The ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur has claimed 258 lives since May last year, the state government's Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh said on Friday.
The government on Wednesday approved the inclusion of certain communities in the lists of Scheduled Tribes in Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, fulfilling long-pending demands from these states.
Six people -- three women and three children -- belonging to the Meitei community had gone missing from a relief camp in Jiribam after a gunfight between security forces and suspected Kuki-Zo militants that resulted in the deaths of 10 insurgents on November 11.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reviewed the security situation in Manipur for the second consecutive day, directing officials to focus on restoring peace and order in the state. The situation has been volatile following protests and violence after the recovery of bodies of women and children. Shah also ordered the deployment of 5,000 paramilitary troops to assist the state government in handling the situation.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced the doubling of the upper limit of Mudra loans to Rs 20 lakh to promote entrepreneurship in the country. "The limit of Mudra loans will be enhanced to Rs 20 lakh from the current Rs 10 lakh for those entrepreneurs who have availed and successfully repaid previous loans under the 'Tarun category', she said while presenting the Budget in the Lok Sabha.
'Due to the huge unemployment among displaced Adivasis they undertake any job that comes their way even if it means working and living in hazardous conditions.' 'The situation is such that out of every five tribals who migrate in search of employment only three come back alive.'
According to the officer, the accused has confessed to the killings and said that he had an affair with the teacher's wife for 18 months which went sour later, leading to him shooting the family.
The entire census and NPR exercise is likely to cost the government over Rs 12,000 crore, the officials said.
Representatives from Kuki-Zo communities said their demands have crossed the point where they wanted President's rule to be imposed in the state, and now they see a Union Territory with legislature on the lines of Puducherry carved out of Manipur as the only solution to the ongoing strife.
The reservation policy requires a fresh relook and new methods are needed for the uplift of people belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC), Schedule Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC), Supreme Court judge Justice Pankaj Mithal said on Thursday.
The home minister said the central forces deployment will be increased, if required, and that they should be deployed strategically to restore peace and tranquillity in the state, according to an official statement.
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has cancelled his election rallies in Maharashtra and is returning to Delhi due to the volatile situation in Manipur. The home minister is likely to hold a meeting to review the situation in the northeastern state, where irate mobs have set fire to the residences of several BJP and Congress legislators. The incidents follow a series of killings and abductions by militants in the state.
Besides the bills, the government has listed the first batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2023-24 for presentation, discussion and voting during the session.
However, in 950 booths, voting will end at 4 pm, though people standing in the queue at that time will be able to exercise their franchise.
'Digital courts will alleviate congestion in traditional courts.'
A government school teacher, his wife and two daughters were allegedly shot dead at their rented accommodation on Thursday, over a month after the family lodged a first information report (FIR) against a man saying he would be responsible if something untoward happened to them, police said.
A young Dalit woman was allegedly thrown into a hot cauldron of a jaggery-making unit for protesting against molestation in the Budaun district, police said on Sunday.
'If Manipur is divided on ethnic lines, similar demands will come in other states also.'
Congress candidates lost their security deposits on all but three seats in the Delhi assembly polls as nearly 80 per cent of all contenders, including those contesting independently, forfeited their deposits.
The opposition Congress has decided to support the bandh in protest against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's 'failure' to control the situation in the north-eastern state, a party spokesperson said on Saturday.
Karnataka state Bharatiya Janata Party president B Y Vijayendra and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh called on state minister Satish Jarkiholi separately on Monday, triggering political speculation.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwla and Manoj Misra, however, agrees to hear as many as 10 petitions of the Bihar government against the Patna HC verdict.
NCST acting vice-chairperson Ananta Nayak said they have also received complaints against a politician, which they would include in their report to the President, the official added.
A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has sentenced a man to 20 years rigorous imprisonment (RI) for raping a minor girl in 2021, relying on the deposition of the six-year-old victim and other prosecution witnesses.
The funeral of 10 Kuki-Zo youths, who were killed in an alleged gunfight with CRPF, has been delayed pending the release of post-mortem reports. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), representing the Kuki-Zo community, is exploring the possibility of conducting a second autopsy in Churachandpur. The youths' bodies were airlifted to Churachandpur from Assam's Silchar town on Saturday. The incident follows a series of clashes between security forces and militants in the region. The post-mortem examination of the 10 Kuki-Zo youths, who ITLF claimed were village volunteers as against the Manipur government's assertion that they were militants, was conducted at Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) in Assam. The bodies have been kept in the local hospital morgue for the time being.
The incident occurred at Ningthoukhong Kha Khunou and the victims included a man and his 60-year-old father.
The CBI has so far registered eight cases which include two related to alleged sexual assault on women in Manipur.
A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan made some strong observations against the state while hearing a plea filed by Lunkhongam Haokip that he was suffering from piles and tuberculosis and was not taken to hospital by jail officials despite having severe backache.
The much-delayed decadal census exercise and the work to update the National Population Register (NPR) are likely to begin early 2025 and the data will be declared by 2026, thus changing future census cycles completely, official sources said.
Sharma's letter comes at a time the Congress has intensified its demand for a nationwide caste census and promised to carry out the exercise if elected to power in the Lok Sabha elections.
Manjhi's political journey took a dramatic turn when, in 2014, he was unexpectedly anointed Chief Minister by Nitish Kumar, who had resigned after a disastrous Lok Sabha election.
The Commission of Inquiry was supposed to submit its report to the central government "as soon as possible but not later than six months from the date of its first sitting".
The court directed the CBI to investigate allegations of crimes against women and forcible land grabbing in Sandeshkhali and submit a comprehensive report to it on the next date of hearing.
The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside caste-based discriminatory provisions of prison manuals of around 11 states while deprecating the practice of distribution of work and segregation of prisoners in separate wards on basis of their castes.
However, Rajya Sabha being a continuing chamber is not subject to dissolution, and bills introduced and pending in this House remain on the live register, unless withdrawn by the government.
Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai also said that the central government has not enumerated caste-wise population other than SCs and STs in census since Independence.
The Bharatiya Janata Party announced on Saturday that Navya Haridas, a two-time councillor in the Kozhikode Corporation, will be the National Democratic Alliance candidate for the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election.
Nearly 13.04 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 9 am on Wednesday in 43 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand where voting is underway in the first phase, officials said.
The decline in life expectancy was higher among young individuals and those aged 50 to 60.
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