Gift swords to your sisters on Raksha Bandhan: Sadhvi tells Hindu men

Mangaluru, Jan 27: No power can now stop Kashmiri Pandits from going back to Kashmir, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday, forcefully defending the NDA government’s decision to reorganise Jammu and Kashmir and abrogating its special status under Article 370.

Addressing a massive pro-CAA, NRC rally organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party at Gold Finch city, Kuloor, on the outskirts of the city, the Defence minister also sent a strong message to Pakistan and said India will not let anyone live in peace if it is harmed.

"We will not touch anyone, but if someone bothers us, then we are not going to let them live in peace," he said.

Referring to the exodus of a large number of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in the late 1990s at the height of militancy, Singh said no power now can stop them from returning to their homes.

On the Citizenship Amendment Act, the minister said it is not a law to hurt the sentiments of any religion but to give relief to victims of religious persecution.

Mahatma Gandhi had told Nehru to give citizenship to minorities like Hindus and Sikhs if they come to India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fulfilled that vision by bringing in the law, Singh said.

On several non-BJP states refusing to implement the CAA, the defence minister said it it is a central law and everyone should follow it.

Accusing the Congress of misleading people on the issue, he said the party should not forget its duty towards the nation just because it is in opposition.

Bengaluru, Jan 19: Australia has conferred its highest civilian honour, the Order of Australia honour, on Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw for her contribution towards advancing the country's relationship with India.

Australia's High Commissioner to India Harinder Sidhu invested Mazumdar-Shaw as an Honorary Member within the Order of Australia (AM) in the General Division at a ceremony in Bengaluru on Friday, the Australian High Commission said in a statement.

An alumnus of Federation University Australia, Mazumdar-Shaw is the founder of Biocon, one of India's largest bio-pharmaceutical companies.

She contributes immensely to promoting women in STEM through the joint research programmes developed between Biocon and Deakin University, Australia, as part of her deep and long-standing commitment to gender equality, the statement said.

Mazumdar-Shaw - an Australian Global Alumni Ambassador - is also recognised for her sustained and significant contribution to industry academia collaboration between Australia and India, it said.

The ceremony was attended by representatives from Indian and Australian business, the diplomatic corps, and family, friends and peers of Mazumdar-Shaw, the statement said.

Speaking at the event, Sidhu said, "Dr Mazumdar-Shaw is a tireless champion of the commercial, educational, and people-to-people links between our two countries, and this award recognises her commitment to progressing the Australia-India partnership."

Honorary appointments in the Order of Australia are made to foreign nationals who have made an outstanding contribution to Australia or humanity at large.

Mazumdar-Shaw is the fourth Indian citizen to be awarded Australia's highest civilian honour.

This follows the conferment of superstar batsman Sachin Tendulkar in 2012, Former Attorney General of India Soli Jehangir Sorabjee in 2006, and Mother Teresa of Kolkata (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu) in 1982.

Mysuru, Mar 24:m who returned from foreign travel and flouted home quarantine guidelines has been arrested in Mysuru on Monday. 

The man, who returned from Australia, had a seal on his hand but was roaming around the city. 

According to police, he was supposed to be under home quarantine till April 6. V V Puram Police took him into custody.