The ASI's role in marshalling dubious evidence in support of the existence of a Ram temple at Ayodhya is the right occasion to assess its activities as a handmaiden of Hindutva, says Omar Khalidi
Uttarakhand saw the sharpest decline (of 11 per cent) in the "total persons engaged" in manufacturing in the worst-hit pandemic year of 2020-21 as industrial units shut shop, according to the latest Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) data, released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). This was followed by the decline in the workforce in states such as Jharkhand (8.9 per cent), West Bengal (8.3 per cent), Kerala (8 per cent), and Karnataka (7.8 per cent). The "total persons engaged" in an enterprise is defined as the sum of directly employed workers, supervisory or managerial workers, and the unpaid family members who might be engaged in the enterprise.
A group of four-five 'Nihangs' (Sikhs armed with traditional weapons and dressed in loose blue top) were travelling in a vehicle and they were asked to stop at a vegetable market by the Mandi board officials at around 6.15 am, police said.
The Archaeolological Survey of India on Friday filed a petition in the \n\nsupreme court challenging the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Wakf Board decision declaring the 17th\ncentury mughal monument Taj Mahal as Wakf property.
The Hindu side had claimed in the lower court that a Shivling was found during the videographic survey.
ASI officials were involved in corrupt practices in the name of conservation of monuments and were violating various laws, the petitioner's counsel said.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked the ASI not to take recourse to any invasive act during the survey.
After hearing arguments in the matter, Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker posted it for further hearing on Wednesday.
It is said that the UPA chairman is concerned about the ASI's stand on Lord Ram and Ram Sethu.
The apex court also expressed concern over the historic monument being infected by insects and asked the authorities, including ASI, what steps they have taken to prevent this.
Bakshi and Chandrashekhar were put under suspension following the inquiry conducted by ASI Director General A Vaish, sources in New Delhi said.
Former Central Bureau of Investigation joint director Amit Kumar, who is now posted as Chhattisgarh police ADG, led the probe into the coal scam that resulted in convictions in a number of cases.
The Kedarnath temple committee has expressed dissatisfaction over the restoration work being carried out by ASI at the shrine which was damaged in last year's flash floods in Uttarakhand, but the government agency has squarely rejected these claims.
A month after the Archaeological Survey of India began excavations in Daudiya Kheda area in Unnao following a seer's claim that 1,000 tonnes of gold was buried at the site, officials on Monday stopped the dig after hitting a dead end.
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an appeal of the Gyanvapi management committee against an Allahabad High Court order which held that lawsuits for "restoration" of a temple where the mosque stands in Varanasi are maintainable.
Earlier on Wednesday, the district court ruled that a priest can perform prayers before the idols in a cellar of the Gyanvapi Masjid, a significant development in the legal battle over the mosque adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
Rakhi Singh has accused the Muslim side of destroying Hindu symbols on the Gyanvapi premises and demanded protection of the entire complex in order to ensure that these symbols are not lost.
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court also asked the ASI not to stop excavation work with the court's permission.
The Kohinoor diamond, estimated to cost over $200 million (Rs 1,465 crore), was neither stolen nor "forcibly" taken by British rulers but given to East India Company by erstwhile rulers of Punjab
The Odisha police, in its FIR on the killing of Health minister Naba Kishore Das, said the accused assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Gopal Das had "clear intention" to kill the minister.
This is the eighth case of suspected suicide by a coaching student in Kota so far this year, according to the police.
The Archaeological Survey of India Friday told the Delhi high court that it has not yet started excavation on a site near Red Fort to ascertain whether remains of a Mughal-era mosque existed there in view of lack of clarity on an apex court order on status quo.
In a major victory for the Hindu side, a Varanasi court on Wednesday allowed Hindu devotees to offer prayers inside the 'Vyas ka Tekhana' area inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex.
Prayers were performed in a cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi on Wednesday night following court orders allowing the resumption of a practice said to have been discontinued three decades back, Kashi Vishwanath temple trust president said.
A three-judge bench of the Allahabad high court, which is hearing a title suit on Ayodhya land, had directed the UP government to replace Mani following complaints by the Sunni Central Waqf Board of violation of excavation norms.
The chief minister said the policeman took the complainant to the locality to identify the accused person.
The Allahabad high court reserved its judgment on Friday in a petition challenging the maintainability of a suit seeking 'restoration' of a temple at the site of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi.
The petitions filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC) and the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board had also challenged a Varanasi court order of April 8, 2021 to conduct a comprehensive survey of the Gyanvapi mosque.
Union Minister Chandan Das Mahant, an ardent follower of godman Shobhan Sarkar, is said to have used his clout to get formal instructions issued to the ASI to undertake the excavation. Sharat Pradhan reports
"His ancestors were said to be members of Sarfoji dynasty. But that is not our concern. There were allegations that he had amassed wealth by swindling contract funds," an official said.
Over 4,000 ancient monuments managed by the state archeology departments will get professional and financial help for the first time from the Archaeological Survey of India.
The deputy prime minister said the report will strengthen the party's position on the temple movement.
The Allahabad high court on Friday ordered authorities to determine the age of the Shivling-like structure inside the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi using modern technology.
The Mumbai terror attack trial began today with an eyewitness telling the special court that he had seen prime accused Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab firing from AK-47 rifle at Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Tukaram Omble, who fell to the bullets at Girgaun chowpaty on November 26 last year.
The woman was reportedly upset with her husband and wanted to lodge a complaint against him.
ASI submits report on Ayodhya excavation
A spoked copper wheel of the Kushana era, an arrowhead of Rajput period and coins dating from the Mughal reign are among a range of ancient artefacts unearthed in the latest excavation currently underway at the Purana Qila site in Delhi, a top official of the Archaeological Survey of India said on Tuesday.
The special bench of the Allahabad high court also asked the Archaeological Survey of India to submit its final report by August 22.
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