Tag: India

  • Marriage called off after groom’s father elopes with bride’s mother

    Marriage called off after groom’s father elopes with bride’s mother

    Marriage plans of two youngsters were shattered after the groom’s father and the bride’s mother revived their young days’ love and both reportedly fled.

    According to Times of India, the incident took place in the Indian city of Surat where the marriage was scheduled for the second week of February, but the 48-year-old man and the 46-year-old woman, are nowhere to be found for 10 days now.

    While the man disappeared from his house in Katargam area, the woman left her house in Navsari. It is strongly suspected that they have eloped, leaving the families in an extremely embarrassing situation. Both families have filed missing persons’ report with the police.

    The bride and groom were preparing for their marriage for the past one year after they got engaged. They are from the same community and elders were taken into confidence before their engagement. However, the elopement barely a month before the marriage has left everyone shocked.

    The groom’s father, a textile businessman, who also deals in property, went untraceable around January 10. He is also a member of a political party and knew the bride’s mother since their younger years. They were neighbours in Katargam area and were good friends too, the report said.

    “They knew each other since they lived in same society. Some of their close friends informed us after they eloped that they had a relationship in the past too. However, the woman got engaged to her current husband,” said a relative of both the families.

  • Hindu couple gets married at a mosque in India

    Hindu couple gets married at a mosque in India

    A Hindu couple in Kayamkulam Town in India’s Kerala state tied the knot in the most unusual of places.

    The couple, Sarath Sasi and Anju Ashok, held their wedding at the Cheravally Muslim Jamaath mosque in Kerala, where a Hindu priest oversaw the ceremonies and solemnised the marriage according to Hindu rituals.

    According to Indian media, the mosque committee had set up and decorated the mandap — a covered structure with pillars under which the main Hindu wedding ceremonies and rituals take place. Members of both the religious communities turned up in large numbers to attend the event.

    As per reports, the bride’s mother, on a neighbour’s advice, had approached the mosque to host her daughter’s wedding due to financial constraints.

    “She came to my house seeking help for conducting the marriage. She gave a letter, which I presented to the Jamaath committee. We decided to help the family conduct the marriage,” Nujumudeen Alummoottil, secretary of Cheravally Muslim Jamaat Committee told Indian news agency ANI.

    The mosque committee not only helped provide a venue for the event but also gifted the couple 10 gold souvenirs and 200,000 Indian Rupees, and took care of other wedding expenses.

    The committee also served vegetarian meals to around 1,000 guests at the wedding.

    The family added that they were very thankful to the Jamaath committee for hosting their wedding.

  • Will get back Pakistani Kashmir if parliament wants: Indian army chief

    Will get back Pakistani Kashmir if parliament wants: Indian army chief

    Recently-appointed Indian Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj Mukund Naravane has said that the army would act on “getting back” Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) “if the parliament was willing and orders to such effect were received”.

    Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, the army chief was asked if the Pakistan-administered region of the disputed territory could be a part of India as stated by the political leadership. In response to the question, Naravane said that there was a parliamentary resolution stating that the “entire Kashmir was a part of India”, and hence the army would take appropriate action if it received orders to take AJK back.

    “There is a parliamentary resolution that entire region is part of India. If parliament wants it, then it [AJK] also should belong to us. When we get orders to that effect, we’ll take appropriate action,” the Indian army chief said.

    This is not the first time the new Indian general has indulged in provocative posturing. In an earlier statement, Naravane had said that India “reserve[d] the right to preemptively strike at sources of terror”.

    He had told the Press Trust of India that India had “evolved a strategy of resolute punitive response against sponsored terrorism”.

    Pakistan had rejected the statement, calling it “irresponsible”. The Foreign Office had in its statement said Pakistan was fully able to respond to any Indian aggression in AJK and that New Delhi should not forget Islamabad’s befitting response to its aggression in Balakot last year.

    ISPR RESPONDS:

    Meanwhile, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Asif Ghafoor has said that Pakistan’s armed forces will give an “even stronger” response than given in February 2019, if India attempts any military action across the Line of Control (LoC).

    Reacting to the Indian army chief’s statement, the ISPR chief said it was a part of routine rhetoric to divert attention from domestic issues in India.

    “Statements by Indian COAS to undertake military action across LOC are routine rhetoric for domestic audiences to get out of ongoing internal turmoil. Pakistan Armed Forces are fully prepared to respond to any act of Indian aggression [sic],” he tweeted.

  • ‘Mad respect’ for Deepika Padukone after she stands in solidarity with JNU students attacked by BJP supporters

    ‘Mad respect’ for Deepika Padukone after she stands in solidarity with JNU students attacked by BJP supporters

    After condemning the attack on New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) which left more than two dozen injured, Deepika Padukone arrived at the university to stand in solidarity with the students.

    https://twitter.com/krishnatarun03/status/1214553432721223681?s=20

    Deepika’s presence at the event cause frenzy on social media and the actor received applause from everyone.

    https://twitter.com/Shehzad89/status/1214635429250682881?s=20

    https://twitter.com/TheDeshBhakt/status/1214600089592664064?s=20

    Award-winning filmmakers Anurag Kashyap couldn’t praise Deepika enough.

    Others defended the actor after people claimed that this was a publicity stunt on her behalf because her film Chappak is releasing this Friday.

    Meanwhile, others commented that she has more guts than all the Khans combined.

    After BJP spokesman Tajinder Pal Singh called for a boycott of Deepika’s film #ISupportDeepika began to trend on Twitter.

    Previously, in a media interaction when asked about the ongoing protests, Deepika had said that she is proud that the students are not scared of expressing themselves.

    “I feel proud about it that people are coming out – be it on the streets or wherever they are – they are raising their voice and expressing themselves as it is important. If we want to see change in life and society, it is important that a point of view be put forward,” Deepika had said.

    On Sunday masked assailants wielding batons and iron rods attacked JNU leaving more than two dozen injured. According to an Indian journalist, the masked mob was linked to a BJP linked student group. They barged into hostel rooms and assaulted left-wing students and also beat up visually impaired people. There were reports that they were carrying acid as well.

    Deepika’s presence at the protest signifies that she is most likely standing with them in protest of these BJP-linked attacks and not the tuition fees hike protests that had been happening at the university earlier. The hostel fee hike is an ongoing issue and protests were held against it previously.

    Following the attack, several Bollywood personalities including Vishal Bharadwaj, Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Dia Mirza, Rahul Bose, Richa Chadha and Taapsee Pannu led hundreds of people in a peaceful protest against the violence.

    Apart from that, Alia Bhatt also condemned the incident.

    As did Anil Kapoor, who while speaking to reporters had said, “It has to be condemned. It was quite sad, shocking, what I saw. It was very disturbing. I couldn’t sleep the entire night, thinking what has happened. It has to be condemned. Nothing will come out of violence. Whoever did this, they should be published.”

  • Twitter goes crazy after Indians use hair dryers, steam irons to dry pitch

    Twitter goes crazy after Indians use hair dryers, steam irons to dry pitch

    Twitter on Sunday lost it after the staff at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, India used hair dryers and steam irons to dry the pitch after rain delayed the start of the first Twenty International (T20I) between India and Sri Lanka.

    As per the details, in the beginning, it just looked like a passing shower, but then it was pouring down minutes. Around 8 pm though the heavens relented, the rain had already affected the state of the pitch with wet patches.

    Just when ground staff started its repair work, rain returned to make things worse. This time though, more care was taken with an extra cover being placed on the 22 yards. However, the damage was already done, and when it all cleared around 8:45 pm, the ground staff much to everyone’s surprise brought out a hair dryer, steam iron, and vacuum cleaner to dry the wet patches.

    Here’s what Twitter has to say about it:

    https://twitter.com/DTRomesh/status/1213851204993867778

    Indian captain Virat Kohli had opted to field first after winning the toss. However, just as pacer Jasprit Bumrah was getting ready to bowl the first delivery, rain arrived and stopped the play.

    The match was eventually called off due to a damp pitch. The teams now head to Indore for the second T20I on January 7.

  • Indian university to investigate if Faiz’s poem ‘Hum Dekhenge’ is ‘anti-Hindu’

    Indian university to investigate if Faiz’s poem ‘Hum Dekhenge’ is ‘anti-Hindu’

    A university in Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has set up a panel to investigate if Pakistani Marxist, poet, and author Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s iconic poem “Hum Dekhenge” is “anti-Hindu”, Scroll.in reported.

    According to reports, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kanpur has set up the panel after the poem was recited by students on campus on December 17 during a solidarity march held for their counterparts at Delhi’s Jamia Milia University.

    A police crackdown on the Jamia Milia Islamia campus on December 15 triggered nationwide protests as part of the campaign against passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the ongoing National Population Register (NPR) update exercise and the proposed pan-India National Register of Citizenship (NRC).

    During one such protest, about 300 students of the institute were not allowed to go out of the campus as large gatherings under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure were banned, the institute’s deputy director, Manindra Agarwal, was quoted as saying.

    A complaint was filed by temporary faculty member Vashimant Sharma and 16 others against the poem. “The written complaint filed by them with the IIT director states that the poem had some wordings that could hurt the sentiments of Hindus,” Agarwal said.

    “A committee of six members was established, headed by me, to investigate the matter. Some students have been questioned, while the others will be questioned after they return to the institution after the holidays.”

    The probe committee will investigate three areas – whether the students defied prohibitory orders, the social media posts they shared ahead of the solidarity march and if the poem of Faiz Ahmad Faiz is “anti-Hindu”.

    ‘HUM DEKHEINGE’:

    The popular revolutionary poem was written by Faiz in 1979 when he was in Honolulu for a writers’ conference.The poem was included in Faiz’s seventh poetry book titled “Mere Dil Mere Musafir” in 1981 and is known for its rendition by singer Iqbal Bano.

    The poem’s beginning deals with conventional themes such as injustice and oppression, then gives way to more overtly religious symbolism. Faiz writes that the idols will be lifted from the Kabah and goes on to describe a revolutionary inversion of power, where the pure-hearted, who were outlawed, or cast out, will be honoured.

    The crowns (of those in power) will be thrown up in the air (alluding to a celebration) and their thrones will be cast low. The final stanza of the poem is the most religious in tone, declaring that the only name (essentially on people’s lips) will that be of Allah and a great revolutionary cry of “I am Truth” will go up and people of faith will rule again.

    In recent times, the poem has become an anthem for rights activitsts taking to streets across the Indian subcontinent.

  • Indo-Pak war odds-on if soldiers are attacked in Kashmir again: report

    Indo-Pak war odds-on if soldiers are attacked in Kashmir again: report

    A transnational non-profit organisation, International Crisis Group, has warned that any militant attack on Indian forces in held Kashmir could set off an escalation between Pakistan and India, saying that pro-freedom militants were lying low in the troubled vallet, but they were still active.

    “India’s heavy-handed military operations in Kashmir over the past few years have inspired a new homegrown generation, whose ranks are likely to swell further after the latest repression,” read its report titled “10 conflicts to watch in 2020”.

    Indian fighter planes had violated Pakistani airspace after a pro-freedom militant attack that killed at least 40 paramilitary soldiers in Pulwama on February 19, 2019. In retaliation, Pakistan had shot down two Indian jets over Kashmir on Feb 27, and captured an Indian pilot as well. He, however, was released by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s government as a “gesture of peace”.

    The Crisis Group, which describes itself as “working to prevent wars and shape policies that will build a more peaceful world” , has warned that any Pulwama-like attack on Indian forces in Kashmir would precipitate Indian action against Pakistan.

    “In a worst-case scenario, the two nuclear-armed neighbours could stumble into war,” the report said.

    The Crisis Group asked New Delhi to lift the communication blackout and release political prisoners in the occupied valley, and asked Pakistan to take action against militants allegedly operating from its soil.

    It further urged the international community to push Pakistan and India for talks “before it is too late”.

  • Facebook blocks Radio Pakistan’s live streaming of Indian atrocities in Kashmir

    Facebook blocks Radio Pakistan’s live streaming of Indian atrocities in Kashmir

    Facebook has blocked Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation’s (PBC) live streaming of Indian atrocities and military lockdown in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK), Radio Pakistan reported.

    According to the details, Radio Pakistan (RP) has shared screenshots of warning message from Facebook from back in May and July on its website, saying, “your post goes against our Community Standards on dangerous individuals and organisations.”

    According to the the screenshots shared by RP, the warning was given on posts that displayed the picture of Kashmiri freedom fighter Burhan Muzaffar Wani and in another post that mentioned Zakir Musa — a mujahid commander — in the headline.

    However, Radio Pakistan after the blockage its live streaming from Facebook has said on Monday that it has made “alternate arrangements on YouTube for live streaming for its viewers.”

    It is important to note that RP has been highlighting the voice of the people of IoK and exposing Indian atrocities and gross human rights violations at every major platform including social media.

    In addition to Facebook, the micro-blogging website Twitter had also suspended hundreds of accounts and removed multiple posts from Pakistan that were raising voice against Indian brutalities in Kashmir, reportedly under pressure from India.

    Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had earlier approached both social media platforms and submitted complaints against their actions.

  • Saif Ali Khan mocked for being ‘ignorant’ about India’s citizenship bill crisis

    Bollywood bigwigs including the Khans and Kapoors have been a real disappointment as far as raising their voice against India’s controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is concerned. The act has sparked nationwide protests resulting in police crackdown and more than a dozen people have lost their lives in the process.

    According to the Act, people from Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come to India till December 31, 2014, from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan due to religious persecution there will be given Indian citizenship. The protesters say the legislation was unconstitutional and divisive as it excludes Muslims.

    When Saif Ali Khan was asked about his thoughts on the matter, the actor said that as a citizen he is concerned about the current situation in the country.

    “There are many things that give us a cause for concern, watching and wondering how where it will all end up,” Saif said.

    “It is everybody’s right to protest peacefully and everybody’s right not to,” he continued.

    “I would like the protest to be associated with exactly what I am protesting against. There might be a possibility that I will end up representing a different kind of protest. So I am not sure yet. Until I am sure what I am protesting against and whether it is going to be taken that way, I need to think more,” he added.

    The Nawab of Pataudi further said he trying to understand the situation better and will make up his mind after he is well-informed.

    “There is so much being written in the press, there are so many things that give us concern about what we are reading,” he concluded.

    Unsurprisingly, Twitter had a lot to say on the matter and people mocked Saif for being a confident person on screen and the complete opposite in real life.

    https://twitter.com/frcl99/status/1209971870386266117?s=20

    Even Saif’s Sacred Games co-star Aamir Bashir expressed his frustration and ace director Anurag Kashyap retweeted his tweet.

    While Shaan threw subtle shade by sharing a poster of the movie The Silence of the Lambs.

    On the other hand, several Bollywood celebrities such as Farhan Akhtar, Parineeti Chopra, Anurag Kashyap, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Hrithik Roshan and Swara Bhasker among others have voiced their disappointment over the amended Citizenship Act.

  • Indian Muslim student rejects gold medal to protest against citizenship law

    Indian Muslim student rejects gold medal to protest against citizenship law

    An Indian Muslim student refused to accept the gold medal at the Pondicherry University to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which has caused uproar in India and sparked protests across the country.

    Rabeeha Abdurehim, who
    secured the first position in the post-graduate department of Mass
    Communication, said she was asked to come out of the hall where the convocation
    was taking place. The special superintendent of police wanted to speak to the
    student.

    Rabeeha remarked that the police were worried about her viewpoint on the controversial citizenship law.

    “When I asked the police officers why was I not being allowed to take part in the event, they said they were not sure but the SSP wanted it this way,” she claimed.

    Taking to social media Rabeeha wrote that while she often dreamt about the moment she would receive a gold medal, “never did I imagine it would end up being in a way in which I could send a strong peaceful message across India.”

    “As a woman, as a student, as an Indian, today in my graduation I reject the Gold medal that is awarded to me in solidarity with all the students and public of India who are fighting against CAA and NRC in India,” she wrote further.

    Under the CAA 2019, religious minorities that have taken refuge in India till 2014 are eligible for citizenship. However, the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB 2019) makes it a point to exclude Muslims. The law requires Indian Muslims to prove their origins in India otherwise they stand to lose their citizenship.