South India must unite under Dravidian identity: Kamal Haasan

Agencies

January 18, 2018

Chennai, Jan 18: Veteran star Kamal Haasan today said the term 'Dravidian' should be expanded beyond Tamil Nadu to all southern states which will help dictate terms to the central government.

"Dravidian is not related to Tamil Nadu alone. If we celebrate Dravidian across South India this discrimination would end." he said. Kamal said he intended to launch his political tour of Tamil Nadu on February 21 from the residence of late President APJ Abdul Kalam at Ramanathapuram, which is also the hometown of the actor. Kamal made the comments in a weekly column in Tamil weekly 'Ananda Vikatan.'

The top actor said he too shared the vision of Kalam who dreamt of a "good Tamil Nadu." By launching his political tour from the residence of the late leader, he would be moving forward towards that goal, the actor said. Haasan, recalling his conversation with the former President while travelling in a flight years ago, hailed Kalam for his great qualities.

Praising Kalam, the actor said he lost opportunities to visit the late leader's residence at Ramanathapuram. Recalling that for him too Ramanathapuram was the hometown where he was born, Kamal said he felt that he should visit Kalam's residence by creating an opportunity this time round. "I think that I should start my tour from his (Kalam's) residence." The former president dreamt of leaving behind a "good Tamil Nadu," he said.

"I too have the same thought, I move towards that and my full-time job is not to be engaged only in criticism. My goal is people's development." Kamal had often faced criticism for trying to do politics only through "twitter." Yesterday, the actor said he seconded the view of his co-star Rajinikanth on ties between them saying "time is a good medicine."

Rajinikanth, when asked about forging ties with Kamal, had said yesterday that"only time will be able to tell that. Let us see in due course of time." Kamal, to a question on spiritual politics, however, said Rajinikanth and he will be pursuing their own respective political line of thoughts. Rajinikanth had spoken about spiritual politics while announcing his political debut. According to him, it meant a politics beyond caste, creed and religion and one that focused on good governance sans corruption.

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Level of human costs of Israeli aggression on Lebanon ‘alarming’, warns UN

News Network

November 12,2024

The UN humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon has warned that the “picture of life in Lebanon remains grim,” highlighting an "alarming" level of human suffering and significant humanitarian consequences due to the ongoing Israeli carnage.

Imran Riza, the UN Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL), provided a stark overview of the Arab country's dire circumstances in a statement released on Monday.

“The current picture of life in Lebanon remains grim. Yesterday, airstrikes reportedly killed 23 people, including seven children, in the village of Aalmat in Mount Lebanon,” Riza said on X.

An airstrike in the city of Tyre on the same day resulted in the tragic deaths of five siblings from a single family, all of whom had special needs, according to his statement.

He added that in the last week, Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 241 individuals and left 642 others injured in Lebanon, as reported by the Ministry of Health.

“In the past month, more than 185,000 people have fled their homes in their search for safety within the country, bringing the total to over 870,000 people internally displaced,” Riza said

The UN official highlighted that numerous individuals, including the elderly and those with health issues, are staying behind while witnessing the ruins of their ancestral homes.

He urged for the swift safeguarding of civilian people and infrastructure, emphasizing the necessity to uphold international humanitarian law and end the ongoing violence.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli forces bombed a house in the town of Maydoun in Bekaa on Monday night, killing three people and destroying the house.

Earlier, Israel bombed the northern town of Ain Yaaqoub, killing at least 14 people.

The killings came as Israeli military continued to pound Lebanon, bombing shops selling electrical appliances in the southern city of Tyre and carrying out air raids on the towns of Shamshtar in eastern Baalbek and Roumine in southern Nabatieh.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said Israeli attacks killed at least 54 people across the country on Monday.

Israel’s merciless attacks continue despite calls from the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire and directives from the International Court of Justice urging measures to prevent genocide and alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and Lebanon.

In Lebanon, at least 3,243 people have been killed and 14,134 others wounded in Israeli attacks since the war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023.

The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah opened a support front for Palestinians in Gaza only a day after the Israeli regime unleashed its genocidal war on the besieged territory.

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