Jammu, November 30:

As the country witnessed a social media storm over the remarks of Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid on The Kashmir Files, Kashmiri Pandits reacted strongly saying a foreigner cannot understand the pain of a community “living as a refugee in their own country”.They protested his remarks and demanded an apology from Lapid.

International Film Festival of India (IFFI) jury chairperson Lapid, viewed as an anti-establishment filmmaker, had termed the movie “propaganda and vulgar” during the closing ceremony of the film festival in Goa on Monday.

“We, as a community, are surprised to listen this from a person who is himself a Jew, a community that was persecuted because of its identity. What Kashmiri Pandits witnessed in 1990s is unimaginable for a foreigner,” said Ranjan Jotshi, a leader of Kashmiri Pandit employees who fled the Valley after a spate of targeted killings earlier this year.

He further said, “While each and every scene in The Kashmir Files depicts the reality of the 1990s, the movie recounts only a small part of what the community had gone through during that period. The spate of killings, rape and abduction of Pandit women was far worse which the Israeli filmmaker cannot understand.”

Members of the Kashmiri Pandit community and their leaders are raising questions as to how a person of “dubious” credentials was invited for a prestigious film festival in the country.

Kashmiri Pandits started migrating to Jammu and elsewhere in the early 1990s following the outbreak of violence in Kashmir. While the records of the Union Home Ministry released in 2013 claim that 213 Kashmiri Pandits were killed during the insurgency, organisations of the community say the number is much higher.

Ajay Chrungoo, chairperson of the Panun Kashmir, an organisation demanding a separate homeland for Kashmiri Pandits within the Valley, said the remarks by Lapid had reopened the wounds of the community.

Rubon Saproo, a teacher who settled in Jammu after a spate of killings of minorities in the Valley, said what happened in Kashmir recently was just a trailer of what had happened in the 1990s.

By King RJ

Ganderbal, Nov 28: With an aim to provide technical support to Youths especially in Fisheries farming, Faculty of Fisheries SKUAST-Kashmir through Division of Fishery Engineering in collaboration with ICAR- CIFT (GoI) distributed technology inputs/equipments among Schedule Tribe youth to boost entrepreneurship through Fisheries.

The programme was conducted under the project entitled “Entrepreneurship Development among Scheduled Tribe Communities through Harvest and Post Harvest Management of Fishes” funded by ICAR-CIFT( Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt. of India). 

The Programme was presided over by Prof. (Dr.) Dil Mohammad Makhdoomi, Director Extension, SKUAST-K, and the other dignitaries present during the programme were Dr. George Ninan Director ICAR-CIFT (GoI), Prof. (Dr.) Farooz Ahmad Bhat, Dean Faculty of Fisheries SKUAST-K, Prof. (Dr.) Gohar Bilal Wani, Head Division of Fishery Engineering/ Nodal officer ICAR-CIFT, SKUAST-K, Dr Tariq Hussain, Head Division of PHT, SKUAST-K, Scientists from Faculty of Fisheries SKUAST-K and other National Institute.

Prof. Gohar Bilal Wani briefed progress of the project and the various events carried since one year.

Prof. Wani emphasized that fisheries has tremendous scope /potential in Kashmir to confront unemployment problem in state.

He enlightens the house that 240 Scheduled Tribe (ST) youth were trained under this project from last few months in fisheries. He further said the impact of training during few months has resulted in the formation of entrepreneurship groups of Scheduled Tribe who have taken fisheries business as their livelihood.

Dean, Faculty of Fisheries, Prof. (Dr.) Farooz Ahmad Bhat, formally welcomed the dignitaries present on the occasion through both offline and online.

Dean, Faculty of Fisheries congratulated Prof. Wani Head, Division of Fishery Engineering and Dr Tariq Hussain, Head Division of Post Harvest Technology (Fisheries) for making the targets under the said project successful.

He discussed in detail the various post Harvest and value addition avenues in fisheries sector which will of immense help in eradicating the poverty and in generating the livelihood among the youth especially from the backward classes of the community.

Prof. Dil Mohammad Makhdoomi, Director Extension, SKUAST-K, congratulated the Scientists of Faculty of Fisheries for conducting such entrepreneurship programmes which provided entrepreneurship and employment to the young qualified persons of Scheduled Tribe people. He highlighted the importance of value addition in fish and other products for enhancing the generation and more revenue through the Post Harvest.

Director Extension also discussed various schemes and start ups in which SKUAST-K can help in providing the platform in taking any Agriculture sectior as an entrepreneurship and business on large scale.

At the end of the programme equipments related to Post Harvest Fisheries like Smoking Kiln, Fish De-scaler, Fish carrying ice boxes, complete kitchen wares etc were distributed among the Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries by the Director Extension and Dean Fofy along with the Nodal officer ICAR-CIFT SKUAST-K and other organisers.

Programme ended with vote of thanks by Dr. Shabir Ahmad Dar, Assistant Professor, Division of Fishery Engineering and the whole programme was hosted by the Dr. Ashfaq Farooq Agha, Assistant Professor, Division of Fishery Engineering.

New Delhi, Nov 29: National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Tuesday highlighted that cross-border terrorism and ISIS-inspired terrorism continues to pose a threat to humanity.
Addressing a conference in the national capital on the role of Ulema in fostering a culture of Interfaith Peace and Social harmony in India and Indonesia, Doval said “As you all are aware, both our countries have been victims of terrorism and separatism. While we have overcome the challenges to a considerable extent, the phenomenon of cross-border and ISIS-inspired terrorism continues to pose a threat. Cooperation of the civil society is essential in countering the threat from ISIS-inspired individual terror cells and returnees from theatres like Syria and Afghanistan.”
The national security advisor said that the aim of today’s discussion is to bring together Indian and Indonesian Ulema and scholars who can take forward the cooperation in promoting tolerance, harmony and peaceful co-existence.
“This will bolster the fight against violent extremism, terrorism and radicalisation,” Doval said.
“None of the ends for which extremism, radicalisation and the misuse of religion are employed are justifiable on any ground. This is a distortion of religion against which all of us need to raise our voices. Extremism and terrorism is against the very meaning of Islam because Islam means peace and well-being (Salamati/Asalaam). Opposition to such forces should not be painted as a confrontation with any religion. That is a ruse”, he said.
“Instead, we should focus on the real message of our religions, which stands for the values of humanism, peace and understanding. Indeed, as the Holy Quran itself teaches, killing one person is like killing all humanity and saving one is akin to saving humanity. Islam ordains that the most excellent form of Jihad is ‘Jihad Afzal’ – that is, Jihad against one’s senses or ego- and not against innocent civilians,” Doval further said.
Top Indonesian minister Mohammed Mahfud MD is in Delhi on the invitation of National Security Advisor Doval.
Mahfud, the Coordinating Minister for the Political, Legal, and Security Affairs of Indonesia is accompanied by a high-level delegation of Ulema.
Visiting Ulema from Indonesia will also be interacting with their Indian counterparts. The discussion will be on the ‘Role of Ulema in fostering a culture of interfaith peace and social harmony in India and Indonesia’.
“Ulema play a very important role in Islamic society and the objective of such discussion is to bring together Indian and Indonesian Ulema and scholars who can take forward the cooperation to promote tolerance, harmony and peaceful co-existence and counter violent extremism and radicalization,” a source said.
There will be three sessions, first on Islam: Continuity and Change, second on Harmonizing inter-faith society: Practice and Experience and last session will be on Countering Radicalization and Extremism in India and Indonesia.
During the visit, Ulema from Indonesia will also be interacting with leaders from other faiths. Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population.
NSA Doval had visited Indonesia for the second Indo- Indonesia security dialogue in March this year. NSA then invited minister Mehfud to India. (Agencies)

New Delhi: “Media must ensure that live reporting in case of a terrorist attack shouldn’t provide clues to attackers and facilitate their ill motives,” said Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur at the Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union General Assembly, on Tuesday.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur was addressing the opening ceremony of the 59th Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) General Assembly and Associated Meetings 2022. “Media must report responsibly in an earthquake, fire and terrorist attacks,” Thakur added.

The theme of the 59th Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) General Assembly and Associated Meetings 2022 is “Serving The People-Media’s Role In The Time Of Crisis”. Lauding the work done by the media during the difficult days of the COVID lockdown Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that due to lockdowns, it was the media that connected people with the outside world.

“The COVID crisis has been a time for testing for all of us across the globe. Due to lockdowns, it was the media that connected people with the outside world. In such situations, providing the right and timely information becomes the media’s responsibility,” said Union Minister Anurag Thakur.

Underlining the role of media during the time of Covid, he said that Indian broadcasters and Indian media, in general, ensured that COVID-19 awareness messages and important guidelines reached the people on time. “Indian broadcasters and Indian media, in general, ensured that #COVID19 awareness messages, important govt guidelines and free online consultations were provided. Whereas doctors reached everyone, in every nook and corner of this country,” he said.

Dr L. Murugan, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Apurva Chandra Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting were also present during the opening ceremony. (ANI)

Auli (Uttarakhand), Nov 29: Indian Army troops are using trained Kites to prey on enemy drones in a first-of-its-kind usage of these birds.
Indian Army is using trained Kites along with dogs for military operations, Army officials said.
Such a capability can help the security forces to tackle the menace of drones coming from across the border to Indian areas in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.
Several cases have come to light where drones coming from Pakistani side dropped consignment of drugs, guns and money in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
Recently on November 24, Jammu and Kashmir Police recovered a consignment of weapons and Indian currency that were dropped by a Pakistani drone in the Samba district of Jammu.
The Indian Army demonstrated the use of kites to prey on enemy drones during the ongoing joint training exercise Yuddh Abhyas in Auli, Uttarakhand. (Agencies)