
2nd week in a row, Gurgaon sees terror attack protests after Friday prayers
Pahalgam terror attack
that claimed 26 lives on April 22. The demonstration, held at the Leisure Valley Ground in Sector 29, marked a continuing wave of
public outrage against terrorism
while emphasising
communal harmony
.
Accompanied by a posse of city cops, protesters shouted slogans like 'Pakistan Murdabad', 'Aatankwad Murdabad', and 'Hindustan Zindabad' as they gathered at the ground from various parts of the city. The demonstration, organised by local religious and community leaders, drew participants from various backgrounds, united in their stance against terrorism.
You Can Also Check:
Gurgaon AQI
|
Weather in Gurgaon
|
Bank Holidays in Gurgaon
|
Public Holidays in Gurgaon
Mufti Abdul Haseeb Qasmi, president of the Gurgaon Imam Sangathan, addressed the gathering. "We are united in our fight against terrorism. This is not about any religion or community — it is about standing together as Indians against those who threaten our peace," he said.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Click Here - This Might Save You From Losing Money
Expertinspector
Click Here
Undo
Similar demonstrations were held in mosques across the city and in neighbouring Nuh last week, when participants demanded strict action against the perpetrators of the Valley attack. Wearing black armbands and holding aloft placards with anti-terrorism messages and calls for national unity, the protesters brought out marches while authorities maintained tight security to ensure peaceful proceedings.
This Friday too, law enforcement officials reiterated their commitment to monitoring the situation closely, warning against any inflammatory social media posts or disruptive activities. "The demonstration concluded peacefully this Friday. There was no untoward incident," an official said.
This message of unity resonated in a recent appeal by Himanshi Narwal, wife of Navy Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, who was among the 26 victims of the Pahalgam attack.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
25 minutes ago
- Time of India
Want to be a US citizen? USCIS will take a holistic view of your ‘good moral character'
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a major policy shift that restores a rigorous and holistic approach to evaluating 'good moral character' (GMC) of foreign nationals applying for American citizenship. To illustrate: Driving under influence could impair your eligibility, but if you have skipped on taxes – but subsequently coughed up your dues this could be a redeeming factor. Or if you have good educational qualifications and job stability, this too could score you brownie points. The policy memorandum, issued on Aug 15, emphasizes that US citizenship is more than a legal benefit—it represents a profound transformation into active and responsible membership in American society. In fiscal 2024 (year ended Sept 30), 8.18 lakh foreign nationals acquired US citizenship. Mexicans led with as many as 1.07 lakh becoming American citizens (13% of the total), this was followed by Indians, with a little over 49,000 (or 6% of the total) acquiring US citizenship. The trend was similar to earlier years, Indians are the second largest contingent to acquire US citizenship. Going forward, those aspiring to become US citizens will be subjected to the new policy guidelines. Titled – 'Restoring a rigorous, holistic and comprehensive good moral character evaluation standard for aliens applying for naturalization (citizenship)', under it USCIS officials will no longer treat GMC as a simple checklist of disqualifying offenses. Instead, they are directed to consider the 'totality of circumstances', weighing both negative conduct and positive contributions. The policy highlights that while certain offenses—such as murder, aggravated felonies, torture, or genocide—remain permanent and unconditional bars to naturalization, officials must now also assess evidence of rehabilitation and reformation in other cases. 'The regulations and policy affirm that GMC findings must go beyond the absence of disqualifying acts—it must reflect a genuine positive assessment of who the applicant is and how they have lived in their community,' the policy states. Positive attributes and contributions such as sustained community involvement and contributions in the US; family caregiving, responsibility, and ties in the US; educational attainments; stable and lawful employment history and achievements; length of lawful residence in the US, compliance with tax obligations and financial responsibility in the US will carry greater weight. . At the same time USCIS officials will scrutinize behaviours inconsistent with civic responsibility, including repeat driving under influence convictions, false claims to citizenship, unlawful voting, and even patterns of reckless or disruptive conduct. Immigration attorneys are largely of the view that a move away from a rule-based model to a more discretionary one may be a slippery slope. Eligibility results could vary based on the subjective discretion of the official vetting the application and could result in lack of uniformity across cases. In general individuals can apply for US citizenship, after they have been lawful permanent residents (green card holders) for at least five years. A Chicago based Indian family that was examining the possibility of applying for citizenship told TOI, 'Years ago, when we initially moved to the US, both of us faced tax disputes owing to interpretation of the India-US tax treaty. This could be a blot on our record.' Loss of jobs during the pandemic and non repayment of interest or principal amount against loans could also be issues that come up for many aspirants during processing of citizenship applications, they point out. However, there appears to be a ray of hope. For applicants with past 'wrongdoing' , USCIS officials will look for concrete evidence of rehabilitation, including repayment of taxes, compliance with court-ordered conditions, or testimony from community members. According to the policy guidelines, such evidence may support a finding of good moral character even where negative history exists, provided no permanent bar applies. It may be recalled that Joseph Edlow, who was confirmed as director of USCIS in July, told NY Times in an interview that the current US citizenship test is 'too easy'—noting that many applicants can simply memorize answers and pass without true understanding. This is another change that could be on the anvil.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
‘Not off the table': Marco Rubio leaves door open for Ukraine-Russia ceasefire; urges negotiations toward permanent peace
Secretary of State Marco Rubio (File Photo) Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said that while the United States, Russia and Ukraine view a permanent peace deal as the best way to end the war, a temporary ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia is 'not off the table. ' 'It was agreed to by all that the best way to end this conflict is through a full peace deal,' Rubio said during an interview with NBC News. 'There's no doubt about that. I mean, who would be against the fact that tomorrow we came to you and said, 'We have a full peace deal, and it's done.' I think that's the best way to end the war.' 'Now, whether there needs to be a ceasefire on the way there, well, we've advocated for that,' Rubio added. 'Unfortunately, the Russians, as of now, have not agreed to that.' Rubio's comments came hours after President Donald Trump returned from Alaska, where he met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and a delegation of Russian leaders. Although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials were not present at the talks, US officials still expressed hope that progress could be made toward a ceasefire or eventual peace agreement. After the Alaska summit, Trump told reporters, 'There's no deal until there's a deal.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The 5 Books Warren Buffett Recommends You To Read in 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Rubio placed the responsibility for stalled progress on Moscow, pointing to continued Russian strikes in Ukraine. 'We think usually it's very hard to negotiate when you're in the middle of hostilities. But that said, the only way to have a ceasefire is for both sides to agree to stop firing at one another ... and the Russians just haven't agreed to that,' he said. Zelenskyy is expected at the White House on Monday to meet with Trump and European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finland President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leye and Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte. At a joint press conference with von der Leye in Brussels on Sunday, Zelenskyy said a ceasefire is crucial to advance peace deal negotiations. 'Putin has many demands, but we do not know all of them, and if there are really as many as we have heard about, then it will take a lot of time to go through all of them, and it is impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons," Zelenskyy told reporters. "So, it is necessary to stop the fire and work quickly on a final agreement. We will talk about this in Washington. Putin does not want to stop the killings, but he must do it. ' Rubio also defended the Trump administration's decision not to impose new sanctions on Russia, arguing that such measures could undermine ongoing peace efforts. 'If we're not going to be able to reach an agreement here at any point, then there are going to be consequences, not only the consequences of the war continuing, but the consequences of all those sanctions continuing, and potentially new sanctions on top of it as well. But what we're trying to do right now is end the war,' Rubio said during interview. 'I don't think new sanctions on Russia are going to force them to accept ceasefire. They're already under very severe sanctions," he added. The secretary of state said imposing new sanctions on Russia could undermine efforts to reach a lasting peace deal. He also defended the Trump administration's decision not to impose new sanctions on Russia, arguing that such measures could undermine ongoing peace efforts. Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, had called Trump's meeting with Putin 'a disaster'. 'That meeting was a disaster. It was an embarrassment for the United States. It was a failure. Putin got everything he wanted,' Murphy said. 'Trump said, 'If I don't get a ceasefire, Putin is going to pay a price.' And then he walked out of that meeting saying, 'I didn't get a ceasefire. I didn't get a peace deal, and I'm not even considering sanctions,'' Murphy added. 'You heard Secretary Rubio downplay sanctions. And so Putin walks away with his photo op with zero commitments made and zero consequences. What a great day for Russia.'


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
8 fined for misuse of Rs 1.35L funds under MGNREGA in Palamu
Daltonganj: The Ramgarh block development officer (BDO) on August 14 convicted eight individuals under Section 25 of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Bansdih panchayat under Ramgarh block of Palamu on charges of misuse of over Rs 1.35 lakh govt funds and imposed fine on each of them. The convicted were identified as mukhiya Sangeeta Devi, panchayat sachiv Suraj Kumar Singh, junior engineer with MGNREGA Pankaj Kumar Singh, and rozgar sewak Ravindra Ram. Each of these four was fined Rs 1,000 under Section 25 of the MGNREGA. Also, each of the four would have to pay the outstanding recovery amount, bringing the total to Rs 28,072 per person. The rest were Mahesh Singh, Aarti Singh, Rinki Devi, and Soram Devi — beneficiaries of the Birsa Harit Gram Yojna from Peerhay village under Bansdih panchayat. The amount to be recovered from each, including the Rs 500 fine, are Rs 8,622, Rs 9,975, Rs 4,561, and Rs 5,914, respectively. The eight were ordered to deposit the amounts at the earliest. The convictions followed the detection of irregularities in the Birsa Harit Gram Yojna by James Herenj, an executive committee member of the Jharkhand Social Audit Society. "The four beneficiaries possess no land of their own for Birsa Harit Gram Yojna but received money under the scheme each through surreptitious manner," James said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Could This NEW Collagen Blend Finally Reduce Your Cellulite? Vitauthority Learn More Undo Sources in the district administration said, "The eight administrative officials and beneficiaries hobnobbed and conspired with each other to contravene the provisions of MGNREGA in Birsa Harit Gram Yojna. They had misappropriated over Rs 1.35 lakh before the corruption was uncovered by the executive committee member." The additional district programme co-ordinator of MGNREGA in Palamu and deputy development commissioner, M Jawed Hussain, said, "The contravention has been detected and legitimate actions drawn against all the eight." The Yojna has estimated cost of Rs 4.49 lakh to 4.53 lakh. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.