experience.

This is in national interest and not an employability scheme.

If our think tanks had their way- and the large number of well-educated Indians included, they would want a compulsory military service for everyone. But this is wishful thinking.

Putting millions through this training would be cost-prohibitive. Therefore, a hybrid model would work for us and let us not find unnecessary faults in this.

A pensionable 20-year service does not necessarily get loyalty as many argue about. As you come closer to retirement you become less risk-taking- with bigger family liabilities.

“Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. it flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it“: Unknown

“Placing Guru Granth Sahib does not give immunity”: Punjab and Haryana HC slams state authorities for failing to clear road blocked by protestors

OpIndia Staff
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“Placing Guru Granth Sahib does not give immunity”: Punjab and Haryana HC slams state authorities for failing to clear road blocked by protestors

The Punjab & Haryana High Court blasted state authorities for failing to clear roads that protestors blocked the Mohali-Chandigarh border in an attempt to free Sikh prisoners. The court stated that protesters who misuse the Guru Granth Sahib as a “shield” to demand the release of Sikh prisoners cannot be granted any immunity.

Acting Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji’s division bench stated that despite numerous opportunities, neither the State of Punjab nor the Union Territory of Chandigarh had been able to provide any kind of resolution to the commuters who were experiencing difficulties caused due to the sit-in protests at the border between Mohali and Chandigarh.

The Court said that just because some of the protestors were placing Guru Granth Sahib at the site was no reason for the State of Punjab to not act against them.

“Only on account of the fact that some of the protestors have been hiding behind a shield of religious legitimacy by placing the Guru Granth Sahib would not as such give the State reason not to act against the persons concerned, who are misusing the religious sentiments,” the Court said.

It further stated that commuters and inhabitants of the tri-city (Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula) were experiencing inconvenience due to a small number of persons sitting and obstructing the road.

The comments were made by the court during the hearing of a petition for the protestors’ removal that was submitted last year by the non-governmental organisation Arrive Safe Society.

The plea claimed that passengers commuting between Chandigarh and Mohali, in Punjab, were experiencing severe inconveniences due to the sit-in.

The Court noted in the latest order that it had previously even called Punjab’s Director General of Police (DGP) to the scene to ensure that the protestors were removed. However, it claimed that the administrations in Chandigarh and Punjab were causing delay in the matter.

The Court said: “It is also apparent from the photographs which have been placed on record that there is no large gathering. In spite of the fact that it is well known that all the agitators from the rural background are busy harvesting and it is the most opportune time to remove the blockage of the road, the State of Punjab and the Union Territory, Chandigarh, are dragging their feet for the reasons best known to them.”

The Court stated that it expects the authorities to “wake up from their slumber” and take into consideration the Supreme Court’s observations against protestors occupying public spaces, while postponing the proceedings until a hearing on 18th April.

“Resultantly, we defer the proceedings for 18.04.2024 hoping that the State of Punjab and the Union Territory, Chandigarh, will wake up from their slumber and keep in mind the observations of the Apex Court in State of Himachal Pradesh and another Vs. Umed Ram Sharma, 1986 (2) SCC 68 and Amit Sahni Vs. Commissioner of Police and others, 2020 (10) SCC 439,” the Court said.

This comes after a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in March 2023 by the non-governmental organisation Arrive Safe Society. The PIL argued that the protest had been ongoing since January 2023, causing inconvenience to both school-age children and the general public who require medical facilities. Protesters were demanding stricter punishment in cases of sacrilege with the Central Government and early release of some Sikh prisoners also known as Bandi Sikhs. 

Among them are Devinderpal Singh Bhullar, a 1993 Delhi bomb blast convict, and Balwant Singh Rajoana, a prisoner convicted of the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.

Defence Ministry issues ₹65,000 crore tender to Hindustan Aeronautics for purchasing 97 made-in-India LCA Tejas Mark 1A fighter jets

ANI
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Defence Ministry issues ₹65,000 crore tender to Hindustan Aeronautics for purchasing 97 made-in-India LCA Tejas Mark 1A fighter jets

The Defence Ministry has issued a tender to the public sector firm Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for purchasing made-in-India 97 LCA Mark 1A fighter jets expected to be worth over Rs 65,000 crore.

This is set to be the largest order for indigenous military hardware to be placed by the Indian government ever.

The tender was issued by the Defence Ministry to the HAL recently and they have been given three months to respond to it.

The programme will help the IAF to replace its fleet of MiG-21s, MiG-23s and MiG-27s which have been either phased out or are set to be phased out in near future, government officials told ANI.

The indigenous fighter aircraft programme, fully backed by Defence Ministry and Air Headquarters is set to be a big boost for promoting indigenisation as well as give major business to the small and medium enterprises engaged in defence business across the country, they said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pushing for the revival of the HAL which has bagged orders for building all types of indigenous fighter aircraft, helicopters along with the engines for them under his government.

The Prime Minister also undertook a sortie in the trainer variant of the indigenous fighter which was first ever sortie by the Prime Minister of India in any combat aircraft.

The plan to acquire 97 more LCA Mark 1A fighter jets was also announced first by the Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on foreign soil in Spain when he told ANI about the mega plans to boost the indigenous fighter aircraft orders.

The decision to buy 97 more of these planes came around after the Air Chief held a review meeting of the indigenous fighter jet programme with all entities involved including the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

The last order for LCA Mark1A was for 83 aircraft and the first plane is poised to be delivered in a few weeks from now. LCA Mark 1A is the advanced version of Tejas aircraft.

The LCA Mark 1A plane has more advanced avionics and radars than the initial 40 LCAs being supplied to the Air Force.

The indigenous content in the new LCA Mark1As is going to be more than 65 per cent.

The programme has been the harbinger of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives of the nation. More importantly, it is a flag bearer of India’s self-reliance in the aerospace sector.

The HAL is also set to bag deals for buying over 200 LCA Mark 2s and similar number of fifth generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft.

This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

“Can’t afford to feed them”: Pakistan Man kills wife and seven children with an axe, cites financial distress as motive in confession to police

OpIndia Staff
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“Can’t afford to feed them”: Pakistan Man kills wife and seven children with an axe, cites financial distress as motive in confession to police

A man in Pakistan reportedly killed his wife and seven children with an axe as he was unable to feed them, according to police authorities. The accused has confessed to the crime.

Sajjad Khokhar, a labourer, killed his wife, 42, and their seven children including four daughters and three sons aged between eight months and 10 years. The murder was committed in Alipur, Muzaffargarh district.

Sajjad was declared “mentally disturbed” due to financial stress. According to the Punjab Police, Sajjad often fought with his wife.

The accused has been arrested and a case has been filed against him for murdering his family. Sajjad also informed the police about the motive.

According to reports, Sajjad surrendered just hours after committing the murder.

Pakistan is facing an acute financial crisis which is rising with high inflation, slow growth and unsustainable debt.

NIA makes major breakthrough in Rameshwaram cafe blast case, nabs bomber Mussavir and mastermind Abdul

OpIndia Staff
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NIA makes major breakthrough in Rameshwaram cafe blast case, nabs bomber Mussavir and mastermind Abdul

A month after terrorists attacked the famous Rameswaram cafe in Bengaluru, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has reportedly arrested two primary accused in the case.

As per reports, the apprehended terrorists were identified as bomber Mussavir Hussain Shazib and the mastermind Abdul Mateen Taahaa. They are believed to have been arrested from the States of Assam and West Bengal.

The NIA made the arrests, following a month-long intelligence gathering, investigation and coordinated efforts. The central agency spotted bomber Mussavir Hussain Shazib in a CCTV footage, where he and Mateen Taahaa were seen purchasing a cap before committing the crime.

Mussavir Hussain Shazib is a native of Karnataka and has been on the radar of the NIA in connection to terror outfits in Malenadu region. The bomber in the Rameshwaram blast case is also linked to other terrorists such as Shariq, Mateen, and Musabir.

Reportedly, he has a history of involvement in terror activities. In order to evader arrest, Mussavir changed is SIM cards frequently and started using a basic phone. The NIA has obtained crucial information about his identity, address, and history.

Earlier it was reported by News18 that Rameshwaram cafe blast terrorists could be in touch with foreign handlers. According to the report, foreign funding is the new trend among terrorists and they are possibly using the cryptocurrency transfer route to fund their activities.

The sources also claimed that crowded places are more likely to be their targets to create panic in public.

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