Kerala engineering students 'lap up' opportunity to respond to moral policing
Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 21: A bus stop bench here reduced to three separate seats as an alleged moral policing measure to prevent girls and boys from sitting together prompted students of both sexes from a nearby engineering college to sit on each others laps and post pictures of the same online.
While Thiruvananthapuram city Mayor Arya S Rajendran appreciated the stand taken by the students, residents of the area said they do not approve of the conduct and behaviour of the CET students inside the bus stand during the day and even late at night.
However, the residents denied that the seats were deliberately separated into three to dissuade the students. The bench was converted into three seats as part of renovating the dilapidated structure and keeping in mind COVID-19 guidelines to maintain social distancing, they claimed.
Rajendran visited the area on Thursday after the photographs posted on social media by the students of College of Engineering Trivandrum (CET) went viral.
After visiting the area, the Mayor, in a Facebook post, said the manner in which the bench was cut into three seats was not only "inappropriate", but also "unbecoming of a progressive society" like that of Kerala.
She said that there is no ban on girls and boys sitting together in our state and those who still believe there should be such a prohibition are still living in ancient times.
"One can only sympathise with those who do not understand that times have changed," she added.
She also told media present there that residents of the area have a different way of thinking as many of them are old timers.
Engineering students from CET, who were present when the mayor visited, told scribes that this was not the first time they were faced with such a situation.
They face moral policing on a regular basis whenever they are walking around in that area with a friend of the opposite sex.
"We have been suffering this for a long time and therefore, we decided it was about time we reacted to it. We, of course, never expected the photographs to go viral. We were just attempting to ensure that such moral policing does not occur in future.
"They should understand there is nothing wrong with a boy and girl sitting together," the students said.
The residents of the area, on the other hand, said that none of them approve of the girls and boys sitting together at the bus stand starting from early morning hours to even late at night.
"This is a bus shelter we built for people to wait for the bus. If they want to sit together, let them do so inside the college campus. We do not approve of their behaviour," some of the local residents told reporters.
They also said that the bus shelter was built by them years ago and was in a bad state, so they decided to renovate it and as part of the renovation process, the seating arrangement was converted to three separate ones with a gap in between in view of the COVID-19 guidelines on social distancing.
"Earlier also three people could sit and even now they can. Moreover, the work was hardly over. A lot of work was yet to be done. However, if the local authorities want to build a modern structure, we welcome it wholeheartedly," they said.
Appreciating the stand taken by the CET students, Rajendran, in her post, said a responsive generation is the hope for the future and the local authorities were with the students in the matter.
She further said the bus stand was dilapidated, unauthorised and lacking clearance from the Public Works Department and therefore, a new gender neutral one with modern facilities will be built there by the local authorities.
CPI(M)'s youth wing DYFI also reacted to the incident, saying those who try to impose old-fashioned moral concepts and do not believe in gender justice are a danger to society.
Such people need to realise that the world is changing, the DYFI state secretariat said in a statement and added opposition to freedom of movement and personal liberty under the guise of moral policing will not be accepted.
It said that vandalising the bus stand bench to prevent boys and girls from sitting together was offensive and unacceptable.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
