Indian-Americans, Students Protest Against Citizenship Act in US

News Network
December 21, 2019

Washington, Dec 21: Indian-Americans and Indian students held peaceful protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the US cities of Chicago and Boston, saying this is a step towards rupturing India's social fabric.

About 150 people marched to the Indian consulate from the Tribune Tower in Chicago.

"Chicago condemns the egregious behaviour of the Indian government," the protesting students said in a statement.

"We are outraged by the violence and actively condemn the brutality inflicted upon students at Jamia Milia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)," said the Indian students in Chicago.

Indian-American Muslim Council (IAMC), in a statement, strongly condemned the alleged "brutal crackdown" on students of Jamia and AMU.

"We have watched this tragic unfolding of events with great concern and anguish. The all India National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Law will have a primal impact on the Indian polity. This is a step towards rupturing India''s social fabric and students should at the very least have the democratic right to protest," said IAMC president Ahsan Khan.

A diverse section of the Indian diaspora gathered on the steps of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) early this week with a call to boycott the NRC and repeal the CAA, 2019.

Among those gathered consisted of scientists, engineers, students, service workers and computer professionals, artists and doctors, social justice activists, left and liberal intellectuals and community leaders.

"Just like the immigrants are being discriminated and criminalised in the US, similarly the Muslims and other minorities in India are being criminalised because of the NRC. Our struggles are very similar and we have to fight these oppressive powers together," said Alonso Espinosa from MIT Students Against War (MITSAW).

Rozina Amin Zama from Indian American Muslims Council Boston Chapter, which is a part of the The Boston Coalition, said, "The religious test of CAB is without a doubt unconstitutional and goes against universally accepted human rights framework. For example the Hindus and Buddhists from Sri Lanka, Atheists from Bangladesh, and Ahmadi Muslims from Pakistan are excluded while the Indian government claims to protect its minorities."

According to the CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities -- who came from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 following religious persecution -- will get Indian citizenship.

The protesters claim that the legislation is "unconstitutional and divisive" as it excludes Muslims.

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News Network
January 31,2020

New Delhi, Jan 31: Slamming the BJP over the Jamia firing incident, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said such incidents were possible with the ruling party's leaders inciting people to shoot, and asked Prime minister Narendra Modi to answer whether he stands with violence or non-violence.   

Her attack on the government comes a day after tensions in the Jamia area spiralled on Thursday after a man fired a pistol at a group of anti-CAA protesters, injuring a student, before walking away while waving the firearm above his head and shouting "Yeh lo aazadi" amid heavy police presence in the area.

"When the BJP government ministers and party leaders incite people to shoot, give provocative speeches, then all this becomes possible. The Prime Minister should answer what kind of a Delhi he wants to build?" Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

Does the PM stand with violence or non-violence, she asked.

"Does he stand with development or with anarchy?" the Congress general secretary said.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said the Women's IPL or the Challenger series, as it is better known, is "very much on", ending speculation about the parent body not having a plan for Harmanpreet Kaur and her team.

The men's IPL will be held between September 19 and November 8 or 10 (final date yet to be locked in) in the UAE due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in India. The women's IPL will also be fit in to the schedule, according to the BCCI chief.

"I can confirm to you that the women's IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also," Ganguly told PTI ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting later on Sunday.

The BCCI president, who is awaiting a Supreme Court verdict on waiver of the cooling-off period to continue in the position, did not divulge details but another senior official privy to the development said that women's Challenger will be held during the last phase of IPL like last year.

"The women's Challenger series is likely to be held between November 1-10 and there could be a camp before that," the source said.

The former India captain also said that the centrally contracted women players will have a camp which has been delayed due to the prevailing situation in the country.

"We couldn't have exposed any of our cricketers -- be it male or female to health risk. It would have been dangerous," Ganguly said.

"The NCA also remained shut because of Covid-19. But we have a plan in place and we will have a camp for women, I can tell you that," he added.

The BCCI's cricket operations team is chalking up a schedule where Indian women are likely to have two full-fledged white-ball series against South Africa and the West Indies before playing the ODI World Cup in New Zealand. 

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News Network
May 28,2020

May 28: Boeing is cutting more than 12,000 jobs through layoffs and buyouts as the coronavirus pandemic seizes the travel industry, and more cuts are coming.

One of the nation's biggest manufacturers will lay off 6,770 U.S. employees this week, and another 5,520 workers are taking buyout offers to leave voluntarily in the coming wee

Air travel within the U.S. tumbled 96% by mid-April, to fewer than 100,000 people on some days. It has recovered slightly. The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 264,843 people at airports on Tuesday, a drop of 89% compared with the same Tuesday a year ago.

Boeing had said it would cut 10% of a work force that numbered about 160,000. A Boeing spokesperson said Wednesday's actions represent the largest number of job cuts, but several thousand additional jobs will be eliminated in the next few months.

The layoffs are expected to be concentrated in the Seattle area, home to Boeing's commercial-airplanes business. The defense and space division is stable and will help blunt the impact of the decline in air travel and demand for passenger jets, the company said.

Boeing said additional job cuts will be made in international locations, but it did not specify numbers.

"The COVID-19 pandemic's devastating impact on the airline industry means a deep cut in the number of commercial jets and services our customers will need over the next few years, which in turn means fewer jobs on our lines and in our offices," CEO David Calhoun said Wednesday in a memo to employees.

Calhoun said the company faces the challenges of keeping employees safe and working with suppliers and airlines "to assure the traveling public that it can fly safe from infection."

Calhoun warned that Boeing will have to adjust business plans constantly because the pandemic makes it hard to predict the impact on the company's business.

Boeing's crisis began with two crashes of its 737 Max, which led regulators around the world to ground the jetliner last year. The company's problems have deepened with the coronavirus, which has cut global air traffic by up to 90% and caused airlines to postpone or cancel orders and deliveries for new planes.

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