Muslims in Mangaluru offer Eid al-Adha prayers as rain takes a break

Udupi, July 7: In yet another instance of targeted cyber fraud, a 25-year-old student from Udupi, currently pursuing his master’s degree in Dublin, Ireland, and his father lost over ₹1 lakh to a scamster impersonating an Indian Embassy official.

The victim, Sandesh, who has been studying in Ireland since 2024, received a call on June 30 around 6:05 PM from an unknown person claiming to be an official from the Indian Embassy. The caller warned Sandesh that his Irish Residence Permit (IRP) application had a discrepancy in his date of birth. He further threatened that unless corrected immediately, his passport would be placed under the "Yellow group," leading to potential legal consequences.

Panicked and trusting the caller, Sandesh shared scanned copies of his Aadhaar card, birth certificate, and voter ID to an email address provided by the fraudster. The caller then instructed him to transfer money in phases for "verification purposes," assuring him it would be refunded.

Sandesh transferred ₹58,533 from his own Paytm account. When he hit his transaction limit, he contacted his father, Srikant (66), who resides in Kinnimulki, Udupi. Without suspecting foul play, Srikant transferred ₹33,588.10 via Paytm and ₹67,075.60 via Google Pay — bringing the total amount lost to ₹1,00,663.70.

The family became suspicious when the caller demanded more money. Realizing they had been scammed, they lodged a complaint at Udupi Town Police Station, which has now registered a case under Section 318(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.

Police and cybersecurity experts are urging Indian students abroad and their families to be cautious when dealing with unsolicited calls, especially those that demand urgent payments or sensitive personal data.

In a move that has reignited concerns over historical revisionism, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has released a new Class 8 Social Science textbook that erases Tipu Sultan, Haider Ali, and the four Anglo–Mysore Wars, while portraying Muslim rulers in a sharply negative light and glorifying Hindu powers.

The textbook, titled Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), conspicuously omits the fierce Mysorean resistance to British colonialism—led by Tipu Sultan, famously known as the "Tiger of Mysore"—from its account of India’s colonial past. No mention is made of the Anglo-Mysore Wars, which played a crucial role in the 18th-century power struggle between Indian states and the British East India Company.

Instead, the narrative elevates uprisings like the Sannyasi–Fakir rebellion and the Anglo–Maratha Wars, with the text claiming that “the British took India more from the Marathas than from the Mughals or any other power.” Critics say such selective emphasis attempts to marginalize Muslim rulers' contributions and resistance.

Further controversy arises from the book's depictions of Mughal emperors as violent invaders, especially in a dedicated “Note on Some Darker Periods in History.” Babur is described as a “brutal and ruthless conqueror who slaughtered entire populations,” while Akbar’s rule is framed as a “blend of brutality and tolerance.” Aurangzeb is characterized mainly by his demolition of temples and gurdwaras—a reduction many historians deem politically motivated.

NCERT’s textbook development committee chair, Michel Danino, defended the changes, saying the goal was to avoid rote memorization and keep the curriculum concise. He confirmed that Tipu Sultan and related events will likely remain absent in Part 2 of the series as well. “If we include every war, we go back to cramming,” Danino told India Today.

Yet, many academics and civil society voices see this as part of a broader trend under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which is being used to recast Indian history through an ideologically Hindu nationalist lens. Tipu Sultan, who fought valiantly against British forces using advanced military tactics like iron-cased rockets, now risks being erased from mainstream memory. 

Bogotá, July 16 Defying the United States threats, ministers from more than 30 nations have packed Bogotá’s San Carlos Palace to charge the Israeli regime with genocide over its October 2023-present brutal military assault against the Gaza Strip.

The dramatic display of international solidarity saw dozens of high-ranking officials from across the globe convene inside the stately palace on Tuesday, determined to hold the regime accountable for, what they unequivocally called, a “war of genocide.”

The two-day emergency summit, organized under the auspices of The Hague Group -- a coalition co-chaired by Colombia and South Africa -- had representatives, ranging from such countries as Algeria and Brazil to Pakistan and Spain, in attendance.

The participants described the drive as a coordinated effort to stop the Israeli atrocities.

Behind closed doors, ministers and envoys, meanwhile, engaged in intensive sessions aimed at drafting collective measures to pressure the regime -- steps expected to be unveiled by Wednesday’s closure.

“There is nothing to negotiate about,” insisted Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied territories, who addressed officials during private talks.

“Israel needs to withdraw from Gaza totally and unconditionally. Then it owes huge reparations to Palestinians for what it has done.”

‘History in the making’

Albanese did not mince words on stage either, telling the press that the Bogotá gathering might well “go down as the moment in history that states finally stood up to do the right thing.”

She called the event “the most significant political development of the last 20 months,” underscoring the unprecedented breadth of the coalition.

The alliance was set up last year with backing from Progressive International, an organization founded in May 2020 to unite, organize, and mobilize progressive forces around the world.

Soon after the onset of the convention, the US attacked the surge in multilateral momentum against the regime, its most important regional ally, which it has been providing with unprecedented political, military, and intelligence support towards further brutalizing Palestinians.

The State Department issued a tirade, accusing The Hague Group of trying to “weaponize international law as a tool to advance radical anti-Western agendas” and warning that the US would “aggressively defend our interests, our military, and our allies.”

Just last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio slapped sanctions on Albanese, denouncing, what he termed, her “illegitimate and shameful efforts” to push for International Criminal Court action against the Israeli regime. “Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,” he fumed.

Inside the palace, however, the mood remained defiant.

Former US foreign affairs officer Annelle Sheline, who resigned earlier this year over Gaza, attended the summit to lend her support.

“These are sovereign states who have every right to uphold their obligations under the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,” she said. “This is not the weaponization of international law. This is the application of international law.”