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.
Just as the world focuses on the G20 summit New Delhi tomorrow, Maldivians vote in a crucial presidential election. Traditionally pro-India, the country’s diplomatic relations began to shift in 2013 with China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the election of President Abdulla Yameen who ruled in an authoritarian fashion. The current president, Ibrahim Solih, is confident of winning in the first round, but experts believe a run-off cannot be ruled out.
The news, released yesterday, once again draws attention to the Sino-Indian rivalry to lead the global South. Despite words of détente at last week's BRICS meeting, ongoing border tensions in the eastern state of Ladakh remain high. Xi’s absence marks a failure of Indian diplomacy to bring together major world leaders around the same table.
Just as the country was celebrating the success of the Chandraayan-3 mission, 23 workers from West Bengal lost their lives in the collapse of a viaduct of a line under construction in the state of Mizoram. In Indian construction sites an average of 38 fatal accidents per day. Victims mostly internal migrants.
Ultimatum of the papal delegate Msgr. Vasil for next Sunday in the standoff that for two years has pitted the clergy of the archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly against the rest of this ancient Eastern rite Church of Kerala. But in the meantime a group of faithful has asked the Indian authorities for his expulsion, dangerously shouting against "foreign interference".
India’s Rural Development Ministry announced that more than 11 million bank accounts held by disadvantaged people have yet to be linked to the world's largest identification system. A Supreme Court ruling made it clear that private businesses cannot demand the unique code to offer their goods and services. Some observers worry about privacy issues and India’s ties to Myanmar’s military junta, concerned that a similar system might be set up in that country.
The violence in the northeastern state of India is rooted in intertwined factors: ethnicity, access to weapons, refugees from Myanmar, the drug trade, the role of women. Journalist Samrat Choudhury, author of a recent book on Northeast India, spoke to AsiaNews about it, noting that contrary to what was said initially, this is not a religious conflict, and that it is hard to see a peaceful resolution in the future.
In March, India’s BJP-led government floated a tender to get MyGov, a government platform for citizen political engagement, to work with influencer marketing companies. Yet, content promoters are sometimes not disclosed, with conflict of interest. Other political parties are also using Internet celebrities to reach out to voters, especially first timers.
The number of disadvantaged people in India could range from 34 million or 373 million, depending on the study. Despite some improvement, a true picture of poverty in the country is still impossible in the absence of a countrywide census, which was officially postponed due to the pandemic. Experts stress that the purpose of assistance programmes should be the redistribution of accumulated wealth.
The Indian government recently amended its mining legislation to allow private firms to develop lithium reserves in the Muslim-majority territory to reduce imports from China. The discovery has sparked enthusiasm for electric vehicle production ambitions, but, development several hurdles like potential environmental damage. Meanwhile, India’s Supreme Court next month will start vet petitions challenging the abolition of Jammu and Kashmir’s special autonomy.
With rainfall less than normal, kharif crops are the most affected as they are cultivated during the monsoon season. Among farmers, many of those who had poor harvests last year are still waiting for government aid. Unlike the past, changes in the National Manual for Drought Management have made it harder to declare a state of drought.
The Indian government has banned imports for low-cost ones (mostly Chinese) lighters to save a key sector in arid Tamil Nadu. Local companies employ more than 100,000 people, 90 per cent women. Phillumenists are also happy because of decorated boxes are part of Indian popular culture.
A series of deals and investments in semiconductor testing and assembly in India were agreed during PM Modi's visit, but production will still have to wait. Some defence agreements have also been signed, not only to counter Beijing, but also to free Delhi from dependence on Moscow. Despite criticism for the deterioration of human rights at home, the visit was a great success for the Indian prime minister in view of next year's elections.
India’s prime minister will be in New York and Washington from 21 to 24 June, a visit described as “historic” by US officials. In fact, Delhi has nurtured this relationship for some time, favoured by the presence of a large Indian diaspora in the US. Its aim goes beyond containing China. Farwa Aamer, director of South Asia Initiatives at the Asia Society Policy Institute, talked to AsiaNews about it.
Modi’s new, post-colonial parliament building is proving controversial among India’s neighbours for a mural showing a map of the Ashoka Empire, whose boundaries also include Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Maldives. Indian officials dismiss complaints saying that the map is about past history, not contemporary politics. In Nepal the controversy has raised fears about Hindu nationalist expansionism.
A Portuguese MEP's denunciation of events that allegedly took place in recent weeks in Bastar district. The area has a strong presence of Naxalites, the Maoist guerrillas opposed to the Delhi government. Since 2017, the army has launched Operation Samadahn-Prahar to root out the insurgency that curbs mining activities. But over the past three years, several youths left without jobs have joined the militiamen in an endless cycle of violence.
Like with Ukraine, India is taking the middle road in the Pacific region, between the US and China. For Papua New Guinea Prime Minister, James Marape, India is a “leader of the Global South". On the plus side, India can provide affordable technology and rely on local Indian communities, but militarily, the West remains dominant.
Bollywood’s role in sectarian propaganda remains a major issue. Ultranationalist Hindus continue to peddle the “Love Jihad” conspiracy against the Muslim minority. The Supreme Court has waded into the latest controversy, ordering filmmakers to add a disclaimer that their story is “fictionalised”. Meanwhile, at least 100 people are arrested in Maharashtra following unrest earlier this month.
Drug addiction rates in the northern state are alarming, with more than 15 per cent of the population victim of some form of substance abuse. After alcohol and tobacco, heroin is the drug of choice due to geographic proximity to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Underemployment and subhuman working conditions push many into addiction. Few people trust the police, seen as in cahoots with traffickers.
India's bronze medallist in boxing at the 2012 London Olympics calls on the Indian government to solve the situation. For the past two days, violence has pitted majority Hindu Meitei against Christian Kuki tribal groups. Some 13 deaths have been reported so far, with some 9,000 displaced, but the number could be higher. Mobile Internet services have been suspended.
India’s Operation Kaveri seeks to bring home thousands of Indians stranded in Khartoum after Sudan’s descent into chaos. Many belong to a tribe that occupies a market niche, selling herbal remedies abroad. In recent years, Indian investments have also grown in the continent, linked to India by historic trade routes and a shared colonial past.
About 95 per cent of iPhones are still made at one factory in Zhengzhou, China. Since 2016 relocation has accelerated, but Indian red tape and technological lag continue to play an important role. For many analysts, today's India is like China 20 years ago.
The chapter on the Muslim dynasty that ruled over a large part of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries was removed after some episodes surrounding the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi were also changed. The 2002 Gujarat riots also disappeared. According to experts, the changes for the year 2023-24 are the most radical so far.
The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, a missionary congregation that originated in the United States working on the ground in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya. In the West Khasi Hills district, part of the Nongstoin diocese, there are only three priests, forced to hold "itinerant" celebrations from village to village.
Paradoxically, a country with 47 per cent of the population under 25, rural areas are left with seniors (70 per cent of them). Government projects that seniors will go from 138 million in 2021 to 194 million in 2031. Many continue to work, especially in agriculture, or depend on their children, but in some place, police look after them.
On the run for nearly a week, the Sikh preacher leads a separatist group in India's Punjab state. Khalistani independence dates back to the era of partition between India and Pakistan. A history of clashes with the central government. The role of the diaspora.
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida will be in New Delhi next Sunday following a path laid down by his predecessor Shinzo Abe. Yet the two Asian giants have cultures that are in some respects almost antithetical. The PIME missionary, originally from Andhra Pradesh but in Japan since 2015, explains how he had to adapt to people who are strongly community-oriented, yet flexible in religious matters.
Nominated in the Best Documentary Short Film category, director Shaunak Sen's work is much more than a look at New Delhi's environmental problems. The film tells the story of two Muslim brothers who, in a basement garage, treat sick black kites, birds of prey who can live alongside humans. For Nadeem and Saud, it is government discrimination and propaganda that are toxic.
A report by the Cross Dependency Initiative recommends greater investment in climate adaptation and resilience. In addition to India, the top 50 positions are occupied mainly by regions in China and the United States. Some of the most successful initiatives against extreme climate change come from below.
Unlike the West, India cannot afford to see Russia crumble because it would mean giving China carte blanche, this according to Rahul Roy-Chaudhury of the International Institute for Strategic Studies speaking to AsiaNews. If there is little talk about India's role in this war, it is because this is what it wants. Prime Minister Modi wants to bring the world's most important leaders at the same table.
