Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / Archives for Nasheman

Actress Namitha asked to furnish proof of being Hindu at Meenakshi Amman temple

by

 Actor Namitha on Monday complained that she was asked to furnish proof of being a Hindu during her visit to the renowned Sri Meenakshi Sundareshwar temple in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai, and expressed disappointment over the alleged rude behaviour of temple officials.

The actor, who is a BJP state executive member, alleged that a temple official prevented her from having darshan and demanded proof of being a Hindu.

“They asked for a certificate to prove that I am a Hindu and also my caste certificate. I never underwent such an ordeal in any temple that I visited in the country,” she told reporters later.

Namitha said it was a known fact that she was born a Hindu and that her marriage was solemnised in Tirupati and her son was named after Lord Krishna. “This being the case they spoke rudely and arrogantly and demanded a certificate to prove my caste and my faith,” she said.

A senior official at the temple denied the allegations and said they stopped Namitha and her husband who were wearing masks to enquire if they were Hindus and explained the tradition at the temple.

“After the clarification from them, she was anointed with kumkum on her forehead and taken inside the temple for a darshan of Goddess Meenakshi,” he said.

When asked about this, the actress replied that she was allowed for darshan only after clarification of her faith and applying kumkum on her forehead.

She said her visit to Madurai was spiritual and she had come to celebrate Krishna Janmashtami at ISKCON.

“There’s a way of asking. I was made to wait for 20 minutes in a corner. We had informed the police about our visit on Sunday,” she said.

The actress said she wore a mask as she did not want to disturb devotees who might recognise her. 

Earlier in the day, she put out a video message to Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister P K Sekar Babu on her predicament and requested him to take action on the “rude” temple official.

Man detained for raping killing 70-year-old woman staying with corpse for past few days

by

Mumbai: A man was detained on Monday for allegedly raping and murdering a 70-year-old woman in Maharashtra’s Latur district, a police official said.

The incident came to light after a foul odour started emanating from the house of 35-year-old Mansur Shaikh in Bheta in Ausa tehsil this morning and neighbours alerted police, he said.

“Our probe has found she was sexually assaulted and then strangled. Since the body has begun to decompose, we believe she was raped and murdered two days ago. Shaikh was staying in the house with the body all this while,” the official said.

“The woman was a resident of Borgaon, some 10 kilometres from Bheta, and was staying in the village for the past few days. Shaikh took her home, raped her and then killed her. He stayed alone after his wife and mother left him. He is reportedly mentally unstable,” the official added.

The process of registration of a case of rape and murder was underway at Bheta police station and Shaikh, who has been detained, will be placed under arrest, the official informed.

Plan to build Kedarnath replica in Delhi dropped

by

Dehradun: The proposed construction of a replica of Kedarnath in Delhi which had created a controversy recently has been withdrawn.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had attended the foundation stone laying ceremony of the temple in Burari.

“We decided not to construct the temple as some people from Uttarakhand objected to it and we realised that it would hurt religious sentiments,” Suman Mittal, president of the Kedarnath Dham Delhi Trust, which was to build the temple in Burari, said in a press release.

“We are constructing no temple with that name now,” she said.

The Trust has also stopped accepting online donations for the construction of the temple through a QR code, she said.

The priests of the Himalayan temple located in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district had opposed its construction saying it was one of the 12 ‘Jyotirlingas’ in the country and replicating it anywhere else meant showing disrespect to the centuries old temple.

The opposition Congress had taken out a march (padyatra) from Har Ki Pairi in Haridwar to the temple to protest its construction but had to call it off on the tenth day after reaching Sitapur a day ahead of its conclusion when heavy rain on the night of July 31 caused extensive damage to the Kedarnath trek route.

NC, Congress finalise division of seats for J&K assembly polls

by

Srinagar: The National Conference (NC) and the Congress Monday agreed to contest 51 and 32 seats respectively for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.

One seat each has been allotted to the CPI(M) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), the allies announced at a joint press conference at NC president Farooq Abdullah’s residence here after day-long negotiations.

According to their seat-sharing formula, the NC will contest 51 seats in J-K and the Congress 32.

They also said there will be a “friendly contest” on five seats of the Union Territory.

The leaders said the list of seats each party will be contesting, as well as the names of the candidates, will be issued later.

The NC president said the alliance is up for a fight against the powers “who are dividing the people not just in this state, but across the country.”

“The INDIA bloc was made with an aim to fight those forces who are trying to create a communal divide in the country. Today, I am happy that the negotiations (over the alliance) have been concluded. They took place in a cordial atmosphere,” Abdullah said.

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, said the two parties are aiming to protect the “soul” of J-K and the country.

“The BJP is trying to destroy the soul of J-K. Our INDIA alliance aims to save the soul of J-K. That is why the Congress and NC are coming together to form a government in J-K which is totally friendly with the people of J-K,” he said.

Venugopal also said the BJP has no moral right to criticise the NC manifesto, as it had earlier done.

“BJP had an alliance with NC earlier, they also had an alliance with the PDP. The same old NC is still NC and the same old PDP is still PDP. They had alliances with both the parties with the same programme,” he said.

“Every political party has their programme, manifesto and promises. We have our own promises and manifesto. When we will form the government, there will be a common minimum programme,” he added.

The politician said the people of J-K have been “cheated” by the BJP.

“We have never seen a state being downgraded to a UT. That is why the people want a BJP-free government in J-K. people are suffering because of their divisive agenda and policies, unemployment. Their only agenda is to divide the people.

“We believe in unity, in the progress of the people, employment of the youth,” the Congress general secretary said.

facebook sharing button
twitter sharing button
whatsapp sharing button
linkedin sharing button
email sharing button
print sharing button

Defamation case against Rahul Gandhi: UP court sets Sep 5 as next date of hearing

by

Defamation case against Rahul Gandhi: UP court sets Sep 5 as next date of hearing
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

Sultanpur (UP): The MP-MLA court in Sultanpur on Friday could not hear a defamation case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over a 2018 incident as the plaintiff could not appear citing ill health, his lawyer said.

The court has now fixed September 5 as the next date for hearing in the case, plaintiff Vijay Mishra’s lawyer Santosh Kumar Pandey said.

“Mishra did not appear in the court today due to ill health. An application was given to the court seeking time to present evidence, which was accepted and the MP-MLA court has given the date of September 5 for next hearing.

“On this date, the plaintiff will have to present evidence in the court through the lawyer,” Pandey said.

Gandhi’s lawyer Kashi Prasad Shukla said plaintiff Mishra did not appear in the court for evidence due to ill health. Now the court has fixed the date of September 5 for hearing, he added.

During the Karnataka elections in 2018, Gandhi allegedly made objectionable remarks against senior BJP leader Amit Shah. In August 2018, Mishra, a local BJP leader and former cooperative chairman, had filed a complaint in the court leading to the defamation case.

Gandhi surrendered in the court on February 20, 2024 during the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’. He got bail on two personal bonds of Rs 25,000 each, after which he was called to record his statement by issuing notices several times by the court.

During the Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi could not reach the court citing poll engagements. Subsequently, the court ordered him in a strict tone to appear.

On July 26, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha came to the Sultanpur court and recorded his statement.

In this case, the hearing was to be held on August 12 on the basis of evidence, but the hearing could not be held as the judge of the MP-MLA court was on leave.

Karnataka govt recommends safety measures for doctors post Kolkata incident

by

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Friday suggested a slew of measures to be adopted to ensure the safety and security of doctors working in hospitals across the state.

A meeting chaired by Minister for Medical Education Sharanprakash Patil discussed safety measures for doctors, nurses and hospital staff. Members of the doctors’ association were asked to draft a document so that the Department of Medical Education can prepare a standard advisory. After the recent rape and murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata, which has shocked the entire nation, the safety profile for the working doctors has once again been reviewed, the Director of Medical Education Dr Shobha Rathod said.

“On the instructions of our minister, we have held a meeting with all the directors of the government institutes and the super specialty hospitals to identify the gaps in the safety profile for our working doctors.

According to DME, there are 71 medical colleges including 22 government medical colleges under the Department of Medical Education. Apart from them, there are nursing and paramedical institutes in the state. During the meet, the department also reviewed the safety lapses. Following the Nirbhaya advisory, the department has been insisting that there are no dark corridors anywhere and all the places should be well lit, Rathod said adding that CCTV cameras should be installed in most of the areas.

“The security personnel are the ones who can walk anywhere with the consent in all the areas of the institute, so whether we have a good background check of all these people whom we take under security and housekeeping, that was one issue.”

All the institutes have the Prevention of Sexual Harassment committees, which can also suggest a precautionary measure so that if there is any such incident then an alert can be sounded. Rathod said the POSH committees have been regularly conducting meeting to make sure that there are no incidents of harassment of women. The department is also using Artificial Intelligence for the safety of each doctor. Self-defence training of the doctors and counseling of medical professionals regarding their stress levels were also discussed, she explained.

“We are also encouraging pink boxes so that in case of unbiased complaints, the administration can look into it,” Dr Rathod said.

“Introducing of ‘code white’ system. – If there is something called a code white, which we have already seen, it being worked out in our Indian Institute of nephro-urology, that will make all of them alert, how quickly we can be alerted if there is an untoward incident which is happening,” she added.

Top Indian race walker Bhawna handed 16-month ban for ”whereabouts failure” by NADA panel

by

Top Indian race walker Bhawna Jat has been handed a 16-month ban for whereabouts failure by the Anti-Doping Disciplinary (ADDP) Panel of the NADA after she committed the offence in August last year.

Bhawna, a former national record holder in women’s 20km race walk, was provisionally suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency in August last year and she was recalled from Budapest where she had reached to take part in the 2023 World Athletics Championships.

Her 16-month ban period will, however, begin from August 10, 2023, the date of provisional suspension. Her ban will thus be over on December 10 this year.

The ADDP’s decision to hand her the suspension under Article 2.4 of the NADA Rules was delivered on July 10 but it was published on the website of the national anti-doping watchdog only on Thursday.

Under Article 2.4, “Any combination of three (3) missed tests and/or filing failures, as defined in the International Standard for Results Management, within a twelve (12) month period by an Athlete in a Registered Testing Pool” constitutes ‘Whereabouts Failures’ by an athlete.

The 28-year-old Bhawna had also missed two dope tests in May and June 2023 and was warned for a filing failure in late 2022.

Jat had then blamed her failure to fulfil NADA’s whereabouts conditions to glitches in the mobile application, through which she had to fill up the form, and subsequently losing her phone.

“I don’t know how this happened. I had gone somewhere. I was not able to receive the OTP on the (mobile) application and later I lost my phone as well. This is the reason I wasn’t able to update my whereabouts,” she had said.

Bhawna had competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She had won gold in the 20km race-walk event at the National Inter-State Championships in June last year.

There are two types of whereabouts failures — filing failures and missed tests.

Under the World Athletics Anti-Doping (WADA) rules, any combination of whereabouts failures — filing failure and/or missed test — within a period of 12 months constitute an anti-doping rule violation, for which the applicable sanction is two years ineligibility, subject to reduction to a minimum of one year depending on the degree of fault of the athlete.

Athletes included in the Registered Testing Pool (RTP) must provide a full address for their overnight location, the name and full address of each location where they train, work or conduct other regular scheduled activities, as well as the usual time-frames of each activity.

RTP athletes must also identify a 60-minute window and location for each day of the quarter, during which they must be available for testing. Failure to comply with whereabouts and testing obligations will result in a whereabouts failure.

Biggest diamond in over a century is found in Botswana whopping 2,492 carats

by

Gaborone (Botswana): The largest diamond found in more than a century has been unearthed at a mine in Botswana, and the country’s president showed off the fist-sized stone to the world at a viewing ceremony on Thursday.

The Botswana government says the huge 2,492-carat stone is the second-biggest ever discovered in a mine. It’s the biggest diamond found since 1905.The as-yet-unnamed diamond was presented to the world at the office of Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi. It weighs approximately half a kilogram and Masisi was one of the first to get to hold it.

Officials said it was too early to value it or decide how it would be sold. Another smaller diamond from the same mine in Botswana was sold for USD 63 million in 2016, a record for a rough gem.

“This is history in the making,” said Naseem Lahri, the Botswana managing director for Lucara Diamond Corp., the Canadian mining company that found the diamond. “I am very proud. It is a product of Botswana.”

Lucara said in a statement Wednesday that it recovered the “exceptional” rough diamond from its Karowe Mine in central Botswana. Lucara said it was a “high-quality” stone and was found intact. It was located using X-ray technology designed to find large diamonds.

“We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond,” Lucara President and CEO William Lamb said in a statement.

The weight would make it the largest diamond found in 119 years and the second-largest ever dug out of a mine after the Cullinan Diamond that was discovered in South Africa in 1905. The famous Cullinan was 3,106 carats and was cut into gems, some of which form part of the British Crown Jewels.

A bigger, less pure black diamond was discovered in Brazil in the late 1800s, but it was found above ground and was believed to have been part of a meteorite.

Botswana, a country of 2.6 million people in southern Africa, is the second-biggest producer of natural diamonds behind Russia and has unearthed all of the world’s biggest stones in recent years. The Karowe Mine has produced four other diamonds over 1,000 carats in the last decade.

Before this discovery, the Sewelo diamond, which was found at the Karowe Mine in 2019, was recognised as the second-biggest mined diamond in the world at 1,758 carats. It was bought by French fashion house Louis Vuitton for an undisclosed amount.

The 1,111-carat Lesedi La Rona diamond, also from Botswana’s Karowe Mine, was bought by a British jeweller for USD 53 million in 2017. Another diamond from Karowe, The Constellation, was sold for the record $63 million.

Diamonds are formed when carbon atoms are squeezed together under high pressure deep underground. Scientists say most diamonds are at least a billion years old and some of them more than 3 billion years old.

Ukraine, Russia should sit together to end war: PM Modi in Kyiv

by

facebook sharing button
print sharing button

Ukraine, Russia should sit together to end war: PM Modi in Kyiv
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv

Kyiv: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday conveyed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an “active role” to restore peace in the region.

In his talks with Zelenskyy in Kyiv that came a day ahead of Ukraine’s Independence Day, the prime minister said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict and he would even like to contribute personally for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

Modi’s nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine, the first by an Indian prime minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin that triggered anguish in some Western countries.

The prime minister reiterated the need for “sincere and practical” engagement between all stakeholders to develop innovative solutions that will have “broad acceptability” and contribute towards early restoration of peace in Ukraine, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said.

“I have come with a message of peace..I want to assure you and the entire global community that India is committed to respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity (of states) and it is of utmost importance to us,” Modi told Zelenskyy at the talks.

The prime minister also asserted India’s strong commitment towards respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.

“I want to assure you and the entire global community that India is committed towards respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity (of states) and it is of utmost importance to us,” he said.

Modi arrived in Kyiv following a nearly 10-hour train journey from Poland in the second leg of his two-nation trip.

Modi’s wide-ranging talks with Zelenskyy primarily focused on ways to end the war and boost bilateral cooperation in areas of trade, defence, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and education.

“We (India) are not neutral. From the very beginning, we have taken sides. And we have chosen the side of peace. We have come from the land of Buddha where there is no place for war; we have come from the land of Mahatma Gandhi who had given a message of peace to the entire world,” Modi said.

The prime minister also apprised Zelenskyy of his message to Putin in Samarkand in September 2022 as well as in Moscow last month.

“Some time back, when I met President Putin in Samarkand, I had told him that this was not the era of war. Last month when I went to Russia, I said in clear words that the solution to any problem is never found on the battlefield,” Modi said.

“The solution comes through talks, dialogue and diplomacy and we should move ahead in that direction without wasting time.

Both sides should sit together and find ways to come out of this crisis,” Modi said.

Following the talks, Zelenskyy said India supports Ukraine’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity and it is “critical because everyone in the world must equally respect the UN Charter.”

“Following the visit, we also agreed on a joint statement focusing on the development of a strategic partnership, bilateral trade, and continued military-technical cooperation,” he said.

Zelenskyy said “history was made” today as the Indian prime minister made the first visit to Ukraine since “our independence, on the eve of our Independence Day.”

In a post on ‘X’, Modi described his talks with Zelenskyy as “productive” and said India “firmly” believes that peace must always prevail.

At a media briefing, Jaishankar said Modi conveyed to Zelenskyy India’s willingness to contribute in “all possible ways” to facilitate an early return of peace to Ukraine, he said.

“We are very, very keen that this conflict should come to an end,” the external affairs minister said.

It was a “very detailed, open and in many ways constructive discussion”, he said.

The talks revolved around to some extent on the military situation, on concerns like food and energy security, and on “conceivable pathways to peace”, Jaishankar said.

“It is India’s view that the two sides (Ukraine and Russia) need to engage with each other to find a solution,” he said, adding the talks revolved around the military situation, on concerns like food and energy security, and on “conceivable pathways to peace”.

The external affairs minister also defended India’s procurement of crude oil from Russia.

“India is a big oil consumer, it is a big oil importer..It is not like there is a political strategy to buy oil, there is an oil strategy to buy oil, there is a market strategy to buy oil,” Jaishankar said.

A joint statement released after the talks said Modi and Zelenskyy reiterated their readiness for further cooperation in upholding principles of international law, including the UN Charter, such as respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states.

It said the Indian side reiterated its principled position and focus on peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy, as a part of which, India has attended the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, held in Switzerland in June.

The Ukrainian side welcomed such participation by India and highlighted the importance of high-level Indian participation in the next peace summit, it said.

In the talks the Ukrainian side conveyed that the joint communique on a peace framework, adopted at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, could serve as a basis for further efforts to promote just peace based on dialogue, diplomacy, and international law, the statement said.

The two leaders appreciated various efforts to ensure global food security, including the Ukrainian humanitarian grain initiative.

The importance of an uninterrupted and unhindered supply of agricultural products to global markets, especially in Asia and Africa, was emphasised in the talks.

In his remarks at the meeting, the prime minister conveyed to Zelenskyy that he has come to Kyiv also with a message of peace from the Global South. The Ukrainian side wanted continued involvement of India with the Global Peace summit, he said.

“It is India’s view that the two sides (Ukraine and Russia) need to engage with each other to find a solution,” he said.

The external affairs minister said the two leaders reiterated their readiness to continue cooperation to uphold principles of international law such as respect for territorial integrity and protect the sovereignty of states.

Jaishankar said the prime minister sought the president’s assessment of both the ground situation as well as the diplomatic scenario and Zelenskyy spoke on both issues.

The external affairs minister described Modi’s visit to Kyiv as a “landmark”

Jaishankar said a significant part of discussions between PM Modi and President Zelenskyy was devoted to the bilateral relations.

There were discussions on trade, economic issues, defence, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, education, he said.

Modi and Zelenskyy also tasked the India-Ukraine inter-governmental commission to specifically focus on rebuilding trade and economic relations.

Nepal bus tragedy: Air Force plane to bring bodies of Maharashtra pilgrims to Nashik on Saturday

by

Mumbai/Jalgaon: An Indian Air Force plane will bring the bodies of the Maharashtra pilgrims killed in a bus accident in Nepal to Nashik on Saturday, officials have said.

Tragedy struck north Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district on Friday as at least 27 pilgrims from the region died after the tourist bus they were travelling in veered off the highway and fell into the fast-flowing Marsyangdi river in central Nepal.

The victims were from Varangaon, Daryapur, Talvel and Bhusaval in Jalgaon district, 470 km from Mumbai, officials said.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah who assured all possible help, they added.

An Indian Air Force plane will transport the bodies to Nashik on Saturday, said a state government release late on Friday evening.

The incident occurred in the Anbookhaireni area in Chitawan district of Nepal when the bus from Gorakhpur carrying 43 passengers, including the driver and two helpers, was heading towards Kathmandu from Pokhara.

While 16 people died on the spot, 11 succumbed to their injuries during treatment, Deputy Spokesperson of Armed Police Force (APF) Shailendra Thapa told PTI in Kathmandu.

Sixteen people who sustained injuries have been airlifted to Kathmandu and admitted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, he said.

The passengers were part of a group of 104 Indian pilgrims who arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra in three buses two days ago for a 10-day tour of the Himalayan nation, MyRepublica news portal reported.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis condoled the deaths in a message on X.

State Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Anil Patil said the state government was in touch with the relief commissioner of Uttar Pradesh and the Indian embassy in Kathmandu.

Senior NCP (SP) leader and former Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse said this group of pilgrims had travelled to Ayodhya four days ago.

Khadse, who hails from Jalgaon district said that he visited the families of the victims and survivors after learning about the tragedy.

Union minister Raksha Khadse, his daughter-in-law, will travel to Kathmandu as she had received permission from the PMO to oversee the return of the victims and survivors, he added.

The Maharashtra government identified 16 persons from Jalgaon as “reported deceased”.

Ramjeet alias Munna, Sarla Rane (42), Bharti Jawade (62), Tulshiram Tawade (62), Sarla Tawade (62), Sandeep Sarode (45), Pallavi Sarode (43), Anup Sarode (22), Ganesh Bharambe (40), Nilima Dhande (57), Pankaj Bhangade (45), Pari Bharambe (8 years), Anita Patil, Vijaya Jhawade (50), Rohini Jhawade (51) and Prakash Kodi reportedly died in the accident, it said.

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives