
X a/cs of China's GT, Turkiye's TRT, Reuters withheld
This demand can be a court order, or a request from the Centre that was probably made during Op Sindoor to contain misinformation. At that time, X accounts of Chinese news agency Xinhua had been blocked, but it can now be accessed in India.
Also, the handle of news agency Reuters was withheld on Saturday. A govt spokesperson said, "There is no requirement from GOI to withhold this handle. We are continuously working with X to resolve the problem."

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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
UNESCO tag for forts sharpens political focus on Marathi pride
New Delhi: UNESCO's inclusion of 'Maratha Military Landscapes' in its World Heritage List has added another layer to the Centre's push for Maratha heritage and identity, coming as Maharashtra heads for crucial local body elections later this year. The recognition of 12 Maratha forts — 11 in Maharashtra and one in Tamil Nadu — follows the Centre's grant of classical language status to Marathi ahead of the 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls, a long-pending demand that became central to the BJP-led alliance's victory, political observers said. The opposition has hit out at what it calls "headline-grabbing cultural optics" designed to mask governance lapses. The cultural thrust was also evident when the Indian Navy dropped the colonial-era St George's Cross in 2022 for an ensign inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai PM Modi on Saturday described the UNESCO listing as a moment of national pride. "Every Indian is elated with this recognition. These Maratha military landscapes include 12 majestic forts, 11 of which are in Maharashtra and one in Tamil Nadu. When we speak of the glorious Maratha empire, we associate it with good governance, military strength, cultural pride and emphasis on social welfare. The great rulers inspire us with their refusal to bow to any injustice. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo I call upon everyone to go visit these forts and learn about the rich history of the Maratha empire," Modi posted on social media. Earlier, when Modi unveiled the Navy's redesigned ensign in Sept 2022, he had said, "Till now the identity of slavery remained on the flag of Indian Navy. But from today onwards, inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji, the new Navy flag will fly in the sea and in the sky." BJP's calibrated emphasis on Maratha symbols reflects a larger strategy of cultural nationalism being woven into state politics. By granting Marathi classical language status ahead of the 2024 assembly elections and now amplifying Unesco's recognition of Maratha forts, it has sought to embed itself in the emotive terrain of Maharashtra's regional pride. For BJP, which has historically faced challenges in breaking the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress stronghold over the "Maratha pride" vote, these gestures are a bid to redraw the political map and secure urban and semi-urban Marathi voters. Yet critics argue such symbolism risks crowding out governance debates on agrarian distress, urban infrastructure gaps and unemployment, issues that resonate in local polls. The classical language status for Marathi, granted in early 2024, had been a longstanding demand from cultural bodies and political groups for over a decade. Earlier govts cited procedural hurdles, but NDA cleared the proposal months before state elections, helping it tap into a potent mix of linguistic pride and historical identity. With civic polls due, heritage and identity are again becoming political battlegrounds.


Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Jammu and Kashmir cops block Martyrs' Day events at graveyard
File photo: J&K cops SRINAGAR: J&K police has announced that no one will be allowed to visit the graveyard of 'July 13 Martyrs' in Srinagar on Sunday, extending curbs that have been in place since the 2019 abrogation of Article 370. The date is significant in Kashmir's history as 22 people were killed during an uprising against Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh in 1931. Chief minister Omar Abdullah , his father and governing National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah, and former CM Mehbooba Mufti were expected to visit Mazar-e-Shuhada, the martyrs' resting place in Srinagar's Naqshband Sahib and pay floral tributes. Authorities have already placed Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq under house arrest. The Omar-led govt does not control police or security, whose reins are in the hands of the Centre-appointed lieutenant governor (LG) Manoj Sinha. 'District administration Srinagar has denied permission to all applicants intending to proceed towards Nowhatta on 13th July, 2025 (Sunday). The general public is advised to strictly comply with these instructions. Any violation shall invite strict legal action,' J&K police said in a statement late Saturday evening. NC reacted sharply to the curbs, with spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq calling them 'deeply unfortunate and fundamentally unjust' on a day of profound historical and emotional significance for people of J&K. 'We urge the administration to reflect on the gravity of this decision. No order can suppress memory. No restriction can erase the truth. The people of Kashmir will continue to honour their martyrs peacefully, with dignity, and with unwavering resolve,' Sadiq said. NC had written to Srinagar's deputy commissioner on Thursday, seeking permission for Farooq's intended visit to the site. Apni Party had made a similar request. Fearing they would be restricted from leaving home on Sunday, PDP functionary and ex-CM Mehbooba's daughter Iltija Mufti visited the graveyard on Saturday. 'I paid tributes to our martyrs who laid down their lives for democracy. Their memory is being wilfully erased. Yet their voices echo in every Kashmiri's heart,' Iltija said. In January 2020, nearly six months after the abrogation of Article 370, UT authorities had dropped July 13 and December 5 from the list of public holidays in J&K. December 5 was observed as the birth anniversary of NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. Since then, the authorities have barred official functions on July 13 at Mazar-e-Shuhada, detaining politicians, including former chief ministers, if necessary, to keep them away. Earlier, it was tradition for CMs and top officials to pay tributes and offer a guard of honour at the graveyard. While such restrictions had been clamped in the past few years, many had believed this year might be different as it was the first time since the revocation of J&K's special status under Article 370 that an elected government was in place in the Union territory. Eyes will be peeled on the Omar govt's response to the Sinha-led administration's move on Sunday.


Deccan Herald
3 hours ago
- Deccan Herald
When an opaque Election Commission demands voter transparency
In 1766, Sweden enacted the world's first law recognising a people's right to access information from their government. Interestingly, its advocates employed a tailored image of governance mechanisms in Imperial China to support their campaign for a law that guaranteed the freedom of the press to report on governmental actions and curbed State censorship of public debate. Citing the Peking Gazette, whose origins can be traced to the Tang Dynasty's regime, they argued that it was the vehicle for communicating information about governmental action to the people and conveying their feedback to the Emperor – characteristic features of transparent and accountable academics have exposed this propagandist, though noble-intentioned, portrayal of pre-Communist China's administrative practices. Information flows from the capital to the populace were strictly controlled by a conservative bureaucracy, and commenting on the Peking Gazette's contents invited corporal punishment or even the death penalty. While eulogising the Chinese model in support of their democratising aspirations, Sweden's transparency champions had turned a blind eye towards the highly centralised and control-obsessed administration's efforts to gather more information about subjects of the recent order of our own Election Commission of India (ECI) requiring every voter in Bihar to prove one's place and date of birth as a bona fide Indian citizen by furnishing documentary evidence, or risk disenfranchisement, smacks of similar imperiousness. Yet, after 20 years of implementing the RTI Act, which emphasises records maintenance, the ECI has shockingly claimed that it is unable to produce a copy of a similar order for the intensive revision of voter lists in Bihar issued in 2003. While the ballot has been digitised, old paper-based files containing a record of the ECI's work seem to have escaped that destiny. Two years ago, its staff told me, a lot of information sent from the states and the districts about recent elections, simply cannot be traced in the multi-storeyed Nirvachan readers dismiss my words as hearsay, here is a sample of election-related records which the ECI claimed, in RTI replies, it does not hold or never received from the states relating to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. When asked for the complete list of Returning Officers (ROs) of the constituencies (as they are not displayed on the website), the ECI replied nonchalantly that no such list is available with it and refused to transfer the request to the states and the UTs!.In response to my RTI application seeking a list of expenditure-sensitive Lok Sabha constituencies that must be monitored more closely for campaign spending, the ECI replied that it does not have a readily available list and compiling it would disproportionately divert its resources. It also rejected a proactive disclosure of the expenditure observers' quizzed about the suspicious transaction reports (STRs) received from banks that are required to monitor large-sized monetary transactions during the campaign, the ECI claimed that no such information is available with it. Refusing to disclose even the number of STRs it received, ECI instructed me to approach the district election officers asked for a copy of the reports ROs send after scrutinising all documents created during polling, the ECI replied that the records sought do not even fall within the definition of 'information' under the RTI Act! In the wake of the controversy about voter turnout figures in Maharashtra last year, the ECI told me, in writing, that it does not have information about the number of voters who were issued pre-numbered tokens to cast their vote after 5 pm even though its election manual requires ROs to submit such reports through their Chief Electoral asked to publish reports sent by the states after mapping Lok Sabha constituencies, or pockets within them, where voters are vulnerable to intimidation and illegal inducement, the ECI claimed that it does not have such information in its records. This lie stands exposed. An RTI activist successfully obtained these vulnerability mapping reports from Maharashtra's Chief Electoral Officer. They were dispatched to the ECI on March 27, 2024!.Much like the no-data-available governments holding fort across the country, the ECI is turning crucial election-related information into sarkari secrets, especially that which is required to establish its accountability. The citizen-State relationship envisioned by the Constitution to guarantee the dignity of every individual is in danger of becoming a master-servant fetter. Bihar seems to be the laboratory for an iniquitous experiment that might soon be repeated across the country.