Heena Sharma Blog

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Sunday said school principals had been requested to provide a list of students who would not be able to appear in the board exams to be conducted till March 7 in the violence-affected areas. For these students, exams would be held at a later date. "Considering the difficult situation that continues with some of the candidates, the CBSE is prepared to hold examinations at a later date for such candidates who would not be able to appear for the examinations up to 7th March," said CBSE in a statement. The Delhi High Court had on Friday said shifting the examination centres at this time was not a viable option and asked Delhi Police to ensure proper security at the centres in violence-hit Northeast district of the national capital. A single-judge Bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdhar had also impleaded the Delhi government as a party to the proceedings and slated the matter for further hearing on March 4. Read More

The police in Aligarh has issued prohibitory notices to 4,000 people, restricting their movement and warning them of action if there was any trouble in the Uttar Pradesh town on Friday. The police have issued notices to 200 people with a criminal background under Section 110 (G) of the CrPc and initiated process of the Goonda Act against 50 persons. Besides, around 100 arms license holders, who are residents of Shahjamal, Jamalpur and Jeevangarh areas, where protests are going on, have been issued warning notices, threatening cancellations of their licenses, if they were seen at the protest sites. Aligarh SSP, Muniraj G, said that 'red notices' had been issued to 2,000 anti-social elements, informing them about restrictions on their movement and 2,000 others were issued notices under section 107/116 of the CrPC asking them to sign bonds wherein they would undertake not to breach peace. Read More

Seven more fatalities have been recorded at three hospitals, taking the total death toll in the northeast Delhi communal violence over the amended citizenship law to 34 on Thursday, according to senior officials. Till Wednesday night, the total count of casualties had stood at 27, 25 of those at GTB Hospital in Dilshad Garden. "Five more deaths recorded at GTB Hospital, and one more death at LNJP Hospital. One fatality was reported at Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital on Thursday, taking the total death toll to 34," a senior official of the Delhi Health Department told PTI. One person was declared brought dead by doctors, while another had died during treatment at the LNJP Hospital on Wednesday. Over 50 patients have been provided treatment at the LNJP Hospital since the violence broke out on Sunday in various parts of northeast Delhi, officials at the hospital said. Read More

At least 20 people have been killed in the Delhi during violent clashes between Hindu and Muslim groups over Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), according to GTB Hospital authorities, although there was an eerie calm on Wednesday in the riot-torn areas. "There are 15 patients in critical condition," the hospital official from the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital said, adding a total of 20 people had now died at the facility. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal the situation has become "alarming" and asked the Centre to bring in the Army. Meanwhile, the high court has directed police to respond by 12:30 pm on Wednesday to a plea seeking lodging of FIRs and arrests of those involved in the ongoing communal violence in parts of northeast Delhi over CAA. The Supreme court is scheduled to hear pleas claiming BJP's Kapil Mishra incited violence later in the day. Read More

The Delhi Police filed a chargesheet in December 15 Jamia Millia Islamia violence case . The chargesheet was filed before Delhi's Saket court on February 13. Protests against the newly-enacted Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) had turned violent on December 15 near Delhi's Jamia Nagar. Several buses were set afire during the violence in which police and protesters sustained injuries. The police had used batons and teargas shells to disperse the violent protesters. Read More

A student from Jamia Millia Islamia was injured when a man opened fire at a group of protesters on Thursday afternoon and shouted "Yeh lo azaadi", triggering panic in the city's Jamia area, eye-witnesses said. The man, who is yet to be identified, was detained after he fired at students demonstrating against the Citizenship Amendment Act , police said. The man was overpowered by protesters. "We were moving towards the Holy Family Hospital where the police had raised barricades. Suddenly, a gun-wielding man came out and opened fire. One bullet hit my friend's hand," Aamna Asif, a student of economics at the university, told PTI. She said her friend, Shadab Farooq, a mass communication student, was injured in his left hand and taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre. Al-Ameen, another student, said the man was brandishing his pistol and shouted "Yeh lo azaadi (Here, take your freedom)". There was heavy police and media presence when the inc

The ' Maharashtra bandh ' called by Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar's party on Friday to oppose the new citizenship law saw heavy police deployment across the state with public transport and normal life remaining largely unaffected. The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) has called for the statewide shutdown to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). Barring stray incidents of stone-pelting and attempt to disrupt road traffic in Mumbai, there was not much impact of the bandh in the metropolis. While a BEST (BMC's transport body) bus was stoned by unidentified persons near Swastik Park in suburban Chembur, VBA supporters gathered in large numbers at Teen Haath Naka in Thane to protest against the CAA, an official said. Several VBA activists were detained by the police, when they tried to stop vehicles on Eastern Express Highway at Ghatkopar, he said. Read More

Malaysia will not take retaliatory trade action against India over its boycott of palm oil purchases amid a political row between the two countries, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday. India, the world's largest edible oil buyer, this month effectively halted imports from its largest supplier and the world's second-biggest producer in response to comments from Mahathir attacking India's domestic policies. "We are too small to take retaliatory action," Mahathir told reporters in Langkawi, a resort island off the western coast of Malaysia. "We have to find ways and means to overcome that," he added. The 94-year-old premier of Muslim-majority Malaysia has criticised New Delhi's new religion-based citizenship law and also accused India of invading Kashmir. Mahathir again criticised India's citizenship law on Monday, saying he believed it was "grossly unfair". India has been Malaysia's largest palm oil market f

Activists Ekta and Ravi Shekhar returned home to their 14-month-old baby here on Thursday, a day after an Uttar Pradesh court gave bail to them and 56 others arrested for protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the NRC nearly two weeks ago. The Shekhars, who run the environment NGO Climate Agenda and made national headlines with many voicing concern about their toddler daughter being left alone, were among the 59 people taken into custody during the protests on December 19. On Wednesday, the court of the additional sessions judge, Varanasi, granted bail to Ekta (32) and Ravi (36), residents of Mehmoorganj, and 56 others, ending their ordeal. "I didn't think it would take so long," an emotional Ekta told NDTV as she hugged her daughter after two weeks. "Main bata nahin sakti (I can't put it in words)," she said when asked how it felt. The bail application of the couple -- nabbed along with other protesters from Left groups from Ben

The town squares of Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp were buzzing this year with people debating issues like Citizenship Amendment Act and scrapping of Article 370 with memes going viral, even as these companies battled the menace of fake news, data breaches and attempts by the government to frame rules to make social media platforms more accountable. With over 451 million Internet users (at the end of March 2019), India is second only to China in terms of monthly active internet users, as per estimates of industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). Interestingly, about 66 million of these are children aged between 5-11 years, who access internet on devices of their family members, constituting about 15 per cent of India's active Internet userbase. Indians are creating and consuming content on their mobile phones -- right from TikTok videos and Netflix shows to news reports shared by friends and family members on various WhatsApp groups. A large n

Likening the National Population Register (NPR) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) with demonetisation, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said these exercises are "tax" on the poor, who will suffer the same way they did after the note ban in November 2016. He was talking to reporters at the airport here after attending the inaugural function of the National Tribal Dance Festival. "Whether NPR or NRC, it is a tax on poor people of the country. You understand demonestisation. It was a tax on poor people. Go to banks and give your money but do not withdraw money from your account. Entire money went to the pocket of 15-20 rich people. This (NPR or NRC) is the same thing," he said. He was responding to a query on the Centre's claim that the NPR has no link with NRC. "Poor people will have to go to officers and show their documents and give bribe. They will have to give bribe if there is a slight mistake in their names. Crores of rup

JD(U) national vice president Prashant Kishor on Thursday scoffed at the Centre's refrain that there have been no deliberations so far on a country-wide National Register for Citizens, calling it a "tactical retreat". The poll-strategist-turned politician, whose party is an alliance partner of the BJP, asserted that the change in stance was prompted by country-wide agitations against the new citizenship law and the proposed NRC. "The claim of abhi to NRC ki koi charcha hi nahin hui hai is nothing but a tactical retreat in the face of nationwide protest against #CAA_NRC. It is a pause and not the full stop. Govt could wait till SC judgement on CAA. A favourable court order and the whole process will be back," Kishor tweeted. Speculation that CAA will be followed by NRC had intensified in the wake of Union Home Minister Amit Shahs remark during a debate on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament that "NRC aane wala hai" (NRC is on the

Curfew was on Friday relaxed for 16 hours in Shillong, as the city limped back to normalcy after week-long protests and stray incidents of vandalisation of public property over the amended citizenship law , an official said. With the Assembly adopting a resolution on Thursday to urge the Centre for Inner Line Permit regime -- which would keep the state out of the law's purview -- the protests have subsided in the state capital to an extent as several agitators welcomed the move. Curfew imposed on Sadar and Lumdiengjri police station areas in Shillong was eased from 5 am to 9 pm in view of the improved law-and-order situation, East Khasi Hills district magistrate M W Nongbri said. Night curfew, however, would remain in force, he said. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had announced on Thursday that the government would relax prohibitory orders to allow people to celebrate Christmas. He also said that a call would be taken on resumption of mobile Internet services followin

As dusk fell on Sunday, police smashed their way into the main library of New Delhi's Jamia Millia University, firing tear gas shells as scores of terrified students barricaded doors and hid inside bathrooms to protect themselves. Video footage shot by a student inside the library and reviewed by Reuters shows dozens of young students - including several women - scrambling for cover, cowering beneath desks, and jumping over metal and broken glass dividers as they attempted to flee. More than 600 students sought shelter inside the building as violence raged around the university in southeast Delhi, after thousands gathered to protest a controversial new citizenship law that has sparked days of violent unrest. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government insists the Citizenship Amendment Act is necessary to help persecuted minorities from Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who settled in India before 2015. But the move has triggered a severe b

Suspension of internet services in Assam was extended by another 24 hours on Monday to prevent alleged misuse of social media in disturbing peace and maintain law and order in the state, officials said. The state has been under an internet blackout since Wednesday amid violent protests against the citizenship law . "Internet services across Assam will remain suspended till Tuesday," Additional Chief Secretary (Home and Political department) Sanjay Krishna told PTI. This has been done as "social media platforms like Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter and You Tube etc are likely to be used for spreading of rumours and also for transmission of information like pictures, videos and texts that have the potential to inflame passions and does exacerbate the law and order situation". Internet services were suspended on Wednesday, initially for a period of 24 hours in ten districts of the state, and was extended for another 48 hours across the state on Thursday. Read

Police opened fire to disperse protesters at Lalungaonn area here on Thursday in which some persons were reportedly injured, a senior police officer said. The officer claimed that the protesters hurled stones and bricks at the policemen and when attempts to pacify them did not deter the mob, the security personnel opened fire at them. The officer did not specify the number of people injured in the firing, though the protestors claimed that at least four persons were injured. Defying curfew, protesters came out on the streets of Guwahati on Thursday to protest the Citizenship Amendment Bill that was passed in Parliament even as the Army conducted flag marches in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Tinsukia. Five columns of the Army have been requistioned and deployed in Assam, an Army statement said. Read More

Normal life came to a halt on Tuesday in Assam's Brahmaputra Valley due to a statewide bandh called by two students' organizations in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill , which has received Lok Sabha's nod. The 11-hour shutdown, called by the All Assam Students' Union and the North East Students' Organisation - an apex body of student unions in the region - however, failed to evoke much impact on Bengali-dominated Barak Valley. In Maligaon area of the city, a government-run bus was pelted with stones and a scooter set on fire, sources said. Shops, markets and business establishments kept shutters down, while educational and financial institutions remained closed for the day, the official sources stated. Huge processions were taken out in different areas of Guwahati, with protesters raising slogans against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019. Agitators had a scuffle with security forces near the Secretariat and Assembly buil

Ahead of the tabling of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha on Monday, the Shiv Sena has questioned whether "selective acceptance" of Hindu illegal immigrants will act as a trigger for a religious war in the country and accused the Centre of apparently doing an "invisible partition" of Hindus and Muslims over the bill. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party also said "vote bank politics" under the garb of the bill (CAB) is not in the interest of the country. In an editorial in the party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Sena also raised the timing of the bill saying, "There is no dearth of problems in India now but still we are inviting new ones such as CAB. It looks like the Centre has made an invisible partition of Hindus and Muslims over the bill". The Sena, which has 18 MPs in the Lok Sabha, also pointed out that most of the states from the North East region have opposed the CAB along with Bihar where the BJP is sharing power with

Amidst a clamour for withdrawal of the Citizenship Bill (Amendment), the students' union and alumni association of Cotton University have decided to ban the entry of members of the ruling BJP, RSS and other organisations supporting the bill into the varsity. Cotton University Students Union general secretary Rahul Bordoloi in a joint press meet on Monday urged all the MLAs and MPs in Assam and other northeastern states to take a stand against the contentious bill. Along with the BJP-RSS, the students' union and alumni association also banned entry of all organisations and leaders, who are supporting the CAB, into the institution, he said. Bordoloi said the students' union opposes the CAB and it will organise a protest against it on December 5. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill seeks to amend a 1955 law to grant citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan if they have lived in India f

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday defended the introduction of the 10 per cent quota for the general category poor in jobs and education, even as he asked the Congress to clarify what was driving its ongoing allegations on the Rafale fighter jet deal . Addressing a public rally after launching a slew of infra projects here, Modi said the smooth passage of the bill which provides 10 per cent quota for the general category poor in jobs and education in the Lok Sabha is a strong answer by the Parliament to those spreading lies. Hoping the Rajya Sabha will pass the Bill Wednesday, Modi said the rights of deprived sections, including Dalits and tribals won't be affected because of this bill. He termed the passage of the bill in the Lok Sabha as a historic step aimed at uplifting the deprived sections. On the passage of the Citizenship Bill , seeking to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangaldesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Modi assured people of Assam and