Users in India can now speak to Amazon’s voice assistant, Alexa in Hindi to carry out tasks like checking cricket scores, requesting for songs and even asking how she's doing. Launched in India in 2017, Alexa was able to understand and pronounce names of popular places, names and songs in regional languages but supported commands only in English. With the latest update, Alexa can now understand customers speaking to her completely in Hindi and Hinglish. Alexa, which competes with digital assistants is available across Amazon's Echo range of devices as well as products from brands like Bose, MyBox, iBall and Syska
19.9.19
Ayodhya Hearing may be Over by 18th October
The Supreme Court allowed mediation to continue in the Ayodhya title suit parallel to the court hearing.
Any settlement arrived at by a high level court-mandated committee headed by former judge FMI Kalifullah will be submitted to the top court for vetting. The Nirvani Akhara and a Waqf Board member had sought court nod to continue talking in-camera to arrive at a solution.
Meanwhile, the hearing in the case will continue, CJI Ranjan Gogoi said. Arguments will be wrapped up by October 18, brightening the possibility of a ruling by November 17, the day the CJI demits office. If need be, the court would devote extra time to the case, the CJI said.
Any further delay will imply a de novo hearing on the issue pending in the top court since 2010.
In the first hint of things to come, the CJI-led five-judge bench began exploring ways and means to mould relief in the case. “We also have to mould relief,” CJI Gogoi said.
Towards the end of the proceedings, Justice DY Chandrachud sought to know the distance between the Ram Chabutra and the dome of the now demolished Babri Masjid structure from the lead lawyer for the Waqf Board, Rajeev Dhavan.
Dhavan said it was about 150-120 feet, indicating the proximity at which the two communities prayed at the site.
Justice Chandrachud then wanted to know why Hindus still prayed at the railing which divides the dome area from the Ram Chabutra. “Is it because they are still offering prayers where the deity earlier stood?”
Dhavan contested Justice Chandrachud’s inference vehemently as pure “conjecture”. “Where is the contemporaneous evidence to back this?” He instead blamed it on “curiosity”. He also cited the backdrop, in which the area had been divided by a railing to separate the areas in which the Hindus and Muslims prayed.
Till 1855, both sides prayed inside the structure. But in the backdrop of a bitter fight over control over the area where a walled structure of a mosque already stood, the British put a railing which would ensure that the Hindus would pray outside the inner courtyard near the Ram Chabutra and the Muslims inside, he contended.
The Board has claimed that the Hindus have historically worshipped the Ram Chabutra as the birthplace of Lord Ram, a fact contested by the other side. It has conceded the ‘Hindu right’ to pray at the Chabutra provided the title of the land went to it.
Any settlement arrived at by a high level court-mandated committee headed by former judge FMI Kalifullah will be submitted to the top court for vetting. The Nirvani Akhara and a Waqf Board member had sought court nod to continue talking in-camera to arrive at a solution.
Meanwhile, the hearing in the case will continue, CJI Ranjan Gogoi said. Arguments will be wrapped up by October 18, brightening the possibility of a ruling by November 17, the day the CJI demits office. If need be, the court would devote extra time to the case, the CJI said.
Any further delay will imply a de novo hearing on the issue pending in the top court since 2010.
In the first hint of things to come, the CJI-led five-judge bench began exploring ways and means to mould relief in the case. “We also have to mould relief,” CJI Gogoi said.
Towards the end of the proceedings, Justice DY Chandrachud sought to know the distance between the Ram Chabutra and the dome of the now demolished Babri Masjid structure from the lead lawyer for the Waqf Board, Rajeev Dhavan.
Dhavan said it was about 150-120 feet, indicating the proximity at which the two communities prayed at the site.
Justice Chandrachud then wanted to know why Hindus still prayed at the railing which divides the dome area from the Ram Chabutra. “Is it because they are still offering prayers where the deity earlier stood?”
Dhavan contested Justice Chandrachud’s inference vehemently as pure “conjecture”. “Where is the contemporaneous evidence to back this?” He instead blamed it on “curiosity”. He also cited the backdrop, in which the area had been divided by a railing to separate the areas in which the Hindus and Muslims prayed.
Till 1855, both sides prayed inside the structure. But in the backdrop of a bitter fight over control over the area where a walled structure of a mosque already stood, the British put a railing which would ensure that the Hindus would pray outside the inner courtyard near the Ram Chabutra and the Muslims inside, he contended.
The Board has claimed that the Hindus have historically worshipped the Ram Chabutra as the birthplace of Lord Ram, a fact contested by the other side. It has conceded the ‘Hindu right’ to pray at the Chabutra provided the title of the land went to it.
India Stubs Out E-cigarettes
India has announced a complete ban on electronic cigarettes, joining Australia, Brazil and Singapore among others to take a decisive step against vaping that is blamed for multiple deaths, including in western countries.
The Cabinet cleared an ordinance to ban the production, import, export, distribution, sale, storage and advertisements of electronic nicotine delivery system, or e-cigarettes.
The ban is expected to benefit traditional cigarette companies such as ITC and Godfrey Phillips that were facing competition from e-cigarettes.
The government decision will adversely impact plans of vaping products companies such as Juul Labs and Philip Morris International that were looking to invest in India.
Those violating provisions of the law face imprisonment of up to three years, along with monetary penalty.
All e-cigarette devices and consumable stocks must be deposited with the police once the law comes into force.
The move comes just a week after US President Donald Trump proposed a ban on flavoured e-cigarettes.
On Tuesday, New York became the second US state after Michigan to ban flavoured e-cigarettes, following several vaping-linked deaths that have raised fears about a product long promoted as less harmful than smoking.
The Association of Vapers India, an organisation representing e-cigarette users, called the decision draconian and a black day for smokers.
The Cabinet cleared an ordinance to ban the production, import, export, distribution, sale, storage and advertisements of electronic nicotine delivery system, or e-cigarettes.
The ban is expected to benefit traditional cigarette companies such as ITC and Godfrey Phillips that were facing competition from e-cigarettes.
The government decision will adversely impact plans of vaping products companies such as Juul Labs and Philip Morris International that were looking to invest in India.
Those violating provisions of the law face imprisonment of up to three years, along with monetary penalty.
All e-cigarette devices and consumable stocks must be deposited with the police once the law comes into force.
The move comes just a week after US President Donald Trump proposed a ban on flavoured e-cigarettes.
On Tuesday, New York became the second US state after Michigan to ban flavoured e-cigarettes, following several vaping-linked deaths that have raised fears about a product long promoted as less harmful than smoking.
The Association of Vapers India, an organisation representing e-cigarette users, called the decision draconian and a black day for smokers.
IAF reopens remote airstrip
With an eye firmly on China, the IAF reopened the Vijaynagar ALG (advance landing ground) in Arunachal Pradesh for military aircraft, even as the Army wrapped up an operational alert exercise in Ladakh near the Line of Actual Control.
The IAF landed an AN-32 aircraft at the Vijaynagar ALG, which is not connected with any motorable road, to re-establish military transport aircraft connectivity at this easternmost hamlet of India. Apart from the three ALGs in Eastern Ladakh, IAF has activated six of them in Arunachal —Pasighat, Mechuka, Walong, Along, Ziro and Tuting — over the last few years for fast mobility of troops and supplies to remote border areas.
Officials said the resurfaced runway at Vijaynagar, which was jointly inaugurated by Eastern Air Command chief Air Marshal R D Mathur and Eastern Army Command chief Lt-General Anil Chauhan, will also assist in effective management of the border with Myanmar and facilitate launch of joint operations for “the defence of the Vijaynagar salient”. “The movement of large transport aircraft will also act as a catalyst for the development of the area,” said an official.
The “all-arms integrated” exercise near Chushul in eastern Ladakh was called “Changthang Prahar (assault)”. Changthang is a plateau in Tibet that extends into southeastern Ladakh.
The Army’s top officer in J&K Lt General Ranbir Singh expressed “full confidence” that the Northern Command, which looks after the LAC and Line of Control, “will continue its legacy of excelling in combat, should a conflict be forced upon the nation.”
The IAF landed an AN-32 aircraft at the Vijaynagar ALG, which is not connected with any motorable road, to re-establish military transport aircraft connectivity at this easternmost hamlet of India. Apart from the three ALGs in Eastern Ladakh, IAF has activated six of them in Arunachal —Pasighat, Mechuka, Walong, Along, Ziro and Tuting — over the last few years for fast mobility of troops and supplies to remote border areas.
Officials said the resurfaced runway at Vijaynagar, which was jointly inaugurated by Eastern Air Command chief Air Marshal R D Mathur and Eastern Army Command chief Lt-General Anil Chauhan, will also assist in effective management of the border with Myanmar and facilitate launch of joint operations for “the defence of the Vijaynagar salient”. “The movement of large transport aircraft will also act as a catalyst for the development of the area,” said an official.
The “all-arms integrated” exercise near Chushul in eastern Ladakh was called “Changthang Prahar (assault)”. Changthang is a plateau in Tibet that extends into southeastern Ladakh.
The Army’s top officer in J&K Lt General Ranbir Singh expressed “full confidence” that the Northern Command, which looks after the LAC and Line of Control, “will continue its legacy of excelling in combat, should a conflict be forced upon the nation.”
SC attains full strength
President Ram Nath Kovind signed the warrants for appointment of Justices V Ramasubramanian, Krishna Murari, S Ravindra Bhat and Hrishikesh Roy as judges of the SC, which will attain its full strength of 34 judges when these judges take oath.
This is the second time in CJI Ranjan Gogoi’s tenure that the SC will function at full strength. Before Parliament increased the SC’s sanctioned strength from 31, the collegium had achieved the rare distinction in almost a decade to get the SC functioning at full strength. The increase of sanctioned strength to 34 materialised after CJI Gogoi wrote to PM Modi citing heavy workload due to increase in litigation.
Shortly after the sanctioned strength was increased to 34 judges, an SC collegium recommended appointment of Himachal Pradesh HC Chief Justice Ramasubramanian, Punjab and Haryana HC CJ Murari, Rajasthan HC CJ Bhat and Kerala HC CJ Roy as judges of the SC.
This is the second time in CJI Ranjan Gogoi’s tenure that the SC will function at full strength. Before Parliament increased the SC’s sanctioned strength from 31, the collegium had achieved the rare distinction in almost a decade to get the SC functioning at full strength. The increase of sanctioned strength to 34 materialised after CJI Gogoi wrote to PM Modi citing heavy workload due to increase in litigation.
Shortly after the sanctioned strength was increased to 34 judges, an SC collegium recommended appointment of Himachal Pradesh HC Chief Justice Ramasubramanian, Punjab and Haryana HC CJ Murari, Rajasthan HC CJ Bhat and Kerala HC CJ Roy as judges of the SC.
15.9.19
Maharashtra: BJP gets Shivaji’s descendant
Welcoming Chhatrapati Shivaji’s direct descendant, Udayan Raje Bhosale of Satara, into the BJP, BJP president Amit Shah said the Devendra Fadnavis government has worked for the state’s all-round development and “restored” its pride in its five-year rule. Shah said the BJP and its alliance would receive even bigger support in the assembly polls after it had decimated the Congress-NCP alliance in the Lok Sabha polls in May this year.
Prior to joining the BJP on Saturday, Bhosale resigned from the Lok Sabha to which he was elected from Satara. A by-election will have to be held for the Satara Lok Sabha constituency. Bhosale has been insisting that the by-election be held along with the assembly elections in October. However, the Shiv Sena may pose a hurdle before the BJP as the seat is with them.
Bhosale joined the BJP in New Delhi at an event organised at the residence of Union home minister Amit Shah, who is also BJP national president. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP president Chandrakant Patil were the other senior leaders present at the function.
“I was not feeling comfortable in the NCP. I was highly impressed because of the Modi government’s decision on Jammu and Kashmir,” Udayan Raje told the media after the event. He was referring to the nullification on August 5 of Article 370 which had granted special status to Jammu & Kashmir.
Patil said that Bhosale’s entry would strengthen the BJP in Maharashtra. “Bhosale was always mentally with the BJP even though he was in the NCP,” Patil noted.
BJP working president J.P. Nadda and general secretary Bhupender Yadav, who is his party's in-charge for the state polls, were also present on the occasion.
Bhosale updated all the developments of the day through his social media accounts, including his departure for the national capital along with CM Fadnavis. Bhosale has appealed to all residents of Satara to welcome Fadnavis’s ‘Maha Janadesh yatra’ on Sunday. Udayan Raje is expected to accompany Fadnavis on his yatra in Satara district.
Speaking at an event in Ahmednagar later on Saturday evening, Fadnavis said all descendants of Shivaji Maharaj are now with their party. Udayan Raje and cousin Shivendra Raje Bhosale, who are political rivals, are now with the BJP. Shivendra Raje too switched from the NCP to BJP recently. Reacting to the development, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik alleged Udayan Raje had joined BJP in order to sell off the inherited “historical” lands of Shivaji Maharaj.
Meanwhile, former Satara district Congress president Anandrao Patil held a meeting of his supporters in Karad on Friday. He is expected to join the BJP in Karad during the CM’s yatra. Satyajit Deshmukh, son of senior Congress leader, the late Shivajirao Deshmukh, has also called a meeting of his supporters in Sangli on Sunday.
Prior to joining the BJP on Saturday, Bhosale resigned from the Lok Sabha to which he was elected from Satara. A by-election will have to be held for the Satara Lok Sabha constituency. Bhosale has been insisting that the by-election be held along with the assembly elections in October. However, the Shiv Sena may pose a hurdle before the BJP as the seat is with them.
Bhosale joined the BJP in New Delhi at an event organised at the residence of Union home minister Amit Shah, who is also BJP national president. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP president Chandrakant Patil were the other senior leaders present at the function.
“I was not feeling comfortable in the NCP. I was highly impressed because of the Modi government’s decision on Jammu and Kashmir,” Udayan Raje told the media after the event. He was referring to the nullification on August 5 of Article 370 which had granted special status to Jammu & Kashmir.
Patil said that Bhosale’s entry would strengthen the BJP in Maharashtra. “Bhosale was always mentally with the BJP even though he was in the NCP,” Patil noted.
BJP working president J.P. Nadda and general secretary Bhupender Yadav, who is his party's in-charge for the state polls, were also present on the occasion.
Bhosale updated all the developments of the day through his social media accounts, including his departure for the national capital along with CM Fadnavis. Bhosale has appealed to all residents of Satara to welcome Fadnavis’s ‘Maha Janadesh yatra’ on Sunday. Udayan Raje is expected to accompany Fadnavis on his yatra in Satara district.
Speaking at an event in Ahmednagar later on Saturday evening, Fadnavis said all descendants of Shivaji Maharaj are now with their party. Udayan Raje and cousin Shivendra Raje Bhosale, who are political rivals, are now with the BJP. Shivendra Raje too switched from the NCP to BJP recently. Reacting to the development, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik alleged Udayan Raje had joined BJP in order to sell off the inherited “historical” lands of Shivaji Maharaj.
Meanwhile, former Satara district Congress president Anandrao Patil held a meeting of his supporters in Karad on Friday. He is expected to join the BJP in Karad during the CM’s yatra. Satyajit Deshmukh, son of senior Congress leader, the late Shivajirao Deshmukh, has also called a meeting of his supporters in Sangli on Sunday.
Uniform Civil Code not practical : Muslim bodies
A day after Supreme Court’s strong observations on the Uniform Civil Code, members of prominent Muslim minority organisations said that a Uniform Civil Code was “neither practical, nor possible to implement” in a country with so much diversity.
Cutting across organisations they questioned the idea of UCC citing different personal laws and diverse cultural backgrounds of communities even within one religion.
Prominent members of the Minority organisations like All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind also cited the Law Commission’s consultation paper on family laws released last year on August 31. AIMPLB had then welcomed the Law Commission’s assertion that a Uniform Civil Code is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage. The AIMPLB had reiterated its position that it was not open to changes in the personal law and reform as suggested by the commission will happen only through the “social framework”.
“Even the law Commission in its consultative paper concedes that the UCC is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage. I am of the view that enforcing a UCC in India is impractical,” AIMPLB general secretary Maulana Sayyid Wali Remhami said. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board had welcomed the Law Commission’s assertion on August 31 that a UCC is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage. The AIMPLB had reiterated its position that it was not open to changes in the personal law and reform as suggested by the commission will happen only through the “social framework”.
Over a year later, the debate on UCC is once again in the limelight. The SC on Friday frowned on the failure of governments to heed Article 44 of the Constitution to promulgate a UCC for the entire country despite the lag of 63 years since codification of Hindu law in 1956.
“We have so much diversity in personal laws. How can one UCC apply to all. If the government at some stage does manage to bring in a UCC using its majority power in Parliament it will open a Pandora’s box of troubles in terms of on-ground implementation,” member of the AIMPLB Kamal Faruqui added. Jamiat Ulama -i- Hind’s senior functionary Niaz Ahmed Farooqui too said that the UCC was impossible to implement.
Cutting across organisations they questioned the idea of UCC citing different personal laws and diverse cultural backgrounds of communities even within one religion.
Prominent members of the Minority organisations like All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind also cited the Law Commission’s consultation paper on family laws released last year on August 31. AIMPLB had then welcomed the Law Commission’s assertion that a Uniform Civil Code is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage. The AIMPLB had reiterated its position that it was not open to changes in the personal law and reform as suggested by the commission will happen only through the “social framework”.
“Even the law Commission in its consultative paper concedes that the UCC is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage. I am of the view that enforcing a UCC in India is impractical,” AIMPLB general secretary Maulana Sayyid Wali Remhami said. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board had welcomed the Law Commission’s assertion on August 31 that a UCC is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage. The AIMPLB had reiterated its position that it was not open to changes in the personal law and reform as suggested by the commission will happen only through the “social framework”.
Over a year later, the debate on UCC is once again in the limelight. The SC on Friday frowned on the failure of governments to heed Article 44 of the Constitution to promulgate a UCC for the entire country despite the lag of 63 years since codification of Hindu law in 1956.
“We have so much diversity in personal laws. How can one UCC apply to all. If the government at some stage does manage to bring in a UCC using its majority power in Parliament it will open a Pandora’s box of troubles in terms of on-ground implementation,” member of the AIMPLB Kamal Faruqui added. Jamiat Ulama -i- Hind’s senior functionary Niaz Ahmed Farooqui too said that the UCC was impossible to implement.
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