Caste data to feature in census? Modi govt takes bold step, social data goes under the microscope
The central government on Wednesday announced that caste enumeration will be a part of the National Census. Union Minister for Railways and Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said, 'Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs has decided today that Caste enumeration should be included in the forthcoming census.' Vaishnaw did not announce a date for beginning the census.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
29 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
MHA releases ₹25 cr for damaged houses due to Pak shelling post Op Sindoor
Three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced additional compensation to the families whose houses in the border areas were damaged in Pakistan shelling post Operation Sindoor, Union home minister Amit Shah facilitated provision of release of ₹25 crore from his ministry for as many as 2,060 houses. The ministry of home affairs (MHA) said in a statement on Monday, 'Following the announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding additional compensation for houses damaged in border areas, Shah ensured swift action by facilitating an additional provision of ₹25 crore from the MHA for 2,060 houses.' While inaugurating the Chenab railway bridge, the world's highest single arch rail bridge, that completes the 272-km long Udhampur-Srinagar -Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, Modi said last Friday that stung by India's Operation Sindoor, a desperate Pakistan attacked innocent people including children in Jammu and Poonch. As a special case, Modi announced additional compensation of ₹2 lakh for each fully damaged house and ₹1 lakh for each partially damaged house. 'The MHA has ensured swift implementation of this decision. Similar compensation will also be provided in the border areas of Punjab,' the ministry said on Monday. Following operation Sindoor, several incidents of cross border shelling were reported in border districts of Jammu and Kashmir. 'Hundreds of families suffered due to cross border shelling on residential areas, schools, religious structures including gurudwaras, temples, mosques and commercial properties. The administration took proactive measures to anticipate possible events and ensure effective response. A total of 3.25 lakh persons were evacuated from the border districts, out of which about 15,000 persons were accommodated in about 397 shelter sheds or accommodation centres equipped with facilities like food, water, health care, electricity etc,' MHA said. It further said that 394 ambulances were deployed in all border districts to take patients to hospitals for treatment during the shelling, out of which 62 ambulances were deployed in Poonch district alone. 'A total of 2,818 civil defence volunteers were also deployed for services related to health, fire and emergency services, livestock, essential supplies etc,' it added. Operation Sindoor was India's direct military response to the April 22 terror strike at Pahalgam in Kashmir that killed 26 people in what was the worst attack on civilians since the 26/11 Mumbai strikes. Indian forces launched the operation in the early hours of May 7, bombing nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The pre-dawn strikes on May 7 --- in which at least 100 terrorists were killed --- sparked a series of attacks and counterattacks across the western border, involving fighter jets, missiles, armed drones, and fierce artillery and rocket duels. In one such counterattack on the night of May 9-10, the Indian Air Force struck targets at 13 Pakistani air bases and military installations. After four days of fighting, military hostilities were stopped on May 10 evening as the two nations reached an understanding. Earlier, Shah visited Poonch on May 29–30, during which he handed over appointment letters on compassionate grounds to the family members of those who lost their lives due to cross-border firing. 'As per the norms, compensation for the damages caused by cross-border shelling was provided immediately,' MHA said.
Hindustan Times
29 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Shah's speech on Tamil Nadu ‘blatant lies': A Raja
Amit Shah is trying to disturb the peace in a harmonious state like Tamil Nadu, said DMK's A Raja on Monday while emphasising that the Union home minister's speech attacking them a day ago were'blatant lies'. 'His speech was three things — disgusting, blatant lies without evidence and divisive,' Raja said in a press conference. Shah in Madurai on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the MK Stalin-led DMK government for 'rising corruption, crimes against women and drug mafia' over the last four years and said that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would form the government in Tamil Nadu in the 2026 assembly elections. 'Their communal politics does not work here. People of Tamil Nadu have repeatedly shown the BJP that their politics will not be accepted here,' Raja said. He added that they are not afraid of Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ' We are not afraid of Shah and Modi. Afterall, they are ordinary people. Why are they not able to win here? Because we have an ideology that is an alternative to theirs. As long as Dravidian ideology exists, they cannot gain a foothold here. We are not Delhi, Maharashtra and Haryana. We are Tamil Nadu, we are Dravidam, they (BJP) cannot come here.' Raja rebutted Shah's speech point by point and listed chief minister MK Stalin's achievement while adding that the BJP-led Union government is creating confusion over the delimitation process. On Shah urging people to participate in large numbers on June 22 for BJP's conference on Lord Murugan in Madurai, Raja said that the people know that it is to whip up communal sentiments. 'You are not conducting this for the unity of Hindus but to bring in religious divide by going against Islam, Christianity and marginalised people,' the Lok Sabha MP said. Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) chief S Seeman too said that the BJP should not politicise Tamil deity Lord Murugan. 'There is a value for Murugan in the state. Why didn't BJP speak of his glory all these days,' Seeman told reporters. 'You take up Rama in Uttar Pradesh, Puri Jagannath in Odisha, Aiyyappa in Kerala, and then Murugan here. Do you think people here will be deceived?' In response, the BJP said Shah ensured that the BJP forms the government in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi. 'He has come to Tamil Nadu to pack off the DMK in the 2026 assembly elections,' BJP's Tamil Nadu chief Nainar Nagendran said.
Mint
36 minutes ago
- Mint
Political row erupts over Mumbai local train tragedy: ‘Rail mantri has become reel mantri'
A political row erupted over the Mumbra train mishap that led to the falling of eight passengers from a crowded local trains on Monday. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray came down heavily on Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw amid chaos over the death of four passengers in the incident, and labelled him as "reel mantri". Aaditya Thackeray said the Mumbra railway mishap was the responsibility of the railway department and the minister. However, Thackeray added that the minister was busy making reels instead of taking responsibility. "Rail mantri has become a 'reel mantri'. There have been multiple terrible train accidents in the last two to three years, but no one is coming forward to claim any responsibility. This is solely the responsibility of the railway department and the railway minister. Sadly, he is busy making funny speeches in comic voices and reels but not coming forward to take responsibility," Thackeray said. Thackeray also said that despite people demanding his resignation on multiple occasions, he carried on with his post. "People of India have demanded his resignation multiple times, but he has no shame. He carries on," Thackeray, Shiv Sena UBT MLA from Worli, told reporters in Mumbai. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief, Raj Thackeray criticised the Mahayuti-led state government of only focusing on elections instead of real issues of the people. "The train accident that happened in Mumbai today is unfortunate. Many passengers died in this accident, but similar incidents are happening in Mumbai every day. Passengers are getting injured in Mumbai every day and yet no one is doing anything to help," the MNS chief said during a press conference on Monday. "Our entire focus is only on the elections and campaigning. Will Raj Thackeray-Uddhav Thackeray form an alliance? More important than this question are how travel is going in Mumbai today, how people are living in the cities and in the state as a whole," he added. As many as 13 people were injured after they fell from an excessively crowded train at Mumbra railway station in Thane district, Maharashtra, on Monday. Four people died in the incident, a Railways official said on Monday. According to officials, the incident happened when passengers travelling on the footboard on a local train from Kasara and similarly those on a train going towards CSMT, collided with each other and fell. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Monday that he had spoken to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw about the Mumbra train accident. He said that steps would be taken to prevent such accidents in the future. "I am confident that the injured will recover... I have spoken to our Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw... Work is being done to ensure that such an accident does not happen again... Certainly, the Railways is taking this accident very seriously," Shinde said.
