Climate activist Soman Wangchuk announced on Sunday that he will launch another 28-day fast on Independence Day if the government does not invite Ladakh authorities for talks on demands for statehood and constitutional protection for the union territory.

In an interview with PTI, Wangchuk said that the Apex Body, Leh (ABL), and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) from Ladakh submitted a memorandum of demands to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Dras on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas last week.

“We did not want to push the government too much during the elections; we were hopeful that the new government would take some concrete steps. If they do not heed our request, if they do not call us for talks, we will launch another round of protest from August 15,” he told PTI.

In March, Wangchuk went on a 21-day fast, surviving only on salt and water, to demand statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to help protect the ecologically fragile region from “greedy” industries.

After the abrogation of Article 370, Ladakh became a separate union territory “without legislature”. The Buddhist-dominated Leh district had long demanded union territory status due to alleged neglect by the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir government.

However, with the region now entirely administered by bureaucrats, many in Ladakh demand that the union territory be included in the Sixth Schedule, which provides for the formation of Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) with legislative, judicial and administrative autonomy within a state.

These councils administer areas under their jurisdiction, making laws on specific matters with the governor’s assent. They can establish village councils or courts for dispute resolution and manage facilities and services within their areas, including education and healthcare. They also have the authority to impose taxes and regulate certain activities.

Wangchuk had previously said that statehood and constitutional protection under the Sixth Schedule would not impact defence and national security-related projects in Ladakh.

Ladakh’s former MP, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal of the BJP, had also demanded that the region be included in the Sixth Schedule to safeguard the land, employment and cultural identity of the local population.

In 2019, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda promised to do “whatever is required from a constitutional perspective to protect them”.

In September 2019, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah and Munda, recommending that Ladakh be declared a tribal area under the Sixth Schedule.

New Delhi: The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Sunday announced the results for the Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-UG, paving the way to begin the undergraduate admission process which has been delayed this year.

The NTA had on July 7 released the provisional answer keys of the CUET-UG 2024. A retest for more than 1,000 candidates whose grievances were found genuine by the agency was conducted on July 19.

The delay in the CUET-UG results came amid a row over alleged irregularities in competitive exams, including in the NEET-UG and the UGC-NET.

Initially, the CUET-UG results were scheduled to be declared on June 30, but the NTA delayed it, as it was grappling with allegations of paper leak allegations in the NEET-UG, UGC-NET and the CSIR-UGC-NET exams.

The CUET-UG conducted in a hybrid mode for the first time across the country was cancelled in Delhi a night before the scheduled exam day over “logistical reasons”. The exam was held in the national capital later.

The NTA had earlier announced that the third edition of the CUET-UG will be completed in seven days and there will be no normalisation of scores as all exams will be conducted in a single shift.

For 15 subjects, the tests were in pen-paper mode and for the other 48 subjects, the exam was held in CBT mode. Over 13.4 lakh candidates registered for the test for admission to undergraduate courses in 261 central, state, deemed and private universities this year.

In the first edition of the exam in 2022, the test was plagued by technical glitches. Also, as a result of tests for a subject being conducted over multiple shifts, the scores had to be normalised during the announcement of results.

Chandra Kumar Bose, grandnephew of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, speaks to the

Kolkata: Legendary freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose’s grandnephew Chandra Kumar Bose on Sunday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring back the “mortal remains of Netaji” from Japan’s Renkoji temple by August 18.

He also said a final statement should come from the central government on the matter so that “false narratives” about Netaji are laid to rest.

Stating that the NDA-led government took initiative to declassify files related to the freedom fighter, Bose said after the release of all the “10 inquiries – national and international”, it is evident that “Netaji perished on August 18, 1945” in an air crash in Taiwan.

“It is therefore imperative that a final statement is made from the Government of India so that false narratives about the liberator of India are laid to rest,” Bose wrote in a letter to Modi on Sunday.

“My humble appeal to you is to bring back the mortal remains of Netaji from Renkoji to India by August 18, 2024,” he said.

Bose also a former vice president of the West Bengal BJP, said the declassification process has exposed secret files and documents, “which conclusively establish that Netaji died in this air crash on August 18, 1945”.

He said that Netaji wanted to return to India after Independence, but could not as he died in the air crash.

“It is highly insulting that Netaji’s remains have been kept at the Renkoji temple,” Bose said.

“We have been writing to the prime minister for the last three-and-a-half years, that in order to honour the liberator of India, his remains must touch Indian soil,” he said.

Bose maintained that Netaji’s daughter Anita Bose Pfaff wants to perform his last rites as per the Hindu tradition.

“I think the Government of India must respond. If they feel that these remains are not of Netaji, then maintenance should not be provided to keep those at Renkoji. A statement is expected from the prime minister regarding this,” he said in the interview.

Bose said a few years ago, his family members had visited the Renkoji temple and met the high priest there, who stated that Netaji fought for the freedom of India and as such, his remains should be taken to India.

Netaji’s grandnephew said the icon’s remains should be brought to Delhi and a memorial built to pay homage to the leader.

“It is very unfortunate that no response has come from the government or the prime minister,” Bose said.

In his letter to Modi, Bose said the circumstances of Netaji’s death from an air crash while leaving Taiwan in a Japanese military aircraft in the aftermath of Japan’s surrender in August 1945, perhaps with a plan to make his way to the Soviet Union to continue the struggle, was seen by many as just another ruse to escape his enemies.

He claimed that his brother Sarat Chandra Bose and widow Emilie, however, did not have any definite knowledge of Netaji being alive after August 18, 1945.

There is no doubt of the genuine disbelief among some that Netaji perished in the manner described in a host of contemporary accounts from multiple sources, said Bose.

“After all, here was a man who had once given the slip to the British and undertook an arduous trek from Calcutta through north India to Afghanistan, eventually reaching Berlin by air through Moscow. Only a few years later in the midst of a raging world war, he survived an even more perilous voyage by submarine from Germany to South East Asia. How could such a man die!” he said in the letter.

“The… Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry 2005 finding that Netaji did not die in the said air crash was found to be based on fundamental errors and the Government of India thus rejected it,” Bose said.

Maintaining that an array of “unscrupulous persons” found plenty of scope and opportunities for exploitation over the issue, he said from around the mid-1960’s began the phenomenon of the re-appearance of Netaji.

Faridabad, Jul 28: A kanwariya was killed and 13 more suffered burn injuries after their canter-truck came in contact with a overhead electricity wire here in Haryana on Sunday, police said.

The victims — all kanwariyas (Shiva devotees) — were going to Haridwar in Uttarakhand as part of the kawar yatra to collect water from the Ganga river, they said.

The incident happened in the Nawada area and they were all admitted to a hospital with burn injuries. Nitin, 20, a resident of Tigaon, was referred to another hospital where doctors declared him dead, police said.

Kollam (Kerala): Six persons have been booked for brutally beating up a pregnant horse tethered on the premises of a local temple in this South Kerala district, police said on Sunday.

The shocking incident happened on Thursday and the assault against the animal caught widespread public attention after its CCTV visuals went viral on social media platforms.

In the visuals, a man can be seen restraining the horse, which is five-months pregnant, and five others attacking it with their hands, feet and sticks.

During a medical examination of the animal, it was found to have injuries and swelling all over its body.

As the visuals went viral, several persons, including state Minister for Animal Husbandry J Chinchu Rani, vehemently criticised the attackers.

“The incident has brought disgrace to the cultural society and to the entire state. Stringent action will be taken against the culprits,” she told the media on Sunday.

Based on the complaint of the horse’s owner, the police have registered a case against six persons for attacking the animal.

The case has been registered under sections of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and an investigation has begun, police said.

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