85 Jain monks shunted by temple trusts across India

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August 18, 2022

Monks,Jains,India — Image: Representative/Shutterstock

A group of 85 monks that are shunted by temple trusts across India held a public meeting recently and declared that the scenario evolved in the Jain community is such that if any monk raises his voice for truth against the powerful community, then he would be left with few options: To live on the streets, camp at railway stations, give up monkhood and go home, or commit suicide.

Temple trusts have closed their doors on this large group after its head raised several questions and challenged the authority of Anandji Kalyanji Trust (AKT).

The head monk asked Jains to wake up to the fact that the community’s flagship temples were under attack and there was a dire situation at Jain pilgrim places, but the AKT has been silent over this.

“We have been shelterless for several months now. For speaking against all the wrong that has been taking place. We have not taken diksha for any upashray (temple residence). We will not tolerate any injustice that comes our way. But we will remain true and loyal to the religion,” said Gacchadipathi (spiritual sovereign)
Yugbhushansuriji Maharajsaheb, the head monk of the group who held a public meeting on Sunday morning in Borivli.

The matter dates back to March 10 when 85 Tapagach monks reached the Ghatkopar Navroji lane upashray after a long, barefooted journey from Bhandup.

They were stopped by Jains from the area and their belongings, including scriptures and medicines, were all thrown around. A hospital bed with railings that the senior-most monk uses was also pushed down the stairway. Police had to be called to end the commotion and the monks were forced to leave.

These monks have been preaching out of banquet or marriage halls, exhibition centres or libraries and research centres. In one instance, they lived in the parking lot of a tower when nothing else was available for them. Currently residing in an institute library, the public meeting was a wake-up call for Jains Referring to the

Lateran Treaty signed between the Pope and the Italian government, which recognised the papal sovereignty over the Vatican City, Yugbhushansuriji Maharajsaheb said religious heads don’t get sovereignty by an Act.

“The same country which recognises the Pope as head of state, which accepts the sovereignty of the Dalai Lama does not even give an appointment to its own religious heads. There has been a devaluation of our own religious heads,” he added.

The followers of the pontiff had moved the Supreme Court alleging that they were being prevented from entering upashray (temple residence) to observe their religious practices. The petitioners have been writing to the police and home departments in various states claiming that they are being prevented from entering the upashray. The SC asked the petitioners to file a case in a lower court.

Police warned Cristiano Ronaldo after he smashed phone of Everton fan

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ANI

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August 18, 2022

Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been cautioned by police after footage emerged on the internet of the star player appearing to smash a phone out of an Everton FC fan’s hand following a match at Goodison Park last season in April 2022.

“We can confirm that a 37-year-old man voluntarily attended and was interviewed under caution in relation to an allegation of assault and criminal damage,” Merseyside Police said in a statement as quoted by media.

“The allegation relates to an incident following the Everton v Manchester United football match at Goodison Park on Saturday, April 9. The matter has been dealt with by way of a conditional caution. The matter has now concluded,” the statement added.

Merseyside Police launched an inquiry after a video clip went viral on the internet of Ronaldo appearing to knock the young boy’s phone out of his hand as he limped off towards the tunnel following United’s 1-0 loss to Everton.

Manchester United fell to an eighth league defeat of the season at Goodison Park, as a pumped-up Everton secured a vital victory in their fight against relegation.

Toffees youngster Anthony Gordon scored the only goal of the game midway through the first half when his deflected shot burst past David De Gea.

Footage emerged of the Manchester United star appeared to smash the phone out of a young fan’s hands following Manchester United’s defeat at Goodison Park in April.

Freebies Funda

By

C K Subramaniam

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August 18, 2022

Freebies are allurements only but nothing concrete. Wasteful use of electricity, defective, erratic, substandard supply of material and service and plunder of government public money by unscrupulous cheaters of all kinds and exploitation of the general masses.

Need is to provide employment and enable people to lead a dignified life as espoused by Hon’ble Supreme Court by creating assets as an architect of a modern welfare state with better health, education, housing, and roads etc. etc.

We come across glaring examples in Tamil Nadu. Gold for Thali ( Mangal Sutra ) Similarly waiver of gold loans. Why should taxpayers’ money be frittered away? Only one thing is clear: most of them vote for symbols which do not mean anything to them.

The free color Television set given in Tamil Nadu was seen in the flats of Vashi Navi Mumbai.

The focus should be on the Electoral Bonds and how it can be reversed. Two, the source of money spent on elections by the candidates as well as the party. Three, scrutiny of “income” and “assets* declared by contestants to the Assembly and the Parliament in a tenure of five years.

Because the incomes of the ministers of the ruling dispensation increases many fold, when he gives his declaration the next time. As well the increase in the assets of children of those in power or close to those in power.

If funds meant for the public don’t line the pockets of ministers and babus, then there would be no need for freebies.

But today, the media is also a big beneficiary of freebies, hence there is no investigative journalism nor any exposure of government deals !! What about the freebies to the crony capitalists in the name of tax waivers, duty waivers ? Parliamentarians too enjoy freebies.

Why leave them out ? And the freebies on a daily basis lining the pockets of a policeman, a clerk in the municipality, in the tehsil while making registration of land deeds/ sale deeds, court clerks ! All hotbeds of corruption.

When we talk of freebies, there are two aspects to it. Essential and non-essential items. Food grains fall under the essential items category and there is no doubt that it has improved the lot of the common man through distribution of such items.

Can one say the same about non-essential items? In TN, where freebies play a major role during elections, fans, grinders, TVs and many such items have been distributed as part of the freebie culture.

More of than not, the quality of the items are very poor and become worthless scraps within a very short time.

Girl students are given free cycles to encourage girl education and in many cases these cycles are either used by the father or the brother, and in some cases even sold, defeating the very purpose of the freebie.

Next comes the beneficiaries of the freebies.

And, of course, the less said about our ‘free’ power culture, the better. Rich farmers enjoy free power, do not pay any taxes, are against any agrarian reforms and the politicians only go after the Adanis and the Ambanis and never against the rich farmers for political reasons.

While one surely appreciates the need for free distribution of food grains to the really poor, the distribution system needs a complete overhaul to ensure that the fairly well off do not benefit from the same.

Politicians, especially at the State level, will never bell the cat for fear of losing votes. Distribution of non-essential items as freebies must be banned, especially as a sop during elections.

No doubt it is important to ascertain what the Hon’ble PM meant by freebies.

If it refers to the uncoordinated actions of some State Governments which distribute private goods before elections in the name of welfare, the remedy is coordination of policy and action in the manner envisaged in Article 263.

It is time to reconsider the freebies fiasco in a broader outlook as taxpayers money is given as freebies just to win elections.

Instead of just blowing the whistle out of proportion, let us think of winning the hearts of voters in a service oriented society and run the show without any added attraction.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

The Eknath Shinde-led government announced Rs 10 lakh insurance for all govindas in the state

By

Web Team

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August 18, 2022

Dahi handi celebrations to be held after a gap of two years, CM Shinde said the premium will be paid by the government and this is being done to ensure all govindas are safe and can get compensation in case of mishap.

“We have ensured that all it will follow the rules related to safety. Since there was a demand from mandals for an insurance scheme to provide a safety net, the government has taken this decision,” he said.

The Bombay HC has already mandated RS 10 lakh insurance for each Govinda.

Mandals too buy insurance for their govindas. While the Shinde government has announced insurance for govindas with Gokulashtami coming up on August 19 (Friday), dahi handi teams are purchasing insurance for their players who will head out to break the pot.

The HC had mandated that each govinda be insured for a sum of Rs 10 lakh Contrary to perception; it is not boys who tumble from the top of the pyramid that are the worst sufferers.

It is the youth on lower layers who cushion their fall that are more vulnerable to breaking bones.

Public sector firm Oriental Insurance is the major insurer for dahi handi mandals.

Through these 45 days, the govinda receives full personal accident cover, not only during practice or performance but also road accident, electric shock and terror attack.

Maharashtra health Minister Sawant failed to reply on issues of elephantiasis and illegal abortions in assembly

By

PTI

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August 18, 2022

Maharashtra’s newly appointed Health Minister Tanaji Sawant on Thursday failed to reply to questions raised in the Maharashtra Assembly over issues like elephantiasis and illegal abortions, which led to an uproar in the House.

The House proceedings during the Question Hour were disrupted after Sawant failed to give satisfactory answers.

Some members asked questions about Palghar district reporting a rise in the number of cases of elephantiasis and illegal abortions in Beed district.

Sawant said, “I have no information on any of the questions. I have taken charge of the ministry a couple of days back.” Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar asked Speaker Rahul Narvekar to intervene as Sawant could not give a satisfactory reply to the questions. Sawant had served as the state water conservation minister in 2019 under the then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

He had stoked a controversy by attributing a breach in Tiware dam in Ratnagiri district, which led to the death of 18 people, to the weakening of wall by crabs.

Sawant had called the dam breach incident a “natural calamity”.

Boat with explosives found near Harihareshwar Beach in Raigad

By

ANI

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August 18, 2022

The security in the Raigad district of Maharashtra and nearby areas was tightened after a “suspicious” looking boat was found boat was found with arms and explosives near the Harihareshwar beach, officials said.

The investigation into the matter is underway, they said.

SP leader Akhilesh Yadav states changes of politics in Bihar is a ‘Positive Sign’

By

PTI

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August 18, 2022

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Thursday that the political shift in Bihar is a “positive sign” and hoped a strong alternative to the BJP is formed in the 2024 Parliamentary polls.

He also claimed that the BJP’s allies in Uttar Pradesh are not happy with it and will also break free from the saffron party in the future.

JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar recently dumped the BJP and joined hands with Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress and other parties to form a new government in Bihar.

Sensex moves to 300 points and the stocks of IT,Pharma and Energy goes down

By

PTI

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August 18, 2022

Snapping the recent rallies, the Indian stock market’s benchmark Sensex was trading 300 points down at around noon on Thursday dragged by selling pressure in pharma, IT and energy stocks.

The 30 stock S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 59,960.19 points at 12.03 pm, which is 299.94 points or 0.50 per cent lower from its previous day’s close at 60,260.13 points. The Sensex started the day sharply lower at 60,080.19 points and hit a low of 59,946.44 points. The Sensex briefly turned positive in the morning session hitting a high of 60,287.13 points.

The broader Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange was trading 76.45 points or 0.43 per cent down at 17,867.80 points against its previous day’s close at 17,944.25 points.

IT stocks witnessed heavy selling pressure. Wipro slipped 1.85 per cent to Rs 434.90. Infosys fell 1.46 per cent to Rs 1583.35. Tata Consultancy Services was trading 0.78 per cent down at Rs 3374. Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank, Nestle India, Titan, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance and ICICI Bank were among the major Sensex losers. Bharti Airtel surged 1.82 per cent to Rs 734.90 after it received the allocation of 5G spectrum. Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal praised the government for a quick 5G spectrum allocation. “No fuss, no follow up, no running around the corridors and no tall claims. This is ease of doing business at work in its full glory. In my over 30 years of first-hand experience with the DoT (Department of Telecommunications), this is a first! Business as it should be,” Mittal said in a statement. Kotak Bank, UltraTech Cement, L&T, ITC and State Bank of India were among the major Sensex gainers.

Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi writes to PM, Bring back Netaji’s last remains back to India.

By

ANI

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August 18, 2022

Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra Priyanka Chaturvedi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to bring back the ashes of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose to India in view of the leader’s death anniversary on August 18.

In a letter to Prime Minister, Chaturvedi said, “As we celebrate ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and pledge to take pride in our heritage as a part of the ‘Panchpran’, I am writing this letter to you in support of the request of Ms. Anita Bose Pfaff, daughter of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, to bring his last remains back to India.”

“It shall be our greatest honour to commemorate Netaji’s sacrifice and dedication towards independence of India by fulfilling his last wish of returning to the Indian soil” Chaturvedi said in the letter also marked to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

“I request you to make a note of the request of Ms. Anita Bose Pfaff and expeditiously take all such diplomatic and other measures to bring Netaji home and duly acknowledge his insurmountable contributions in India’s freedom struggle. This shall indeed be a true tribute to our forefathers who sacrificed their lives for India’s freedom.’’

“On the solemn occasion of Subhash Chandra Boseji’s death anniversary, I urge the Prime Minister of India & MEA to bring Netaji’s ashes back home. Even his daughter has appealed that it should be done, as that was what the great freedom fighter desired,” she wrote. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had died in a plane crash in Taiwan in 1945.

Woman withdraws plea from Delhi HC moved against friend supposed to travel abroad Euthanasia

By

ANI

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August 18, 2022

Delhi High court, Representative Image, DDA, PIL — Image for representative purpose

A woman in Delhi High Court on Thursday withdrew her plea which sought direction from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) not to grant emigration clearance to a friend, who is supposed to travel to abroad for Euthanasia (Physician-assisted suicide).

The Lawyer Subhash Chandran KR appeared for the Petitioner woman and apprised the Bench of Justice Yashwant Varma that he had instructions to withdraw the petition after the woman got to know that her friend was deeply traumatised by the filing of the case.

The Petitioner earlier alleged that her friend has made false claims before Indian as well as foreign authorities for getting travel permissions. Petitioner submitted that her friend is diagnosed with Myalgic encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which is a complex, debilitating, long-term neuroinflammatory disease.

It is a poorly understood condition and it is in the early stages of research, stated plea. Petitioner Sindhu MK, through Advocate Subhash Chandran KR, sought direction from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to constitute a medical board to examine the medical condition of Gaurav Kashyap and also provide necessary medical assistance by considering his peculiar health condition.

According to the petitioner, her friend was going through a treatment called Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) in AIIMS which was promising and gave significant improvement.

FMT is considered to be a safe, promising and effective treatment method for CFS-related problems as the results show a high success rate. However, he could not continue it during the pandemic situation due to donor availability issues and this affects his confidence and hope.

The plea further stated that there are no financial constraints for providing her friend with better treatments within India or abroad. But he is now adamant about his decision to go for Euthanasia, which also affects the life of age-old parents miserably.

The plea also stated that the patient friend managed to get a Schengen visa which provides free and unrestricted journey within the 26 European countries including Belgium and Switzerland by providing false information to Indian as well as foreign agencies.

It is pertinent to mention that he obtained a Schengen visa under the pretext of a namesake treatment in a clinic in Belgium.

He travelled to Zurich, Switzerland (June 15/16, 2022) via Belgium (June 13/14, 2022) for the first round of psychological evaluation from June 11 to 18, 2022.

According to the information received by the Petitioner, his application was accepted by Dignitas, the first evaluation was approved and now awaiting the final decision by end of August 2022, read the plea.

The plea further stated that the most common symptom is extreme tiredness. ME/CFS can affect anyone, including children. Studies say it is more common in women and tends to develop in the mid-40s.

It’s also common for people who have chronic fatigue syndrome to also have other health problems at the same time, such as sleep disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, depression or anxiety. These being the nature of the disease, treatment focus on symptom relief.