Junior Digest

An Indian pilot was captured by Pakistan after a major aerial confrontation and chase between Pakistan Air Force planes, which dropped bombs in four locations of Jammu and Kashmir, and Indian Air Force jets that countered them over the Line of Control (LoC).

The confrontation began after Pakistan sent several aircraft to the LoC on Wednesday morning in retaliation for the Indian Air Force strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad camp in Balakot a day earlier.

The government said IAF jets shot down an F-16 jet of the PAF in the skirmish, and the wreckage had fallen on the Pakistan side. Pakistan’s military, however, denied the loss of any aircraft.

The pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, began to chase the Pakistani jets and push them back, when he had to eject over the LoC after the MiG-21 he was flying was shot by a Pakistani plane and then landed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where he was taken into custody.

The MEA said it is awaiting details of Wg. Cdr. Varthaman’s arrest and condition through diplomatic and official channels, and demanded his “safe and immediate return”.

Manhandled by crowd

In various amateur videos, Wg. Cdr. Varthaman is seen being manhandled by a crowd in PoK.

In the evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting of the service chiefs, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and other senior officials to take stock of the day’s developments and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s appeal for dialogue to de-escalate the situation.

“India strongly objected to Pakistan’s vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention. It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return,” the government said in its démarche.

Later, the Pakistan military released a video of Wg Cdr Varthaman drinking tea and speaking to Pakistani military personnel as proof that he had not been harmed.

Shillong, Feb 14 : In a bid to ease the burden of heavy bags, the Meghalaya government has fixed weight limits for students of all classes and imposed restrictions on home works for classes I and II.
The government, which has set rules in pursuance to the guidelines of the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India, pertaining to the matter of weight of school bags and the health of children.
In a notification issued by Principal Secretary Donald P Wahlang, the schools shall not assign homework to students except those recommended by the MBOSE, ICSE or CBSE as per the guidelines formulated by the Meghalaya government.
Besides, the schools will also not be able to assign homework to students of Classes I and II.
As per the guidelines on the weight of school bags set by the government, the school bags of the students of classes I and II should not exceed 1.5 kg.
On the other hand, for students of classes Ill to V, the weight of school bags should not exceed 3 kg while for students of Classes VI to VII, the weight should not exceed 4 kg.
For students of Classes VIII to IX the weight should not exceed 4.5 kg and for students of Class X the weight has been fixed at 5 kg and can’t exceed this limit.
The government has also instructed the school authorities not to force the students to bring additional books and other materials apart from the prescribed textbooks.
“Schools should make sure that students carry only such textbooks as indicated in the time-table,” the notification said.
The state government has directed the heads of schools and teachers to “frame well designed time table for each class so that children do not have to carry too many books or notebooks to the school”.
“Reading library books and participation in games, sports, arts & culture and other creative co-curricular activities for holistic development of students must be encouraged,” the notification said

Poonch (Jammu and Kashmir)  Feb21 : The Pakistan army on Thursday violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch sector.
Pakistan, yesterday also violated ceasefire along the LoC in the Rajouri district.
The Pakistan army had resorted to unprovoked firing along the LoC in Nowshera sector of Rajouri on Tuesday as well.
This comes close on the heels of a terror attack on CRPF convoy in Pulwama district on February 14 in which as many as 40 jawans were killed, and many others were injured.
Pakistan continues to violate the ceasefire understanding of 2003 despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the agreement during flag meetings between the border guarding forces of the two nations, a defense spokesperson said yesterday.
Reportedly, the year 2018 had witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations — 2,936 — by Pakistani troops in the last 15 years along the Indo-Pak border.

Jaipur/New Delhi, Feb 11: The Gujjar community agitation demanding five per cent quota in jobs and education turned violent Sunday with shots being fired and police vehicles torched in Dholpur district and protesters blocking road and rail traffic in many areas in Rajasthan.

As a precautionary measure, authorities have imposed prohibitory orders under CrPc section 144 in Dholpur and neighbouring Karauli districts, police said.

At least 20 trains were cancelled and seven diverted during the day as the protesters, led by the Gujjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti chief Kirori Singh Bainsla, continued their sit-in on railway tracks in Sawai Madhopur district for the third day on Sunday, officials said.

The sit-in began on Friday evening and has affected the movement of over 250 trains through the region since.

The agitators also blocked highways connecting major cities on Sunday.

According to police officials, three cases have been registered in connection with the blocking of traffic.

Violence broke out in Dholpur district as unidentified miscreants fired 8-10 rounds in the air while a blockade on the Agra-Morena Highway was in place, Superintendent of Police (SP) Ajay Singh told PTI.

The protesters set afire three police vehicles — two jeeps and a bus, he added.

The SP said the protesters also pelted stones, injuring four personnel, adding that police had to lob tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.

The Hindoli-Uniyara state highway was blocked in Bundi district, where hundreds of people demonstrated throughout the day.

New Delhi [India], Feb 18 : The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea filed by a group of people challenging a media advisory issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to ban the usage of the word ‘Dalit’ by media in public debates.
The petitioners said that the Ministry, by erasing the term ‘Dalit’ from public debate, is creating a false impression that the term itself is derogatory.
The plea filed by some ‘Dalits’ objected to the Ministry’s order saying it has violated the rights of the Scheduled Castes to determine and express their own identity.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi allowed the petitioners to approach the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, adding that if aggrieved, they can move the Supreme Court again.
An advisory was issued to the media on August 7 last year asking them to stop using the term ‘Dalit’ when referring to members of the Scheduled Castes.
This came after the Bombay High Court in June asked the Ministry to consider issuing a directive in this regard to the media.

Guwahati, : Protesters in northeast  claimed victory on Wednesday after a bill that the government says will help Hindus in neighbouring countries settle in India lapsed before it could be ratified by parliament.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill is aimed at helping Hindus and members of other non-Muslim minority communities in neighbouring Muslim countries move to India.

But critics say the legislation is as an attempt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) burnish its Hindu-nationalist credentials ahead of a general election, that must be held by May.

New Delhi, Feb 13 : The CAG report on the Rafale combat aircraft deal tabled in Parliament on Wednesday has endorsed the government claims of better negotiations vis-a-vis the UPA reime and said the government could ink the deal at 2.86 per cent cheaper than what was decided earlier.
The CAG also recommended that the Defence Ministry needs to revisit the process of acquisition to ‘get rid of redundant activities and simplify the process’.
‘The price offered by Dassault Aviation in April 2008 against the request for proposal (RFP) of 2007 was a market discovered price and based on competitive bidding.
‘The price offer of 2007 had two distinct packages — prices for 18 Flyaway aircraft package and pricing for transfer of technology (ToT) package of 108 aircraft which were licence produced in India. The offer of 2015 on other hand was only 36 Flyaway fighter…..and acquisition and price bids of 2007 and 2015 were very different as the latter included the price of transfer of technology for licence production of 108 aircraft in India which was 77.8 per cent of the total price bid of 2007,’ the report says.
The report which deals with procurement of 36 Rafale aircraft shows that in terms of Services and Products Operational support, the final deal inked in 2015 was at 4.77 per cent cheaper than the earlier rate.
Similarly, for India specific announcement, the deal was 17.08 per cent lesser than what was proposed earlier by the UPA.
The report said — ‘There is no difference between the bid of 2007 as escalated ……with actual escalation factor, and the negotiated cost of the 2015 offer for the aircraft’.
Moments after CAG report on the contentious procurement from France was tabled in Rajya Sabha, senior BJP leader and Union Minister Arun Jaitley welcomed the same tweeting ‘Satyameva Jayate” – the truth shall prevail”.
“The CAG Report on Rafale reaffirms the dictum,” he said.
The CAG also maintained that on policy matters, the ‘Overall the capital acquisition system, as it exists, is unlikely to effectively support the IAF in its operational preparedness and modernization.’
In a statement, the official audit body said that IAF should improve its process of formulation of Air Staff Qualitative Requirements (ASQRs) to ensure that they correctly reflect the users functional parameters.
‘Audit is of the view that the present ‘Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA)’ method of bid evaluation wherein the contract is awarded to the lowest priced offer which is technically acceptable, needs reconsideration. For procuring highly technical products use of the Best Value method or a quantitative assessment method may ensure better value for money,’ it said.
The CAG further said the Defence ministry needs to revisit the entire process of acquisition, to weed out redundant activities and simplify the process.
‘The acquisition wing, headed by the DG (Acquisition) was envisaged as an integrated defence organization. In reality, this has perhaps not happened, with bulk of the acquisition related activities still carried out in Services Headquarters,’ it said.

New Delhi, Feb 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asserted that brutal terror attack in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir proves that time for talks is over.

Speaking at a joint media briefing after delegation level talks with visiting Argentinian President Mauricio Macri, Mr Modi said that both he and President Macri agree that terrorism is a huge threat for global peace and stability.

The Prime Minister said that the entire world needs to united against terrorism and its supporters and take strong actions.

In a joint special declaration to fight terrorism, India and Argentina stressed upon the need for concerted action by the global community against terrorism. Both the countries stressed that there could be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever particularly emphasizing the scourge of cross border terrorism.

The five-point special declaration said that both leaders emphasized that terrorism must be confronted unequivocally and resolutely. They reiterated their commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and asserted that strong measures should be taken against terrorists, terror organizations, their networks and all those who encourage, support, finance and provide safe haven to terrorists and terror groups. They also underscored the need to ensure that terrorist organizations do not get access to any WMD or technologies or finances and committed to cooperate in the specialized multilateral fora.

Argentina condemned in the strongest terms the brutal terrorist attack that took place in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on February 14 against convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), in which more than 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives and a large number were injured and expressed its solidarity with the families of the sons of India that lost their lives on this brutal terrorist attack.

The leaders stressed that terrorism is a global scourge that must be fought and terrorist safe havens rooted out in every part of the world. They resolved that India and Argentina will fight together against this grave challenge to humanity. They committed to strengthen cooperation against terrorist threats from groups listed in relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

They gave a call that no country must allow their territory to be used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries.

Both President Macri and Prime Minister Modi also affirmed their support for a U.N. Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that will advance and strengthen the framework for global cooperation and reinforce the message that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism.

Conveying condolences to the victims of the “cruel attack”, President Macri said such acts were against the spirit of ‘co-existence’ of mankind.

Prime Minister Modi said: “I and President Macri agree that the challenge offered by terrorism to global peace is very serious”. He said that time has come for tackling terror menace unitedly and by taking “concrete steps.’’ He said India and Argentina complement each other and “we will work together to help both countries”.

New Delhi, Feb 15: The BJP-led NDA government is aware of its responsibilities and everything possible will be done to ensure adequate actions against the perpetrators, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said here on Thursday.
“Hum apni jimmedarion ki achhi tarah samajhte hae. Aur desh ki janta ko yeh varosa detey haen
ki is ghatna jo bhi harwai karna ayashak hae. Usey karney mein hum koi kasar nasi choddengey
(We understand our responsibility very well and would like to assure our country men and women
that we will do everything possible that ought to be done),” Mr Singh wrote in a series of tweets.
He also said entire country is united to give a befitting reply to the wrong doers.
Union Minister Arun Jaitley earlier on the day took to micro blogging site and wrote that those responsible will be given ‘unforgettable lesson’ for their heinous act.

New Delhi , Feb 18 : The Supreme Court on Monday said that the Bombay High Court is free to decide on the question of sanctions for terror charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) to prosecute Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, one of the accused in 2008 Malegaon blast case.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that it never fixed a time schedule for the same and any questions on the case shall be dealt with by the Bombay High Court.
Purohit was arrested for allegedly masterminding the blasts in Malegaon in 2008.
After spending nine years in jail, Purohit was granted conditional bail by the top court in August 2017.
Six people were killed while more than a hundred got injured in the blast that took place on September 29, 2008, in the Muslim majority town of Malegaon.
In November 2008, the ATS arrested 11 people in this connection.
The investigation was transferred to the NIA in 2011.

New Delhi , Feb 20 : In a sharp reaction to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statements on the deadly Pulwama attack, Retired Major General Gagandeep Bakshi has termed the killing of 40 soldiers in a premeditated operation as an “act of war” and it is now for India to finish what Pakistan had started.
Citing Khan’s televised address earlier on Tuesday, Bakshi said, “On 14th February his Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) network attacked our CRPF convey and killed 40 people. JeM has proudly owned up to it. What they did is not an act of terror; it is an act of war. They started it but we will finish it.”
He also asserted that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was not elected to the post but selected by the country’s army for the job.
“Imran Khan is a selected prime minister and not elected prime minister. He was selected by Pakistan Army Chief General Bajwa, who is now arm twisting him to give an extension.
“Imran Khan is not in control of the army that we know but it is now known that he is not even in control of Masood Azhar. We have tolerated much but won’t tolerate now. Imran Khan is an onlooker, his army doesn’t listen to him and Jaish doesn’t listen to him either,” said Bakshi.
On being asked about Pakistan Prime Minister’s rhetoric of asking evidence of his country’s involvement in the Pulwama terror attack, Bakshi said, “Evidence is only required when the murderer denies the charge but here JeM has already broadcast to the world that they did this attack. Evidence is usually presented when accused pleads not guilty but that’s not the case here.”
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier today promised “action” if “actionable intelligence” is provided by India about links to Pulwama attack in his country but warned of retaliation, without even thinking, if any kind of military action is launched by India.

Srinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Pakistan on Friday to expect a strong response to a suicide attack that killed 44 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in Kashmir.

The car bomb attack on a security convoy on Thursday was the worst in decades of insurgency in the disputed region. India said it had “incontrovertible evidence” of Pakistani involvement, a statement quickly rejected by Islamabad.

“We will give a befitting reply, our neighbour will not be allowed to de-stabilise us,” Modi said in a speech, after meeting security advisers to discuss options.

The Pakistan-based Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed responsibility soon after a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a bus carrying CRPF personnel.

New Delhi/Prayagraj, Feb 25: Displaying an unparallel humility and recording his appreciation to sanitation workers for their service to humanity Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday washed the feet of five Safai karmacharis – including two sanitation workers – and said he would cherish the moments for “my entire life”.

“Moments I’ll cherish for my entire life,” Prime Minister tweeted posting a video of the momentous occasion in the life of an incumbent Prime Minister.

“Honouring remarkable Safai Karmacharis, who have taken the lead when it comes to realising the dream of a Swachh Bharat! I salute each and every person making a contribution towards a Swachh Bharat,” he said.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, a nation-wide campaign in India for the period 2014 to 2019, aims to clean up the streets, roads and infrastructure of cities, towns, and rural areas.

The objectives of Swachh Bharat include eliminating open defecation through the construction of household-owned and community-owned toilets.

The Mission aims to achieve an “open-defecation free” (ODF) India by 2 October 2019, the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi.

The government has also set a target of constructing 90 million toilets in rural India at a projected cost of Rs 1.96 lakh crore and is expected to help India reach the Sustainable Development Goal 6 as announced by the UN.

There were five sanitation workers whose feet were washed by Prime Minister.

The video went viral on social media too.

Prime Minister took a ‘snaan’ – holy dip – at the Triveni Sangam at Prayagraj.

He participated in the Swachh Kumbh Swachh Aabhaar event, organised by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.

“Had the good fortune of taking a holy dip at the #Kumbh. Prayed for the well being of 130 Crore Indians,” earlier he tweeted also posting the video of his ‘snan’ – holy dip.

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], Feb 18: Referring to the debilitating terror attack on CRPF convoy in J&K’s Pulwama district on Thursday which left 40 jawans killed and many others injured, former RAW chief Vikram Sood on Sunday said that such kind of terror attack “does not take place without a security lapse somewhere.”
Talking to media persons on the sidelines of an event here, Sood said: “I have no idea what actually went wrong, but this kind of incident does not take place without a security lapse somewhere.”
“What actually happened, I don’t know. Obviously, there was just more than one man involved. There would have been the guy who brought the explosives. Someone put it together. Somebody got the car. They have knowledge about the vehicles’ movement.”
“They knew the spot where they are going to do it. There must have been a group of people who did it and this person who did the bomb(ing), (was) selected, motivated to do it. It is too early to conclude—A went or B went wrong,” he said.
On the possible action, he said: “It’s not a boxing match. You do a reaction like the PM said you do it at your convenience, at your own time and place of your choice. It doesn’t happen tomorrow or today.”
Talking about the issue of Kashmir, the former RAW chief said: “First of all, we have to be consistent with what we do. Secondly, it should be an Indian approach and not a party approach.”
Earlier speaking at the event, Sood called for the establishment of an institution to “deeply analyse the wrong moves taken by India in the past.”
“There has to be a system where you can honestly do research on why things went wrong. We are known by our failures. But we don’t mind that because this helps us to preserve what we have done in the past,” said he.
Former chief of Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) went on to add: “If someone has legal empowerment of the agency which includes accountability, then it is a fair game. But if you have only accountability, then that organisation will collapse. We cannot just have it one way.”
Highlighting the role of technology in the World War II, Cold War era and the rapid progress of globalisation, Sood said: “In the ’90s, the Internet became active and was touted to be a new weapon of war of intelligence and counterintelligence.”
“The 21st century has seen a rapid rise of globalisation and technology and until today mankind does not know that when technology will become overpowering. It is already a huge issue that we don’t know where it will lead us in the future,” he said.
Touching upon the topics of radicalism, Sood said: “The printed gun and other things have emerged because of the rise of powers like China and rise of Islamic radicalism from the west of our borders.”
“The west of Indian borders is all infected with various hues of Islamic fundamentalism, radicalism. It is going to be a problem for everybody including the moderates of the Islamic world,” he said.
The former RAW chief said that Russia was again emerging as a superpower. “During the Cold War, Americans had 65 allies who were dictators. When the Cold War ended, the Soviets were defeated in Afghanistan, and the Berlin Wall came down.”
“Mind you, at that time, the Soviet Union had ended but not Russia. The Soviet Union was an ideology and Russia was a nation. This nation will not come down. They are emerging again,” he said.
“The Americans had supported Jihadis and they never imagined the kind of monster they were about to create. They thought that a few agitated Muslims do not matter in the world when the aim is to make Europe safe from the Soviet Union. And now, those agitated Muslims are asking for the caliphates all over the world,” he said.
“America controls six per cent of the total population but 50 per cent of wealth and they would like to keep it that way. To hell with the democracy and to hell with the human rights is that what their policy has been,” Sood further said.
The former RAW chief said: “The world we are living in today is a massive global churn. Now if you imagine that you unstrip the globe and flatten it on the top of the table, you will find that in every corner of the earth there is a fire.”
“There are new powers who want to be the masters. Old powers do not want to leave. And India too needs a place under the sun, but we are not going to get it easily. Nobody is giving it to us on a platter. So in this turmoil, we have innumerable problems—problems of fires of destruction, problems of fires of reconstructions. The natural disasters were not enough and man-made disasters are the latest,” said Sood.

Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) , Feb 12 : Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati on Monday said the foundation stone of Ram Temple will be laid in Ayodhya on February 21.
“On February 17, we will head towards Ayodhya from Prayagraj and on February 21, we will lay the foundation stone of Ram Temple,” Shankaracharya Swaroopanand told ANI.
Earlier today, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the Ayodhya Ram temple issue should be resolved within 24 hours.
Adityanath speaking in the state Assembly said, “Ayodhya is well known in India and across the world due to Lord Ram and not due to a foreign invader like Babur. The beliefs of people should be respected. I have said several times that the court should respect the sentiments of the people. The Allahabad High Court had specifically said that wherever ‘Ram Lalla’ is present, the temple will be built there.”
“I believe that the dispute should have ended then and there. There is no question regarding division (of land). The dispute exists only whether or not there is ‘Ram Janambhoomi’. That dispute has already been decided upon and so now it should not take more than 24 hours to find a solution,” he added.
The Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute has been pending before the apex court for the last eight years. For a long time, parties in the case and various right-wing organisations have been asking for an early or day-to-day hearing in the matter.
On February 6, a conglomerate of saints claimed that the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya will start on February 21.
Swami Swaroopanand earlier said that the ‘dharam sansad’, after a three-day meeting in Prayagraj, decided that foundation stone for the temple will be laid on February 21. He added that the saints mobilised for the effort would not be deterred by arrests or any other kind of obstacles.
The decision came after the central government last month approached the Supreme Court for permission to restore the “excess” land surrounding the disputed portion in Ayodhya to Ram Janambhoomi Nyas.
The government, in a petition, sought direction for releasing to the Nyas 67 acres, which it had acquired about two-and-a-half decades back, leaving untouched 0.313 acres of disputed.
In 2010, the Allahabad High Court had divided the disputed land in Ayodhya into three parts for each of the parties — the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

New Delhi, Feb 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the National War Memorial near India Gate on February 25, officials said Friday.

The memorial will honour soldiers who have laid down their lives for the country since Independence.

“The prime minister will dedicate the memorial to the nation on February 25. The defence minister, chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force will be among the dignitaries present on the occasion,” a senior official said.

Some other cabinet ministers are also likely to attend the event, he said.

“The National War Memorial will include a wall that will carry the names of those soldiers who have laid down their lives for the country,” Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat had earlier said.

“The memorial would be iconic and serve as a new landmark, which would attract people from near and far,” he had said.

Acceding to a long-pending demand of the armed forces, the government in 2015 had approved the project for building a National War Memorial and a National War Museum near India Gate in memory of over 22,500 soldiers who laid down their lives post-Independence.

“This government will be establishing a war memorial and a museum with a deep sense of gratitude to honour those brave soldiers, who laid down their lives,” an official statement released after the Cabinet meeting, chaired by Modi, had then said.

“The memorial will promote a sense of patriotism in the minds of visitors, and will award an opportunity to citizens of this vast nation, to express their token sense of gratitude to the brave soldiers, who laid down their lives for the motherland,” it said.

India Gate itself is a war memorial built during the British Raj as the All India War Memorial Arch to honour the soldiers who died in the First World War (1914-1918) and the Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919). The landmark has the names of soldiers inscribed on its surface.

Nainital , Feb 22 : In the aftermath of the Pulwama terror strike, the authorities here are closely monitoring the situation with regard to the safety and security of the Kashmiri students, a police official said.
“Here too the situation had turned sensitive like everywhere else in the country after the Pulwama attack. It is better now and Kashmiri students here are safe. There is no rumour regarding them. We are monitoring the situation and are ready to deal with all type of situations,” SSP Nainital S K Meena said.
The Supreme Court will on Friday hear a plea seeking its intervention to prevent attacks on Kashmiri students.
According to the plea, Kashmiri students had to lock themselves up in order to remain safe as mob violence erupted in Dehradun in Uttarakhand after the terror attack in Pulwama in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed on February 14.
The petition has sought the court’s direction to the authorities, including heads of educational institutions, for immediate steps to prevent attacks against Kashmiris and other minorities, their social boycott, ostracisation, eviction and other coercive acts.
It has said those indulging in hate speech and targeting of Kashmiris should be prosecuted.

Srinagar, Feb 15: As many as 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were martyred in a fidayeen attack by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant outfit at Awantipora in south Kashmir district of Pulwama on Srinagar-Jammu national highway on Thursday afternoon.

However, local media has reported that 44 jawans were killed in the attack. Militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Official sources told UNI that militants rammed an IED-laden vehicle into a vehicle carrying CRPF at Goripora, Awantipora on Thursday afternoon.

They said 12 CRPF personnel were killed on the spot and 32 others were wounded after the vehicle was blown up. “The injured were immediately taken to Army’s 92 base hospital,” they said, adding 28 more jawans succumbed at the hospital.

They said that the death toll could increase as the condition of some other jawans in critical. Security forces have been put on high alert in view of the IED blast.

They said the ‘Fidayeen’ has been identified as Adil Ahmad, a resident of Kakapora in Pulwama.

Meanwhile, Advisor to Governor, K Vijay Kumar said JeM has claimed the responsibility of the attack and also released the photograph of the militant. “Forensic experts have been rushed to the spot and other details will be released after investigation,” he added.
He said militants are frustrated by the causalities they have incurred in the last about one year. “…that is the reason they carried out such attack,” he said.

New Delhi , Feb 25: Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran on Sunday said that now was not an appropriate time for dialogue as the deadly Pulwama attack had really changed the sentiment in India with respect to its relationship with Pakistan.
“There is a need to find a solution for the peace between India and Pakistan but this is not an appropriate time for a dialogue. This is because the Pulwama terror attack has really changed the sentiments of India with respect to the relationship with Pakistan,” Shyam Saran told ANI.
Hoping for peace between the two countries and stressing on war cannot be a solution, the former foreign secretary said: “Let’s hope that in future we will be able to create an environment where both countries see their interest in sitting down and having a dialogue. At this time, there is a great deal of anger and despair about these relations but ultimately we have to manage the relationship between the two countries. I would hope that the current standoff resolves.”
About the steps taken by Modi-led government to isolate Pakistan, Saran said, “The Prime Minister is taking the whole series of action and he is doing what he should do. I think it is appropriate including mobilizing diplomatic and international opinion against Pakistan behaviour. Modi has already said that India will give a befitting response to what Pakistan has done.”
“The incident at Pulwama was a tragic incident for the whole country. Our sympathies are with the families. I think the answer to this has to reflect on what are the ways in which we strengthen our own security and make sure these kinds of the incident don’t take place in future,” he added.
As many as 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives in the dastardly terror attack which took place in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14. The Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attack.

New Delhi, Feb 15 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening led the nation in paying homage to the CRPF personnel killed in the Pulwama terror attack by Pakistan-based JeM.
PM, along with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Information and Broadcasing Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the chiefs of the three services among others paid their respect to the slain CRPF personnel at the Palam Airport , where the bodies of martyrs were brought by a special aircraft on Friday evening.
At Palam Technical area, Prime Minister walked around 40 coffins draped in tricolour and paid respects to the CRPF personnel killed.
. The bodies were received by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and senior officials of the CRPF at the Palam Technical area.
Wreath was laid on the bodies of the CRPF personnel who lost their lives in the attack. The slain personnel were given the guard of honour.
During the wreath laying ceremony Congress chief Rahul Gandhi stood alongside Army Chief General Bipin Rawat and was seen softly interacting briefly.
The bodies will be sent to their native places where a state funeral will be given to them.
Over 2,500 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, many of them returning from leave to rejoin duty in the Valley, were travelling in the convoy of 78 vehicles when they were ambushed on the Srinagar-Jammu highway at Latoomode in Awantipora in south Kashmir around 3.15 pm on Thursday.
A suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into CRPF bus killing many and triggering a major conflict between India and Pakistan as New Delhi sought ‘complete isolation’ of the western neighbour.
The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack that took place about 20 km from Srinagar, officials said.
Earlier on Friday, displaying a unique gesture, in Srinagar Home Minister Rajnath Singh turned a pallbearer accompanying CRPF officials while carrying the bodies.
The PM had, in two functions – one in Delhi and in Jhansi – assured the nation that the martyrdom of CRPF personnel will be avenged.
Speaking on the occasion of flagging off country’s first semi-high speed trainset Train 18, titled the Vande Bharat Express, from New Delhi Railway station, the PM, in a strong message to Pakistan in wake of the terror attack said the perpetrators behind the act ‘will have to pay”” and that security forces have been given full freedom to take action against the terrorists.

I want to tell the terror organisations that they have committed a mistake. I assure the country that powers and people responsible for this terror attack will definitely be punished,’the PM said.
In an reference to Pakistan, The PM said, ‘ If our neighbour which is totally isolated in the world thinks it can destabilise India through its tactics and conspiracies, then it is making a big mistake.’
Recognizing that after the Pulwama attack, the situation and the atmosphere are full of grief and indignation, the PM said the country will fight back such dastardly acts of terror.
‘Every Indian will give befitting reply to every such attack. Many nations have extended their support and I’d like to thank them. We will have to unite against terrorism,” PM Modi said.
Mr Modi also said announced that armed forces have been given ‘freehand’ to decide about the time, location and military strategy to teach the perpetrators of the attack a befitting lesson.

Havana [Cuba] Feb 20 : Cuba on Tuesday rejected claims of United States President Donald Trump about an alleged deployment of Cuban troops in Venezuela.
“The US president’s accusations that Cuba has deployed a private army in Venezuela are not true. Our government strongly and categorically rejects that,” Sputnik quoted Rodriguez as saying.
The foreign minister remarks came in the wake of US President allegation against Cuba that it is controlling the Venezuelan socialist President Nicolas Maduro. He further alleged that Maduro was “controlled was protected by a private army of Cuban soldiers.”
The US President on Monday asked Venezuelan officials and military officers to not follow orders of President Nicolas Maduro to block the humanitarian aid deliveries to the country and to accept the offer of amnesty made by the opposition leader Guaido. The US leader also said that Washington was seeking a peaceful transition of power in Venezuela but noted that “all options” remained open.
Venezuela is in political crisis since the start of this year.
The economic crisis in the nation, coupled with a food shortage, has strengthened an anti-Maduro sentiment across the South American nation, with the opposition accusing Maduro of “usurping power”.
On January 24, amid the massive marches against the President, US President Donald Trump had recognised Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the Interim President of the nation.

Guwahati (Assam),  Feb 18: BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday said, his party will include Citizenship Amendment Bill in its 2019 general elections’ manifesto.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill provides Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Addressing a public gathering at Assam BJP State office in Guwahati, Shah said: “Assam cannot prosper without Citizenship Amendment  Bill (CAB). We passed it in the Lok Sabha but the Centre failed to table it in the Rajya Sabha. The CAB will be added in our manifesto of the Lok Sabha elections and we are committed to take the Bill to the far reaches of Assam.”