<p>Anti-Romeo squads, which undertook a massive exercise to check eve-teasing at public places, lodged 538 cases and initiated legal action against 1,264 people in Uttar Pradesh in past two months.</p>

<p>According to an official release, 3,38,344 people, mostly youths, were let off with warnings by the squads of policemen.</p>

<p>During the period between March 22 and May 28, the squads questioned over seven lakh people at more than two lakh spots including malls, markets, outside schools, colleges and educational institutions, bus and railway stations.</p>

<p>Anti-Romeo squads, a poll promise of the BJP, were set up the Yogi Adityanath government soon after coming to power with an aim to ensure safety of women, especially young girls.</p>

<p>The squad had also attracted criticism from some quarters after visuals of policemen targeting young boys and girls were shown on the TV and on social media.</p>

<p>At a few places in the state, some youths were made to do sit-ups at busy crossings holding their ears and taking pledge not to indulge in eve-teasing.</p>

<p>Later, however, the government issued strict instructions to the police and the anti-Romeo squads to exercise restraint, saying things like shaving of heads or blackening of face should not be done or innocent people harassed.</p>

<p>(PTI)</p>


According to an official release, 3,38,344 people, mostly youths, were let off with warnings by the squads of policemen

Anti-Romeo squads, which undertook a massive exercise to check eve-teasing at public places, lodged 538 cases and initiated legal action against 1,264 people in Uttar Pradesh in past two months. According to an official release, 3,38,344 people, mostly youths, were let off with warnings by the squads of policemen. During the period between March 22 and May 28, the squads questioned over seven lakh people at more than two lakh spots including malls, markets, outside schools, colleges and educational institutions, bus and railway stations. Anti-Romeo squads, a poll promise of the BJP, were set up the Yogi Adityanath government soon after coming to power with an aim to ensure safety of women, especially young girls. The squad had also attracted criticism from some quarters after visuals of policemen targeting young boys and girls were shown on the TV and on social media. At a few places in the state, some youths were made to do sit-ups at busy crossings holding their ears and taking pledge not to indulge in eve-teasing. Later, however, the government issued strict instructions to the police and the anti-Romeo squads to exercise restraint, saying things like shaving of heads or blackening of face should not be done or innocent people harassed. (PTI)

More than 500 cases lodged by anti-Romeo squad of Uttar Pradesh Police

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath has observed that history must be rewritten. It must accommodate allegedly forgotten heroes, such as king Suheldev, who had resisted &lsquo;foreign&rsquo; Muslim invaders. Yogi Adityanath is not making a particularly new argument. His critics have already observed that his interest is narrowly political, or electoral, and that he is basically busy courting two particular castes namely, Rajbhars and Pasis which &lsquo;worship&rsquo; Suheldev as their slighted ancestor. The trouble is, it is only one of the possible responses, however, adequate or appropriate it may seem at first sight. It is just as possible to argue that the problem is larger, and far more structurally embedded with the idea and practice of history in terms of its common sense utility.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The tendency to commission rewriting historical texts on institutions and individuals involves, essentially, engineering a redistribution of the public perception of greatness. It is as though the total provision of publicly acceptable greatness is limited, and it is necessary to pull down one hero in order to reassign his (it is generally him, as of now) lost greatness to another hero. Greatness here amounts to a projected capacity to strengthen the public image of the group which draws confidence from the valour or accomplishments of the hero in question.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>History, in this understanding, is housed in a pantheon with limited room. In this pantheon, installed heroes must not be seen to have contradicted one another in the past. The heroes in this pantheon must share a common approach to the practice of politics, whether electoral or scholarly. Moreover, the limited room in this hypothetical arena of worship (or unquestionable veneration) often means an entire set of gods (or greats) have to be cast aside, to make way for another, when devotees of the latter happen to assume decisive authority.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Replace place of worship with the state, devotees with political leaders. What emerges is an even more limited definition of history as state sponsored and authorised past. That is how the debate appears in India, at least.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Elsewhere in the world, there are raging debates about how to deal with colonisers who had been generous benefactors to educational institutions in their home countries. The call to remove their statues, for instance, from legendary universities, is typically issued by students coming from former colonies. Then, there are similar demands to remove statues of slave traders from prominent public spaces. It means, perhaps, that a monster somewhere may well be a benefactor elsewhere, that there may be contrasting histories of a single individual in terms of how his deeds have helped or harmed a people and prospects of their empowerment.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>An Indian Member of Parliament has in the recent past delivered a rousing lecture in a UK university debate club, reportedly calling for the UK to pay reparations for the untold damages caused to India&rsquo;s prospects of entering into capitalist modernity with greater wealth and equality. Common to all these is an individual or a group claiming to speak for a wounded people, and demanding compensation for perceived wrongs committed in the past by ancestors of a projected antagonist. In most instances, the projected antagonist is an amorphous generality, or a collective which happens to celebrate the targeted &lsquo;villain&rsquo; for an entirely different reason. &nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>All this is only partly about &lsquo;history&rsquo;, as though it has a universally transparent and consensual meaning that is meant to be understood by everyone, or as though that meaning can be encapsulated and somehow made to circulate through a leak proof regime of tightly controlled dissemination. History, here, is not only a tightly regulated, university authorised, practiced only by trained and licensed professionals kind of academic discipline; it has a whirlwind life in public circulation. It is also called the public life of history.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>At some point they will have to start wondering how and why the very logic of a government agency writing textbook history is not above suspicion</h5>
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<p>When history professionals use that term, they usually mean non-professional, implying non-rigorous, or amateur, history. It means an unlicensed practice of history by irresponsible people, who play with a fragile commodity, or fire, and will either break it to pieces or burn someone else&rsquo;s property down. With amateurs writing history, the initial suspicion harboured by a historian is that the such a person is more likely to lack rigour and positive intent. It is the most valid suspicion in India. In the past, communities have been targeted and riots have&nbsp;been engineered through carefully designed messages that have been strategically circulated.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>There is also a history of governments directly dictating to official agencies as to how school textbooks on history should be written. While it is appropriate that professional historians resist unwarranted intervention by the current regime, at some point they will have to start wondering how and why the very logic of a government agency writing textbook history is not above suspicion. There is an umbrella organisation of professional historians in India. There is no reason why it cannot assume a more proactive role in writing school textbooks. In fact, until recently, senior history professionals in India considered writing textbooks an enterprise beneath their dignity. There are exceptions, but they are precisely that.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>In India, the contrast between professional history and politicised public history is sharper, presumably because professional history itself has not even entered a senior citizen age. Somewhere along the way, the public history that had a vibrant life and legitimacy had to be rendered illegitimate, for professional history to emerge as the sovereign arbiter of India&rsquo;s pasts.&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>There must be space for competing gods, and consumers, or end users of history</h5>
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<p>The relevant questions can, therefore, be organised under two or three board heads. Who can be a good enough authority to think and write and circulate a history that remains attentive at once to requirements of verifiability, rigour and &lsquo;vulnerable&rsquo; selves calling for encouragement and restitution from the state? How to work out acceptable vulnerabilities in a way that successfully filters out manufactured vulnerabilities from well-meaning and genuine ones? Finally, is it at all possible to practice legitimate, but segmented, histories, catering to their respective constituencies without them coming to blows?&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>To reframe the last question, is it possible to write credible, messy, histories, accommodating contrasting icons and multiple selves, in a large canvas? I recall a blurb on the back cover of Jurgen Osterhammel&rsquo;s A Transformation of the World: a Global History of the Nineteenth Century. The scholarly book, it says, beats the popular history books in their own turf.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Adityanath to Osterhammel is a long journey. It is for the professional practitioner of history to make it. The Yogis of the world are not going to hold back, notwithstanding our pious protestations that they are making mischief, or playing politics, which they arguably are, or will be. There must be space for competing gods, and consumers, or end users of history. We must somehow be made to see that pasts, like presents, is not all perfection or glory, and that no intervention from the state can entirely erase or elevate inconvenient pasts. There is a spectral life of history too, beyond its professional or public lives.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Pasts, like presents, is not all perfection or glory and an interventionist state can't erase inconvenient pasts.

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath has observed that history must be rewritten. It must accommodate allegedly forgotten heroes, such as king Suheldev, who had resisted ‘foreign’ Muslim invaders. Yogi Adityanath is not making a particularly new argument. His critics have already observed that his interest is narrowly political, or electoral, and that he is basically busy courting two particular castes namely, Rajbhars and Pasis which ‘worship’ Suheldev as their slighted ancestor. The trouble is, it is only one of the possible responses, however, adequate or appropriate it may seem at first sight. It is just as possible to argue that the problem is larger, and far more structurally embedded with the idea and practice of history in terms of its common sense utility. The tendency to commission rewriting historical texts on institutions and individuals involves, essentially, engineering a redistribution of the public perception of greatness. It is as though the total provision of publicly acceptable greatness is limited, and it is necessary to pull down one hero in order to reassign his (it is generally him, as of now) lost greatness to another hero. Greatness here amounts to a projected capacity to strengthen the public image of the group which draws confidence from the valour or accomplishments of the hero in question. History, in this understanding, is housed in a pantheon with limited room. In this pantheon, installed heroes must not be seen to have contradicted one another in the past. The heroes in this pantheon must share a common approach to the practice of politics, whether electoral or scholarly. Moreover, the limited room in this hypothetical arena of worship (or unquestionable veneration) often means an entire set of gods (or greats) have to be cast aside, to make way for another, when devotees of the latter happen to assume decisive authority. Replace place of worship with the state, devotees with political leaders. What emerges is an even more limited definition of history as state sponsored and authorised past. That is how the debate appears in India, at least. It is as though the total provision of publicly acceptable greatness is limited, and it is necessary to pull down one hero in order to reassign his (it is generally him, as of now) lost greatness to another hero × Elsewhere in the world, there are raging debates about how to deal with colonisers who had been generous benefactors to educational institutions in their home countries. The call to remove their statues, for instance, from legendary universities, is typically issued by students coming from former colonies. Then, there are similar demands to remove statues of slave traders from prominent public spaces. It means, perhaps, that a monster somewhere may well be a benefactor elsewhere, that there may be contrasting histories of a single individual in terms of how his deeds have helped or harmed a people and prospects of their empowerment. An Indian Member of Parliament has in the recent past delivered a rousing lecture in a UK university debate club, reportedly calling for the UK to pay reparations for the untold damages caused to India’s prospects of entering into capitalist modernity with greater wealth and equality. Common to all these is an individual or a group claiming to speak for a wounded people, and demanding compensation for perceived wrongs committed in the past by ancestors of a projected antagonist. In most instances, the projected antagonist is an amorphous generality, or a collective which happens to celebrate the targeted ‘villain’ for an entirely different reason. All this is only partly about ‘history’, as though it has a universally transparent and consensual meaning that is meant to be understood by everyone, or as though that meaning can be encapsulated and somehow made to circulate through a leak proof regime of tightly controlled dissemination. History, here, is not only a tightly regulated, university authorised, practiced only by trained and licensed professionals kind of academic discipline; it has a whirlwind life in public circulation. It is also called the public life of history. At some point they will have to start wondering how and why the very logic of a government agency writing textbook history is not above suspicion × When history professionals use that term, they usually mean non-professional, implying non-rigorous, or amateur, history. It means an unlicensed practice of history by irresponsible people, who play with a fragile commodity, or fire, and will either break it to pieces or burn someone else’s property down. With amateurs writing history, the initial suspicion harboured by a historian is that the such a person is more likely to lack rigour and positive intent. It is the most valid suspicion in India. In the past, communities have been targeted and riots have been engineered through carefully designed messages that have been strategically circulated. There is also a history of governments directly dictating to official agencies as to how school textbooks on history should be written. While it is appropriate that professional historians resist unwarranted intervention by the current regime, at some point they will have to start wondering how and why the very logic of a government agency writing textbook history is not above suspicion. There is an umbrella organisation of professional historians in India. There is no reason why it cannot assume a more proactive role in writing school textbooks. In fact, until recently, senior history professionals in India considered writing textbooks an enterprise beneath their dignity. There are exceptions, but they are precisely that. In India, the contrast between professional history and politicised public history is sharper, presumably because professional history itself has not even entered a senior citizen age. Somewhere along the way, the public history that had a vibrant life and legitimacy had to be rendered illegitimate, for professional history to emerge as the sovereign arbiter of India’s pasts. There must be space for competing gods, and consumers, or end users of history × The relevant questions can, therefore, be organised under two or three board heads. Who can be a good enough authority to think and write and circulate a history that remains attentive at once to requirements of verifiability, rigour and ‘vulnerable’ selves calling for encouragement and restitution from the state? How to work out acceptable vulnerabilities in a way that successfully filters out manufactured vulnerabilities from well-meaning and genuine ones? Finally, is it at all possible to practice legitimate, but segmented, histories, catering to their respective constituencies without them coming to blows? To reframe the last question, is it possible to write credible, messy, histories, accommodating contrasting icons and multiple selves, in a large canvas? I recall a blurb on the back cover of Jurgen Osterhammel’s A Transformation of the World: a Global History of the Nineteenth Century. The scholarly book, it says, beats the popular history books in their own turf. Adityanath to Osterhammel is a long journey. It is for the professional practitioner of history to make it. The Yogis of the world are not going to hold back, notwithstanding our pious protestations that they are making mischief, or playing politics, which they arguably are, or will be. There must be space for competing gods, and consumers, or end users of history. We must somehow be made to see that pasts, like presents, is not all perfection or glory, and that no intervention from the state can entirely erase or elevate inconvenient pasts. There is a spectral life of history too, beyond its professional or public lives.

Why historians should be careful of government's fascination with history

<p>On his first visit to Meerut, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath said that his government will not tolerate incidents of harassment against women. It was for this purpose that his government ordered the constitution of anti-Romeo squads.</p>

<p>He also said that his government will work towards the welfare of farmers.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Talking about the tough action against the illegal slaughterhouses, he said this will continue in future as well.</p>

<p>People resorted to incidents of vandalism and tore Yogi Adityanath&#39;s posters in Meerut&#39;s Sher Garhi area after he didn&#39;t talk about the issue of liquor shops present in the area which is a big problem in there.</p>

<p>(WION)</p>


It was for this purpose that his government ordered constitution of anti-Romeo squads

On his first visit to Meerut, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath said that his government will not tolerate incidents of harassment against women. It was for this purpose that his government ordered the constitution of anti-Romeo squads. He also said that his government will work towards the welfare of farmers. Talking about the tough action against the illegal slaughterhouses, he said this will continue in future as well. People resorted to incidents of vandalism and tore Yogi Adityanath's posters in Meerut's Sher Garhi area after he didn't talk about the issue of liquor shops present in the area which is a big problem in there. (WION)

Adityanath in Meerut: Will not tolerate harassment against women

<p>The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) raided seven petrol pumps which were allegedly using remote-controlled electronic chip in fuel dispensing machines to dupe unsuspecting consumers.</p>

<p>All seven petrol pumps have been sealed and about 14 people were being questioned in this connection, ASP (STF) Arvind Chaturvedi said.</p>

<p>Media reports said several petrol pumps in Delhi were also raided by police.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
On a tip-off, STF sleuths last night picked up an electrician who used to instal these chips in petrol dispensing machines which reduced the fuel output, Arvind Chaturvedi revealed.</p>

<p>&quot;On his information, we carried out raids in seven petrol pumps and found that all of them were using the chip and making profits by saving petrol in every filling,&quot; the ASP said.</p>

<p>Raids will also be carried out in other parts of the state as the STF has information that the chip has been sold to a large number of pumps, he added.</p>

<p>The chip costing around Rs 3,000 when installed in the dispensing machines reduced the output by nearly five to ten per cent. The chip is attached with a wire which is linked with a remote control that set the limit, the STF added.</p>

<p>If the dispensing machine is fitted with this chip, a customer will get only 940 ml petrol for the price of one litre.</p>

<p>&quot;On an average, the petrol pumps using this device were earning an undue profit of Rs 14 lakh per month,&quot; the ASP said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(PTI)<br />
&nbsp;</p>


The STF sealed seven petrol pumps and took 14 people for questioning

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) raided seven petrol pumps which were allegedly using remote-controlled electronic chip in fuel dispensing machines to dupe unsuspecting consumers. All seven petrol pumps have been sealed and about 14 people were being questioned in this connection, ASP (STF) Arvind Chaturvedi said. Media reports said several petrol pumps in Delhi were also raided by police. On a tip-off, STF sleuths last night picked up an electrician who used to instal these chips in petrol dispensing machines which reduced the fuel output, Arvind Chaturvedi revealed. "On his information, we carried out raids in seven petrol pumps and found that all of them were using the chip and making profits by saving petrol in every filling," the ASP said. Raids will also be carried out in other parts of the state as the STF has information that the chip has been sold to a large number of pumps, he added. The chip costing around Rs 3,000 when installed in the dispensing machines reduced the output by nearly five to ten per cent. The chip is attached with a wire which is linked with a remote control that set the limit, the STF added. If the dispensing machine is fitted with this chip, a customer will get only 940 ml petrol for the price of one litre. "On an average, the petrol pumps using this device were earning an undue profit of Rs 14 lakh per month," the ASP said. (PTI)

UP Special Task Force raids petrol pumps, recovers remote-controlled electronic chips in fuel machines

<p>Taking a cue from Uttar Pradesh, the Delhi government on Friday decided to cancel public holidays on birth or death anniversary of eminent personalities</p>

<p>Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced the decision on Twitter and said the AAP government was always open to learning from such &quot;good initiatives&quot; of other states.</p>

<p>&quot;The Delhi government will cancel holidays on birth or death anniversary of eminent personalities. I have issued instruction to the chief secretary in this regard,&quot; he tweeted</p>

<p>Sisodia lauded the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh for cancelling 15 public holidays on birth or death anniversary of eminent personalities</p>

<p>&quot;The Uttar Pradesh government has taken a good initiative in this matter. We should always be ready to learn from other states,&quot; he said</p>

<p>In his written communication to Chief Secretary M M Kutty, Sisodia has directed him to examine such holidays in the Delhi government&#39;s offices and schools and prepare a list of holidays that can be done away with</p>

<p>As per the Delhi government&#39;s notification, dated December 7, 2016, there are around 13 holidays marking birth/death anniversary in 2017</p>

<p>Of these, six are gazetted holidays and seven are restricted. All offices remain closed on a gazetted holiday, whereas the Delhi government&#39;s employees can avail only two restricted holidays in a year</p>

<p>The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet had on April 25 decided to cancel 15 public holidays in educational institutions</p>

<p>&quot;Instead, students in schools and colleges would now be taught about the great personalities on these days,&quot; it had said</p>

<p>In a series of his tweets, Sisodia also mentioned the AAP government&#39;s initiatives -- establishment of &quot;mohalla clinics&quot;&nbsp;and the decision to not using red beacon lights -- which are being &quot;praised&quot; across the country</p>

<p>&quot;We have noticed that good practices adopted by the Delhi government in last two years have been, partially or fully, adopted by other state governments as well as central government</p>

<p>&quot;Establishment of &#39;mohalla clinics&#39; in many states in one such example,&quot; he said in the written communication to the chief secretary</p>

<p>Former Secretary-General of United Nations (UN), Kofi Annan, has commended the Delhi government&#39;s flagship Mohalla Clinic project that is aimed at providing free primary healthcare to city residents closer home</p>

<p>Sisodia also said, &quot;Another significant example is the central government&#39;s decision to ban the red beacon lights atop VIP/VVIPs vehicles</p>

<p>&quot;We can say with pride that the Delhi government was the first to ban red beacons atop VIP/VVIP vehicles. No minister has ever used red beacons on his vehicles since this (AAP) government came to power,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>(PTI)</p>


Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced the decision, saying the AAP government was always open to learning from 'good initiatives'

Taking a cue from Uttar Pradesh, the Delhi government on Friday decided to cancel public holidays on birth or death anniversary of eminent personalities Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced the decision on Twitter and said the AAP government was always open to learning from such "good initiatives" of other states. "The Delhi government will cancel holidays on birth or death anniversary of eminent personalities. I have issued instruction to the chief secretary in this regard," he tweeted Sisodia lauded the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh for cancelling 15 public holidays on birth or death anniversary of eminent personalities "The Uttar Pradesh government has taken a good initiative in this matter. We should always be ready to learn from other states," he said In his written communication to Chief Secretary M M Kutty, Sisodia has directed him to examine such holidays in the Delhi government's offices and schools and prepare a list of holidays that can be done away with As per the Delhi government's notification, dated December 7, 2016, there are around 13 holidays marking birth/death anniversary in 2017 Of these, six are gazetted holidays and seven are restricted. All offices remain closed on a gazetted holiday, whereas the Delhi government's employees can avail only two restricted holidays in a year The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet had on April 25 decided to cancel 15 public holidays in educational institutions "Instead, students in schools and colleges would now be taught about the great personalities on these days," it had said In a series of his tweets, Sisodia also mentioned the AAP government's initiatives -- establishment of "mohalla clinics" and the decision to not using red beacon lights -- which are being "praised" across the country "We have noticed that good practices adopted by the Delhi government in last two years have been, partially or fully, adopted by other state governments as well as central government "Establishment of 'mohalla clinics' in many states in one such example," he said in the written communication to the chief secretary Former Secretary-General of United Nations (UN), Kofi Annan, has commended the Delhi government's flagship Mohalla Clinic project that is aimed at providing free primary healthcare to city residents closer home Sisodia also said, "Another significant example is the central government's decision to ban the red beacon lights atop VIP/VVIPs vehicles "We can say with pride that the Delhi government was the first to ban red beacons atop VIP/VVIP vehicles. No minister has ever used red beacons on his vehicles since this (AAP) government came to power," he said. (PTI)

AAP goes the Adityanath way, to cut down on public holidays in Delhi

<p>The&nbsp;<a href="http://aninews.in/keysearch/keyword-search/uttar-pradesh-government.html">Uttar Pradesh Government</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday transferred 84 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, including 37 District Magistrates.</p>

<p><a href="http://aninews.in/keysearch/keyword-search/nine-provincial-civil-services.html">Nine Provincial Civil Services</a>&nbsp;(PCS) officers also have been transferred in Uttar Pradesh.</p>

<p>Earlier this week, among the 12 IPS officers transferred in Uttar Pradesh, state&nbsp;<a href="http://aninews.in/keysearch/keyword-search/director-general-of-police-dgp-javeed-ahmed.html">Director General of Police (DGP) Javeed Ahmed</a>&#39;s name also surfaced.</p>

<p>Ahmed has been replaced by Sulkhan Singh.</p>

<p>Other IPS officers being transferred include Surya Kumar, Jawahar Lal Tripathi, Alok Prasad, Aditya Mishra, Bhavesh Kumar Singh, Vijay Kumar, Daljeet Singh, Alok Singh, Sanjay Singhal and Navneet Sikera.</p>

<p>Seven&nbsp;<a href="http://aninews.in/keysearch/keyword-search/ias-officers.html">IAS officers</a>&nbsp;have also been transferred.</p>

<p>On March 23,&nbsp;<a href="http://aninews.in/keysearch/keyword-search/uttar-pradesh.html">Uttar Pradesh</a>&nbsp;Chief Minister&nbsp;<a href="http://aninews.in/keysearch/keyword-search/yogi-adityanath.html">Yogi Adityanath&nbsp;</a>paid a surprise visit to Lucknow&#39;s Hazratganj police station to have an inspection of the place.</p>

<p>Following the inspection, Adityanath opined that the police should be people-friendly, thereby ensuring that appropriate action will be taken to maintain law and order in the state.</p>

<p>The Chief Minister also came up with the idea of &#39;anti-Romeo squads&#39; to keep a check on eve-teasing.</p>

<p>Certain changes in the police administration are expected since the change of the government in the state.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="http://aninews.in/" target="_blank">(ANI)</a></p>


Eighty-four Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, including 37 District Magistrates, have been transferred by the local government

The Uttar Pradesh Government on Wednesday transferred 84 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, including 37 District Magistrates. Nine Provincial Civil Services (PCS) officers also have been transferred in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier this week, among the 12 IPS officers transferred in Uttar Pradesh, state Director General of Police (DGP) Javeed Ahmed's name also surfaced. Ahmed has been replaced by Sulkhan Singh. Other IPS officers being transferred include Surya Kumar, Jawahar Lal Tripathi, Alok Prasad, Aditya Mishra, Bhavesh Kumar Singh, Vijay Kumar, Daljeet Singh, Alok Singh, Sanjay Singhal and Navneet Sikera. Seven IAS officers have also been transferred. On March 23, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath paid a surprise visit to Lucknow's Hazratganj police station to have an inspection of the place. Following the inspection, Adityanath opined that the police should be people-friendly, thereby ensuring that appropriate action will be taken to maintain law and order in the state. The Chief Minister also came up with the idea of 'anti-Romeo squads' to keep a check on eve-teasing. Certain changes in the police administration are expected since the change of the government in the state. (ANI)

India: Major bureaucratic reshuffle in Yogi Adityanath's Uttar Pradesh

<p>The Uttar Pradesh government today cancelled 15 public holidays in marking the birth or death anniversary of eminent personalities.</p>

<p>Most of the holidays had been declared by the previous Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) governments apparently to keep certain sections of the society in good humour, often with an eye on the vote bank.</p>

<p>However, the state Cabinet at its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today decided to cancel 15 such public holidays in educational institutions.</p>

<p>&quot;Instead, students in schools and colleges would now be taught about the great personalities on these days,&quot; Cabinet minister Shrikant Sharma said while briefing mediapersons on the decisions of the government.</p>

<p>An official release later clarified that government employees were free to avail restricted holidays on these days.</p>

<p>Adityanath had in his address on the occasion of Dr BR Ambedkar&#39;s 126th birth anniversary here expressed concern over the shrinking academic session due to increased holidays.</p>

<p>&quot;There should be no holidays in schools on birth anniversaries of great personalities. Instead, a special two- hour programme should be held to teach students about them. The 220-day academic session has been reduced to only 120 days due to such holidays and if this tradition continues, there will be no day left for teaching in schools,&quot; he had said.</p>

<p>In Uttar Pradesh, there are 42 public holidays of which at least 17 are related to the birth anniversaries of eminent personalities.</p>

<p>The previous Samajwadi Party government had declared holidays on the birth anniversaries of former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar (April 17), Maharishi Kashyap and Maharshi Nishadraj Jayanti (April 5), Hazrat Ajmeri Garib Nawaj Urs (April 26), Maharana Pratap Jayanti (May 9) besides on the death anniversary of Ambedkar (December 6).<br />
Sharma said the revised list of holidays will soon be made available.</p>

<p>Public holidays that have been scrapped by the government include Jan Nayak Karpori Thakur birth anniversary (Jan 24), Maharshi Kashyap and Maharaj Guha birth anniversary (Apr 5), Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti Ajmeri Gareeb Nawaz Urs on (Apr 14), Chandrashekhar birth anniversary (Apr 17), Parashu Ram Jayanti (Apr 28), Maharana Pratap Jayanti (May 9), Jamat Ul Vida on June 23 (last Friday of Ramzan), Chhat Puja (Oct 26), Eid Milad Un Nabi (Dec 2), Chaudhary Charan Singh Jayanti (Dec 23).</p>

<p>(PTI)</p>


Most of the holidays had been declared by the previous Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) governments apparently to keep certain sections of the society in good humou

The Uttar Pradesh government today cancelled 15 public holidays in marking the birth or death anniversary of eminent personalities. Most of the holidays had been declared by the previous Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) governments apparently to keep certain sections of the society in good humour, often with an eye on the vote bank. However, the state Cabinet at its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today decided to cancel 15 such public holidays in educational institutions. "Instead, students in schools and colleges would now be taught about the great personalities on these days," Cabinet minister Shrikant Sharma said while briefing mediapersons on the decisions of the government. An official release later clarified that government employees were free to avail restricted holidays on these days. Adityanath had in his address on the occasion of Dr BR Ambedkar's 126th birth anniversary here expressed concern over the shrinking academic session due to increased holidays. "There should be no holidays in schools on birth anniversaries of great personalities. Instead, a special two- hour programme should be held to teach students about them. The 220-day academic session has been reduced to only 120 days due to such holidays and if this tradition continues, there will be no day left for teaching in schools," he had said. In Uttar Pradesh, there are 42 public holidays of which at least 17 are related to the birth anniversaries of eminent personalities. The previous Samajwadi Party government had declared holidays on the birth anniversaries of former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar (April 17), Maharishi Kashyap and Maharshi Nishadraj Jayanti (April 5), Hazrat Ajmeri Garib Nawaj Urs (April 26), Maharana Pratap Jayanti (May 9) besides on the death anniversary of Ambedkar (December 6). Sharma said the revised list of holidays will soon be made available. Public holidays that have been scrapped by the government include Jan Nayak Karpori Thakur birth anniversary (Jan 24), Maharshi Kashyap and Maharaj Guha birth anniversary (Apr 5), Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti Ajmeri Gareeb Nawaz Urs on (Apr 14), Chandrashekhar birth anniversary (Apr 17), Parashu Ram Jayanti (Apr 28), Maharana Pratap Jayanti (May 9), Jamat Ul Vida on June 23 (last Friday of Ramzan), Chhat Puja (Oct 26), Eid Milad Un Nabi (Dec 2), Chaudhary Charan Singh Jayanti (Dec 23). (PTI)

Yogi Adityanath-led UP government scraps 15 public holidays

<p>To ensure all government employees reach work on time, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has instructed that a biometric attendance system be put in place in offices upto the block level.</p>

<p>Adityanath&#39;s instructions came during a meeting with officials of the rural development department late on Saturday night.</p>

<p>&quot;Efforts should be made to ensure that a biometric system of attendance is installed up to the block level. Apart from this, a board be put up at every village panchayat, which will have information about contact details of the village pradhan and details of the ongoing works,&quot; Adityanath said as per an official statement.</p>

<p>The chief minister said that the targets of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana should be achieved.</p>

<p>All the works pertaining to registration, uploading of photographs and approval of housing units for 5.73 lakh families eligible under this scheme must be completed at the earliest.</p>

<p>&quot;The Centre will be requested to incorporate eligible families, which have been left out,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>Emphasising on transparency in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (MNREGS), Adityanath said that active workers should be linked with Aadhaar-based payment system.</p>

<p>The Chief Minister also sought information about the National Rural Drinking Water Programme, World Bank-aided &#39;Neer Nirmal&#39; and Rajya Grameen Payjal Yojana among other schemes.</p>

<p>&quot;Apart from Bundelkhand, piped water supply schemes should be implemented in other parts of the state. To address the problems of drinking water scarcity in Bundelkhand, repair works pertaining to hand-pumps along with re-boring should be done,&quot; Adityanath said.</p>

<p>He also said that 160 piped water supply schemes in 31 districts should be completed to ensure water supply.<br />
&quot;Installation of new hand-pumps and re-boring of existing hand-pumps under the quota of MLAs and MLCs should be completed after taking their consent,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>He also directed that Samagra Gram Vikas Department be merged with Rural Development department.</p>

<p>(PTI)</p>


Adityanath's instructions came during a meeting with officials of the rural development department late on Saturday night

To ensure all government employees reach work on time, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has instructed that a biometric attendance system be put in place in offices upto the block level. Adityanath's instructions came during a meeting with officials of the rural development department late on Saturday night. "Efforts should be made to ensure that a biometric system of attendance is installed up to the block level. Apart from this, a board be put up at every village panchayat, which will have information about contact details of the village pradhan and details of the ongoing works," Adityanath said as per an official statement. The chief minister said that the targets of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana should be achieved. All the works pertaining to registration, uploading of photographs and approval of housing units for 5.73 lakh families eligible under this scheme must be completed at the earliest. "The Centre will be requested to incorporate eligible families, which have been left out," he said. Emphasising on transparency in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (MNREGS), Adityanath said that active workers should be linked with Aadhaar-based payment system. The Chief Minister also sought information about the National Rural Drinking Water Programme, World Bank-aided 'Neer Nirmal' and Rajya Grameen Payjal Yojana among other schemes. "Apart from Bundelkhand, piped water supply schemes should be implemented in other parts of the state. To address the problems of drinking water scarcity in Bundelkhand, repair works pertaining to hand-pumps along with re-boring should be done," Adityanath said. He also said that 160 piped water supply schemes in 31 districts should be completed to ensure water supply. "Installation of new hand-pumps and re-boring of existing hand-pumps under the quota of MLAs and MLCs should be completed after taking their consent," he said. He also directed that Samagra Gram Vikas Department be merged with Rural Development department. (PTI)

India: Yogi Adityanath orders biometric attendance system in offices up to block level

<p>A Times of India report said Sunday that the Uttar Pradesh government has downgraded the security cover of several opposition leaders including former chief ministers Mulayam Singh Yadav, his son Akhilesh Yadav, and Mayawati.&nbsp;</p>

<p>On the other hand, the security cover of senior BJP leader Vinay Katiyar has been upgraded. Katiyar, who is the founder president of the Bajrang Dal, he is currently a Rajya Sabha MP, will now get Z cover security.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The TOI report said the decision was taken late Saturday night, following a meeting of the state&#39;s security committee made up of the principal secretary (home), ADG Intelligence and ADG Security, along with the state&#39;s newly appointed DGP Sulkhan Singh.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(WION)<br />
&nbsp;</p>


Former UP chief ministers Mulayam, Akhilesh, and Mayawati have all had their cover downgraded

A Times of India report said Sunday that the Uttar Pradesh government has downgraded the security cover of several opposition leaders including former chief ministers Mulayam Singh Yadav, his son Akhilesh Yadav, and Mayawati. On the other hand, the security cover of senior BJP leader Vinay Katiyar has been upgraded. Katiyar, who is the founder president of the Bajrang Dal, he is currently a Rajya Sabha MP, will now get Z cover security. The TOI report said the decision was taken late Saturday night, following a meeting of the state's security committee made up of the principal secretary (home), ADG Intelligence and ADG Security, along with the state's newly appointed DGP Sulkhan Singh. (WION)

Yogi downgrades security cover of opposition leaders, Bajrang Dal founder-prez gets upgrade

<p><em>Watch WION&#39;s two-part interview with former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf.</em></p>

<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XxyMjuvcaPM" width="560"></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1UM__upStLo" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf launched a blistering attack on India&#39;s pluralism, saying the rise of an aggressive form of Hindu nationalism had eroded the country&#39;s secular beliefs.</p>

<p>Referring to the surge in groundswell support of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, the ex-president was alarmed about the spike in&nbsp;&quot;Hindu supremacy&quot; beliefs prevailing in large swathes of the country during his interview with WION&#39;s Palki Sharma.</p>

<p>&quot;You have absolutely lost your secular credentials. You are anti-Muslim. I think the party which has got elected, look at who is the chief minister of UP? I mean, what (are) his credentials?&quot; Musharraf asks in reference to the recent appointment of the staunch Hindu nationalist Yogi Adityanath as the political head of India most populous and politically most critical state Uttar Pradesh.</p>

<p>In contrast, the former military ruler feels that Pakistan is a lot more&nbsp;&quot;progressive&quot; and an &quot;enlightened&quot; society.</p>

<p>He even goes to the extent of dubbing Yogi Adityanath as an extremist.</p>

<p>&quot;He (Adityanath) is talking that all Muslims and Christians will be converted to Hindus.. within a span of time. He is saying that,&quot; the former Pakistani president said.</p>

<p>Adityanath&#39;s fledgling tenure has come with a fair slice of controversy both in India and abroad.</p>

<p>Adityanath, a firebrand Hindu nationalist, was appointed Uttar Pradesh&#39;s chief minister in February,&nbsp;but has hogged realms of news reports for spouting anti-Islamic comments.</p>

<p>Adityanath&#39;s ascension to the top has vexed the moderates in India who believe that the appointment is likely to sharpen the religious fault lines in the India&#39;s largest state.</p>

<p>The rise of cow vigilante groups and the ban on illegal slaughter houses in the state has escalated and buffeted the right-wing rhetoric in India.</p>

<p>Responding to the current atmosphere in India, Musharraf said definitively that there was an &quot;anti-Muslim&quot; sentiment sweeping across the country.</p>

<p>He also downplayed the persecution against the Muslim Uyghurs in China, saying New Delhi is reading a lot into the issue.</p>

<p>&quot;Much more is happening in India. We should discuss that too,&quot; Musharraf said.</p>

<p>Musharraf, who took over the reins of Pakistan following a coup in 1999, was in a self-imposed exile since 2008. He returned to Pakistan in 2013 to contest the general elections, following which the government initiated a trial against him for treason.</p>

<p>(WION)</p>


WION interviews Pervez Musharraf, who expresses alarm at the spike in 'Hindu supremacy' and calls the BJP 'anti-Muslim'

Watch WION's two-part interview with former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf. Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf launched a blistering attack on India's pluralism, saying the rise of an aggressive form of Hindu nationalism had eroded the country's secular beliefs. Referring to the surge in groundswell support of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, the ex-president was alarmed about the spike in "Hindu supremacy" beliefs prevailing in large swathes of the country during his interview with WION's Palki Sharma. "You have absolutely lost your secular credentials. You are anti-Muslim. I think the party which has got elected, look at who is the chief minister of UP? I mean, what (are) his credentials?" Musharraf asks in reference to the recent appointment of the staunch Hindu nationalist Yogi Adityanath as the political head of India most populous and politically most critical state Uttar Pradesh. In contrast, the former military ruler feels that Pakistan is a lot more "progressive" and an "enlightened" society. He even goes to the extent of dubbing Yogi Adityanath as an extremist. "He (Adityanath) is talking that all Muslims and Christians will be converted to Hindus.. within a span of time. He is saying that," the former Pakistani president said. Adityanath's fledgling tenure has come with a fair slice of controversy both in India and abroad. Adityanath, a firebrand Hindu nationalist, was appointed Uttar Pradesh's chief minister in February, but has hogged realms of news reports for spouting anti-Islamic comments. Adityanath's ascension to the top has vexed the moderates in India who believe that the appointment is likely to sharpen the religious fault lines in the India's largest state. The rise of cow vigilante groups and the ban on illegal slaughter houses in the state has escalated and buffeted the right-wing rhetoric in India. Responding to the current atmosphere in India, Musharraf said definitively that there was an "anti-Muslim" sentiment sweeping across the country. He also downplayed the persecution against the Muslim Uyghurs in China, saying New Delhi is reading a lot into the issue. "Much more is happening in India. We should discuss that too," Musharraf said. Musharraf, who took over the reins of Pakistan following a coup in 1999, was in a self-imposed exile since 2008. He returned to Pakistan in 2013 to contest the general elections, following which the government initiated a trial against him for treason. (WION)

Watch: Ex-Pakistan President Musharraf says India's secularism is eroding

<p>The director general of Uttar Pradesh Police ,Javeed Ahmed, was on Friday&nbsp;shunted to a less important post by the Adityanath government, which transferred 12 Indian Police Services (IPS) officers in the first big reshuffle in the top police hierarchy.</p>

<p>1980-batch IPS officer Sulkhan Singh, who was DG (Training), will replace Ahmed, a 1984-batch IPS officer, who has been shifted as the DG of Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), a senior Home department official said here.</p>

<p>Singh is likely to have a brief stint as the state police head as his superannuation is due in September.</p>

<p>Addition director general (ADG)&nbsp;(Law and Order) Daljit Singh Chowdhury and ADG Economic Offence Wing (EOW) and Logistics Aditya Mishra have swapped places in the transfer which came a month after Yogi Adtiyanath assumed office, in India&#39;s largest stage.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The chief minister has not minced words in sending out a strong message that law and order was his governments top priority and any laxity in this regard would not be tolerated.</p>

<p>During the recent assembly polls, the BJP had petitioned the Election Commission to remove Ahmed, alleging that he was working at the behest of the then Samajwadi Party government.</p>

<p>DG (Intelligence) Jawahar Lal Tripathi has been made DG (Prosecution) and DG (Homeguards) Alok Prasad has been given additional charge of Training.</p>

<p>Surya Kumar has been relieved from post of DG (Prosecution) and will continue as DG police recruitment and promotion board.</p>

<p>ADG (Security) Bhavesh Kumar Singh has been made ADG (Intelligence), ADG Police Training School Sitapur Vijay Kumar has been made ADG (Security) while Alok Singh, who was on wait list has been made IG PAC (Eastern zone). IG Sanjay Singhal has been made IG PAC (Central zone).</p>

<p>IG Women Powerline Navneet Sikera has been relieved from the charge of PAC (Central zone) but will continue on other posts.</p>

<p>Earlier in the day, the state government transferred 7 Indian&nbsp;Administrative Services (IAS) officers including some divisional commissioners.</p>

<p>Principal Secretary, Science and Technology, Himanshu Kumar, who was transferred as Divisional Commissioner Devipatan division will remain on his post, while CEO, UP Rural Road Development Authority, SVS Rangarao will be new Divisional Commissioner of Devipatan division.</p>

<p>Among others transferred included DM Jhansi Ajay Kumar Shukla, who will be Divisional Commissioner Chitrakoot division, and Secretary Khadi Anurag Yadav, who has been sent to Institutional Finance Department in the same capacity.</p>

<p>Noida Metro Rail Corporation MD Santosh Kumar Yadav has been put on waitlist while Investment Commissioner Amit Mohan Prasad has been given Yadav&#39;s charge.</p>

<p>The state government had on Tuesday shunted out tainted vice chairman of Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) Satyendra Singh while effecting a major bureaucratic reshuffle involving 44 IAS officers in the second such drill in less than a week.</p>

<p>Singh, who is mired in controversy over alleged corruption in LDA, was put on wait list on the day the Adityanath government completed one month in office.</p>

<p>In its first major bureaucratic reshuffle on April 12, the state government had transferred 20 senior IAS officers shunting out principal secretary (Information) Navneet Sehgal and others who wielded considerable influence under the Akhilesh Yadav dispensation.</p>

<p>Sehgal was stripped of all key charge and replaced by UP cadre IAS officer Avanish Kumar Awasthi, who was relieved by the Centre on Aditaynaths request after he took over the reins of the state on March 19.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Ahmed had openly rejected &nbsp;PM Modi&#39;s theory of a foreign hand in last year&#39;s Kanpur rail tragedy.</p>

<p>(PTI)</p>


Sulkhan Singh will replace Ahmed. A total of 12 Indian Police Services officers have been transferred by the Yogi Adityanath government

The director general of Uttar Pradesh Police ,Javeed Ahmed, was on Friday shunted to a less important post by the Adityanath government, which transferred 12 Indian Police Services (IPS) officers in the first big reshuffle in the top police hierarchy. 1980-batch IPS officer Sulkhan Singh, who was DG (Training), will replace Ahmed, a 1984-batch IPS officer, who has been shifted as the DG of Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), a senior Home department official said here. Singh is likely to have a brief stint as the state police head as his superannuation is due in September. Addition director general (ADG) (Law and Order) Daljit Singh Chowdhury and ADG Economic Offence Wing (EOW) and Logistics Aditya Mishra have swapped places in the transfer which came a month after Yogi Adtiyanath assumed office, in India's largest stage. The chief minister has not minced words in sending out a strong message that law and order was his governments top priority and any laxity in this regard would not be tolerated. During the recent assembly polls, the BJP had petitioned the Election Commission to remove Ahmed, alleging that he was working at the behest of the then Samajwadi Party government. DG (Intelligence) Jawahar Lal Tripathi has been made DG (Prosecution) and DG (Homeguards) Alok Prasad has been given additional charge of Training. Surya Kumar has been relieved from post of DG (Prosecution) and will continue as DG police recruitment and promotion board. ADG (Security) Bhavesh Kumar Singh has been made ADG (Intelligence), ADG Police Training School Sitapur Vijay Kumar has been made ADG (Security) while Alok Singh, who was on wait list has been made IG PAC (Eastern zone). IG Sanjay Singhal has been made IG PAC (Central zone). IG Women Powerline Navneet Sikera has been relieved from the charge of PAC (Central zone) but will continue on other posts. Earlier in the day, the state government transferred 7 Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officers including some divisional commissioners. Principal Secretary, Science and Technology, Himanshu Kumar, who was transferred as Divisional Commissioner Devipatan division will remain on his post, while CEO, UP Rural Road Development Authority, SVS Rangarao will be new Divisional Commissioner of Devipatan division. Among others transferred included DM Jhansi Ajay Kumar Shukla, who will be Divisional Commissioner Chitrakoot division, and Secretary Khadi Anurag Yadav, who has been sent to Institutional Finance Department in the same capacity. Noida Metro Rail Corporation MD Santosh Kumar Yadav has been put on waitlist while Investment Commissioner Amit Mohan Prasad has been given Yadav's charge. The state government had on Tuesday shunted out tainted vice chairman of Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) Satyendra Singh while effecting a major bureaucratic reshuffle involving 44 IAS officers in the second such drill in less than a week. Singh, who is mired in controversy over alleged corruption in LDA, was put on wait list on the day the Adityanath government completed one month in office. In its first major bureaucratic reshuffle on April 12, the state government had transferred 20 senior IAS officers shunting out principal secretary (Information) Navneet Sehgal and others who wielded considerable influence under the Akhilesh Yadav dispensation. Sehgal was stripped of all key charge and replaced by UP cadre IAS officer Avanish Kumar Awasthi, who was relieved by the Centre on Aditaynaths request after he took over the reins of the state on March 19. Ahmed had openly rejected PM Modi's theory of a foreign hand in last year's Kanpur rail tragedy. (PTI)

India: Director general of Uttar Pradesh Police Javeed Ahmed shunted

<p>In the wake of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath&#39;s emphasis on eliminating VIP culture from Uttar Pradesh, an inspection conducted by a team of electricity officials revealed that former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has unpaid electricity bills worth Rs 4 lakh.</p>

<p>The team upon arriving at his residence found that the permissible limit of 5 kW a day was being busted by as many as eight times. He has been given a time period till the end of the month to pay up.</p>

<p>The Samajwadi Party&nbsp;patriarch&#39;s sprawling residence in the Civil Lines area of his constituency Etawah is one of the biggest in the city with more than a dozen rooms, its own air-conditioning plant, a temperature-controlled swimming pool and several elevators.</p>

<p>Officials had changed the configurations to allow him 40 kW against a payment in lieu of the additional power supply.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(ANI)&nbsp;</p>


An inspection conducted by electricity officials revealed he used 40 kW a day, when the permissible limit is 5 kW

In the wake of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath's emphasis on eliminating VIP culture from Uttar Pradesh, an inspection conducted by a team of electricity officials revealed that former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has unpaid electricity bills worth Rs 4 lakh. The team upon arriving at his residence found that the permissible limit of 5 kW a day was being busted by as many as eight times. He has been given a time period till the end of the month to pay up. The Samajwadi Party patriarch's sprawling residence in the Civil Lines area of his constituency Etawah is one of the biggest in the city with more than a dozen rooms, its own air-conditioning plant, a temperature-controlled swimming pool and several elevators. Officials had changed the configurations to allow him 40 kW against a payment in lieu of the additional power supply. (ANI)

Mulayam Singh Yadav used electricity 8 times above limit, has unpaid bills of Rs 4 lakh: Adityanath govt

<p>Having earned credit for securing the minority vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, firebrand leader Yogi Adityanath&#39;s ascension to the throne of the state came as no surprise.</p>

<p>But considering his old remarks, which managed to give enough fodder to the opposing parties to attack him on the lines of &#39;divisive politics,&#39; it set many tongues wagging in political circles.</p>

<p>While many leaders dubbed this development pathbreaking, calling it a master stroke on the saffron party&#39;s part, some expressed doubt over appointing a staunch Hindutva leader in a state that boasts a sizeable Muslim population, calling the move a double-edged sword that could go either way for the BJP, especially when the party is keeping an eye on the 2019 election.</p>

<p>But considering the past one month, Adityanath has managed to keep people surprised, happily at that, even his detractors.</p>

<p>Some of the highlights of his tenure till now include:&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Crackdown on &#39;illegal&#39;&nbsp;slaughterhouses:</strong> The ban on legal as well as illegal abattoirs was one of the main agendas of the BJP manifesto in the recently concluded elections. And keeping his word, a day after he took charge as the chief minister, illegal slaughterhouses were sealed in Allahabad and other places across the state.</p>

<p>Following this, several BJP-ruled states followed suit and banned illegal abattoirs, establishing agreement with Adityanath&#39;s way of functioning.</p>

<p><strong>Anti-R</strong><strong>omeo</strong><strong> squads:</strong> A move that invited wrath of many, the establishment of the security groups inspired Haryana to set up their &#39;Operation Durga&#39; in the state.</p>

<p><strong>Farmer loans worth Rs&nbsp;36,359 crore waived:</strong> Adityanath gave a big relief to small and marginal farmers in the state by waiving off farmer loans worth Rs. 36,359 crore.</p>

<p><strong>Crackdown on VIP culture:</strong> Adityanath urged all his ministerial colleagues to shun siren and hooters and red beacons atop vehicles.</p>

<p><strong>18-hour continuous electricity to rural areas:</strong> Adityanath promised to ensure a continuous supply of electricity to rural areas in the state, that would extend up to 18 hours.</p>

<p>Adityanath&#39;s recent remarks about triple talaq have also stirred a storm in the state. He had said that those remaining silent are equally responsible as those practising the age-old tradition.</p>

<p>Several Muslim clerics and the people, in general, have rallied behind their chief minister after the statement made news for all the right purposes.</p>

<p>In wake of this, Adityanath&#39;s ascension to the throne of the state has moved sideways from under the scanner, especially of those who have been accusing the saffron party of playing along divisive lines.</p>

<p>The chief ministership, starting from today -- when Adityanath completes a month of his appointment -- can be a redemption of abdication, in a way that the Muslims can find a safe abode for them in the north of India.</p>

<p>A lot was at stake at Adityanath&#39;s promotion, and a lot remains; more so in consideration with the 2019 General Elections that stand to decide the fate of the BJP in the country.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(ANI)</p>


Here's a quick look at some of the highlights of his government

Having earned credit for securing the minority vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, firebrand leader Yogi Adityanath's ascension to the throne of the state came as no surprise. But considering his old remarks, which managed to give enough fodder to the opposing parties to attack him on the lines of 'divisive politics,' it set many tongues wagging in political circles. While many leaders dubbed this development pathbreaking, calling it a master stroke on the saffron party's part, some expressed doubt over appointing a staunch Hindutva leader in a state that boasts a sizeable Muslim population, calling the move a double-edged sword that could go either way for the BJP, especially when the party is keeping an eye on the 2019 election. But considering the past one month, Adityanath has managed to keep people surprised, happily at that, even his detractors. Some of the highlights of his tenure till now include: Crackdown on 'illegal' slaughterhouses: The ban on legal as well as illegal abattoirs was one of the main agendas of the BJP manifesto in the recently concluded elections. And keeping his word, a day after he took charge as the chief minister, illegal slaughterhouses were sealed in Allahabad and other places across the state. Following this, several BJP-ruled states followed suit and banned illegal abattoirs, establishing agreement with Adityanath's way of functioning. Anti-Romeo squads: A move that invited wrath of many, the establishment of the security groups inspired Haryana to set up their 'Operation Durga' in the state. Farmer loans worth Rs 36,359 crore waived: Adityanath gave a big relief to small and marginal farmers in the state by waiving off farmer loans worth Rs. 36,359 crore. Crackdown on VIP culture: Adityanath urged all his ministerial colleagues to shun siren and hooters and red beacons atop vehicles. 18-hour continuous electricity to rural areas: Adityanath promised to ensure a continuous supply of electricity to rural areas in the state, that would extend up to 18 hours. Adityanath's recent remarks about triple talaq have also stirred a storm in the state. He had said that those remaining silent are equally responsible as those practising the age-old tradition. Several Muslim clerics and the people, in general, have rallied behind their chief minister after the statement made news for all the right purposes. In wake of this, Adityanath's ascension to the throne of the state has moved sideways from under the scanner, especially of those who have been accusing the saffron party of playing along divisive lines. The chief ministership, starting from today -- when Adityanath completes a month of his appointment -- can be a redemption of abdication, in a way that the Muslims can find a safe abode for them in the north of India. A lot was at stake at Adityanath's promotion, and a lot remains; more so in consideration with the 2019 General Elections that stand to decide the fate of the BJP in the country. (ANI)

One month of Yogi as Uttar Pradesh chief minister: How's he done so far?

<p>The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has backed Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on his stand that the practice of triple talaq among Muslims should be abolished.</p>

<p>BJP leader Sanjeev Balyan said on Tuesday that women should be provided with their rights of choice and freedom.</p>

<p>&quot;Everyone should stand against triple talaq. Women should be provided with their rights of choice and freedom. When we all speak for women empowerment, then why not abolish triple talaq system soon. We totally support Yogi Adityanath on his statement and the action that he wishes to take,&quot; Balyan told ANI.</p>

<p>The stand was echoed by BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi who said those who were against Adityanath had some hidden agenda attached to it.</p>

<p>&quot;Women have been deprived of their rights since the very beginning and if Adityanath is standing by them, then it is good. After him coming to power, a lot has changed in the state,&quot; Trivedi told ANI.</p>

<p>A day before, Adityanath attacked those not speaking out against the triple talaq issue, saying they were equally guilty as the ones practising it.</p>

<p>&quot;People maintaining silence are equally guilty,&quot; Adityanath said while addressing a launch of book on former prime minister Chandra Shekhar Singh.</p>

<p>&quot;If our criminal suits and marriages are similar, then what is harm to implement Uniform Civic code in the country,&quot; Adityanath said quoting Chandra Shekhar Singh.</p>

<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also spoken about justice for Muslim women by banning the practice of verbal divorce among Muslims in the country.</p>

<p>&quot;Our Muslim sisters deserve justice. We should try to solve this issue at the district level. We should also proceed on the formula of a new India. We can&#39;t simply move forward on a slow pace, but charge ahead with full speed,&quot; he said during the BJP national executive meeting.</p>

<p>During a discussion on the National Commission for Backward Classes, the prime minister suggested that the party hold conferences for &quot;backward Muslims&quot;.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
(WION with inputs from ANI)</p>


Party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the people against Adityanath had a hidden agenda

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has backed Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on his stand that the practice of triple talaq among Muslims should be abolished. BJP leader Sanjeev Balyan said on Tuesday that women should be provided with their rights of choice and freedom. "Everyone should stand against triple talaq. Women should be provided with their rights of choice and freedom. When we all speak for women empowerment, then why not abolish triple talaq system soon. We totally support Yogi Adityanath on his statement and the action that he wishes to take," Balyan told ANI. The stand was echoed by BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi who said those who were against Adityanath had some hidden agenda attached to it. "Women have been deprived of their rights since the very beginning and if Adityanath is standing by them, then it is good. After him coming to power, a lot has changed in the state," Trivedi told ANI. A day before, Adityanath attacked those not speaking out against the triple talaq issue, saying they were equally guilty as the ones practising it. "People maintaining silence are equally guilty," Adityanath said while addressing a launch of book on former prime minister Chandra Shekhar Singh. "If our criminal suits and marriages are similar, then what is harm to implement Uniform Civic code in the country," Adityanath said quoting Chandra Shekhar Singh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also spoken about justice for Muslim women by banning the practice of verbal divorce among Muslims in the country. "Our Muslim sisters deserve justice. We should try to solve this issue at the district level. We should also proceed on the formula of a new India. We can't simply move forward on a slow pace, but charge ahead with full speed," he said during the BJP national executive meeting. During a discussion on the National Commission for Backward Classes, the prime minister suggested that the party hold conferences for "backward Muslims". (WION with inputs from ANI)

BJP comes out in support of Adityanath statement on triple talaq

<p>One recent afternoon, dozens of young Hindu men, swords drawn and saffron scarves draped around their necks, rode motorcycles through a Muslim neighbourhood near the capital of India&#39;s most populous state and chanted &quot;Hail Lord Ram!&quot;</p>

<p>In the preceding weeks they and their peers had acted as informers, police officials say, helping them identify thousands of Muslim-run butchers&#39; shops that have since been shut and urging officers to stop Muslim youths talking to Hindu girls in the street.</p>

<p>Their organisation is the Hindu Yuva Vahini (Hindu Youth Force), a private militia set up in 2002 by Yogi Adityanath, a local priest and politician, to assert the dominance of India&#39;s main religion which he felt was being eroded by minority faiths.</p>

<p>Since Adityanath&#39;s promotion last month to chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state, home to 220 million people of which a fifth are Muslims, the group has become emboldened, openly proclaiming its Hindu roots and putting pressure on police.</p>

<p>The appointment of the 44-year-old, known for his fiery anti-Muslim rhetoric and a campaign against &quot;Love Jihad&quot; - or the conversion of Hindu women to Islam - has shocked some Indians, who say it undermines the country&#39;s secular status.</p>

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<h5>Daljit Singh Chawdhary, additional director general of police for Uttar Pradesh, dismissed the threat of the youth force acting outside the law</h5>
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<p>They worry that Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s &quot;development for all&quot; agenda will be overtaken by radical, Hindu-first policies with the potential to stoke communal tensions that have erupted sporadically through India&#39;s 70-year history.</p>

<p>Adityanath declined to be interviewed for this article.</p>

<p>&quot;Blood can be shed, and Muslims will feel the pain,&quot; Pankaj Singh, a senior leader of the Hindu Youth Force, told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the rally in Unnao, an hour&#39;s drive southwest of the capital Lucknow.</p>

<p>Such comments have sent a chill through some in the Muslim community, on the defensive in Uttar Pradesh since this year&#39;s election in which Adityanath rallied the Hindu majority and delivered a resounding victory to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).</p>

<p>In return for his successful campaign, the party handed the priest one of India&#39;s most powerful positions, emboldening his militia to act and speak more openly than it did under the previous administration.</p>

<p>Based in Uttar Pradesh and funded by members who want to win favour with local power brokers, the youth force says it is 2 million strong and growing.</p>

<p>In Unnao, police stood back as members blocked traffic, honked horns and shouted pro-Hindu slogans on the busy streets. Muslims who came out to watch did so quietly from their doorways.</p>

<p><strong>HINDU RIGHT, HINDU RADICAL</strong></p>

<p>Modi himself is the product of the Hindu right, coming from the BJP and its powerful parent movement, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), that nurtured him early in his career.</p>

<p>But since sweeping to power in 2014, he has focussed on economic reforms that he hopes will drag India into the modern era and create enough jobs for a swelling workforce.</p>

<p>Adityanath represented the BJP during the Uttar Pradesh state polls earlier this year, and helped Modi consolidate power as he bids for re-election in a national ballot in 2019.</p>

<p>The priest, however, has often defied BJP discipline and is not part of the RSS machine, raising fears that Modi may have unleashed radical &quot;Hindutva&quot;, or religious-nationalist forces that he will struggle to contain.</p>

<p>&quot;The BJP has no command over this organisation. They respond to Adityanath and no one else,&quot; said Gilles Verniers, assistant professor of political sciences at Ashoka University.</p>

<p>A close aide to Modi said it was Adityanath&#39;s job to maintain law and order in the state.</p>

<p>&quot;The onus lies on him. It is his duty to take care of his vigilante group,&quot; said the aide.</p>

<p>Daljit Singh Chawdhary, additional director general of police for Uttar Pradesh, dismissed the threat of the youth force acting outside the law.</p>

<p>&quot;We are not tolerating any vigilante group taking the law into their (own) hands, while at the same time anyone is free to provide us with tip-offs,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>&quot;We have had no recent complaints against the Hindu Yuva Vahini, so there is no reason for us to take action against them.&quot;</p>

<p><strong>DEVOTION AND POWER</strong></p>

<p>The original source of Adityanath&#39;s power is an ancient temple in Gorakhpur, eastern Uttar Pradesh, where people treat the shaven-headed priest with reverence.</p>

<p>Soon after he was named chief minister last month, a devotee collected dust from the rug on which Adityanath had walked, so as to worship it.</p>

<p>Built on such devotion, the youth force has evolved into a powerful group that dispenses justice and has proved itself a formidable vote-getter.</p>

<p>The BJP&#39;s national spokesman, Nalin Kohli, said the party&#39;s victory in Uttar Pradesh was not only thanks to Adityanath and his private militia. But Singh expressed little doubt about the group&#39;s importance in securing the result.</p>

<p>&quot;Modi won Uttar Pradesh because of Adityanath&#39;s ground force,&quot; Singh said.</p>

<p>One of Adityanath&#39;s first directives after becoming chief minister was to impose a ban on Uttar Pradesh slaughterhouses that operated without licences.</p>

<p>Most Indian states have laws that ban the slaughter of cows, considered sacred by Hindus, while buffalo slaughter requires permission from state governments.</p>

<p>Butchers in Uttar Pradesh have long complained that authorities failed to issue new licences, although the outgoing government allowed them to continue operating anyway, ensuring employment and food for the Muslims who dominate the industry.</p>

<p>Adityanath&#39;s militia has been pushing police to enforce rules calling for a complete ban on illegal slaughterhouses and the sale of meat from unlicenced shops.</p>

<p>&quot;We got the police to shut down 45,000 small meat shops in less than 24 hours ... they would have failed without our informers,&quot; said Singh, who added that he reported daily to Adityanath. &quot;They (police) know we are the real heroes now.&quot;</p>

<p>Chandani Qureshi, a mother of four, said her husband worked as a sweeper in a meat shop in Lucknow. Her family relied on his daily wage of 300 rupees ($4) to survive.</p>

<p>&quot;The chief minister&#39;s men came with orange flags, broke the window panes of our shops and threw knives and weighing scales out on the street,&quot; she said, sitting in her one-room home. &quot;We had no power to stop them.&quot;</p>

<p>Owners of large abattoirs have sought injunctions to block Adityanath&#39;s orders to ban unlicenced slaughterhouses and thousands of butchers have protested against the ban, yet some doubt they will prevail.</p>

<p>&quot;I don&#39;t think we can defeat Adityanath&#39;s militia. It would be better if we start selling something else,&quot; said Mohammed Faizan, who inherited a meat shop from his grandfather.</p>

<p>Uttar Pradesh&#39;s deputy chief minister and state BJP president, Keshav Prasad Maurya, said his government would not let slaughterhouses sell cow and buffalo meat. It wanted shop owners instead to start selling chicken and eggs.</p>

<p>&quot;The dairy business is more profitable than the beef trade,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>He also said members of Adityanath&#39;s militia were acting as responsible citizens. &quot;It would be wrong to consider them as a parallel administration.&quot;</p>

<p><strong>&quot;HANDS OFF HINDU GIRLS&quot;</strong></p>

<p>At the rally in Unnao, Singh stood on a rickety stage and awarded idols of Hindu gods to youths for halting sales of beef, stopping religious intermarriage and composing poetry in honour of cows.</p>

<p>As well as helping to close down butchers, the militia has been tipping off &quot;Anti-Romeo Squads&quot;, groups of police who intervene to prevent young men and women meeting publicly.</p>

<p>A police official who oversees 64 such squads said the units were formed to tackle sexual harassment of women, but admitted that there had been cases where militia members pressured policemen to target Muslim men seen in the company of Hindu women. He declined to be named.</p>

<p>Muslims say they are being singled out.</p>

<p>&quot;They think our boys are villains,&quot; said Irshad Sheikh, whose son was detained by police recently.</p>

<p>Singh, the youth force leader, rejected suggestions that the squads deliberately targeted Muslims.</p>

<p>At the rally, he met the father of a 21-year-old Hindu woman who was recently forced by members of the militia to call off her wedding to a Muslim man.</p>

<p>&quot;For centuries, Muslims have been playing the dirty game of converting Hindus,&quot; Singh said, as his men returned from their run through the Muslim neighbourhood. &quot;But now if they touch a Hindu girl, we can fight with our swords.&quot;</p>

<p>The woman&#39;s father, Subhash Chandra, said he welcomed the militia&#39;s intervention.</p>

<p>&quot;The Muslim boy trapped her and wanted to convert her. I am lucky that Yogi Adityanath&#39;s people saved my daughter&#39;s life. How can a Hindu become a Muslim? It is a sin to convert anyone.&quot;</p>

<p>(Reuters)</p>


Police said the organisation had acted as informers, helped shut thousands of butchers' shops & urged police to stop boys talking to girls

One recent afternoon, dozens of young Hindu men, swords drawn and saffron scarves draped around their necks, rode motorcycles through a Muslim neighbourhood near the capital of India's most populous state and chanted "Hail Lord Ram!" In the preceding weeks they and their peers had acted as informers, police officials say, helping them identify thousands of Muslim-run butchers' shops that have since been shut and urging officers to stop Muslim youths talking to Hindu girls in the street. Their organisation is the Hindu Yuva Vahini (Hindu Youth Force), a private militia set up in 2002 by Yogi Adityanath, a local priest and politician, to assert the dominance of India's main religion which he felt was being eroded by minority faiths. Since Adityanath's promotion last month to chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state, home to 220 million people of which a fifth are Muslims, the group has become emboldened, openly proclaiming its Hindu roots and putting pressure on police. The appointment of the 44-year-old, known for his fiery anti-Muslim rhetoric and a campaign against "Love Jihad" - or the conversion of Hindu women to Islam - has shocked some Indians, who say it undermines the country's secular status. Daljit Singh Chawdhary, additional director general of police for Uttar Pradesh, dismissed the threat of the youth force acting outside the law × They worry that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "development for all" agenda will be overtaken by radical, Hindu-first policies with the potential to stoke communal tensions that have erupted sporadically through India's 70-year history. Adityanath declined to be interviewed for this article. "Blood can be shed, and Muslims will feel the pain," Pankaj Singh, a senior leader of the Hindu Youth Force, told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the rally in Unnao, an hour's drive southwest of the capital Lucknow. Such comments have sent a chill through some in the Muslim community, on the defensive in Uttar Pradesh since this year's election in which Adityanath rallied the Hindu majority and delivered a resounding victory to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In return for his successful campaign, the party handed the priest one of India's most powerful positions, emboldening his militia to act and speak more openly than it did under the previous administration. Based in Uttar Pradesh and funded by members who want to win favour with local power brokers, the youth force says it is 2 million strong and growing. In Unnao, police stood back as members blocked traffic, honked horns and shouted pro-Hindu slogans on the busy streets. Muslims who came out to watch did so quietly from their doorways. HINDU RIGHT, HINDU RADICAL Modi himself is the product of the Hindu right, coming from the BJP and its powerful parent movement, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), that nurtured him early in his career. But since sweeping to power in 2014, he has focussed on economic reforms that he hopes will drag India into the modern era and create enough jobs for a swelling workforce. Adityanath represented the BJP during the Uttar Pradesh state polls earlier this year, and helped Modi consolidate power as he bids for re-election in a national ballot in 2019. The priest, however, has often defied BJP discipline and is not part of the RSS machine, raising fears that Modi may have unleashed radical "Hindutva", or religious-nationalist forces that he will struggle to contain. "The BJP has no command over this organisation. They respond to Adityanath and no one else," said Gilles Verniers, assistant professor of political sciences at Ashoka University. A close aide to Modi said it was Adityanath's job to maintain law and order in the state. "The onus lies on him. It is his duty to take care of his vigilante group," said the aide. Daljit Singh Chawdhary, additional director general of police for Uttar Pradesh, dismissed the threat of the youth force acting outside the law. "We are not tolerating any vigilante group taking the law into their (own) hands, while at the same time anyone is free to provide us with tip-offs," he said. "We have had no recent complaints against the Hindu Yuva Vahini, so there is no reason for us to take action against them." DEVOTION AND POWER The original source of Adityanath's power is an ancient temple in Gorakhpur, eastern Uttar Pradesh, where people treat the shaven-headed priest with reverence. Soon after he was named chief minister last month, a devotee collected dust from the rug on which Adityanath had walked, so as to worship it. Built on such devotion, the youth force has evolved into a powerful group that dispenses justice and has proved itself a formidable vote-getter. The BJP's national spokesman, Nalin Kohli, said the party's victory in Uttar Pradesh was not only thanks to Adityanath and his private militia. But Singh expressed little doubt about the group's importance in securing the result. "Modi won Uttar Pradesh because of Adityanath's ground force," Singh said. One of Adityanath's first directives after becoming chief minister was to impose a ban on Uttar Pradesh slaughterhouses that operated without licences. Most Indian states have laws that ban the slaughter of cows, considered sacred by Hindus, while buffalo slaughter requires permission from state governments. Butchers in Uttar Pradesh have long complained that authorities failed to issue new licences, although the outgoing government allowed them to continue operating anyway, ensuring employment and food for the Muslims who dominate the industry. Adityanath's militia has been pushing police to enforce rules calling for a complete ban on illegal slaughterhouses and the sale of meat from unlicenced shops. "We got the police to shut down 45,000 small meat shops in less than 24 hours ... they would have failed without our informers," said Singh, who added that he reported daily to Adityanath. "They (police) know we are the real heroes now." Chandani Qureshi, a mother of four, said her husband worked as a sweeper in a meat shop in Lucknow. Her family relied on his daily wage of 300 rupees ($4) to survive. "The chief minister's men came with orange flags, broke the window panes of our shops and threw knives and weighing scales out on the street," she said, sitting in her one-room home. "We had no power to stop them." Owners of large abattoirs have sought injunctions to block Adityanath's orders to ban unlicenced slaughterhouses and thousands of butchers have protested against the ban, yet some doubt they will prevail. "I don't think we can defeat Adityanath's militia. It would be better if we start selling something else," said Mohammed Faizan, who inherited a meat shop from his grandfather. Uttar Pradesh's deputy chief minister and state BJP president, Keshav Prasad Maurya, said his government would not let slaughterhouses sell cow and buffalo meat. It wanted shop owners instead to start selling chicken and eggs. "The dairy business is more profitable than the beef trade," he said. He also said members of Adityanath's militia were acting as responsible citizens. "It would be wrong to consider them as a parallel administration." "HANDS OFF HINDU GIRLS" At the rally in Unnao, Singh stood on a rickety stage and awarded idols of Hindu gods to youths for halting sales of beef, stopping religious intermarriage and composing poetry in honour of cows. As well as helping to close down butchers, the militia has been tipping off "Anti-Romeo Squads", groups of police who intervene to prevent young men and women meeting publicly. A police official who oversees 64 such squads said the units were formed to tackle sexual harassment of women, but admitted that there had been cases where militia members pressured policemen to target Muslim men seen in the company of Hindu women. He declined to be named. Muslims say they are being singled out. "They think our boys are villains," said Irshad Sheikh, whose son was detained by police recently. Singh, the youth force leader, rejected suggestions that the squads deliberately targeted Muslims. At the rally, he met the father of a 21-year-old Hindu woman who was recently forced by members of the militia to call off her wedding to a Muslim man. "For centuries, Muslims have been playing the dirty game of converting Hindus," Singh said, as his men returned from their run through the Muslim neighbourhood. "But now if they touch a Hindu girl, we can fight with our swords." The woman's father, Subhash Chandra, said he welcomed the militia's intervention. "The Muslim boy trapped her and wanted to convert her. I am lucky that Yogi Adityanath's people saved my daughter's life. How can a Hindu become a Muslim? It is a sin to convert anyone." (Reuters)

On streets of Uttar Pradesh, Hindu Yuva Vahini calls the shots

<p>Hindu nationalist Yogi Adityanath, the head of India&#39;s politically most critical state, has likened politicians keeping mum about the triple talaq issue to those who remained quiet during the forcible disrobing of a woman in one of the Hindu epics.</p>

<p>Referring to an episode in Mahabharata where a key character Draupadi was disrobed in front of several people, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh said: &quot;These days there is a new debate in the country. Some people are maintaining a silence on this issue. This reminds me of Draupadi being disrobed in an assembly and she asks a question to the gathering as to who is responsible for this?&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Those who are the accomplices and those who maintained silence on this issue are equally responsible,&quot; Adityanath said.</p>

<p>In Islamic law, a man can say the word &#39;talaq&#39;&nbsp;(divorce) thrice to dissolve his marriage -- a custom that has come under heavy scrutiny in India, especially from Muslim women and right-wing political parties.</p>

<p>He also condemned those who were against the common civil code in India -- a common set of personal laws for all citizens of the country, irrespective of their religion.</p>

<p>Currently, Indians are governed by different personal laws depending on their religion.</p>

<p>Yogi&#39;s remarks come a day after his Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the triple talaq, saying the practice was holding Muslim women back.</p>

<p>On Sunday, India&#39;s Muslim personal law board -- who have stoutly defended the Sharia practice of divorce -- softened their stance, saying they would ensure that the triple talaq would be exercised in the rarest of the rare cases.</p>

<p>They also plan to socially boycott people who use&nbsp;the divorce procedure without giving valid reasons or wantonly.</p>

<p>The constitutional validity of triple talaq is currently under review in India&#39;s Supreme Court.</p>

<p>Last year, a high court in India had said that the Islamic practice violated the equality of women.</p>

<p>The federal government had, earlier this week, told the Supreme Court that the practices of &#39;triple talaq&#39;, &#39;nikah halala&#39; and polygamy had an adverse impact on the social status and dignity of Muslim women and denied them the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.</p>

<p>Rights activists and several Muslim women have also railed against the Islamic practice of triple talaq.</p>

<p>But the Muslim personal law board maintain that the issue of triple talaq remains outside the realms of the judiciary.</p>

<p>(WION with inputs from PTI)</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The chief minister of India's most populous state also called for a uniform set of personal laws in the country

Hindu nationalist Yogi Adityanath, the head of India's politically most critical state, has likened politicians keeping mum about the triple talaq issue to those who remained quiet during the forcible disrobing of a woman in one of the Hindu epics. Referring to an episode in Mahabharata where a key character Draupadi was disrobed in front of several people, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh said: "These days there is a new debate in the country. Some people are maintaining a silence on this issue. This reminds me of Draupadi being disrobed in an assembly and she asks a question to the gathering as to who is responsible for this?" "Those who are the accomplices and those who maintained silence on this issue are equally responsible," Adityanath said. In Islamic law, a man can say the word 'talaq' (divorce) thrice to dissolve his marriage -- a custom that has come under heavy scrutiny in India, especially from Muslim women and right-wing political parties. He also condemned those who were against the common civil code in India -- a common set of personal laws for all citizens of the country, irrespective of their religion. Currently, Indians are governed by different personal laws depending on their religion. Yogi's remarks come a day after his Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the triple talaq, saying the practice was holding Muslim women back. On Sunday, India's Muslim personal law board -- who have stoutly defended the Sharia practice of divorce -- softened their stance, saying they would ensure that the triple talaq would be exercised in the rarest of the rare cases. They also plan to socially boycott people who use the divorce procedure without giving valid reasons or wantonly. The constitutional validity of triple talaq is currently under review in India's Supreme Court. Last year, a high court in India had said that the Islamic practice violated the equality of women. The federal government had, earlier this week, told the Supreme Court that the practices of 'triple talaq', 'nikah halala' and polygamy had an adverse impact on the social status and dignity of Muslim women and denied them the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Rights activists and several Muslim women have also railed against the Islamic practice of triple talaq. But the Muslim personal law board maintain that the issue of triple talaq remains outside the realms of the judiciary. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Yogi Adityanath invokes disrobing scene from Hindu epic to assail triple talaq sympathisers

<p>In a big leap towards ensuring regular electricity to all, the Uttar Pradesh government and the federal government signed a pact to provide 24 hours power supply to district headquarters, 20 hours to <em>tehsil</em> (group of villages) headquarters and 18 hours to all villages in the state.</p>

<p>The &quot;Power for All&quot;&nbsp;pact was signed in the presence of chief minister Yogi Adityanath and federal Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power Piyush Goyal at 5 Kalidas Marg, the official residence of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister.</p>

<p>While stressing that his government has &quot;fulfilled&quot;&nbsp;its promise, Adityanath said the goal is to ensure 24-hour power to all by November 2018, even as the power minister held that continuous electricity supply will help the state in industrialisation and job creation.<br />
<br />
&quot;In a democracy, if someone is really a VIP or a VVIP, it is the common man. Keeping this thinking of our prime minister Narendra Modi, we decided to ensure power to all in the state,&quot; Adityanath said.</p>

<p>&quot;Today we have started to fulfill our promise and make it reality. Now onwards, every district headquarters will get 24 hours uninterrupted power supply, whereas <em>tehsil </em>headquarters will get 20 hours supply daily and all villages will get 18 hours of power,&quot; he said, adding, &quot;Our goal is to ensure 24-hour power to all by November 2018.&quot;</p>

<p>The state government would give free power connections to BPL families and to ensure that no power theft is possible, it will also install &quot;smart meters&quot;, he said, soliciting co-operation from the people.</p>

<p>&quot;The way people of the country had displayed high levels of maturity and endurance in making the historic demonetisation a great success, they will also help the government in implementing the scheme honestly,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>The chief minister also hoped that the people would display &quot;high morality&quot; in making the best use of the facility.</p>

<p>&quot;The government is providing a facility (and) people have every right to make a demand for their rights. But, at the same time, they should also be ready to pay at least the minimum price for the same, so that the service could be continued efficiently and uninterruptedly,&quot; he emphasised.</p>

<p>Adityanath also hailed the signing of the pact today coinciding with the 126th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar as a tribute to the Dalit icon and father of Indian Constitution.</p>

<p>&quot;The innovative way in which the initiative has been taken to ensure power for all, be it the dalits, oppressed, deprived, poor or those residing in the villages, is a true tribute to vision of Ambedkar,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>He added, &quot;If we do not match the speed at which the Centre wants to work, then we will lag behind. I want to assure Piyush Goyal that we will fulfill the promises of power for all. We believe in &quot;<em>Uday </em><em>se</em><em> </em><em>Antoday</em><em> </em><em>tak</em>&quot;&nbsp;(from dawn of progress up to making it reach to the last person of the social ladder).&quot;</p>

<p>He reaffirmed that his government would fulfil all the dreams of Ambedkar and BJP idealogue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay. Federal power minister Piyush Goyal said &quot;Power for All&quot;&nbsp;is a scheme of the federal government.</p>

<p>&quot;The thinking of the previous state government was that it would deprive the people of the availing the benefits of various schemes, if scheme does not carry the photograph of the chief minister. It is very sad that the benefits of this scheme eluded the people of the state only because of the photograph,&quot; he said, in an apparent jibe on the previous governments in UP.</p>

<p>Piyush Goyal said the government will be the first state government in the country to go for smart meters, and assured the federal government&#39;s support to it.</p>

<p>&quot;Coal and power are in surplus today in the country. As per the directions of the chief minister, the state government has started purchasing power during night hours, so as to provide electricity to villages in the night. Yesterday one crore units of power were purchased,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>Piyush Goyal exuded confidence that with these efforts of the state government, UP will develop at a rapid pace. This will also help in industrialisation and job creation.</p>

<p>The Uttar Pradesh government and the federal government have entered into an agreement which promises to provide 24x7 power supply to all the households in the state.</p>

<p>Deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma, UP Energy minister Shrikant Sharma and state minister for Power Swatantra Dev Singh were also present on this occasion.</p>

<p>The state government also announced that it is expanding the ambit of helpline Dial 1912 through which the consumers in rural areas in coming days could communicate their grievances pertaining to power and electricity.</p>

<p>The Centre&#39;s undertaking Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) will install 10,000 energy efficiency solar-panel pumps will be distributed.</p>

<p>It was also agreed upon to distribute to energy consumers (through electricity distribution companies) energy efficiency bulbs, tubelights and fans at cheaper rates.</p>

<p>Apart from this, the rural consumers will also get the facility of making digital payment through <em>e-</em><em>bhugtan</em>. As many as eight sub-stations of UP Power Transmission Corporation Limited worth Rs 331.69 crore and 12 sub-stations of UP Power Corporation Limited worth Rs 75.60 crore were also unveiled.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
(PTI)</p>


The pact is to provide 24-hour power supply to district headquarters, 20 hours to tehsils and 18 hours to villages in the state

In a big leap towards ensuring regular electricity to all, the Uttar Pradesh government and the federal government signed a pact to provide 24 hours power supply to district headquarters, 20 hours to tehsil (group of villages) headquarters and 18 hours to all villages in the state. The "Power for All" pact was signed in the presence of chief minister Yogi Adityanath and federal Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power Piyush Goyal at 5 Kalidas Marg, the official residence of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister. While stressing that his government has "fulfilled" its promise, Adityanath said the goal is to ensure 24-hour power to all by November 2018, even as the power minister held that continuous electricity supply will help the state in industrialisation and job creation. "In a democracy, if someone is really a VIP or a VVIP, it is the common man. Keeping this thinking of our prime minister Narendra Modi, we decided to ensure power to all in the state," Adityanath said. "Today we have started to fulfill our promise and make it reality. Now onwards, every district headquarters will get 24 hours uninterrupted power supply, whereas tehsil headquarters will get 20 hours supply daily and all villages will get 18 hours of power," he said, adding, "Our goal is to ensure 24-hour power to all by November 2018." The state government would give free power connections to BPL families and to ensure that no power theft is possible, it will also install "smart meters", he said, soliciting co-operation from the people. "The way people of the country had displayed high levels of maturity and endurance in making the historic demonetisation a great success, they will also help the government in implementing the scheme honestly," he said. The chief minister also hoped that the people would display "high morality" in making the best use of the facility. "The government is providing a facility (and) people have every right to make a demand for their rights. But, at the same time, they should also be ready to pay at least the minimum price for the same, so that the service could be continued efficiently and uninterruptedly," he emphasised. Adityanath also hailed the signing of the pact today coinciding with the 126th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar as a tribute to the Dalit icon and father of Indian Constitution. "The innovative way in which the initiative has been taken to ensure power for all, be it the dalits, oppressed, deprived, poor or those residing in the villages, is a true tribute to vision of Ambedkar," he said. He added, "If we do not match the speed at which the Centre wants to work, then we will lag behind. I want to assure Piyush Goyal that we will fulfill the promises of power for all. We believe in "Uday se Antoday tak" (from dawn of progress up to making it reach to the last person of the social ladder)." He reaffirmed that his government would fulfil all the dreams of Ambedkar and BJP idealogue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay. Federal power minister Piyush Goyal said "Power for All" is a scheme of the federal government. "The thinking of the previous state government was that it would deprive the people of the availing the benefits of various schemes, if scheme does not carry the photograph of the chief minister. It is very sad that the benefits of this scheme eluded the people of the state only because of the photograph," he said, in an apparent jibe on the previous governments in UP. Piyush Goyal said the government will be the first state government in the country to go for smart meters, and assured the federal government's support to it. "Coal and power are in surplus today in the country. As per the directions of the chief minister, the state government has started purchasing power during night hours, so as to provide electricity to villages in the night. Yesterday one crore units of power were purchased," he said. Piyush Goyal exuded confidence that with these efforts of the state government, UP will develop at a rapid pace. This will also help in industrialisation and job creation. The Uttar Pradesh government and the federal government have entered into an agreement which promises to provide 24x7 power supply to all the households in the state. Deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma, UP Energy minister Shrikant Sharma and state minister for Power Swatantra Dev Singh were also present on this occasion. The state government also announced that it is expanding the ambit of helpline Dial 1912 through which the consumers in rural areas in coming days could communicate their grievances pertaining to power and electricity. The Centre's undertaking Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) will install 10,000 energy efficiency solar-panel pumps will be distributed. It was also agreed upon to distribute to energy consumers (through electricity distribution companies) energy efficiency bulbs, tubelights and fans at cheaper rates. Apart from this, the rural consumers will also get the facility of making digital payment through e-bhugtan. As many as eight sub-stations of UP Power Transmission Corporation Limited worth Rs 331.69 crore and 12 sub-stations of UP Power Corporation Limited worth Rs 75.60 crore were also unveiled. (PTI)

Yogi Adityanath government signs 'Power for All' pact with Centre

<p>The Uttar Pradesh government will award contracts through e-tendering to remove &quot;mafia and criminal elements&quot;, chief minister Yogi Adityanath said Friday as he pitched for digital payments to eliminate corruption.</p>

<p>&quot;All the contracts will be awarded through e-tendering. This will remove the mafia and criminal elements from the contract chain, as these elements do not want transparency. The quality of these contracts was very bad and there were no DPRs (detailed project reports),&quot; the chief minister said.</p>

<p>It was due to these factors that there were cost escalations for projects, delays in completion, besides inconvenience to the public, he said.</p>

<p>&quot;The UP government is committed to keep these elements (mafia) away from the contracts,&quot; Adityanath said.</p>

<p>To bring transparency there is need to adopt the new cashless systems, he said adding that 60,000 service centres in UP have been linked to &quot;Digi Dhan&quot;.</p>

<p>&quot;Efforts should be made so as to bring more and more people under the ambit of digital payment. This will help in eradicating corruption from the society,&quot; Adityanath said, while addressing a gathering at the &#39;Digi Dhan Mela&#39; being held here.</p>

<p>He added that IT Parks would be established in the state.</p>

<p>The Uttar Pradesh chief minister also lavished praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that before Modi took over, people had &quot;no faith in their representatives&quot;.</p>

<p>&quot;But after PM Modi assumed office, an atmosphere of trust has increased in the country,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>Adityanath reiterated that by November 2018, all the villages and households in the state will get electricity supply.</p>

<p>&quot;Earlier damaged transformers languished for 3-4 months awaiting repair. But now the government has instructed the energy department to ensure that damaged transformers in rural areas are repaired in 48 hours, while those in urban areas are repaired in 24 hours,&quot; the chief minister said.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
(PTI)</p>


The Uttar Pradesh chief minister said e-tendering would eliminate mafia from contract chain since these elements do not provide transparency

The Uttar Pradesh government will award contracts through e-tendering to remove "mafia and criminal elements", chief minister Yogi Adityanath said Friday as he pitched for digital payments to eliminate corruption. "All the contracts will be awarded through e-tendering. This will remove the mafia and criminal elements from the contract chain, as these elements do not want transparency. The quality of these contracts was very bad and there were no DPRs (detailed project reports)," the chief minister said. It was due to these factors that there were cost escalations for projects, delays in completion, besides inconvenience to the public, he said. "The UP government is committed to keep these elements (mafia) away from the contracts," Adityanath said. To bring transparency there is need to adopt the new cashless systems, he said adding that 60,000 service centres in UP have been linked to "Digi Dhan". "Efforts should be made so as to bring more and more people under the ambit of digital payment. This will help in eradicating corruption from the society," Adityanath said, while addressing a gathering at the 'Digi Dhan Mela' being held here. He added that IT Parks would be established in the state. The Uttar Pradesh chief minister also lavished praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that before Modi took over, people had "no faith in their representatives". "But after PM Modi assumed office, an atmosphere of trust has increased in the country," he said. Adityanath reiterated that by November 2018, all the villages and households in the state will get electricity supply. "Earlier damaged transformers languished for 3-4 months awaiting repair. But now the government has instructed the energy department to ensure that damaged transformers in rural areas are repaired in 48 hours, while those in urban areas are repaired in 24 hours," the chief minister said. (PTI)

Yogi Adityanath government to provide contracts through e-tendering to curb mafia, criminal elements

<p>The government in India&#39;s largest and politically most critical state Uttar Pradesh has decided to financially help Muslim families for their daughter&#39;s marriage, in what could be seen as a minority outreach programme.</p>

<p><em>India Today </em>reported that the state&#39;s chief minister Yogi Adityanath -- viewed by the moderates in the country to be a staunch Hindu nationalist -- has also decided to organise 100 mass weddings across India&#39;s heartland.</p>

<p>The state&#39;s minority affairs minister Mohsin Raza said it was the chief minister&#39;s idea to launch this new scheme.</p>

<p>&quot;I am extremely happy that the chief minister made the proposal of &#39;sadbhavna mandap&#39;,&quot; <em>India Today </em>quoted Raza as saying.</p>

<p>The mass weddings will take place in &#39;sadbhavna mandaps&#39; (goodwill pavilions).</p>

<p>If the initiative is a success, it will be held every two years.</p>

<p>India Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s Bharatiya Janata Party faced intense heat from moderates for appointing far-right leader Yogi Adityanath as the chief minister of India&#39;s most populous state last month.</p>

<p>That is because Adityanath has made several anti-Islam remarks in the past, and the tone and tenor of his election campaigning this year were no different.</p>

<p>His ascension has been denounced by many as Bharatiya Janata Party&#39;s plan to alienate minority religions -- especially Muslims -- and promote an&nbsp;aggressive brand of Hindu nationalism.</p>

<p>Adityanth&#39;s detractors believe that his policies would estrange the roughly 38.5 million Muslims -- almost 20 per cent of total population -- residing in the state.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p>The elevation and eventual appointment of a controversial figure, Yogi Aditya Nath as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh has led to shock in many circles. With his appointment, observers are now asking - will development take a back seat in UP? (WION)</p>
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<p>(WION)</p>


The political head of India's largest state has also decided to provide financial aid to poor Muslim families for their daughter's marriage

The government in India's largest and politically most critical state Uttar Pradesh has decided to financially help Muslim families for their daughter's marriage, in what could be seen as a minority outreach programme. India Today reported that the state's chief minister Yogi Adityanath -- viewed by the moderates in the country to be a staunch Hindu nationalist -- has also decided to organise 100 mass weddings across India's heartland. The state's minority affairs minister Mohsin Raza said it was the chief minister's idea to launch this new scheme. "I am extremely happy that the chief minister made the proposal of 'sadbhavna mandap'," India Today quoted Raza as saying. The mass weddings will take place in 'sadbhavna mandaps' (goodwill pavilions). If the initiative is a success, it will be held every two years. India Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party faced intense heat from moderates for appointing far-right leader Yogi Adityanath as the chief minister of India's most populous state last month. That is because Adityanath has made several anti-Islam remarks in the past, and the tone and tenor of his election campaigning this year were no different. His ascension has been denounced by many as Bharatiya Janata Party's plan to alienate minority religions -- especially Muslims -- and promote an aggressive brand of Hindu nationalism. Adityanth's detractors believe that his policies would estrange the roughly 38.5 million Muslims -- almost 20 per cent of total population -- residing in the state. The elevation and eventual appointment of a controversial figure, Yogi Aditya Nath as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh has led to shock in many circles. With his appointment, observers are now asking - will development take a back seat in UP? (WION) × (WION)

Minority report: UP CM Adityanath plans to host mass weddings for poor Muslims

<p>In his second cabinet meeting since taking charge, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath Tuesday ordered 18-hour power supply in villages, 20-hour at the tehsil-level (group of villages) and in the Bundelkhand region.</p>

<p>All district headquarters will be provided with power supply for 24 hours, power minister Shrikant Sharma told reporters &nbsp; after the three-hour-long cabinet meeting.</p>

<p>The state government also took the decision of signing a pact with the Centre to ensure electricity in all UP villages by 2019.</p>

<p>The chief minister directed the officials to ensure uninterrupted supply to the villages from 6 pm to 6am to help students prepare for exams.</p>

<p>&quot;It is the dream of BJP chief Amit Shah and the Chief Minister that every house, every poor, and every village get power by 2018,&quot; Shrikant Sharma said.</p>

<p>The chief minister has directed the power department to ensure that defective or burnt transformers are replaced expeditiously in rural areas so that agricultural operations do not suffer, the power minister said.</p>

<p>Shrikant Sharma said the ambitious &quot;Power for All&quot; pact will be signed by Adityanath and federal power minister Piyush Goyal in Lucknow on April 14 to meet the federal government&#39;s target of making the state energy efficient by 2018 and help in ensuring power in all UP villages before 2019.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;It was the order of the chief minister that all Shaktipeeths (pilgrimage destinations) are supplied 24-hour power during Navratris and we have been successful in it...examinations are on and students should get power during the night so that they do not have to suffer,&quot; Shrikant Sharma said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>On former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav&#39;s statement that there is nothing new in providing power during the festivals of Navratri and Ramnavami, he said the earlier roster system was not implemented on the ground and remained restricted to the residence of the chief minister, Shakti Bhawan and the VIPs.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;The difference is, our VIPs are poor residing in villages. We will take action against officers if the roster is not implemented at the rural level, which was ignored ealier. The government is working for providing 24-hour power supply by October 2018,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>Defective transformers will be changed within 48 hours and not in 72 hours -- the time fixed earlier. They will have to be replaced within 24 hours in urban areas. Announcing a one-time settlement scheme, the power minister said the government would waive off surcharge on domestic connections and take only the principal amount of the bill.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;For farmers having bills of over Rs 10,000 pending, they will get relief by making the payment in four instalments,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>In a bid to end woes of potato growers, the cabinet decided to purchase 1 lakh metric tonnes of potato at Rs 487 per quintal. &quot;Government aims at giving adequate price to potato growers. If we cannot give them profit, we want to give them price of their produce,&quot; Sharma said.</p>

<p>The cabinet has also decided to ensure payment of current cane dues to cane growers within 14 days and old dues within 120 days. &quot;Legal action will also be taken against sugar mills if they fail to make payments,&quot; he said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(WION with inputs from PTI)</p>


Yogi Adityanath will also sign a 'power for all pact' with the federal government to ensure electricty to all villages in the state by 2019

In his second cabinet meeting since taking charge, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath Tuesday ordered 18-hour power supply in villages, 20-hour at the tehsil-level (group of villages) and in the Bundelkhand region. All district headquarters will be provided with power supply for 24 hours, power minister Shrikant Sharma told reporters after the three-hour-long cabinet meeting. The state government also took the decision of signing a pact with the Centre to ensure electricity in all UP villages by 2019. The chief minister directed the officials to ensure uninterrupted supply to the villages from 6 pm to 6am to help students prepare for exams. "It is the dream of BJP chief Amit Shah and the Chief Minister that every house, every poor, and every village get power by 2018," Shrikant Sharma said. The chief minister has directed the power department to ensure that defective or burnt transformers are replaced expeditiously in rural areas so that agricultural operations do not suffer, the power minister said. Shrikant Sharma said the ambitious "Power for All" pact will be signed by Adityanath and federal power minister Piyush Goyal in Lucknow on April 14 to meet the federal government's target of making the state energy efficient by 2018 and help in ensuring power in all UP villages before 2019. "It was the order of the chief minister that all Shaktipeeths (pilgrimage destinations) are supplied 24-hour power during Navratris and we have been successful in it...examinations are on and students should get power during the night so that they do not have to suffer," Shrikant Sharma said. On former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's statement that there is nothing new in providing power during the festivals of Navratri and Ramnavami, he said the earlier roster system was not implemented on the ground and remained restricted to the residence of the chief minister, Shakti Bhawan and the VIPs. "The difference is, our VIPs are poor residing in villages. We will take action against officers if the roster is not implemented at the rural level, which was ignored ealier. The government is working for providing 24-hour power supply by October 2018," he said. Defective transformers will be changed within 48 hours and not in 72 hours -- the time fixed earlier. They will have to be replaced within 24 hours in urban areas. Announcing a one-time settlement scheme, the power minister said the government would waive off surcharge on domestic connections and take only the principal amount of the bill. "For farmers having bills of over Rs 10,000 pending, they will get relief by making the payment in four instalments," he said. In a bid to end woes of potato growers, the cabinet decided to purchase 1 lakh metric tonnes of potato at Rs 487 per quintal. "Government aims at giving adequate price to potato growers. If we cannot give them profit, we want to give them price of their produce," Sharma said. The cabinet has also decided to ensure payment of current cane dues to cane growers within 14 days and old dues within 120 days. "Legal action will also be taken against sugar mills if they fail to make payments," he said. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Yogi Adityanath's new mantra: 'Power for All', 18-hour power supply in villages

<p>On the lines of the subsidised Amma canteens in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will soon be launching &quot;Annapurna canteens&quot;&nbsp;across the state.</p>

<p><meta charset="utf-8" /></p>

<p>According to national media reports, breakfast in these canteens will be sold at Rs&nbsp;3,&nbsp;while lunch and dinner will be sold&nbsp;at Rs 5.</p>

<p>The reports suggest that the &quot;Annapurna canteens&quot;&nbsp;will provide subsidised food to people from the economically weaker sections.</p>

<p>The pilot project is expected to take-off in Lucknow, Kanpur, Gorakhpur and Ghaziabad.</p>

<p>According to the <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/yogi-govt-on-mission-2019-breakfast-for-rs-3-lunch-rs-5/story-O1cJswDxSCyUptJJoQbfbN.html">Hindustan Times</a>, the Adityanath government plans to run about 200 such canteens.</p>

<p>The<a href="http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/090417/yogi-adityanath-plans-three-meals-a-day-for-rs-13-per-day-across-up.html"> Deccan Chronicle</a> reports that the subsidy--that is, the cost the tax payer will bear--will work out to Rs 35 per person.</p>

<p>(WION)</p>


Yogi Adityanath's government is planning to come up with subsidised 'Annapurna' canteens, according to media reports

On the lines of the subsidised Amma canteens in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will soon be launching "Annapurna canteens" across the state. According to national media reports, breakfast in these canteens will be sold at Rs 3, while lunch and dinner will be sold at Rs 5. The reports suggest that the "Annapurna canteens" will provide subsidised food to people from the economically weaker sections. The pilot project is expected to take-off in Lucknow, Kanpur, Gorakhpur and Ghaziabad. According to the Hindustan Times, the Adityanath government plans to run about 200 such canteens. The Deccan Chronicle reports that the subsidy--that is, the cost the tax payer will bear--will work out to Rs 35 per person. (WION)

Breakfast at Rs 3, lunch and dinner at Rs 5 coming soon to Adityanath's UP

<p>A Muslim man in India died Wednesday after being assaulted by cow protectors in India&#39;s western state of Rajasthan.</p>

<p>On Monday, 55-year-old Pehlu Khan was allegedly smuggling cows when a bunch of cow vigilantes apparently associated with Hindu nationalist groups -- Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad -- beat him and four others in Alwar, roughly 165 km from New Delhi, Guardian reported.</p>

<p>Khan and the other injured were beaten up despite them furnishing documents to show they had purchased the cows legally,&nbsp;</p>

<p>The victim&#39;s&nbsp;uncle Husain said that Khan was not a butcher but a dairy farmer, and had bought the cows for dairy business, BBC reported.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Although the local police have listed 200 suspects, they are yet to arrest anyone for Khan&#39;s murder.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Khan became the 10th victim in the last two years to be killed by cow vigilantes in the country.</p>

<p>Cow is&nbsp;revered by religious Hindus in India and beef meat is eschewed by them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Beef in India is largely consumed by Muslims, Christians and people belonging to lower Hindu castes.</p>

<p>Consumption of beef has been a&nbsp;torchlight for communal clashes in India over the years, largely between Hindus and Muslims.</p>

<p>The issue of cow protection resuscitated after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to ban beef across the country during his election campaign in 2014.</p>

<p>Cow vigilantes, emboldened by the increasingly assertive Hindu nationalism in the country, turned the issue of cow protection on its head in 2015 when a Muslim man named Mohammed Ikhlaq was lynched in Dadri, a town in north India.</p>

<p>Several other leaders belonging to Modi&#39;s Bharatiya Janata Party have also talked tough on cattle smuggling and beef consumption in recent times.</p>

<p>One of the first things Yogi Adityanath, the recently appointed chief minister of India&#39;s most populous state Uttar Pradesh, did was to clamp down on illegal slaughterhouses.</p>

<p>Raman Singh, chief minister of another state Chhattisgarh, also threatened to hang those found guilty of cow slaughter.</p>

<p>India&#39;s western state of Gujarat last week passed a legislation that punishes cow killers with life imprisonment.</p>

<p>Cow vigilante groups have also become active in several states of the country. They routinely waylay vehicles to inspect them to deter people from smuggling cows.</p>

<p>(WION)</p>


Pehlu Khan is the tenth person to have been killed by cow protectors in the last 24 months

A Muslim man in India died Wednesday after being assaulted by cow protectors in India's western state of Rajasthan. On Monday, 55-year-old Pehlu Khan was allegedly smuggling cows when a bunch of cow vigilantes apparently associated with Hindu nationalist groups -- Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad -- beat him and four others in Alwar, roughly 165 km from New Delhi, Guardian reported. Khan and the other injured were beaten up despite them furnishing documents to show they had purchased the cows legally, The victim's uncle Husain said that Khan was not a butcher but a dairy farmer, and had bought the cows for dairy business, BBC reported. Although the local police have listed 200 suspects, they are yet to arrest anyone for Khan's murder. Khan became the 10th victim in the last two years to be killed by cow vigilantes in the country. Cow is revered by religious Hindus in India and beef meat is eschewed by them. Beef in India is largely consumed by Muslims, Christians and people belonging to lower Hindu castes. Consumption of beef has been a torchlight for communal clashes in India over the years, largely between Hindus and Muslims. The issue of cow protection resuscitated after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to ban beef across the country during his election campaign in 2014. Cow vigilantes, emboldened by the increasingly assertive Hindu nationalism in the country, turned the issue of cow protection on its head in 2015 when a Muslim man named Mohammed Ikhlaq was lynched in Dadri, a town in north India. Several other leaders belonging to Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party have also talked tough on cattle smuggling and beef consumption in recent times. One of the first things Yogi Adityanath, the recently appointed chief minister of India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh, did was to clamp down on illegal slaughterhouses. Raman Singh, chief minister of another state Chhattisgarh, also threatened to hang those found guilty of cow slaughter. India's western state of Gujarat last week passed a legislation that punishes cow killers with life imprisonment. Cow vigilante groups have also become active in several states of the country. They routinely waylay vehicles to inspect them to deter people from smuggling cows. (WION)

Muslim man dies after being assaulted by cow vigilantes

<p>Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has offered his government&#39;s help to resolve the contentious Ram temple issue and called for both sides to re-establish dialogue to settle the lingering dispute.</p>

<p>A strong votary of building a Ram temple on the disputed site in Ayodhya before he took over as chief minister, the hardline Hindutva leader, however, was circumspect in his comments on the issue in an interview to the RSS-affiliated weekly &quot;Organiser&quot;.</p>

<p>He supported the Supreme Court of India&#39;s&nbsp;recent observations on an out-of-court settlement of the dispute and said,&nbsp;&quot;Both the sides should re-establish dialogue and resolve the matter.&quot;</p>

<p>&quot;As the government is not party to it, so the two parties in contention should have a dialogue and resolve the matter. If any help of the state government is needed, we are ready to provide that,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>Last month, the apex court had said that the Ayodhya dispute was a &quot;sensitive and sentimental&quot; issue and suggested that it should be resolved amicably through dialogue between the parties.</p>

<p>Replying to questions about his government&#39;s action against illegal slaughter houses,&nbsp;Adityananth asserted no legally-run abattoir operator would be harassed.</p>

<p>He, however, added nobody can be allowed to play with the health of the people of the state.</p>

<p>Defending his government&#39;s action, he said, steps taken against slaughter houses were in line with the observations of National Green Tribunal in 2015 and the Supreme Court in 2017.</p>

<p>Adityanath said vegetarian food is actually good for health but people can have their own tastes on which restrictions cannot be imposed.<br />
<br />
(PTI)<br />
&nbsp;</p>


The Uttar Pradesh chief minister supported the top court's recent observations on an out-of-court settlement of the dispute

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has offered his government's help to resolve the contentious Ram temple issue and called for both sides to re-establish dialogue to settle the lingering dispute. A strong votary of building a Ram temple on the disputed site in Ayodhya before he took over as chief minister, the hardline Hindutva leader, however, was circumspect in his comments on the issue in an interview to the RSS-affiliated weekly "Organiser". He supported the Supreme Court of India's recent observations on an out-of-court settlement of the dispute and said, "Both the sides should re-establish dialogue and resolve the matter." "As the government is not party to it, so the two parties in contention should have a dialogue and resolve the matter. If any help of the state government is needed, we are ready to provide that," he said. Last month, the apex court had said that the Ayodhya dispute was a "sensitive and sentimental" issue and suggested that it should be resolved amicably through dialogue between the parties. Replying to questions about his government's action against illegal slaughter houses, Adityananth asserted no legally-run abattoir operator would be harassed. He, however, added nobody can be allowed to play with the health of the people of the state. Defending his government's action, he said, steps taken against slaughter houses were in line with the observations of National Green Tribunal in 2015 and the Supreme Court in 2017. Adityanath said vegetarian food is actually good for health but people can have their own tastes on which restrictions cannot be imposed. (PTI)

Resolve Ayodhya dispute through dialogue: Adityanath backs top court observations

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>A Yogi has been made the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, a northern Indian state with the largest population in the country. The political significance of the state transcends its geographical boundary.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Staying true to his title, the freshly minted chief minister has spared no time in making declarations about Yoga, a health and relaxation activity with its spiritual roots in Hinduism. Comparing &lsquo;Surya Namaskar,&rsquo; or sun salutation, a widely practised yoga routine to the Islamic ritual of namaz, Yogi Adityanath has stirred the hornet&rsquo;s nest. Yet again.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Earlier, he committed the crime of mistaking Shakespeare&rsquo;s poor lovelorn Romeo for a roadside sexual offender while constituting the Anti-Romeo Squad. We, who suffer from the hangover of the Macaulay Martini, don&rsquo;t like literary mix-ups. If we MUST use a &lsquo;videshi&rsquo; name for our home-grown brand of the testosterone driven street harasser, let it be Zeus. No, don&rsquo;t even think of calling him Majnu.&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>If we MUST use a &lsquo;videshi&rsquo; name for our home-grown brand of the testosterone driven street harasser, let it be Zeus.</h5>
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<p>But let&rsquo;s stick to yoga and its many definitions. The word &lsquo;yoga&rsquo; before turning yuppie was &lsquo;yog&rsquo; meaning addition or sum total. Similarly, the practise, before the West intervened with its fad for rigid watertight categories, was a widespread cross-cultural phenomenon, aiming at the holistic well-being of its practitioners. Before you cry &lsquo;traahimaam!&rsquo; and claim that &lsquo;yog-a&rsquo; is Hinduism&rsquo;s preserve, head towards an online library (we are Digital India, yo!) and read up on it. And while you are at it, pick up some Shakespeare. &ldquo;What&#39;s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet&rdquo; &nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>By comparing yoga with namaz, the ascetic CM has managed to offend the custodians of both the Hindu and the Muslim cultures. Is this his masterstroke? Is this how he stays true to his title: by doing the &#39;yog&#39; of these continually feuding communities? Remember, how consternation over a few hours of Tunday Kababi&rsquo;s running out of &lsquo;raw material&rsquo; united both its Hindu and Muslim patrons in slamming the government not just in Lucknow but also, even more vociferously, in Delhi? What a delight it is to see the unfolding of a &lsquo;Ganga-Jamuna&rsquo; variety of criticism!&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Since the dreaded word &lsquo;criticism&rsquo; has been uttered, let&rsquo;s get scholarly. In their latest book Roots of Yoga, scholars Mark Singleton and James Mallinson piece together a story that has, anachronistically speaking, a post-modernist disdain for definitive narratives. It flits across many eras, cultures, texts and religions- including Islam. Incidentally, one of the authors of this book, James Mallinson is also a &lsquo;mahant,&rsquo; similar to the chief minister in question.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The story of yoga has developed along variant trajectories, told in a variety of languages and dialects. It continues to evolve and be told. This is where the beauty of this practice is concentrated. Charges of cultural appropriation and manipulation are routinely levelled against yoga practitioners if they do not fit the cultural narrative around it. No wonder, speaking of namaz and Surya Namaskar in the same breath irks many. While the Hindus don&rsquo;t want yoga to be divested of its religious connotations, the Muslims shun it for the very same reasons. A lose all situation.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>In his speech, Yogi Adityanath pointed towards the similarities between some yogic postures and the namaz routine. This immediately took me to my student years in Aligarh Muslim University, where I shared my hostel room with some practicing Muslims who always insisted that offering namaz five times a day was doing a great service to their bodies. I used to follow them sometimes till my abs hurt. I taught them &lsquo;chakrasan&rsquo; in return. For most sixteen-year-olds, the body is bigger than every other consideration in the world. &nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The human body is regarded as the temple in most traditions. It is perplexing how in the name of concrete temples, many of us still show utter disregard for it. Yoga, too, aims at harmonising mind, body, and soul. Hierarchies in this regard can be seen as only tenuous, a subject that has interested everybody from Arjun in Bhagvadgita to Leonardo Da Vinci and his Vitruvian Man.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>In his news-making yoga-namaz speech, the CM said that no one tried to unite them as most were interested in &#39;Bhoga&#39; (materialist indulgences) and not yoga. Perhaps he&rsquo;s right. But how about appropriating bhoga to serve the cause of yoga? Let&rsquo;s all go bootylicious and get those washboard abs doing yoga or namaz. Or both. And those with a problem with the holy chants can buy themselves expensive earbuds and listen to illegally downloaded Justin Bieber instead. &nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</p>


Let?s all go bootylicious and get those washboard abs doing yoga or namaz

A Yogi has been made the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, a northern Indian state with the largest population in the country. The political significance of the state transcends its geographical boundary. Staying true to his title, the freshly minted chief minister has spared no time in making declarations about Yoga, a health and relaxation activity with its spiritual roots in Hinduism. Comparing ‘Surya Namaskar,’ or sun salutation, a widely practised yoga routine to the Islamic ritual of namaz, Yogi Adityanath has stirred the hornet’s nest. Yet again. Earlier, he committed the crime of mistaking Shakespeare’s poor lovelorn Romeo for a roadside sexual offender while constituting the Anti-Romeo Squad. We, who suffer from the hangover of the Macaulay Martini, don’t like literary mix-ups. If we MUST use a ‘videshi’ name for our home-grown brand of the testosterone driven street harasser, let it be Zeus. No, don’t even think of calling him Majnu. If we MUST use a ‘videshi’ name for our home-grown brand of the testosterone driven street harasser, let it be Zeus. × But let’s stick to yoga and its many definitions. The word ‘yoga’ before turning yuppie was ‘yog’ meaning addition or sum total. Similarly, the practise, before the West intervened with its fad for rigid watertight categories, was a widespread cross-cultural phenomenon, aiming at the holistic well-being of its practitioners. Before you cry ‘traahimaam!’ and claim that ‘yog-a’ is Hinduism’s preserve, head towards an online library (we are Digital India, yo!) and read up on it. And while you are at it, pick up some Shakespeare. “What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” By comparing yoga with namaz, the ascetic CM has managed to offend the custodians of both the Hindu and the Muslim cultures. Is this his masterstroke? Is this how he stays true to his title: by doing the 'yog' of these continually feuding communities? Remember, how consternation over a few hours of Tunday Kababi’s running out of ‘raw material’ united both its Hindu and Muslim patrons in slamming the government not just in Lucknow but also, even more vociferously, in Delhi? What a delight it is to see the unfolding of a ‘Ganga-Jamuna’ variety of criticism! Since the dreaded word ‘criticism’ has been uttered, let’s get scholarly. In their latest book Roots of Yoga, scholars Mark Singleton and James Mallinson piece together a story that has, anachronistically speaking, a post-modernist disdain for definitive narratives. It flits across many eras, cultures, texts and religions- including Islam. Incidentally, one of the authors of this book, James Mallinson is also a ‘mahant,’ similar to the chief minister in question. Charges of cultural appropriation and manipulation are routinely levelled against yoga practitioners if they do not fit the cultural narrative around it. × The story of yoga has developed along variant trajectories, told in a variety of languages and dialects. It continues to evolve and be told. This is where the beauty of this practice is concentrated. Charges of cultural appropriation and manipulation are routinely levelled against yoga practitioners if they do not fit the cultural narrative around it. No wonder, speaking of namaz and Surya Namaskar in the same breath irks many. While the Hindus don’t want yoga to be divested of its religious connotations, the Muslims shun it for the very same reasons. A lose all situation. In his speech, Yogi Adityanath pointed towards the similarities between some yogic postures and the namaz routine. This immediately took me to my student years in Aligarh Muslim University, where I shared my hostel room with some practicing Muslims who always insisted that offering namaz five times a day was doing a great service to their bodies. I used to follow them sometimes till my abs hurt. I taught them ‘chakrasan’ in return. For most sixteen-year-olds, the body is bigger than every other consideration in the world. The human body is regarded as the temple in most traditions. It is perplexing how in the name of concrete temples, many of us still show utter disregard for it. Yoga, too, aims at harmonising mind, body, and soul. Hierarchies in this regard can be seen as only tenuous, a subject that has interested everybody from Arjun in Bhagvadgita to Leonardo Da Vinci and his Vitruvian Man. In his news-making yoga-namaz speech, the CM said that no one tried to unite them as most were interested in 'Bhoga' (materialist indulgences) and not yoga. Perhaps he’s right. But how about appropriating bhoga to serve the cause of yoga? Let’s all go bootylicious and get those washboard abs doing yoga or namaz. Or both. And those with a problem with the holy chants can buy themselves expensive earbuds and listen to illegally downloaded Justin Bieber instead.

Namaz meets yoga through Chief Minister Yogi

<p>Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh&nbsp;met&nbsp;meat traders today at his residence to assure them that action would be taken against illegal slaughterhouses and said he will look into the supply shortage of meat&nbsp;following a statewide clampdown on illegal slaughterhouses, reports said.</p>

<p>The Uttar Pradesh chief minister told the meat traders&nbsp;only licensed shops would be allowed to open in the state and his government would take action against those who were found to be misusing power.</p>

<p>Soon after coming to office, one of the first things the BJP chief minister, who belongs to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/yogi-effect-illegal-slaughterhouses-meat-shops-sealed-in-uttar-pradesh-capital-13662">Bharatiya Janata Party, has done is to order sealing of illegal abattoirs in the state</a>.</p>

<p>Although it has been seemingly done to check illegal butcher shops and theft of live stocks, most traders are bracing for a loss of livelihood.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Lucknow: Meat traders arrive at UP CM&#39;s residence to meet him; minister Siddharth Nath Singh also present. <a href="https://t.co/Fr8WvfaGvZ">pic.twitter.com/Fr8WvfaGvZ</a></p>
&mdash; ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANINewsUP/status/847428485358379010">March 30, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>The stricken traders earlier this week decided to go on a strike to highlight their economic problems to the government.</p>

<p>Adityanath was appointed the chief minister of India&#39;s most populous state by Bharatiya Janata Party, days after it had won nearly 80 per cent of the legislative seats in the Uttar Pradesh elections.</p>

<p>There are thousands of slaughterhouses in the state, but only 41 are legal.</p>

<p>The economic aftershocks of the ban will affect the state as it is one of India&#39;s largest meat-producing states.</p>

<p>The state&#39;s slaughter houses produce 137 kilograms of buffalo meat every day on an average, according to the state&#39;s animal husbandry department.</p>

<p>(WION)</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The BJP chief minister met meat traders?following a statewide clampdown on illegal slaughterhouses

Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh met meat traders today at his residence to assure them that action would be taken against illegal slaughterhouses and said he will look into the supply shortage of meat following a statewide clampdown on illegal slaughterhouses, reports said. The Uttar Pradesh chief minister told the meat traders only licensed shops would be allowed to open in the state and his government would take action against those who were found to be misusing power. Soon after coming to office, one of the first things the BJP chief minister, who belongs to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, has done is to order sealing of illegal abattoirs in the state. Although it has been seemingly done to check illegal butcher shops and theft of live stocks, most traders are bracing for a loss of livelihood. Lucknow: Meat traders arrive at UP CM's residence to meet him; minister Siddharth Nath Singh also present. pic.twitter.com/Fr8WvfaGvZ — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) March 30, 2017 × The stricken traders earlier this week decided to go on a strike to highlight their economic problems to the government. Adityanath was appointed the chief minister of India's most populous state by Bharatiya Janata Party, days after it had won nearly 80 per cent of the legislative seats in the Uttar Pradesh elections. There are thousands of slaughterhouses in the state, but only 41 are legal. The economic aftershocks of the ban will affect the state as it is one of India's largest meat-producing states. The state's slaughter houses produce 137 kilograms of buffalo meat every day on an average, according to the state's animal husbandry department. (WION)

Will allow only licensed slaughterhouses: UP CM Adityanath to meat traders

<p>Indians often pat themselves on the back for the role its government played in protesting against apartheid in South Africa. It seems easy to be egalitarian and progressive when the issues are remote from home. Closer home, however, it is a different story.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>India&rsquo;s deep-rooted racial feelings, their disdain for anybody who is not fair-skinned, not possessing sharp features, or having slanted eyes, is ubiquitous. These suppressed racial feelings come out most menacingly whenever a tragic event occurs, rupturing our fragile fabric of self-constraint.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>This outburst of racist feelings is what we witnessed recently against African communities in Greater Noida. A boy died of drug overdose, and the mob went&nbsp;after an entire community of foreigners.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>For a group of Indians residing in the suburbs of New Delhi, the dark-skinned, flesh-eating, non-Hindi speaking African constitutes everything that is farthest away from their familiar world of values</h5>
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<p>Is this xenophobia? No, it is racism. India, as a nation, does not harbour a blanket feeling of animosity to everything foreign. In that case, it would have been xenophobia. But we love white. It is black&nbsp;that we are uncomfortable with. For a group of Indians residing in the suburbs of New Delhi, the dark-skinned, flesh-eating, non-Hindi speaking African constitutes everything that is farthest away from their familiar world of values.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>We have failed to see the face of our neighbours, as Lalon, the late eighteenth century bengali song writer, would say. Echoing the same concept, a deeply agonised and perturbed Abdou Ibrahim of Association of African Students in India (AASI) said to WION, &ldquo;We, Africans, have tried communicating and informing our Indian friends about ourselves, our continent, culture, countries...but it is not sufficient. Also, Indian too are somehow shy to approach Africans and be friends with them and break this false stereotype&rdquo;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Ignorance breeds contempt. While assaulting Africans, the mobs called them out as &ldquo;cannibals&rdquo; and as &ldquo;criminals&rdquo;.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Will I stretch my argument a little too far if I say, this aspersion of cannibalism is derivative of the staunch anti-vegetarian feeling of the locals that has been furthered stoked by Yogi Adityanath&rsquo;s decision to close down illegal meat shops. As one after another non-vegetarian outlets get closed down in Uttar Pradesh and other neighbouring states, the irked mob, some of whom could be jealous defendant of vegetarianism, seized the chance to mete out mob justice to the &ldquo;wrong-doers&rdquo; who are doubly perceived to be guilty of drug peddling and flesh-eating.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>While the attacks on Africans are making the headlines over the last two days, members of the community claim that they have been the daily victims of micro-aggression from their Indian neighbours. Speaking to WION, Ibrahim brought out the helplessness of their everyday existence in the country. According to him even when Africans&nbsp;have &ldquo;small argumente with an Indian persone&rdquo;, the latter tries to bring on&nbsp;the mob. Worst still, as the Indians speak Hindi, they often turn the mob against the African who are not fluent in the language. Often it so happens, according to Ibrahim, that the onlookers attack them, turning an African into &ldquo;dead victime&rdquo;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Reportedly, the African community has tried consistently to communicate to authorities that in times of disputes, the parties involved should send their complaints to police. After all, the police force is there to take care of situations like these. But a dejected Ibrahim points, every time acts of &ldquo;mob justice&rdquo; and &ldquo;hate-racism&rdquo; have gotten the better of ideas, such as &ldquo;humanity, acceptance and dialogues&rdquo;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>So far, the Indian government, irrespective of the political ideology in power, has been relentless in appropriating the anti-apartheid narrative. This is happening even though the&nbsp;African nations are getting&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/whos-afraid-of-gandhi-the-politics-of-statuary-in-africa-6810">increasingly vocal</a> about the limitations of Gandhi&rsquo;s protest movements&nbsp;against racism in his time. Basking in the glory of Gandhi&rsquo;s civil disobedience movement in South Africa against the White government, the nation-state considers itself to be the vanguard of movements for securing the rights of coloured people. However, in terms of practise, the Indian government, evidently, is doing meagre little to provide safety and security to African nationals residing in the land of Gandhi.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>Basking in the glory of Gandhi&rsquo;s civil disobedience movement in South Africa against the White government, the nation-state considers itself to be the vanguard of movements for securing the rights of coloured people</h5>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The frustration comes out clearly in speaking to the senior adviser of AASI. As the representative figure of the continent&rsquo;s student organisation in India, Ibrahim points out that, being a &ldquo;superpower&rdquo;, why can&rsquo;t the Indian government &ldquo;sensitize&rdquo; the communities, politicians and media houses about Africa. Additionally, there should be provision in the universities for African students to learn Hindi, so as to enable &ldquo;smooth&rdquo; communication between the locals and immigrants.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>These are all necessary steps. Incidentally, if one goes to the US as a student, the university authority does make it a point to help one with english proficiency free of cost. Without implying that such a step will solve all the alienation one suffers from being in a foreign land,&nbsp;it is definitely a place to start.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Like many in the African community, Ibrahim feels that &ldquo;crime is rising (in India) and the country is becoming more hostile&rdquo;. There could be wider international implication of these violent acts. Ibrahim suspects that the diplomatic and economic relations between India and African countries will &ldquo;deteriorate&rdquo;. Nigeria is one of the largest producers and exporters of oil to India. Also, many Indians do reside in Nigeria too. So, Ibrahim does apprehend that if the Indian government does not take immediate action to stop such racist reactions from getting out of hand, there will be repercussions.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>And, paying lip service to Gandhi won&rsquo;t&nbsp;save India from its own wrongdoing.</p>

<p>(WION)</p>


'Crime is rising (in India) and the country is becoming more hostile', says adviser to African students union in India

Indians often pat themselves on the back for the role its government played in protesting against apartheid in South Africa. It seems easy to be egalitarian and progressive when the issues are remote from home. Closer home, however, it is a different story. India’s deep-rooted racial feelings, their disdain for anybody who is not fair-skinned, not possessing sharp features, or having slanted eyes, is ubiquitous. These suppressed racial feelings come out most menacingly whenever a tragic event occurs, rupturing our fragile fabric of self-constraint. This outburst of racist feelings is what we witnessed recently against African communities in Greater Noida. A boy died of drug overdose, and the mob went after an entire community of foreigners. For a group of Indians residing in the suburbs of New Delhi, the dark-skinned, flesh-eating, non-Hindi speaking African constitutes everything that is farthest away from their familiar world of values × Is this xenophobia? No, it is racism. India, as a nation, does not harbour a blanket feeling of animosity to everything foreign. In that case, it would have been xenophobia. But we love white. It is black that we are uncomfortable with. For a group of Indians residing in the suburbs of New Delhi, the dark-skinned, flesh-eating, non-Hindi speaking African constitutes everything that is farthest away from their familiar world of values. We have failed to see the face of our neighbours, as Lalon, the late eighteenth century bengali song writer, would say. Echoing the same concept, a deeply agonised and perturbed Abdou Ibrahim of Association of African Students in India (AASI) said to WION, “We, Africans, have tried communicating and informing our Indian friends about ourselves, our continent, culture, countries...but it is not sufficient. Also, Indian too are somehow shy to approach Africans and be friends with them and break this false stereotype”. Ignorance breeds contempt. While assaulting Africans, the mobs called them out as “cannibals” and as “criminals”. Will I stretch my argument a little too far if I say, this aspersion of cannibalism is derivative of the staunch anti-vegetarian feeling of the locals that has been furthered stoked by Yogi Adityanath’s decision to close down illegal meat shops. As one after another non-vegetarian outlets get closed down in Uttar Pradesh and other neighbouring states, the irked mob, some of whom could be jealous defendant of vegetarianism, seized the chance to mete out mob justice to the “wrong-doers” who are doubly perceived to be guilty of drug peddling and flesh-eating. Even when Africans have 'small argumente with an Indian persone”, the latter tries to bring on the mob.' × While the attacks on Africans are making the headlines over the last two days, members of the community claim that they have been the daily victims of micro-aggression from their Indian neighbours. Speaking to WION, Ibrahim brought out the helplessness of their everyday existence in the country. According to him even when Africans have “small argumente with an Indian persone”, the latter tries to bring on the mob. Worst still, as the Indians speak Hindi, they often turn the mob against the African who are not fluent in the language. Often it so happens, according to Ibrahim, that the onlookers attack them, turning an African into “dead victime”. Reportedly, the African community has tried consistently to communicate to authorities that in times of disputes, the parties involved should send their complaints to police. After all, the police force is there to take care of situations like these. But a dejected Ibrahim points, every time acts of “mob justice” and “hate-racism” have gotten the better of ideas, such as “humanity, acceptance and dialogues”. So far, the Indian government, irrespective of the political ideology in power, has been relentless in appropriating the anti-apartheid narrative. This is happening even though the African nations are getting increasingly vocal about the limitations of Gandhi’s protest movements against racism in his time. Basking in the glory of Gandhi’s civil disobedience movement in South Africa against the White government, the nation-state considers itself to be the vanguard of movements for securing the rights of coloured people. However, in terms of practise, the Indian government, evidently, is doing meagre little to provide safety and security to African nationals residing in the land of Gandhi. Basking in the glory of Gandhi’s civil disobedience movement in South Africa against the White government, the nation-state considers itself to be the vanguard of movements for securing the rights of coloured people × The frustration comes out clearly in speaking to the senior adviser of AASI. As the representative figure of the continent’s student organisation in India, Ibrahim points out that, being a “superpower”, why can’t the Indian government “sensitize” the communities, politicians and media houses about Africa. Additionally, there should be provision in the universities for African students to learn Hindi, so as to enable “smooth” communication between the locals and immigrants. These are all necessary steps. Incidentally, if one goes to the US as a student, the university authority does make it a point to help one with english proficiency free of cost. Without implying that such a step will solve all the alienation one suffers from being in a foreign land, it is definitely a place to start. Like many in the African community, Ibrahim feels that “crime is rising (in India) and the country is becoming more hostile”. There could be wider international implication of these violent acts. Ibrahim suspects that the diplomatic and economic relations between India and African countries will “deteriorate”. Nigeria is one of the largest producers and exporters of oil to India. Also, many Indians do reside in Nigeria too. So, Ibrahim does apprehend that if the Indian government does not take immediate action to stop such racist reactions from getting out of hand, there will be repercussions. And, paying lip service to Gandhi won’t save India from its own wrongdoing. (WION)

Racism comes out of the closet

<p>Shiv Sena members allegedly forced more than 300 meat shops in Gurgaon&#39;s bustling Sector 14 to shut down, <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/gurgaon/kfc-300-meat-shops-forced-to-close-by-shiv-sainiks-in-gurgaon-for-navratri/story-sOx16YVWaB4CGR5khLPB6I.html" target="_blank">The Hindustan Times</a> reports. This coincides with Navratri, a nine-day Hindu festival where followers eat only vegetarian food.</p>

<p>The shuttered shops include the popular American outlet, KFC. More, the men also want the area shops to be closed every Tuesday, a day when Hindus devotees are not supposed to eat meat.</p>

<p>A man named Ritu Raj, claiming to be the district spokesperson for the Shiv Sena, commented on the situation&nbsp;thusly: &quot;A number of Hindus keep fast on Navratri and on Tuesday of every week. It does not feel good to see meat being sold and served on these days. Most of the shopkeepers have supported the move and we consulted those who resisted.&quot;</p>

<p>Raj claimed most of the shops his supporters forced to shutdown were &quot;illegal&quot;, claiming they did not have the license to operate. Nowhere in the report was evidence of this presented. Raj also claimed that shops were sent prior notices, but provided no evidence of this to the Hindustan Times.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/shivsena?src=hash">#shivsena</a> shutting down meat shops in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gurgaon?src=hash">#gurgaon</a> till <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Navratri?src=hash">#Navratri</a> ends. This party is closer to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AAP?src=hash">#AAP</a> than <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BJP?src=hash">#BJP</a>.How? Because of career suicide. <a href="https://t.co/SzC8JpbZIc">pic.twitter.com/SzC8JpbZIc</a></p>
&mdash; The Voice of Nation (@DVoiceofnation) <a href="https://twitter.com/DVoiceofnation/status/846956284704378880">March 29, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>While surely there are some slaughterhouses operating without a permit, it is hard to imagine a&nbsp;franchise of an international chain like KFC being guilty of this.</p>

<p>WION contacted KFC in Gurgaon to see if they have a permit. They had not responded by the time of publication, and we will update the copy if they do.</p>

<p>A police spokesperson in Gurgaon said no complaint had been received, but that action would be taken if shops were being forces shut in violation of the norms, the Hindustan Times report says.</p>

<p>This anti-meat crusade comes at the same time as a meat strike in&nbsp;Uttar Pradesh (UP), with shopkeepers there in the country&#39;s largest meat-producing state claim they are being harassed by officials.</p>

<p>This meat strike, in turn, comes after the voting in of Bharatiya Janata Party&nbsp;(BJP) CM&nbsp;Yogi Adityanath, an aggressive supporter of&nbsp;hardline Hindutva.</p>

<p>The claim that the state&#39;s slaughterhouses are being shuttered and attacked because they are illegal is in dispute, as critics say it is designed to target Muslims, who make up the overwhelming majority of butchers in the state. Meat shops have been not just forced closed in UP over the past week, but burned down.</p>

<p>(WION)</p>


They also want the shops shut on Tuesdays

Shiv Sena members allegedly forced more than 300 meat shops in Gurgaon's bustling Sector 14 to shut down, The Hindustan Times reports. This coincides with Navratri, a nine-day Hindu festival where followers eat only vegetarian food. The shuttered shops include the popular American outlet, KFC. More, the men also want the area shops to be closed every Tuesday, a day when Hindus devotees are not supposed to eat meat. A man named Ritu Raj, claiming to be the district spokesperson for the Shiv Sena, commented on the situation thusly: "A number of Hindus keep fast on Navratri and on Tuesday of every week. It does not feel good to see meat being sold and served on these days. Most of the shopkeepers have supported the move and we consulted those who resisted." Raj claimed most of the shops his supporters forced to shutdown were "illegal", claiming they did not have the license to operate. Nowhere in the report was evidence of this presented. Raj also claimed that shops were sent prior notices, but provided no evidence of this to the Hindustan Times. #shivsena shutting down meat shops in #gurgaon till #Navratri ends. This party is closer to #AAP than #BJP.How? Because of career suicide. pic.twitter.com/SzC8JpbZIc — The Voice of Nation (@DVoiceofnation) March 29, 2017 × While surely there are some slaughterhouses operating without a permit, it is hard to imagine a franchise of an international chain like KFC being guilty of this. WION contacted KFC in Gurgaon to see if they have a permit. They had not responded by the time of publication, and we will update the copy if they do. A police spokesperson in Gurgaon said no complaint had been received, but that action would be taken if shops were being forces shut in violation of the norms, the Hindustan Times report says. This anti-meat crusade comes at the same time as a meat strike in Uttar Pradesh (UP), with shopkeepers there in the country's largest meat-producing state claim they are being harassed by officials. This meat strike, in turn, comes after the voting in of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) CM Yogi Adityanath, an aggressive supporter of hardline Hindutva. The claim that the state's slaughterhouses are being shuttered and attacked because they are illegal is in dispute, as critics say it is designed to target Muslims, who make up the overwhelming majority of butchers in the state. Meat shops have been not just forced closed in UP over the past week, but burned down. (WION)

Shiv Sena forces 300 Gurgaon meat sellers, including KFC, to close for Navratras

<p>After Uttar Pradesh ordered a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses and Jharkhand followed suit, four more BJP-ruled states have begun to clamp down on illegal abattoirs.</p>

<p>Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh came down heavily on illegal slaughterhouses on Tuesday, the Times of India reported.</p>

<p>The report said that three meat shops were sealed in the holy city of Haridwar in Uttarakhand, eleven were shut in Raipur in Chhattisgarh and one in Indore in Madhya Pradesh.</p>

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<h5>Meat sellers are already protesting in Uttar Pradesh where they have gone on an indefinite strike against the Yogi Adityanath-led government&#39;s crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughterhouses</h5>
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<p>Some 4,000 shops face action beginning April from municipal authorities in Jaipur, the Rajasthan capital, the report claimed.</p>

<p>The report said some meat sellers claimed 950 of these 4,000 shops were were legal but had not had their licences renewed by Jaipur municipal authorities after March 31 last year.</p>

<p>The licences could not be renewed, the report quoted an official of the Jaipur municipal corporation as saying, because the municipal body had approved a proposal to increase licence fee from Rs 10 to Rs 1,000 but the gazette notification had not yet been renewed.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Meat sellers are already protesting in Uttar Pradesh where they have gone on an indefinite strike against the Yogi Adityanath-led government&#39;s action on illegal and mechanised slaughterhouses.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(WION)&nbsp;</p>


Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh & Uttarakhand came down heavily on illegal slaughterhouses on Tuesday, the Times of India reported

After Uttar Pradesh ordered a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses and Jharkhand followed suit, four more BJP-ruled states have begun to clamp down on illegal abattoirs. Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh came down heavily on illegal slaughterhouses on Tuesday, the Times of India reported. The report said that three meat shops were sealed in the holy city of Haridwar in Uttarakhand, eleven were shut in Raipur in Chhattisgarh and one in Indore in Madhya Pradesh. Meat sellers are already protesting in Uttar Pradesh where they have gone on an indefinite strike against the Yogi Adityanath-led government's crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughterhouses × Some 4,000 shops face action beginning April from municipal authorities in Jaipur, the Rajasthan capital, the report claimed. The report said some meat sellers claimed 950 of these 4,000 shops were were legal but had not had their licences renewed by Jaipur municipal authorities after March 31 last year. The licences could not be renewed, the report quoted an official of the Jaipur municipal corporation as saying, because the municipal body had approved a proposal to increase licence fee from Rs 10 to Rs 1,000 but the gazette notification had not yet been renewed. Meat sellers are already protesting in Uttar Pradesh where they have gone on an indefinite strike against the Yogi Adityanath-led government's action on illegal and mechanised slaughterhouses. (WION)

Four more BJP-ruled states crack down on illegal abattoirs after UP & Jharkhand: Report

<p>The top government official of Greater Noida, Nagendra Prasad Singh, Tuesday refused to declare the alleged attack on Nigerian students&nbsp;a hate crime.</p>

<p>&quot;It is absolutely not a hate crime, nor&nbsp;is it some kind of anger against a race. A few people have spread rumours regarding the death of a youth which gave rise to anger. The incident happened in continuity of that,&quot; District Magistrate Nagendra Prasad Singh said.</p>

<p>He added&nbsp;the district administration will ensure that such incidents do not get repeated in the future and that harmony prevails.</p>

<p>&quot;We will not let the nation&#39;s image get hampered,&quot; said the DM who met a Nigerian delegation regarding the attack.</p>

<p>The Ministry of External Affairs condemned the attack in a statement and said the government was committed to ensuring safety of foreigners in India.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Union minister MJ Akbar said he had spoken to the acting high commissioner in Nigeria and apprised him of the steps being taken by local authorities for safety of Nigerian nationals.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Greater Noida incident wher people of African origin were injured,is deplorable.Govt committed to ensuring safety of foreigners in India:MEA</p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/846699370212986881">March 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">MJ Akbar spoke to Acting High Comsnr of Nigeria,apprised him of steps being taken by local authorities for safety of Nigerian nationals:MEA</p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/846698881031294976">March 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Three Nigerian students, who are currently hospitalised, were attacked by a mob of around 1000 Monday evening after a Class 12 student in their area died of drug overdose. His parents alleged he had accessed it from the Nigerians.</p>

<p>The crowd was holding a candlelight protest over the death of the student when they spotted the&nbsp;Nigerian students at Greater Noida&#39;s Ansal Plaza shopping mall.</p>

<p>A video of the attack on one of the students was subsequently posted by the African Students in India student group onto their Facebook page.</p>

<p>In the video, taken from a floor above, a man is lying helplessly on the ground, rolling around trying to shield himself,&nbsp;as the people surrounding him&nbsp;attack with a&nbsp;metal stool&nbsp;and a chair, a metal garbage can,&nbsp;and take turns&nbsp;pummelling him&nbsp;with kicks and closed fists.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister about the alleged attack on the African students after a foreign student pleaded with her for swift action, saying living in the area was becoming a &quot;life threatening&quot; issue.</p>

<p>Swaraj said the central government was taking immediate action and that UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had assured her of a fair and impartial investigation into this &quot;unfortunate&quot; incident.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p>Late Monday evening, the African Students in India student group posted a video of another attack on an African student on Monday night in Greater Noida&#39;s Ansal Plaza (WION)</p>
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<p>This is not the first time this has happened in India.&nbsp;</p>

<p>An attack on African students at a Metro station in Delhi in October 2014 culminated in the mob shouting &quot;Bharat mata ki jai&quot;, or &quot;Praise be to Mother India&quot;. &nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/facing-racist-abuse-africans-in-india-refuse-to-give-in-to-fear-2112" target="_blank">In May 2016</a> violence in New Delhi against Africans was in the spotlight after a brutal stoning to death of Congolese national Masunda Kitada Oliver in a dispute over an auto-rickshaw, while&nbsp;in&nbsp;July 2016, a New Delhi&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/facing-racist-abuse-africans-in-india-refuse-to-give-in-to-fear-2112" target="_blank">security guard</a>&nbsp;beat up a student from Congo.&nbsp;</p>

<p>And in February 2016, a Tanzanian student was stripped of her clothes and assaulted by a mob in Bengaluru.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Government of India is seized of the matter. We are taking immediate action: EAM Sushma Swaraj on African students attacked in Noida, UP</p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/846565196969758724">March 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Sushma Swaraj&#39;s calling&nbsp;Yogi Adityanath this morning may take on even greater significance in light of this new attack.</p>

<p>&quot;I have spoken to Yogi Adityanath ji Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh about attack on African students in Greater Noida. He has assured that there will be a fair and impartial investigation into this unfortunate incident (sic),&quot; she said in a series of tweets.</p>

<p>Responding to a tweet from a student who requested her to &quot;act fast as living for us in Noida is becoming a life threatening issue&quot;, she said that the central government was seized of the matter.</p>

<p><br />
&quot;We are taking immediate action,&quot; she added.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p>Samuel T Jack, the president of the association of African students in India, spoke to WION on the recent attacks on African students in Greater Noida (WION)</p>
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<p>(WION)&nbsp;</p>


The Association of African Students in India posted a graphic video of an attack by a mob in Greater Noida

The top government official of Greater Noida, Nagendra Prasad Singh, Tuesday refused to declare the alleged attack on Nigerian students a hate crime. "It is absolutely not a hate crime, nor is it some kind of anger against a race. A few people have spread rumours regarding the death of a youth which gave rise to anger. The incident happened in continuity of that," District Magistrate Nagendra Prasad Singh said. He added the district administration will ensure that such incidents do not get repeated in the future and that harmony prevails. "We will not let the nation's image get hampered," said the DM who met a Nigerian delegation regarding the attack. The Ministry of External Affairs condemned the attack in a statement and said the government was committed to ensuring safety of foreigners in India. Union minister MJ Akbar said he had spoken to the acting high commissioner in Nigeria and apprised him of the steps being taken by local authorities for safety of Nigerian nationals. Greater Noida incident wher people of African origin were injured,is deplorable.Govt committed to ensuring safety of foreigners in India:MEA — ANI (@ANI_news) March 28, 2017 × MJ Akbar spoke to Acting High Comsnr of Nigeria,apprised him of steps being taken by local authorities for safety of Nigerian nationals:MEA — ANI (@ANI_news) March 28, 2017 × Three Nigerian students, who are currently hospitalised, were attacked by a mob of around 1000 Monday evening after a Class 12 student in their area died of drug overdose. His parents alleged he had accessed it from the Nigerians. The crowd was holding a candlelight protest over the death of the student when they spotted the Nigerian students at Greater Noida's Ansal Plaza shopping mall. A video of the attack on one of the students was subsequently posted by the African Students in India student group onto their Facebook page. In the video, taken from a floor above, a man is lying helplessly on the ground, rolling around trying to shield himself, as the people surrounding him attack with a metal stool and a chair, a metal garbage can, and take turns pummelling him with kicks and closed fists. Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister about the alleged attack on the African students after a foreign student pleaded with her for swift action, saying living in the area was becoming a "life threatening" issue. Swaraj said the central government was taking immediate action and that UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had assured her of a fair and impartial investigation into this "unfortunate" incident. Late Monday evening, the African Students in India student group posted a video of another attack on an African student on Monday night in Greater Noida's Ansal Plaza (WION) × This is not the first time this has happened in India. An attack on African students at a Metro station in Delhi in October 2014 culminated in the mob shouting "Bharat mata ki jai", or "Praise be to Mother India". In May 2016 violence in New Delhi against Africans was in the spotlight after a brutal stoning to death of Congolese national Masunda Kitada Oliver in a dispute over an auto-rickshaw, while in July 2016, a New Delhi security guard beat up a student from Congo. And in February 2016, a Tanzanian student was stripped of her clothes and assaulted by a mob in Bengaluru. Government of India is seized of the matter. We are taking immediate action: EAM Sushma Swaraj on African students attacked in Noida, UP — ANI (@ANI_news) March 28, 2017 × Sushma Swaraj's calling Yogi Adityanath this morning may take on even greater significance in light of this new attack. "I have spoken to Yogi Adityanath ji Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh about attack on African students in Greater Noida. He has assured that there will be a fair and impartial investigation into this unfortunate incident (sic)," she said in a series of tweets. Responding to a tweet from a student who requested her to "act fast as living for us in Noida is becoming a life threatening issue", she said that the central government was seized of the matter. "We are taking immediate action," she added. Samuel T Jack, the president of the association of African students in India, spoke to WION on the recent attacks on African students in Greater Noida (WION) × (WION)

Attack on Nigerian nationals not a hate crime: Greater Noida District Magistrate

<p>Why is the media and civil society in horror over vice squad and closure of illegal slaughter houses? Is&nbsp;it not apparent cleanliness drive in India has acquired moral and ethnic halo whereby the act of cleaning becomes a political tool to rid the body politics of unfit elements? The past three&nbsp;years shows how secular liberal parties failed a constitutional democracy whereas BJP succeeded in making the idea of ethnicity-based democracy acceptable. It is the acceptability of no&rsquo;s of the past and shifting of red lines lies the success of BJP RSS combine which received a standing ovation in Uttar Pradesh.</p>

<p>The idea&nbsp;of anti-Romeo squads is not about girls being harassed but it rests on fallen to be rescued under a new moral ambit which also protects them from predatory minority youth which always runs away with a trusting Hindu woman. Though maximum violence against couples has happened because of intercaste marriage but the popular narrative of Hindu honour against a predatory Muslim male continues to receive political nourishment. Same is the case when BJP talks about the illegal slaughter houses. The idea is not to reform the system so to create humane condition for culling but it rests on the principle that minorities are illegally culling cows and they need to be taught a lesson by the civil society itself.</p>

<p>The political Hindutva project rests on the theory that minorities in India are a pampered lot and need to be put into the place as they have been pampered by secular parties and given more than what they deserve. On top of it is the conviction that as medieval India was only about religion and not race and ethnicity, those of who chose to stay back after partition must be reminded of their sin on daily basis. This feeling gets further fueled by the ravages of the Islamic terrorism which further empower&rsquo;s the view of we told you so.</p>

<p>Many would say that this view is not new and existed even during pre-colonial India. It could also be argued that&nbsp;sentiments around cow have been centuries old and so called secular parties instead of addressing the situation allowed the ego of the majority to be bruised because of vote bank politics. The argument around and cow might be centuries old but the building of national identity around it has been colonial and modern.</p>

<p>I would also say that what is also new is the intellectual reasoning by established political actors of violence perpetrated on the mentioned issues thereby collapsing the difference between the centre and fringe. What is new is the idea that the political actors involved in the violence can get away and still be acceptable in the mainstream politics. The baggage yesterday becomes a virtue today. It is this breaking of line that those who propagate the fringe view can find themselves at the centre of governance re-draws the idea of India as a constitutional democracy.</p>

<p>It can also be argued that the debate died when Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of the country. But here lies the subtle difference. Modi was the chief minister when violence happened right under his nose. He turned around the debate by pushing out the idea of moral responsibility and made it into a case of legal culpability. Once he survived the feeble attempt by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to remove him, Modi projected himself as the political victim pursued by a compromised liberal media whose self-interest thereby reducing critique to simple bias. But the story moved to a different level with the appointment of Yogi Adityanath as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.</p>

<p>Yogi has been a rabble-rouser with considerable support within the elected representatives in BJP. He has never held his feelings back when it comes to Muslims and shouldn&rsquo;t shock anyone as he only implemented the electoral promise of the BJP. But what is shocking the silent acceptance on part of the majority that the elected CM is biased against minorities and is it ok if he publically talks about it? The idea is to change the idea of India. The idea is to move silently and quietly towards ethnicity based nationalism from civic nationalism.</p>

<p>It is this move that non-BJP parties should be seized of. Congress and socialist have monumental blunders to their credit which range from Shah Bano verdict to open sectional politics to its inability to reform Muslim Personal Code for them to become symbols of minority pampering.</p>

<p>If parties like Congress want to redeem themselves in Modi-Adityanath world, they would have to creatively engage with the majority community whom they have treated with intellectual disdain by engaging them either from the caste or agrarian axis. The post-colonial India married to newer technology has reinvented Hinduism where it has become more national than regional and local. Its number has created a sense homogeneity despite caste differences. Its religious symbols have become symbols of national identity and assertion.</p>

<p>The Congress by late 2000 looked far removed from the heartland faith and came to be viewed as anti-Hindu. It looked disconnected with new India which was working out its own Saas Bahu series where modernity was being domesticated by the tradition and traditions were reinventing themselves in modern avatars as good ideals. It is this lack in the Congress which makes it irrelevant when it comes to the culling or vice squad debate. It looks alien and marginalised in the heartland and fails to convincingly argue against the building of national Indian identity in opposition to the minorities. This problem is coupled with the fact that Rahul Gandhi has been unable to connect with the new India and has failed miserably even as a political organiser making Opposition ineffective and bereft of a tall personality.</p>

<p>The debate in India in the name of development and corruption free has moved towards civilizational essence. The debate looks tempting but has the potential to wreak havoc on the delicate ethnic fault lines. The educated elite cannot forget that 18 percent of India is Muslim and any imagination of India must include them. The visceral idea that India of the future can be removed of Muslims or other minorities is very misplaced. It is to expect in next 50 years China would hand back annexed portions of JK back to us. It would simply qualify as fantasy. India needs to invest in the minorities in the right way. Whether it is education, triple talaq or personnel law, the educated elites must take progressive views. Since they abdicated their own responsibility for few votes, the issues mentioned above in reverse became sore points for the majority community. Even the idea of reforms in religious practice becomes contested which became during Sabarimala issue where many political actors dared the courts and parties to reform the minority institutions first.</p>

<p>So, please don&rsquo;t be surprised if next time a butcher&rsquo;s shop is closed because someone suspected it of selling beef. Just remember our indifference has done the job successfully by erasing the difference in the name of cleanliness. What we desired secretly has come true and we are closer to it than we have ever imagined it to be.</p>


The act of cleaning is a political tool to rid the body politics of unfit elements

Why is the media and civil society in horror over vice squad and closure of illegal slaughter houses? Is it not apparent cleanliness drive in India has acquired moral and ethnic halo whereby the act of cleaning becomes a political tool to rid the body politics of unfit elements? The past three years shows how secular liberal parties failed a constitutional democracy whereas BJP succeeded in making the idea of ethnicity-based democracy acceptable. It is the acceptability of no’s of the past and shifting of red lines lies the success of BJP RSS combine which received a standing ovation in Uttar Pradesh. The idea of anti-Romeo squads is not about girls being harassed but it rests on fallen to be rescued under a new moral ambit which also protects them from predatory minority youth which always runs away with a trusting Hindu woman. Though maximum violence against couples has happened because of intercaste marriage but the popular narrative of Hindu honour against a predatory Muslim male continues to receive political nourishment. Same is the case when BJP talks about the illegal slaughter houses. The idea is not to reform the system so to create humane condition for culling but it rests on the principle that minorities are illegally culling cows and they need to be taught a lesson by the civil society itself. The political Hindutva project rests on the theory that minorities in India are a pampered lot and need to be put into the place as they have been pampered by secular parties and given more than what they deserve. On top of it is the conviction that as medieval India was only about religion and not race and ethnicity, those of who chose to stay back after partition must be reminded of their sin on daily basis. This feeling gets further fueled by the ravages of the Islamic terrorism which further empower’s the view of we told you so. Many would say that this view is not new and existed even during pre-colonial India. It could also be argued that sentiments around cow have been centuries old and so called secular parties instead of addressing the situation allowed the ego of the majority to be bruised because of vote bank politics. The argument around and cow might be centuries old but the building of national identity around it has been colonial and modern. I would also say that what is also new is the intellectual reasoning by established political actors of violence perpetrated on the mentioned issues thereby collapsing the difference between the centre and fringe. What is new is the idea that the political actors involved in the violence can get away and still be acceptable in the mainstream politics. The baggage yesterday becomes a virtue today. It is this breaking of line that those who propagate the fringe view can find themselves at the centre of governance re-draws the idea of India as a constitutional democracy. It can also be argued that the debate died when Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of the country. But here lies the subtle difference. Modi was the chief minister when violence happened right under his nose. He turned around the debate by pushing out the idea of moral responsibility and made it into a case of legal culpability. Once he survived the feeble attempt by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to remove him, Modi projected himself as the political victim pursued by a compromised liberal media whose self-interest thereby reducing critique to simple bias. But the story moved to a different level with the appointment of Yogi Adityanath as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Yogi has been a rabble-rouser with considerable support within the elected representatives in BJP. He has never held his feelings back when it comes to Muslims and shouldn’t shock anyone as he only implemented the electoral promise of the BJP. But what is shocking the silent acceptance on part of the majority that the elected CM is biased against minorities and is it ok if he publically talks about it? The idea is to change the idea of India. The idea is to move silently and quietly towards ethnicity based nationalism from civic nationalism. It is this move that non-BJP parties should be seized of. Congress and socialist have monumental blunders to their credit which range from Shah Bano verdict to open sectional politics to its inability to reform Muslim Personal Code for them to become symbols of minority pampering. If parties like Congress want to redeem themselves in Modi-Adityanath world, they would have to creatively engage with the majority community whom they have treated with intellectual disdain by engaging them either from the caste or agrarian axis. The post-colonial India married to newer technology has reinvented Hinduism where it has become more national than regional and local. Its number has created a sense homogeneity despite caste differences. Its religious symbols have become symbols of national identity and assertion. The Congress by late 2000 looked far removed from the heartland faith and came to be viewed as anti-Hindu. It looked disconnected with new India which was working out its own Saas Bahu series where modernity was being domesticated by the tradition and traditions were reinventing themselves in modern avatars as good ideals. It is this lack in the Congress which makes it irrelevant when it comes to the culling or vice squad debate. It looks alien and marginalised in the heartland and fails to convincingly argue against the building of national Indian identity in opposition to the minorities. This problem is coupled with the fact that Rahul Gandhi has been unable to connect with the new India and has failed miserably even as a political organiser making Opposition ineffective and bereft of a tall personality. The debate in India in the name of development and corruption free has moved towards civilizational essence. The debate looks tempting but has the potential to wreak havoc on the delicate ethnic fault lines. The educated elite cannot forget that 18 percent of India is Muslim and any imagination of India must include them. The visceral idea that India of the future can be removed of Muslims or other minorities is very misplaced. It is to expect in next 50 years China would hand back annexed portions of JK back to us. It would simply qualify as fantasy. India needs to invest in the minorities in the right way. Whether it is education, triple talaq or personnel law, the educated elites must take progressive views. Since they abdicated their own responsibility for few votes, the issues mentioned above in reverse became sore points for the majority community. Even the idea of reforms in religious practice becomes contested which became during Sabarimala issue where many political actors dared the courts and parties to reform the minority institutions first. So, please don’t be surprised if next time a butcher’s shop is closed because someone suspected it of selling beef. Just remember our indifference has done the job successfully by erasing the difference in the name of cleanliness. What we desired secretly has come true and we are closer to it than we have ever imagined it to be.

Slaughterhouse ban: Please don?t be surprised

<p>In what may&nbsp;spark a fresh controversy, Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) MLA Vikram Saini has said that he would break limbs of those disrespecting and killing cows, ANI reports.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Will break limbs of anyone disrespecting, killing cows: UP BJP MLA Vikram Saini<br />
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Read <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news">@ANI_news</a> story <a href="https://t.co/iIYReJnW6d">https://t.co/iIYReJnW6d</a> <a href="https://t.co/GHab4sEOI5">pic.twitter.com/GHab4sEOI5</a></p>
&mdash; ANI Digital (@ani_digital) <a href="https://twitter.com/ani_digital/status/845847770036604928">March 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&quot;I had promised that I would break the hand and legs of the people who disrespect and kill cows,&quot; Saini said at a gathering.</p>

<p>The statement was made by the MLA from Khatauli constituency while speaking at an event on Saturday.</p>

<p>This is not the first time when the MLA triggered stir for his controversial remark. Saini&nbsp;has been accused of making inflammatory speech during the Muzaffarnagar riot and was also sent behind the bars for it.</p>

<p>The remark came at a time when the newly minted Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, considered a Hindu hardliner for his incendiary remarks and for multiple political stances, has directed to put a complete ban on cow smuggling.</p>

<p>Adityanath has already <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/yogi-effect-illegal-slaughterhouses-meat-shops-sealed-in-uttar-pradesh-capital-13662" target="_blank">directed </a>police officials to prepare an action plan for the closure of slaughterhouses across the state, in keeping with the BJP&#39;s poll promise</p>

<p>(WION with inputs from ANI)</p>


The remark by Vikram Saini comes at a time when Hindu hardliner CM Yogi Adityanath has promised UP a total ban on cow smuggling

In what may spark a fresh controversy, Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) MLA Vikram Saini has said that he would break limbs of those disrespecting and killing cows, ANI reports. Will break limbs of anyone disrespecting, killing cows: UP BJP MLA Vikram Saini Read @ANI_news story https://t.co/iIYReJnW6d pic.twitter.com/GHab4sEOI5 — ANI Digital (@ani_digital) March 26, 2017 × "I had promised that I would break the hand and legs of the people who disrespect and kill cows," Saini said at a gathering. The statement was made by the MLA from Khatauli constituency while speaking at an event on Saturday. This is not the first time when the MLA triggered stir for his controversial remark. Saini has been accused of making inflammatory speech during the Muzaffarnagar riot and was also sent behind the bars for it. The remark came at a time when the newly minted Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, considered a Hindu hardliner for his incendiary remarks and for multiple political stances, has directed to put a complete ban on cow smuggling. Adityanath has already directed police officials to prepare an action plan for the closure of slaughterhouses across the state, in keeping with the BJP's poll promise (WION with inputs from ANI)

BJP MLA threatens to break hand, legs of people who disrespect cows

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