Cold beer in the sun need not be a problem, but strong drinks and large volumes can be dangerous :::: Heat and alcohol can put immense strain on the heart

“You’re better off with that pint of beer, you are more hydrated than you would be if you didn’t drink it,” said Prof Ron Maughan, an honorary professor at the University of St Andrews who has worked with the British Olympic Association. 

But drinking pint after pint can be a problem because the sheer volume stimulates urination. “When you drink not one pint of beer but many pints of beer, you run into difficulties,” he said.  

If you have a 25ml nip of 40% whisky, that amounts to 10ml of alcohol and 15ml of water. The 10ml of alcohol will cause you to produce 100ml of urine, leading to a net water loss of 85ml. There’s a smaller effect with beer. A pint (568ml) of 5% beer contains about 28ml of alcohol, which stimulates about 280ml of urine, but the body gains about 260ml of water.  

Why is there a risk of heart attack?  

Losing sodium, potassium and magnesium through dehydration can make matters worse. The loss of electrolytes can cause arrhythmias or irregular heart beats. In the most severe cases, the heart itself receives too little blood to work properly, which can lead to a heart attack. 

If there is too little blood and the pump function is not good and you have arrhythmia, you may have a problem in supplying your own heart with blood.  

Heat and alcohol can put immense strain on the heart.  

Blood vessels near the skin widen to help the blood lose more heat as it is pumped around the body. 

Alcohol magnifies this effect, causing the blood vessels to widen even further. Together, this drives a drop in blood pressure, so the heart has to work to harder to ensure enough oxygen reaches the brain and other organs. 

If the heart cannot match the demand, people can feel dizzy and collapse. 

Is it best to have no alcohol?

Not necessarily. 

There’s a danger the advice can be counterproductive.

Having the odd pint of weak beer can help with hydration, but if people are warned off all alcohol, they may not replace it with water, juice or other drinks.

People who want to drink can stick to a couple of pints of weak beer or shandy. 

In other words, 

reduce the alcohol content, but maintain the volume !!

Remembering Emergency is important !! Sickularists must reflect on their own politics and preference of OPPORTUNISM ::::: There is a dilemma the Congress leaders are confronted with as they accuse PM Modi of being autocratic – often crushing "democratic principles" but Namo has an image of a ‘decisive’ leader

 

Emergency was imposed on June 25, 1975........

"Newspapers are part of a force which is there to obstruct the social and economic changes that we try to bring about....

It (emergency) was just for a very limited period. And during war time, we have lot of political rights are taken away from people and this was for India as serious as a war" - 

Indira Gandhi justifying emergency and lampooning at so called 'press freedom' !!  

In 1975, Congress leader and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, paternal grandmother of current party president Rahul Gandhi, imposed a 21-month “national emergency” on the country, suspending the fundamental rights of citizens and restricting the powers of parliament as well as the courts. 

Opposition leaders were put behind bars across the country. 

The emergency, a period of sustained authoritarian rule, lasted from June 25, 1975, to March 21, 1977. 

The move authorized Indira Gandhi to rule by decree, suspend elections and to curb civil liberties including press freedom. 

In a blog in 2018 on his Facebook account, the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley recalled that the emergency was promulgated to curtail opposition protests seeking Gandhi’s resignation as prime minister after the Allahabad High Court ruled against her in an election malpractice suit.

Vocal George Fernandes : Man who fought Emergency era 

Jaitley, who too was jailed during Emergency, referred to an episode whereby the India administration removed certain judges from the Supreme Court and appointed its own replacements.

This was real stormy period of undemocratic rule in India. 

“The court was packed with the government’s preferred judges.

A dangerous thesis was propagated by Law Minister H.R. Gokhale that the judiciary must follow the social philosophy of the government and judges must be appointed on the basis of their social philosophy,” Jaitley wrote.

Sanjay Gandhi and Mom Indira : Autocrats !!

There is a dilemma the Congress leaders are confronted with today after they have been accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – in last decade years - of pursuing sectarian and communal politics – often crushing the democratic principles of the world’s largest democracy.

Narendra Modi is given to his image of a ‘decisive’ leader and a tough task master. 

Thus in more ways than one – his government has been called “authoritarian and even anti-minorities”.

But BJP leaders in contrast take to social networking sites every year on June 25th, addressing press conferences and writing blogs lambasting the alleged “dictatorial traits” of the Congress party, ironically that fought for India’s freedom under peace apostle Mahatma Gandhi.  

Congress party activists burn an effigy of Modi in Jalandhar against a fuel price hike in 2018 (Punjab) 

In the past, Modi himself and other BJP leaders make blistering attack on the Congress party. 

Amit Shah has more than once describing Emergency as a “black night that cannot be forgotten.” 

BJP leader Sudanshu Trivedi once charged the Congress with pushing a “Nazi mindset” by bestowing on one leader and her family almost cult-like status. 

“In 1934, Hitler’s associates used the phrase ‘Hitler is Germany and Germany is Hitler,’ and the same spirit was rekindled by the Congress in 1976 when its president Dev Kant Barooah used the phrase ‘India is Indira, Indira is India.’ This reflect a Nazi mindset,” he had said.   

In a piece for an international news website - in the context of Emergency and Modi's leadership, I wrote:

"Critics of politics often complain that it (Modi Govt) encourages and promotes the art of self-interest. 

But one irony of this situation is that political decisions often come back to haunt those who make them, meaning one mistake can become a legacy.

This is the dilemma the leaders of India's leading opposition party, the Congress, now face after accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of pursuing sectarian politics for the last four years, often crushing India's democratic principles.

Modi, leader of the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has forged an image as a decisive leader and tough taskmaster since he rose to power in May 2014." 

                                                        Indira Gandhi and Morarji Desai 

Indira Gandhi’s emergency rule was immensely unpopular with Muslims as the regime imposed family planning. In order to popularize a two-child-per-family trend, the administration coined the slogan “We two, our two”.

Indira and her son Sanjay had imposed measures such as surgically sterilizing young husbands and wives in households that already had two or more children. 

Sanjay Gandhi was at the forefront of this “crusade,” a move Muslims publicly opposed as being against their faith. 

Other minority groups were also antagonized by Indira’s rule. 

Legend has it she once declined to meet a Catholic leader on learning he only represented 2,000 voters. 

In that sense, it can be said she was a “people’s leader” — but only so long as these people voted for her. She was extremely populist and able to strike a balance with all sections of voters. 

In Assam, her party’s electoral policy in the 1970s was reportedly aimed at “winning over Alis (Muslims) and Coolis (tea garden workers)”. 

Regarding Muslims, she was so eager to win their widespread support she even pushed to promote Urdu among Muslims in Kerala and West Bengal — the two states where local Muslims prefer to use their mother tongues of Malayalam and Bengali respectively. 

By the 1970s and 1980s, she had even developed a rapport with the Communists, a faction of whom backed her emergency. Later, she would work well with long-surviving Marxist Chief Minister Jyoti Base of West Bengal. 

Blogger 

During the emergency and in the years after, it came to light that she preferred a system and political loyalists who would take orders from her son Sanjay. 

She was also very fond of the likes of Devkanta Barooah — who echoed certain Nazi sentiments and coined the phrase “Indira is India” — and she was willing to take orders from her trusted lieutenants like Yashpal Kapoor.

ends 

Govt reveals names of 6 soldiers killed in action during Operation Sindoor

The names of the six personnel have been added to the Roll of Honour on the National War Memorial website and inscribed on Wall 3D at the memorial in New Delhi, where they will stand alongside those of thousands of soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice in service of the nation.  

The government has, for the first time, publicly disclosed the identities of six Indian armed forces personnel who were killed in action during Operation Sindoor, India's military response targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) after the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.  

The six personnel are:

Subedar Major Pawan Kumar (Indian Army)

Rifleman Sunil Kumar, Vir Chakra (Indian Army)

Lance Naik Dinesh Kumar (Indian Army)

Aviation Technician Mood Muralinaik (Indian Army)

Havildar Sunil Kumar Singh (Indian Army)

Sergeant Surendra Kumar, Vayu Medal (Indian Air Force)  

Their inclusion in the Roll of Honour marks the first official public acknowledgement of the identities of personnel killed in action during Operation Sindoor. 

Until now, the government had not officially disclosed their identities despite reports of military casualties during the four-day conflict in May 2025.  

Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 in response to the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, in which 26 civilians were killed.

During the 88-hour operation, India carried out strikes on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir before successfully thwarting retaliatory drone, missile and cross-border attacks on its military installations. 

Indian forces also struck key Pakistani Air Force facilities, including the Nur Khan Air Base and the Rahim Yar Khan Air Base.

ends 

Four Congressmen in Nagaland including 'Junior Jamir' leave Rio regime and 'many powerful Congress leaders' in the state red-faced

The Congress party is generally a party of power corridors. When in opposition; they are either indifferent or simply sanguine to get back power. Often issues are mishandled and 'real issues' are ignored. 

However, in Nagaland, four Congress leaders including a former MP and a former legislator have lately issued a statement.

"The Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the NPCC held its meeting at 11 AM on Thursday, 25th June 2026 at Congress Bhavan Kohima and unanimously adopted a 3 Point Resolution".

A Apok Jamir (former Rajya Sabha MP) 

They are Khriedi Theunuo, Working President, NPCC, C Apok Jamir, Working President, Capt G K Zhimomi, Vice President, NPCC  and N Yona Konyak, General Secretary, NPCC 

Some of the phrases in the statement would not be perhaps acceptable those Congress office bearers who are soft on the 'BJP-NPF' dispensation and also want an airport in northern Angami hills.

"The PAC took serious note of the delay in implementing two peace agreements – Framework Agreement and Agreed Position – by the Govt of India, as well as the dubious role of the State Govt in demanding a Political Interlocuter at the ministerial level; a demand that will only turn the clock back to where it started. 

Therefore, the PAC resolved to urge the Govt of India to show its commitment and sincerity to the people of Nagaland and implement the political solution that will be honorable and acceptable for all those yearning for peace and development. 

"The delay in implementing the tripartite MoA signed for creation of FNTA is unacceptable. Both the Union Govt and the State Govt are fully responsible for issues that have surfaced after signing of tripartite MoA. 

We therefore urge both the Union and the State Govt to show its sincerity and urgency by resolving the contentious issues without further delay and fulfill the aspirations of the people under ENPO areas". 

The PAC is concerned on the recent signing of tripartite MoU between the Govt of Assam and the Govt of Nagaland under the aegis of MHA, Govt of India, to restart crude oil and natural gas exploration along the disputed border belt, it said. 

"Though oil exploration activities are the need of the hour considering the deplorable state of our state economy, yet by signing an MoU only to keep the contents hidden from public information raises more doubts in the minds of the people." 

"Therefore, we demand that the contents of the MoU be made public and further cautions that any sellout of our rights over land ownership and revenue will not be acceptable," the Congress panel said. 

ends 

CM Suvendu Adhikari blasts TMC = ‘You Turned city of joy into city of death’ ::: Warehouse Collapse :::: First BJP Govt in Bengal ready with Uniform Civil Code

 CM Suvendu Adhikari blames TMC for warehouse collapse: ‘Turned city of joy into city of death’

The death toll in the warehouse crash in Kolkata’s Garden Reach climbed to nine on and four among the injured were in critical condition in hospital, the Bengal chief minister said in the Assembly.   

Waving a bunch of documents, Adhikari blamed the previous Trinamool Congress government and Kolkata former mayor and Kolkata Port MLA Firhad Hakim for the disaster.

“The building plan was sanctioned on January 17 this year. We have got all the documents. This [incident] is a consequence of your sins. With bribes you have turned the city of joy into the city of death. Despite multiple incidents you did not learn any lessons, you did not take corrective measures,” Adhikari said.

“A faulty plan with structural defects, faulty designs was cleared by the former mayor. How many similar plans have been sanctioned we do not know.”

“These documents are signed by the former mayor Firhad Hakim.” Adhikari said addressing the Trinamool chief whip Akhruzzaman. “No one will be spared. The engineers who did not discharge their duties, we have got their names,” the chief minister said.

Adhikari said five people have been arrested so far and more arrests will follow.

“We do not know what happened in the KMC. Once Kali (Kalicharan Banerjee, OSD to former mayor Hakim] is arrested everything will become clear,” Adhikari said.

West Bengal's first BJP Govt ready with uniform civil code  

The UCC bill will seek to end polygamy and child marriage, the anti-crime bill will allow long-term preventive detention and confiscation of suspects’ properties. 

The UCC draft law has been passed by assemblies in Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Assam.  

A uniform civil code remains the BJP’s lone unfulfilled “core issue” following the building of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah had promised a UCC in Bengal during the recent poll campaign.

Multiple sources said the state’s law department spent Wednesday and Thursday working on the drafts of both the bills to secure speedy sanction from chief minister Suvendu Adhikari.

“The government’s floor managers are already clearing the decks for both bills to move to a vote with minimal fuss. It will be a clinical, precision strike,” a source said. “The UCC is happening… unless there is a last-minute need to press the pause button on it until the next session.”

The UCC draft for West Bengal replicates an Assam legislation by enforcing statutory gender parity in matters of ancestral property, outlawing polygamy entirely, and introducing a legal shield against child marriage by invalidating underage unions regardless of customary religious sanctions.   

The UCC is enshrined in the Constitution of India under Article 44, which falls under the Directive Principles of State Policy. It suggests the State shall endeavor to secure a UCC, though it is not legally enforceable.

Historically, India’s diverse population has been governed by community-specific personal laws (e.g., The Hindu Marriage Act, Muslim Personal Law).

Uttarakhand Passed the Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand Act, 2024, becoming the first state in India to actively implement a statewide UCC. 

It addresses marriage age, bans polygamy, and mandates the registration of live-in relationships. 

It also stipulates the registration of live-in relationships with local district magistrates, with prison terms for non-compliance, the sources added.

ends 

Can FUN (Fed Up Nagas) have the 'real fun' -- :::: Corner Rio Govt, Expose the Status Quo Club ::::: Question sincerity of BJP and NPF ?

Elsewhere people have staged big time protests. Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka.

In Delhi, 'cockroach' protest made headlines. Allegedly there was 'foreign and deep state' involvement in a show where an Indian Dalit from Boston flies back home abandoning his studies and try to corner the powerful Modi Govt. 

In Nagaland, FUN (Fed Up Nagas) want to have all the "fun".  It wants Peace and Development. And for this it wants Solution. 

In 2018 - BJP's the then 'brain' for Nagaland gave a twist to a slogan and said - "Solution via Election". The promise was virtually forgotten by major stakeholders especially Ram Madhav's 'favourite Naga neta'. The Status Quo club supported by overt, covert and meta physical bodies started working. 

R N Ravi was shunted out by a sustained campaign. A local political stalwart took rejoice at a meeting in Delhi with some NNPG leaders. Today, the table is turned apparently.

According to the official programme released by the organisers, the rally of June 27th will be held under the theme “Hear the Youth. Honour the Truth”.

The event -- gracefully - will also feature public addresses from representatives of major Naga political groups, including NSCN-(I-M) and W/C NNPGs.

Should NPF and BJP also send representatives ? 

By an order, the state government through an order from the state police commissioner said that the venue and time for the FUN rally will be changed from Super Market area to Agri Expo, 4th Mile from 1 pm to 4 pm, June 27th. 

But there is skepticism as well. 

A senior citizen has been quoted by 'Nagaland Post' wherein he recalled that similar rallies had been organised in the past by various civil society organisations (CSOs) but somehow, there had been no outcome mainly because such movements appeared to lack steam.

He recalled: “People come, make strong speeches, submit memorandums but after that it’s back to square one.”  

It's true, PM Narendra Modi has done a lot for the north east. 

However, the inability to grapple with the problems thrown by the Status quo club vis-a-vis tribalism and radicalisation with regard the Naga will be the sorriest part of the NDA legacy ... the Moditva phenomenon itself. 

Only one faction matters to the NPF and now it is clear --- yet again -- that faction is not the NNPG.  

FUN (Fed Up Nagas) can have the 'real fun' -- :::: Corner Rio Govt, Expose the Status Quo Club 

ends

Does the Govt issue Passports to non-Indians? ::::: Why is there police verification before a passport is issued?

Why is there police verification before a passport is issued? 

Police verification is intended to confirm an applicant's identity, address, and background. Authorities argue that it helps detect fraudulent applications, prevent duplicate identities, verify criminal records, and ensure that passports are not issued to individuals who may pose a threat to national security.

(A passport is a travel document," says eminent jurist Harish Salve.

"It enables you to travel to foreign countries."

He also adds: "A Birth certificate is good enough but that does not mean, no body can challenge your birth certificate. Passport is also normally good enough; in fact it is the most formal document. Every context will have different rules ... how will you prove your citizenship. In India, if I have to prove my citizenship ...and there are rules how will you prove it. 

Normally, if you have a passport, no further question is asked."

ZZZZ *****

Salve also says : If one has all relevant documents PAN, Aadhar, Passport etc -- still there can be challenge. "Somebody can say you have wrongly obtained it".

The procedure is hectic, but it still sounds straightforward. Many applicants describe the process of police verification as stressful and intrusive. Over the years, there have been allegations of unnecessary delays, repeated visits to police stations, and demands for excessive documentation.

After navigating the maze of paperwork, verification checks, and bureaucratic hurdles, what does the successful applicant finally receive? According to recent official clarifications, he gets access to merely a "travel document".  

Does the government issue passports to non-Indians?

If the passport isn't proof of citizenship, does the government issue Indian passports to non-Indians?

The answer to this question, surprisingly, is a yes.  

Section 20 of the Passports Act, 1967, empowers the Central Government to issue a passport or travel document to a person who is not an Indian citizen if it considers such issuance necessary in the public interest. Such cases are rare and exceptional, and receiving such a document does not make the holder an Indian citizen.

"Could the government tell us how many non-Indian citizens it has issued Indian passports to?" senior journalist Vir Sanghvi asked on X amid the debate.

This raises another interesting question. If a passport can, in exceptional circumstances, be issued to a non-citizen, and if the government itself says that a passport is not conclusive proof of citizenship, then what exactly does the passport prove for the holder?

The passport is only enough to facilitate international travel. But not enough to settle the question of citizenship.  

Why does the government say that a passport is its property?

Unlike Aadhaar or PAN, a passport is considered a sovereign document by the Government of India. Section 17 of the Passports Act, 1967, states that every passport issued under the Act remains the property of the Central Government at all times.

The argument is that a passport represents the Indian state internationally. Since the passport can be revoked, impounded, or cancelled, ownership remains with the government.  

Yet the MEA official's remarks raise an obvious question. If the passport is not conclusive proof of citizenship, why is its return treated with such significance?

The state insists that the document belongs to it and must be surrendered when citizenship changes. 

This suggests that the passport carries a value beyond merely facilitating travel. It isn't just a travel pass.

Either the passport is a powerful document whose possession matters greatly, or it is merely a travel document with limited value. How can it be argued both ways?

What is considered proof of Indian citizenship?

This brings us to the biggest question. 

Which document proves a person to be a citizen of India ? ::: The answer may be complex and yet simple :::  

India does not have a single universally accepted document that conclusively proves citizenship in every circumstance. 

Citizenship is determined under the Citizenship Act, 1955, through birth, descent, registration, naturalisation, or incorporation of territory. 

The law itself has been amended four times, with the one in 1986 shifting strict citizenship by birth to needing at least one parent to be an Indian citizen to reduce illegal immigration. 

The latest Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, made provisions to accelerate the citizenship process for persecuted minorities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

As seen in recent verification drives, documents sought for official purposes and court hearings, a combination of documents, like Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, voter IDs, ration cards, and even passports, which are commonly carried by millions of Indians can be used as proof of citizenship.  

The passport-nationality issue has been explained very clearly by former Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Menon Rao in a detailed post on X.

"A passport is issued only after the Government has verified that the applicant is an Indian citizen. While citizenship itself is governed by the Citizenship Act, the passport remains the Republic's most trusted document for international travel and, in ordinary life, the clearest evidence of Indian nationality," says Rao.

Though there are questions on passport and nationality, and a bigger one, the lack of a single document that proves Indian citizenship, Rao helps draw the conclusion for now.

"A passport is issued because the Government has satisfied itself that you are an Indian citizen. 

It is therefore powerful evidence of citizenship in ordinary life and in international travel. But in a legal dispute over citizenship itself, the governing law remains the Citizenship Act, and a passport is not conclusive proof that overrides all other evidence," she explains.

Nirupama Rao 

ends