1. Mughals Are a Lost Chapter in the State Board's Textbooks
They may have given us the Taj Mahal, Urdu language, and a terrific cuisine, but the Mughals are not considered worthy enough by the Maharashtra State Education Board to be included in history textbooks for school students.
The board has, this academic year, come out with revised textbooks for Std VII and IX, focusing mainly on the Maratha Empire founded by warrior king Shivaji. The Std VII textbook has expunged chapters from the previous edition on the Mughals, and the Muslim rulers in India before the Mughals such as Razia Sultana and Muhammad bin Tuqhlaq.
The revised version makes no mention of the monuments built by these rulers, such as the Taj Mahal, the Qutub Minaar, and the Red Fort. The revised history textbook for Std IX mentions the Bofors scam and the Emergency of 1975-1977. Kolhapur-based Bapusaheb Shinde, a member of the history subject committees for both old and revised textbooks, told Mirror that last year, State Education Minister Vinod Tawde held a meeting at Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, a think-tank promoted by the RSS, where the revision of the syllabus was discussed. “The need was felt to update history with modern events.The Mughal history has been reduced. Modern history needs to be incorporated,“ Shinde said.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
2. 3 Teens Drown Off Shivaji Park
Three teenagers drowned in the sea off Dadar chowpatty near Shivaji Park on Saturday. The boys – Bharat Hanumanta, 13, and brothers Anup Yadav, 16, Rohit yadav, 15 – were students of BMC run Unal Mill High School in Mahim and had come to the beach, along with 11 others, after finishing class, to play kabaddi at around 11am.
Police said Bharat first ventured into the sea to wash mud off his clothes, when he was pulled in by a large wave. Hearing his friend cry for help, Anup went in pursuit and was followed a while later by Rohit who saw his brother struggling to make his way back to the shore. Though the rest of the students heard their friends’ cries for help, they were too afraid to venture in themselves. While Bharat has two sisters and a mother at his home in Dharavi, the Yadav brothers have a younger brother and parents at home.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
3. Chembur MLA Proposes 20-feet Vertical Limit For Trees
As bizarre ideas go, this MLA's solutions for tree fall deaths is right up there. Prakash Phaterpekar of the Shiv Sena wants the BMC and the state government to formulate a policy that allows only those trees to be planted on Mumbai's roads which won't grow beyond 20 ft.
He has also urged the BMC administration to depute a team of arborists to assess the feasibility of uprooting old and dangerous trees and transplanting them in open spaces elsewhere. The height restriction, he believes, will ensure that tree falls don't cause fatalities. "Mumbai shouldn't be shorn of its green cover but restricting the height will limit the extent of the disaster," says the Chembur MLA.
(Source: Mid-day)
4. Bhiwandi Boy Returns To India From USA After 20 Years
Earlier this year, the journey of Saroo Brierley - was released in the form of a film titled Lion featuring Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel. Saroo, who was born in India, was only five when he was separated from his family, but he finally found his hometown and his family after almost two decades of living in Australia as he was living there with his adoptive parents. Here, is the journey of yet another boy who returned to his hometown, Bhiwandi, in search of his family.
On August 4, 2017, at 7.56 pm, I walked into a backpackers hostel in Kurla to meet four guys - Chris Huth, Wyatt, Miles and Jack Eblen. I met them for the first time about ten days ago - the very day when Chris and Miles got into an autorickshaw accident that left Chris with hand injuries enough to be drugged out the entire time I was there.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
5. 72-Year-Old Bandra Man Conned Out Of Rs 2 Crore
The Cyber Crime Investigation Cell (CCIC) of the Mumbai Economic Offences Wing busted an interstate cyber racket and arrested four gang members for allegedly cheating a 72-year-old Bandra resident of R2 crore.
One of the accused befriended Vinod Kumar Ghuwalewala on Facebook in March 2016. He had convinced Ghuwalewala to help him start a business in India for which he claimed to have deposited R3.32 crore as investment.
(Source: Mid-day)
6. DGCA To Meet Airlines Ahead Of ICAO Audit
Aviation regulator DGCA will hold a meeting with airlines in Mumbai tomorrow to assess their preparedness for the upcoming audit by the UN safety watchdog ICAO, an official said.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is set to carry out a safety oversight audit of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in November this year.
The audit is conducted in areas related to legislation, organisation, licensing, operation, airworthiness, accident investigation, air navigation and aerodromes.
Along with the DGCA safety audit, the ICAO will also "randomly" pick an airline to check its compliance of the safety regulations, according to a senior DGCA official.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
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