Karnataka to bring in ‘Love Jihad Act’ soon: Minister

Love Jihad

The statement came as the Supreme Court decided to examine the legality of an ordinance passed by the Uttar Pradesh cabinet on the issue.

IANS

Representational image

Karnataka Minority Welfare and Textiles Minister Shrimant Balasaheb Patil on Wednesday said that very shortly the 'Love Jihad Act' will be enacted in the state. The Love Jihad Act is the name given by the BJP to a law to prevent 'forcible conversions' through marriage. This term was first coined by right wing activists in Mangaluru in 2000 and is considered a bogey propagated by right-wing groups, claiming that men from the Muslim community are marrying women from other religious faiths, particularly Hindu women, and forcing them to convert to Islam. The statement came as the Supreme Court decided to examine the legality of an ordinance passed by the Uttar Pradesh cabinet on the issue. It may be recalled that Uttar Pradesh had enacted an ordinance against forcible or fraudulent religious conversions, which provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 50,000 under different categories. Patil on Wednesday told reporters that there is no confusion within the ruling BJP in the state over bringing the Love Jihad Act. "This is a very huge subject involving many aspects. Therefore, various departments are trying to elicit opinions through consultation with experts. At present, the legal department is deliberating about this with experts," he explained. He also added that the government is also contemplating to introduce scholastic syllabus in Madrasas. "We want to bring reforms in Madrasas. There is a need for those who come out of these schools to directly take admission in ITI courses," he said. One of the vocal proponents of the Love Jihad Act is Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa, who has been saying that Love Jihad is an international conspiracy, and there is a racket that traps young girls on the pretext of love. "People should be aware of those exploiting young girls and converting them to their religion. We should systematically remove this racket from our society. Conventions like today will create awareness about this," he had said while demanding the BJP to come out with a stringent law.  It is important to note that no term called ‘love jihad’ is defined in current Indian laws. During a Parliamentary session in the Lok Sabha in February 2020, Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy had said that no case of ‘love jihad’ has been reported by any of the central agencies. “Article 25 of the Constitution provides the freedom to profess, practice and propagate religion subject to public order, morality and health. Various courts have upheld this view, including the Kerala High Court,” he said in his reply at the session. Two months ago, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had formally announced that the government would take strong measures to put an end to religious conversion in the name of love and marriage. Since Yediyurappa's formal announcement, credence to enact laws has only grown in proportion. BJP state unit president Nalin Kumar Kateel has been regularly tweeting and demanding that a stringent law against 'Love Jihad' is needed in Karnataka.

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Karnataka's Class 10 exams to be held in June, PU-II exams in May

Education

Education Minister S Suresh Kumar on Wednesday said that the syllabus and a detailed schedule will be announced later.

IANS

Karnataka will hold Class 10 or the  Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) Board Examination (Class 10) in the first week of June while the board examination of Class 12 (Pre-University or PU-II) will be held in the second week of May for the 2020-21 academic year. This was announced by Karnataka Education Minister S Suresh Kumar on Wednesday through his official Twitter handle.He added that all the details regarding the exam, and the syllabus will be sent to schools by the government. This decision comes after Karnataka decided to reopen its schools and PU colleges after a prolonged closedown of over nine months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools for students studying in Class 10 and 12. Classes for Class 6 to 9 reopened on January 1 will continue following Vidyagama scheme. Since the schools reopened, attendance continues to grow among Class 10, 12 and Vidyagama students. Of the 4,24,250 students enrolled in 5,492 PU colleges in the state, as many as 2,42,886 (57.25 %) were present and out of 9,29,130 enrolled in Class 10 in 16,850 high schools of the state board, as many as 4,77,051, (51.34 %) were present on Tuesday. Vidyagama saw an attendance of 6,30,557 students which was more than the four lakh odd students that were present on Monday. But on a flip side, over 50 teachers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus across seven districts so far and in some districts like Chitradurga, the district administration had close down schools, where six teachers tested positive. In Chikkamagaluru, four students, who went to schools in Mudigere, Kadur and Chikkamagaluru town tested positive as well. Following this, several schools were shut for sanitisation and the district administrations will decide whether they will reopen or not in the next three days.

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Operation Warp Speed leader to stay on during Biden administration

Moncef Slaoui had told POLITICO in November that he was planning to step down by early this year.

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Karnataka to give aid to financially backward Brahmin brides who marry within community

Controversy

The opposition called the schemes launched by the government, that requires people to marry within the community, regressive and anti-women.

Sanjana Deshpande

Representative Image/Picxy.com/myneni_gowtham

Karnataka government’s scheme of providing monetary support to Brahmin brides has caused a political stir. While the government says that the two schemes, Arundhati and Maitrei, have been launched to assist the impoverished people of the Brahmin community, the opposition in the state alleged that the scheme is regressive. The Karnataka State Brahmin Development Board has announced two new schemes for the Brahmin brides in the state. Under Arundhati Scheme, the family of the bride will be given Rs 25,000 for the marriage. In another scheme called Maitreyi, the board will be offering Rs 3 lakh to the bride if she marries a priest: Archakras and Purohits. Under the Arundhati scheme, as many as 550 families will receive the amount and nearly 25 families will benefit from the Maitreyi Scheme.  Speaking to TNM, HS Sachidananda, the director of the board said, “We have set some restrictions on the people who can avail these schemes. The family has to produce a certificate citing they are from the economically backward class. Moreover, they have to also belong to the (Brahmin) community,” he said.  “Marriage is a personal choice and incentivizing certain types of marriages over others is regressive and anti-women,” said YB Srivatsa, the National Campaign Head for Youth wing of Congress. He questioned why is marriage the only area of a woman's life the Brahmin Development Board can think of. “Why can't they give loans for Brahmin women entrepreneurs? Why not fund the education of poor Brahmin girls,” he questioned. He further added that the board is making a mockery of itself.  The scheme has placed several restrictions about who can avail the scheme. Sachidananda adds that apart from the aforementioned restrictions, it has to be the bride and groom’s first marriage and the union should be registered. “The couple has to be married for at least five years,” he added. The couples can register online on the website of the board.  According to the caste census of 2018, the Brahmin population of Karnataka came up to 3% of the total state population. When quizzed about the reason behind the launch of these schemes, Sachidananda said, “We want to uplift the people who come from poor economic backgrounds, especially the priests. They have a difficult time surviving because of work uncertainty. They can use the money we give and set up a small business to earn their living.” The Karnataka state government's fiscal deficit for the year is targeted at Rs 46,072 crore. The state is reeling under financial pressure after flood relief funds as well as GST input from the Union government is still pending. The Chief Minister, in December 2020, said a fiscal setback of Rs 25,000 to 30,000 crore and might persist until next budget.    

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Bengaluru to face power cuts until Saturday, here are affected areas

POWER CUT

The BESCOM has said that the power cuts are due to regular maintenance works.

TNM Staff

PTI

The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) has said that there will be a power outage in the city’s Jayadeva and Sarakki sub-division for regular maintenance work from 10 am to 6.30 pm until Saturday, January 9. Areas including NS Palya Industrial Area, BTM Phase 2, Mico Layout 7th Main Road, IAS Colony, Madeena Nagar, EWS Extension 16th Main Road, JP Nagar Phase 3, 4 and 5, Dhanvantari Park, DS Pallya, Dollars Colony and other adjoining areas in South Bengaluru will be affected. Meanwhile, according to reports, BESCOM is all set to convert 7,250-kilometre overhead electricity lines into an underground system, including 2,393-kilometre 11 kV high-tension lines in six areas of the city at a cost of Rs 1,400 crore. The six areas identified for the project are Indiranagar, Jayanagar, Shivajinagar, Koramangala, Whitefield and Hosur Road-Sarjapur Road divisions. For the project, Asian Development Bank has recently cleared an amount of Rs 1,401.35 crore ($190 million). According to a report by Deccan Herald, the project aims at cutting down fossil fuel usage by reducing distribution losses. Another benefit would be reducing accidents wherein people come into contact with high-voltage wires. Several incidents of the same were reported last year, following which officials found that 8,000 houses are built in close proximity to these wires.

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Around 50 teachers in Karnataka govt schools test coronavirus positive

Coronavirus

Several schools were shut for sanitisation and the district administrations will decide whether they will reopen or not in the next three days.

TNM Staff

Representation photo

Over 50 teachers in Karnataka’s government schools have tested positive for the novel coronavirus after schools reopened on January 2. As many as 51 teachers and four students have contracted COVID-19 across seven districts in Karnataka. Primary and Secondary Education Department officials said that they are gathering information on the total number of teachers and students who have tested positive after reopening schools so far and the number could be much higher. The schools where these teachers were deployed have been shut down for three days, a department official said. In Belagavi district, 22 teachers tested positive and are currently in home quarantine. Belagavi Deputy Director of Public Instruction Pundalik, said that of the 22 teachers only one teacher tested positive after the schools reopened and the remaining 21 tested positive when COVID-19 tests were conducted before the schools reopened. “The school in Kadoli village was shut down. And students have been asked to stay in home quarantine and report to us if they show any symptoms,” Pundalik said. In Hassan district, 10 teachers have tested positive for the coronavirus in Holenarsipura and Hassan town areas. The district’s department of public instruction officials said that three of these teachers tested positive before schools reopened and seven others tested positive on Tuesday. Seven schools in Hassan district have been shut down so far. Hassan Deputy Commissioner R Girish said that the officials will take a call on whether to reopen the schools. Seven schools in Chitradurga district were shut down on Tuesday after six teachers and a school assistant tested positive. The district’s Deputy Commissioner Kavita Mannikeri said that the seven schools have been sanitised. One school in Vijayapura district was closed after a teacher tested positive for the virus. In Gadag district, 10 teachers tested positive and have been in home quarantine since Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner Sundaresh said. Meanwhile, five teachers in Chikkamagaluru and two in Koppal district too tested positive for the coronavirus. In Chikkamagaluru, four students, who went to schools in Mudigere, Kadur and Chikkamagaluru town tested positive as well. Speaking to the media, Karnataka Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education, Dr K Sudhakar, said that the government is monitoring the decision and is taking steps to ensure students are not at risk of contracting the infection. “There is no need to panic. We have made arrangements to ensure the students who tested positive get good treatment is necessary. We must also think about the need for academic progress of students. We are getting details on how many teachers and students tested positive and I request everyone to not spread rumours and cause panic,” he said.

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'KGF: Chapter 2' makers release 'KGF Times' newsletter to chronicle film trivia

Sandalwood

In line with the era that the film is based on, the newsletter has been designed like vintage newspapers.

Digital Native

Facebook/KGF

Homable Films has launched a newsletter ‘KGF Times’ to chronicle the behind the scenes pictures and trivia from the sets of KGF: Chapter 2 ahead of the teaser’s release. The makers of the film launched the first edition of the newsletter to treat all the fans with glimpses of the KGF world. The newsletter also offers stills from the film. The new editions will come out at 3 pm every day.  In line with the era that the film is based on, the newsletter has been designed like vintage newspapers. The makers have launched KGF Times in Hindi, English and other regional languages.   Directed by Prashanth Neel, KGF: Chapter 2 is produced by Hombale Films. The film stars Yash, Sanjay Dutt and Raveena Tandon and is slated for a 2021 release. This is the most anticipated release of the year from the Kannada film industry. The teaser of the film will be out on January 8 at 10.18 am, on the occasion of the lead actor’s birthday. “The pan-Indian film which will be high on high-octane action and drama is touted to be one of the biggest releases of 2021,” read the press release. Talking about the film, director Prashanth Neel said, “We came up with KGF Times because we understand the kind of excitement surrounding KGF: Chapter 2. The audience is intrigued about the film and what it has in store for them. We wanted to offer a glimpse into the world of the film and share some exclusive images and trivia.” Both Raveena Tandon and Sanjay Dutt have expressed their happiness over working with the team. Sanjay Dutt also said that this has been “craziest” characters he has essayed on screen. Raveena said that her character is a powerful one and that she cannot talk much about it now. The film’s release date has not been announced yet.     

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