Dwindling crows worry priests, devotees during 'pind daan'

October 15, 2012

pind-daan

Gaya, October 15: The dwindling number of crows here is giving sleepless nights to Hindu priests and devotees during the ongoing pind daan, religious rites seeking salvation for the dead from the cycle of rebirth.

 

Crows are considered central to the age-old pind daan rituals, following which the devotees offer them food as they are believed to be the ancestors of Hindus. The priests are neither bird lovers nor environmentalists, but worried nonetheless over fthe ast declining numbers of crows in this ancient town.

 

"The situation is alarming. There is a scarcity of crows here, which has hit the pind daan rituals" (during the fortnight-long pitrapaksh period)," priest Mahesh Lal Gupt told IANS.

 

Gupt blamed the increase of cellphone towers for the death of crows. Others said that mindless cutting of trees in the town and surrounding areas led to the disappearance of crows.

 

Hundreds of crows have died in Bihar this year, particularly in Gaya, Banka, Nawada, Jamui, Bhagalpur, Munger and Aurangabad districts because of bird flu. Last year, neighbouring Jharkhand had reported similar mass deaths of crows.

 

The fortnight-long pitrapaksh period during which Hindus consider it auspicious to offer pind daan began last month.

 

"The soul of a deceased keeps wandering till this ritual is performed by male descendants of the dead," Rajan Sijaur, another priest told IANS.

 

Pind daan is traditionally offered by Hindus, but historical records available with priests show that some Muslims also performed the ritual in the past.

 

Legend has it that Lord Rama performed this religious rite for his father, king Dasarath.

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Agencies
February 8,2020

New Delhi, Feb 8: A 26-year-old woman sub-inspector (SI) of the Delhi Police was shot dead near Rohini East Metro station on Friday night, officials said.

The SI, Preeti Ahlawat, was posted in Patparganj Industrial Area Police Station, police said.

A call about the incident was received around 9.30 pm, they said, adding she received gunshot wounds on her head.

"We have identified the suspects and CCTV footage of the area has been collected," said SD Mishra, Additional Commissioner of Police (Rohini).

Three empty cartridges were found from the spot, the officer said, adding a case has been registered and a probe is on.

Personal enmity is suspected to be the reason behind the killing, the officer said.

Ahlawat joined the Delhi Police in 2018.

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News Network
April 4,2020

Srinagar, Apr 4: Two militants were reportedly killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said.

The security forces launched a cordon and search operation based on intelligence inputs about the presence of militants in Hardmand Guri village in Kulgam, a police spokesperson said.

"This operation based on a credible police input was launched this morning. Two terrorists have been reportedly killed so far," the spokesperson said, adding that the exchange of fire was going on.

Earlier, the police tweeted on its official handle that three militants had been trapped in the cordon. "Same group of #terrorists trapped who killed 3 civilians recently," the police said.

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News Network
January 22,2020

Jan 22: Microsoft Corp’s chief executive officer said he worries that mistrust between the US and China will increase technology costs and hurt economic growth at a critical time.

Using the $470 billion semiconductor industry as an example of a sector that is already globally interconnected, Satya Nadella said the two countries will have to find ways to work together, rather than creating different supply chains for each country.

“All you are doing is increasing transaction costs for everybody if you completely separate,” Nadella said in an interview with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at Bloomberg’s The Year Ahead conference in Davos. That’s a concern as the executive said the world is on the cusp of a revolution around technology and artificial intelligence.

“If we take steps back in trust or increase transaction costs around technology, all we are doing is sacrificing global economic growth,” he said.

The agreement signed last week between the US and China was “not sufficient,” said Nadella, but represented “progress” on the issue of intellectual property protections for US technology companies working with China.

Nadella said he worries about the development of two separate internets, noting that to some degree they already exist “and they will get amplified in the future” with massive technology companies already in place in China.

The viewpoint clashes with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who has been sceptical about the idea that ongoing US-China trade tensions could ever lead to a bifurcated system of two internets.

China and the US are the two leading AI superpowers, however the cooling political relations between them have slowed the international collaboration.

Nadella also warned that countries that fail to attract immigrants will lose out as the global tech industry continues to grow. The CEO has previously voiced concern about India’s Citizenship Amendment Act, calling it “sad.”

“However, Nadella said he remained hopeful.

“The fact that there is a 70-year history of nation-building, I think it’s a very strong foundation. I grew up in that country. I’m proud of that heritage. I’m influenced by that experience.”

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