Srinagar : The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference President and Member of Parliament from Srinagar DrFarooq Abdullah on Thursday expressed outrage over the incendiary remarks and genocidal threats against Muslims and other minority groups and demanded stern action against those spewing venom at hate speech conclaves across the country.
Voicing concern over the inflammatory and provocative speeches against Muslims at an event in Haridwar and other such hate speech conclaves of right wing groups, DrFarooq Abdullah said, “The nature of speeches delivered in Haridwar between 17 and 19 December 2021, and other such hate speech conclaves across the country is deplorable. Recurring such open seditious and genocidal calls in the country are deeply disturbing.”
Censuring the government of turning a blind eye to the hate speeches against the Muslim community, DrFarooq said the criminal hush in government circles raises a question mark that begs to be answered.
He said that India being a signatory to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) under Article 3 C which clearly criminalizes ‘Direct and public incitement to commit genocide’ – should act firmly against such groups and individuals that call for genocide of country’s Muslims. “These hate speech conclaves also fit a variety of crimes under Indian laws and are antagonistic to national integrity and peace. The prevailing blanket silence of the country’s head and absence of any punitive action has emboldened such hate mongers,” he said adding, “I will be grateful if action is taken against those who have violated the Genocide convention. Urgent action is needed otherwise it will embolden those who spread hatred thereby vitiating the atmosphere. It will inevitably result in further alienation of the minorities which is not in the interest of India.”
He demanded that the groups and individuals spewing hate be taken to task. “It is high time that the government stops emboldening these hatemongers with its inaction and establishes rule of law,” he said.
Prof Veena Pandita reviews ongoing activities of SCERT across J&K
K H News Service
Srinagar | Jan, 13: Director, State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), J&K, Prof Veena Pandita on Thursday stressed on the need for better coordination and synergy between the officers of SCERT at both the divisions for achieving the objectives of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The Director made these comments while chairing a meeting to review different activities of the council across Jammu and Kashmir.
During the meeting, the Director sought reports from the officers with regard to the programs, workshops and other activities conducted so far by the council.
Speaking in the meeting, the Director maintained that Departments and Wings have been distributed between the two SCERT Divisional Offices in a manner that they must function in tandem with each other.
“Some important departments such as Curriculum Development & Studies, Educational Research, Survey & Assessment (ERSA), Teacher Education etc have been allotted either at SCERT Divisional Office Jammu or Kashmir only and all such Departments are mandated to function at J&K level to cater to the needs of all the 20 Districts and here is where a strong synergy is required,” she said.
Prof. Pandita stressed upon the HODs/Faculty of SCERT that the administration is very keen and particular about the outcome of the trainings, workshops and other activities including implementation of various initiatives of the MoE, Government of India towards qualitative improvement of school Education.
She asked the departmental heads to prepare questionnaires and conduct field visits for effective implementations of the programs at grass root level. She directed the stakeholders at SCERT to devise a very strong monitoring mechanism and ensure accomplishment of the desired outcomes at ground level.
To assess the teachers’ performance under NISHTHA online courses, Prof. Pandita asked the NISHTHA Coordinator to develop specific assessment tools to conduct an empirical evaluation of the teachers in order to know that they have learnt what they were expected to learn from these ‘specially designed’ training courses under NISHTHA on DIKSHA portal.
Prof Pandita also directed all the HODs/faculty members to make proper documentation of the events undertaken by them every month so that the performance can be monitored effectively and desired results are obtained on the ground