Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s decision to contest from the Bijepur assembly constituency is in line with a recommendation of state’s intelligence report that found that the incumbent CM will not be able to win from Hinjili. Patnaik has represented the Hinjili assembly seat from south Odisha and has won all elections since 2000.
Odisha is India’s eastern coastal state. Along with the General Elections the people of Odisha will also vote to elect candidates for its 147-member legislative assembly. There will be simultaneous polls in Odisha in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29 for the 21 Lok Sabha seats and for the 147 assembly constituencies.
Naveen Patnaik has been Odisha’s Chief Minister since 2000 and faces a huge anti-incumbency wave in these elections.
Since 2000, Patnaik has represented the Hinjili constituency but the report of State Intelligence Branch (SIB), which flags about the lack of infrastructure and amenities as cause of dissatisfaction among people, gives an indication about the current mood of the electorate in Odisha.
“…but the lack of amenities and infrastructure is causing significant dissatisfaction among the local people…. post-cyclone relief work has reached only those who are close to the local unit of the Biju Janata Dal Party causing resentment in the rest of the constituency. Keeping in mind the above, it is recommended that Hon. CM Naveen Patnaik should not contest the upcoming (Odisha) Assembly elections from Hinjili constituency,” said the state intelligence report which has been signed by Odisha’s Special Director General Police (Intelligence).
Odisha Police’s Intelligence Report clearly says that Naveen Patnaik should not contest from the Hinjili constituency.
This report has further recommended four different constituencies
as “alternative options” for Naveen Patnaik “as requested”. The recommended constituencies
are: Rourkela, Bijepur, Bolangir and Titlagarh.
Interestingly, Patnaik has promptly announced to contest
from the Bijepur assembly seat (one of the constituencies recommended by state
intelligence report). However, he will contest from the Hinjili constituency as
well.
Political observers say that the incumbent CM’s decision to simultaneously
contest from two seats is an indicator that there is a strong wave against the
present Naveen Patnaik government.
Trouble seems to be increasing for the cash-strapped
Jet Airways. The airlines has already
grounded 41 aircrafts due to non-payment of lease rentals, resulting in a significant
increase in the cancellation of flights. In a fresh development, the airline’s
aircraft maintenance engineers’ union have written to the aviation regulator on
Tuesday that three months of salary was overdue to them and flight safety
“is at risk”.
In a letter written to the Directorate General
of Civil Aviation, Jet Aircraft Engineers Welfare Association (JAMEWA) stated:
“It has been arduous for us to meet our financial requirements, result of
which have adversely affected the psychological condition of Aircraft Engineers
at work and therefore the safety of public transport airplanes being flown by
Jet Airways across India and the world is at risk.”
“While the senior management is finding a
resolution to be in business, we the Engineers who inspect, troubleshoot and
certify the public transport airplanes for its airworthiness are in tremendous
stress due to non-payment of salaries on time, since last 7 months. As of now,
3 month’s salary is overdue to us,” the letter, said.
Meanwhile, minister Suresh Prabhu has called
for an emergency meeting on Jet grounding its flights.
“An attack on the sovereignty of madrasas” is how the All India Muslim Personal Law Board secretary described the suggestion to bring the Muslim religious schools under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. Madrasas’ autonomy and independence guaranteed under Articles 29 and 30 of the Indian Constitution will be threatened, Khalid Saifullah Rahmani said.
But, the question is what
have Indian madrasas, where more than seven million children go for basic
education, made of their autonomy? Even if one concedes that it is okay for
them to teach just Islamiyaat,
they must be asked what brand of Islam are they teaching these impressionable
children?
The concern was also flagged by the National Commission for
Protection of Child Rights when last year it proposed bringing madrasas under
the RTE to ensure that the children didn’t miss out on their right to
education. Children going to madrasas were “as good as out-of-school kids”, the
panel said.
I will give just one example and ask madrasa authorities if they
are in right minds to be imparting such incendiary ideas to our children and
that too in the 21st century. That these teachings cannot be directly linked to
any violence yet is beside the point – a ghettoised mind is more toxic than a
ghetto. Something that hasn’t happened yet can happen tomorrow.
There is a book
called Islami Akhlaq-wo-Aadaab (Islamic behaviour and good
manners) for teenage students and part of the course for Aalimiyat (an
equivalent of Class 12). Written by Maulana Amjad Ali Azmi Rizvi, this is
actually a simplified and summarised version of the 16th volume of Bahar-e-Shariyat,
a book of Islamic jurisprudence that is a required study for every Aalim, a scholar trained in
Islamic law.
The book claims to seek
reforms in the Muslim society. In its chapter on an Islamic dictum Amr bil Maroof wa Nahi anil Munkar (Enjoining
Good and Forbidding Evil), it says:
“In attacking mushrikeen (polytheists, usually and wrongly
translated as idolaters) all by oneself, there is a possibility that one will
be killed but if there is a greater possibility that one will kill their man or
injure or defeat them, there is no harm in attacking alone; but if there is a
greater possibility that they will not be harmed or defeated, then one should
not attack. If there is a possibility that when one stops fasiq (depraved)
Muslims from committing sins one would get killed and will not be able to harm
the debauched Muslims, still it is best to stop them from sinning, (although
not stopping them is also permitted, (Fatawa Alamgiri), because getting killed
in this venture does not go in vain. It may not appear to be fruitful at this
time but in future it will bring good results (Page 268).”
[I have tried to be as close to the Urdu text as possible in
this translation, even at the cost of some clarity]
This is so utterly senseless that anyone reading this might wonder
if I am quoting it out of context. There isn’t any context. This is the last
paragraph of the chapter and the one before it gives advice on reporting a
theft.
The religious ruling is given as if Muslims regularly need advice
on whether, and under what circumstances, it is worth risking life while trying
to kill a mushrik or stopping a “wicked Muslim” from committing a sin. This
would make sense if one were to assume that Muslims risk their lives in these
pursuits, as routinely as, say, they go out to buy vegetables.
Fortunately, that is not the case. But, that is no argument for
complacency. Islamic theology, as it is taught unabashedly and senselessly, is
full of violence, most of it against Muslims who dare to think a new thought.
Fresh thinking was banned in the 9th Century CE. There are
thousand and one grounds for declaring Muslims kafir (infidel) or murtad
(heretic, apostate) and sentence them to death. This sentence can be carried
out by any Muslim in the absence of an Islamic court.
As for non-Muslims, including those whom Quran considers
Ahl-e-Kitab (People of the Book) and deserving the most intimate relations with
Muslims, theology considers them permanent denizens of hell. No wonder most
religious Muslims conversant with their theology feel nothing but contempt for
non-Muslims and can have nothing but reverence for those who are engaged in
despatching them to their permanent abode.
A distinction should, however, be made between Islam and Islamic
Sharia (laws) or Islam and Islamic Fiqh (jurisprudence) or Islam and its
understanding or Kalam (theology). If Muslims want to live honourably in
today’s closely connected world, they have to work towards evolving a new
jurisprudence and theology of peace and pluralism and gender justice to replace
the theological texts that encourage violence, supremacism, xenophobia,
intolerance and gender injustice.
At the very least and as an urgent measure, I would request
madrasa authorities to weed out from textbooks passages like the one above that
beget murderous violence as well as irrelevancies like how to treat female
prisoners of war and concubines, etc.
Our ulema cannot be unaware that Muslim youth in large numbers are
joining jihadist groups around the world today. We should have been deeply
worried when the first time a Sunni Muslim went to a Shia mosque in Pakistan,
blew himself up to kill fellow namazis, considering them apostate, and thinking
he was doing a pious act for which he will be rewarded by God with a place in
heaven. This was several years ago. Today, we have become a society which can
produce a whole army of suicide bombers practically anywhere in the world. The
blame lies squarely with the kind of education imparted in our madrasas.
RTE will ensure a modern curriculum so that children are more
attuned to the world around them. They will study what students in other
schools are being taught and will not feel left out once they leave madrasas. A
modern education will equip them to a world where technology is shaping lives
and changing it at a breath taking pace.
Madrasa education is a serious violation of the human rights of Muslim children. Our children and the world at large deserve better. We simply cannot live in the 21st Century with a 7th-Century mindset.
(This article was first published in New Age Islam)
The Metroreported on Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun from Saudi Arabia, who has been granted asylum to Canada, recently. She fled to Kuwait from alleged abuse and then landed in Bangkok. Following this, she began to seek asylum.
With the surprising effectiveness of the work by al-Qunun and others, and similar social media social justice campaigns including #MeToo, Twitter became a catalytic platform for the improved efficacy of the calls for social justice for Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun.
As some may note, the socio-political left and the socio-political right tend to disagree on what should be the emphasis of the social justice in most instances, and utilize epithets against the opposition in the cases of that which they disagree.
But the possibility of further abuse of a girl and the killing of an ex-Muslim united the internet for social good, a social justice activist effort. Many Canadian voices were in favor of the work there.
The unifying story was the abuse and the context in which men and women live in the culture. Men and women are grossly unequal in Saudi society.
One interesting story is relayed within the article about the way this works for gay men too. The former Muslim man, who left, had to disengage with family, because of the disagreements in belief.
The author described a sympathy, in common experiences, with leaving religion in an area of the world at this time that takes the violent approach to those who leave. One can see this environment with Christian in the centuries past.
Those who leave in these coerced-into-religion contexts become difficult, dangerous, and even life-threatening. The man felt as though — as a gay Muslim man — he had let down the creator and sustainer of the universe.
As opined, “I know of Christians who have left their faith and converted to Islam who talk of pressures from their families, and where some have had their immediate family stop all communication, sometimes for decades. However, what is troubling is that the levels of pressure and intimidation against ex-Muslims rumbles on and that time and time again,”
To attribute this to innate tendencies is wrong, as if one group is a separate species, while, at the same time, to deny this happening disproportionately in Muslim communities is also wrong, it is happening at a higher rate, insofar as a large number of ex-Muslim communities are showing u — and the subsequent stories coming out connected to them.
The author of the opinion piece explained, “I heard from those I interviewed they feared to leave Islam and when they did, they felt scared all of this, it is important to mention that it is not faith or religions themselves that are the problem. Yes, there are difficult elements of texts, but it is how they are interpreted and how families and individuals implement them in their families. For many of the people I interviewed, a harsh and controlling interpretation of Islam meant that they pushed their loved one away from Islam. Yet, there are just as many families where Islam is interpreted so that people feel accepted, loved and valued.”
Once again Mukesh Ambani has bailed out his younger brother Anil Ambani. This time by clearing the pending dues to Ericsson, day before SC Deadline. This is the second time that Mukesh Ambani has come to the rescue of his brother after their famous feud that dogged the Reliance Group and ended up splitting it into two between the two brothers.
The Swedish company Ericsson, confirmed on
Monday that it has received Rs 458.77 crore. RCom, which owed Ericsson a
one-time settlement of Rs 550 crore plus interest, had already deposited Rs 118
crore with the Supreme Court in February. The Swedish firm signed a deal in
2014 to manage and operate RCom’s network and last year approached the court
over the unpaid dues
Anil Ambani, chairman of the debt-ridden
telecom firm Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom), thanked his elder brother
Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani for their help in paying the dues.
“My sincere and heartfelt thanks to my
respected elder brother, Mukesh, and Nita, for standing by me during these
trying times, and demonstrating the importance of staying true to their strong
family values by extending this timely support. I and my family are grateful
and deeply touched with their gesture,” Anil Ambani said in a statement.
In 2018, Reliance Jio Infocomm, controlled by
Mukesh Ambani, bought RCom’s wireless assets for Rs 3,000 crore, in a sign that
the acrimony of the past was buried.
With Monday’s payment, the debt laden telco
ends its 18-month long battle with Ericsson.
BJP’s Pramod Sawant willl be the new chief
minister of Goa, party sources said Monday. The swearing in ceremony is likely
to be held at 11 pm Monday.
Two MLAs from the BJP alliance partners will be made deputy chief ministers as part of the compromise reached with allies.
The BJP managed to break the deadlock in Goa,
offering key allies their pound of flesh, by accepting their demand for deputy
CM’s posts. “We have managed to convince the alliance partners and
finalised the formula of two deputy chief ministers for the state, a senior BJP
functionary said. The two would-be Dy CMs are Goa Forward Party chief Vijai
Sardesai and MGP MLA Sudin Dhavalikar.
Sawant is now Speaker of Goa Legislative
Assembly. He will succeed Manohar Parrikar who died Sunday.
Pakistan should desist from using the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor project for stoking fires of Sikh separatism. There is absolutely no inclination in the Sikh community for creation of a separate state like Khalistan, except for some small and insignificant foreign-based lobbies. Any devious tactic in name of the revered Gurudwara will lead to a strong backlash from Sikhs, which Pakistan will find it difficult to sustain.
Sikh community, at the time of partition of Indian subcontinent
into India and Pakistan, suffered immeasurably in terms of lives lost,
displacement and financial ruin. In addition to these worldly factors, the community
also lost to the newly formed state of Pakistan its revered shrines and holy
places, especially those associated with the first Sikh master, Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
The trauma for the Sikh community due to disassociation with
these holy shrines is so much that their Ardas
(holy prayer) now includes reference of getting united with the holy shrines. This
fervent appeal is made by the community to the divine every time that it offers
prayers.
Very significant among these shrines is Gurudwara Darbar Sahib,
Kartarpur that lies in the Shakargarh Tehsil of Pakistan Punjab, just a few
kilometres from the international border.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji funded Kartarpur in 1504 CE and
lived there till the end of his life in 1539. The Gurudwara that he built there
had four doors (one in each direction) to denote the universality of the Sikh
religion that he propagated. Once he left his mortal body, both Hindus and
Muslims claimed him as their own and raised co-located mausoleums in his
memory, in accordance with their respective religious practices. The changing
course of River Ravi led to partial submersion of this location, which
compelled the followers of the Guru to erect a different habitation on the left
bank of River Ravi, which was named Dera Baba Nanak. Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak
now falls in the Gurdaspur Tehsil of Indian Punjab.
The distance between the two Gurudwaras’ is only a few
kilometres but they fall in different countries, such has been the unfortunate
fallout of a hastily conducted partition. Post partition, efforts have been
made on a number of occasions to open Kartarpur Sahib for pilgrims from India but
were stalled for some reason or the other.
Pakistan has, for reasons best known to the country, been
stalling the Indian association with Kartarpur Sahib. On the occasion of 500th
birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji in 1969 the government of India,
under the premiership of Indira Gandhi, attempted to work out a land swap with
Pakistan but the idea was rejected by the neighbouring country. Once again, in
1974, Kartarpur Sahib was excluded by Pakistan from a protocol signed between
the two countries for visits to each other’s religious places, even as some
other Sikh shrines like Gurudwara Nankana Sahib were included. An update of this
protocol in 2005, by which the number of religious places opened for visits were
increased, yet again witnessed the exclusion of Kartarpur Sahib.
The matter came up for discussion between Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif as a part of the “Bus Diplomacy” in 1999 but the Kargil War paid put to further efforts in this direction. The Gurudwara, however, was renovated and opened to view through binoculars from India by cutting down the greenery between the same and Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak Sahib. General Pervez Musharraf, as military dictator of Pakistan, is believed to have given a go-ahead for a corridor but the matter could not be pursued.
Devotees look through binoculars at the Gurudwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur, across the border in Pakistan from the Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak in Indian Punjab.
Prime Minsiter Manmohan Singh intensified efforts and made
the issue a part of the Composite Dialogue process with Pakistan. The efforts
went on through both of his terms and led to the feasibility study for a visa
free “peace corridor” between the two countries. The 26/11 Mumbai terrorist
attack that emanated from Pakistan put a hold on these efforts but the idea was
germinated.
The matter has gained momentum once again in August 2018
against the backdrop of Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu’s visit to
Pakistan for the swearing in of Prime Minsiter Imran Khan. During the function,
Pakistan Army’s all powerful chief, General Qamar Bajwa, is said to have
expressed willingness to open the corridor on the occasion of 550th
birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji in November this year. The ball
was set rolling and after a series of political and social moves the Government
of India agreed to set up the corridor and appealed to Pakistan to do the same.
The Pakistan government agreed and foundation stones were
laid on both sides.
Politics on the issue, however, has continued! Pakistan’s
Foreign Affairs Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, made an immature statement by
terming the initiative as a “Googly” bowled by his Prime Minsiter, Imran Khan.
“Imran delivered a Googly and India sent two ministers to Pakistan,” he said. A
Googly in cricket is a leg spinner’s ball that is very difficult to detect and
forces the batsman to retract. Qureshi said the same in the context of having
forced the Indian government into engagement with Pakistan, despite the Indian
policy of not engaging in dialogue till Pakistan does not take credible steps
to destroy terrorist structures operating on its soil. The Indians naturally
took umbrage to this statement, an embarrassed Imran Khan disassociated with the
same and Qureshi has tried to sheepishly overcome.
There were some more similar attempts to heckle India but the Indian government chose to ignore them in the larger interest of seeing the initiative move forward. It was, however, clarified by India that forward movement on the Kartarpur Corridor would not mean resumption of talks with Pakistan for which the laid down caveat of “terror and talks not going together” remained.
Indian and Pakistani officials during a bilateral meeting held on March 14, 2019 in relation with the construction of Kartarpur Sahib Corridor that will allow Sikh pilgrims to travel to the Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan. (Photo: PTI)
Even as the matters were progressing, an incident of Pakistan
sponsored terror took place in Kashmir. A barbaric terrorist attack at South Kashmir’s
Pulwama in mid-February led to the killing of more than 40 Indian soldiers of the
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Responsibility for the attack was taken by
Jaish-e-Mohammad, an internationally banned terrorist organisation that is
operating openly from Pakistan’s soil. The Indian riposte came in the form of
an incisive air strike on terrorist modules operating deep inside Pakistani
territory. Pakistan attempted to retaliate the very next day with an air strike
on Indian military infrastructure along the Line of Control but the attempt was
thwarted. An ensuing dog fight led to the loss of one aircraft of both India
and Pakistan.
The tension created by this aforementioned face-off led to
speculations about the future of the Kartarpur Corridor. The government of
India has exhibited great maturity in isolating this emotional and
internationally acclaimed gesture from the tensions in Kashmir and decided to
keep the ball rolling so far as the project was concerned. Pakistan
reciprocated in a similar manner and the initiative survived despite the
apprehensions.
On March 14th, delegations of India and Pakistan met at
Attari in India for the first time to work out modalities of the project and
reach to a consensus on the draft agreement. Pakistan once again played
politics by leaking out the draft agreement to its press and also blaming India
of “childishness” by not allowing Pakistani journalists to cover the event and
also insisting upon the talks being held on the Indian side. India, very
rightly, refused to be provoked and the meeting was held in a “cordial
atmosphere.” Some more meetings to chalk out the technical details like the
alignment etc. are proposed in the near future.
Indian viewpoint of allowing at least 5000 pilgrims a day
with the number increasing on days of religious significance, as also the need
to open the door to not only Indians but also to Overseas Citizens of India
(OCI) holds merit. Pakistan’s reluctance to allow more than 500 to 700 pilgrims
per day is also understandable in view of the logistics involved. The neighbouring
country has given an indication that it may consider the request to allow OCI’s
to visit the shrine, which is a step in the positive direction. The other factors like travel documents etc.
have also witnessed differences of opinion but not of a type which cannot be
circumvented in case there is a will to do so.
Pakistan has not gone into the project in a spur of the
moment as it would like the world to believe. It is widely believed that the
meeting and conversation between General Qamar Bajwa, Chief of the Pakistan
Army, and Indian politician Navjot Singh Sidhu was not “by chance” but well-orchestrated
and engineered by the Pakistani side. The Pakistan Army with the government in
tow, in fact, have been working out the modalities of the project much before
the meeting took place and were quite ready to move forward when they did so.
It is quite apparent that Pakistan would aim at winning the
goodwill of the Sikh community, especially those settled abroad who have the
capacity to pump in a lot of money, something that the cash strapped country
would welcome. The project will also allow Pakistan access to certain
separatist tendencies that some Sikhs, mainly those living abroad, hold. It is
being said that stoking fires of Sikh separatism is the prime objective of Pakistan
Army in the project. This is in accordance with what is called the Bajwa
Doctrine. This Doctrine, named after the present Pakistan Army chief, envisages
opening a front of separatism in Indian Punjab, now that the going for Pakistan
and the Jihadists that it nurtures is getting tough in Jammu and Kashmir.
India need not be overly worried of such hidden Pakistani
agendas, except for being aware and slightly wary. There is absolutely no
inclination in the Sikh community for creation of a separate state like
Khalistan, except for some small, insignificant foreign based lobbies. The
interest of the community in the project is purely religious in nature and that
sentiment overrides everything else. It is from this objectivity that the
Indian government should derive the confidence to go ahead with an open mind.
It is, however, for the better that the Indian government
has, in the very first meeting, cautioned Pakistan against using the project
for the spread of propaganda. The matter can be laid to rest albeit with a
constant eye on the situation. Vigilance when dealing with Pakistan is
imperative.
The international community is also viewing the development
with a fair degree of interest. There is a hope that it may lead to a thaw in
the India-Pakistan relationship with people to people contact paying certain
dividends. Such sentiments have been expressed by international media organisations
like the BBC and many foreign think tanks of repute. Here it is important to
understand that India holds nothing against the neighbouring country except for
the proliferation of terror activity from its soil. India will therefore stick
to its “terror and talks not going hand in hand” policy while going ahead
wholeheartedly with the Kartarpur Corridor project. It would, in fact, be in
Pakistan’s interest to leverage the goodwill being earned by this forward
movement to contain the terror activity and get on to improving relations with
India. Pakistan should also realise that by raising the hopes and aspirations
of the very strong and vibrant Sikh community it has set itself a greater
challenge. Any let down now will lead to a backlash at the international level from
the Sikhs that will be difficult for the country to sustain.
Creating the corridor is essentially a political decision
made in the interest of the vast number of followers of a highly venerated Guru
whose religious influence transcends many communities. It would be best for
both countries to deal with the same at a highest political leadership level
and not allow it to be derailed by bureaucratic myopia or petty politics. The
bottom line is that despite the pin-pricks, the project should remain on course
to be completed well in time before the 500th birth anniversary of
Guru Nanak Dev Ji that falls on November this year.
The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
(IIT-B) will hold a condolence meet on Monday evening to pay tributes to their
alumnus, Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who died yesterday after a long
illness. The meeting will be held at 5 pm at the institute’s P C Saxena
auditorium here, an IIT-B spokesperson said.
The institute in its condolence message said
Parrikar’s demise came as a shock to them. “He was the institute’s
distinguished alumnus and keenly involved with many initiatives at IIT Bombay.
He was also deeply involved with the launch of IIT Goa,” it said.
Parrikar had graduated in metallurgical
engineering from IIT Bombay in 1978. On the Alumni Day in 2014, IIT-B
felicitated him in recognition of his contribution to the development of the
country.
In the modern history of the sport, the world had great difficulty in the acceptance of what has now been termed mental sports, including chess and other non-contact, mostly non-physical competitive activities.
People devote their entire lives to these competitions out of sheer love of it. Some of the chess world came to a head with the long-time world champion Garry Kasparov competing against the supercomputer — super for the time at least — named Deep Blue.
Since this time, the interest in what may best be termed, for now, mental sports has simply grown a lot. This is particularly true for the number of those who have entered into the competitive gaming realm earning — and no word of exaggeration — hundreds of thousands of dollars (USD) in their professional careers, akin to professional skateboarders who you can appreciate in the artistry of their excellence in their chosen craft.
Akin to other sports worlds, some of the interesting aspects of the world of this new domain of sports gone mental-digital is the, yes, often well-known and substantiated instances of open misogyny within some sectors and amongst some members of the video gaming or gamer community.
But there may also be other facets to this dialogue not entirely covered. One is the win for the transgender community, likely, with the inclusion and non-controversy in the inclusion of a trans individual in the ranks of one of the more prominent and long-time famous real-time strategy or RTS games: Starcraft II.
Sasha Hostyn, born in December of 1993, is a professional Starcraft II player amongst the highest ranking in the world in addition to playing Dota 2 to some degree. The questions here relate to the ways in which a Canadian gamer is anything new.
It’s not.
What is newer, especially given some of the regressive aspects of some of the community some (in-)famous incidents over the years in the world of professional video gaming, Hostyn, or “Scarlett,” has been the only woman to win an international Starcraft II tournament.
More significantly, she is known as the queen of Starcraft II and, potentially, one of the most accomplished women video gamers in the land today, as well as being a trans woman.
What has been especially noteworthy in the world of professional video gaming here, Scarlett’s gender identity is a non-issue within the community of announcers, gamers, and, as far as I can tell, the wider community of professional Starcraft II video gamers, which sets a tone and timbre on the world of professional video gaming different than before — not simply symbolically but in a display of recognized excellence in performance based on rankings and winnings.
India’s former Defence Minister and present Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has passed away at the age of 63. Mr Parrikar was battling with pancreatic cancer for the last one year. He was diagnosed with advanced stage of pancreatic cancer in February last year. He was being treated for cancer across various hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, Delhi and New York.
A metallurgical engineering graduate from IIT, he was known for his clean administration and simplicity. He has been credited in bringing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power in Goa.
Mr Manohar Parrikar was a no non-sense man who had launched a campaign against rampant illegal mining during earlier Congress-led governments in Goa. His campaign became the rallying-point for anti-Congress sentiments in Goa.
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The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
