Week-long Inauguration Ceremony of the Grand Ram Temple Begins by Taniya Dutta
January 16, 2024
Introduction:
(The Natioal) The week-long inauguration ceremony of the grand Ram Temple, revered by many Hindus as the birthplace of their deity Rama, began on Tuesday.
An idol of the deity will be installed at the multimillion-dollar temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, at a site that previously hosted a mosque.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the temple in a grand ceremony on January 22, in what he called an “auspicious occasion” that called for celebration.
Around 7,000 people, including high-ranking officials, are expected to gather at the temple, a major part of which is still under construction, on a day seen as historic for the Hindu-majority but officially secular country of 1.4 billion people.
More than 100 dignitaries from 55 countries have been invited to the ceremony.
Extract from Al Jazeera article by Sanjay Kapoor on the same subject:
Built on the ruins of a mosque of the 16th century, Babri Masjid, which Hindu activists demolished in December 1992, the temple is close to the site that is believed by many Hindus to be the birthplace of Lord Ram, a personification of the victory of good over evil. In 1990, the BJP and quasi-religious bodies like Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) launched a massive campaign demanding that a temple be built where the mosque stood, culminating in the physical assault on the existing shrine two years later. The movement catapulted the BJP, which had won only two out of the 543 seats in the lower house of India’s parliament, to national centre stage.
Now, the semi-constructed temple is poised to serve as the backdrop for what many analysts and opposition leaders say is effectively the launch of Modi’s campaign for re-election in the 2024 national polls, expected to be held between March and May.
Visit of Cuban Delegation to India Results in Agreement Regarding Digital Public Infrastructure.
Entire article:
New Delhi, Jan 20 (Prensa Latina) The interconnection of interests between Cuba and India was evidenced in the week that ends today with the visit here of the business delegation led by the First Deputy Minister of Communications, Wilfredo Gonzalez.
The delegation, formed by executives from state and private companies, the University of Informatics Sciences and the Havana Technological Park, spent five days in India with a broad program of meetings with top executives of the sector, participation in forums and interactive commercial dialogues, and in the prestigious international conference and fair of Electronics and Telecommunications IndiaSoft.
As part of the activities, the First Deputy Minister of Communications (Mincom) of Cuba, Wilfredo Gonzalez, and the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology of India, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, held a meeting to review the possibilities of advancing bilateral collaboration in this sphere.
As a result, González and S. Krishna, secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in Digital Public Infrastructure.
In statements to Prensa Latina, the Cuban official explained that this agreement in the area of information technologies covers very specific lines of work related to government development and e-commerce.
Perceived Chinese Threat May Stall Withdrawal of Indian Military from Maldives by P. K. Balachandran
January 22, 2024
Introduction:
(Eurasia Review) Potential threats from China are likely to stall any Indian bid to withdraw its military personnel stationed in the Maldives. In fact, India has tactfully refuted the Maldives’ claim that it has agreed to withdraw as per the request of President Mohamad Muizzu.
On Thursday, the Indian External Affairs Ministry refuted the Maldives’ claims that discussions on withdrawing Indian troops took place during a meeting between Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer and his Indian counterpart Dr S. Jaishankar in Kampala on the side lines of the NAM summit.
The Indian External Affairs Ministry’s spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, stated in his weekly media briefing on January 18 that the discussions between the two nations were an “ongoing process.” He emphasised that the recent meeting focused on finding mutually workable solutions to enable the “continued operation of Indian aviation platforms” that provide humanitarian and medevac services to the Maldives.
The subject matter discussed was on “the continued operation of Indian aviation platforms” and not on “withdrawal”, according to the Indians.
However, Jaiswal declined to comment on the March 15 deadline given by the Maldivians to withdraw troops
“India Lurches Toward Full-Fledged Fascism” as Modi Opens Contentious Hindu Temple by Brett Wilkins
January 22, 2024
Introduction:
(Common Dreams) The executive body of Progressive International warned Monday of the accelerating erosion of Indian democracy as right-wing Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially consecrated a highly controversial Hindu temple on the former site of a 16th-century Muslim mosque destroyed a generation ago by a Hindu nationalist mob.
Further extract:
Celebrations of the new temple—much of which is still under construction—took part throughout India, with displays of Hindu nationalism prominent at many events. Emily Jones, a Christian Indian from Kerala state traveling in Goa, told Common Dreams that participants chanted slogans including "every inch of India is Hindu" at a car rally in Chapora.
In a statement, the Progressive International cabinet—whose members include National Federation of Indian Women president Aruna Roy—warned that "today, India lurches toward full-fledged fascism."
"Today, the Modi government has made a decisive move to overthrow India's secular constitution in the name of a new Hindu supremacist nation," the statement continued. "As prime minister, Modi has pushed this Hindu nationalism as India's dominant political force: banning the hijab in schools, introducing 'anti-conversion' laws, abusing municipal forces to demolish Muslim households and shops in cities, and pushing for a 'uniform civil code' in law."
The Strategic Significance of Macron’s Visit to India by P. K. Balachandran
January 30, 2024
Introduction:
(Eurekalert) French President Emmanuel Macron’s participation as the Chief Guest at the Indian Independence Day parade in New Delhi on January 26 was an accident, but it turned out to be one of immense strategic significance.
The original guest was US President Joe Biden, but Biden opted out at the last minute, apparently put off by an alleged Indian plot to kill a US citizen, the Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in New York.
While, Biden lost an opportunity to cement US-Indian ties in a rapidly changing world, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi filled the breach quickly and shrewdly by inviting France’s Emmanuel Macron to be the chief guest. And the equally creative Macron responded positively and with alacrity. There was a message in this to the US from New Delhi and Paris.
Compared to India’s relationship with the US, India-France ties have been less problematic. Unlike the US, France does not comment on India’s human rights record or its internal affairs, issues on which the Modi government is touchy. The fact that both India and France were engaged in a search for “strategic autonomy” in world affairs, was also a cementing factor.
If France is engaged in finding an independent role for itself in the world without being tied to the apron strings of the US, India is wanting to chart an independent path using its new-found strengths, untied to any restrictive alliances. France was put off with the US and UK when the latter conspired to make Australia cancel a nuclear submarine deal with France.
Asif Ali Zardari Elected Pakistan’s President for Second Time March 9, 2024
Introduction:
(Al Jazeera) Pakistan Peoples Party’s co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari has won a second term as Pakistan’s president, supported by the ruling coalition in a vote by parliament and regional assemblies.
Zardari secured 411 votes, while his opponent, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, who is backed by the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, received 181 votes, the Election Commission of Pakistan announced on Saturday after tallying the votes by national MPs, provincial MPs and senators.
The widower of Pakistan’s assassinated first female leader, Benazir Bhutto, Zardari was voted into the largely ceremonial post by the PPP, which formed an alliance with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) party after Pakistan’s February 8 elections that were marred with rigging claims.
Zardari is expected to be sworn in at a ceremony on Sunday.
Under the terms of the coalition pact, which also includes a number of smaller parties, PMLN’s Shehbaz Sharif was sworn-in as prime minister earlier this week on Monday.
India announces steps to implement a citizenship law that excludes Muslims
By SHEIKH SAALIQ
Updated 10:22 AM CDT, March 11, 2024
NEW DELHI (AP) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Monday announced rules to implement a 2019 citizenship law that excludes Muslims, weeks before the Hindu nationalist leader seeks a third term in office.
The Citizenship Amendment Act provides a fast track to naturalization for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who fled to Hindu-majority India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan before Dec. 31, 2014. The law excludes Muslims, who are a majority in all three nations.
The law was approved by Indian Parliament in 2019, but Modi’s government had held off with its implementation after deadly protests broke out in capital New Delhi and elsewhere. Scores were killed during days of clashes.
The nationwide protests in 2019 drew people of all faiths who said the law undermines India’s foundation as a secular nation. Muslims were particularly worried that the government could use the law, combined with a proposed national register of citizens, to marginalize them.
Arvind Kejriwal detained: India's PM Narendra Modi criticised as protests held over political rival's arrest
Friday 22 March 2024 15:47, UK
India's prime minister has been labelled a "scared dictator" after a key opposition politician was detained.
Delhi's chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, a prominent anti-corruption campaigner, was arrested following a raid on Thursday night.
A court has ordered for him to be held in custody until 28 March.
Kejriwal leads the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) - also known as the Common People's Party - and his arrest comes weeks before national elections are due to begin.
AAP is part of an alliance of opposition parties who have joined together as the main challenger to Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
