
CM Tamang leads 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' rally in Gangtok
CM Tamang paid homage to those who suffered during the Emergency days.
The rally, which took place in MG Marg in Gangtok, saw participation from various dignitaries, including the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, Cabinet Ministers, MLAs, officials, and students.
The event culminated at Manan Kendra locality in the city. The event aimed to raise awareness about constitutional rights and the importance of upholding the Constitution.
The BJP is observing June 25 as 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' (Constitution Murder Day) across the nation, to mark what it calls a moment of serious institutional breakdown in India's democratic journey. Extensive outreach programmes have been planned at the booth and district levels.
The aim, according to BJP leaders, is to educate the younger generation about the consequences of authoritarianism and the importance of preserving democratic values.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that 50 years ago, a nefarious attempt was made to strangle Indian democracy with the imposition of the Emergency, during which civil liberties were suspended and opposition leaders were jailed under the rule of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
In a post on social media platform X, he called the Emergency "the darkest chapter in Indian democracy", while paying tribute to those who resisted authoritarian rule.
"Fifty years ago today, a nefarious attempt was made to strangle Indian democracy through the imposition of the Emergency. People still remember the Emergency as the darkest chapter in Indian democracy. Sidelining the Constitution, the manner in which the Emergency was imposed on the country is a glaring example of the misuse of power and dictatorship. All opposition leaders were sent to jail. There was no constitutional institution left that was not misused. Yet, the democratic traditions of this country could not be erased by the then government, no matter how much they tried," Rajnath Singh posted.
Union Minister Singh also highlighted the role of those who fought against the Emergency. "Today, democracy is alive in India, and for this, those who struggled during the Emergency, endured imprisonment, and suffered hardships have made an immense contribution. The future generations of India will never forget their contribution. Prime Minister Shri Modiji has decided to observe June 25 as 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' so that every citizen remembers how dictatorship attempts to murder democracy," he added.
The Emergency, declared on June 25, 1975, remains one of the most controversial periods in Indian history. The government had cited "internal disturbance" as a reason for imposing it, but critics argue it was an attempt to stifle dissent after a court invalidated Indira Gandhi's election.
Hashtags

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


Indian Express
17 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Gujarat to create genome database of tribal communities: what's the project, why
In a first in the country, the Gujarat government has announced a genome sequencing project to create a database from 29 tribal groups across 17 districts of the state. The exercise, a local extension of the recently completed Genome India Project (GIP), will be carried out over the next five years. The entire eastern belt of Gujarat, which shares borders with Rajasthan in the north, Madhya Pradesh in the east and Maharashtra in the south, has districts with a predominantly tribal population. The Genome India Project — its report was released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January — saw 10,000 genomes from 83 diverse groups processed and stored at the Indian Biological Data Centre. It had around 1,800 samples from Gujarat, which included around 100 samples from tribal communities, not enough to represent them. Thus, the Gujarat Tribal Genome Sequencing Project aims to gain critical insight into the genetic makeup of these tribal groups, which, at 15% of the state's population, consist of approximately 1 crore people. This initiative is also expected to enrich the Central Genome India dataset. The project, approved in the Gujarat budget of 2025-26, will be helmed by the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC). Implications of the project Mona Khandhar, Principal Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, said the understanding of genome characteristics will help the government in making more focused programmes. Subject enrollment will take place after a formal launch of the project by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, so that awareness begins before field researchers go to the villages. 'Our field teams will seek help from the local administration, communities, as well as the political leadership. This is why it was important to explain the project to MPs and MLAs. We are also taking help from researchers at Birsa Munda Bhavan and the Tribal Development Department,' said a scientist involved in the project. The project's six-point agenda includes capturing the unique diversity of India's population, improving diagnosis of rare diseases, supporting development of novel drugs, developing precision medical treatments tailored to genetic profiles, building a genomic reference panel for the tribal population, and boosting public health research infrastructure. Many among the tribal communities from Gujarat have excelled in sports. Director of GBRC Prof Chaitanya Joshi said, 'These tribes can be very good in, say, archery, or skills other communities may not have. So what are the genes associated with that? With this project, skill sets associated with genes can be identified.' Health aspect Health problems like malnutrition, anaemia, low BMI, prevalence of genetic diseases like sickle cell anaemia, G6PD deficiency are common in the tribal communities in Gujarat. Scientist and Joint Director at the GBRC Amrutlal K Patel said, 'So far, the medicines developed have been studied on the western population and we haven't explored the Indian genome. Diseases are more prevalent in specific communities and ethnicity also due to the Indian tradition of endogamy, as a result of which genome variations are conserved within castes.' Patel gave an example of how deaths due to organ failure were reported in certain tribes when they crossed 30 years of age. Two years ago, the GBRC researched some patients and their first degree family members, and found this was due to the mutation of the transthyretin (TTR) gene, resulting in the aggregation of protein that reached the organs, causing failure. Some mutations increase the chances of a disease, for instance BRCA1 and 2 genes in breast cancer. These are generally detected after 50 years of age and after tests. 'We can identify these in advance and design a policy that can prevent the prevalence of breast cancer. All these measures decline the disease burden on the community and thus the state government,' a scientist said. The process As part of this project, scientists will collect samples from 4,158 individuals from various tribal communities, including data on their physical measurements and blood biochemistry, and create a 2,000-strong diverse database of tribal genomes. 'We will genotype the samples and remove those that are genetically close to each other. Out of 4,158, we will do SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) type genotyping and take those with the most diverse genetics. The precaution is also because there might be bias during sample collection, which can then be eliminated at the analysis stage,' an official said. Of these, 378 will be trio samples. This means that samples will be taken of three members of the same family, including an individual as well as his/her biological parents. The other 3,780 will be individual samples. Apart from blood samples, stool samples will also be collected for microbial information. The role of the tribal department, according to Shahmeena Husain, principal secretary, will be to facilitate the technical team. 'We will facilitate the technical team as it will be a task to convince people to give samples.' Apart from name, education, medical history, information collected would include genealogical tree and addictions, physical characteristics like height, weight, BP, blood sugar, and waist measurement. The analysis After the samples have been collected, they will be stored at GBRC, where haematological and biochemical analysis of blood samples will take place. 'First, when the samples come from the field to the lab in Gandhinagar, they will be given Unique IDs. So those who receive the samples will neither know the gender nor the tribe of the person whose sample they are running through the process. This first round of encryption will be stored in our servers. Then, when it goes into the final process of Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), the data will be encrypted for the second time,' said a researcher close to the project. Joshi said Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, which have 22% and 21% tribal population respectively, have shown interest in the project. 'Modalities on whether they want to be a part of it or contribute to it will be decided by the state, but if they approach us, we are ready.'


The Hindu
17 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Kabini dam restoration work to be taken up at a cost of ₹32.25 crore: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the State Government will soon take up work on restoration of Kabini dam at a cost of ₹32.25 crore. Speaking to reporters after offering bagina to Kabini reservoir on Sunday (July 20, 2025), Mr. Siddaramaiah said the State Cabinet meeting held recently at MM Hills had approved the restoration project for the dam, which is about 51 years old. Outflow from Kabini to be increased, flood warning issued The construction of Kabini reservoir began in 1959 and was completed in 1974. As 51 years had elapsed since its construction was completed, the Government had decided to take up work on its restoration and strengthening. He, however, hastened to clarify that the Government's restoration work does not mean that the dam had become weak. It may be mentioned here that concerns had been expressed in certain quarters about the minor cracks and cavities in the dam structure. But, Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL) had ruled out any immediate threat to the dam. 'The Government will also take up work on modernisation of Taraka canal system,' he added. 'The Kabini, which takes birth in Kerala, and joins Cauvery at T. Narsipura, is a tributary of Cauvery. The Kabini river irrigates 1,08,000 acres of land,' he said. Mr. Siddaramaiah said the Government was also planning to build a garden on the lines of Brindavan Gardens at KRS reservoir. To a question, the Chief Minister said more than the stipulated quantity of water was flowing to Tamil Nadu and regretted that the Centre was not giving permission to the State to build a balancing reservoir at Mekedatu. When his attention was drawn to BJP's suggestion that the Congress Government should convince its INDIA ally DMK, which is the ruling party in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Mr. Siddaramaiah shot back and asked why the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders was not able to persuade their party's leaders in BJP-ruled Goa to permit the Mahadayi project in Karnataka, which is long pending. However, he said the State Government was ready for Mekedatu project if the Centre gives permission for the same. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who also holds the Water Resources portfolio, said the State Government had sent its technical teams to all dams to study their safety after a crest gate at Tungabhadra dam was washed away about a year back. The Government will take up any work that is necessary for the safety of dams on a priority basis while adding that the restoration work of Kabini dam will also be taken up. Responding to a request from HD Kote MLA Anil Chikkamadu, the State Government was considering a proposal to take up project to develop a garden at Kabini dam under public private partnership (PPP) model. When asked about the demand for celebrating Kabini Utsav, Mr. Shivakumar said he will discuss the matter with the Minister in charge of Mysuru district H.C. Mahadevappa and take a decision. He said, 'The Government had already planned to hold a Cauvery Arathi at KRS reservoir and added that the project will not only boost tourism, but also generate employment. However, he said the Government's first priority was safety of the dams.' Mr. Mahadevappa, MLAs Anil Chikkamadu, Harish Gowda, A.R. Krishnamurthy and Darshan Dhruvanarayan and MLC D. Thimmaiah and others also accompanied the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister while offering bagina to Kabini on Sunday (July 20, 2025.)


Mint
17 minutes ago
- Mint
PM Modi to visit UK, Maldives from July 23 to 26; bilateral talks and Independence Day celebrations in focus
The Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday, 20 July 2025, announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United Kingdom and the Maldives between 23 and 26 July 2025, according to the official statement. During the first phase of the travel itinerary, PM Modi, at the invitation of the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, will pay an official visit to the United Kingdom from 23 to 24 July 2025, marking the Indian PM's fourth visit to Britain. According to the official announcement, PM Modi will hold talks on the entire India-UK bilateral relations and also hold discussions regarding the views on issues of regional and global importance. PM Modi is also expected to visit and meet King Charles III during his visit to the UK. India and the United Kingdom are both expected to review the progress of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) with a specific focus on trade and economy, technology and innovation, defence and security, climate, health, education and people-to-people ties. The President of the Republic of Maldives, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, has officially extended an invitation to PM Narendra Modi to visit the island nation as their 'Guest of Honour' for the 60th anniversary of the Independence of Maldives on July 26, 2025. The second part of PM Modi's travel itinerary will involve him visiting the Maldives from 25 to 26 July 2025, marking the Prime Minister's third visit to the island nation. PM Modi and President Muizzu will both hold discussions on issues of mutual interest and also account on the progress of the implementation of the India-Maldives Joint Vision for a 'Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership.' This mission was adopted during President Muizzu's visit to India in October 2024, which reflects India's attachment to its maritime neighbour, the Maldives. The Maldives 'continues to hold a special place in India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy and Vision MAHASAGAR. The visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to further deepen and strengthen the close bilateral relationship,' said the Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday, in an official statement.