Pioneering the fight against Malaria, biologists from Jawaharlal Nehru University have broken new ground in crushing the malaria parasite before it can take refuge in red blood cells for its inexorable reproduction, says a report published in Deccan Herald.
The novel method to stop the malaria parasite in its track is discovered by the team of Dr Anand Ranganathan, in collaboration with another group headed by Shailaja Singh and Nishant Joshi at Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida.
The strategy devised by these professionals entails blocking the route that the Plasmodium falciparum (the parasite that causes cerebral malaria) takes to attack the red blood cells(RBCs). Though the discovery is in its embryonic stage, it offers options to improve the effectiveness of existing medicines such as chloroquine and artemisinin as the parasites are building resistance to these drugs. India had reported the first case of artemisinin resistance in 2018.
Scientists discover molecule that prevents parasite from invading Red Blood Cells
As per the report in Deccan Herald, from thousands of synthetic molecules, researchers were able to home in on that one molecule that prevented interaction between two crucial proteins which the parasite leveraged to invade the blood cells. The proteins are identified as Myosin A and its interacting partner, MTIP (Myosin A Tail Interacting Protein). The synthetic molecule which sticks to the Myson-MTIP complex is called ZA1.
According to Dr Anand Ranganathan, the plan was to interrupt the cycle of the parasite at the very first step when it tries to invade the RBCs. The binding of Myosin A to its interacting partner (MTIP) is critical to the generation of the force for parasite’s motility, said JNU scientist Anand Ranganathan.
Zill e Anam, the lead author of the study, said, “We discovered a very strong interaction between ZA1 and Myosin A. The interaction prevents Plasmodium’s motor machinery to function in its normal way.”
The researchers have also been successful in trimming the molecule further to create a smaller unit(named ZA1s) that cripples the parasite even more effectively.
Drug development will commence once crystal structure is understood: Dr Anand Ranganathan
Talking about the path ahead, Dr Ranganathan said in an interview to DH that the process of drug development would commence once the crystal structure of the molecule is understood.
Shailja Singh, who is another corresponding author of the paper that has been published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, added that one of the bigger challenges currently facing the fight against malaria is the parasite’s growing non-responsiveness to artemisinin and chloroquine.
The discovery could be significant for the country’s battle against malaria, which remains the only nation outside Africa to contribute about 80% of the global malaria burden and death.
Lately, there has been a growing outrage against the movie industry and the online OTT platforms for their blatant act of pushing Hinduphobic contents under the guise of creative art.
For a very long time now, several social media users have been pointing out how several platforms have been subtly pushing their preconceived agenda through movies, web series, etc. One such platform that has also been under fire recently is Amazon Prime, which according to several viewers, have been aggressively pushing contents that are offensive to Hindus religious beliefs.
Biggest Dons of Mumbai: Dawood, Abu Salem Sacred Games- Brahmin Gaitonde, Trivedi
Biggest Don of UP: Ansaris Mirzapur- Tripathi, Shukla, Pandit Paatal Lok- Tyagi, Bajpai *Ansari is honest officer*
OUTIM: Haji Mastan was a saint Raees: Terrorist Lateef was saving Hindus,
The netizens have time-and-again have also pointed out how Amazon India has been giving space for ultra-left radicals and Islamist elements, who are known for their anti-Hindu agenda. A series of social media outrage had erupted in the past against Amazon for making Hinduphobic web series such as ‘Paatal Lok‘ and also for featuring ultra-left wing activists such as Swara Bhasker and Islamists like Ali Fazal in one of their shows.
According to Paatal Lok, Hindus are bigots. Muslim cop asks for mandir Prashad; the Hindu cop hesitates as he is bigoted.
Men clad in saffron come chanting Jai Shri Ram & lynch a Muslim man accusing him of having beef. Reality- High courts recognized it as a fake story. pic.twitter.com/fapjKQXD6H
Various social media users have been expressing their disappointment against online platforms such as Amazon India for deliberately disrespecting the sentiments of the common masses of the country by continuing to produce such vile contents.
However, despite all the outrage, Amazon seems to have turned a blind eye as they keep pushing controversial content that is mostly derogatory to Hindu religious beliefs.
According to several OTT platform enthusiasts and critics, the anti-Hindu narratives often pushed by these OTT platforms stems from the fact that the promoters and the people responsible for airing such contents themselves carry their own biases. These set of promoters and people responsible for content are happy to provide space for pushing derogatory contents under the guise of creating valuable content.
One such stakeholder who has the ability to push all sorts of agenda through online streaming platforms is Aparna Purohit. Aparna Purohit is the head of Amazon India’s creative development team and also the in-charge of platform’s original web series.
A social media user on Thursday pointed out how Aparna Purohit, the creative head of the Amazon Prime, had a known left-wing bias, who has often expressed her hatred against the ruling dispensation. According to the images shared by entertainment industry follower Sharanya Shettyy, Aparna Purohit has also pushed various anti-Hindu propaganda on social media platforms.
Now coming to Amazon Prime India Aparna Purohit – Head of India Originals. Then wonder why you see what you see there too. Two major OTT Netflix and Prime, two leftist content heads. pic.twitter.com/t0zLVQO6Pg
Aparna Purohit, a former Jamia alumnus with known anti-Hindu bias
Interestingly, Aparna Purohit, the person responsible for commissioning all such derogatory contents on the Amazon Prime Video, is the alumnus of the infamous Jamia Millia University. Purohit, who claims to have experience in making movies for over 15 years, has been open about her ideological position, which has time-and-again reflected in the work that she does for Amazon.
If one takes a closer look at the posts put up by Aparna Purohit on social media platforms, the allegations of ideological prejudice made against Purohit by social media users find resonance as most of her recent posts have either political or ideological undertones to it.
Here are few images posted by social media users, in which one be clearly seen her ideological prejudices of Aparna Purohit.
In one of the Facebook posts, Aparna Purohit had posted an image, which not only disrespected a duly elected Prime Minister but also insinuated that he was some sort of a ‘criminal’.
The below image posted by Aparna Purohit on January 6, 2020, perhaps, was in connection with the brutal attack that took place in JNU attacks unleashed by the left-wing mobs against students of the university. It was reported that some left students along with a few other students had covered their faces to attack students and vandalise the office spaces in the JNU.
However, Aparna Purohit, who is accused of having an ultra-left bias, has indirectly blamed Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and also portrayed them as the culprits responsible for the JNU attacks.
Image Source: Maya
Not only that, but her hatred for BJP was also yet again reflected in another post in which she was caught sharing propaganda articles published by far-left anti-India fake news portals such as ‘The Wire’. In one of her post, Aparna Purohit held BJP responsible for the anti-Hindu riots that were unleashed by the Muslim mobs in the national capital in the last week of May.
Sharing a propaganda piece, Aparna Purohit compared the Anti-Hindu riots in Delhi to 2002-Gujarat incident and had claimed that the Modi government has brought Gujarat model to Delhi.
Image Source: Aparna Purohit
In one of the most bizarre Facebook post, Purohit had promoted the rabid anti-India hatred of known Naxal sympathiser Arundhati Roy. Opposing the historical Citizenship Amendment Act, a law that guarantees Indian citizenship to the persecuted minorities from three neighbouring Islamic countries, Purohit had claimed that India would cease to exist if they accepted a law that was legitimately passed by the parliament.
Image Source: Aparna Purohit
In one of her post, Aparna Purohit was also seen expressing her admiration and fascination towards another ultra-left-activist and Bollywood entertainer Swara Bhasker. Bhasker, a known anti-Hindu propagandist has been constantly promoted by Amazon India’s Purohit.
Here is a post by Aparna Purohit, where she was seen defending the likes of Swara Bhasker. The controversial activist is alleged to be one of the enablers of the ant-CAA and anti-Hindu riots in the national capital. The social media users also pointed out that the left-ideological leanings of Aparna Purohit was the reason why the likes of Swara Bhasker gets an opportunity to act in shows that are produced by Amazon Prime Video.
You wonder how or why does crap like Rasbhari get commissioned at a major platform like Amazon prime in India? It is because Amazon India content head can’t stop fan girling over her every other day! pic.twitter.com/19BQDapryN
Last year in May, Aparna Purohit had taken to Facebook to share another article of ‘The Wire’, which was written in the wake of revoking of Article 370 in erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Image Source: Aparna Purohit
Aparna Purohit also is not new to sharing fake news on social media platforms. Last year in December, Purohit had taken to Facebook to share a series of videos of the anti-CAA riots that took place in Jamia Millia University.
Sharing a series of videos of rioters of Jamia Millia University, Aparna Purohit had tried to pass off videos that claimed that Delhi police were firing against inside students’ library.
With one of its creative heads now openly caught propagating hatred, perhaps Amazon India owes a clarification to people of this country.
A day after Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty, the prime accused in the suicide case of Sushant Singh Rajput was provided with a ‘platform’ by India Today ‘journalist’ Rajdeep Sardesai, senior journalist Navika Kumar from Times Now has now made a sensational disclosure saying that someone claiming to be in touch with Rhea Chakraborty’s team had sent a ‘feeler’ seeking an interview in exchange for ‘fair’ coverage.
Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Times Now editor Navika Kumar revealed that she got a feeler from someone claiming to be in touch with Rhea Chakraborty’s team, who requested them to be ‘fair’ in Rhea’s coverage in return for arranging an interview with Rhea. It is pertinent to note that Times Now has been forefront at carrying out continuous coverage in the Sushant Singh Rajput’s case.
Tweet by Times Now senior journalist Navika Kumar
Navika Kumar’s disclosure comes at the backdrop of a recent interview of Rhea Chakraborty, who after a stoic silence, had decided to give an interview to India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai. In the interview, Rhea Chakraborty presented her ‘side of the story’ in the Sushant Singh suicide case, which, however, did not receive a good response from the viewers.
Following the controversial interview, netizens had not only pointed several discrepancies in her statements but also pointed the hypocrisy of ‘journalist’ Rajdeep Sardesai for trying to whitewash the allegations against Rhea by carrying out an interview with an accused in the case. Navika Kumar in her tweet had also mentioned that “name of the anchor who has now done the interview” was mentioned and the person said that he was also in talks for an interview.
Interestingly, following the interview by Rajdeep Sardesai, several other channels also aired their own interviews with Rhea Chakraborty. Among those who aired the interview were CNN-News18 and NDTV.
Interestingly, while Ravish Kumar had been raving and whining about how channels like Times Now and Republic TV were obsessed over Sushant Singh Rajput, NDTV got obsessed with Rhea Chakraborty, flooding their YouTube channel with her clips. Similarly, Rajdeep Sardesai, who had whined about how the media is covering the Sushant Singh Rajput case instead of “real issues”, had also jumped at the opportunity to interview Rhea Chakraborty after the “deal” that Navika has alluded to.
Perhaps, Navika Kumar in her sensational disclosure was referring to such an agreement between the news network and Rhea’s team where she could be allowed to get away with charges in exchange for a ‘fair’ interview. Navika Kumar also hinted at some kind of a bargain allegedly offered by Rhea’s side in exchange for toning down the coverage by Times Now against Rhea Chakraborty.
Since last few days, Times Now has upped the ante with regards to Sushant Singh Rajput’s case and had put sensational disclosures regarding the alleged Whatsapp chat between Rhea and a purported drug dealer.
Addition to that, on Thursday, Times Now had also accessed reports that suggested that the first set images of the mortal remains of the actor which went viral immediately after Sushant’s death may have been morphed to push the ‘suicide theory’.
The Bombay High Court has on Friday rejected a bail plea filed by ‘Urban Naxal’ Sidha Bharadwaj, arrested in connection with the violence that broke out at Elgar Parishad in January 2018. The accused in the Bhima Koregaon case had sought bail on grounds of health in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. However, the Court did not see merit in her application. The plea was filed against denial of bail after an NIA Court rejected her medical bail.
Dismissing the bail plea, the Court noted, “In our view, no case is made out for grant of bail. This appeal is devoid of merits.” The Court mandated that Sudha Bharadwaj will continue to be provided medical aid at the Byculla Women’s Jail in Mumbai where she is currently lodged at. Advocate Ragini Ahuja had contended that there were discrepancies in the medical reports filed by authorities on the 23rd of July and the 21st of August.
“The two reports are contrary to each other and the report dated August 21 might be bogus. How can a person recover completely of a heart condition in just four weeks,” Ahuja told the Court. However, the Court observed that the latest medical report concerned itself with Bharadwaj’s vital parameters with respect to COVID-19 and the submissions made by Sudha Bharadwaj in the Court had no substance on inconsistencies in the medical report.
NIA opposed bail plea by Sudha Bharadwaj
The NIA had opposed the bail plea by Sudha Bharadwaj and told the Court that she was being provided proper health facilities and her health was monitored regularly. Additional Solicitor General of Maharashtra and Goa, Anil Singh, who served as the NIA’s counsel in the matter, said, “NIA strongly opposes the plea. She has been taken care in the jail and her bail has been previously rejected on merits because of her involvement in anti-terrorist and anti-national activities.”
What is the Bhima Koregaon Violence Case?
The event by the name of “Elgar Parishad” was organised to commemorate the Battle of Bhima Koregaon of 1818, wherein the Peshwas fought against the between East India Company. In the war, an army of Dalit soldiers had fought under the British forces against the Peshwa, the reason for the celebration by Dalits. In 2018, it was the 200 year anniversary of the war and extreme violence erupted over the matter.
Soon after, the case was transferred to the NIA. The Pune police had arrested a total of nine supposed “intellectuals” such as Sudha Bharadwaj, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, and Varavara Rao for inciteful speeches.
In a shocking incident on Thursday, the merit list of admissions at the reputed Asutosh college in South Kolkata featured the name of actress Sunny Leone. Her name appeared at the top of the merit list for admission to the BA (English) programme of the college. As per the contentious merit list, Sunny Leone is a student of West Bengal State Board and has scored 100 marks in each of the five subjects.
Following outrage of social media, the college authorities apologised for the oversight on the part of the administration. Besides, the merit list for the BA (English) programme has now been withdrawn and will be re-published on correction.
The contentious merit list with the name of Sunny Leone at the top (Image Courtesy: Twitter/ @Rupanjandas715)
Lack of application fee led to mischief, claims Vice-Principal
While speaking to ABP Ananda, Apurva Rai, the Vice-Principal of the college said, “We cannot delete the list as it will change the ranks of all students. We are now rectifying our mistake by replacing the name of ‘Sunny Leone’ with that of another student. It’s a fake application and that can simply be proved through verification of the mark sheet. Some applicant student has been mischievous or else why would he put the name of Sunny Leone and give her 100 marks in each subject? Since there was no application fee this time, the student got the opportunity to carry out this mischief. “
Sunny Leone express desire to join Asutosh college
The story of the bizarre merit list also reached Sunny Leone who took a dig at the said college. She tweeted, “See you all in college next semester!!! Hope you’re in my class.”
See you all in college next semester!!! Hope your in my class 😉 ??
While minor errors and typos are common occurrences, the fact that a miscreant was able to pass off the name of the actress in the merit list with a phone number cited as roll number has drawn criticism from several quarters.
Even as Wikipedia faces criticism for allowing pornographic content and images, including paedophilia, another angle has emerged showing the dominance of major porn websites on the online encyclopaedia. It seems that global porn major Pornhub has dedicated personnel to monitor the Wikipedia page of the site, and the moment any negative content is edited to the page, it is promptly deleted by them.
On 24th June, a para was added to the Wikipedia article on Pornhub, mentioning an online petition filed against Pornhub for abusive content hosted on the adult site. The petition “Traffickinghub” was launched in February this year by Laila Mickelwait from Exodus Cry, a US-based Christian anti-trafficking group, after several videos of sexual abuse were found on Pornhub. The petition has got over 1.2 million signatures till now. Accordingly, a para about the same, and response of Pornhub saying they will remove such content, was added to the article. But it was promptly deleted by one user with the username Applepie655.
The reason given for deletion was that the sources india.com and dw.com are not notable sources. It may be noted that india.com is a major portal in India, and dw.com is a major portal in German, and they are indeed notable sources. Moreover, the petition has its own website and it as filed on change.com, so there is no doubt about the petition, to which even the Pornhub has responded.
Earlier in May, the same user had removed a para in the page that informed that The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) found 118 instances of child sexual abuse material on Pornhub between 2017 and 2019. First the user had removed it saying that only a small number of such videos were found and they were removed by the site, so it does not need to be included in the Wikipedia page. When other editors contested and re-inserted it, the user against removed it saying not all the videos had child rape. But after that another editor pointed towards a BBC report confirming the same, and the para was again added.
The user Applepie655 seems interested only Wikipedia pages related to pornography, and the user is very prompt to remove any negative content added in those pages.
The edit history page of the user shows several edits per day on various pages of porn websites and companies, including MindGeek, the company that owns several porn websites like Pornhub, RedTube, and YouPorn, as well as several adult movie production companies.
Pornhub under fire
The world’s largest porn site Pornhub has been under the fire for videos of rape and sexual abuse uploaded on the site. It has been accused the safety measures deployed at the site are not adequate to prevent users for uploading such videos. The petitions filed against the company says that they do not have an effective system in place to verify reliably the age or consent of those featured in the pornographic content it hosts.
In the past, several child rape videos were found to be uploaded on the site, which were removed after they were pointed out by others. The videos has passed the monitoring system that the company has claimed to be in place to prevent such videos getting uploaded.
Certain news of an alleged incident broke out on Friday and odes began to be paid to the mythical construct of ‘Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb’. According to certain individuals on social media, a Muslim family had performed the last rites of a deceased Kashmiri Pandit woman in the Parhochi village of Shopian.
Amid heavy rains, Muslims perform last rites of Kashmiri Pandith woman in Parhochi village of Shopian. pic.twitter.com/FAiZnJm3zt
Others claimed that the Muslims had helped keep the spirit of ‘Kashmiriyat’ alive through their actions. However, unlike others, some conceded that the Muslims had not performed the last rites themselves but had only helped with the conductance of the rituals.
In a heartwarming example of Kashmiriyat, Muslims in a #pargochi village in south Kashmir district of #Shopian helped perform the last rites of a 100-year-old Kashmiri Pandit Women amid Heavy Rainfall.@yasinc_iaspic.twitter.com/1Q77jGcwBY
Great emphasis was also placed on the fact that the Muslims apparently braved heavy rain to help their ‘Pandit brethren’. The deceased Kashmiri Pandit woman was apparently a 103-year old Uma Devi.
Keeping the example of #Kashmiriyat alive, when the torrential rains has lashed the Valley & people preferred to stay indoors, local Muslims of Pargochi village in #Shopian helped their Pandit brethren conduct last rites of 103 year old Kashmiri Pandit woman Uma Devi. 1/n @Nidhipic.twitter.com/GSGIuMhgyR
One media portal, ‘Fast Kashmir’, even reported on the matter in glowing terms. However, the details mentioned in the report only help to cement our growing suspicion: It was simply bigotry of low expectations. It was reported that when the news of the Kashmiri Pandit’s demise became evident, Muslims in the neighbourhood came together to help the bereaved family cremate the deceased amidst a torrential outpour.
It is rather bewildering that such a demonstration of common human decency is being credited with ‘Kashmiriyat’. The conduct of the Muslims in the community is indeed quite commendable but it had nothing to do with Kashmiriyat. If anything, their actions reflected a strident refutation of the ideology that is mired in conflict.
It was Kashmiriyat, in fact, that led to the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley in 1989-90 and their subsequent exodus. And three decades later, acts of common decency are being glorified beyond all recognition, with lots of exaggerations, in order to exalt a genocidal concept that continues to stir the plague of terrorism in Kashmir.
It needs to be emphasised here that the actions of the Muslims in Shopian represent common human decency. It is human decency to look out for the well-being of a family in the neighbourhood which has just lost a revered member. It is common human decency to help out people in distress. It is common human decency to offer condolences and console people who have just lost their beloved. There is nothing exceptional or unique about the whole situation, it is what ordinary decent human beings do for their fellow man.
That such an ordinary demonstration of human kindness is being glorified out of proportion and embellished with complete fiction in order to aid in a certain brand of propaganda only goes on to highlight that the primary concern of the concerned individuals who have engaged in such a narrative is to participate in an obscene celebration of perfectly ordinary human kindness.
It is, of course, something that we witness regularly. Whenever some Muslims display common human decency, sections of the community jump in to hail their actions with the explicit intention of whitewashing the toxic radicalism that has such a terrible hold within the community. In the current instance, the said Muslims from Shopian were glorified to wash away the crimes committed against the Kashmiri Pandit community and convey the impression that Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits share very cordial relationships, which is far from the truth.
It is known that Kashmiri Pandits had to suffer a genocide at the hands of the Kashmiri Muslim community. It is known that Kashmiri Pandits cannot return to their homeland to this very day. it is known that ‘Kashmiriyat’ continues to fuel terrorism and separatism in the Valley. And a simple demonstration of common human decency and kindness will not alter reality.
Pakistan, teetering on the edge of being placed on the international terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) ‘blacklist’, ludicrously urges the Paris-based body to block funds to India’s Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), accusing the latter being involved in terrorist activities.
In a meeting held at Pakistan’s parliament, Shehryar Afridi, chair of the Pakistani Parliament’s Kashmir Committee and Sardar Attique Khan, the former PM of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) accused RSS of “terrorist activities funded by the Indian diaspora”. Raising concerns, the duo urged the UN, the FATF and other financial institutions to take “cognizance of the situation and follow it up with immediate action to block these illegal transactions” as they said that RSS has been using these funds to “kill and torture religious minorities” in India and Kashmir and carrying a “Hindu supremacist ideology”.
“The RSS terrorists have carried out terrorist attacks across India killing Muslims, including in 2006 Malegaon blasts, Mecca Masjid bombing in Hyderabad, Samjhauta Express bombings and the Ajmer Sharif Dargah blasts,” they said.
Pakistan laments over FATF’s silence on RSS
“The RSS is receiving funding from Indian diaspora based in various countries and Indian Consulates are facilitating the transfer of funding to the terrorist organization that is killing and lynching Muslims in India and Kashmir and carrying a Hindu supremacist ideology,” said Afridi and Khan, lamenting over the “silence of FATF over illegal and illicit transactions to the RSS.”
“The global financial watchdog, Financial Action Task Force, must take measures to combat money-laundering and terror-financing to the Hindu terror outfits,” the two leaders demanded.
Like their supremo Imran Khan, who obsesses over creating a vile narrative against India over Kashmir, the duo also said that the world should be made aware about the “atrocities being committed on the helpless Kashmiris by the Indian fascist forces”.
The terror state consistently receives a low rating by FATF
Pakistan, being shunned Internationally for harbouring terrorism, has a habit of creating a narrative to divert attention from its terrorism, and to do so, the terror state has often accused India’s ruling party BJP and the RSS of fanning “Hindu terrorism”, a narrative peddled by Congress which was busted a long time ago. However, the irony here is that despite consistently receiving an extremely low rating by FATF, the terror state has urged the terror watchdog to take action against India.
The Global watchdog FATF had retained Pakistan in the Greylist in this February. The FATF subgroup International Cooperation Review Group had recommended retaining Pakistan in the ‘grey list’ citing that Pakistan failed to take appropriate action against terror financers.
Earlier in October 2019, the Asia Pacific Group (APG) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had published its annual report (Mutual Evaluation report of Pakistan) which stated, “With the exception of some recent actions discussed in detail below, Pakistan has not taken sufficient measures to fully implement UNSCR 1267 obligations against all listed individuals and entities – especially those associated with Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT)/Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), and Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) as well as the groups’ leader Hafiz Saeed.”
The Supreme Court of India on Friday in its judgment held that final year examinations for college/university students have to be carried out by September 30. However, the top court allowed states for deferment of exams beyond September 30 if they want because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Observing that the states cannot promote the students without taking the examinations, the court said that states can postpone the exams in the view of the pandemic under the Disaster Management Act and consult with the UGC to fix the subsequent dates.
“If states feel they cannot conduct exams by September 30, they can approach UGC for relief,” said the judges.
The decision came amidst protest from students and lately by political parties who have seemingly hacked the student’s protests against the examinations, in a bid to mount an attack against the Modi government.
Maharashtra, WB, Delhi and Odisha wanted the examinations to be cancelled
A number of petitions, including one by the Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray, had called for the examination to be cancelled on account of the coronavirus pandemic. The pleas referred to the hardships faced by the students as universities and colleges remained shut due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. They contended that students have completed five semesters and had a Cumulative Grade Point Average or CGPA, which could be extrapolated for the final results without the actual examinations.
The stand was supported by four states and union territories-Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal and Odisha, who urged the bench to cancel the examination in the wake of surging coronavirus cases in the country.
UGC argued holding examinations was in the best interests of the students
Earlier, the national education body University Grants Commission(UGC) had directed states to conduct examinations by September 30. The UGC had reasoned that the exams must be conducted to “protect the academic future of students” and argued that degrees can’t be granted without final examinations.
During hearings, the UGC had informed the top court that its directive dated July 6, asking universities and colleges to conduct final year examinations by Septemeber 30 was “not a diktat”. It had also said in the Supreme Court that the states cannot decide to confer degrees upon students without taking their final examinations. However, the states were permitted to extend the deadline for holding the exams, which the Supreme Court today agreed.
On Thursday, Jamia Millia University wrote a letter to Union Education Ministry asking them to initiate action against Sudarshan News channel and its editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke for allegedly “tarnishing” the image of the university.
According to the reports, Jamia Millia Islamia has called a meeting to discuss if they can initiate legal action against Sudharshan TV channel for its shows which allegedly questioned the entry of Muslims in the bureaucracy through UPSC exams.
“We have written to the Education Ministry informing them about the whole episode and requested them to take appropriate action. We told them that Sudarshan channel has not only tried to tarnish the image of JMI and a particular community but the image of UPSC also,” said Jamia PRO Ahmed Azeem.
The complaint against Suresh Chavhanke comes after he had earlier tweeted a trailer of his upcoming show, in which he had said to expose on the infiltration of Muslims’ in the Civil Services. In the video, Suresh Chavhanke had allegedly referred to those passing out of Jamia’s Residential Coaching Academy (RCA) and clearing the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as “Jamia ke Jihadi”.
Jamia Teachers’ Association calls for a criminal complaint against Suresh Chavhanke
Meanwhile, the Jamia Teachers’ Association has also written a letter to Jamia Millia University administration requesting the University to file a criminal defamation suit against the Chief Editor of Sudarshan News TV, Suresh Chavhanke for calling the civil servant aspirants as “Jamia ke Jihadi”.
In a press release, the JTA alleged that the video targeted the recruitment of Muslims in the Indian Administrative Services and also labelled them with the word “Jihadi”.
“It is worth mentioning that Jamia Millia Islamia stood as number one Central University of the nation in an assessment by the MHRD and media persons/their masters are using a cruel approach against 100-year-old University and the Indians who serve the nation through administrative services. JTA thanks all who stand in solidarity with fellow Indians and believe in the constitution of India”, JTA secretary Majid Jamil said in the press release.
Ironically, Jamia Millia University, which has now taken offence over alleged statements in a TV show, is notoriously known for anti-Hindu agenda run by groups operating inside its campus, which was very much reflected during the anti-CAA riots that took place in the national capital.
In December 2019, after the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act, widespread protests took place in India which often turned violent. The violence had also broken out outside campuses of Jamia Millia Islamia university in Delhi, where ‘students’ and other protestors had even raised slogans of ‘Hinduon se Azadi’.
Controversy erupts over Sudarshan News programme
Hindi news channel Sudarshan News had triggered outrage after it aired a promo for a program to be broadcast on 28 August. Sudarshan News chief editor Suresh Chavhanke had posted a video of the program to be aired on August 28, where he had informed that the channel is analysing claims showing a sudden increase in the number of Muslims selected in various posts in administrative and police services in the country, along with an increase in marks obtained by Muslim candidates in compared with others.
He had announced that it will be the channel’s big campaign against the ‘bureaucracy jihad’ and ‘UPSC Jihad’ and warned in the video saying ‘imagine jihadis from Jamia becoming your district commissioner and secretaries in every ministry’.
