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Three BSF men, one civilian killed in Odisha Naxal attack

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Odisha Naxal attack

Malkangiri: Three BSF personnel and a civilian were today killed and six others injured when Naxalities ambushed a patrol of the paramilitary force and triggered a landmine blast in the jungles of this district in Odisha.

The patrol of the 104th battalion of BSF was near its Janbai base in Malkangiri district when Maoists ambushed it with a landmine blast and firing at around 7.30 AM, a senior official said.

“Three personnel, including an Assistant Sub-inspector, Head Constable and Constable have been killed in the ambush while the company commander Assistant Commandant Ashok Kumar is among the six injured,” he said.

Officials said a civilian was also killed during the ambush and senior BSF commanders have rushed to the spot. “The officer, who is injured, has lost an eye. He and others have been admitted to government hospital in Malkangiri,” they said.

Fresh reinforcements of the Border Security Force have been rushed in from nearby locations, they said. BSF is deployed in the area for conducting anti-Naxal operations and the squad, which went on patrol last night, was on a similar task when the ambush happened.

The explosion took place when the group of BSF personnel from Janbai base camp near the construction site of Gurupriya bridge reached Chintamdoli ghat after crossing Chitrakonda reservoir by a boat, Inspector In-Charge of Chitrakonda police station Pitabas Dharua said.

Soon after the landmine at the ghat went off, some Maoists present in the area also opened fire on the BSF personnel, he said, adding that the BSF men returned the fire. The six injured BSF jawans were immediately taken to the district headquarters hospital here, Inspector In-Charge of Malkangiri Police Station, R K Das said.

The condition of three jawans was stated to be critical, he said. The bodies of the slain jawans were being brought to the hospital for post-mortem, he said.

Senior police and BSF officials, including Malkangiri Superintendent of Police Mitrabhanu Mohapatra, visited the hospital and took stock of the situation.

(PTI)

Muslim population growth slows in India, still faster than others

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muslim

New Delhi: India’s Muslim population is growing slower than it had in the previous decades, and its growth rate has slowed more sharply than that of the Hindu population, the census on religious groups released by the Central government has revealed. However, the Muslim share in India’s population has grown faster than that of other religions between 2001 and 2011.

The decadal Muslim rate of growth is the lowest it has ever been in India’s history, as it is for all religions.

The Muslim population still grows at a faster rate than the Hindu population, but the gap between the two growth rates is narrowing fast.

India in numbers

India now has 966.3 million Hindus, who make up 79.8 per cent of its population, and 172.2 million Muslims, who make up 14.23 per cent. Among the other minorities, Christians make up 2.3 per cent of the population and Sikhs 2.16 per cent.

The Registrar-General and Census Commissioner released the data on Population by Religious Communities of Census 2011 on Tuesday evening.

The distribution of data is of the total population by six major religious communities — Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain — besides “Other religions and persuasions” and “Religion not stated”.

The data are released by sex and residence up to the levels of sub-districts and towns.

As has been the case since Independence, the rate of increase of the Muslim population is higher than that of the Hindu population as a result of higher Muslim fertility, higher child mortality among Hindus and a greater life expectancy among Muslims, demographers say. However, Muslim fertility rates in India are falling faster than among Hindus, Pew Research’s Future of World Religions report showed recently, and the Muslim community is expected to reach replacement levels of fertility by 2050.

Muslim sex ratio improves further

The data on Population by Religious Communities of Census 2011 show that between 2001 and 2011, Hindu population grew by 16.76 per cent, while that of Muslims by 24.6 per cent. The population of both communities grew faster during the previous decade, at 19.92 per cent and 29.52 per cent, respectively. As a long-term trend, say demographers, the communities’ growth rates are converging.

“This is completely along expected lines, and has been an ongoing process,” P. Arokiasamy, demographer and Professor at the International Institute of Population Sciences, Mumbai, told The Hindu. “With rising education and changing family expectations, declining fertility is an expected demographic phenomenon. It begins among better educated groups with better access to health care — as in India’s southern States — and then other groups catch up and converge,” Dr. Arokiasamy explained. In Kerala, for instance, the Muslim fertility rate (while higher than among the Hindus) is extremely low, especially compared with all communities in the northern States, he said.

The numbers show that the sex ratio among Muslims, already better than among Hindus, has further improved.

The sex ratio among Muslims now stands at 951 females for every 1,000 males, substantially better than 936 in 2001, while among Hindus, it is 939 females for every 1,000 males, a slight improvement over the 2001 value of 931. Assam remains the State with the largest Muslim population as a proportion (34.22 per cent) and saw the largest increase in the Muslim proportion between 2001 and 2011, followed by Uttarakhand and Kerala.

Growth rate

The growth rate of population in the decade 2001-2011 was 17.7%. The growth rate of population of the different religious communities in the same period was:

The Census data on religion comes after a significant delay; the 2001 Census data on religion was released in 2004 and the 2011 round results were expected in 2014. However, the numbers remained unreleased, even as a draft of the key data was selectively leaked earlier. The data comes in the backdrop of much fear-mongering over Muslims and their population, and RSS thinkers were quick to term the new data as proof of the end of Hindus, even while the numbers belie their claim.

(Agencies)

Modi appeals for calm in violence-hit Gujarat

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ahmedabad-violence

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today appealed for calm in Gujarat which has been witnessing violence since last night and invoked Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel to emphasise that violence benefits nobody.

He underlined that the government is committed to the welfare of all people and that all issues can be resolved peacefully through discussions.

“I appeal to all brothers and sisters of Gujarat that they should not resort to violence. The only ‘Mantra’ must be ‘Shanti’ (peace),” he said in a statement against the backdrop of violence in his home state after a Patel leader was arrested briefly last night.

While issuing the appeal in Gujarati on television, Modi said, “Gujarat is a land of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel.”

Asking everybody in the state to make effort to take Gujarat to new heights of development, the former Chief Minister said, “Violence has never done good for anyone. All issues can be resolved peacefully through talks.”

He said it is only through development and by working together that people, especially the poor, can be served.

“Once again, I appeal to the people of Gujarat to maintain peace. Violence will never achieve anything… Everybody should respect democratic values,” he said.

Curfew has been clamped in parts of Ahmedabad, Surat and Mehsana districts and security stepped up in the wake of violence and state-wide bandh called by agitation leader Hardik Patel for today.

An uneasy calm prevailed in the state with RAF, BSF and SRP forces deployed along with police to ensure that no untoward incident takes place.

Members of Patel community indulged in arson and stone pelting and vandalised public property last night after the detention of Hardik, who is spearheading the agitation for inclusion of Patel community in OBC category for reservation.

More than 50 incidents of violence were reported from Ahmedabad city where buses, police posts and private vehicles were set on fire while police personnel were also attacked at some places.

(Agencies)

Siddaramaiah owns responsibility for BBMP debacle

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Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday August 25 accepted defeat in the BBMP election, and owned entire responsibility for the debacle.

Soon after realising that Congress had suffered defeat in the BBMP polls with BJP marching into the three figure mark out of a total of 198 seats, Siddaramaih said that Congress expected a simple majority in the BBMP, as BJP had ‘done nothing’ for the development of Bengaluru in the last five years of BBMP rule.

The CM called a press meet at his residence ‘Krishna’ soon after it was clear that BJP was heading towards victory.

When asked if he would resign as CM, he said this was not a referendum, so there was no need for anyone to resign. “Soon after the Lok Sabha elections, BJP lost badly in Delhi, but did Narendra Modi resign?” he questioned.

However, he said that the state government will fully co-operate with the BJP-led BBMP and provide all the required grants for the development of Bengaluru city.

Answering a query on cabinet expansion, he said it would happen soon, but did not give any time frame.

As per the current trends, out of 198 BBMP seats, BJP is leading / won in 100 seats, Congress in 76, JD(S) in 14 and others 8.

(Agencies)

BJP adamant on contesting 170 seats in Bihar

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bjp-bihar

Bhagalpur: A day after two of its allies said seat sharing in Bihar must conclude within a week, a BJP leader announced on Tuesday that his party will contest 170 of the 243 assembly seats.

“The BJP will contest nearly 170 seats, there is no question of anything less than that,” Ashwani Kumar Choubey, an MP and a former minister, said here.

Choubey was replying to statements from leaders of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) that the BJP must contest only 102 seats and leave the remaining 141 to its three allies.

“There is no one in the country to advise the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi about seat sharing within the NDA,” said Choubey, a votary of Hinduvta politics.

The third BJP ally, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) of former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, on Tuesday said the BJP should contest only 122 seats.

“They must distribute the remaining seats among its three allies to defeat the grand alliance of JD-U, RJD and Congress,” HAM leader Brishen Patel said.

Patel asked the LJP and RLSP to “behave gently” to ensure the defeat of the Nitish Kumar-Lalu Prasad combine.

The LJP and the RLSP on Monday expressed unhappiness over the delay in finalisation of seats among the BJP and its allies in the assembly elections.

“We want the seat sharing arrangement to be over and done before the election are announced in the first week of September,” LJP state president Pasupati Kumar Paras said at a press conference also attended by RLSP state presidnet Arun Kumar.

“It will provide enough time for candidates to campaign,” he said.

The LJP and RLSP are unhappy over the BJP slogan – “Abki bar Bhajpa sarkar”.

According to them, it was wrong to raise such a slogan as the next government in the state would be formed by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Paras said the BJP was delaying seat sharing though the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) had announced their seat sharing and virtually given ticket to their candidates.

RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha says his party wants to contest from 67 seats. He said the LJP should get 74 seats.

BJP president Amit Shah announced earlier this year that his party wanted to contest and win 185 of the 243 seats.

The RJD and the JD-U have decided to contest 100 seats each, leaving 40 to the Congress and three to the Nationalist Congress Party.

(Agencies)

Karnataka MLA among 5 dead in Andhra Pradesh train accident

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train

Hyderabad: Five people including a Karnataka legislator were killed early on Monday morning when a granite-laden truck rammed into an express train at a level crossing in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur, the second fatal accident this month involving the railways.

Around 25 people are said to have been injured in the accident, which occurred at around 2.25am at Madakasira, more than 450 km from capital Hyderabad.

Official sources said Karnataka MLA Venkatesh Nayak and the driver of the truck are among the five people killed when four coaches of the Bangalore-Nanded Express derailed under the impact of the collision with the truck.

The driver of the truck, who was allegedly in an inebriated condition, was driving at a very high speed and failed to notice the closed gates at a level crossing.

Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu expressed condolences.

Immediate medical relief has been sent and injured are being treated, Prabhu tweeted.

The railway ministry tweeted that the accident was caused due to the negligence of the lorry driver.

Earlier this month, at least 35 people died when two trains derailed within minutes of each other while crossing a small bridge near Harda town in Madhya Pradesh.

India has the world’s fourth largest railway network that ferries more than 23 million passengers every day, but infrastructure is poorly maintained and accidents are common.

In 2012, a government report said almost 15,000 people were killed every year on the railways, describing the deaths as an annual “massacre” due mainly to poor safety standards.

(Agencies)

Muslim youth beaten up in Mangalore for talking to Hindu girl

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mangalore-youth-muslim

Mangaluru: In a suspected case of moral policing, a 28-year-old Muslim man was assaulted by a group of people, suspected of belonging to a Hindutva group, for talking to a Hindu girl, police said.

The victim, Shakir, is a resident of Kulur and he worked in a supermarket at Attavar in the city, they said.

The group allegedly almost stripped him and tied him to an electric pole last evening before publicly flogging him for talking to the girl, who also worked with him in the same supermarket.

Shakir has been hospitalised, police added.

Cases of assault and attempt to murder have been registered against unidentified assailants, they said.

Investigations are ongoing, and four people belonging to a right-wing Hindu organisation have been detained for questioning, police said.

Sporadic incidents of moral policing, particularly cases involving different communities have been reported in Dakshina Kannada district, raising concerns over growing intolerance in the state.

(Agencies)

Modi hails BJP win in Bengaluru civic polls

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Narendra_Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed the BJP’s winning show in the Bengaluru civic polls, saying people’s faith in his party “is humbling and gladdening”.

“People’s continuous faith in the BJP is humbling and gladdening,” Modi tweeted as results showed the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Congress in the election.

“We are fully committed to fulfilling (the) aspirations of 125 crore Indians,” he said.

The prime minister said after similar civic polls wins in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the Bengaluru results “complete a hat-trick of wins for the BJP”.

“This is a win for politics of development and good governance.

“Thank you Bengaluru! My gratitude to (the) people and congratulations to Karnataka BJP leaders and workers for the great election results,” he added.

(Agencies)

BJP all set to regain power in Bengaluru, big setback for Congress

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bjp

Benagluru: As the BJP is all set to grab power in BBMP after winning 100 seats, the ruling Congress suffer their biggest setback after the 2013 elections.

Siddaramaiah has called for an emergency meeting of his close aids to discuss the situation.

The Bharatiya Janata Party won 100 seats, the Congress is in 75 and the JD( S) in 14 in the 198-member council of the greater Bengaluru Municipal Corporation. The final results are expected to be out by 2pm.

KPCC President, G Parameswar said that the Congress party accepts the people’s mandate. “We had approached the people with the blue print to develop Bengaluru city, but people has rejected Congress. This is not our party’s defeat as we are close to the victory line,” he added.

BJP chief Amit Shah tweeted, “I congratulate our karyakartas for victory in Bengaluru civic polls & also thank people of Bengaluru for showing faith in BJP”

The century-old BBMP was expanded in 2007 by including seven city municipal councils, one town municipal council and 111 surrounding villages to increase civic wards to 198 from 100.

Delimitation of the wards on the basis of the 2011 population census with 50 percent of them reserved for women have forced political parties to field wives or relatives of former corporators as contestants in many wards.

In all, 1,120 candidates, including 197, 198 and 187 from BJP, Congress and JD-S respectively, a dozen from regional outfits like Vatala Chaluvali Paksha, AIADMK and Socialist Democratic Party of India and 399 Independents, including many rebels contested in the bitterly fought civic election.

In the previous five-year term (2010-2015), the BJP ruled the BBMP for the first time by winning in 116 wards, as against 62 wards by the Congress, 14 by JD-S and eight by Independents.

(IANS)

UN Tribunal asks Italy, India to stop court proceedings on Italian marines

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Salvatore Girone Massimilliano Latorre

Hamburg /New Delhi: The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on Monday asked India and Italy to suspend all court proceedings in the marines case. It has also asked both countries to submit reports by September 24.

The Tribunal also asserted its jurisdiction in the case. It maintained that the Italy’s action of filing appeal twice was wrong and unacceptable.

There were differences in the Tribunal regarding the case and it sought more time for a final judgement.

The Tribunal had examined which country has the power to try the two Italian marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone who have been charged with shooting dead two Indian fishermen in February 2012 off Kerala coast.

India had claimed that it could finish the trial in four months. Italy sought the intervention of the Tribunal based on a UN clause meant for solving issues occurred on seas between countries. Italy’s main argument is that the issue occurred in international waters at the time of the incident. Italy had also demanded that India “refrain from taking or enforcing any judicial or administrative measures” against the marines.

However, India rejected the request, arguing that the case is not a maritime dispute but “about a double murder at sea”, in which one fisherman was shot in the head and the other in the stomach. India alleged that Italy did not even fulfil the basic legal procedures to be followed in the country.

Salvatore Girone and Massimilliano Latorre were part of an anti-piracy mission allegedly fired shots in 2012 that killed two Indian fishermen on a boat off the coast of Kerala.

India detained the two marines days later and a court case is pending.

Massimiliano was last year allowed to temporarily return to Italy for medical treatment and is still there. Salvatore has been living at Italy’s embassy in New Delhi ever since.

(Agencies)

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