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Former CJI Ranjan Gogoi nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the President

OpIndia Staff
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Former CJI Ranjan Gogoi nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the President

President Ram Nath Kovind has nominated Former Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, to the Rajya Sabha.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, in a gazetted notification, said: “In exercise of the power conferred by sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of Article 80 of the constitution of India, read with clause 3 of that article, the president is pleased to nominate Shri Ranjan Gogoi to the council of states to fill the vacancy caused due to the retirement of one of the retired member”.

Gazette notification

Former CJI Ranjan Gogoi, the 46th Chief Justice of India, who was credited for many landmark verdicts on diverse topics like the decades-old politically and religiously sensitive Ayodhya land dispute, had retired as the chief justice of India last year on November 17.

In the last week of his tenure, Gogoi passed a slew of key landmark judgments pertaining to government matters, religion, politics, and the applicability of the law to his own office. He etched his name in the annals history when a five-judge bench headed by him on November 9, 2019, brought an end to the Ayodhya land dispute, which dates back to even before the Supreme Court came into existence in 1950.

The CJI also headed a bench which, by a majority 3-2 verdict, referred to a larger seven-judge bench the pleas seeking review of the apex court’s historic 2018 judgement allowing women and girls of all ages to enter Kerala’s Sabarimala temple.

Read: Read full details: CJI Ranjan Gogoi bats for NRC, slams media and ‘arm-chair commentators’ for their skewed reportage

Justice Gogoi’s name will also be remembered for heading a bench which gave a clean chit to the Modi government twice — first on the writ petition and then on the pleas seeking review of the December 14, 2018 verdict, in the Rafale fighter jet deal with French firm Dassault Aviation. It also censured Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for wrongfully attributing the “Chowkidar chor hai” remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the top court.

The Supreme Court Bench of CJI Gogoi has also reserved its judgement on pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the Finance Act, 2017 on the ground that it was passed by Parliament as a Money Bill.

On November 13, a five-judge constitution bench, headed by Gogoi, wherein a 3:2 majority verdict, the apex court referred the broader question of whether all provisions of the Finance Act 2017 could be construed as being part of Money Bill and hence didn’t need Rajya Sabha’s approval. The Supreme Court held that a larger bench should look into the correctness of the Aadhaar judgment since the Aadhaar Act was also passed as a Money Bill.

Justice Gogoi, who was sworn on October 3, 2018, as the 46th CJI, had the tenure of a little over 13 months. On his last date at office, Gogoi circulated a parting note to journalists covering the Supreme Court, refusing one-on-one interviews. He said, “bitter truth must remain in memory.”

Shaheen Bagh ‘protestors’ to defy coronavirus advisory, circumvent Delhi govt prohibitions by using loopholes: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Shaheen Bagh ‘protestors’ to defy coronavirus advisory, circumvent Delhi govt prohibitions by using loopholes: Reports

The Shaheen Bagh ‘protestors’ have refused to follow the containment orders and decided not to curl off their protest even after the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has ordered that the protestors must comply with the ban on gatherings of over 50 people.

As per a report by Times now, a faction of Muslim protestors gathered there have said that a meeting has taken place where it has been decided that they would not end the protest, instead spilt themselves into groups of 50 and take precautions by sitting at a certain distance.

Another meeting is expected to take place soon after which the ‘protestors’ will take a final call.

The media coordinator of the Shaheen Bagh protest, Qazi Emad, said the protesters respect the ban imposed by the government at cinema halls and events such as IPL. “But those are a form of entertainment whereas our agitation is about our fight for survival. It cannot be compared,” Emad said. As per a statement released by the ‘women of Shaheen Bagh’, they are in talks with the legal and medical experts to see how they could take the ‘protests’ forward.

Moreover, advocate Anwar Siddiqui, a member of their legal team had also said: “We will not take any decision on the protest unless the Supreme Court directs us to do so.”

Earlier in the day, the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had invoked the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 and declared a new set of bans to limit the spread of the highly contagious disease.

In the press release, the AAP supremo announced a complete ban on social, religious and political gatherings of more than 50 people in the national capital. The ban, effective immediately, will also be applicable on Shaheen Bagh ‘protest’ site where Muslim women have been sitting on a ‘protest’ against the amended Citizenship Law for the past three months now, had said the Chief Minister.

Disregarding the government appeal to avoid large gatherings and crowded places, the Shaheen Bagh protestors have been recklessly continuing with their demonstration. They have apparently been praying and reading the Quran at the protest site, believing that praying to Allah would safeguard them from the coronavirus crisis. And now they seem to have found a loophole to circumvent the advisory to continue with their road blockade.

The Delhi government had last Friday ordered a ban on any gathering of more than 200 people, including sports events such as the Indian Premier League (IPL). The government has also shut all cinema halls, schools and colleges till March 31.

For about three months now, protesters in Shaheen Bagh have blocked one of the busiest thoroughfares in the national capital in protest against the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act that intends to grant citizenship to a persecuted minorities from the neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The blockade of the road is causing massive inconvenience to lakhs of daily commuters who now have to circumvent the blocked road to reach their destination.

In addition, there have been allegations that the protesters at Shaheen Bagh are treating it as an independent enclave, with strict regulations enforced in allowing on who joins them in their protest based on their ideological inclinations.

The apex court, last week, stated that Shaheen Bagh protesters cannot carry out indefinite protests in common area inconveniencing people for eternity. It also issued notices to the Centre, Delhi government and the Delhi Police on the pleas seeking removal protesters from Shaheen Bagh. But the ‘protestors’ have refused to vacate the spot unless CAA is repealed.

Bihar: FIR filed against Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Ambassador to India for the spread of coronavirus, court to hear the matter on April 11

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: FIR filed against Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Ambassador to India for the spread of coronavirus, court to hear the matter on April 11

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in India, a lawyer in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur has filed an FIR against the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping and the Chinese ambassador to India for allegedly spreading coronavirus across the world. Advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha cited a book written in 1981 to reinforce his stand that China has hatched a conspiracy to disseminate the novel coronavirus in the world.

The matter has been listed by the court to be heard on April 11. Informing about the development, advocate Ojha said, “A book was published in 1981 in which it was written in clear terms that China is surreptitiously preparing a virus in Wuhan which has manifested in the form of coronavirus today. China has deliberately spread the virus through a conspiracy and a lot of people have contracted the virus, while many others have died of it. In this regard, I have filed a case of abetment under Section 120(B)(criminal conspiracy to commit an offence) and Section 270(malignant act likely to spread disease) against Chinese Premier Xi Jinping and the Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong in the Muzaffarabad court. The court has taken the matter seriously and granted a hearing on the case on April 11.”

Coronavirus pandemic is believed to have emerged from one of the streets of the wet markets in the Chinese central city of Wuhan. The contagion spread like a wildfire across the world, affecting about 1,75,000 people globally and has so far claimed lives of more than 6600 people across the globe. The spread of the pandemic in India is so far under control, with about 115 cases reported from the across the country so far. Several state governments and local authorities have endorsed social distancing and ordered closures of public places to curtail the spread of the virus.

It is pertinent to note that the case against the Chinese President was filed by one Sudhir Kumar Ojha who had previously sought to slap a sedition case against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. He wanted Khan to be tried for waging a war against India and his speech at the UNGA. A serial litigant, Ojha is known for dragging multiple celebrities to court over issues as diverse as obscenity in Bollywood movies and junk food ads. Recently, Ojha had filed a case against self-proclaimed ‘historian’ Ramchandra Guha, actor Konkana Sen Sharma, Shyam Benegal, and other 46 celebrities for writing a letter to PM Modi highlighting the rising intolerance in the country.

In 2006, Ojha filed a complaint against MNS chief Raj Thackeray for calling Chhat festival as “drama”. Ojha claims that a warrant was issued against Raj Thackeray and he had to procure bail from the apex court. The matter is still in the Delhi High Court, he claims. In 2007, he filed a case against the makers of movie Dhoom 2 for promoting obscenity by the film through a kissing scene in the movie. Ojha had also filed a case against Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan in 2013 for encouraging consumption of Maggi which he termed was hazardous to health. The PIL was, however, rejected by the court. Another case was lodged by the serial litigant against former PM Manmohan Singh and former West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for their alleged remarks claiming that the Ram Setu between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka was a natural structure and not man-made.

Note: The earlier version of the report wrongly mentioned it as Muzaffarabad, Uttar Pradesh instead of Muzaffarpur, Bihar. The error is regretted.

Why Coronavirus suspects ‘escaping’ hospitals is a worry. Here is how just 1 person caused massive spread in South Korea

OpIndia Staff
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Why Coronavirus suspects ‘escaping’ hospitals is a worry. Here is how just 1 person caused massive spread in South Korea

States and communities across the world are enforcing strict measures to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus. With the vaccine/antidote of the virus yet to be prepared, the most effective means suggested by the infectious disease experts and epidemiologists to reduce its alarming expansion is “social distancing” and placing those who have contracted the virus in quarantine.

While citizens are expected to assist their respective governments in containing the proliferation of the contagion, there are a few cases in which the victims who tested positive for coronavirus have defied the measures and fled away from the hospitals, potentially sabotaging their country’s efforts to keep the virus at bay.

In one of such cases where victims exhibited flagrantly irresponsible behaviour, 11 persons suspected of coronavirus infection fled from a hospital in Maharashtra’s Navi Mumbai. They were kept in isolation and their test results were awaited. Their escape is a matter of great concern, considering that even if 1 of the 11 patients turns positive, he/she stands to infect hundreds of others who might inadvertently catch the disease after coming in contact with the victim. Earlier, another 4 people suspected of being affected by coronavirus had fled from an isolation ward in Nagpur.

The immensity of the danger posed by coronavirus victims fleeing quarantine is encapsulated by the meteoric rise of outbreak in South Korea, enabled by a coronavirus patient who refused to employ social distancing and now believed to have engendered 80 per cent of the total coronavirus cases in the country.

The rise of the zoonotic contagion, which is believed to have emerged from one of the wet markets in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, was limited and controlled in South Korea until the 31st patient who chose to disregard the measures suggested by the government authorities and acted as vector in the spread. The patient, now accused of being a super spreader, said to have transmitted the virus to at least 1160 people, setting off a chain event and fundamentally altering the coronavirus outbreak in South Korea.

According to a Reuter report, the 31st patient, a woman checked into the Oriental medicine hospital after having met a minor traffic accident in Daegu. While she was at the hospital, she overlooked repeated insistence from the doctor to get tested for coronavirus despite her worsening fever. In between, she attended services at Daegu branch of Shincheonji Church of Jesus and attended a buffet lunch with one of her friends. After her symptoms aggravated further, she visited another hospital for coronavirus test and was declared as country’s 31st case. However, before long, the outbreak snowballed with several others in hundreds tested positive at Shincheonji church and nearby areas.

It is notable to mention that the 31st patient of the coronavirus was a patron of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a Christian sect with secret religious practises. It is also accused by the South Korean authorities for the uncontrollable surge of coronavirus patients in the country. Speculations are rife that the death cult had actively participated in disseminating the intractable contagion.

The 36-year-old death cult-Shincheonji Church is led by an octogenarian named Lee Man-hee, who fancies himself the new “messiah” and the leader of a South Korean sect whose teachings are based on his unique interpretation of the biblical texts. In addition, members of the Shincheonji cult are forbidden from fearing diseases, wearing face masks, skipping meetings, and are ordained to pray together in close-knit circles.

Furthermore, it is claimed that Shincheonji Church is based on eschatology- a theological concept concerning death, judgment and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind. Many believe that the cult is not simply biding its time for the Judgment Day, but it is actively seeking ways and means to pursue it. It is, therefore, believed by many that the virus was deliberately spread by the cult.

The investigators in South Korea are planning to criminally charge 12 executives of the controversial Shincheonji Church of Jesus for the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the country, the disease that results from the coronavirus, France 24 reports. The authorities suspect that the cult’s extreme and exclusionary teachings might be one of the motivations for its adherents to defy law and partake in spreading the virus. The sect’s head, Lee, in what appears as an admission of guilt, had tendered his apology for the spread of the disease and asked his patrons to get themselves tested for virus if possible.

The wilful negligence observed even by just one of the coronavirus patients in a populous country like India can spell doom for the whole nation, pushing it in the bottomless abyss of deteriorating public health crisis.

TADA court frames charges against Yasin Malik and 6 others in the murder of IAF officials

OpIndia Staff
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TADA court frames charges against Yasin Malik and 6 others in the murder of IAF officials

The Special TADA court of Jammu has framed charges against the banned terrorist organization Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front(JKLF) chief Yasin Malik in the case pertaining to the murder of four Air Force officers in January 1990. Malik has been charged under sections Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) 302, 307, TADA Act, Sections 3 (3) and 4 (1) of the Arms Act.

According to public prosecutor Rakesh Singh, who is representing the Central Bureau of Investigation, Yasin Malik and Showkat Bakshi and five others have pleaded not guilty and demanded a trial. The court will be listed on March 30, he informed.

Shalini Khanna, the widow of one of the slain Air Force officials- Squadron leader Ravi Khanna, believes that justice will finally be served to her and the families of the IAF officials killed by Yasin and his associates. She had been relentlessly pursuing the case against her husband’s murderers for last 3 decades. Shalini claims that she has been an eyewitness of the atrocity meted out against the 4 IAF personnel. She stated that the 4 IAF officers including her husband Ravi Khanna, were shot dead in front of her eyes by Yasin Malik.

Last year, Khanna said, “Yasin Malik not only killed Squadron Leader Ravi Khanna but also murdered my mother-in-law, my father-in-law and my mother. Childhood of my two small children was lost and our happiness was snatched away from us.”

The TADA court had earlier observed that there is enough prima facie evidence against the JKLF chief Yasin Malik for prosecuting him in connection with the murder of IAF personnel in Kashmir in 1990. The court had stated that there are “sufficient grounds for drawing presumption that the accused Yasin Malik” and others have “prima facie have committed” the crime of murdering Indian Air Force (IAF) officer Squadron Leader Ravi Khanna and three others.

On 25 January 1990, at 7:30 am a group of JKLF terrorists had opened fire at 40 Air Force personnel who were unarmed and waiting at the Sant Nagar crossing, Srinagar, to board a bus. As a result, 40 of the unarmed Air Force personnel were injured, and two of them had lost their lives. CBI filed a charge sheet on August 31, 1990, against terrorist Yasin Malik and other members of JKLF under Section 120-B read with section 302 of RPC, sections 3 and 4 of TADA and Section 27 of arms act in the court of third additional sessions judge against the accused.

Malik is currently lodged in Tihar Jail after the National Investigative Agency(NIA) arrested him in a terror funding case.

Delhi anti-Hindu riots: AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain sent to 4-day police custody in Ankit Sharma murder case

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi anti-Hindu riots: AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain sent to 4-day police custody in Ankit Sharma murder case

The Delhi Police on Monday arrested suspended Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor, Tahir Hussain, from a court in Delhi in connection with the brutal murder of IB sleuth Ankit Sharma during the recent anti-Hindu riots in northeast Delhi. He has been sent to 4-day police custody.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pawan Singh Rajawat sent the AAP leader for interrogation after police sought his custody for five days. The court, while granting four-day police custody, said: “I find force in the submissions of the IO that to unearth the conspiracy which led to the riots and massive loss of life and property, police remand is required.”

The Delhi police on Monday told the court, that they required Hussain’s custody to “unearth the conspiracy behind the riots which led to the murder of Ankit Sharma and identify other members from the mob”.

Hussain’s lawyers had opposed the police demand, stating that identifying the other accused and recording Hussain’s confession could not be a ground for remand. The Delhi police had filed a case against the AAP leader under Section 302(a) for murder, in the Dayalpur police station of Delhi.

The role of Aam Aadmi Party leader Tahir Hussain in the brutal murder of Intelligence Bureau(IB) employee Ankit Sharma and also inciting riots in the Delhi has now been under scanner.

The dead body of an Intelligence Bureau constable was recovered from a drain in North East Delhi amidst anti-Hindu riots in the national capital. Ankit Sharma, who lived in Chand Bagh, was returning home on Tuesday evening when he was allegedly attacked by a violent mob on the Chand Bagh bridge and beaten to death. The Muslim mob had thrown his body into a drain.

The family of the deceased Ankit Sharma had accused AAP leader Tahir Hussain and his Muslim mob of dragging their son and brutally murdering him.

A day after Sharma’s family alleged his role in the riots and his murder, many crates of petrol bombs and stones have been found on the rooftop of the AAP leader.

Addition to that, in the anti-Hindu riots that erupted in North East Delhi earlier this week, AAP leader Tahir Hussain has emerged as one of the main perpetrators. Many videos have emerged which show hundreds of people throwing stones, petrol bombs from the roof of his building. Other videos show Tahir Hussain allegedly himself supervising the stone and petrol bomb pelting from his building, with a lathi in his hand.

Nirbhaya case: Ahead of hanging, 3 convicts approach International Court of Justice, family members of convicts demand euthanasia

OpIndia Staff
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Nirbhaya case: Ahead of hanging, 3 convicts approach International Court of Justice, family members of convicts demand euthanasia

The twists and turns in the Nirbhaya case are far from over as three of the convicts have now approached the International Court of Justice seeking stay on execution. A Delhi court on March 3 had issued a fresh death warrant to all four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case. The order by the court stated that all four convicts should be hanged on March 20, at 05:30 am. Three of the four convicts, Akshay, Pawan and Vinay have sought stay on execution.

Moreover, just 5 days before the scheduled execution, the families of the convicts on appealed to President Ram Nath Kovind to grant the convicts a death by euthanasia (mercy killing). Reportedly, two letters had been written by family members of Mukesh while 3 letters were written by Akshay’s family. Four letters each were sent to the President, by Mukesh and Vinay’s family members.

On Sunday, the Tihar Jail authorities had asked hangman Pawan Jallad to report by 17th March, three days, prior to the date of execution. Dummy executions would also be conducted after his arrival. Regular counselling and health checkups are also being provided to the convicts.

Earlier, the families of the Nirbhaya rape case convicts had gathered outside the Patiala House Court in Delhi pleading for the rapists and murderers not to be hanged. One of the placards claims that the Nirbhaya case had gained traction because of a conspiracy hatched by ‘Deshdrohi’ Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi. Another placard told Ramnath Kovind, the President of India, that he would incur the sin of ‘Brahma Hatya’ if ‘Brahmin’ Vinay Sharma was hanged to death. That particular placard was raised by one Mukesh Jain, the chief of one ‘Dara Sena’.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who is known as “Nirbhaya” was gang-raped and savagely assaulted by six men (5 adult and one juvenile) on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She succumbed to her injuries and died a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital. The execution of the convicts has been postponed several times due to shrewd exploitation of loopholes in the law.

Coronavirus: Case registered against 79 people for gathering to welcome Bigg Boss Malayalam contestant at Cochin airport

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus: Case registered against 79 people for gathering to welcome Bigg Boss Malayalam contestant at Cochin airport

Authorities at Cochin have registered a case against 75 unknown persons and 4 others who had gathered at the Cochin International airport on Sunday night to welcome Bigg Boss Malayalam Season 2’s most popular contestant Rajith Kumar.

The charges were invoked for violating the ban on mass gathering issues by the airport authority in the backdrop of coronavirus pandemic.

Ernakulam district collector S Suhas also took to his official Facebook page and informed about a “Case being registered against four known persons and 75 unknown people.” 

In the Facebook post, he wrote in Malayalam that this act by a fans association of a TV show is shameful for every Malayali, at a time when the whole world is taking precautions against the coronavirus outbreak. “The law cannot close its eyes against such blatant breaking of the rules when religious, political and social groups are all avoiding every kind of gathering as part of the precautions to keep the people safe,” he wrote. He further stated that such star worship is generally not part of Malayali culture.

Screenshot of Ernakulam district collector S Suhas’s post on his official Facebook page

As a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) had banned gatherings at both terminals of the airport but hundreds of fans thronged the Cochin airport last night, around 9 pm to welcome Rajith, the reality show contestant.

Rajith Kumar, a lecturer, has been in the news for many of his misogynist and controversial statements. He was one of the contestants of season 2 of Bigg Boss Malayalam hosted by actor Mohanlal. He had to face an unexpected ouster from the show after he applied chilli paste onto the eyes of one of his fellow contestant, Reshma.

With the addition of two fresh cases reported March 15, Kerala’s active coronavirus cases have touched 21. Including the earlier three discharged cases, the state’s total would reach 24.

Due to the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, panic has set in. People have been evading tests, hiding travel histories and fleeing hospitals, which in turn is making the situation worse. In one such case, a couple (in their 50s) and their son(24) who hail from Ranni in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala with recent travel history to Italy evaded health screening at the airport and were reluctant to get admitted at the hospital initially. They have tested positive for coronavirus.

The State of Kerala has declared Health Emergency due to COVID-19 novel coronavirus, cancelling all the public functions for a month. Government has requested cinema halls to stop their operations for the time being. In his press conference, the CM also requested the people to refrain from attending all public functions, festivals and weddings where a large number of people gather. He also requested people to conduct rituals keeping them limited at home.

According to the latest figures available on March 16 (Monday), the total number of positive cases of Coronavirus in India has soared up to 110 as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Two deaths have been reported in Kalaburagi and West Delhi respectively. 

Taking into consideration the rising number of Coronavirus cases, the Central Government on March 14 decided to treat the deadly virus as a “notified disaster.”

Sports, shorts and women empowerment: Perception of the RSS from a female sportsperson

Priyanka Deo
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Sports, shorts and women empowerment: Perception of the RSS from a female sportsperson

One of the most frustrating experiences in my life was being called out in front of 200 other students in my hostel cafeteria for being a girl and wearing volleyball shorts. I had just come from practice and was super hungry, but denied food until I came back covering my legs.

Did that really just happen?! 

I’ve played multiple sports all my life at the state, national and international levels. Volleyball is one of them and I was definitely not going to give that up for some jerk telling me that wearing shorts was ‘disrespectful.’ 

When googling RSS, most mainstream articles talk about the organization dis-favouring women working outside of their homes and the lack of roles women carry within RSS. As a young graduate student, having just been ranked third in Europe for volleyball, I was seriously put off. 

This perception changed recently. I met a girl around my age in Belgaum, Karnataka. She walked in with pink streaks in her hair and told me that she played squash at least three times a week. She was also an ambitious person, pursuing her law degree and only interested in getting married when she found the right guy. With all due respect to Belgaum, I was pleasantly surprised that I found my level of progressive thinking in a female hailing from a tier two city in India. I also found that apart from being an active member of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti and the ABVP over the last four years, she hails from a family which closely associated with the RSS over the past three generations.

To this I was baffled. 

‘But aren’t they a bit conservative for your squash and the way you live you life?,’ I asked her.  

Contrary to what I had read about the organization, I found that the negative perception I had of it was not true. In fact, this girl shared with me that there has indeed been a strong internal emphasis to encourage taking up leadership within the organization for over twenty years. And just a few days ago, it was refreshing to see the ABVP (an RSS-supported student organization) put on a women’s self-defence demonstration for International Women’s Day. It was even better to find out that the student-organizer for this event was a young female ABVP member who had not just worked on logistics but had also come up with and implemented the idea. ‘WHEN IN TROUBLE, CALL YOURSELF,’ read the slogan at the event. If that’s not empowering for women, I don’t know what is. 

Back to sports. Not only is sport and exercise a part of my daily life, it is part of my identity. I have grown up playing, competing and even doing my homework on the floors of courts in between matches. It turns out that there is indeed focus on female sportspersons in the RSS. The initiative is called ‘Krida Bharati’ and focuses on building facilities to encourage women taking up sports seriously. To add to that, my Belgaum friend shared with me that there was also strong focus on spreading awareness about legal rights of women (Adhivakta Parishad), for presenting the history of the woman (Itihas Sankalan Samiti) and for women scientists (Shakti). 

After learning all of this from an active, young lady member of the organizations, I saw the clear fallacies of mainstream media’s reporting on the RSS. This is far from an organization that is against women. It in fact supports women empowerment through encouraging sport, academics, economic stability via enabling organizations, policy and laws. Furthermore, the Sangh is aggressively taking up issues in education and empowering women to help change backward social mindsets that I faced while wearing volleyball shorts. Multiple activities are regularly organized to create awareness in families to change this backward thinking. 

In addition to that, the Rashtra Sevika Samiti (the parallel organization of the Sangh run by women) has a footprint in over 20 countries and its work is expanding rapidly. All posts are held by women. The Samiti and Sangh often work together to encourage more participation from females. 

I have always considered myself lucky for the exposure I have had. Educated in America. Played sport and competed in multiple cities and countries. A majority of girls in India have not done this, including my Belgaum squash friend. But from what she told me, I am proud that organizations like the Sangh and the Samiti are not just encouraging women empowerment, but also changing the backward social mindsets of people like that guy that called me out for wearing volleyball shorts. 

It is only because of organizations like these that such disparaging mindsets towards progressive women will know better and change for good.

Madhya Pradesh crisis: Guv writes to Kamal Nath, orders floor test on 17th March to prove majority

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh crisis: Guv writes to Kamal Nath, orders floor test on 17th March to prove majority

Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon today wrote the Chief Minister Kamal Nath ordering a floor test to prove majority on 17th March, 2020.

Letter written by Madhya Pradesh Governor to Kamal Nath ordering floor test on 17th March (image: @sureshnakhua on Twitter)

In a strongly worded letter, the Governor rebuked Kamal Nath and said that despite asking him to prove majority on the floor on 16th, it was not done today. “Despite having told you to prove majority on the floor on 16th, you did not mention it in your speech today. Moreover, the assembly was adjourned till 26th March,” Governor Tandon wrote in his letter.

He further added, “I am disappointed you did not adhere to the time limit I had given you to prove majority. Moreover, your reasons to not get the floor test done are baseless. Hence, I appeal to you to respect the democracy and prove the majority on the floor by 17th March 2020. Otherwise, it will be considered that you do not have the majority.”

Earlier today, the Madhya Pradesh state assembly was adjourned in view of coronavirus outbreak. Following that, the BJP approached the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has listed the matter for hearing tomorrow.

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