Latest news with #Somnath
Mint
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Mint
West Bengal: BJP leader arrested for allegedly stealing gold from jewellery shop; TMC shares his pics with major leaders
Somnath Sahoo, a BJP leader from West Bengal, has been arrested for allegedly stealing 100 grams of gold from a jewellery shop. The incident has caused a stir in West Midnapore's political circle. Trinamool Congress (TMC) shared a clip of the alleged incident on social media. 'Locals caught him while he was trying to flee and handed him over to the police,' it wrote on Twitter (now X). 'The party that claims to be the guardian of law and order is busy sheltering criminals!' Mamata Banerjee's party added. TMC State General Secretary Kunal Ghosh claimed on social media that the BJP Yuva Morcha leader from Habibpur had been caught by Odisha Police while stealing jewellery worth ₹ 25 lakh. 'CCTV footage exposes him. Locals caught him while he was trying to flee and handed him over to the police,' Ghosh wrote while sharing the accused's photo with BJP State President, Sukanta Majumdar, also Minister of State for Education of India. He also shared Sahoo's photo with actor-turned-politician Hiran Chatterjee, a BJP MLA. 'What link does the BJP State President have with a thief? Has he got a share? Clarify please. Whether these are facts or not,' Ghosh added. Sujoy Hazra, West Midnapore district TMC president, has mocked the BJP. 'BJP leaders are involved in human trafficking, drugs, and gold smuggling. This man says he's not with the BJP, but in this district, the BJP hardly exists. If you check, you'll find many BJP workers with similar shady records,' he said. BJP has claimed that Somnath Sahoo was once associated with the party but holds no post now. It added that Odisha, a BJP-ruled state, had arrested him without bias. That should be a lesson for Bengal's ruling party about good governance, it added. According to Anandabazar Patrika sources, Somnath was caught while trying to flee after stealing from a jewellery store in Jaleswar, Odisha. TMC claims he still holds the post of district youth wing secretary in the BJP. BJP's district spokesperson Arup Das denied any current link with Somnath. However, he claims Somnath's name may still appear on the party list because a new committee has yet to be formed. 'He was once connected to the BJP, but there's been no contact for over a year and a half,' the publication quoted Das as saying. 'TMC has no right to speak about such issues. They shelter murderers and rapists.' Arup added. MLA Hiran Chattopadhyay has said he doesn't feel awkward. 'Odisha BJP government and its police acted without bias and arrested a criminal. I praise them. The photo seems to be from the 2021 election campaign. Hundreds took photos with me. I can't know who among them is a thief or not,' he said.
India Gazette
3 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
From Mumbai's 'illegal migrant workers' to Melbourne crypto traders, The Degenerates is global Australian literature
In Raeden Richardson's debut novel, The Degenerates, displacement and travel feature within the lives of aspiring outcasts in the wildly disparate cities of Bombay (Mumbai's colonial precursor), in Melbourne's inner-city lanes and southwest suburbs, and in downtown New York. This is not strictly a novel about identity, nor assimilation. Not all its characters are Indians of the diaspora, but they all seek refuge from forms of oppression, be it caste-based, social or family violence. Review: The Degenerates - Raeden Richardson (Text Publishing) The Degenerates opens in 1976, with vivid snapshots of "illegal migrant workers" who leave their villages for Bombay's Arabian sea slums, with dreams of saving enough money to buy a flat or start a family. The city is being gentrified, drugs get pedalled, arrests inevitably happen - but the lowly are not without humour, optimism and streetwise grace. They attend "night school", write in "cursive paragraphs", learn "Keats and Byron" and "proper British English" from the nuns. Enterprising beggars are a familiar sight in Mumbai, and Richardson shows them to be a community tied to the legacies of colonialism. Richardson focuses on a shoe polisher from Western Maharashtra, Somnath Sunder Sonpate, who runs out of luck in Colaba's Grant Road district, coming up against enforcers of Indira Gandhi's mass sterilisation program: part of The Emergency from 1975 to 1977. This was a time of authoritarian rule, corruption, arrests, censorship and forced population control directed at the poor. Somnath fails to narrowly escape the police and cannot produce a license, so he is sterilised. Meanwhile, Preeti, a woman he shares a tiffin (or meals) with, whose bed is made from the pages of old novels, gives birth in the street, without conception. This stroke of magic realism fuses the Christian belief in immaculate conception with the stigma of an oppressive Hindu caste system. Sadly, for Preeti, it is a double violence. At the hands of the beggar master, her tongue is cut out and she dies by incineration. Somnath rescues her baby, and names her Maha. In a desperate struggle for survival, Somnath and baby Maha flee the city as stowaways, to arrive in the port of Melbourne. The plight and flight of this street family rely on unlikely and extraordinary circumstances, establishing a mixed tone of surreal and tragicomic farce. They become squatters in Swan Street, Richmond, in Melbourne's inner northeast. Then, in Degraves Street, Somnath labours as a shifty motorcycle mechanic in the chop shop and Maha eats herself into florid diabetes, becoming a consummate reader of history, scriptures and poetry. When Somnath dies abruptly, Maha, also known as Mother Pulse, embraces her oddly divine manifestations. She receives letters on paper bags and napkins from outcasts, whom she addresses as "Dear degenerates", imploring them to tell her their stories. She has them typed and printed into flyers, which are distributed under the windscreen wipers of cars. And so, the prayers and afflictions of the outcast - those who live precariously at the edges of society - are reclaimed and interwoven. There's a hiatus in Maha's story, as the narrative focus shifts to two selective school misfits, Titch and Skeater, or " " - a caesura - taking the place of his name. This grammatical marker becomes enigmatic of repression, private loss and what lies beyond the social fabric. The boys have a codependent, yet deeply poignant friendship at Melbourne High, until Skeater plunges into alcohol dependency. Subsequent narrative sections cycle around Titch's working friendship with Ginny, a Greek Australian bookseller and aspiring cryptocurrency trader. Both have troubled families: substance abuse, violence and mental health crises leave a path of brokenness. A survivor of abuse, Ginny escapes from her dysfunctional family in the suburbs with her sister, Marg, for a holiday in New York until her visa runs out. But Ginny's caprices deviate from tourism brochures. She befriends stylish, free-spirited Klein, an orphan fostered by an orphan, who self-medicates in burlesque nightclubs with "liquid green manza". Ginny briefly stays with his queer family; with Gordon, an intern at the The Paris Review; and Shelley, a tall, bald, non-binary Mauritian saxophonist. Their caring and valiant efforts to secure Ginny's blockchain trade and a working visa in New York are doomed to failure. There's more dialogue in this section of The Degenerates, albeit presented through a descriptive mode that frames the narrative action. The novel's structure fuses realist and fabulist elements. By turns capacious and wry, it also reads as Maha's coming of age as she transforms from Dalit orphan to suburban diva. When Titch discloses his crimes of theft, she believes he is a reincarnation of her foster father, Somnath. Her musings about rebirth and impermanence ("Here, gone", "Many headed") imply the plurality of a Hindu pantheon, but Maha is a standalone. Meanwhile, there's something appealingly subversive and inherently Buddhist about the novel's attention to small creatures like ants, a drug-intoxicated duckling, and even trilobites, extinct fossils who were "moved by the flux of life: hungering, feeding and hungering again". Refreshingly, Richardson's abrupt sequences creak with a subtle critique of heteronormative culture, and of elite privilege under socialist democracy or late capitalism. There's more than a hint of reproach aimed at those who too often speak on behalf of the Global South. Maha's low-caste mother, Preeti, is rendered speechless for claiming to possess special creative powers. But in its dance of minor perspectives, idiosyncrasies and conflations weaken the novel's binding. The crystal meth Maha injects, leading to her gangrenous amputations, seems extraneous when diabetes is the cause. In an interview, Richardson has spoken of urban spaces and laneways in Melbourne, where he was born, as being like a palimpsest. Indeed, the novel is infused with literary allusions and tropes which should be acknowledged. Somnath's forced sterilisation is strongly reminiscent of Ishvar's in Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance, a novel also set in India's 1975 Emergency period. Titch finds employment in Ginny's bookshop after impressing her with the absurdity of citing the Russians: "The Tolstoy. The Dostoevsky. The Kafka." Titch's theft of drugs and cash faintly echo the transgressions of Raskolnikov, the impoverished student in Crime and Punishment. There is homage and a nod to foundational epistolary fictions such as Letter to Pessoa and To Silence. For all its flair and pastiche, The Degenerates retains a material grittiness. Like prose poured into blocks without line breaks, it reads like polished concrete. Each section or chunk is a cameo where the mundane become scenes of scrutiny, often with aesthetic appeal - whether it be Titch's ants randomly in motion, the flow of water down drains, or the liquid in a case of contact lenses. Richardson has a penchant for acronyms, such as MDMA, EDM, ATM, CBD, KFC, PVC, BMX. He seems to insist on brands and consumables, like Doritos, Mars bars, Freddo Frogs, Krispy Kremes. Telstra shops, Rebel Sport, Target, SnapChat and even the "Commbank app" make appearances. Commodity fetishes animate the novel, however, its reliance on jargons of drug subculture and millennial crypto culture can be a strain to read, risking caricatures, at times bordering on cliche: Bitcoin. Ethereum. Ripple, too. Even Paxos. 'Look at the gains, yeah,' he said. The intense detail in Richardson's descriptions slows down the action and depletes his characters of their psychological realities. Some of the most interesting "degenerates" - Somnath, Titch's mother, and Skeater - make transitory appearances. This is, partly, because the author veers headlong into language's potential for soundscapes, along with its capacity to explain and transcendentalise. Indeed, there's an evangelical tone to the final section that deifies the writer's task as being godlike. When Maha's hundreds of followers leave their families and jobs to join her in the mythic "Red Plains", setting up "tents, tarpaulins and laundry lines", we are told: They watched her drive by the pages of Titch's story. She was their creator. Their divine writer. They knew that Mother Pulse had dreamed them, her people, and set them in motion. It was true. The passive register of omniscient narration stems Mother Pulse's fully embodied voice, even as she furiously writes about her followers, while they seem content to be written about "with compassion and care". Richardson's prose dazzles and sometimes overwhelms. However, the novel's energy, precision, risk and charm generates scenes and outcast characters that are part of a community of marginal writing, to be read slowly against the canon, with all its literary categories, gates and privileges. There are complex reasons why minority narratives struggle to thrive within the flow and countercurrents of a globalising, neocolonial literary economy. The Degenerates is relevant for Australia in this era of hostile immigration policy, populist nationalism and protectionism. It poses not merely questions of travel, but provocations of travel writing, eschewing middle-class fears and insecurities. Its rare gifts are humour, perversity, syncretism and empathy for those marginalised, and their stories.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
Bangla woman survives trafficking bid after illegally entering Tripura
Agartala: In the bustling heart of Agartala Railway Station, a young woman named Jannati Khatun found herself ensnared in a nightmare that seemed to have no end. Hailing from Khulna, Bangladesh, Jannati had crossed the border on Jan 29, hoping for a better future, only to be apprehended the very next day. Her dreams were quickly overshadowed by the cold, harsh reality of her illegal entry. For two long months, Jannati languished in jail, her hopes of freedom dwindling with each passing day. Though she was granted bail, the absence of a guarantor kept her behind bars for another four months. It wasn't until June 18 that a man named Somnath Mondal stepped forward to secure her release. But this supposed saviour was not who he seemed. Jannati soon realized that Somnath was the very person she had accused of trafficking her. Jannati, along with two other Bangladeshi women, was arrested on a Bangalore-bound train without valid documents. Their confessions led the police to Nilay Ahmed Joy, alias Bijoy Mondal, a Bangladeshi youth living in Chennai under a false identity. Nilay had been running illegal spa centers in Bangalore and Chennai, which were fronts for a sinister operation. Young Bangladeshi women were being lured in and forced into prostitution under the guise of beauty parlors. Despite the efforts of advocates Mizanur Rahman and Arshad Miah, Jannati's release was stalled by the stringent bail bond conditions. It was then that Somnath Mondal, an associate of Nilay, appeared at the central jail with another lawyer to facilitate her release. But Jannati did not recognize him, and her instincts screamed danger. Her fears were confirmed when, shortly after her release, Somnath took her into an auto-rickshaw. As they travelled towards Agartala, Jannati overheard a suspicious phone call that hinted at her being sold to a trafficking racket. "When I attempted to stop the auto, the speed was increased. Then I jump out and tried to flee. But I was caught by Somnath who assaulted me. I somehow managed to escape and approached West Agartala Police Station with a formal complaint against Mondal and sought a secure return to Bangladesh," Jannati told the media. "We have provided secured shelter to the woman and are trying to push her back to Bangladesh. Also, investigation is on to look into her complaint," said an investigating officer of the case. Jannati's harrowing ordeal was set against the backdrop of a deteriorating situation in Bangladesh. Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government on Aug 5, the country was plunged into chaos. Unemployment soared, and business opportunities dwindled, driving many to seek refuge across the border, often falling prey to nefarious networks.
News18
11-06-2025
- Health
- News18
Why Aren't IITians Made To Sign Govt Bond Like Doctors? Debate Takes Over Social Media
Last Updated: ISRO's former Chairman, Dr S Somnath, revealed that over 60% of IIT students walked out midway during ISRO's campus recruitment presentation, simply after seeing the salary figures A fierce online debate erupted over a deeply rooted inequality in the professional education system; Why are medical graduates bound by long-term service bonds for government jobs, while engineering graduates from prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) walk free, often into lucrative private sector roles or foreign companies? The conversation reignited after a resurfaced statement by ISRO's former Chairman, Dr S Somnath, who lamented the lack of interest shown by IIT students in working with the space research agency. Somnath, who steered the historic Chandrayaan-3 mission, had earlier revealed that over 60% of IIT students walked out midway during ISRO's campus recruitment presentation, simply after seeing the salary figures. This triggered a strong response from the medical community, particularly from doctors who face mandatory government service bonds lasting up to 10 years after completing degrees like MBBS, MD, or super-specialisations. Dr Deepak Krishnamurthy, Senior Cardiologist at Bengaluru's KIMS Hospital, questioned the double standards. 'I wonder why only doctors should have bonds to work for govt. Enforce them on IITians also to work for ISRO, DRDO etc," he posted on X (formerly Twitter). Joining him, Prof Dr G Rajesh of Government Medical College, Kozhikode, said, Let them go to US no issues. But we doctors have bond, upto 10 years in certain states after doing MBBS or MD or superspeciality. Why these guys are exempted? You spend much more money for them!!" He also marked the Prime Minister's Office in his post. Let them go to US no issues. But we doctors have bond, upto 10 years in certain states after doing MBBS or MD or superspeciality. Why these guys are exempted? You spend much more money for them!! @PMOIndia — Dr G Rajesh (Gopalan Nair Rajesh). (@DrRajeshG1) June 9, 2025 The Indian Institutes of Technology are publicly funded and offer some of the most heavily subsidised education in the country. Despite this, a significant percentage of IIT graduates opt for careers abroad or in private corporations, often ignoring roles in government-funded research bodies such as ISRO or DRDO, where salaries and perks are far less competitive. The resentment stems from the stark contrast; while MBBS graduates in government colleges may pay as little as Rs 56,000 per year for their studies and are then required to serve in rural or government hospitals, IITians with similar or even greater subsidies face no such obligation. Dr Somnath's concerns aren't isolated. The country's elite scientific and defence institutions are increasingly finding it difficult to attract top-tier technical talent. Despite ISRO's groundbreaking space missions and DRDO's critical role in defence innovation, these bodies are perceived as offering poor financial incentives and outdated work environments. The debate has now grown into a wider call for policy reform. Should IIT graduates, who benefit from elite education at nominal cost, be required to serve in government institutions for a few years before heading abroad? News18's viral page features trending stories, videos, and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: June 11, 2025, 15:58 IST
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
RAAS premiere celebrates rural nostalgia and emotional reunions
Tathagata Mukhopadhyay's Bengali film RAAS premiered, starring Vikram Chatterjee and Devlina Kumar. The film explores Somnath's return to his village after 18 years, reconnecting with his childhood love during Raas Purnima. RAAS contrasts the peace of rural Bengal with the isolation of urban life, highlighting themes of rediscovery and nostalgia, reflecting the emotional void felt in city life. The premiere of the Bengali film RAAS recently took place at a city theatre, drawing an enthusiastic crowd of cinephiles, industry professionals, and well-wishers. The red-carpet event was graced by the film's cast and crew, along with several notable figures from the Bengali film fraternity. Director Tathagata Mukhopadhyay was joined by lead actors Vikram Chatterjee and Devlina Kumar , who play Somnath and Rai respectively. Also in attendance were key cast members including Anashua Majumder, Anirban Chakrabarty, Sudip Mukherjee, Ranojoy Bishnu, and Arna Mukhopadhyay. Singers Manoj Murali Nair and Somlata Acharyya, who lent their voices to the soulful track Amra Dujona , were also present. RAAS tells the story of Somnath, who returns to his ancestral village of Manikpur after 18 years and reconnects with his childhood love, Rai, during the Raas Purnima festivities. Through its quiet portrayal of rural Bengal, the film contrasts the serenity of village life with the fast-paced, often isolating nature of urban living. As Somnath retraces his emotional roots, RAAS unfolds as a tale of rediscovery, nostalgia, and longing. Speaking at the premiere, Tathagata remarked, ' RAAS reflects the emotional void many feel in city life. It's a journey back to innocence and rootedness.' The ensemble cast also includes Shankar Debnath, Parijat Chaudhuri, Debasish, Debaprasad Halder, and Apratim Chatterjee, bringing depth to this reflective, emotionally resonant narrative.
