CURRENT AFFAIRS

Doctor Takes Prompt Action to Save Flyer’s Life on Board

An hour into Vistara’s Delhi-Doha flight on November 2, Dr Nadeem Jilani got alerted when an announcement was made to check if there was a doctor on board. A passenger had fallen unconscious in the lavatory and he lay on the floor near it frothing at the mouth, prompting the call from the crew. Dr Jilani, who was returning home in Qatar after attending his elder brother’s funeral in Aligarh, immediately identified himself and gave basic life support that saved the passenger, reports The Times of India on November 6.

Early to Bed and Early to Rise will Surely Keep the World Environmentally Nice

When the global leaders were putting their heads together at Glasgow (Oct 31-Nov 2) to pretend that they are serious in fighting the menace of climate change, thousands of kilometres away in the United Arab Emirates the organisers of Twenty20 World Cup were literally burning midnight oil – and all sorts of fossil fuels – to convert planet Earth into hell. Not to speak of the organiser, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), even those campaigning to keep the world environmentally clean and engaged in combating the challenge of global warming see nothing wrong in such brazen disregard for ecological norms.

TMC Sweeps Bengal; Cheer for Cong in Himachal, Rajasthan; BJP Holds MP

The Congress dealt a blow to the ruling BJP in Himachal Pradesh, sweeping all three Assembly seats and the Lok Sabha constituency of Mandi in byelections that took place on October 30. However, the BJP strengthened its control over Assam, winning, along with NDA ally United People’s Party, Liberal, (UPPL) all five Assembly seats for which byelections were held. The party also won two of the three byelections to the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, and the Khandwa Lok Sabha seat.

Spurious Liquor Claims 38 Lives

The death toll in the Bihar hooch tragedy climbed to 38 on November 6 even as chief minister Nitish Kumar called for a fresh awareness campaign against the consumption of liquor in the dry state. Police have made arrests and errant officials have been punished in connection with the sale of illicit liquor. So far, 15 people have died in Bettiah, 11 in Gopalganj, and six each in Muzzafarpur and Hajipur.

Dangers of Stigmatisation for Coronavirus Spread Check on the Tsunami of Fake News, Posts in Sight

Starting from March 22-23 the Health Ministry, in its press briefings, indicated ‘Nizamuddin connection’ with new cases of coronavirus. The media picked the ‘indication’ and created almost a tsunami of derogatory phrasing, fake-news and doctored videos in print, electronic and social media, resulting in misleading the people and injecting communal poison in an already polluted atmosphere. Most likely it was a mala-fide tactic to divert the attention from dangers looming large to the life and the economy and to cover up ‘non-preparedness’ of the state to fight the catastrophe.

Union Budget 2020-21: Another Opportunity Lost

At a time when Indian women are showing leadership and resistance especially in the anti-CAA protests, our Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitaraman presented her second Union budget 2020-21 in the Lok Sabha which is visionless, an empty bucket with full of jargons and proverbs. The BJP-led government picks the best keywords. This year’s budget focuses on three areas – Aspirational India, Economic Development and a Caring society.

The Sanctity of Human Life

The recent National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data reveals that as many as 67,774 people were killed in the country due to personal vendetta during the period between 2001 and 2017. The data confirms that personal vendetta or enmity is the largest cause of murders during the period. In this column we would consider in brief why personal vendetta causes murders and what is the Islamic approach to the issue.

“Framed, Damned and Acquitted”

There is another heartbreaking story of terror accused, ‘framed, damned and acquitted’ after over two decades. Chronology of such cases, blatant misuse of terror laws, defaming a community and destroying lives of innocent families is long while real terror actors influenced by Hindutva discourse get protection by hook or by crook.

Was Shah Bano Movement Misplaced?

In his address to the Parliament in response to President’s address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeated the oft-repeated charge against Shah Bano Movement, calling the decision to accept the Muslim demand a blunder of Congress. Interestingly, this blunder of Congress is being used to justify the Triple Talaq Bill. Hindutva lobby has always used Congress’s decision to pass the new act, calling it the biggest example of “Appeasement”. While Hindus, especially upper caste Hindus, reserve the exclusive rights to be pampered through favourable socio-economic policies, even slightest favour to Muslims becomes “appeasement” for the Hindutva lobby.

Pulwama an Exposure of Multiple Failures

The horrendous incident of 14th February, killing 44 CRPF personnel on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Pulwama area has been widely denounced as ‘terror attack by Pakistani actors’ and attracted vast condemnation. Several organisations and individuals have also raised the demand for comprehensive free and fair enquiry in the whole episode, especially in the wake of equally high-pitched divisive campaign to politically en-cash the sympathy wave for the families of slain personnel without ensuring welfare of the bereaved families and pushing under the carpet main issues of people like employment, education, torment of farmers, security of borders, and deteriorated relations with the neighbouring countries, etc.

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