Today on Friday, January 21, 2022

• Nepal civil society figures call for Minister’s removal after hate speech 
• Family of four, believed to be Indians, frozen to death along U.S.-Canada border 
• Centre orders ban on 35 Pakistan-based YouTube channels 
• Amar Jawn Jyoti merged with National War Memorial flame 
• India to open 2022 T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on October 23 at MCG 
• U.S., Russia hold high-stakes talks on Ukraine war fears 
• Congress slams move to shift eternal flame at Amar Jawan Jyoti to National War Memorial 
• IS gunmen in Iraq kill 11 soldiers in brazen barracks attack 
• SC verdict records DMK, T.N. govt. roles in the cause for OBC quota in AIQ seats 
• Ex-servicemen express mixed reactions on merger of Amar Jawan Jyoti with NWM's eternal fame 
• Nine evacuated as Covid-19 hits Antarctic research base 
• Beijing Winter Olympics | Torch relay confined to closed venues due to COVID 
• Mortal remains of Indians killed in drone attack in Abu Dhabi reach Punjab 
• Azarenka overpowers Svitolina at Australian Open 
• Statehood Day: PM Modi greets people of Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura 
• Yemen loses internet connection after Saudi-led airstrike 
• Russia and China block new UN sanctions on 5 North Koreans 

• India Ratings pegs FY23 GDP growth at 7.6% 
• Israel’s attorney general orders probe of NSO spyware claims 
• Peru: 21 beaches polluted by spill linked to Tonga eruption 

Amar Jawan Jyoti merged with flame at National War Memorial

(Statue of Netaji to be set up at India Gate, announces PM Modi

The iconic Amar Jawan Jyoti (AJJ) at India Gate, which was inaugurated after the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh to pay homage to the unknown soldier, was extinguished on Friday as a part of its merger with the flame at the National War Memorial (NWM). And Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that a statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose would be set up at India Gate coinciding with his 125th birth anniversary.

In the face of protests from the Congress and some soldier associations, sources in the government said the AAJ was “not extinguished” and only “merged” with the NWM flame.

At a ceremony presided over by Air Marshal B.R. Krishna, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC), on Friday afternoon, a torch with the flame at the AJJ was carried with full military honours and merged with the NWM flame.

The NWM, inaugurated in February 2019, is located at the ‘C’ Hexagon near India Gate and was built in memory of the soldiers who laid down their lives for the country in the post-Independence period. It has the names of over 25,000 soldiers inscribed on it.

In a change of tradition since the unveiling of the NWM, before the commencement of the Republic Day parade in 2020, Mr. Modi paid homage to the fallen soldiers by laying a wreath at the flame of there, instead of at the AJJ.

India Gate, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, was unveiled by Lord Irwin on February 12, 1931. It was built to honour the over 83,000 soldiers of British India who died from 1914 to 1921. It has 13,516 names inscribed all over the monument. The AJJ was set up to pay homage for the soldiers who laid down their lives in the 1971 war. The memorial of the unknown soldier, an inverted bayonet with a helmet structure, along with the AJJ was inaugurated under the arch of India Gate by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on January 26, 1972 to commemorate India’s victory in the 1971 war, in which 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war surrendered and saw the birth of Bangladesh.

Downplaying the controversy that emerged on the issue, a government source said it was an odd thing to see that the flame at the AJJ paid homage to the martyrs of 1971 and other wars but none of their names were present there. “The names of all Indian martyrs from all the wars, including 1971 and wars before and after it, are housed at the National War Memorial. Hence it is a true ‘shraddhanjali’ to have the flame paying tribute to martyrs there,” the source stated.

‘Symbol of colonial past’

India Gate was a “symbol of our colonial past” as it has only some of those who fought for the British in First World War 1 and the Anglo Afghan War, the source noted. “It is ironic that people who did not make a National War Memorial for seven decades are now making a hue and cry when a permanent and fitting tribute is being made to our martyrs.”

Since inauguration of the the NWM, all homage ceremonies are being conducted only there. However, defence officials had stated that the AJJ would be kept burning and used for ceremonial occasions and official visits.

Mr. Modi said on social media, “At a time when the entire nation is marking the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, I am glad to share that his grand statue, made of granite, will be installed at India Gate. This would be a symbol of India’s indebtedness to him.”

“Till the grand statue of Netaji Bose is completed, a hologram statue of his would be present at the same place. I will unveil the hologram statue on 23rd January, Netaji’s birth anniversary,” he stated.

The government recently announced that from this year onwards, the Republic Day celebrations will begin from January 23 instead of January 24 and end on January 30, Martyrs Day.

Centre orders ban on 35 Pakistan-based YouTube channels

The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting ordered a ban on 35 YouTube channels, two websites, two Twitter accounts, two Instagram accounts and one Facebook account that were operating from Pakistan and spreading “anti-India disinformation”, the Ministry said on Friday.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra said the order was issued on Thursday using emergency powers under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. He said the intermediaries, including YouTube, were in the process of blocking the channels, something which takes around 24 hours. Terming it a “war of misinformation against the country”, Mr. Chandra said the latest channels to be blocked were the second set, after 20 were blocked in December 2021. He said the content was against the sovereignty of the country.

The Ministry played some of the videos from the channels in question at the briefing, including one claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was responsible for the helicopter crash that killed Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat in December and one that said the North Korean army had reached Ladakh.

These channels had a total subscriber base of 1.2 crore and 130 views, Mr. Chandra said. He said the order was issued after the Ministry received inputs from intelligence agencies on Thursday itself. Joint secretary Vikram Sahay, who is the officer authorised under the IT Act, said orders had been issued to the social media companies and the internet service providers to block.

Mr. Sahay said the channels spread “anti-India” content with a focus on the Indian armed forces, Jammu and Kashmir, India’s foreign relations, the death of Gen. Rawat, separatist ideology and public order, which attracted the provision of Section 69-A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (power to issue directions to block information through computer resource).

In a statement, the Ministry said the blocked channels included ‘Khabar with Facts’, ‘Global Truth’, ‘Information Hub’, ‘Apni Duniya TV’ and ‘Khoji TV’. The blocked sites were White News and DNow, whose YouTube channels were also blocked.

“The 35 accounts blocked by the Ministry were all operating from Pakistan, and were identified to be part of four coordinated disinformation networks. These include the Apni Duniya Network operating 14 YouTube channels, and Talha Films Network operating 13 YouTube channels. A set of four channels, and a set of two other channels were also found to be acting in synchronization with each other,” the Ministry said.

Mr. Chandra called on intermediaries and the public to act against such channels, while saying that the Ministry would continue to act.

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