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New startups have been established that specialise in handling post-death ceremonies. From burying to cremation to asthi visarjan, startups are helping to make things easy for grieving family members so that they do not get bogged down by ritual complexities or get duped by unscrupulous people in time of distress. Mokshshil.com is an Ahmedabad-based startup that handles post-death ceremonies across religions. It began as a cremation service for the Hindus, but now offers to help with different kinds of ceremonies and rituals.
Justice P Devadass, a member of the Madras High Court Bench, in a recent ruling in a case of suicide said, "For the wrong decision taken by a coward, fool, idiot, a man of weak mentality, another person cannot be blamed for having abetted the suicide." While the principle of caution exercised by the judge was well taken, his view of suicide as "an act of cowardice" and the severe condemnation of those who succumb to it are bound to leave many deeply uneasy. To blatantly dismiss an extreme step like suicide as an individual's failure of courage is to disregard the moral dilemma and complex circumstances that usually provoke such an action. Such a reaction may be common among those lacking the intellectual wherewithal and empathy required to grapple with a phenomenon as disturbing as suicide.
Kiran Phatak, an Indian classical singer, who features in a new video by 101 India distinguishes him because he takes a bandish — that may be thousands of years old and has been passed down from generation to generation without being changed at all — and translates it literally to English.
Main News
In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered reinstatement of the Nabam Tuki-led Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh, barely four months after the Kalikho Pul government had won a floor vote.
A 34-year-old post-doctoral scholar and the 47-year-old wife of a physics assistant professor were found hanging at the IIT-Madras campus on Wednesday evening in two unrelated incidents. While the post-doctoral student was allegedly upset that her husband wasn't visiting her enough on the campus, the wife of the physics professor was supposedly worried about one of her two children's health.
VK Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs sent two C-17 military transport aircrafts to war-torn South Sudan's capital Juba to evacuate over 300 Indians stranded there. The mission, titled 'Sankat Mochan' will help evacuate Indians from the land-locked country.
Off The Front Page
The remains of a missing 19-year-old girl from Indapur, Maharashtra were found one-and-a-half years after the complaint was registered. The victim, Rashmikant Rajnikant Torne, a resident of Bavda village some 120 kilometres from Pune was found murdered and buried near the village school. The accused confessed that they had assaulted Torne with sharp weapons and had then strangled with a belt. They had then buried her body near a school.
Salman Khan is reportedly set to sign a ₹1,000 crore contract with a top television channel for his appearances on it and his next 10 releases. Until now, actor Hrithik Roshan had held the record for the largest sum of ₹550 crore for the release of his six films.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare rushed a team of eye specialists to Jammu and Kashmir as over 90 protestors had sustained pellet injuries in the eyes during police action against mobs.
Opinion
If the Narendra Modi government wants to show some contrition for using the governor's office to destabilise governments in Uttarakhand and Arunachal, it has a simple option — abolish the post, writes Sandipan Sharma for Firstpost. "The Supreme Court verdict on Arunachal Pradesh is the perfect opportunity to reconsider the rationale of appointing governors. For years the Centre had used the Governor House to meddle in the affairs of democratically-elected governments. Since the days of Indira Gandhi, many Governors have been accused of being the Centre's spies, musclemen and agents. But, after the Arunachal Pradesh verdict, it is clear that the days of governors using their discretion to destabilise governments is over," he says.
The free movement of high-skilled workers is a key concern in the India-US bilateral relationship. It is time to end the discriminatory visa regime targeting Indian companies, writes Mukesh Aghi in The Hindu. "To address these concerns, which have been raised by members of the US Congress, we propose maintaining the current number of 65,000 H-1Bs for larger companies, adding an additional 50,000 visas for small and medium enterprises exclusively, and taking on an extra 30,000 visas for master's graduates," he says.
There's an entire online ecosystem of talent marketplaces serving every creative and operational demand a business possibly has, depending on the quality of work sought, says Rohan Chandrashekhar in Mint. "Adopting this virtual business model comes with its own kinks as well. In explaining, executing, and tweaking this progressive business model, I have had serious disagreements with some very good people. Unfortunately, I burned some bridges too. Some knowingly, others unknowingly. Mostly because of my own faults. I do regret this part. There's still a lot to absorb and learn. The objective is to create a model that you can call your own, because no one size fits all," he says.
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