Indian Mandala

The Delhi High Court recently authorised Prema Kumari to travel to Yemen to free her daughter, who is accused of killing Talal Abdo Mahdi with a high dose of sedatives. The latter helped her to set up a clinic but then took her passport, preventing her from escaping. Nimisha's home community in Kerala has rallied to her cause.

This week, the Telegraph wrote that it had uncovered a kidney-buying racket involving Myanmar nationals as donors and a private health facility in Delhi, where transplants would take place. The phenomenon is not new: despite decades of awareness-raising (starting in Tamil Nadu) there is still a shortage of donors in India and too many people who would need at least one kidney. It is mainly poor people who need to pay off debts who fall victim to trafficking, but online scams have also increased in recent years.

As rebels pursue their campaign against Myanmar’s military, fresh border tensions rise between the Meitei and Chin militias, who are ethnically related to the Kuki. A Myanmar national treated at an Imphal hospital dies when a mob storms the medical establishment enraged by the presence of the “invader". Meanwhile, the Commission of Inquiry set up in June by the Indian government into the violence has not yet held any hearing.

The collapse of a stretch of road through the Himalayas, in which 40 workers are still trapped, encapsulates many facets of the development advocated by Modi. The structure is part of a highway to develop Hindu tourism in the region, but can also quickly deploy army troops in case of a clash with Beijing. The environmental problems, however, which are often ignored, are likely to worsen.

In early November, the vice president of the Israeli Builders Association said he was waiting for the government to "import" 50,000 to 100,000 Indians, but nothing concrete has been decided yet. Israel has negotiated similar deals in the past, the latest involving Chinese workers. Its construction industry is the most dangerous sector of the economy. India is boosting its ties with Israel, banning pro-Palestine protests in Kashmir.

Yesterday, activist Manoj Jarange Patil ended his latest hunger strike, but announced that he would continue political action until the Maratha community is granted government benefits. The problem reflects crisis in farming and legal limits to reservation quotas.

After the syrup scandal, India’s cosmetics industry has come under scrutiny for toxic products. Yet, the sector is still growing, especially via online sales. Although India banned misleading ads and requires prescriptions for certain beauty creams, little has changed. What is more, the demand for skin-lightening products continues to grow despite known long-term side effects.

Data and forecasts point to robust growth, although it is hard to predict how the market will fare in the long run. Growth in disposable income among Indians and economic policies implemented under Prime Minister Narendra Modi are the main factors. Foreign investors are also shifting from China to India.

India’s prime minister immediately condemned the terrorist actions by Hamas (which few Indian Muslims like), openly signalling a change in diplomatic relations. According to Prof P.R. Kumaraswamy, of Jawaharlal Nehru University, the premises for change were already there decades ago. India had an important Jewish community but has never experienced anti-Semitism. The two countries have signed deals on weapons and hi-tech, but agriculture dominates the relationship.

For the government of the northeastern Indian state, Chin refugees are fellow ethnics. As Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga seeks another term in state elections later this year, the refugee issue is politically relevant. An estimated 30,000 Myanmar refugees are present in Mizoram, the largest concentration in India. In Manipur, the attitude is different, following the orders from the central government in Delhi.

Despite several agreements, farmers in Karnataka are asking the state government not to release water to Tamil Nadu due to low monsoon rainfall. The latter, however, depends heavily on the river for its agriculture, which has grown in recent years. Today, Karnataka saw protests and strikes as well several flight cancellations at Bengaluru airport. The central government has been urged to intervene.

At a rally, a minister in the Modi government threatened to tear out the tongue and gouge out the eyes of those who threaten the Hindu order. He was reacting to the call by an opposition politician to eradicate it like dengue to overcome caste distinctions. Fr Joseph told AsiaNews that hyper-Hinduism is politically bankrupt; India’s true tradition is pluralism. Meanwhile, India’s parliament will start a special session of parliament to hold general and local elections together.