Ahmedabad, July 29 (IANS) The Gujarat government on Monday said that it will organise child and life skills-based fairs in more than 30,000 schools for grades 1 to 8.

“The Education Department is committed to organising child fairs in over 30,000 schools for grades 1 to 8. These fairs are instrumental in cultivating latent talents in children and fostering their creative abilities,” an official of the Education Department said.

He said that the activities are conducted in government primary schools, urban primary education committee-run schools, municipal primary education committee-run schools, ashram schools, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBV), and model schools.

“Gujarat Council of Educational Research and Training (GCERT) has been annually organising child fairs for students in grades 1 to 5 and life skills-based fairs for students in grades 6 to 8. This year, a child fair was held for students in grades 1 to 5 on July 27th,” the official said.

He said that since 2001, schools have hosted these fairs to introduce students to various activities and provide enjoyable, activity-based learning experiences.

“For the organisation of these fairs, GCERT provides grants ranging from Rs 800 to Rs 2000 per school based on the number of students,” he said.

He said that through child and life skills-based fairs, students engage in activities such as storytelling, clay modelling, colouring, handicrafts, paper crafts, beadwork, drama based on children’s stories, and various life skills development activities and games.

“These activities aim to uncover and nurture the talents and strengths inherent in each student,” added the official.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 29 (IANS) AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi said on Monday that Muslims have become untouchables in the country as they have no proper representation in the affairs of the nation.

“Muslims neither have any political representation nor are they part of the nation building process. They are suffering from every side,” the AIMIM MP said during his speech on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha.

He also claimed that Muslim students are being deprived of minority scholarships.

“In 2019, PM Modi said that over one crore scholarships will be given to the minorities. However, only 58 lakh scholarships have been given to date. Around 37 per cent of minority applicants are deprived of scholarships every year,” he said.

Owaisi also said that he had requested the government to make the scholarships demand-driven, which has not been done by the Central government.

“Since 2007-08, minority scholarships have not been increased for the Muslims,” he added.

Claiming that Muslims are India’s biggest minority at 17 crore, Owaisi said, “The Centre should stop hating minorities, especially the Muslims. They (Muslims) should be given their rights conferred to them by the Consitution. How can PM Modi make ‘Viksit Bharat’ if 17 crore of the country’s population are subjected to hatred?”

He also said that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned four communities in her speech, but did not speak about Muslims.

“I want to know from this government whether these 17 crore people don’t include youth, farmers, women, and the poor,” he asked.

“In our beloved country, the most poor are the Muslims,” he said, adding that Muslim women are the most illiterate in the country.

“As per the AIDS and PLFS data, the lowest assets are among the Muslims while the consumption level as compared to other communities is also the lowest among the Muslims,” Owaisi said.

He also claimed that in educational institutions, the enrollment rate of Muslims in the 15 to 24 years age bracket is only 29 per cent, while it is 54 per cent for the Schedule Caste, and 51 per cent for the Hindu OBC.

Claiming that only Rs 97 crore has been allocated in the Budget for the Hajj pilgrimage, Owaisi said, “The Hajj committee has become a hub of corruption. Pilgrims have to pay money to select a building in Saudi. They also have to pay money to select a company in Mina and Musdalifa. The government should initiate a CBI inquiry into this scam.”

–IANS

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Mumbai, July 29 (IANS) Against the backdrop of the caste quota imbroglio in the state, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) President Sharad Pawar ignited a political row when he said that a ‘Manipur-like’ situation could potentially erupt even in Maharashtra.

Addressing a Social Unity Conference in Navi Mumbai late on Sunday, Pawar slammed the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their alleged failure to curb the violence between two tribal groups (Meities and Kukis) in Manipur, going on for over a year now.

“This has happened in Manipur. It has happened in Karnataka and it has also happened in neighbouring states. Now there are concerns that something like this could happen even in Maharashtra. Fortunately, Maharashtra has a legacy of many stalwarts who have promoted equality and harmony among people,” Pawar pointed out.

He said that for the country to develop with a strong economy, social unity is crucial, but the current tensions and divisions are alarming, and it’s the government’s responsibility to ensure that such growing discord is resolved with unity that goes beyond caste, religion or language.

Though Pawar did not touch upon the ongoing Maratha-OBC row, his statement assumed significance in view of the upcoming Assembly elections in the state due around October.

The ruling MahaYuti ally Bharatiya Janata Party state President Chandrashekhar Bawankule hit out at Pawar saying he was trying to sully the state’s image for political purposes.

“Pawar claims that there could be violence or riots in Maharashtra. A leader of his stature who has been in politics for so many decades should not defame the state like this for politics. He should not stoop to such a level. Devendra Fadnavis (Deputy CM and home minister) is fully capable of controlling any situation,” declared Bawankule.

Pawar added that the Manipur situation has been discussed in Parliament and people of various castes, religions and languages had met him in New Delhi.

“What was the picture they conveyed to us? The Manipuris have been living together harmoniously for generations, but now they are not even willing to talk to each other,” the NCP (SP) supremo pointed out, urging to take all stakeholders into confidence.

However, he rued how the current rulers have ignored the present scenario there, and even after all this, the PM of the country has not bothered to go there and provide succour to the people of Manipur.

–IANS

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Chennai, July 29 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu Police is still on the lookout for the two accused persons involved in the murder of the state Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President, K. Armstrong, who was hacked to death early this month, leading to uproar against the state police and the DMK government.

The police have arrested 21 accused in the case till now and killed one of the accused, Thiruvengadam, in an alleged encounter while two of the main accused, Senthil and Raja, were still absconding.

The BSP have held the Tamil Nadu Police responsible for Armstrong’s death and have demanded the state government for immediately arresting the main accused and to bring to light the reason behind the murder of the senior party leader.

BSP supremo and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati, attended the funeral of Armstrong, who has been one of its top party leaders in south India.

Meanwhile, the state police sources told IANS that several bank accounts related to those arrested had shown major transactions in the days prior to Armstrong’s murder.

A senior Tamil Nadu Police officer told IANS that if the transactions in these bank accounts were found to be related to the murder of Armstrong, then they could be frozen.

The 53-year-old Armstrong, who is a lawyer by profession, was also a Dalit activist.

–IANS

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Bengaluru, July 29 (IANS) D.K. Suresh, former Congress MP and brother of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, stirred a controversy on Monday by stating that if the Central government continues to treat the southern states unfairly there could be calls for the division of the country.

On February 1, Suresh had alleged that the southern states are not getting their rightful share of the GST and direct taxes from the Centre and the injustice may force them to demand a separate nation. The statement had led to a huge furore at the national level.

Speaking at his residence in Bengaluru, he stated that the Union government is working to suppress the Karnataka state and check its economic growth. “I have said before and I say it now, the southern states are being treated unfairly. If this injustice continues, there could be calls for division in the future. This has already started in Tamil Nadu.”

North India and Gujarat have been given priority in the budget. Don’t our states have the right to receive the same? Suresh questioned.

It is the duty of the Central government to provide financial support for state projects. However, injustice is being done to our state, he alleged.

“We are not begging. What plans have they given in the Union budget? Apart from asking for votes, what have they given us? Irrigation, job creation, and Bengaluru’s traffic issues have not been mentioned in the budget,” he complained.

“They are only working to bring down the Congress government. Only the states of North India and Gujarat are being preferred. “We are not fighting with the Central government. We are only asking for our rights,” he said.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been elected twice from the state. Instead of giving respect to the state, she is only doing patchwork.

This budget is limited to North India alone. Political allegations are being made against the state. Plans should be announced for the state’s industries, IT and BT sectors. Simply making accusations is not enough. The taxes are paid for a purpose, they are not paid just like that. Are we paying less tax than Uttar Pradesh or Bihar? How many plans have been given to the state in the past ten years? Suresh questioned.

–IANS

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