Ordinary citizens' freedom cannot be taken away: Kappan's daughter's Independence day speech
Malappuram, Aug 15: As India celebrated its 76th Independence Day, the nine-year old daughter of Malayali journalist Siddique Kappan -- booked and jailed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in the Hathras conspiracy case -- said that ordinary citizens' freedom be not taken away.
"I am the daughter of a journalist who has been left to languish in jail, by being denied the basic civil rights available to all Indian citizens," is how the nine-year old began her Independence day speech at her school on Monday, a video of which has gone viral on social media.
In her little over two minute-long speech, she said that every Indian has the right to resist or oppose those asking them to leave, they have the choice to decide what to speak, eat or which religion to profess and all this is possible due to the struggles and sacrifices of freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhagat Singh and countless others.
"Remembering all those freedom fighters, my request is not to take away the freedom and rights of the ordinary citizens," she said.
She also said that India's pride should not be surrendered before anyone.
In her speech, she further said that there was still unrest in the country as it was evident from the violence on the basis of religion, color or politics and said that the same should be "rooted out with love and unity".
"Even the shadow of any unrest should be wiped out. We all should live as one life and should make every effort to take India to the top. We should dream of a better tomorrow without any differences and conflicts," she said.
"As India steps into its 76th Independence day, on this special occasion, as an Indian with unwavering pride and authority, I would like to say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'," she said.
Kappan, a reporter for Malayalam news portal Azhimukham and secretary of the Delhi unit of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ), was arrested along with three others in October 2020 while on his way to Hathras to report the gang-rape of a 19-year old Dalit woman.
Police had claimed that the accused were trying to disturb law and order in Hathras. They had also alleged that the accused had links with the Popular Front of India (PFI).
Earlier this month, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court rejected his bail application.
Prior to that a Mathura court had rejected Kappan's bail plea after which he had approached the high court.
Kappan and others were charged under Sections 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of Indian Penal Code and Sections 65, 72 and 75 of the Information Technology Act.
The rape victim had died at a Delhi hospital a fortnight after her alleged rape by four men from her village on September 14, 2020. She was cremated in the middle of the night in her village.
Her family members claimed that the cremation, which took place well past midnight, was without her consent and that they were not allowed to bring home the body one last time.
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Rajnath to top commanders: Outmaneuver adversaries with strategic surprise
Jaipur/New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top military commanders of the three services to integrate an "element of surprise" into modern warfare to outmaneuver India's adversaries and bolster strategic posture.
In his address at the joint commanders conference in Jaipur, Singh also described the Operation Sindoor as a testament to the "swift, precise, and joint response" of the Indian armed forces to safeguard national interests and called upon the military to remain ready to deal with any security challenges.
In their two-day deliberations, the commanders carried out a comprehensive review of the combat preparedness of the military in the wake of the evolving regional security situation.
Operation Sindoor was a demonstration of India's growing capabilities and a symbol of the nation's collective resolve and new military ethos, Singh said, a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
He also unveiled a 'Joint Doctrine for Integrated Communication Architecture' that is aimed at strengthening doctrinal clarity, interoperability and integrated communications across the armed forces in future multidomain operations.
The joint commanders' conference, themed 'Military Capability in New Domains', brought together the top leadership of the defence ministry and the three services to deliberate on emerging security challenges and future readiness.
Comprehensive deliberations were held on future warfare, multidomain operations, technological transformation and joint capability development.
The conference witnessed extensive discussions on cognitive warfare, cyber resilience against evolving quantum and AI-enabled threats, military capability development in emerging domains, indigenous innovation and AI-enabled warfighting concepts.
It was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh among others.
In his remarks, Singh asked the commanders to remain "future-ready" by learning from the operation as well as the current global security landscape.
He underscored the need to strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, data analytics and secure communication networks to stay prepared in the rapidly evolving geopolitical security scenario. He emphasised that future conflicts will increasingly be shaped by hybrid threats, information dominance and operations conducted simultaneously across cyber, space, electromagnetic and cognitive domains, according to an official readout.
Highlighting the transformative impact of emerging technologies, Singh stressed on the importance of ensuring integrated national preparedness across all spectrums of conflict, it said.
Singh's remarks at the conference came a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
The defence minister appreciated the progress achieved in enhancing jointness, integration and technological adoption across the three services, the readout noted.
Singh said that jointness constitutes a pivotal dimension within the transformative changes sweeping across the global defence sector.
"Future wars will not be won solely through weaponry, but through innovative thinking and enhanced synergy," he said.
The defence minister exhorted the commanders to cultivate the "element of surprise" to remain unpredictable to the nation's adversaries and secure a strategic edge in any given situation.
He, however, urged them to remain vigilant of the element of surprise of the enemy and always stay two steps ahead.
Singh also reiterated the Narendra Modi government's commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the defence forces through state-of-the-art weapons and platforms. He added that special focus is being laid on research in niche domains.
During the conference, he released a documentary film on Operation Sindoor.
The film reaffirms the nation's and defence forces' commitment to operational preparedness and decisive national response capabilities.
Demonstrations of advanced systems and platforms developed for intelligence fusion, operational planning and information management were also showcased during the conference reflecting growing integration of cutting-edge technologies into joint operational structures, according to the defence ministry.
The discussions will contribute significantly towards shaping India's future military transformation and integrated operational preparedness, it said.
