Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) and a number of other progressives in the House have announced that they’re boycotting far right Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to Congress on Thursday, citing Modi’s abysmal human rights record and erosion of free press and religion rights in India. Modi is slated to speak before Congress as part of a trip to the U.S. on an invite from…
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New York: Indian Prime Minister Modi participated in the International Day of Yoga in United Nations, Sikhs, Pakistanis, and Kashmiri communities living in the United States staged a protest demonstration in New York, condemning the grave human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK).
The protesters blamed that there are serious violations of human rights and restrictions on freedom of expression, as the Modi government has made the lives of Sikhs, Muslims and other minorities miserable through extremist organizations in IOK.
The participants of the protest demonstration in front of the United Nations headquarters continued to raise loud slogans against the Indian government and Narendra Modi. According to the protesters, the Modi government has made India a country of only Hindus under the Hindutva ideology, so the Sikhs want independence from India and demand a separate country, Khalistan. Demonstrators carried the flags of the Khalistan movement.
On this occasion, a Kashmiri leader who attended the the protest said that Modi is violating human rights in India. Atrocities are being rampant in India. Genocide of minorities must stop. Kashmiris should be given the right to vote according to the resolutions of the United Nations.
The protesters said: “Tomorrow we will also hold demonstrate in Washington against the ongoing atrocities in India. The United Nations has failed to give Kashmiris their right to self-determination since 1947.
Another leader who participated in the protest said that Muslims are being massacred in India. So far millions of Kashmiris have been martyred. The voice of minorities in India cannot be suppressed at any cost.
When the Indian Prime Minister was addressing a yoga ceremony under the cover of the United Nations, videos on the screens installed on the trucks highlighted Indian atrocities on the streets of New York.
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Three Uyghur brothers who escaped from China’s far western Xinjiang province a decade ago – and have been detained in India ever since – are aiming to seek asylum in Canada, their lawyer said.
After 10 years of being detained in India and unsuccessfully seeking asylum there, they face the growing prospect of being deported to China, said their lawyer, Muhammed Shafi Lassu.
“This (Indian) government feels threatened by China, which is why they are hesitant to release these individuals and grant them political asylum, which they are actively avoiding,” Lassu told Radio Free Asia in an interview last week. “In a way, they prefer to keep them detained.”
Since their arrest in 2013 in the northern India-administered region of Jammu & Kashmir, the brothers – Adil, Abduhaliq and Abdusalam Tursun – have been moved around to various detention centers in Kashmir. They are now being held in a prison in Jammu city, Lassu said.
Lassu said that if any country were to offer the three Tursun brothers political asylum, he would petition the Supreme Court of India to seek their release.
In February, Canada offered to resettle 10,000 Uyghur refugees, giving them new hope.
To help people apply for asylum, a humanitarian group called the Canadian Uyghur Rights Advocate Project has set up an online application that Lassu said he plans to use on the brothers’ behalf.
Hopefully that will bring better results than his previous attempts to write the Canadian government to request asylum, which have not elicited any response, he said.
Lassu said he also wrote to several Arab countries on behalf of the brothers, but said officials there “showed no concern for the violation of human rights.”
The United States and the United Nations have urged against the repatriation of Uyghur refugees to China, where there is a growing body of evidence documenting the detention of up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and others in “re-education” camps, torture, sexual abuse and forced labor.
Crossing mountains
Facing persecution from the Chinese government in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the three Tursun brothers in 2013 – aged 16, 18 and 20 at the time – trekked through the rugged Karakoram Mountain Range and crossed into India in the Ladakh region of Kashmir.
They were apprehended by the Indo-Tibetan Armed Police Force, a division of the local Indian Border Guard Forces, and detained for about two months.
The brothers admitted to crossing the border and were transferred to a police station in Leh in Jammu, Kashmir, Lassu said. In July 2014, they were charged with illegal entry and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
But Indian authorities later re-indicted the brothers under a special security law in Kashmir and have extended their detention every six months for the last 10 years, Lassu said.
“This law is exceptionally stringent, allowing the government to detain individuals without trial,” he said.
The brothers have managed to maintain their religious worship and have learned Urdu, Hindi and English during their time in captivity, Lassu said.
“They pray five times a day in prison and read the Quran,” he said. “They fast during Ramadan. They have always maintained their religious dedication.”
Risk of deportation
They are in danger of being sent back to China, according to Akash Hassan, an independent Kashmiri journalist who has written several articles about their case.
Hassan said the Indian government has instructed “relevant authorities to initiate the repatriation process. Therefore, there is a possibility that these individuals will be sent back to China at any moment.”
Lassu said he has also reached out to the UN refugee agency, or UNHCR, for help with the asylum request.
“They emphasized that if the government officially recognizes these individuals as refugees, the UNHCR will provide them with all kinds of support and assistance,” he told RFA.
But UNHCR doesn’t have those same requirements for other refugees in India, including Rohingya refugees who began fleeing Myanmar in 2012.
RFA sent a list of questions to Rama Dwivedi of UNHCR’s office in India about the brothers’ case on June 13 but has not received a response.
Even if Lassu or another lawyer is able to bring the brothers’ case to the Supreme Court of India, it is very unlikely that the court will rule in their favor, said Hassan, the journalist.
Double standard?
India has a double standard when it comes to treatment of Uyghur and Tibetan refugees, he said.
“On one hand, India welcomes thousands of Tibetan refugees who have fled from the Chinese-controlled Tibet region, and a significant number of Tibetan refugees reside in India,” he said.
“However, the treatment of Uyghurs differs. I believe this discriminatory and disparate treatment is associated with the Muslim identity of the Uyghurs,” he said. “It appears that India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, is increasingly embracing right-wing Hindu nationalism.”
The Indian government should cease returning Uyghur individuals to China and refrain from treating them as criminals, Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said to RFA in a June 13 interview.
Even though India hasn’t signed the U.N. Refugee Convention, it still has an obligation to abide by international law in cases concerning Uyghurs, she said.
Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Jilil Kashgary for RFA Uyghur.
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Recent visits by the Australian and Indian Prime Ministers to each other’s country gives expression to Australia’s newfound relationship with India – a major power in the Indo-Pacific, the world’s fifth-largest economy and the largest democracy on the planet. For the past decade, successive Australian governments and diplomats have been attempting to court India, seeking…
The post India is a tech superpower that Australia must follow appeared first on InnovationAus.com.
This post was originally published on InnovationAus.com.
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Sahej Rahal (India), Juggernaut, 2019.
A new mood of defiance in the Global South has generated bewilderment in the capitals of the Triad (the United States, Europe, and Japan), where officials are struggling to answer why governments in the Global South have not accepted the Western view of the conflict in Ukraine or universally supported the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in its efforts to ‘weaken Russia’. Governments that had long been pliant to the Triad’s wishes, such as the administrations of Narendra Modi in India and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Türkiye (despite the toxicity of their own regimes), are no longer as reliable.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has been vocal in defending his government’s refusal to accede to Washington’s pressure. In April 2022, at a joint press conference in Washington, DC with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Jaishankar was asked to explain India’s continued purchase of oil from Russia. His answer was blunt: ‘I noticed you refer to oil purchases. If you are looking at energy purchases from Russia, I would suggest that your attention should be focused on Europe… We do buy some energy which is necessary for our energy security. But I suspect, looking at the figures, probably our total purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon’.
Kandi Narsimlu (India), Waiting at the Bus Stand, 2023.
However, such comments have not deterred Washington’s efforts to win India over to its agenda. On 24 May, the US Congress’s Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released a policy statement on Taiwan which asserted that ‘[t]he United States should strengthen the NATO Plus arrangement to include India’. This policy statement was released shortly after the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, where India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the various G7 leaders, including US President Joe Biden, as well as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Indian government’s response to this ‘NATO Plus’ formulation echoed the sentiment of its earlier remarks about purchasing Russian oil. ‘A lot of Americans still have that NATO treaty construct in their heads’, Jaishankar said in a press conference on 9 June. ‘It seems almost like that is the only template or viewpoint with which they look at the world… That is not a template that applies to India’. India, he said, is not interested in being part of NATO Plus, wishing to maintain a greater degree of geopolitical flexibility. ‘One of the challenges of a changing world’, Jaishankar said, ‘is how do you get people to accept and adjust to those changes’.
Katsura Yuki (Japan), An Ass in a Lion’s Skin, 1956.
There are two significant takeaways from Jaishankar’s statements. First, the Indian government – which does not oppose the United States, either in terms of its programme or temperament – is uninterested in being drawn into a US-led bloc system (the ‘NATO treaty construct’, as Jaishankar put it). Second, like many governments in the Global South, it recognises that we live in ‘changing world’ and that the traditional major powers – especially the United States – need to ‘adjust to those changes’.
In its Investment Outlook 2023 report, Credit Suisse pointed to the ‘deep and persistent fractures’ that have opened up in the international order – another way of referring to what Jaishankar called the ‘changing world’. Credit Suisse describes these ‘fractures’ accurately: ‘The global West (Western developed countries and allies) has drifted away from the global East (China, Russia, and allies) in terms of core strategic interests, while the Global South (Brazil, Russia, India, and China and most developing countries) is reorganising to pursue its own interests’. These final words bear repeating: ‘the Global South… is reorganising to pursue its own interests’.
In mid-April, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released its Diplomatic Bluebook 2023, in which it noted that we are now at the ‘end of the post-Cold War era’. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the United States asserted its primacy over the international order and, along with its Triad vassals, established what it called the ‘rules-based international order’. This thirty-year-old US-led project is now floundering, partly due to the internal weaknesses of the Triad countries (including their weakened position in the global economy) and partly due to the rise of the ‘locomotives of the South’ (led by China, but including Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and Nigeria). Our calculations, based on the IMF datamapper, show that for the first time in centuries, the Gross Domestic Product of the Global South countries surpassed that of the Global North countries this year. The rise of these developing countries – despite the great social inequality that exists within them – has produced a new attitude amongst their middle classes which is reflected in the increased confidence of their governments: they no longer accept the parochial views of the Triad countries as universal truths, and they have a greater wish to exert their own national and regional interests.
Nelson Makamo (South Africa), The Announcement, 2016.
It is this re-assertion of national and regional interests within the Global South that has revived a set of regional processes, including the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-
South Africa) process. On 1 June, the BRICS foreign ministers met in Cape Town (South Africa) ahead of the summit between their heads of states that is set to take place this August in Johannesburg. The joint statement they issued is instructive: twice, they warned about the negative impact of ‘unilateral economic coercive measures, such as sanctions, boycotts, embargoes, and blockades’ which have ‘produced negative effects, notably in the developing world’. The language in this statement represents a feeling that is shared across the entirety of the Global South. From Bolivia to Sri Lanka, these countries, which make up the majority of the world, are fed up with the IMF-driven debt-austerity cycle and the Triad’s bullying. They are beginning to assert their own sovereign agendas. Interestingly, this revival of sovereign politics is not being driven by inward-looking nationalism, but by a non-aligned internationalism. The BRICS ministers’ statement focuses on ‘strengthening multilateralism and upholding international law, including the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations as its indispensable cornerstone’ (incidentally, both China and Russia are part of the twenty-member Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter). The implicit argument being made here is that the US-led Triad states have unilaterally imposed their narrow worldview, based on the interests of their elites, on the countries of the South under the guise of the ‘rules-based international order’. Now, the states of the Global South argue, it is time to return to the source – the UN Charter – and build a genuinely democratic international order.
Leaders of the Third World at the first conference of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade, 1961.
Credit: Museum of Yugoslavia, Belgrade.The word ‘non-aligned’ has increasingly been used to refer to this new trend in international politics. The term has its origins in the Non-Aligned Conference held in Belgrade (Yugoslavia) in 1961, which was built upon the foundations laid at the Asian-African Conference held in Bandung (Indonesia) in 1955. In those days, non-alignment referred to countries led by movements rooted in the deeply anti-colonial Third World Project, which sought to establish the sovereignty of the new states and the dignity of their people. That moment of non-alignment was killed off by the debt crisis of the 1980s, which began with Mexico’s default in 1982. What we have now is not a return of the old non-alignment, but the emergence of a new political atmosphere and a new political constellation that requires careful study. For now, we can say that this new non-alignment is being demanded by the larger states of the Global South that are uninterested in being subordinated by the Triad’s agenda, but which have not yet established a project of their own – a Global South Project, for instance.
As part of our efforts to understand this emerging dynamic, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research will be joining with the No Cold War campaign, ALBA Movimientos, Pan-Africanism Today, the International Strategy Center (South Korea), and the International Peoples’ Assembly to host the webinar ‘The New Non-Alignment and the New Cold War’ on 17 June. Speakers will include Ronnie Kasrils (former minister of intelligence, South Africa), Sevim Dagdelen (deputy party leader for Die Linke in the German Bundestag), Stephanie Weatherbee (International Peoples’ Assembly), and Srujana Bodapati (Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research).
In 1931, the Jamaican poet and journalist Una Marson (1905–1965) wrote ‘There Will Come a Time’, a poem of hopefulness for a future ‘where love and brotherhood should have full sway’. People in the colonised world, she wrote, would have to pursue a sustained battle to attain their freedom. We are nowhere near the end of that fight, yet we are not in the position of almost total subordination that we were in during the height of the Triad’s primacy, which ran from 1991 to now. It is worthwhile to go back to Marson, who knew with certainty that a more just world would come, even if she would not be alive to witness it:
What matter that we be as cagèd birds
Who beat their breasts against the iron bars
Till blood-drops fall, and in heartbreaking songs
Our souls pass out to God? These very words,
In anguish sung, will mightily prevail.
We will not be among the happy heirs
Of this grand heritage – but unto us
Will come their gratitude and praise,
And children yet unborn will reap in joy
What we have sown in tears.This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.
In a slow-motion blow-up that has been underway since March, a diplomatic row between China and India over journalist visas has prompted each side to minimize the other’s media presence in their territories.
China claims to have just one journalist left in India due to bureaucratic obstacles. This month, it instructed the Press Trust of India’s Beijing-based reporter to leave the country, Bloomberg reported earlier this week.
The situation means that the world’s two most populous nations, each with 1.3 billion people and sharing a more than 3,440-kilometer border, have hardly any of their own journalists in the other country.
“The Indian side has refused to review and approve Chinese journalists’ applications for stationing in India and limited the period of validity of visas held by Chinese journalists in India to only three months or even one month,” Wang Weibin, a foreign ministry spokesman, said in a regular press conference on Monday.
“As a result, the number of Chinese journalists stationed in India has plummeted from 14 to just one,” he said. “As we speak, the Indian side still has not agreed to renew the visa of the last Chinese journalist in the country.
“For Indian media outlets, four have been stationed in China in recent years and one is still working and living normally in China,” he said.
Points to strained ties
The Times of India reported that New Delhi had rejected two visa renewals from journalists with Xinhua and China Central Television
“This will be the first time ever that India has no journalists based in Beijing,” Aadil Brar, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Taiwan Fellow and a columnist on China for The Print India, told RFA’s Tibetan service.
“We’ve never seen a scenario quite like this and this tells you how difficult relations between India and China are right now,” he added.
A settlement near Sela pass in Tawang district of India’s Arunachal Pradesh in April 2, 2023. Freshly laid roads, bridges, upgraded military camps, and new civilian infrastructure dot the Himalayan route to the Indian frontier village of Zemithang, which China renamed last month to press its claim to the area in the far northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, almost all of which Beijing insists falls under its sovereignty as “South Tibet.” Credit: Arun Sankar/AFP Writing in The Print, Aadil Brar said, “The issue of access to journalists was always tipped in favor of Beijing. Chinese state-backed and semi-independent news outlets such as CGTN and Phoenix TV continue to operate from India with locally hired staff.”
“With this, China will not have a single Indian journalist reporting from the country, down from four,” Brar said. “The other three journalists – from Hindustan Times, The Hindu, and Prasar Bharati – were either asked to leave the country or their visa renewal applications were denied.
No precedent
Brar noted that even during the Sino-Indian war of 1962, when the two countries clashed violently in two remote Himalayan border regions, Indian journalists were able to operate in Beijing.
Kanwal Sibal, former foreign secretary of India, told RFA’s Tibetan service that he did not expect any imminent breakthrough in relations that have been steadily eroding since renewed border clashes in 2020 in the Galwan Valley – a disputed section of their shared Himalayan border.
“I’m not sure what will happen at the G20 summit,” held in New Delhi on Sept. 9-10, he said.
“Let’s see if Xi Jinping comes,” Sibal said. “If there’s no dialogue between the two sides then it will be a disaster for both sides, [but] there can’t be a dialogue unless Xi Jinping comes.”
“The journalists that have been forced to leave won’t be going back anytime soon so that makes it difficult for Indians to learn about what’s going on in Beijing and similarly for Beijing to find out what’s going on in Delhi,” said Brar.
In a sign that China is not going to budge, on May 31 foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning warned, “As we speak, the Indian side still has not renewed the visa of the last Chinese journalist in the country.
“The number of Chinese journalists stationed in India is about to drop to zero.”
Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Chris Taylor and RFA Tibetan and Mandarin.
New York, June 14, 2023—Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S. from June 21 to 24 and meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, the Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday issued the following statement calling on the U.S. government to urge India to end its media crackdown and release the six journalists arbitrarily detained in retaliation for their work:
“Since Prime Minister Modi came to power in 2014, there has been an increasing crackdown on India’s media,” said CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg. “Journalists critical of the government and the BJP party have been jailed, harassed, and surveilled in retaliation for their work. India is the world’s largest democracy, and it needs to live up to that by ensuring a free and independent media–and we expect the United States to make this a core element of discussions.”
On Wednesday, June 14, CPJ convened an online panel, “India’s Press Freedom Crisis,” with opening remarks and moderation by Ginsberg alongside panelists Geeta Seshu, founding editor of the Free Speech Collective watchdog group; Anuradha Bhasin, executive editor of the Kashmir Times newspaper; and Shahina K.K., senior editor for Outlook magazine.
The panelists discussed the deterioration of press freedom over the last decade, with Seshu detailing the rise in censorship and “vicious” attacks on the media, while Shahina shared her ongoing battle to fight terrorism charges filed nearly 13 years ago by the Karnataka state government, then led by Modi’s BJP party, in retaliation for her investigative reporting.
Bhasin spoke about the “effective silence” that Kashmiri journalists have dealt with since the Modi government unilaterally revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special autonomy status in 2019, with multiple cases of reporters being detained and interrogated.
CPJ calls on the U.S. government to urge India to act on the following press freedom violations:
- The ongoing detention of six journalists–Aasif Sultan, Gautam Navlakha, Sajad Gul, Fahad Shah, Rupesh Kumar Singh, and Irfan Mehraj–in retaliation for their work. All have been targeted under draconian security laws. Shah faces trial on spurious terrorism charges in relation to a 2011 article published by his online magazine The Kashmir Walla. The other five journalists remain in pretrial detention.
- The harassment of the domestic and foreign media, including routine raids and retaliatory income tax investigations launched into critical news outlets. In February, income tax authorities raided the BBC’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai after the government censored a critical documentary on Modi by the broadcaster. Foreign correspondents say they have faced increasing visa uncertainties, restricted access to several areas of the country, including Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, and even threats of deportation in retaliation for critical reporting in recent years.
- The media crackdown in Kashmir, including the use of preventative detention, terrorism and criminal cases, travel bans, raids, and summons for questioning in retaliation for journalists’ work. In 2020, the government enacted a stringent media policy outlining powers for authorities to accredit the media, distribute government advertisements, and determine what constitutes “fake news.”
- Ongoing impunity in cases of killed journalists. At least 62 journalists have been killed in India in connection with their work since 1992. India ranked 11th on CPJ’s 2022 impunity index, with unsolved cases of at least 20 journalists killed in retaliation for their work from September 1, 2012, to August 31, 2022.
- Digital media restrictions, including using the IT Rules, 2021, to censor critical journalism, including the BBC documentary on Modi. India led the world in internet shutdowns for the fifth year in 2022, impeding press freedom and the ability of journalists to work freely.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
KARACHI: The coastal regions of India and Pakistan are on high alert with tens of thousands being evacuated a day before Cyclone Biparjoy is expected to make landfall.
Pakistan’s Met office said the Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS) “ BIPARJOY” over northeast Arabian Sea has moved north-northeastward and now lies at a distance of about 370km south- southwest of Karachi, 355km south- southwest Thatta and 290km south- southwest of Keti Bandar.
Reuters reported that four boys drowned in rough seas off the western Indian financial hub of Mumbai on Tuesday as India and Pakistan began evacuating people from coastal areas, Reuters reported.
Al Jazeera reported that classified as a very severe cyclonic storm, Biparjoy, currently packing maximum sustained winds of up to 145 kilometres an hour (90mph), was situated about 280km (174 miles) from Jakhau port in western India’s Gujarat state and was expected to make landfall sometime on Thursday evening.
“It will touch Kutch-Saurashtra coast (in Gujarat) adjoining the Pakistan coast between Mandvi and Karachi and near Jakhau port on June 15 from 4pm to 8pm in India (10:30-14:30 GMT),” Manorama Mohanty, the Gujarat director of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told reporters.
Residents living within 5km (3 miles) of the coast in Gujarat were evacuated, and those living within 10km (6.2 miles) may also have to move out, officials said. The Press Trust of India news agency said nearly 40,000 people have been evacuated to relief camps in Gujarat.
The Sindh government has evolved an emergency plan to cope with the possible situation. All civic departments
The powerful cyclone is most likely to hit the area between Keti Bandar and Indian Gujarat coast on 15 June afternoon.
According to Business Recorder: “Considering the severity of issue, the Sindh government departments including KW&SB, Karachi Police, Local government department, Sindh Solid Waste Management, KDA, DMCs, KMC and private power company K-Electric (KE) have enforced emergency to deal with the grim situation. In this regard, Provincial Minister for Local Government Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said that emergency has been imposed in the local government in view of the cyclone. The officers and staff of SSWMB, KDA, DMCs and KMC have been put on emergency duty.”
The removal of billboards from the city is in progress. The removal of billboards is also in progress from the areas under the administration of DHA and Cantonment Boards. Instructions have also been given to remove panels on pedestrian bridges and flyovers. However, Sindh Chief Minister visited different areas and reviewed the removal of billboards, it said.
Met office said “BIPARJOY” started to recurve North-northeastward and likely cross between Keti Bandar (Southeast Sindh) and Indian Gujarat coast on 15 June evening as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS) with packing winds of 100-120 Km/hour gusting 140 km/hour. PMD’s cyclone warning center, Karachi is continuously monitoring the system and will issue update accordingly.
Fishermen are advised not to venture in open sea till the system is over by 17 June.
The post Cyclone ‘BIPARJOY’ likely to make landfall near Kutch in India and move towards Pakistan first appeared on VOSA.
This post was originally published on VOSA.
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in the presence of the German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius thyssenkrupp Marine Systems responsible for engineering, design and consultancy support, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited for construction and delivery Construction of submarines in India – significant local content expected thyssenkrupp Marine Systems supplied boats to India in the past and now […]
The post thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited express their intention to build submarines for and in India appeared first on Asian Military Review.
This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.
The ALS-50 loitering munition is an advanced weapon system with a unique vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability, versatility, and adaptability, which allow it to engage air defense systems, and ground and naval targets. The ALS-50’s induction demonstrates the ability of India’s domestic defense industry to integrate sophisticated indigenous technologies into the country’s armed forces. The […]
The post ALS-50 loitering munitions induction to enhance precision strike capability of Indian Air Force, says GlobalData appeared first on Asian Military Review.
This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.
By all indications, Balasore will be remembered as one of India’s worst rail disasters in years with the scale of trauma and devastation still unfolding, writes CPIML (Liberation).
This post was originally published on Green Left.
New York: What are the causes of increasing cardiac cases among South Asians, including Pakistanis and Bengalis over forty years of age, living in the United States? NYU has started extensive research to find out the fact behind this alarming situation.
One hundred dollars cash will be given to each person who is examined in this research.
The increasing number of deaths from heart attacks among Pakistani and Bangladeshi populace over the age of 40 living in the United States has worried everyone.
NYU, University of California and Northwestern University have launched extensive research to find out the causes of heart disease in young people.
To raise awareness about this research, the American Council of Minority Women organized a seminar that began with a recitation of the Holy Quran, followed by Nat-e-Rasool (PBUH).
A large number of men and women participated in the seminar.
Haroon Zafar, Assistant Research Scientist at NYU School of Medicine, drew the attention of the participants that Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian communities account for 60% of deaths from heart diseases worldwide. We all should take care of our health, he said.
Haroon Zafar further said that men and women between the ages of 40 and 84 can participate in this research, no personal information will be taken from any patient except his name, date of birth and residential address, but participation in the research.
Participants in the seminar asked questions related to the causes, precautions and treatment of heart diseases, to which they were given detailed and satisfactory answers and literature was also provided to the attendees.
This research is being done in New York, California and Chicago, which will be completed in five years.
The post What causes the increasing cardiac cases among South Asians in US? NYU begins extensive research first appeared on VOSA.
This post was originally published on VOSA.
The Education-Migration Nexus
Humans have always been on the move. The UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) conceptualises a migrant as a person who moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether within a country or across an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons. Some people migrate in search of work, economic opportunities, to join family, or to study. Others migrate to escape conflict, persecution, terrorism and/or human rights violations. Migration can also occur in response to the harmful effects of climate change, natural disasters and/or other environmental factors. Children migrate accompanied or unaccompanied, according to UNESCO’s 2013 Report on Social Inclusion of Internal Migrants, which estimated that there were 15 million seasonal migrant children in India who encounter many obstacles, including a limited access to education, amongst many others. Although education is undeniably one of the foundations of children’s well-being, child migrants often suffer from the lack of it.
India, being a diverse nation, has witnessed successive waves of migration, resulting in an increasing number of children and adolescents. Internal migration in this country has significantly surged due to population pressure and scarcity of resources. As per the latest Census conducted in 2011, the count of domestic migrants in India stood at 450 million. Across India, 20% of internal migrants were children in 2011, i.e., 92.95 million, according to UNICEF. Hence, the exodus of child migrants was notably higher than the growth of the children population during the same period, i.e., 18.5% between 1991-2001 and 6.3% between 2001-2011. Since then, there is a lack of current information regarding migrant children. In 2021, the Supreme Court urged India’s governments to furnish details about migrant children. Nevertheless, there has been negligible advancement since then, and the issue remains unresolved. Based on the Economic and Political Weekly (2022), migration discussions often overlook children from migrant families in India with low income. The lives of children were under greater vulnerability of missing out on the most developmental aspect, i.e., education. Studies indicate that migrant children in India between the age group of 6-18-years-old are more exposed to child labour, child trafficking and ceased educational opportunities. Around 22.1% of migrant children in this age were not enrolled in any educational institution in 2011.
Addressing Unequal Access to Education for Migrant Children in India
In 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) is aimed at addressing the global education crisis, which affects millions of children and young people around the world who do not have access to quality education. SDG 4 has several targets, including the following: (1) ensuring that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education; (2) ensuring that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education (3) increasing the number of adults who have relevant skills for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship and (4) securing equal access to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education. SDG 4 also aims to eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access for all, including people with disabilities, indigenous peoples and refugees. Achieving SDG 4 is critical for migrant children’s access to education, as it is a fundamental human right and a key driver of economic growth, social development and environmental sustainability.
In the past five years, India has provided an array of solutions for migrant children. The enactment of the Right to Education Act of 2009 (RTE), passed by the Indian Parliament in 2009 and came into force on April 1, 2010, provides for free and compulsory education for all children between the ages of 6 and 14-years-old. The RTE Act mandates that every child in this age group has the right to education in a neighbourhood school and prohibits discrimination on the grounds of gender, caste, religion and disability. The RTE Act has been instrumental in expanding access to education in India and improving the quality of education in government schools. However, there are still several challenges in its implementation, including inadequate infrastructure, shortage of teachers and a lack of monitoring and accountability. Moreover, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) are two major government initiatives in India that promote education and child development, particularly for marginalised and vulnerable populations, including migrant children. Under Poshan 2.0, the government is currently prioritizing the provision of Anganwadi services to all, including migrant families, meaning the arrangement of a network of centers for the holistic development of children. For instance, SSA has developed special modules on migration and education, providing training to teachers and education administrators on addressing the needs of migrant children in the country. Overall, SSA and ICDS are crucial in ensuring that migrant children have access to education and development opportunities, significantly contributing to improving the education outcomes of migrant children in India.
Challenges in Delivering Education to Migrant Children in India
Despite the attention conveyed to the issue, the education of migrant children in India remains a very difficult issue of paramount importance to India’s development. It is compromised due to several reasons, such as the frequent mobilities, socio-economic backgrounds and several exclusionary school experiences of these children. Indeed, children are subjected to hazardous travel between villages and work sites. India Today writes that the villages of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi, which are mostly migration hubs, migrant children are not accepted in schools or the larger community, and are constantly viewed as outsiders. Consequently, according to the Global Monitoring Report, 80% of children of seasonal workers in India do not have access to education. Furthermore, because of the nature of their parents’ labour patterns, these children are difficult to trace and are, therefore, easily left out of the standard systemic interventions of the education system. Children often end up dropping out of school or struggle with learning gaps due to prolonged absence, which ultimately affects children’s psychosocial and cognitive abilities, depriving them from having a correct exposure to socialisation. Migrant children lose the protection of their social networks back home and their well-being is often sidelined as they migrate. As a matter of fact, rooted away from their homes and villages, the first thing that migrants lose is their identity as citizens and all of their basic entitlements, including access to schooling facilities, free services in public health centres. They are also prevented from participating in panchayat (village council) activities, and are sometimes unable to cast their vote or participate in the census, as these usually take place during the first half of the year and coincide with the migration period.
Cultural differences and language barriers become a disadvantage for migrant children, hindering their educational attainment. Ernst Georg Ravenstein’s laws on migration (1885) deals with the impact of rural-urban labour migration on the education of children. As migration has wide-ranging impacts on children whether they are left behind by one or both migrating parents, move with their parents, are born abroad, or migrate alone, the educational performance of children is highly compromised when migrating. Due to this process, many children suffer from depression, abandonment, low self-esteem and several behavioural disorders due to the unavailability of education (Virupaksha et al., 2014). There is a dire need to focus on and develop a mixed-methods research agenda, referring to the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods for child migration to understand their plight in a better way and provide solutions. Hence, there is a need to make a regular assessment of the number of child migrants in India in order for them to be protected from any form of vulnerability, such as kidnapping, trafficking, etc. Eventually, we would think that research, policy and advocacy efforts undertaken on behalf of migrant children in India would help in raising awareness on the issue concerning their access to education.
Nevertheless, these have commonly focused on those living in situations that are dangerous, abusive and/or exploitative, either inherently or because of their young age. They are often represented as passive victims of these crimes, perpetuating this idea of the innocent and at-risk child who can be easily instrumentalized. In consequence, they start to reflect dominant notions of trauma and victimhood. It would be a matter of investigating the issue with children rather than on them.
Conclusion
Migrant children are deprived of education, which is a major threat to their social well-being. The conditions under which mobility takes place are often unsafe and risky, putting migrant children, especially unaccompanied and separated children, at an exponential risk of economic or sexual exploitation, abuse, neglect and/or violence as well as being prevented from education. Policy responses to protect and support migrant children are often limited. While children on the move have become a recognised part of today’s global and mixed migration flows, they are still largely discreet in debates on migration, child protection and empowerment. It is necessary to identify mechanisms on how to enhance migrant childrens’ capabilities by providing a better quality of education and preventing them from every form of exploitation, inequalities, discrimination and/or marginalisation.
The effects of migration on children are diverse, and there are numerous concerns that require attention. It’s crucial to support the families of migrant workers who live and work in precarious conditions. To ensure the well-being of their children, policy perspectives must be re-evaluated and a greater emphasis must be placed on policy implementation. Despite the availability of educational opportunities, many migrant children do not pursue formal education, making it necessary to consider the overall social well-being of these families, including their living conditions, in order to empower their children. Policies aimed at improving educational conditions of migrant children migrants must be tailored to their special needs. Unfortunately, migrant children are somehow ignored in the educational attainment process, for sometimes migration is inevitable and an important process to develop India.
References
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Desk, I. T. W. (2018, December 11). How seasonal migration of Indians is destroying educational opportunities for children. India Today. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/featurephilia/story/how-seasonal-migration-of-i ndians-is-destroying-educational-opportunities-for-children-1406369-2018-12-11
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Green Left speaks to Clifton D’Rozario, a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation about the rise of the Narendra Modi government in India.
This post was originally published on Green Left.
Boeing signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ST Engineering to outline potential areas of collaboration in systems integration, training, local parts distribution, support and sustainment work for the P-8A Poseidon. Boeing and ST Engineering have identified opportunities to collaborate in a number of areas and will explore these in more detail, including jointly developing […]
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This story originally appeared in Peoples Dispatch on June 5, 2023. It is shared here under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.
At least 275 people have died following a horrific train accident in the Balasore district of the Indian State of Odisha on Friday, June 2. Over a 1,000 people were also injured in what is being called the worst rail accident in 20 years. As the country recovers from the shock, questions are being asked about the government’s policies towards the railways.
The accident involved three trains. On the evening of June 2, the Coromandel Express, a passenger train, rammed a stationary goods train that had been parked in the Loop Line of the Bahanaga Bazar railway station. According to a preliminary investigation, 21 coaches of the Coromandel Express derailed and some overturned, including on to the adjoining track.
Just minutes later, another passenger train, the Yesvantpur-Howrah Superfast Express coming from Bengaluru hit the derailed compartments of the Coromandel Express, and itself derailed, becoming what is called “a wreck on a wreck.” Both trains had an estimated 2,000 passengers on board.
Issues with the signaling system
On June 4, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated the root cause of the collision had happened due to a change in the electronic interlocking, which is a signaling system to ensure route safety for trains. He added that the people responsible had been identified.
Subsequently, he added that the Railway Board had recommended an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), identifying a “signaling interference” as the main cause of the accident.
The preliminary investigation found that the Coromandel Express had initially been given the “green signal” to pass through the Up Main Line (heading towards Chennai). However this signal was then taken off, following which the train moved into the Loop Line (which are lines constructed around station areas to accommodate trains ease operations). It then collided with the goods train.
Coromandel was not scheduled to stop at the Bahanaga station and it is not known why the green signal was taken off. It is also not clear whether the signal was displaying “red” or “green” when the Coromandel Express crossed it.
Balasore and neighboring areas were the site of a massive rescue effort as local residents joined National Disaster Response Force and fire department personnel. Meanwhile, distressing videos circulated on social media revealed a close-up of the tragedy.
Heartbreaking scenes have emerged out of Odisha of relatives searching for their loved ones amid the chaos, as piles of bodies were laden on trucks and in open halls. According to news reports, the local Bahanaga high school was turned into a makeshift morgue, while local hospitals struggled to accommodate patients.
The State and Central governments have since then announced ex-gratia payments. Alongside the looming CBI probe, the Odisha Police have also filed charges of “causing death by negligence and endangering life,” however the case does not name any specific individuals as of now.
The Indian Railways is one of the country’s most important institutions, employing over 1.1 million people. It is the fourth biggest railway network in the world and the second largest in size if we consider passenger miles. While the Balasore train accident is the worst India has seen for many years in terms of its sheer scale, the Indian Railways have continued to witness routine accidents, both “consequential” (entailing serious repercussions including loss of human life) and otherwise.
This brings to the fore the structural issues that have continued to plague the railway system and which have become a key issue in this context. In a letter from February, seen by news publication ThePrint, the principal chief operating manager of the South Western Railway zone had warned of “serious flaws” in the signaling system, adding that if the maintenance system was not corrected, it could lead to “re-occurrence and serious accidents”.
“Anything of this nature happening in one zone raises eyebrows everywhere,” an anonymous senior railway official stated in the news report.
Incomplete safety inquiries
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) published a report in 2022 for the year ending March 2021. A section of the report stated, “Investigation of factors responsible for derailments conducted by the Inquiry Committees is an important exercise, which highlights the main factors responsible for the accidents.”
According to the report, the Zonal Railways (ZR) did not adhere to the timeline prescribed by the Railway Board for completing inquiries in 49% of the derailment cases. It also revealed that the Indian Railways neglected workforce vacancies and managed them through nominal outsourcing. This lack of proper staffing in the safety category compromised the railways’ vision of achieving accident-free, collision-free, and fire-free train operations.
The report revealed that track inspections were conducted in only 181 cases out of the required total of 350, indicating that over 50% of the mandatory track safety inspections were neglected. Furthermore, the data shows that out of the total 217 accidents between the years 2017 and 2021, 75% were caused by derailments. Additionally, there were 211 accidents attributed to signal failure. The report also acknowledged that essential safety measures were being disregarded, while funds were being allocated to non-priority projects instead of investing in rail safety.
Staff shortage
Just two days before the accident, The Hindu published a report highlighting how the shortage of staff in Indian Railways was leading to major accidents. For instance, in the South East Central Railway, 35.99% of loco pilots had duty shifts exceeding 12 hours in March, 34.53% in April, and 33.26% during the first half of May.
For the year 2023, over 312,000 posts in the Indian Railways remained vacant. The failure to fill these positions has resulted in employees working overtime. A 29-year-old employee, working at the Central Railway ticket booking office in Mumbai, told The Hindu, “I have been working double shifts for up to 16 hours continuously as we don’t have enough staff to relieve us.“
Political parties in India condemned the failure to address many of these underlying structural issues. Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary noted that a task force formed in 2017 had pointed out the urgent need for track renewals. However, in the 2022 budget, the allocation for track renewal was cut by 14%. He also called out the government for the vacancies of the position of gangmen, who monitor tracks for any loose bolts.
He warned against the CBI probe being used to divert attention from some of these issues.
Many observers also criticized the government’s focus on publicity campaigns boasting of super-fast trains while basic safety issues remained unresolved. Sitaram Yechury urged the government to focus on providing facilities for people to travel rather than on high-speed trains which only the rich can access.
Opposition leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted that “rail safety & track renewals have taken a backseat, while high-profile inaugurations & an obsession with speed get priority.”
His party, the Indian National Congress, and other political leaders demanded the resignation of Rail Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
(With inputs from Umer Beigh, Hrishi Raj Anand and Tanupriya Singh)
This post was originally published on The Real News Network.
4 Mins Read
Leading Indian plant-based protein label Shaka Harry has announced its expansion into Singapore.
The expansion marks the company’s first foray into the international market. Shaka Harry is set to introduce 15 innovative products at Mustafa Centre Singapore, a four-level retail hub and iconic shopping mall known for its 24-hour market-style shopping experience.
To support the launch in Singapore, Shaka Harry has planned a range of marketing and promotional activities. These include in-store demonstrations, engaging social media campaigns, and collaborations with local food bloggers and influencers. The company also aims to establish partnerships with local restaurants and food service providers to incorporate their products into their menus.
‘A timely and important solution’
“Expanding our business to Singapore, a country globally recognized for its commitment to promoting plant-based diets and addressing public health, environmental, and ethical issues, holds significant importance for Shaka Harry,” Anand Nagarajan, co-founder of Shaka Harry, said in a statement.
“We are delighted to bring our products to discerning consumers in a country that shares our dedication to promoting plant-based diets and creating a more sustainable and compassionate food system. We are confident that our products will appeal to the growing number of individuals embracing flexitarian diets and seeking healthy, delicious, and environmentally friendly food options,” Nagarajan said.
“Mustafa Shopping Centre Singapore is proud to announce the launch of Shaka Harry, a plant protein company backed by the legendary cricketer MS Dhoni,” said Mohd Saleem of Mohamed Mustafa & Samsuddin. “Shaka Harry’s innovative approach to sustainable and ethical protein production is a timely and important solution to address the challenges faced by our planet. We are excited to offer our customers access to Shaka Harry’s delicious and nutritious plant-based products, and we believe that this partnership will help create a brighter and more sustainable future for all.”
Sandeep Devgan, Shaka Harry co-founder says the timing couldn’t be more exciting for the brand. “Collaborating with Mustafa Centre will give us the impetus to propel the Shaka Harry brand in the global marketplace,” Devgan said. “Already established as the best-performing brand in online stores where we have a presence, we are now poised to launch our exclusive range of 15 products in Singapore alongside Mustafa. Food is a pivotal area where sustainability can make significant strides, and Singapore is at the forefront of adopting cultivated meat and plant-based diets worldwide.”
India’s global expansion
According to Devgan, India’s government, along with APEDA (the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority), is actively promoting the export of plant-based food. “We are excited to be part of this growth story and build momentum,” he said. “India’s plant-based food products are highly regarded overseas due to their ethical values and contributions from foodservice operators and retailers. Building a consumer segment in the food industry necessitates a well-designed product range, deep expertise in taste and flavor, and a consistent customer experience. Our dedicated team at Shaka Harry is committed to creating the best plant-based food products in terms of taste and quality.”
GOOD Meat Cultivated Chicken Skewer in Singapore Butchery – Credit EAT Just, Inc Both India and Singapore have emerged as global hotspots for the alternative protein industry, attracting startups and innovations. While much of India’s development is happening with regional brands, Singapore has become a hub for international brands across a range of categories including cultivated meat, where Singapore is currently the only country to approve it for sale and consumption.
A recent survey on Singaporean dietary habits revealed that consumers are excited about the options; 46 percent of respondents expressed a willingness to adopt a plant-based diet due to health concerns, while 39 percent follow a flexitarian diet. The plant-based trend in Singapore has experienced an impressive average compounded growth rate of over 12 percent in the past four years, driven by health consciousness, taste preferences, and dietary restrictions related to religion or ethics. Notably, this trend has garnered an overwhelming 94 percent positive sentiment among consumers in Singapore.
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3 Mins Read
Indian-based synthetic biology company Fermbox Bio, known for utilizing microbial precision fermentation for sustainable production of bio-alternatives, is joining forces with global biotechnology company Dyadic International Inc.
The collaboration marks Dyadic’s first venture with an Indian entity for non-pharmaceutical uses on its renowned Dapibus platform. The partnership leverages the product development and process engineering expertise of Fermbox Bio, coupled with Dyadic’s proprietary filamentous fungal-based protein production platform, aiming to design, manufacture, and commercialize ground-breaking, animal-free alternative proteins and biomaterials.
Biomaterials manufacturing
Dyadic International Inc. and Fermbox Bio are both dedicated to creating sustainable and commercially viable products. Fermbox Bio is known for co-developing, manufacturing, and commercializing biomaterials for global markets, whereas Dyadic International Inc. is at the forefront of creating microbial platforms to meet the global demand for protein bioproduction and alternative proteins.
Photo by Louis Reed at Unsplash. “We are very excited to partner with Dyadic to bring our complementary skills to action and use its novel Dapibus platform to create alternative biomaterials that are not only sustainable but also economically viable,” Subramani (suBBu) Ramachandrappa, Ferbox’s founder, said in a statement.
“Our joint expertise across expression systems and execution capabilities from lab to large-scale manufacturing, uniquely positions us for success. We have a long-standing relationship with Dyadic leadership, and we believe that this co-development agreement can potentially accelerate the timelines for both companies to bring new and commercially viable bio-alternates to the market sooner.”
Fermbox Bio, operating in both India and the U.S., is strategically positioned for global collaborations, benefiting from access to Indian scientific talent and manufacturing capacities. This collaboration, along with India’s prowess in gene expression, enzymatic pathway engineering, and low-cost manufacturing, could thrust the alternative protein sector forward, positioning India as a potential global supplier.
“I am excited to announce this fully funded co-development and marketing agreement with Fermbox which is consistent with our business strategy of focusing on near-term commercialization opportunities that can create shareholder value,” said Joe Hazelton, Chief Business Officer of Dyadic.
‘End-market animal-free protein products’
“Fermbox has extensive expertise in bio-alternatives development and microbial precision fermentation which we expect will accelerate our ability to exploit the Dapibus platform and expand Dyadic’s product offerings for non-pharmaceutical alternative proteins applications, such as food, nutrition, wellness, and other bioproducts,” Hazelton said.
Courtesy Pexels “We anticipate this collaboration will enhance our market penetration into the alternative protein markets, while at the same time continuing to pursue our biopharmaceutical activities which are advancing at a rapid pace. We believe that this collaboration will further leverage our proprietary Dapibus platform toward developing and commercializing multiple end-market animal-free protein products.”
This collaborative model is setting a precedent, according to Nicole Rocque, Senior Innovation Specialist at The Good Food Institute (GFI) India. She says that a co-development partnership of this kind highlights the emerging role India can play in the global SynBio industry. “India has the potential to be a leader in the development of sustainable alternatives that have the potential to feed a growing population while showcasing a model of growth for other emerging markets.,” Rocque said.
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New York: New York Police Department’s (NYPD) Indian Officers’ Society (IOS) organized a fun-filled family picnic at Elley Pond Park in the Queens area.
On this occasion, children and adults did a lot of fun activities and enjoyed the jumping castle. There were also good competitions in video games.
On this occasion, the Vice President of the Indian Officer Society, Hasan Syed, said that today was a very good event in which Hindus, Muslims and people of different communities enjoyed together, and such events should continue in the future.
Members and their families were served with a variety of food.
Deputy Inspector Adeel Rana, president of the New York Police Department’s Muslim Officer Society (MOS) was also present on the occasion.
The participants said that such activities are like a breath of fresh air for them. Due to their professional duties, they often cannot participate in such activities.
Members of the Indian Officers’ Society and their families who participated in the picnic had a fun-filled day at Elley Pond Park and thanked the officials for the excellent arrangements.
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In The Great Escape, Saket Soni recounts how he organized a group of Indian migrant workers to free themselves from a human trafficking scam and hold their captors accountable.
This post was originally published on Dissent MagazineDissent Magazine.
As the walls of global climate apartheid solidify, the barriers to climate refugees intensify, and “ecofascist” mass killings multiply, the enduring acceptability of fascist politics is disturbingly apparent in the amazing reincarnation of India’s far right Hindu nationalist (Hindutva) regime on the world stage. Less than 20 years ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and company were shunned…
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Hindutva is theocratic Hindu nationalism. It is a powerful force in what is now the world’s most populous country. Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, is a lifelong member of the RSS, an openly Hindu supremacist organization. Le Monde Diplomatique reports: Hindutva “followers regard India as a Hindu country. Non-Hindus are at best guests, at worst invaders, and must be identified, watched, deprived of certain rights, and in some cases expelled or even eliminated. The main victims of Hindutva are India’s large Muslim minority. Hindutva adherents oppose mixed Hindu-Muslim marriages, calling them a ‘love jihad’ that aims to convert Hindu women so that their offspring will be raised as Muslims. This paranoid fantasy has encouraged violence and widespread denigration of Indian Muslims.” Recorded at the Swedish Academy at the Thought and Truth Under Pressure conference.
This content originally appeared on AlternativeRadio and was authored by info@alternativeradio.org.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Following the news that the sixth submarine of the Kalvari-class has commenced sea trials; Kandlikar Venkatesh, Defense Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view: “The commencement of sea trials for the sixth Kalvari-class submarine marks a significant milestone, as it moves closer to its induction into the Indian Navy. With […]
The post Sea trials of sixth Kalvari-class submarine to boost India’s self-reliance in building maritime capabilities, says GlobalData appeared first on Asian Military Review.
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This content originally appeared on Amnesty International and was authored by Amnesty International.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
This content originally appeared on Amnesty International and was authored by Amnesty International.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Indra’s Lanza 3D radar continues to strengthen itself as one of the most advanced surveillance systems on the market and continues its international expansion. Indra is currently installing its naval version, Lanza-N 3D, on one of the Indian Navy’s destroyer ship, beginning the delivery of the 23 radars that it will provide to the Indian […]
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By Joeli Bili in Suva
A partnership forged between the Indian government and the University of the South Pacific (USP) will see the establishment of a new Fiji-based centre for climate change, coastal and ocean management in the region.
The Sustainable Coastal and Ocean Research Institute (SCORI) at USP’s Suva campus was launched on May 22 by India’s High Commissioner to Fiji, Palaniswamy Subramanyan Karthigeyan, who described the initiative as a “celebration of the future”.
“This is a meeting of the best minds from both sides in the scientific, technology world and possibly being on the frontline of climate action,” Karthigeyan said.
He added that the institute would have India’s unstinted support and the way forward was going to be more critical.
“Unfortunately, due to the [covid] pandemic, we have lost quite a bit of time in taking this initiative forward and we have the momentum to make sure that this is not lost sight of and we make it a benchmark project not just for the region but the entire world,” he said.
“The onus of responsibility is on all of us to make sure that we do justice to that. The best way to do that is to make it a benchmark project in the shortest possible time, and to make it a sustainable model of excellence.”
Karthigeyan echoed similar sentiments made earlier in the day by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 3rd India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit in Papua New Guinea.
Focused on Global South problems
Modi focused on the problems faced by the Global South, including the issues of climate change, natural disasters, hunger, poverty, and various health-related challenges among others.“I am glad to hear that the Sustainable Coastal and Ocean Research Institute has been established at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. This institute connects India’s experiences in sustainable development with the vision of Pacific Island countries,” he told the summit.
“In addition to research and development, it will be valuable in addressing the challenges of climate change. I am pleased that SCORI is dedicated to the well-being, progress, and prosperity of citizens from 14 countries,” Modi added, drawing attention to India’s desire to partner the region in tackling issues that regional countries have placed priority on.
Prime Minister Modi said Pacific Island countries were not Small Island States, but rather, “large ocean countries”. He noted it was this vast ocean that connected India with the Pacific region.
“The Indian philosophy has always viewed the world as one family. Climate change, natural disasters, hunger, poverty, and various health-related challenges were already prevalent.
“Now, new issues are emerging. Barriers are arising in the supply chains of food, fuel, fertiliser, and pharmaceuticals,” Modi said.
India, he said, stood with its Pacific Island friends during challenging times, whether it was vaccines or essential medicines, wheat or sugar.
‘Unwavering’ support for SCORI
USP’s vice-chancellor and president, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, said the “unwavering support” and endorsement of SCORI by PM Modi and the Fiji government underscored the significance of the institute in advancing climate change and oceans management in our region.
USP’s vice-chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia . . . “We embark on a new chapter of cooperation between India, Fiji, and the University of the South Pacific.” Image: Twitter/APR “With the establishment of SCORI, we embark on a new chapter of cooperation between India, Fiji, and the University of the South Pacific,” he said.
“This institute will serve as a hub for the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and cutting-edge technologies, ensuring that our work in climate change and oceans management remains at the forefront of global research.”
Through the collaboration of esteemed scholars from India and Fiji, Professor Ahluwalia said the university aimed to publish ground-breaking research and set new agendas in the field of coastal and ocean studies.
“This institute will greatly enhance our research activities and capacity building, contributing to the sustainability of the Pacific Ocean and aligning with the Blue Pacific 2050 Strategy launched by our Pacific leaders,” he said.
USP deputy vice-chancellor and vice-president (education) Professor Jito Vanualailai said that SCORI would serve as a hub for research and development to meet the needs of Pacific Island countries.
“SCORI will spearhead research and development initiatives that address pressing issues in the region,” he said.
“Together, we strive to develop policies for sustainable management and protection of marine and coastal ecosystems while effectively tackling coastal hazards and vulnerabilities stemming from global warming, ocean acidification and climate change.”
‘Remarkable individuals’
USP’s director of research, Professor Sushil Kumar, said the project was a reality due to the integral role played by some “remarkable individuals and organisations”.Professor Kumar thanked the governments of Fiji and India for their support to foster collaboration and partnership under SCORI.
He said apart from the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Indian government, several Institutes such as the National Center for Coastal Research are part of the collaborations.
The center will have a dedicated focus on areas of common interests such as coastal vulnerability, coastal erosion and coastal protection, monitoring and mapping of marine biodiversity, ocean observation systems, sea water quality monitoring and capacity building.
SCORI will be funded and maintained by the Indian government for five years until it is handed over to USP.
Joeli Bili is a final-year student journalist at the University of the South Pacific’s Suva campus. He is a senior reporter for Wansolwara, USP Journalism’s training newspaper and online publication. This article is republished through a partnership between Asia Pacific Report and IDN-InDepthNews and Wansolwara.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
By Rachael Nath, RNZ Pacific journalist
In a significant step toward preserving and commemorating Fiji’s rich history, efforts are underway to establish the country’s first living museum.
This unique institution will focus on capturing the era of the British colonial government’s indentured system in Fiji, shedding light on the arrival of Fijians of Indian descent to the Pacific Ocean.
The initiative aims to honour the contributions and struggles of the indentured labourers, known as Girmitiyas, who played a pivotal role in shaping Fiji’s economy.
Behind the vision is the Global Girmit Institute, whose board of trustees chair Dr Ganesh Chand told RNZ Pacific the museum had great significance for Fiji.
Dr Chand said that many Fijians were unaware of their country’s history and the way of life under British rule in Fiji, noting that Fiji-Indians were even unaware of their origins — the Girmitiyas.
Fijian-Indians make up about 37 percent of the country’s population.
“For Girmitiyas, there has been a total silence of material in our curriculum all the way up to now,” Dr Chand lamented.
“There is nothing in the texts, and students don’t learn their history.”
He said that if schools fail to teach local history, it could be detrimental to that nation as a whole.
“If they don’t learn in these in schools, then they grow up thinking that their house and day-to-day life is their entirety in the country.
Girmitiyas working in a banana plantation in Fiji. Image: INL Archives “But that is not a very good state for nation-building. For nation-building, people need to know the history,” Dr Chand said.
The museum aims to rectify this by providing a “comprehensive and immersive experience” that educates visitors about the Girmit era.
The Global Girmit Institute living museum will be co-located within the GGI Library at its headquarters in Saweni, Lautoka, on the country’s main island.
Work has already begun, with the collection of artefacts intensifying in preparation for the anticipated opening of phase one next year.
Travellers who crossed two oceans
The gallery will feature a range of artefacts and recordings of the oral history of people from different linguistic backgrounds and cultures.Objects relating to farming and the sugar industry, lifestyle, music, food, clothing and religious events will also be displayed, along with objects that record the impact of colonialism on the islands.
Dr Chand said visitors will have the opportunity to witness and understand first hand the living conditions and lifestyle of the Girmitiyas.
“The living museum will feature a fully furnished residence from the era, and our workers will live there and depict how life was in those days under British rule,” he said.
So, how did a group of South Asian people — the Girmitiyas — arrive in the Pacific Ocean?
It was the abolition of slave labour in the early 19th century that gave rise to the Indian indenture system.
Linguist Dr Farzana Gounder . . . “They [Girmitya] worked long hours in difficult and often dangerous conditions on the sugar plantations.” Image: Dr Farzana Gounder/RNZ Pacific This saw an influx of labourers transported from India to various European colonies, including Fiji, to work in plantations.
The system was established to address the labour shortage that followed, explained academic and linguist Dr Farzana Gounder, a direct Girmitiya descendant and a representative of Fiji on the UNESCO International Indentured Labour Route Project.
“The term ‘Girmit’ is derived from the word ‘agreement’ and was used to refer to the system of indentured labour that brought Indians to Fiji between 1879 and 1916,” she said.
“Under this system, Indian labourers were recruited from British India to work on sugar plantations in Fiji, which was then a British colony. During this period, more than 60,000 Indians were brought to Fiji under indenture and became known as Girmitiyas.”
The indenture was seen as an agreement between the workers and the British government, and over the next three decades Girmitiyas were shipped across two oceans to work the lands in Fiji, where a jarring reality awaited them, explained Dr Gounder.
“The Girmitiyas faced many challenges when they arrived in Fiji, including harsh working conditions, cultural and linguistic barriers, and discrimination from both European and indigenous Fijian populations.
“They worked long hours in difficult and often dangerous conditions on the sugar plantations and were paid very low wages.”
The Girmitiyas were instrumental in the development of Fiji’s sugar industry, and this museum aims to tell these stories.
Fiji’s Peace Village to host historical stories
The government of Fiji is also commissioning a living museum in the central province of Navilaca village in Rewa.Assistant Women’s Minister Sashi Kiran announced that this gallery would pay homage to the relationship between the Girmitiyas and iTaukei people.
“Navilaca village is significant to the history of both the indigenous people and the Indo-Fijians,” she said.
Assistant Women’s Minister Sashi Kiran . . . recounts the heroic efforts of indigenous Fiji villagers rescuing many lives off the wrecked Syria in 1884. Image: Fiji govt/RNZ Pacific Kiran recounts the heroic efforts of the indigenous people in 1884 who, in the absence of immediate assistance from the colonial authorities, led the rescue operations, saving many lives when a ship named Syria, carrying around 500 Girmitiyas, became wrecked on the Nasilai Reef.
This village thus served as an apt location for the museum, paying homage to the resilience and humanity displayed during that challenging time, she said.
“The village of Navilaca had done the rescue when the Syria was wrecked, and villages there had not only rescued the people but buried the dead in their chiefly ground. They had also looked after all the injured until they healed.
“The fisherfolk had been rescuing people, and the archives also say that there were only about 100 out of almost 500 passengers left by the time the colonials came, so most of the rescue was actually done by the indigenous people.”
The village has since been declared a place of peace with an offer extended to host teaching of each other’s rituals, ceremonies, and customs.
“It will be a space where both cultures can be taught through artefacts and storytelling,” she added.
It will also be open to tourists and the diaspora.
Both living museums promise to be vital cultural institutions, providing a platform to remember and honour Fiji’s history.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Girmit relatives of the article author, Rachael Nath. Image: Rachael Nath/RNZ Pacific This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
Are you worried about the rising political power of violent white nationalists in America? Well, you’ve got plenty of company, including U.S. national security and counterterrorism officials. And we’re worried, too — worried enough, in fact, to feel that it’s time to take a look at the experience of India, where Hindu supremacist dogma has increasingly been enforced through violent means.
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
