Latest news with #inter-State
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Wrong call: On Assam and arming civilians
The decision by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Assam government to issue arms licences to 'eligible' indigenous communities in remote and vulnerable areas in the State is fraught with danger. The State government seems to suggest that indigenous communities living in the border areas abutting Bangladesh are vulnerable and that armed licences would be a deterrent and improve their personal safety and confidence. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has also insisted that these grants would not be for people near inter-State borders in Assam. But these caveats still do not take away from the fact that arming specific civilian groups is liable to be rampantly misused for acts such as vigilantism and inter-community rivalry, as the lines between law enforcement — which carries legal authority and has a monopoly over armed instruments — and private citizens are blurred. In a State that has been beset with insurgent violence and where the threat from groups such as the ULFA (Independent) remains, introducing more arms into civilian hands risks propagating further violence and arms proliferation rather than ensuring enhanced security. Instead of arming civilians, ostensibly for self-defence — a move akin to abdicating its core responsibility — the State government has the clear alternative of enhancing its own law enforcement and security presence in these 'vulnerable areas'. It is well understood that in modern states, the monopoly over instruments of violence will remain with the government and its law enforcement agencies. In India, arms licences are issued in a restricted manner as a delegated and a limited right to self-preservation to select individuals through a stringent licensing process under the Arms Act, 1959 and the Arms Rules, 2016. These rules under the law preclude the provision of such licences to larger, identified groups — where identification itself could be fraught with the risk of conflicts — as they not only present administrative challenges but also make it difficult for the government to license, monitor and recover firearms as the law requires it to. Arming civilian groups, even with an intention to do so with some stringent implementation, runs the risks of having these weapons entering grey markets and falling into the wrong hands, besides designating those groups with an authority that could backfire on the state. This was evident when security forces in Chhattisgarh arming civilian groups for protection against the Maoist threat — in the Salwa Judum campaign in the late 2000s — led to severe human rights violations and lawlessness, before the Supreme Court of India intervened to deem the policy to be illegal. Considering these problems, Assam must reverse its decision.
The Hindu
19-05-2025
- The Hindu
Four gold chains worth ₹17 lakh recovered from chain snatchers
The city police have recovered four gold chains that were snatched from victims at the KSRTC bus stands in Mysuru. After a chain-snatching incident was reported from the suburban bus stand in Mysuru on May 17, a case was registered at the Lashkar police station, and an investigation into the matter was launched. On the same day, the police personnel apprehended three persons, including two inter-State robbers, and recovered from them four gold chains, weighing about 170 grams at an estimated value of around ₹17 lakh. With the arrest of the accused and recovery of the gold chains, the city police have solved four cases of chain snatching, including three reported from the suburban bus stand in the Lashkar police station limits and one from the city bus stand in the Devaraja police station limits.
The Hindu
12-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
13% increase in students from outside State in Kerala schools
The number of students from other States enrolled in government and aided schools across Kerala from Classes I to X has increased by over 13% from 2023-24 to 2024-25. As per data from the Directorate of General Education, the total number of inter-State migrants in government, aided, and unaided schools in the State in 2023-24 was 21,299. This rose to 24,525 in 2024-25, up by 15.14%. The total number of non-Keralite students in government and aided schools was 20,911 (8,490 in government and 12,421 in aided) in 2023-24. This went up to 23,637 (10,018 in government and 13,619 in aided schools) in 2024-25. In government schools alone, the increase was 18%. In aided schools, it was slightly less at 9.65%. The number of students in unaided schools went up from 388 to 888 during this period, an increase of a whopping 128.86%. Composition of students Other than neighbouring Tamil Nadu, students from Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh constituted a chunk of the inter-State migrants studying in schools in the State. In 2023-24, they totalled 11,394 students, with Assamese students having the largest presence (3,161), followed by West Bengal (3,032), Bihar (2,631) and Uttar Pradesh (2,570). In 2024-25, the number of students from these States went up to 13,751. Assamese students again were the most in number – 3.882, followed by West Bengal with 3,758, Bihar with 3,380, and Uttar Pradesh with 2,731. The highest increase was in the number of students from Bihar – 28.4%. The number of students from Assam and West Bengal rose by 22.8% and 24%. respectively. The biggest segment among inter-State students was that of children hailing from Tamil Nadu, though their numbers remained unchanged. Students from Karnataka, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kashmir, and Manipur also studied in the State. Nepal Nepal was home for most students hailing from other countries. In 2023-24, the number of students from other countries was 340, of which Nepalese students accounted for 333. Of the 336 students of various nationalities studying in schools in the State in 2024-25, students from Nepal totalled 332. Students from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and the Maldives accounted for other foreign students. In 2023-24, students from Russia, the UAE, and Kuwait too studied here.
The Hindu
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Kerala launches drive to curb school dropouts among migrant workers' children
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday launched a Statewide special academic programme to ensure school education for the children of inter-State migrant workers and to check the dropout rate among them. The local self-government institutions have to maintain an academic register, outlining the academic status of such children and initiate remedial measures as required, he said at the Ernakulam district-level face-to-face programme held as part of the four-year celebrations of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) at KINFRA convention centre at Kakkanad. He said that it was the responsibility of the State to ensure that children of the inter-State workers attended schools. A situation in which they wander in the streets instead of going to schools has to be avoided, he said. The Chief Minister pointed out that teachers and school authorities in each region have to visit the houses of the inter-State migrant workers as a team along with the officials of the Department of Local-Self Government to verify whether their children are attending school on a regular basis. On the achievements of the LDF government, Mr. Vijayan said the State has achieved all-round development across various sectors, including industrial growth, health, higher education, agriculture, and general education. In the nation-wide rankings in the category of State Public Universities, Kerala has three universities figuring within the first 12 positions including Kerala University, Cochin University of Science and Technology and Mahatma Gandhi University. Sixteen colleges in the State figured among the top 100 colleges in the country [National Institutional Ranking Framework], indicating the progress achieved, he said. The Chief Minister said the growth rate in the agriculture sector has increased from 2 percent in 2016 to 4.6% now. The paddy cultivation went up from 1.7 lakh hectares in 2016 to 2.23 lakh hectares, he said. Blames Centre He blamed the Centre for 'not providing the required assistance' during times of various disasters faced by the State. The Union government had also imposed restrictions on the State's borrowing capacity and delayed the due central share in various projects. However, we could overcome such hurdles and achieve progress in various sectors by improving the internal revenue, he said. People from diverse sectors submitted their suggestions related to the development of Ernakulam before the Chief Minister on the occasion. These inputs may be considered while working on the future development initiatives in the district, according to the authorities.
The Hindu
06-05-2025
- The Hindu
Four arrested with suspected MDMA at Kozhikode beach
The Anti-Narcotics team and the Kozhikode Town Police on Monday night (May 5) arrested four persons, including two women, from Kozhikode beach for allegedly possessing and distributing narcotic drugs. The arrested persons are P. Amar, 32, and M.K. Vaishnavi, 27, both natives of Kannur; T.K. Wahid, 38, of Kuttiady; and V.K. Athira, 30, of Thalassery. The officials reportedly seized 27 grams of suspected MDMA from their car. According to the police, the group had been regularly transporting drugs from Kannur to Kozhikode, where they allegedly handed them over to others. The women were allegedly being used to divert police attention. Amar, a former employee of a retail electronics showroom, is suspected of having links with inter-State drug rackets. Athira is said to be working as an event manager in the Kannur and Kozhikode districts, while Vaishnavi works at a cosmetics shop in Kannur. Wahid reportedly runs a poultry shop in Kuttiady. The group had allegedly been under police surveillance for a few days based on a tip-off.
