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The Print
3 hours ago
- General
- The Print
In a first, court orders attachment of ASI office for non-payment of adequate land compensation
'According to the court, we have not given proper compensation to the villagers from whom we acquired land for the conservation of the site,' said Nandini Bhattacharya Sahu, Joint Director General (monument) and spokesperson of ASI. The matter is related to the land acquisition in Dholavira, a UNESCO heritage site. This Harappan city in Gujarat falls under the Rajkot circle of the ASI. New Delhi: A five-member team of the Principal Senior Civil Judge Court Kutch came to Archaeological Survey of India's (ASI) Rajkot circle to attach its office on 11 June. It's the first time in India that a court has ordered the attaching of an ASI office. Sahu said ASI acquired the over 100-acre piece of land in 2004, and then ASI gave compensation. 'But the villagers demanded more and went to the court for it. We have failed to give the amount, so the court ordered the attaching of our circle office,' said Sahu. Dholavira is an important archaeological site at Khadirbet in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District. Its name is from a modern-day village a kilometre south of it. The site was accorded UNESCO World Heritage status in July 2021. The site was discovered in 1968 by the archaeologist Jagatpati Joshi. The ASI had started excavating Dholavira in 1989. The site was excavated extensively between 1990 to 2005 under archaeologist RS Bisht. 'Occupied between ca. 3000-1500 BCE, the archaeological site, one of the best preserved urban settlements from the period in Southeast Asia, comprises a fortified city and a cemetery. A sophisticated water management system demonstrates the ingenuity of the Dholavira people in their struggle to survive and thrive in a harsh environment,' reads the UNESCO website. The acquisition was part of efforts to protect and develop the site, an important Indus Valley civilisation site in India. In 2009, ASI started the acquisition of more than 100 acres of land. Also read: ASI's now calling researchers to crack a 100-year-old mystery—Indus Valley script ASI's request On 11 June this year, after the court's ruling, ASI director general requested the court in a written letter to give some time to the department. 'The ASI has demanded a time of 15 days to pay back the money,' said Sahu. 'Today on 11/06/2025, a team of court officials (5 members) led by DP Pandya, Principal Senior Civil Court, Rajkot appeared at Rajkot Divisional Office for seizure of movable property in compliance with the seizure order number Regular Civil Tamil No. 1/2023 to 9/2023 issued by the Hon'ble Court in the Dholavira land acquisition case. Along with this, the opposition lawyer KS Negi and some landowners of Dholavira village were also present. During this, Court Officer DP Pandya had a telephonic discussion with the Director General of Archaeological Survey of India. In this discussion, on the basis of the assurance of the Director General, an agreement was reached for additional 15 days for payment,' reads the letter, which ThePrint has accessed. ThePrint reached out to the superintending archaeologist of Rajkot circle, AMV Subramanyam, but he refused to comment. (Edited by Theres Sudeep)
New Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Parse Keezhadi findings without political pulls
The Keezhadi debate has returned to dominate political discourse in Tamil Nadu. The village in Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga district, located about 12 km from Madurai, is an archaeological treasure trove. Findings from the site have suggested that an urban civilisation and language was thriving near Vaigai river as early as 580 BCE, upending previously accepted theories regarding the emergence of civilisation in the subcontinent. However, as the latest eruption of controversy suggests, the journey forward from these discoveries has been far from straightforward. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) recently asked the archaeologist who led the first two seasons of excavation at the site to answer some fresh questions and revise the report he had submitted in 2023. Amarnath Ramakrishna, the archaeologist who was transferred out before the third season in 2017, refused to revise his report. As political parties in TN took up the cudgels to defend his report, the Union minister of culture called for more scientific proof to validate the findings. The DMK accused the BJP of attempting to suppress Tamil identity, history and culture, and had its students' wing mount protests demanding the report's release. The contentions hark back to 2017, when Ramakrishna was transferred to Guwahati and the ASI conducted one more season of excavation before stopping work at the site. The next seven seasons of digging were conducted by the state archaeological department.
CTV News
8 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
CRTC says its wholesale internet rules balance need for competition and investment
Networking cables in a server bay are shown in Toronto on Wednesday, November 8, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette Canada's telecommunications regulator has once again determined the country's largest internet companies should be able to provide service to customers using fibre networks built by their rivals — as long as they are doing so outside their core regions. It marks the CRTC's final decision on the contentious matter — which has pitted Telus Corp. against BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc., along with many smaller providers — after a lengthy process filled with several interim rulings and reconsiderations. Bell has argued against the policy, saying it discourages major providers from investing in their own infrastructure, while some independent carriers have raised concerns that it could make it more difficult for them to compete against larger players. Meanwhile, Telus has defended it as a way to boost competition in regions where it doesn't have its own network infrastructure, such as Ontario and Quebec, which then improves affordability for customers. The CRTC says in its latest decision that the rules effectively balance the need for both competition and investment, while only having a 'modest' near-term effect on the market share of regional carriers. It says it plans to closely monitor the effect of the framework on the industry, noting there have been 'early indicators of improved competitive intensity' but that the extent to which the new rules 'will ultimately be successful is still unknown.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2025. Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press CTV News and BNN Bloomberg are owned by Bell Media, which is a division of BCE.
Hindustan Times
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
HistoriCity: A tale of how Panchatantra links the histories of Iran and Israel
Iran and Israel remain engaged in a bloody missile war threatening to spiral into bigger conflict. The two countries are sworn enemies with differences that seem impossible to overcome. However, in their history lies a shared Indian connection: the Panchatantra tales. Roughly around the time that Buddha and Mahavira were formulating their respective ideologies in India, the first empire to emerge from the diverse land of Persia or Iran was the Achaemenid empire. In 550 BCE, Achaemenid empire was founded by the Cyrus II also known as the Cyrus the Great who defeated the Median dynasty and ruled an empire that spanned from Egypt in the south to the Balkans in the north, and up to the Indus River Valley in the east. Cyrus, known as king of kings or Shahenshah, is remembered particularly by Jewish and Christian scholars for his support for Jews, by freeing them from Babylonian captivity and allowed them to return to Judah. Cyrus's Cylinder, a eulogy inscribed on baked clay is often presented as evidence of the antiquity of Jewish claims to Jerusalem. However, a century later in the 5th century BCE, Zoroastrianism was adopted as the official religion of the Achaemenids. The 3rd century BCE marked the ending of Achaemenid who were overrun by Alexander's juggernaut. Their place was taken up by the Parthians (247 BCE to 224 CE) who ruled for five hundred years until they were overthrown by the Sassanians. The Sassanians emerged from the Fars or Pars province of southeastern Iran, and ruled for five centuries. During this time, they restored stability and expanded the empire both territorially as well as socio-economically. Zoroastrianism too experienced a revival under a succession of legendary kings until the empire itself waned away in the 7th century unable to withstand a new force: Islam. India-Iran-Israel: The Shared Fables Anushirvan (Immortal Soul) or Khusrow I (531-579 CE), the vanquisher of Byzantines and regarded as a statesman who signed the famous Perpetual Peace treaty in 532, and then another one, the 12-point Fifty-Year Peace Treaty in 562. He was also one of the earliest recorded Indophile kings anywhere in the world. The philosopher king Khusrow I is quoted by Iranian archaeologist Shapur Shabazi as having stated, 'We examined the customs of our forebears, but, concerned with the discovery of the truth, we [also] studied the customs and conducts of the Romans and Indians and accepted those among them which seemed reasonable and praiseworthy, not merely likeable. We have not rejected anyone because they belonged to a different religion or people. And having examined 'the good customs and laws of our ancestors as well as those of the foreigners, we have not declined to adopt anything which was good nor to avoid anything which was bad. Affection for our forebears did not lead us to accept customs which were not good.' This spirit of learning led him to send many envoys to different countries including India, where his doctor Borzuya discovered a unique gem. The Panchatantra (Five Discourses) tales are the most translated work of literature that has come out of India. They are a set of nested stories arranged like Matryoshka dolls (also known as Babushka dolls), and told through animal characters. They date back to well before the Common era but the surviving version is believed to be from the 3rd century CE. It has not been established conclusively where the fables were put together, possible locations range from Kashmir to Southern India, similarly while there are two pen names associated with the book, Vishu Sharma and Vasubhaga, the actual name of the author remains unknown. Legends tell us that Khusrow I had sent his doctor to India to bring back the elixir of life, but Borzuya was handed the book, which renewed the zest for life through its fables about statecraft and relationships, patience and so on. Khusrow I must have been taken aback by the Bibliotherapy as it were, nevertheless, he had it transliterated into old Pahlavi, gave it the title 'Kalilag and Damnag'. Later, Panchatantra was retold in other languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, Tibetan, Chinese and many others. The Arabic version came out in the 8th century with minor changes, such as the title became Kalilah and Dimnah, based on the names of the jackal ministers, Karataka and Damanaka, in the original Sanskrit. Jackals, turtles, lions and elephants were changed to local animals according to the geography but its essence has remained unchanged. Jewish Panchatantra In the 13th century, Rabbi Joel is believed to have translated the Arabic version into Hebrew. Paul Lunde, author and Arabist, wrote, 'the passage from Arabic into the European languages was, in each of the three chief channels, conducted by Jewish scholars. The Greek version was done by Simeon Seth, a Jewish physician at the Byzantine court in the 11th century, and from this were derived the Slavonic and the Croat versions.' The old Spanish version was probably translated about 1250 by the Jewish translators of Alfonso the Good; this led to a Latin version. But the chief source of the European versions of Bidpai was a Hebrew one made by a certain Rabbi Joel, of which a Latin rendering was made by John of Capua, a converted Jew, under the title 'Directorium Vite Humane'. From this were derived Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, and English versions'. It is befitting that the Babushka nature of the book also manifested in the process of its transmission into various languages and cultures. The book contains many themes, and has been interpreted as both being moral and amoral. Some of the chapters pertinent to conflicts and wars where it is shown that wits, not swords win wars through a fable based on rivalry between crows and owls. It is a pity that ancient wisdom that once emperors used to rely on has been consigned to the children's section in our libraries and schools. 1500s: Iran and its Adoption of Twelver Shia'ism After the fall of the Sassanians in the 8th century, a long string of dynasties followed for the next nearly 800 years, till the Safavids, who started as a Sufi brotherhood or order, took the reins of the country in their hand. Its founder Ismail (1501-1524) had an eclectic lineage comprising Georgian, Turkish, Kurdish and Arab influences, but there is no consensus on his precise origin. But there's complete unanimity on Ismail's contribution; he established the modern borders of Iran, and adopted Twelver Shia'ism as the official religion. His endorsement and complete backing of Shias triggered several others Shia orders to openly declare themselves as a separate sect and state patronage attracted new orders to Shia religion. HistoriCity is a column by author Valay Singh that narrates the story of a city that is in the news, by going back to its documented history, mythology and archaeological digs. The views expressed are personal. Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
News18
a day ago
- General
- News18
This Religion Sailed From Iran 1089 Years Ago, Left Indelible Mark On Modern India
Last Updated: Zoroastrianism, one of the world's oldest religions, was born in ancient Iran, known then as Fars or Persia, around the 6th century BCE More than a thousand years ago, long before India became home to over 100 crore people, a few followers of Zoroastrianism anchored off the coast of Gujarat, fleeing religious persecution in ancient Persia. Today, their descendants are known as Parsis, a small but mighty community that has played an outsized role in shaping modern India. Zoroastrianism, one of the world's oldest religions, was born in ancient Iran, known then as Fars or Persia, around 6th century BCE. Founded by the prophet Zarathustra (Zoroaster), it flourished under royal patronage and became the official state religion of the Sassanian Empire in 3rd century CE. But when the Sassanid dynasty fell to Arab Muslim invaders in 652 CE, the fate of the faith changed forever. Many Zoroastrians converted to Islam, while others faced growing religious restrictions and heavy taxes known as ' jaziya '. Determined to preserve their faith, some Zoroastrians chose exile over extinction. Boarding ships headed east, they sought a new beginning far from the reach of the Caliphate. Their journey ended on the western coast of India. Parsi folklore recounts a symbolic story of their arrival in India. When they reached the port town of Sanjan in 936 CE, they met a local king who welcomed them with a silent message; he presented a brimming glass of milk, implying his kingdom was full. In response, the Zoroastrians gently stirred in a spoonful of sugar, without spilling a drop. They promised to assimilate peacefully and sweeten the land with their presence. Moved by this gesture, the king granted them asylum with a few conditions: they were to adopt local customs, wear the sari, conduct marriages after sunset, and speak the regional language. In return, they were free to practise their faith. While the Parsis in India slowly prospered, their Iranian brethren faced centuries of hardship. Under various dynasties, including the Umayyads and later the Qajars, Zoroastrians in Iran were often forced into second-class status. They could not ride horses, carry umbrellas, inherit property, or build fire temples. Their lives were marked by humiliation, poverty, and isolation. Despite this, the Iranian Zoroastrians held onto their faith. It was not until the 19th century that the Indian Parsis began offering aid, establishing the Society for the Amelioration of the Conditions of the Zoroastrians in Persia. Small numbers of Iranian Zoroastrians eventually migrated to India, seeking a more tolerant environment. Yet centuries of separation left deep imprints. The Iranian and Indian Parsis developed distinct rituals, languages, and even separate religious calendars. Parsi Rise Under British Rule In colonial India, the Parsis found new opportunities. Their fluency in English, cosmopolitan outlook, and strong work ethic endeared them to British administrators. By the early 1800s, though their population in Bombay was under 10,000, Parsis owned more businesses than either Hindus or Europeans. They built schools, especially for girls, hospitals, libraries, and fire temples. Education and charity became hallmarks of the Parsi identity. Their contributions to the economy during this time were transformative. Textile mills, steel plants, shipyards, and banks bore the imprint of Parsi entrepreneurship. Their legacy includes names that remain towering pillars in the industrial and philanthropic landscape. After India's independence in 1947, the Parsi community, once concentrated in Gujarat and Mumbai, began to go global. Many moved to the UK, the US, and Canada in search of economic and academic opportunities. Meanwhile, Iranian Zoroastrians began their own wave of migration following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, fleeing another round of religious restrictions. Today, less than 2,00,000 Zoroastrians remain worldwide. Yet the diaspora continues to sustain a vibrant global identity, with India still home to the largest concentration, primarily in Mumbai and parts of Gujarat. Despite their dwindling numbers, Parsis have left an indelible mark on India's growth: Jamsetji Tata, founder of the Tata Group which today is a global powerhouse in steel, hospitality, IT, and more. Ratan Tata, former chairman of Tata Sons, redefined business with his leadership, ethics, and vision. Dadabhai Naoroji, the first Indian Member of British Parliament, exposed economic exploitation under colonial rule. Homi J Bhabha, father of India's nuclear program, laid the foundation for the nation's atomic energy. Cyrus Poonawalla, founder of the Serum Institute of India, led global vaccine production, particularly during the Covid-19 crisis. Fali S Nariman, one of the most respected jurists, influenced constitutional law and civil liberties. Ardeshir Godrej and Rustomji Modi revolutionised the manufacturing and steel industries. Today, the Parsi community faces demographic challenges – low fertility, intermarriage restrictions, and an aging population have led to population decline. But their legacy lives on in the legal system, science labs, and boardrooms. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated!
