A <keyword id="1014190" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="namibian-cheetah" source="Orion">Namibian cheetah</keyword> has given birth to three cubs in the <keyword id="10561435" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kuno-national-park" source="Orion">Kuno National Park</keyword> in Madhya Pradesh, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said. "Kuno's new cubs! Namibian <keyword id="54781" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="cheetah" source="Orion">Cheetah</keyword> named Jwala has given birth to three cubs. This comes just weeks after Namibian Cheetah Aasha gave birth to her cubs. Congratulations to all wildlife frontline warriors and wildlife lovers across the country. May Bharat's wildlife thrive...," Yadav said in a post on 'X' sharing a video of the three cubs with the cheetah. Earlier on January 16, in a setback to 'Project Cheetah', a Namibian cheetah named Shaurya passed away at the Kuno National Park. According to an official release by the additional chief conservator of forest and the director of the Lion Project at Kuno, a tracking team noted signs of incoordination and a staggering gait in Shaurya around 11 am on Tuesday, prompting an immediate medical intervention. "After observing these signs, the cheetah was tranquillised and a weakness was determined during a medical examination. Despite reviving the cheetah through medical intervention, it developed some post-revival complications that eventually resulted in its demise. The animal failed to respond to CPR efforts," the APCCF and the director of Lion Project was quoted as saying in the statement. On September 17, 2022, the first batch of eight <keyword id="20234756" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="namibia" source="keywords">Namibia</keyword>n cheetahs was released in Kuno National Park (KNP) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birth anniversary. The cheetahs were translocated from Namibia and South Africa as part of a project aimed at reintroducing the big cats, which were extinct in India for several decades. In the second batch, 12 cheetahs were brought from South Africa. However, of the 20 cheetahs translocated to India in two batches, 8 perished. Subsequently, 12 cheetahs were brought from South Africa and released in Kuno in February, last year. The translocation was implemented under the supervision of an expert team consisting of government officials, scientists, wildlife biologists and veterinarians from Namibia, South Africa and India, the <keyword id="20046841" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ministry-of-environment" source="keywords">Ministry of Environment</keyword>, Forest and Climate Change informed earlier.

Namibian Cheetah gives birth to three cubs in Kuno National Park

New Delhi [India], July 20 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed its concern on the death of cheetahs in Kuno National Park in <keyword id="6355554" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="madhya-pradesh" source="Orion">Madhya Pradesh</keyword> and asked the Centre to take some positive steps regarding this. However, Centre apprised the top court that 50 percent deaths on translocation is normal. A bench of Justices BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala and Prashant Kumar Mishra made these observations while hearing the issue related to the death of cheetahs. Taking note of the deaths of two cheetahs last week, the court asked the Centre why were they making it a prestige issue. The court also questioned why the cheetahs are put in one place. The court suggested the Centre take some positive steps. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the government, responded to the court that they are doing their best efforts for the project. She apprised the court that 50 per cent of deaths on translocation are normal. The court sought to know the issue of whether they are suited to the climate or facing Kidney or respiratory issues or not. ASG replied that the infections were leading to the deaths. The court remarked that one of the sanctuaries in Rajasthan is known for leopards and suggested the court consider this aspect. Twelve cheetahs from South Africa arrived on February 18 in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park after South Africa signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the re-introduction of Cheetahs in India to establish a viable cheetah population in the Asian country. Earlier, eight cheetahs brought from Namibia were released by Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="narendra-modi" source="Orion">Narendra Modi</keyword> at Kuno National Park on the occasion of his birthday on September 17, 2022. One Cheetah died due to illness recently. The MoU on the reintroduction of cheetahs to India facilitates cooperation between the parties to establish a viable and secure cheetah population in India, promotes conservation and ensures that expertise is shared and exchanged, and capacity is built, to promote cheetah conservation. (ANI)

Cheetah deaths: 50% translocation deaths normal says Centre after SC raises concerns

New Delhi [India], February 19 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday welcomed the new batch of 12 cheetahs in <keyword id="10561435" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kuno-national-park" source="Orion">Kuno National Park</keyword>. Earlier on Saturday, Indian Air Force's Mi-17 helicopters carrying the second batch of 12 Cheetah landed at their destination. Quoting a tweet by Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, the Prime Minister tweeted, "India's wildlife diversity receives a boost with this development." The big cats made their journey in Indian Air Force's (IAF) C-17 Globemaster cargo plane. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan released the 12 cheetahs in Kuno National Park on Saturday and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to conserve the environment is showing a path to the world. CM said, "Madhya Pradesh has got a gift on Mahashivratri. I thank PM Modi from the bottom of my heart, it is his vision. Twelve Cheetahs will be rehabilitated to Kuno and the total number will become 20. The Cheetahs that had come earlier have now adapted to the situation very well." The aircraft after a 10-hour long flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, landed at Air Force Station Gwalior today. Last year in September, eight cheetahs from Namibia were flown into India. The cheetahs are being brought to India as part of the Cheetah Reintroduction project on the basis of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the South African and the Indian governments. The MoU facilitates cooperation between the two countries to establish a viable and secure cheetah population in India; promotes conservation and ensures that expertise is shared and exchanged, and capacity is built, to promote cheetah conservation. This includes human-wildlife conflict resolution, capture and translocation of wildlife and community participation in conservation in the two countries.

PM Modi welcomes new batch of 12 cheetahs in Kuno National Park

Four cubs have been born to one of the cheetahs translocated to <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> from <keyword id="47514" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="namibia" source="Orion">Namibia</keyword>, Union Environment Minister <keyword id="1850634" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="bhupender-yadav" source="Orion">Bhupender Yadav</keyword> said on Wednesday. He termed it a momentous event in India's wildlife conservation history during 'Amrit Kaal'. "I am delighted to share that four cubs have been born to one of the cheetahs translocated to India on 17th September 2022, under the visionary leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi ji (sic)," he tweeted. The minister congratulated the entire team of Project <keyword id="54781" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="cheetah" source="Orion">Cheetah</keyword> for their relentless efforts in bringing back the large carnivore to India and for their efforts in correcting an ecological wrong done in the past. Under the ambitious Cheetah reintroduction programme, Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="narendra-modi" source="Orion">Narendra Modi</keyword> had released the first batch of eight spotted felines -- five females and three males -- from Namibia into a quarantine enclosure at Kuno in <keyword id="6355554" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="madhya-pradesh" source="Orion">Madhya Pradesh</keyword> on his 72nd birthday on September 17 last year. One of the Namibian cheetahs, <keyword id="6396900" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sasha" source="Orion">Sasha</keyword>, had died due to a kidney-related ailment on Monday, forest and wildlife officials in Madhya Pradesh said. In a second such translocation, 12 cheetahs were flown in from <keyword id="6355117" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="south-africa" source="Orion">South Africa</keyword> and released into Kuno on February 18. Cheetah is the only large carnivore that got completely wiped out from India due to over-hunting and habitat loss. The last cheetah died in Koriya district of present-day Chhattisgarh in 1947 and the species was declared extinct in 1952. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/microsofts-new-security-copilot-assistant-adds-ai-smarts-to-cybersecurity-using-gpt-4/articleshow/99088495.cms">Microsoft’s new Security Copilot assistant adds AI smarts to cybersecurity using GPT-4</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/ongc-to-start-oil-production-from-kg-block-in-may-gas-in-2024/articleshow/99088230.cms">ONGC to start oil production from KG block in May, gas in 2024</a>

Cheetah translocated to India from Namibia gives birth to four cubs

Bhopal, All the 19 cheetahs at Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park (KNP) will now be known by their new names as they have been given Indian names. The development came following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal from people to suggest new names for the cheetahs translocated from Namibia and South Africa. Male Namibian cheetah, who has already earned a tag of "ghumakkad" (wanderer) because of straying away from KNP enclosures twice within one week, has been renamed Pavan, while female Namibian cheetah, <keyword id="15193673" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="siyaya" source="Orion">Siyaya</keyword>, who gave birth four cubs recently, will now be called <keyword id="385918" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="jwala" source="Orion">Jwala</keyword>. Likewise, two other female cheetahs, Savannah and Tiblisi, have been renamed Nabha and Dharti respectively. Male cheetahs Elton and Freddy will now be known as Gaurav and <keyword id="13774" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="shaurya" source="Orion">Shaurya</keyword>. The name of only one cheetah wasn't changed completely, Asha has an extra 'a' added in her name. While 12 cheetahs (7 male and 5 female) translocated from South Africa in the second phase under reintroduction of 'Project Cheetahs' have also been given Indian names. They have been renamed Daksha, Nirva, Vayu, Agni, Gamini, Tejas, Veera, Suraj, Dheera, Uday, Prabhas and Pavak. As per the officials, following PM Modi's appeal during his programme '<keyword id="6364850" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="mann-ki-baat" source="Orion">Mann Ki Baat</keyword>' on September 22, last year (a week after PM Modi had released eight Namibian cheetahs on his 64th birthday on September 17), a competition was organised through mygov.in from October 26 to October 31, 2022. In response, a total of 11,565 entries were received suggesting new names for reintroduced cheetahs. Official said that the entries were scrutinised by a selection committee and based on the significance and relevance of the suggested names for their conservation and cultural value the new names were selected for Namibian and South African cheetahs. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change congratulated the winners of the competition who suggested new names for Namibian and South African cheetahs. Notably, a total 20 cheetahs were reintroduced in two phases from Namibia and South Africa under 'Project Cheetahs'. In first batch, eight Namibian cheetahs (3 male and 5 female) were released at KNP on September 17 last year, while in the second phase 12 South African cheetahs were shifted on February 18 this year. Out of 20, one female Namibian cheetah, Sasha, died of kidney related aliment on March 27. So, now 19 cheetahs and four newborn cubs are living at Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park. All 12 South African cheetahs have also been released into the larger hunting enclosures, official said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/significant-increase-in-proportion-of-women-added-to-the-workforce-over-the-last-four-months-epfo-data/articleshow/99662551.cms">Proportion of women added to workforce up significantly over last four months: EPFO data</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/indias-major-ports-handled-highest-ever-cargo-at-795-million-tonne-in-fy23/articleshow/99662039.cms">India's major ports handled highest ever cargo at 795 million tonne in FY23</a>

Elton becomes Gaurav, Freddy turns Shaurya: Namibian cheetahs in Kuno get Indian names

Twelve cheetahs will be flown in from <keyword id="6355117" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="south-africa" source="Orion">South Africa</keyword> on February 18, Union Environment Minister <keyword id="1850634" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="bhupender-yadav" source="Orion">Bhupender Yadav</keyword> said on Thursday. Under the ambitious <keyword id="54781" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="cheetah" source="Orion">Cheetah</keyword> reintroduction programme, Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="narendra-modi" source="Orion">Narendra Modi</keyword> released the first batch of eight spotted felines - five females and three males - from Namibia into a quarantine enclosure at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on his 72nd birthday on September 17 last year. Presently, the eight cheetahs at Kuno are killing a prey every three-four days and are in good health, officials said. One of the cheetahs was unwell as her creatinine levels had shot up. She has recovered after treatment, they said. "A C-17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) left the country Thursday morning to bring 12 cheetahs from South Africa. Ten quarantine enclosures have been created at the Kuno National Park for these felines," the minister said at a press conference here. India and South Africa had in January signed an MoU to transport cheetahs from the African country and reintroduce them in Kuno. A majority of the world's 7,000 cheetahs live in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. Namibia has the world's largest population of cheetahs. The cheetah is the only large carnivore that got completely wiped out from India, mainly due to overhunting and habitat loss. The last spotted feline died in 1948 in the <keyword id="100310" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sal" source="Orion">Sal</keyword> forests of Chhattisgarh's Koriya district. National Tiger Conservation Authority head S P Yadav said, "Seven male and five female cheetahs will embark on the journey to Kuno from O. R. Tambo International Airport, Gauteng, South Africa Friday evening." "The cheetahs will arrive at the Gwalior Air Force base in Madhya Pradesh at 10 am on Saturday and they will be then taken in IAF's MI-17 helicopters," he said. Yadav added that in South Africa, three of the cheetahs have been kept in Phinda quarantine boma in KwaZulu-Natal Province and nine in Rooiberg Quarantine boma in Limpopo Province. According to the 'Action Plan for Reintroduction of Cheetah in India' prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India, around 12-14 wild cheetahs that are ideal for establishing a new cheetah population would be imported from South Africa, Namibia and other African countries as a founder stock for five years initially and then as required by the programme. "Following the import of 12 cheetahs in February, the plan is to translocate further 12 cheetahs annually for the next eight to 10 years. The terms of the MoU will be reviewed every five years to ensure it remains relevant," the environment ministry said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/interest-rate-hike-cycle-in-asia-nearing-its-end-morgan-stanley/articleshow/97972798.cms">Interest rate hike cycle in Asia nearing its end: Morgan Stanley</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/adani-groups-refinancing-needs-are-relatively-low-in-near-term-jefferies/articleshow/97970927.cms">Adani group’s refinancing needs are relatively low in near term: Jefferies</a>

12 cheetahs to be flown in from South Africa on February 18 says envt minister

The deaths of two African cheetahs at Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park (KNP) within one month has generated questions in government quarters and among wildlife enthusiasts on whether there were lapses in handling them at their new habitat where a total of 22 felines including four newly borne cubs are living. Amid the questions, a team from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) -- the nodal agency for the "reintroduction of cheetahs" on Indian soil -- will be visiting KNP soon to review the implementation of the project with the officials of the Madhya Pradesh forest department and the scientists of the Wild Life Institute of India, the NTCA officials told IANS. In the meantime, the MP forest department pushed the recommendation for shifting some of the <keyword id="54781" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cheetah" source="Orion">cheetah</keyword>s to a new habitat, which is also part of the 'Cheetah Action Plan', as the officials claimed. Giving details of the 'Cheetah Reintroduction Action Plan', principal Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) Wildlife of Madhya Pradesh J. S. Chouhan wrote to the NTCA in the first week of April (soon after female Namibian cheetah Sasha died) to find an alternative enclosure to shift some cheetahs from KNP. "Keeping all the cheetahs at one site will be a risk for reintroduction of the cheetahs. Also, KNP can accommodate a maximum of 21 cheetahs at one time and at present it has 22 and therefore, I have requested the NTCA to find an alternative place to shift some of them," J. S. Chouhan had told IANS a couple of days ago, adding that shifting of some cheetahs is also part of the "cheetah reintroduction action plan'. There has been considerable debate among conservationists on whether the cheetah, which needs vast tracts of land to run and hunt, can thrive in India where suitable land is limited unlike in the African reserves. Even before 20 cheetahs were imported from Namibia and South Africa, some experts had raised questions over how the space shortage is likely to affect the cheetah reintroduction project at Madhya Pradesh's KNP, which has a core area of 748 sq km and a buffer zone of 487 sq km. In such a situation, there are worries about the 11 South African cheetahs (one of the 12 South African cheetahs 'Uday' died a few days back) when they will be released into a larger area at KNP. As of now, the African cheetahs are in the acclimatisation enclosure. The Cheetah Task Force Committee also pointed out this issue during it's last meeting. "African cheetahs are in the acclimatisation enclosure and they will be ready for release in 15-20 days. Releasing all of them at KNP will not be practical, therefore an alternative site is highly desirable," a member of the Cheetah Task Force Committee told IANS on condition of anonymity. At the same time, sources aware of the developments claimed that shifting some of the cheetahs has raised a political controversy as there is a possibility that the alternative site will be the Mukundra Tiger Reserve located near Kota in Rajasthan. Amid all this buzz, IANS sent some written queries to the NTCA. Responding on the shifting of the cheetahs, S. P. Yadav, a senior member of the NTCA said, "A cheetah action plan has been prepared in consultation with all experts in cheetah conservation. It is a long term project and should not be judged after a few months. Based on our experience at Kuno, further decisions on these issues will be taken." He added that "It's sad that two cheetahs have died. However, in such transcontinental efforts the mortality of animals cannot be ruled out. Some of them may die due to several causative factors and it has already been factored into the Project Cheetah Action Plan available in the public domain. In compliance with the Hon'ble Supreme Court's order cheetah translocation has been taken up on an "experimental basis". Replying to a further query if the NTCA has issued some directives to Kuno following the death of two cheetahs, the NTCA member said, "All the protocols of monitoring cheetahs are strictly being followed in the field. We are going to review the implementation of the project soon with MP government officials and scientists of the WII." Owing to rampant hunting, cheetahs were officially declared extinct in India in 1952. Seven decades later, on September 17, 2022, eight cheetahs were flown in from Namibia and released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 72nd birthday at the KNP, marking the reintroduction of cheetahs into the Indian wilds. Five months later, 12 South African cheetahs joined the eight Namibians at the KNP on February 18, taking the total number to 20. However, the project suffered the first blow with the death of one of the Namibian females, Sasha on March 27 due to severe renal infection. Just two days later, another Namibian female gave birth to four cubs, the first cheetah births on Indian soil in seven decades. However, just 27 days later, one of the 12 South African cheetahs, an adult male Uday, died suddenly due to cardiopulmonary failure at KNP. The detailed report on what caused the cardiopulmonary failure is still awaited. 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Cheetah deaths at Kuno spur authorities to initiate a project review

The death of six cheetahs, including three newborn cubs, within a period of two and half months at Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park (<keyword id="1490338" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="knp" source="Orion">KNP</keyword>) has prompted the National Tiger Conservation Authority (<keyword id="49703" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ntca" source="Orion">NTCA</keyword>) to form a high-level screening committee for the Centre's ambitious 'Project <keyword id="54781" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cheetah" source="Orion">Cheetah</keyword>'. The NTCA - the nodal agency of the project - on Thursday formed a screening committee comprising of 11 members, headed by Dr. Rajesh Gopal, Secretary General of Global Tiger Forum and R. N. Mehrotra, former Principal Chief Conservator of Forest of Rajasthan. The other nine members in the screening committee include P.R. Sinha, former Director of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), H.S. Negi, former APCCF, Wildlife, and P.K Malik, former facility of the WII. Negi and Malik are also the members of the NTCA. G.S Rawat, former Dean of the WII, Mittal Patel, an Ahmedabad-based social worker, Qamar Qureshi, WII scientist and Inspector General of NTCA, Shubhoranjan Sen a wildlife expert and the MP's Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Wildlife, and Chief Wildlife Warden are the other members. The committee, tasked to review the progress of cheetahs brought from Namibia and South Africa, will "be in-force for a period of two years and will hold at least one meeting every month, besides taking field visits as and when required. The committee will also take decision on opening cheetah habitat for ecotourism and will suggest regulations in this regard. The Committee will also empowered to invite wildlife experts for consultation," the NTCA said in a notification issued hours after two more cubs of Namibian cheetah Jwala died on Thursday. Four cheetah cubs were born in India to the translocated wild cats after a gap of seven decades, after the fastest moving animal on earth was officially declared extinct in the country, but three have died now while the health of remaining one has also deteriorated. According to the MP Forest Department sources, the day (May 23) the youngest and weakest among the four siblings died, was the hottest day of this summer season, when the maximum temperature was recorded in the range of 46-47 degree Celsius. A team which was continuously monitoring Namibian female Siyaya/Jwala (which was on supplement food during day time) and three surviving cubs, found that the condition of the three cubs wasn't normal. The three cubs were rescued and put under dedicated treatment of vets, but despite all efforts two of the three surviving cubs couldn't be saved. "The lone surviving cub too is stated critical and under round-the-clock intensive medical care at the park's hospital, where its condition is being stabilised. While the only surviving cub is being treated by vets at KNP hospital in consultation with Namibian and South African experts, its mother cheetah is stated to be healthy, but is under continuous monitoring," a Forest Department statement said. The cheetah cubs, which were around eight weeks old, were weak and also dehydrated (perhaps due to extreme heat wave conditions). The mother cheetah, which was a hand reared cheetah from Namibia, had conceived for the first time. The cubs had started walking with their mother since the last 8-10 days only. On March 27, adult female Namibian cheetah Sasha had succumbed to severe renal infections, on April 23, male South African cheetah Uday died due to cardiopulmonary failure, and 16 days later, South African female cheetah Daksha died reportedly due to injuries sustained during violent mating by male coalition Vayu and Agni. Eventually, the present cheetah count at the KNP now stands at 18, including one cub, which battles for life at the hospital. Out of 17 adults, seven are Namibians and 10 South African. As part of the Narendra Modi government's ambitious project of reintroducing cheetahs in Indian wilds, seven decades after they went officially extinct in the same land due to rampant hunting, the first set of 8 Namibian cheetahs were flown from Namibia to India on the PM's 72nd birthday on September 17, 2022. The same day, the PM released them at KNP in MP's Sheopur district. Five months later, on February 18, 12 South African cheetahs were released into the KNP. 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High-power committee to monitor project after 6 cheetah deaths at Kuno

As a tribute to the great freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, the Chandigarh airport will now be named after the iconic martyr, <keyword id="6354814" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="prime-minister-narendra-modi" source="Orion">Prime Minister Narendra Modi</keyword> said on Sunday during his monthly radio broadcast '<keyword id="6364850" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mann-ki-baat" source="Orion">Mann Ki Baat</keyword>'. "It has been decided that the Chandigarh airport will now be named after Shaheed Bhagat Singh. It had been waiting for a long time. I congratulate the people of Chandigarh, Punjab, and Haryana and the entire country for this decision," he said in his half-hour address. Touching upon various subjects, Modi also spoke about the translocation of <keyword id="14516529" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cheetahs-from-Namibia" source="Orion">Cheetahs from Namibia</keyword> to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park earlier this month. "People from many corners of the country expressed happiness over the return of Cheetahs. 130 crore Indians are elated and filled with pride. A task force will monitor Cheetahs, on the basis of which we will decide when you can visit the Cheetahs," Modi said. The Prime Minister invited suggestions for naming the wild cats. "I request people to share their views on the naming of the campaign and Cheetahs. It will be great if the naming of Cheetahs is in tune with our traditions. Also, suggest how humans should treat animals. Participate in this contest and maybe you could be the first one to witness the Cheetahs," he added. Modi asked the people of India to break all previous records of buying khadi, handloom or handicraft products. Plastic bags are extensively used during festivals, he said. However, the harmful waste of polythene during the festivals of cleanliness is against the spirit of the festivals, he said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/moonlighting-right-or-wrong/articleshow/94400817.cms">Moonlighting – Right or Wrong?</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rupee-likely-to-touch-82-against-the-greenback/articleshow/94399853.cms">Rupee likely to touch 82 against the greenback</a>

Chandigarh airport to be named after Bhagat Singh: PM Modi

Two <keyword id="745666" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="cheetahs" source="Orion">cheetahs</keyword> who were flown in from Namibia and released in Kuno National Park made their first kill within 24 hours of being released into a large enclosure, DFO Prakash <keyword id="317904" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="kumar-verma" source="Orion">Kumar Verma</keyword> told <keyword id="21936" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ani" source="Orion">ANI</keyword>. The details about the prey are yet to be known. Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="narendra-modi" source="Orion">Narendra Modi</keyword> introduced the cheetahs in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> on his birthday this year on September 17. The two cheetahs -- healthy and adjusting well -- were on Sunday released in the bigger enclosure after completing their mandatory quarantine. The release of the two cheetahs came after the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change received a no-objection certificate from the Ministry of Animal Husbandry for quarantine clearance to be released in a big enclosure. As part of the efforts to revitalize and diversify the country's wildlife and habitat, they were being brought to India decades after their extinction. Cheetahs are said to be the fastest animal. It runs at a speed of 100-120 km per hour. The habitat that has been selected in Kuno is very beautiful and ideal, where there is a large tract of grasslands, small hills, and forests and it is very much suitable for cheetahs. Heavy security arrangements in Kuno National park to prevent poaching activities have been made. Radio collars have been installed in all the cheetahs and monitored through satellite. Apart from this, there is a dedicated monitoring team behind each cheetah that keeps monitoring the location for 24 hours. Under the ambitious project of the Indian government-Project Cheetah- the reintroduction of wild species particularly cheetahs is being undertaken as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidelines. India has a long history of wildlife conservation. One of the most successful wildlife conservation ventures 'Project Tiger' which was initiated way back in 1972, has not only contributed to the conservation of tigers but also to the entire ecosystem. In 1947-48, the last three cheetahs were hunted by the Maharaja of Korea in Chhattisgarh and the last cheetah was seen at the same time. In 1952 the Government of India declared Cheetahs extinct and since then Modi government has restored cheetahs after almost 75 years. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/delhi-government-uplifts-ban-primary-schools-set-to-reopen-from-november-9/articleshow/95353617.cms">Delhi government uplifts ban, primary schools set to reopen from November 9</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/delhi-reports-295-cases-of-dengue-in-a-week/articleshow/95355716.cms">Delhi reports 295 cases of dengue in a week</a>

Namibian cheetahs make their first kill, a day after shifting to large enclosure

<keyword id="15027210" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="siblings-freddy" source="Orion">Siblings Freddy</keyword> and Alton, two of the eight cheetahs brought from Namibia, were seen frolicking in their quarantine enclosure in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park on Monday, a day after all of them were served food for the first time since their arrival in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>. <keyword id="15027209" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="sisters-savannah" source="Orion">Sisters Savannah</keyword> and Sasha also looked cheerful. The four other cheetahs - Obaan, Asha, <keyword id="15027211" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="cibili" source="Orion">Cibili</keyword>, Saisa - also appeared in good spirits, KNP officials said. The eight felines - five female and three male and aged between 30 to 66 months- were on Sunday evening served food for the first time since their arrival from the African country to India on Saturday, an official said. Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="narendra-modi" source="Orion">Narendra Modi</keyword> on Saturday released these cheetahs brought from Namibia, 8,000 km away from their native place, into a quarantine enclosure at the KNP in Sheopur district as part of a project to revive the population of the animal which became extinct in India in 1952. On Sunday evening, each of the eight cheetahs was served two kg of buffalo meat. Only one of them ate less, the official said, adding that there was nothing concerning about it. The cheetahs looked cheerful and active on Monday, said the official who is part of the team keeping a close watch on the movements of the animals. These animals are believed to take food once in three days, he added. The new guests are still observing the new surroundings with curiosity, the official said. On Monday morning, <keyword id="20138" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="freddy" source="Orion">Freddy</keyword> and Alton were seen running in a playful mood and drinking water often in their enclosure. The eight cheetahs were given their names in Namibia. "Right now we don't have plans to rename them," the official said. At the time of their release on Saturday, the big cats looked hesitant. But the initial hesitation appeared to be gradually fading on Monday, he said. Asked about the Hindi name of a female cheetah 'Asha', which means hope, he said it seemed an Indian official might have written it on its cage while the big cats were being brought here. Veterinarians and experts from India and Namibia are keeping a close watch on the cheetahs in the quarantine enclosure where they will be kept for a month, he added. In his speech after releasing cheetahs, PM Modi had on Saturday cautioned that they need time to get used to their new surroundings before people can see them in the wild. "Cheetahs are our guests; we should give them a few months to make Kuno National Park their home," he said. The KNP, spread over an area of 750 sq km, is situated on the northern side of Vindhyachal mountains. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/enough-wheat-stock-in-india-govt-to-take-action-against-hoarders-if-needed-food-secy/articleshow/94304468.cms">Enough wheat stock in India; Govt to take action against hoarders if needed: Food Secy</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/news/national-logistics-policy-will-be-a-game-changer-say-industry-players/articleshow/94305819.cms">National Logistics Policy will be a game changer, say industry players</a>

Cheetahs brought from Namibia savour their first meal in India, appear playful

Twenty-four of the 25 villages in <keyword id="6355554" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="madhya-pradesh" source="Orion">Madhya Pradesh</keyword>'s Kuno National Park (<keyword id="1490338" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="knp" source="Orion">KNP</keyword>), where Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="narendra-modi" source="Orion">Narendra Modi</keyword> will release the first batch of eight cheetahs from Namibia on September 17, have been completely resettled, Union Environment Ministry officials said on Monday. The lone remaining Bagcha village with 148 houses will be resettled before September 17 and all preparations have been made in this regard. "The KNP, which spans across 740 square kilometers, has only one village on its periphery at present. The process to resettle the village is underway and it will be completed before September 17," an official said. "Twenty-four of the 25 villages have been completely resettled over the last 10-15 years. They have been brought into the mainstream," he said. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav told reporters that the Madhya Pradesh government will give "revenue village" status to these villages. A revenue village is a small administrative region with defined borders. One revenue village may contain many hamlets. A village administrative officer is the head officer of a revenue village. Yadav also said the state government will set up skill development centres in the area. There is no record of free ranging cheetah attacking humans. However, it can attack and kill small livestock such as goats, sheep and calves. Village communities have been made aware of it, officials said. In case the cheetahs kill any domestic animal, the government will give adequate compensation to the affected caretaker, they said. A chartered flight carrying eight cheetahs, five females and three males, will depart from Namibia's capital Windhoek on September 16 and reach Jaipur airport on the morning of September 17, which is also Modi's birthday. They will then be flown to the KNP in helicopters which will take 40-42 minutes. At the KNP, the prime minister will release the cheetahs, aged four to six years, in smaller quarantine enclosures where they will kept for 30 days. They will then be released in a six-sq km predator-proof holding facility with nine compartments. A senior official said facilities created at the KNP for the reintroduction of cheetah are "10 times better" than those in Namibia and <keyword id="6355117" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="south-africa" source="Orion">South Africa</keyword>. Yadav on Sunday took stock of the preparations made at the KNP for the ambitious programme which is the world's first inter-continental translocation project of a large carnivore like cheetah. Yadav said India aims to acquire 50 African cheetahs over the next five years. India and Namibia had in July signed a pact for the reintroduction of cheetahs to the country. A pact will soon be signed with South Africa to bring 12 cheetahs. Namibia and South Africa are home to more than a third of the world's 7,000 cheetahs. The fastest land animal in the world was declared extinct in India in 1952. The cheetah is the only large carnivore that got completely wiped out from India, mainly due to over-hunting and habitat loss. The last spotted feline died in 1948 in the <keyword id="100310" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sal" source="Orion">Sal</keyword> forests of <keyword id="43945" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="chhattisgarh" source="Orion">Chhattisgarh</keyword>'s Koriya district. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/news/carlos-alcaraz-becomes-the-youngest-no-1-mens-tennis-player-with-u-s-open-win/articleshow/94155826.cms">Carlos Alcaraz becomes the youngest No. 1 men's tennis player with U.S. Open win</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/power-generation-rises-marginally-in-july-aug-on-heavy-rain-emkay-global/articleshow/94153694.cms">Power generation rises marginally in July-Aug on heavy rain: Emkay Global</a>

Cheetah reintroduction: All but one village in Kuno national park resettled, say officials

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Cheetahs are being reintroduced to India after being declared extinct in the country in 1952. </li><li>The reintroduction effort is aimed at creating a viable population of wild cheetahs.</li></ul>In mid-September, eight African cheetahs were airlifted from Namibia and brought to India, marking the first time the big cat stepped foot in the wild in the country since being declared extinct more than 70 years ago.The reintroduction, which was years in the making, was celebrated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on whose 72nd birthday the cats arrived, as well as by other cheetah advocates and scientists."When the cheetah will run again … grasslands will be restored, biodiversity will increase and eco-tourism will get a boost," <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/cheetahs-reintroduced-to-india-after-going-extinct-in-the-country-70-years-ago">Modi</a>, who released the cats into their temporary enclosure, said, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/16/world/asia/cheetah-relocation-india.html">adding</a>: "Along with these cheetahs, the nature-loving consciousness of India has also awakened with full force."However, some big-cat experts told Insider while they support the idea of reintroducing wild, free-ranging cheetahs to India, the current effort seems more like a marketing stunt — one that's not sufficiently based in science.<h2>Saving cheetahs from extinction</h2>Cheetahs, the world's fastest land animal, were once widespread in India. They were declared extinct in the country in 1952 as a result of hunting and habitat loss."It is the only large mammal that India has lost," S.P. Yadav, secretary of India's National Tiger Conservation Authority, said, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/16/world/asia/cheetah-relocation-india.html">The New York Times</a>. "It is our moral and ethical responsibility to bring them back."Cheetah populations worldwide are also on the decline, with the total number in the wild estimated to be about 6,500, according to the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/219/124366642">International Union for Conservation of Nature</a>. The big cats now occupy just 9% of their historical range. The vast majority of the remaining cheetahs are in Africa, while a small amount of the <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-asiatic-cheetahs-environment-/31646781.html">critically endangered Asiatic cheetahs</a>, the same subspecies that used to prowl India, remain in Iran."To save cheetahs from extinction, we need to create permanent places for them on Earth. India has areas of grassland and forest habitat, which are appropriate for this species," Laurie Marker, founder of the <a href="https://cheetah.org/">Cheetah Conservation Fund</a>, which has helped coordinate the reintroduction, told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/17/india-cheetahs-kuno-namibia/">The Washington Post</a>.The relocated cheetahs include five females and two males between the ages of two and six. The eight cheetahs were dropped off at Kuno National Park, south of New Delhi, where they are being quarantined and observed. The plan is to release the cheetahs into the larger national park, where they can prey on animals like deer and antelope, within a matter of months.The <a href="https://wii.gov.in/images//images/documents/publications/action_plan_cheetah_introduction_jan_2022.pdf">reintroduction plan</a>, which is estimated to cost about $11 million, aims to establish a viable, free-ranging population of cheetahs. The <a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1788373">plan</a> involves ultimately relocating around 50 cheetahs to the country in the coming years.<div type="image" title="Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi watching a cheetah after it was released in an enclosure at Kuno National Park, in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022." height="2925" width="1777" msid="94743678" hostid="261" sizebytes="305334"></div><h2>A 'larger version of a zoo'</h2>There are major challenges with reintroducing a large predator to an ecosystem it has been absent from for decades. The cheetahs could face conflict and competition for food with other predators, like leopards, and there may not be enough natural prey to sustain the planned population size.Arjun M. Gopalaswamy, a wildlife and statistical ecologist who researches big cat and large mammal ecology, told Insider that as the plan currently stands, there's not enough space for the cheetahs.Gopalaswamy noted a paper he published in the journal Ecography in 2020 that found the density of a cheetah population, or the number of cheetahs per the amount of space, to be one per 100 sq km. The amount of space set aside for India's cheetahs is 750 sq km. With those numbers, the area would be large enough for only 7-8 cheetahs, not the dozens that are planned."This simply means that the Cheetah Introduction Action Plan has overestimated the number of cheetahs India's reserves can hold by several fold," Gopalaswamy, who is the founder and chief scientist of Carnassials Global, which provides science consulting to governments and NGOs, said. He added that he supports reintroduction efforts, but that the current plan in India "appears to rely almost completely on the cheetahs and their charisma" and that instead, he would like to see "a fully science-based approach."K. Ullas Karanth, the emeritus director of the Bangalore-based <a href="https://cwsindia.org/">Centre for Wildlife Studies</a>, agreed that the current plan was not grounded in science and told Insider it "will not lead to a restoration of a viable population of wild cheetahs, sustaining itself naturally in the long run."<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1571061687654182913">September 17, 2022</a></blockquote>Karanth said the population would be augmented by bringing in additional cheetahs and other animals in order to boost the supply of available prey. Such a system, he said, "cannot be called reintroduction at all.""That would be simply a captive population of cheetahs in a larger version of a zoo," he said, calling it "largely a gimmick and a colossal waste of money."Karanth noted that cheetahs have naturally low reproduction rates and even in the best habitats in Africa the vast majority of cheetahs die before reaching breeding age. He said in India the cheetahs will face denser populations of humans and livestock, dogs, and predators like leopards, making their survival even more challenging. "I think the Indian bureaucracy and the 'foreign experts' have sold a 'creaky used car' to the gullible Indian public, media, and political leadership," Karanth said.Some conservationists have also noted that effort would be better spent trying to first save cheetah populations where they are already established but on the decline, before focusing on reintroduction.Still, proponents of the project are optimistic. Yadvendradev V. Jhala, dean of the Wildlife Institute of India and the lead scientist of the reintroduction effort, pointed to the success India has had in boosting other big cat populations, such as <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fd41586-019-03267-z">tigers</a>."The cheetah is a magnificent animal, it's a big magnet for ecotourism," Jhala told <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalgeographic.com%2Fanimals%2Farticle%2Finside-the-controversial-plan-to-reintroduce-cheetahs-to-india">National Geographic</a>. "If you bring in cheetah, the government will put funds into rehabilitating and rewilding these systems, and all the biodiversity will thrive."Marker, the founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, believes that despite potential challenges, she believes the big cats can adapt, <a href="https://cheetah.org/press-releases/cheetah-conservation-fund-and-namibian-government-to-send-eight-cheetahs-to-india-for-introduction-on-17-september/">noting</a> her group has spent 12 years consulting with the Indian government on how to reintoduce the cheetahs."Cheetahs are very adaptable and [I'm] assuming that they will adapt well into this environment," she told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/17/india-reintroduces-cheetahs-to-wild-after-big-cats-airlifted-from-namibia">AFP</a>. "So I don't have a lot of worries."Have a news tip? Contact this reporter at <a href="mailto:kvlamis@insider.com?inline-read-more">kvlamis@insider.com</a>.

India reintroduced 8 cheetahs after the big cats were wiped out 70 years ago — but some scientists say it's more of a PR stunt than a conservation effort

Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="narendra-modi" source="Orion">Narendra Modi</keyword> said on Saturday that he could not visit to his mother to seek her blessings on his birthday, but she will be happy to see that thousands of mothers have gathered to bless him on the day. The Prime Minister made the remarks while addressing the gathering of over one lakh women associated with self-help groups (SHGs) in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district. Prime Minister Modi on his 72th birthday visited to Madhya Pradesh where he released eight African cheetahs into enclosure at Kuno National Park. Following which, he graced a women SHGs conference being organised in Sheopur district. "I would have gone to my mother to seek her blessings on my birthday, if today's programmes weren't organised here. But, thousands of mothers have come to bless me here and after seeing all this, my mother would be very happy that I am getting blessings of thousands of mothers here," Prime Minister Modi said. He was welcomed with great enthusiasm by artists who performed tribal dance and other cultural programmes organised by the state government. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister recounted several women beneficiary schemes for women under his government. On the occasion, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who is a prominent political face from Gwalior-Chambal region, said that around 60 per cent area of Sheopur district have dense forest zone. "Sheopur is a very small district, however, it is filled with natural resources. There are several ancient temples of Lord Shiva and that is why this area was named Sheopur." Notably, Sheopur has two assembly seats - Sheopur and Vijaypur, and the BJP and Congress each has one MLA. However, the fact that, Sheopur, which is the part of Gwalior-Chambal region, is also considered the most remote area in the state and has highest malnutrition cases in the state. The women SHGs participating in the conference were those who run several initiatives being promoted under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). DAY-NRLM aims at mobilising rural poor households into SHGs in a phased manner and provide them long-term support to diversify their livelihoods, improve their incomes and quality of life. On the day, the Prime Minister also inaugurated four Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) skilling centres under PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/sc-admits-karnataka-govt-plea-on-online-gaming/articleshow/94260057.cms" style="">SC admits Karnataka govt plea on online gaming</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/hectic-jobs-in-retail-and-quick-service-restaurants-is-leading-to-high-attrition-report/articleshow/94250545.cms" style="">Hectic jobs in retail and quick service restaurants is leading to high attrition: Report</a>

PM addresses women SHGs conference in MP

Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="narendra-modi" source="Orion">Narendra Modi</keyword> on Wednesday assured the new generation entrepreneurs in the defence equipment world that the 'Made in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>' products will get priority in defence procurement. Sixty-eight per cent of the defence budget has been earmarked for indigenous products, he added. While inaugurating the defExpo-2022 here, the Prime Minister also launched the Indian Military Airworthiness Procedures (IMAP), HTT-40, Indian Defence Mart and defence <keyword id="15298793" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="space-msn" source="Orion">Space Msn</keyword> besides virtually laying the foundation stone for the DEESA Airfield. He said the country was once a net importer of defence equipment, but over the last eight years, defence manufactured in India is in demand across the world, and the exports have grown eight times. It has touched USD 1.59 billion, and the country targets to achieve the USD 5 billion mark in the next five years. Citing the success of the Brahmos missile, Prime Minister <keyword id="6354642" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="modi" source="Orion">Modi</keyword> said it is placed in one of the best technology missile categories and many countries have evinced interest in buying it. All three defence wings and indigenous companies' innovations are putting the nation on global armament nation. INS Vikrant aircraft carrier, Lightweight Helicopter 'Prachand' and tanks and indigenous combat guns are the pride of India, he said. "In the coming years, Space Diplomacy is going to take India to a new height as our satellites will be sharing real-time access with 60 developing countries. <keyword id="62000" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="maritime-security" source="Orion">Maritime Security</keyword> is a global priority and India has taken initiative in maritime security in the Indian Ocean region, in which 46 friendly countries are working on it," he said. Some 450 Memoranda of Understandings and agreements are going to be signed during these four days of DefExpo-2022. The Prime Minister, without naming the Congress, said, "Earlier pigeons were released, now Cheetah is now released, this is the difference of the government." He added in the past years, "our majority budget was going into importing defence equipment, now the time has changed. All three defence wings have made a list of 411 equipment which will be purchased from domestic manufacturers, only select items will now be imported," he added. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/indians-to-benefit-as-canada-aims-to-grant-citizenship-to-300000-people-in-2022-23/articleshow/94956352.cms">Indians to benefit as Canada aims to grant citizenship to 300,000 people in 2022-23</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/over-50-lakh-vehicles-deregistered-in-delhi-till-oct-17-this-year/articleshow/94956121.cms">Over 50 lakh vehicles deregistered in Delhi till Oct 17 this year</a>

68% of defence budget allocated for procuring indigenous equipment: PM

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/47552852.cms" />I am sure <keyword id="510747" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Seth-Rogen">Seth Rogen</keyword> would be forgiving toward my borrowing of this piece from his movie 'Pineapple Express', “If <keyword id="40905" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Marijuana">marijuana</keyword> is not made legal within the next five years I have no faith in humanity, period. Everyone likes smoking weed. They have, for thousands of years. They're not going to stop anytime soon. It makes everything better. Makes food taste better. Makes music better. It makes sex feel better, for God's sakes. It makes shitty movies better, you know?” 
 
While Mr Rogen might have said that in 2008, man's lineage to marijuana is over 5000 years old. 
 
The earth became proud parents when the dear 20th century was born. Racism fell from the high horses of grace. Sexism made an unsexy exit. Science and Technology became captains of the ship called 'future'. Bombs danced on the laps of political agendas, as the weaker nations were dressed to be depressed under the address of the sanction that geographical borderline disorders were indeed good for them. 
 
While Yellow Journalism, in the first half of the century, took the cake for manipulating people with its white lies about the concepts of drugs, people, and war, which eventually turned out to be black, was orchestrated mainly to contain the Hispanic migration crisis, chasten the quality of equality in the profound segments of race and gender, and increase the wealth and jurisdiction of the law-making and imposing establishments - it was indeed, a man called Harry J. Anslinger, the first and foremost commissioner to the newly constituted Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) in 1930, who was responsible for the criminalisation and the fate that marijuana is to made to live with, today. 
 
Backed by the Roosevelt administration, Mr Anslinger, the prophet who officially put marijuana behind the veil, joined hands with William Randolph Hearst, founder and owner of America's largest newspaper chain and an icon to American journalism, and went on a serial detonation spree of 'marihuana' (the aboriginal Mexican-Spanish attestation) like an atomic bomb in the vast networks of Hearst's newspapers proclaiming the “evils” of the “herbal demon” without a rhyme or a reason essentially linking its fame and notoriety to scapegoat the racial, ethnic, and social minorities. 
 
“Marihuana influenced negroes to look at white people in the eye, step on white men’s shadows, and look at a white woman twice.” - A Hearst Newspaper in 1935. 
 
“Makes darkies think they’re as good as white men.” - Harry J Anslinger. 
 
“Negro entertainers with their jazz and swing music are declared an outgrowth of marihuana use which possesses white women to tap their feet.” - Harry J Anslinger 
 In March 1961, under the administration of John F. Kennedy, <keyword id="2885066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Harry-J-Asnlinger">Harry J. Asnlinger</keyword> led the successful formation of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, an international treaty that codifies all existing treaties on drug control, including the cultivation of plants that were grown or caused to be part of raw material that came under the umbrella of narcotic drugs. Once signed, this convention also limits the manufacture, production, possession, use, trade, distribution, import and export of narcotic drugs, save for medical and scientific pursuits. 
 <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>, under the tenure of Jawaharlal Nehru, the nation's first prime minister, to honour its obligations with the Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, signed the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 30 March, 1961. And on 13 December, 1964 the treaty was ratified. However, international treaties or conventions were not going to clip the wings of India's holistic connection with marijuana. Just not yet. 
 When <keyword id="191987" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ronald-Reagan">Ronald Reagan</keyword> became the 40th US president, his administration began twisting the arm of <keyword id="12596" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rajiv-Gandhi">Rajiv Gandhi</keyword> to make marijuana illegal in India. Consequentially, in 1985, India established the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS). Before this act, India could and was able to practically dance in the open about its consumption or sale of marijuana. 
 54 years before we had successfully negotiated with and had finally managed to ask the British to leave us their alphabet and take their letters and go back to where they came from, they were pretty impressed with our deep-rooted weed economics. So in 1893, the British appointed a joint study called '<keyword id="2885065" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Indian-Hemp-Drugs-Commission">Indian Hemp Drugs Commission</keyword>' concerning the growth, manufacture, consumption, and social-cultural impacts from the intake of marijuana in any form. 
 
One year later, the conclusion set on top of a 3,281 page report, along with the testimony from almost 1,200 people belonging to diverse cultures, ethnicities, professions, builds, and mindset was - “moderate use of hemp drugs was practically attended by no evil results at all. The intake produces no injuries on the mind and there is no moral injury whatsoever.” 
 
Now, this is how it works. Weed is not our family member. It is an outside guest. Let's call this guest Mary Jane for now. This guest can make or break our mood. Depending on how beautiful and powerful this guest is and how organised we are. 
 
The power or the camaraderie of the guest is determined by the active agent called THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) that is present in the DNA of any self-respecting weed. The percentage of THC present in weed will ascertain the potency of the weed. The THC content in the weed available in India is between 3% and 35%, depending on the atmospheric conditions and locale of its genesis and growth. Synthetic or hybrid ones are set to contain up to 50% - 80% THC. 
 
Mary Jane can make us feel different emotions based on where she touches us in the brain. 
 
Our brains have neurotransmitters and receptors. The former sends messages. The latter receives them. Accordingly delegations are made to execute the desired movement or action. Now, if Mary Jane strikes us in the Amygdala, the receptor that regulates fear and anxiety, we are going to be scared or paranoid for something. If Mary Jane flirts with our Hypothalamus, receptors that regulate sexual behaviour and appetite, we will experience an increase in the appetite and feel aroused beyond our regular frame. And when Mary Jane caresses our spinal cord that is responsible for the transmission of information between body and brain, we will experience our pain sensitivities being altered – one of the reasons why marijuana is used as a pain suppressant or stress reliever. 
 
We primarily have nine distinguished cannabinoid receptors in the brain. Very rarely weed strikes more than three receptors at the same time. 
 
The 10th Receptor Strikes the masses. Rocks the social network. Critiques the critics. Impresses his suits with his own branding – <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>, a powerful friend to the microphones and warden of cutting-edge speeches about hope and development. On June 1, 2015, when speaking to the United News of India, Mr Modi remarked that our religious freedom is a constitutional right and is “non-negotiable”. He further vouches, “We stand for every one of the 1.25 billion Indians regardless of caste or creed and we will work for the progress of every one of them.” 
 
Speaking of constitutional rights, Mr Modi, would it be possible to scooch in a ganja right? The right to smoke weed without inhibitions? Peter Tosh will be happy to be reincarnated just to come down and sing to you: 
Legalize it 
Don't criticize it 
Legalize it, yeah, yeah, 
And I will advertise it. 
 
P.S. Even <keyword id="35763" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Bob-Marley">Bob Marley</keyword> wouldn't mind giving you his rendition. All you have to do is just say the words Mr Modi. 
 
Marijuana is an adorable little teddy bear. It stands to make you sit with warmth and fuzz. It is not a bat out of hell cheetah like cocaine. Nor is it ugly and smutty like meth or heroin. 
 
Being from a right wing party, we are sure an empathy can be made about the tradition, association and fact that we as a nation is attached to weed like a a mother is to her child, through the umbilical cord. The cord may be cut. But the bond will remain. It's a sacred bond. Do you think you could help us secure that bond, Mr Modi? 
 
Expectations kill. So does smoking marijuana, right? That's what men with guns and tear gas make us believe every time we step forward with a petition on our tongue. So anyway, I think we will just pray for now that you help us secure the treaty to our freedom to bask in the glory of cloud nine. 
 
 
(Image courtesy:

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