New Delhi, The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to submit a comprehensive report on illegal constructions along the banks and flood plains of Ganga river and inform about the steps taken to remove encroachments.. SC directs Centre to submit comprehensive report on encroachments along Ganga. A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan asked the Union government to place on record steps taken so far for implementation and execution of notification on rejuvenation, protection and management of Ganga.. “What are the impediments or hurdles coming in the way of the Authority in giving effect to the better and effective implementation of the notification, referred to above?. “What steps the Authority intends to take to protect the river Ganga passing through all the States, referred to above, and ensure that the river plains and banks are free of all encroachments? the bench said.. The top court issued notices to several Ganga basin states and said the issue required a broader examination beyond individual cases.. The matter is listed for next hearing on April 23.. During the hearing, advocate Akash Vashishtha, appearing for the petitioner, submitted there are large-scale encroachments all over the banks which require immediate attention and pointed out that some parts of these riverbanks are very rich in fresh water Dolphins.. The apex court also sought to know from the Centre what type of directions the Authority would like to seek from this Court to give meaningful effect to the notification to make the river plains and the banks of Ganga river absolutely free of all encroachments.. The top court was hearing a plea filed by Patna resident Ashok Kumar Sinha against the June 30, 2020 order of the NGT dismissing his plea against illegal constructions and permanent encroachments on the eco-fragile flood plains.. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. 

 Public discourse in India often reveals how fragile the understanding of foundational concepts can be. A recent controversy surrounding remarks made by Kirti Azad, a Member of Parliament from the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), offers a telling example.. India national cricket team visited a Hanuman temple after their triumphant victory in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final on March 8. (ANI Video Grab). Azad reportedly criticised members of India national cricket team for visiting a Hanuman temple after their triumphant victory in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final on March 8. His comment suggested that such a visit was somehow inconsistent with the secular ethos that India claims to uphold.. Kirti Azad’s comment was impulsive, ill-thought-out, shallow and condemnatory in a manner that displayed an unfortunate lack of understanding of the meaning of secularism in India. In doing so, he trivialised secularism itself by applying it in circumstances where it is not threatened.. To my mind, the reaction of the victorious players was entirely human. Sport, particularly cricket in India, is not just a game; it is an emotional spectacle that binds millions across caste, creed and region. When the national team wins a momentous global tournament, expressing gratitude to the divine for many Indians is instinctive. It is a gesture rooted not in exclusion but in humility — a recognition that human effort, however remarkable, often seeks a larger moral or spiritual anchorage.. To interpret such a gesture as an affront to secularism is to misunderstand both the players and the idea itself.. The word ‘secularism’ has travelled a long intellectual journey before entering the vocabulary of modern India. In its European origins, secularism emerged from centuries of conflict between Church and State. The aim was to limit the political power of organised religion and create a state that remained neutral in matters of faith. In many Western countries, this neutrality evolved into a strict separation: religion was confined to the private sphere, while public institutions remained rigorously non-religious.. India’s historical experience was fundamentally different. Here, religion was never monopolised by a single church-like institution, nor was political authority uniformly defined by theology. Instead, India evolved a civilisational ethos in which multiple faiths coexisted, interacted and enriched each other. The Indian understanding of secularism therefore did not emerge from hostility to religion but from a deep respect for pluralism.. The phrase often used to describe this ethos — sarva dharma sambhava, or equal respect for all faiths — captures this distinction elegantly. The Indian state does not demand that citizens abandon their religious identities in public life. Rather, it requires that the state itself treat all religions with fairness and impartiality.. Seen in this light, the visit of the cricketers to a Hanuman temple cannot reasona 

 Public discourse in India often reveals how fragile the understanding of foundational concepts can be. A recent controversy surrounding remarks made by Kirti Azad, a Member of Parliament from the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), offers a telling example.. India national cricket team visited a Hanuman temple after their triumphant victory in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final on March 8. (ANI Video Grab). Azad reportedly criticised members of India national cricket team for visiting a Hanuman temple after their triumphant victory in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final on March 8. His comment suggested that such a visit was somehow inconsistent with the secular ethos that India claims to uphold.. Kirti Azad’s comment was impulsive, ill-thought-out, shallow and condemnatory in a manner that displayed an unfortunate lack of understanding of the meaning of secularism in India. In doing so, he trivialised secularism itself by applying it in circumstances where it is not threatened.. To my mind, the reaction of the victorious players was entirely human. Sport, particularly cricket in India, is not just a game; it is an emotional spectacle that binds millions across caste, creed and region. When the national team wins a momentous global tournament, expressing gratitude to the divine for many Indians is instinctive. It is a gesture rooted not in exclusion but in humility — a recognition that human effort, however remarkable, often seeks a larger moral or spiritual anchorage.. To interpret such a gesture as an affront to secularism is to misunderstand both the players and the idea itself.. The word ‘secularism’ has travelled a long intellectual journey before entering the vocabulary of modern India. In its European origins, secularism emerged from centuries of conflict between Church and State. The aim was to limit the political power of organised religion and create a state that remained neutral in matters of faith. In many Western countries, this neutrality evolved into a strict separation: religion was confined to the private sphere, while public institutions remained rigorously non-religious.. India’s historical experience was fundamentally different. Here, religion was never monopolised by a single church-like institution, nor was political authority uniformly defined by theology. Instead, India evolved a civilisational ethos in which multiple faiths coexisted, interacted and enriched each other. The Indian understanding of secularism therefore did not emerge from hostility to religion but from a deep respect for pluralism.. The phrase often used to describe this ethos — sarva dharma sambhava, or equal respect for all faiths — captures this distinction elegantly. The Indian state does not demand that citizens abandon their religious identities in public life. Rather, it requires that the state itself treat all religions with fairness and impartiality.. Seen in this light, the visit of the cricketers to a Hanuman temple cannot reasona 

 Election Schedule: The Election Commission will announce the schedule for the Assembly elections in five states/ union territory on Sunday.. Election Schedule: The poll schedule will be released at a press conference at 4 pm. (File Photo). The poll body has convened a press conference at 4 pm to release the schedule. Assembly elections are set to be held in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry.. The terms of the assemblies of these states/ union territory are ending on different dates in May and June. Special intensive revision of the voters’ lists in these four states and one union territory have already been conducted, with final electoral rolls published.. This comes after the Election Commission held a crucial meeting in New Delhi earlier this week on Wednesday (March 11) to finalise the election schedule and phase-wise polling plan for the upcoming Assembly polls. The poll body had conducted its final ground review in the poll-bound regions, according to an earlier HT report.. The full bench of the Commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, reportedly returned to the national capital Tuesday night after conducting its multi-state preparedness review. 

 NEW DELHI : The Election Commission of India (ECI) is considering a proposal to set up dedicated verification counters outside polling stations in West Bengal to check the identity of voters whose faces are covered, such as by a burqa, ghunghat, scarf or other cloth, two senior commission officials said, asking not to be named.. The Election Commission of India. (File Photo). Under the proposed system, such voters would have their faces checked against their identity cards at the external counter before being allowed to enter the polling station. Under the existing procedure, voters with face coverings enter the polling station directly and are verified only at the time of casting their vote, inside the booth.. “The proposal is still in the pipeline and the final decision is yet to be taken. If approved, it may be introduced when the Model Code of Conduct comes into force; further operational details will be issued at that stage,” one of the officials said. “The verification will be uniform — it will be conducted only by women officials, female polling staff and Anganwadi Sevikas.”. The proposal is currently being examined for the West Bengal elections, but the officials said it could also be considered for other regions going to polls after further discussions.. The officials cited complaints of malpractice in past elections as one of the reasons for the proposal.. Both officials confirmed that state government officials will staff the verification counters. However, Anganwadi sevikas will conduct the actual face verification. Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel will deploy at the counters to ensure security and protect both the Anganwadi workers and voters from intimidation, pressure or interference during the verification process.. The poll panel and the state government have been locked in a legal dispute, with the Supreme Court noting a “trust deficit” between the two sides in its February 20 order. The Commission had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court alleging obstruction, lack of cooperation and intimidation of election officials by the state administration.. “Inside-booth verification depends entirely on state-appointed polling officers conducting the checks. Moving the process to an external counter under closer ECI supervision, staffed by Anganwadi workers, election officials and CAPF personnel, reduces reliance on regular polling staff and ensures better monitoring of the verification process,” one of the officials mentioned above said.. “It also creates a visible, documented and auditable checkpoint, generating a paper trail that would be easier to defend before the Supreme Court, which is already supervising the election,” they added.. The proposal raises several legal questions. The Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 — the two primary statutes governing elections — do not mention any face-verification procedure at polling stations. The officials qu