Veteran journalist Kuldip Nayyar passes away

Agencies
August 23, 2018

New Delhi, Aug 23: Eminent journalist and author Kuldip Nayar, who fiercely fought for press freedom and protecting civil liberties, passed away early today. He was 95. 

Nayar died at around 12.30 AM at the Escorts hospital, his elder son Sudhir Nayar said.

He was suffering from pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital five days back, Sudhir Nayar said.

The journalist is survived by his wife and two sons. His last rites will be performed at Lodhi crematorium at 1 PM. 

Nayar, known as a crusader for civil rights and press freedom, worked in several newspapers including as the editor in the Statesman.

He had also served as the Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in the 1990s and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1997.

He was arrested during the Emergency.

Nayar was also known for his efforts to improve frosty relationship between India and Pakistan including leading peace activists to light candles on the Independence days of Pakistan and India at the Attari-Wagah border near Amritsar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the demise of Nayar, saying his strong stand against the Emergency, public service and commitment to the country will always be remembered. 

"Kuldip Nayar was an intellectual giant of our times. Frank and fearless in his views, his work spanned across many decades. His strong stand against the Emergency, public service and commitment to a better India will always be remembered. Saddened by his demise. My condolences," Modi said in a tweet.

Editor of the Week magazine Sachidanand Murthy remembered Nayar's contribution in fiercely protecting press freedom and civil liberties. 

"He had protested the infamous Defamation Bill which was brought by the Rajiv Gandhi government in late 1980s. He had also worked tirelessly to ensure protection of civil liberties in India," said Murthy.

The Defamation Bill was seen as an attempt to contain free speech in India. Following public outcry, the then government had withdrawn it. 

Nayar had written a number of best sellers including 'Beyond the Lines: An Autobiography' and Between the Lines, a book on politics. 

Nayar was also one of the most respected syndicated columnist and his columns and op-eds were published in over 50 newspapers.

He was born in Pakistan's Sialkot in 1923 and he began his career in journalism in Urdu press.

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coastaldigest.com news network
June 27,2020

Mangaluru, Jun 29: As many as 49 fresh covid-19 cases were reported in Dakshina Kannada district in past 24 hours taking the district’s tally to 568.

At the same time 38 persons were also discharged from the hospital after complete recovery from covid 19.

Out of the 49 positive cases, 14 persons had returned from Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar. 17 persons had contracted the disease from patient number 9590. 3 persons are suffering from an influenza-like illness (ILI), and 4 persons are suffering from Severe Acute Respiratory Infection.

The health officials are tracing the contacts of six others. All the 49 persons have been shifted to hospital for treatment. Most of them are said to be asymptomatic.

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Agencies
July 3,2020

New Delhi, Jul 3: The aviation regulator DGCA said on Friday it was extending the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights in the country till July 31 but added that some international scheduled services on selected routes may be permitted on a case to case basis.

Scheduled international passenger flights were suspended in India on March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Modifying its June 26 circular that stated that scheduled international passenger flights will remain suspended till July 15, 2020, the regulator stated on Friday it has decided to extend the deadline to July 31, 2020.

However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case to case basis,” said the circular by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Air India and other private domestic airlines have been operating unscheduled international repatriation flights under the Vande Bharat Mission, which was started on May 6 by the Central government.

India resumed scheduled domestic passenger flights on May 25, after a gap of two months.

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News Network
January 7,2020

New Delhi, Jan 7: When a reign of terror was unleashed by "masked goons" in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday, Delhi Police registered two cases against varsity students union president Aishe Ghosh, who was badly injured in the attack, within a span of five minutes.

The registration of cases on two separate complaints against Ghosh and other students filed by JNU security department on January 3 and January 4 were registered on Sunday night when the violence was on, triggering questions about the motive behind the timing.

While the FIRs against Ghosh and others were registered between 8.44 pm and 8.49 pm after the JNUSU president was admitted to AIIMS, an FIR on the Sunday violence was registered on Monday at 5.36 am against unknown persons. The Sunday violence case has been transferred to Crime Branch for further investigations.

Questions are being raised over the registration of FIRs on Sunday while the complaints were filed on the previous days. Students allege that it was an afterthought from the police and authorities, as a nationwide outrage erupted as soon as the violence was reported.

Delhi Police is under attack for not coming to the aid of students targeted by the mob of ABVP activists armed with iron rods and sticks who went on a rampage on the campus. While no single person in the Sunday violence was arrested, the police are also accused of being a "mute spectator" by allowing the rioters to leave the campus without being arrested.

In its complaints, the JNU Security Department has alleged that Ghosh and others entered into a verbal and physical scuffle with security guards, including women, when officials tried to open the Centre for Information System (CIS) that was blocked by students protesting against the fee hike and registration process.

While the January 3 complaint claims that the students switched off the power supply to the CIS and evicted staff forcefully, the January 4 complaint alleged that they damaged the information system.

They also claimed the students damaged the servers, made it dysfunctional, severely damaged optic fibre cables and broke the biometric system in the CIS. The complaint also cited a Supreme Court order that prevented any protest within 100 metres of Administration Block and claimed the students violated the direction.

The FIR filed on Sunday violence on the basis of the statement of Inspector Anand Yadav said that the first phase of violence was reported at 3.45 pm when "40-50 unidentified" people who had "covered their faces" attacked students in Periyar Hostel and the situation was brought under control.

However at around 7 pm, "50-60 people with rods in their hands" targeted students in Sabarmati Hostel in which students were attacked and public property destroyed.

The FIR said that students were injured but skipped the mention of the attack on teachers, who were injured. At least two faculty members Sucharita Sen and Ameet Parameswaran were taken to AIIMS while several other teachers suffered minor injuries.

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