Roz-e-awwal se hi aawaara hoon aawaara rahunga, chand taron se guzarta hua banjara rahunga - Gulzaar.
A free existence is all I desire for one and all.
The Silence Over Indian Lives: If three American merchant mariners were killed in an airstrike, it would trigger a round-the-clock political crisis in the United States. Yet the deaths of three Indian crew members in a U.S. airstrike on a Palau-flagged tanker near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday have attracted little international attention. Modi has not publicly commented on the attack, leaving it to the foreign ministry to lodge a routine diplomatic protest.
Nor was this an isolated incident. It was the third tanker carrying Indian crew members to be struck by the U.S. military this week. On Monday, a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet used precision-guided munitions against another tanker in the Gulf of Oman, forcing Omani authorities to evacuate all 24 Indian sailors aboard.
Then today, a U.S. aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the engine room of a Guinea-Bissau-flagged tanker off the Omani coast, sparking a major fire. Fortunately, all 20 Indian crew members survived.
The alternative medicine industry and its practitioners in India have been given immunity against criticims from the medical science community by the Government of India and AYUSH Ministry, through the recently amended Information Technology rules via the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India, that include gagging, silencing and automated deletion of content which they feel will make the Govt "look bad". The rules were extended to include independent content creators, podcasters, and influencers, bringing news-related online posts under the same "code of ethics" used for traditional media.
They have now started using this against medical science communicators and doctors online. My post on Instagram went into automated removal (those in India cannot see it) after they found it was critical of Homeopathy practice.
This essentially means that science communicators are not allowed to call out unscientific practices and practitioners for their pseudoscientific, fradulent and quackery filled practices, but they are allowed to post images and videos of such practices online without any accountability or repurcussions.
This has come after my work and interviews in the last few weeks have throughly dismantled the Homeopathy community in India followed by large body of written and video content that supported the fact that Homeopathy is not medical care, but a pre-scientific era artefact that survives because of State support, legal protection and stakes in business of medical care.
The Homeopathy community sees this as a win. All the others, see them as cowards. Banning people from talking about unscientific practices, does not make unscientific practices, scientific. It just makes it more evident that "criminals need paid policmen and protected ghettos to hide from the real police".
@CPCB_OFFICIAL@MCD_Delhi The fires continue. On right now! Calling the fire department or using the Green Delhi App is useless. We need monitoring of the park and enforcement. Location of the fire in the park (see screenshot and video too) https://t.co/1SykeJGkxf
"The Education Minister has already said that as the head of the Ministry, he takes moral responsibility" --- No price to pay, please trust me I have taken moral responsibility. Whatever BS taking moral responsibility means. What price did one pay is the key question.
For me, this is a pivotal moment in my science communication career, from India perspective.
Probably the first time, a major national media invited me to write an fact-based piece on a completely rubbish alternative medicine system that enjoys government protection - Homeopathy.
Please make this your must read of the day. I dissect every common nonsensical claim from the homeopathy community and bury age-old myths associated with this 200-plus year old obsolete pre-science artefact that still enjoys an undeserving place in Indian healthcare and which also destroys many young careers.
Well done and thank you Indian Express and Ms. Rinku Ghosh, the lead on health, for this! I really welcome this change! No one should be afraid of reporting facts about health misinformation even if it is government supported or promoted. This is the people's right.
Full read:
Homeopathy survives for reasons that have little to do with effective healthcare.
https://t.co/mHHVjFgvWg
Excl: Ground reality vs official records: Census fieldwork is throwing up data that differ from govt records on open defecation free villages, use of cow dung cakes/kerosene/crop residue for cooking in urban areas despite LPG connection, no electricity. Enumerators asked to revisit and review the “data discrepancies”.I ✍️
https://t.co/1LaYwpiiED
An elderly man who was caught on camera calling Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath "Gonda" was arrested by UP's Meerut Police. A video of the accused identified as Ehsaan limping, holding ears in police custody has also surfaced.
Why much of the rightwing hand-wringing over the Mohenjo Daro seal stems from under-appreciation of the historical process and context:
The Vedic period begins AFTER the Harappan Civilization started declining and after the arrival of the Indo-European language-speaking pastoral tribes from the Eurasian Steppe. Therefore, any Harappan deity identified IS a pre-Vedic one. In the centuries that followed, as the incoming culture mixed with the existing culture, there were adaptations and borrowings. Some Harappan customs and practices continued as folk traditions and found their way into later Sanskrit texts. The sacredness of the peepul tree, or designs and motifs in jewellery and pottery, games of dice... This is to expected and is the natural result of mass migrations.
Excerpt from Early Indians paperback edition, Pages 203 to 205:
"Remnants of a civilization
The Vedic corpus was composed over many centuries, and it is important to remember that the discrepancy between it and the Harappan Civilization reduces over time. The later the Vedic text, the more the likelihood of finding connections to the Harappan cultural heritage. If the Rigveda was antagonistic to, and disdainful of, ‘shishna-deva’, by the time of the Upanishads, composed between 500 BCE and 100 BCE, this was no longer the case. The number of borrowed words from Dravidian languages is also higher in the later Vedic texts than in the earlier ones. There are many Harappan seals, sealings and terracotta figurines that remind one of yoga, but there are no clear references to yoga in the Rigveda. But by the time of the Katha Upanishad, there are explicit references to it. A Harappan seal shows a figure wearing a horned headdress sitting in a yoga-like posture surrounded by animals, and it has been interpreted by some as an early depiction of Siva. Many historians and archaeologists reject this interpretation on the grounds that this is projecting later-day concepts into the distant past. While that may be so, it still leaves open the possibility of a convergence between later-day ideas of an ascetic Siva and the seal images, beliefs and myths of the Harappans.
This is not surprising because over time incoming cultures often do adopt, adapt to and intermingle with existing cultures, and the Arya and the Harappans may have done the same to varying degrees across cultural domains and geographic regions. And, of course, a lot of the cultural continuity from the Harappan Civilization is reflected in popular practices rather than in the Vedic corpus.
The way houses are built around courtyards; the bullock carts; the importance of bangles and the way they are worn; the manner in which trees are worshipped and the sacredness of the peepul tree in particular; the ubiquitous Indian cooking pot and the kulladh; the cultic significance of the buff alo; designs and motifs in jewellery, pottery and seals; games of dice and an early form of chess (dice and chess-like boards have been found at multiple Harappan sites); the humble lota which is used to wash up even today; and even the practice of applying sindoor and some measurement systems – the ways in which we carry on the traditions of the Harappan Civilization are too many to count.
A vase discovered at the Harappan site of Lothal in Gujarat has a painting that shows a crow standing next to a pitcher with a deer looking back at it, seemingly depicting the tale of the thirsty crow in the Panchatantra. So some of the tales we tell our children may have been the same ones told by the Harappans to their own children.
What ended around 1900 BCE, therefore, was the power structure that had kept the civilization going for over seven centuries, and with it went the script, the seals, the standardized bricks and some of the ideology as well – such as the unicorn. But many other things that are part and parcel of the common man’s life continued, along with some of the philosophical and cultural underpinnings of south Asia’s first civilization..."
These kind of absurd statement from @RahulGandhi reflects the immaturity and irresponsibility with which he approaches every sensitive issue concerning India’s youth.
A Leader of Opposition is expected to present facts, not make absurd and sensational allegations merely for political attention. Such statements do not strengthen democracy; they weaken public trust and trivialise the genuine concerns of lakhs of aspirants and their families.
India’s youth trust Hon’ble PM @narendramodi ’s leadership and commitment towards their future, not @RahulGandhi ’s childish politics and reckless rhetoric on every issue.
The Problem with Rahul Gandhi is that up till now he was not able to understand the ‘Issue’ now he is unable to read the word ‘Issue’.
Solicitor General of India has said in Courtyhat PM Sri @narendramodi ji is personally concerned & supervise Paper Leak ‘Issue’ but @RahulGandhi reads only Paper Leak doesn’t read the word ‘issue’ this shows that they are ‘Clueless’ ‘Issueless’ & ‘Shameless’ in misquoting.
Fact of the matter is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is highly sensitive & alert and keeping and strict vigil on the situation.
NEET पेपर लीक के मुद्दे पर @BJP4India NDA सरकार पूरी तरीक़े से सतर्क है सजग है और प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेंद्र मोदी जी व्यक्तिगत रूप से इस विषय को लेकर अत्यंत संवेदनशील हैं।
परंतु आज विपक्ष की असंवेदनशील की पराकाष्ठा यह है वक्तव्य में से “मुद्दा” शब्द को ही हटाकर भ्रमित करने का निंदनीय प्रयास करना यदि निम्न स्तर की निर्लज्जता कहा जाए तो उचित होगा
Misquote Propaganda करने वाले ऐसे नेताओं के लिये कहा जा सकता है ।
गांधी ने जिसे मेहनतें,
कर-कर के बनाया,
राहुल ने उस पार्टी की,
माचिस लगा के रख दी।
क्या कहा गया, और,
जाने क्या उसने बताया,
कासिद ने तो पैग़ाम की,
माचिस लगा के रख दी॥
It is preposterous, outrageous, and a stretch beyond reason to suggest that Prime Minister Modi personally supervised the NEET paper leak. This is precisely why Rahul Gandhi struggles to be taken seriously on matters of national importance. Time and again, he demonstrates a lack of gravitas and the maturity required to handle serious issues with the thoughtfulness and sensitivity they deserve.
No one is more concerned about the future of India’s youth than Prime Minister Modi. Year after year, he spends time interacting with students ahead of their examinations, encouraging them, understanding their anxieties, and forging a bond that Rahul Gandhi will never comprehend.
The incidents surrounding the NEET examination are unfortunate and have understandably caused concern among students and their families. Their anxiety is legitimate and must be addressed with urgency. That is exactly what the government is doing. Those responsible will be held accountable, corrective measures are being taken on priority, and no deserving student will be made to suffer the consequences of the wrongdoing of a few.
Instead of standing with students and contributing constructively, Rahul Gandhi has once again chosen sensationalism over responsibility.
Interesting column by @virsanghvi on the Delhi gym controversy. Might I add a piece of trivia: a few years ago, a leading Mumbai club was almost taken over by the Govt of Maharashtra. How was it resolved? By ensuring that sufficient IAS and IPS officers got membership! Moral: govts change, the bureaucrats remain the permanent power ‘elite’. By the way, wonder what our ‘rulers’ have to say about the expensive renovations in so many MP/ministers bungalows and offices lately. And why won’t that ever be debated beyond the predictable Lutyens elite trope? Truth is, Angrez chale gaye, Cong chali gayi, now a ‘new’ BJP elite has taken over. Vilfredo Pareto’s ‘circulation of elites’ theory is alive and well in the national capital and beyond!
When a person of his supposed stature and following callously throws the Pakistani label at a kid, he must pay a real price. There must be skin in the game. You can't go scott free for causing a kid to be mobbed. The rule of law requires heavy penalties. His tweet wasn't speech.
अभी जानकारी मिली है कि वेदांत नाम का स्टूडेंट वास्तव में एक छात्र है। हालांकि उसके ट्वीट की लोकेशन भारत से बाहर की क्यों दिखाई जा रही है इसकी पर्याय जानकारी अभी भी नहीं मिली है। लेकिन @vineetJindal19 जी मेरे मित्र हैं और विश्वसनीय व्यक्ति हैं इसलिए उनकी जानकारी गलत नहीं होगी। सही जानकारी मिलते ही मै अपना पुराना ट्वीट डिलीट कर रहा हूं और वेदांत और उनके परिवार के बारे में जो गलत जानकारी फैलाई गई उसके लिए मै उनसे माफी भी मांगता हूं। लेकिन अभी भी उम्मीद करता हूं कि अकाउंट के लोकेशन की सही जानकारी मिले तो मामला और ज्यादा स्पष्ट होगा।
Ghaziabad: In the Indirapuram area near the Hindon Barrage, two children were riding a bicycle carrying a sack. Mayor Sunita Dayal stopped them and, without any evidence, falsely accused them of having beef in the sack and planning to throw it into the Hindon River. After this, Mayor Sunita Dayal called the police and instructed them to take the children into custody, and also threatened the officers that if they let the children go, she would have them suspended. The police seized the sack and took the children and one man into custody.
Even by the standards of a country ranking 157 of 180 nations in the World Press Freedom Index, the reaction of the authorities to the ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ is beyond extraordinary. The public response to that imaginative prank should have signalled to them a deep discontent, even distress, among young people. Instead, as The Indian Express reported, it was framed as jeopardising the country’s ‘national security’ and ‘posing a threat to the sovereignty of India.’ Decades ago, the Malaysian lawyer and poet Cecil Rajendra wrote this brilliant poem that captures the idiocy of it better than any pompous editorialising could (not that our ‘mainstream’ media would dare do even that much).