#Bharatiya Janata Party Workers

[mariacallous]

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Ram temple in Ayodhya in the key northern state of Uttar Pradesh in January in hopes it would earn him a massive victory in the national election that concluded in June. That didn’t happen—at least not to the extent that Modi, his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and their ideological fountainhead Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) expected.

In what has widely been described as a shock result, the BJP won merely 240 seats in the 543-seat parliament, after setting a target of 400 seats. Modi has formed a government but only with support from other parties.

Like any election result, the outcome had multiple causes that will take time to fully sort out. But one thing is already clear: Modi failed in his long-running bid to homogenize India’s Hindus across castes and cultures and consolidate their vote for his political benefit.

In 2014, Modi came to power on the back of religious nationalism and security issues, and he continued that trend in 2019. This year, in the absence of any urgent security threat from regional rival Pakistan and rising concerns over unemployment, inflation, and authoritarianism, Modi banked on the RSS’s homogenization strategy.

The Ram temple was built on a site long disputed with Muslims, where a 16th-century mosque stood until December 1992, when a group of Hindu nationalists razed it to the ground allegedly on the BJP’s provocation. Experts said the BJP had envisaged the temple would instill pride in Hindus, feed their Muslim animosity, and bring them under the Hindu umbrella to choose Modi.

Even though, by and large, the Hindu community seemed to have been pleased with the inauguration of the temple, that didn’t translate into votes for Modi across the Hindu hierarchy. Instead, the results exposed the weaknesses of the homogenization exercise.

Hartosh Singh Bal, an Indian journalist and the executive editor of the Caravan, said there is “diversity in Hinduism” and the election results prove that it can’t be “papered over by directing attention and hatred outwards” toward Muslims. This election proves that “Hindus are not a monolith” and that “various segments of Hinduism have a successful chance of taking on the BJP,” he added in reference to tactical voting by lower castes in Uttar Pradesh against the BJP.

Karthick Ram Manoharan, a political scientist at the National Law School of India University in Bengaluru, said that in Tamil Nadu, a state in southern India with the second-biggest economy in the country, the BJP did not win a single seat out of a total of 39.

“Hindus are the absolute majority in Tamil Nadu, but they still mostly vote for the secular Dravidian parties,” Manoharan said in reference to local parties that have emerged out of social movements opposed to an upper-caste Hindu order that the BJP and RSS have been long accused of nurturing and propagating.

In March, just a month before voting began, I witnessed saffron-colored flags expressing support for Modi’s party jutting out from rooftops and windows in tightly packed homes in western Uttar Pradesh. Some people I spoke to said that BJP workers had decided to adorn the neighborhoods as they pleased, but underneath the flag-waving, a large-scale discontent was brewing over a lack of employment opportunities.

The upper-caste youth seemed confused, if not yet disenchanted, with Modi and in the absence of industry and strong local economies once again mourned the loss of government jobs to affirmative action. (The Indian Constitution reserves almost half of all state jobs for people from lower castes and others who confront a generational disadvantage and historical discrimination.)

Meanwhile, Dalits, who sit at the bottom of India’s Hindu hierarchy, in hamlets nearby who depend on the quota for their dignity and livelihood were quietly recalibrating their options. The mood was starkly different from 2014 and 2019 when I visited some of the Dalit-dominated parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh. Back then, Dalits I met were upbeat and decisively pro-Modi. They said they supported him since they believed that he might raise their stature in the Hindu hierarchy.

But 10 years later, they suspected the BJP was plotting to weaken the constitution, the only assurance of rights for marginalized communities in a country where upper-caste Hindus continue to hold social capital and economic power.

Recent comments by BJP leaders that if Modi won 400 seats, he would change the constitution spread anxiety among lower castes that the party intended to scrap the reservation system. The BJP repeatedly denied this, but the suspicion that it is first a party for upper-caste Hindus is deep-rooted among lower castes, and experts believe the comments were part of the BJP’s political strategy.

“They were testing the waters to see what would be the reaction,” said Sushil Kumar Pandey, an assistant professor of history at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow and the author of Caste and Politics in Democracy.

“The opposition picked it up and campaigned on it, telling people a change in the constitution could mean losing your livelihood, your jobs,” Pandey added. “That worked at a time [when] people were also scared of privatization” and in government-run sectors.

For Dalits, it was about more than jobs. The Indian Constitution is nearly worshipped by the community and celebrated en masse on the birth anniversary of the Indian intellectual who wrote it. B.R. Ambedkar was no fan of Ram and advocated against the caste discrimination inherent in Hinduism all his life, even converting to Buddhism when he felt there was no escaping caste-based prejudice. While he couldn’t annihilate the caste system, he ensured that the constitution offered lower castes a quota in government jobs to gradually uplift them.

In his honor, and as an ode to the progressive document, Dalits sing songs in praise of the constitution and hail it as the upholder of their dignity in a society where they continue to be belittled. Any change to the text was unacceptable. “Their cultural identity is linked to this book,” said Ravish Kumar, a journalist and the host of a popular YouTube news show.

In the south, too, there was a fear of culturally being subsumed by a Hindi-speaking upper-caste elite. Indian federal units, or states, were defined in the 1950s on the basis of language, and to this day south Indians identify themselves on the basis of the language they speak. The Ram temple had no resonance in the southern states, particularly in electorally significant Tamil Nadu, with the highest number of seats regionally. Tamils were wary that the RSS’s homogenization agenda would drown out their cultural ethos and impose a secondary status on the Tamil language.

Manoharan, the political scientist, said that in Tamil Nadu, it was “not so much religious but fear of cultural homogeneity” and “a language policy which will give importance to Hindi speakers over Tamil speakers and upper-caste Tamils over other backward castes.”

In a state where “88 percent people come from so-called lower castes” and “69 percent have jobs under affirmative action through a special act,” people were also extremely worried that the BJP may “water down” the employment quota promised in the constitution, Manoharan added.

The southern Indian states have a longer history of resistance to upper-caste domination, a higher literacy rate, better economies, and a tradition of secular politics. While the BJP maintained its tally of 29 seats from the last election, it is being seen as a poor result considering the inroads the RSS has made in the south.

For instance, in the southwestern state of Kerala, the RSS has more than 5,000 shakhas, or branches, second in number only to Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state—yet “despite the fact that the RSS has thousands of training grounds in Kerala, they are unable to get influence,” said K.M. Sajad Ibrahim, a professor of political science at University of Kerala. “That’s because while religion is important, communal harmony is more important to people here. BJP tries to create tensions, and that doesn’t work here.”

The BJP managed to gain one seat for the first time in Kerala, but that isn’t being attributed to its ideological success or expansion of homogenization project but to the winning candidate’s personal appeal. Suresh Gopi, the winning candidate, is a popular movie star.

In many states in the Hindi belt and even in the south, the BJP did well. The upper castes and urban voters are standing firmly behind Modi. Kumar, the journalist, said it would be foolhardy to dismiss Modi—and the bigger Hindutva, or Hindu nationalist, forces backing him—just yet. He said Hindutva hasn’t lost and only faced a setback. “The BJP was trying to dominate caste politics with Hindutva,” he said, “but the election result shows that dominance has cracked.” However, he added, “it has only cracked—the ideology still has wide-scale acceptance.”

Everyone else Foreign Policy spoke to concurred but added that Hindus are far too diverse to be homogenized. Manoharan said the results exposed the weakness of the homogenization agenda and its faulty premise. “Hindutva’s aim for homogeneity is confounded precisely by a structural feature of the religion-culture it seeks to defend—caste,” he said.

[beardedmrbean]

An 18-year-old schoolboy was shot and killed by so-called cow protection vigilantes in India after they chased him for miles over suspicion of being involved in cattle smuggling.

The incident took place in Faridabad in the northern Indian state of Haryana on 23 August, days after a migrant worker was beaten to death by another cow vigilante group in the state’s Charkhi Dadri district over suspicion of consuming beef.

Cows are considered sacred and worshipped by many Hindus, the religion that makes up a large majority of India’s population. Cow vigilante groups are accused of enforcing, often violently, Indian laws banning cattle slaughter and beef consumption.

Scores of cow “protectors” in recent years have been accused of using violence to carry out extra-judicial activities, often finding themselves at odds with law enforcement. Yet their activities have also received a degree of public support from those who believe they are defending the Hindu faith. Their activities have seen an increase since prime minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014 as the head of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The vigilantes were allegedly searching for cattle smugglers when they chased Aryan Mishra’s car for about 18 miles (30km) before opening fire, reported NDTV.

Five members of the group have been arrested in connection with the incident. The accused, identified as Anil Kaushik, Varun, Krishna, Adesh, and Saurabh, claimed they had received information that smugglers were active in the area in large Renault Duster and Toyota Fortuner cars, hoping to pick up cattle.

Mishra and his friends, Harshit and Shanky, were in a Renault Duster car when they were stopped by the vigilantes. The occupants of the car are said to have had a prior dispute with another individual, mistook the vigilantes for their rivals and sped away.

The vigilantes, convinced that the occupants were cattle smugglers, chased the car and opened fire, hitting Mishra. When the car finally stopped, the attackers fired another shot into Mishra’s chest, resulting in his death, reported India Today.

According to the police, the suspects initially attempted to mislead the investigators, saying they threw the weapon into a canal. However, it was later recovered from Kaushik’s home, police said. The arrested men are currently in police custody, and further investigation is underway.

The killing of Mishra comes on the heels of another brutal incident in Haryana where Sabir Malik, a migrant worker from West Bengal, was beaten to death by a group of cow vigilantes on 27 August on suspicion of consuming beef. Authorities arrested seven individuals, including two minors, in connection with Malik’s death, as the state grappled with the rising tide of such crimes.

Hardline Hindu groups have been demanding a complete ban on cow slaughter across India, with several states enacting strict laws against it. Critics say that these laws have emboldened the vigilantes, leading to an increase in attacks on those accused of killing cows for meat or leather – predominantly people from the minority Muslim community and those on the lower rungs of India’s ancient caste system.

Last week, a 55-year-old woman died, reportedly of a panic attack, after police raided her home in Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh state to see if she was storing beef. In the end their searches showed she wasn’t.

Uttar Pradesh enforces strict laws against cow slaughter, with violations punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to Rs500,000 (£4,500). The state’s anti-cow slaughter law not only bans the animal’s killing, but also the sale and transport of beef.

In the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh, authorities bulldozed the homes of 11 people in June after allegedly finding beef in their refrigerators and cows in their backyards. Police later claimed that the homes were demolished for being illegally built on government land, without providing evidence.

In September last year, police arrested Mohit Yadav, better known by his alias Monu Manesar, after he was accused of inciting deadly religious violence in the north Indian state of Haryana in July.

The head of a unit set up by a hardline Hindu group to protect cows, he was detained for allegedly uploading “objectionable and inflammatory” posts in the run-up to religion violence in Nuh in which at least six people were killed and several injured. He was also accused in the murder of two Muslim men in the neighbouring state of Rajasthan.

In April last year, four members of the right-wing group All India Hindu Mahasabha were arrested in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly slaughtering cows to falsely implicate Muslim men. The arrests were made after police uncovered the group’s involvement in filing a false complaint against four Muslim men for alleged cow slaughter.

In March 2023, police in Bihar arrested three men in connection with the death of a Muslim man, Naseem Qureshi, who was attacked because he was suspected of carrying beef.

On 1 September, an elderly Muslim man was assaulted by his co-passengers on a moving train in Maharashtra’s Nashik district on suspicion of carrying beef. Police arrested three men allegedly involved in the incident after a video of the assault went viral on social media.

The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. We have grown a huge, global readership of independently minded individuals, who value our trusted voice and commitment to positive change. Our mission, making change happen, has never been as important as it is today.

[head-post]

Indian police use water cannons, tear gas on rape case protesters

Indian police fired tear gas and water cannons on Tuesday as they clashed with thousands of protesters demanding justice for a doctor who was raped and murdered in Kolkata this month, Indian media reported.

The discovery of the bloodied body of the 31-year-old doctor at a government hospital in the eastern city has sparked anger across the country over the chronic problem of violence against women. Protests began immediately after the tragedy and were joined by thousands of health workers across the country. Demonstrators also trashed the emergency room at the hospital where the victim worked, demanding protection and a fair investigation.

The protesters are demanding the resignation of state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Representatives of medical unions and also student organisations are participating in the demonstration. They shouted slogans and clashed with police who wielded batons in an attempt to disperse the crowd.

College student Namita Ghosh, who took part in the protest, told AFP that the crowd had intended to “peacefully protest” before the baton attack.

At least 100 protesters “have been arrested on charges of creating violence,” a senior police official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Protesters demand protection

Numerous protests in Kolkata sparked by the crime turned into unruly political rallies, with police clashing with demonstrators from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) angered by the state government.

Doctors’ associations in many cities went on strike in the wake of the killing and stopped non-essential services, but medics have since returned to work. One person has been detained in connection with the offence.

The heinous nature of the attack has prompted comparisons with the horrific gang rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in Delhi in 2012.

The incident sparked widespread outrage in a country where sexual violence against women is endemic, with an average of about 90 rapes a day in 2022 in a country of 1.4 billion people.

Read more HERE

[warningsine]

https://www.reuters.com/world/india/protesters-block-train-tracks-buses-eastern-india-2024-08-28/

KOLKATA, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters blocked train tracks, halted buses and shouted slogans in India's state of West Bengal on Wednesday in the latest demonstration following the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in opposition in the eastern state, called for a 12-hour state-wide protest strike after police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse a march on Tuesday.

Most of Wednesday's protesters were BJP workers, who also forced shops to shut, as authorities braced for more disruptions, with one police official saying 5,000 officers had been deployed to quell any violence.

Thousands of doctors, many of them on strike since the Aug. 9 crime was discovered, marched in the state's capital of Kolkata, demanding justice for the victim and better workplace safety for doctors.

"If the state government had powers to make laws, I would have made a law in seven days that would mandate capital punishment in incidents of rape," Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told a rally.

Banerjee, a staunch political foe of Modi who has promised swift justice, appealed to the striking doctors to return to work, expressing sympathy for victims of sexual violence and their families.

Many university students were among Tuesday's protesters, who had called for Banerjee's resignation over her handling of the rape and murder of the 31-year-old doctor in a government-run hospital in Kolkata.

Indian President Droupadi Murmu said she was "dismayed and horrified" by the incident.

"No civilised society can allow daughters and sisters to be subjected to such atrocities," broadcaster CNN News 18 quoted Murmu, a constitutional figurehead, as telling news agency PTI in her first comments on the crime. "Enough is enough."

The nationwide outrage unleashed by the attack was similar to that which followed the 2012 gang-rape of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi, but campaigners said tougher laws had not deterred sexual violence against women.

[absartakespictures]

How social media is being used to build political communities.

Building political communities has benefited greatly from the use of social media. Regardless of where they live, it enables people to connect with others who share their political opinions. Additionally, it makes it simpler for people to band together and support political issues.

Social media is being utilised in a variety of ways to create political communities. Using groups and forums is one popular method. People may organise events, share information, and discuss politics in these groups and forums. For instance, there are Facebook groups for people who support certain political issues as well as groups for fans of each of the main political parties.

Utilising hashtags is just another way that social media is being utilised to create political communities. People may use hashtags to search for and connect with others who are discussing similar political concerns. For instance, the #MeToo hashtag has been utilised to create a community of those who have been the victims of sexual harassment or assault.

Social media is also being used to create political communities by giving political figures and activists a forum to communicate with their followers. Political leaders may mobilise their fans, offer their opinions, and make announcements on social media. Social media may be used by activists to organise protests, gather money, and spread awareness of vital topics.

The development and organisation of political communities has been significantly impacted by social media. It has made it simpler for individuals to interact with political leaders and activists, organise and mobilise around political issues, and connect with those who share their political beliefs.

Here are some concrete instances of how political communities are being formed through the usage of social media:

Social media has been utilised by the Black Lives Matter movement in the US to create a network of activists opposing racial injustice. The campaign spreads awareness of police brutality and violence against Black people using hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter and #SayHerName. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India has amassed a sizable following among young people thanks to social media. The party mobilises its members through social media to propagate its message of Hindu nationalism. The Workers' Party (PT) in Brazil has reached out to its followers in rural regions through social media. The party posts information about its initiatives on social media and also share information about its programs.

Benefits of building political communities on social media

Building political networks on social media has several advantages. First, social media facilitates communication amongst people who hold similar political beliefs. People may feel less alone and more a part of a larger community as a result of this.

Second, social media facilitates the organisation and mobilisation of individuals behind political issues. This is so that individuals may more quickly exchange information, plan activities, and find supporters thanks to social media networks.

Third, social media gives political figures and activists a way to communicate with their followers. This might encourage people to take action and raise public knowledge of political concerns.

Challenges of building political communities on social media

Even while there are numerous advantages, creating political communities on social media has certain drawbacks. The transmission of false information and disinformation via social media is a problem. This can lead to polarisation and conflict within political communities and make it difficult for individuals to determine which information to believe.

The potential for echo chambers in social media is another issue. People in this situation are only given information and viewpoints that support their preexisting ideas. This may cause people to solidify their opinions and become less receptive to novel concepts.

[digitalmarketingsahil]

Narendra Damodardas Modi born 17 September 1950)is an Indian politician who has served as the 14th prime minister of India since May 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Varanasi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation. He is the longest-serving prime minister from outside the Indian National Congress.

Modi was born and raised in Vadnagar in northeastern Gujarat, where he completed his secondary education. He was introduced to the RSS at the age of eight. His account of helping his father sell tea at the Vadnagar railway station has not been reliably corroborated. At age 18, he was married to Jashodaben Modi, whom he abandoned soon after, only publicly acknowledging her four decades later when legally required to do so. Modi became a full-time worker for the RSS in Gujarat in 1971. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he held several positions within the party hierarchy until 2001, rising to the rank of general secretary.[c]

[townpostin]

BJP Leaders Rally Troops for Upcoming Jharkhand Assembly Elections

Jamshedpur meeting sees party bigwigs motivate workers to secure all four seats Bharatiya Janata Party intensifies preparations for Jharkhand assembly polls, focusing on grassroots strengthening and voter outreach. JAMSHEDPUR – BJP’s organizational meeting in Jamshedpur sees top leaders rallying workers to secure victory in all four assembly seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has shifted…

[edutechblog]

Kiran Bedi

Kiran Bedi is a prominent Indian social activist, former tennis player, and retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. She has had a remarkable career in various capacities and has been a trailblazer in many ways. Here are some key points about her life and achievements:

Early Life and Education

Born: June 9, 1949, in Amritsar, Punjab, India.

Education: Bedi earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Government College for Women, Amritsar, a Master of Arts in Political Science from Punjab University, Chandigarh, a Bachelor of Laws from the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, and a Ph.D. in Social Sciences from the Department of Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Career

Indian Police Service (IPS)

Entry into IPS: In 1972, Kiran Bedi became the first woman to join the Indian Police Service.

Notable Positions: She held several important positions, including Traffic Commissioner of New Delhi, Deputy Inspector General of Police in Mizoram, Inspector General of Prisons in Tihar Jail, and Director General at the Bureau of Police Research and Development.

Reforms and Contributions

Tihar Jail Reforms: As Inspector General of Prisons, she implemented extensive reforms at Tihar Jail, focusing on education, vocational training, meditation, and drug rehabilitation for inmates. These efforts earned her national and international recognition.

Traffic Management: Bedi's tenure as Traffic Commissioner of New Delhi was marked by significant improvements in traffic management and road safety.

Post-Retirement Activities

Social Activism: After retiring from the IPS in 2007, Bedi continued her work in social activism. She founded two NGOs: Navjyoti India Foundation in 1988 and India Vision Foundation in 1994. These organizations work on issues related to education, drug abuse, and women’s empowerment.

Political Career: Bedi joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2015 and was the party's Chief Ministerial candidate for the Delhi Assembly elections that year. Although the BJP did not win, Bedi remained an influential figure.

Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry: From May 2016 to February 2021, she served as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, focusing on transparency, public welfare, and governance reforms.

Awards and Recognition

Ramon Magsaysay Award: Bedi received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 1994, recognizing her innovative leadership and reforms in prison management.

Numerous Honors: Throughout her career, Bedi has received several national and international awards for her contributions to policing, social work, and public service.

Personal Life

Family: Kiran Bedi is married to Brij Bedi, a social worker and tennis player. They have a daughter, Saina Bedi, who is an artist.

Kiran Bedi's career is a testament to her dedication to public service, reform, and social activism, making her one of the most respected and influential women in India.

Nick name "Crane Bedi"

[bhaskarlive]

BJP’s ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign begins on August 11

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lined up a series of events, including the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign, from August 11 to August 15 on the occasion of the 78th Independence Day.

As part of the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign, BJP leaders and workers will take out marches across the country from August 11 to August 14.

Source: bhaskarlive.in

[tfgadgets]

Bengal BJP leaders allege female worker was assaulted in ‘post poll violence’

The West Bengal unit of BJP alleged that a female leader of the party’s Minority Morcha was beaten up by TMC supporters in the Cooch Behar district. | Photo Credit: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR The West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged on Friday that a female leader of the party’s Minority Morcha was beaten up by Trinamool Congress supporters in the Cooch Behar district. Leader…

[mariacallous]

India’s Middle East policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is often seen as both successful and perplexing. The governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to which Modi belongs, has a nationalist Hindu-right bent, and yet India’s outreach toward the Persian Gulf region under the current government, particularly to the Arab world, has been a defining success over the past decade.

The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the latter’s audacious strike on Oct. 7, has brought under the spotlight New Delhi’s diplomatic balance between a “new” Middle East and its traditional support for the “old.” The new is defined by New Delhi’s increasingly close proximity to the security ecosystem of the United States, while the old is highlighted by a visible shift away from the idea of nonalignment. India’s participation in new tools of economic diplomacy—such as the I2U2 minilateral between India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United States, as well as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) announced on sidelines of the G-20 summit in September—are evidence of these not-so-subtle changes in posture, led by a burgeoning consensus between New Delhi and Washington to push back against an increasingly aggressive China.

India has been a steadfast supporter of the Palestinian cause since its independence, viewing the crisis through moral support for Palestinian sovereignty and as an anti-colonial struggle. In 1975, India became the first non-Arab state to grant full diplomatic status to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Its then-chief, Yasser Arafat, regularly visited New Delhi. That relationship has become more complicated.

Last month, Modi condemned Hamas terrorism just weeks before the youth wing of Jamaat-e-Islami in the southern state of Kerala, which has close ties with the Gulf, hosted a virtual talk by former Hamas leader Khaled Mashal—showcasing the wide range of views that have long existed within India.

After decades of leaning toward the Arab world, in 1992, then-Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao established full diplomatic ties with Israel. This was done at a time of great change in the across the subcontinent, marked by the country’s economic liberalization following years of crisis. However, Israel was quietly building a strong foundation for this eventuality over the previous decades, supplying India with military aid in two crucial wars that it fought against Pakistan in 1971, before normalization, and then again in 1999, after full diplomatic ties were established.

This normalization forced India to perform a balancing act between three poles of power in the region: the Arab world, Israel, and Iran. All three remain important to Indian interests. The larger Arab world hosts more than 7 million Indian workers, who send back billions of dollars into the Indian economy as remittances; Israel remains a critical technology and defense partner; and Iran’s strategic location helps promote Indian interests in both Central Asia and a now much more volatile Afghanistan under a Taliban regime.

Fast-forward to 2023, and Indian foreign policy toward the region increasingly looks more pragmatic in design, balancing opportunities and challenges in an increasingly fractured global order, or what scholars Michael Kimmage and Hannah Notte have aptly termed “the age of great-power distraction.” As India’s economy rapidly grows, setting its sights on becoming the third largest in the world by 2030, so does its desire for influence. And the Middle East, from a foreign-policy perspective, is where a lot of this influence is being tested.

A recent spat between India and Qatar offers an interesting example for managing inflection points. In October, Doha announced a verdict of death sentences for eight former Indian Navy officials who were working for a private contractor involved with Qatar’s defense modernization. They were charged, according to reports, of spying on behalf of Israel. Since then, New Delhi has responded legally, appealing the Qatari court’s verdict while both countries continue to keep the judicial verdict confidential.

This is not the first time New Delhi has become embroiled in the regional fissures of the Middle East. In 2012 and 2021, Israeli diplomats were targeted in bombings in the capital, and in both cases, India hinted at Iranian involvement and having to delicately manage the situation behind closed doors—effectively telling Iran and Israel not to let their conflict spread to Indian soil.

Today, India is becoming more of an economic stakeholder in the Middle East, and by association, its security postures. This is not just the result of New Delhi’s reoriented foreign policy designs, but also depends on the personal involvement of Modi himself.

In 2017, Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel. Considering his brand of politics, he also visited Ramallah in the West Bank in 2018 to maintain India’s diplomatic consistency. He hosted Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2019 at the height of the Jamal Khashoggi murder scandal, when the Saudis were not welcome in most capitals. And finally, Modi has visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) five times since taking charge in 2015, and is often found referring to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as “brother.”

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Modi has talked to six regional leaders to put India’s position across, from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. The Modi government has attempted to walk a fine line between Israel’s counterterrorism aims against Hamas and the Palestinian humanitarian crisis. Countering terrorism has been an important tool for Modi’s international diplomacy, coming from India’s efforts to isolate Pakistan internationally for its state-sponsored terrorism.

But Indian diplomacy in the Gulf also has another objective: strengthening India’s position on Kashmir, which defines the India-Pakistan conflict, and weakening Islamabad’s case within organizations such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). In February 2019, India’s then-Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj became the first Indian minister to be invited to speak at the organization since 1969, an event hailed as a major victory of Indian diplomacy; Pakistan was represented by an empty chair during Swaraj’s speech.

New Delhi’s other expanding relationship has been with the United States. In Asia, the institutionalization of mechanisms such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue has brought Washington and New Delhi closer than ever before as both look to work together to counter an increasingly erratic China. India’s buy-in with the United States has not been just about the Asian theater, but the Middle East as well, with measures such as the I2U2 and IMEEC taking shape.

However, India’s own domestic politics have often also presented a challenge. In 2022, comments made by a BJP spokesperson against the Prophet Mohammed invoked widespread condemnation by Islamic nations, including those building close partnerships with India. Previously, in private, Anti-Muslim narratives in Indian domestic politics have been an area of discussion between Arab states and New Delhi. During this period, India has also pushed back against reports by the U.S. State Department on what the department described as the country’s deteriorating religious freedoms, criticizing them as “biased.” Despite these differences, strategic cooperation has remained steadfast.

The establishment of I2U2 was a direct result of the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2021. Both Israel and the UAE have been quick to establish a strong economic bilateral relationship since then. The accords have also helped countries such as India to increase economic and political cooperation with greater ease.

It is important to note here that while the I2U2 is seen as an economic cooperation platform, all member states, have taken part in expansive military maneuvers in the region in some shape or form. And this includes India, where all three services of its armed forces, the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, have increased their outreach and participation.

Beyond the I2U2, the announcement of the IMEEC is New Delhi’s latest sign of alignment with U.S. geoeconomic objectives. Already positioned by some as a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the idea is to connect the Middle East with Europe and India through a trade corridor that can rival the centrality of the Suez Canal.

But countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, central to IMEEC, are also members of the Belt and Road Initiative and have interest in developing close partnerships with Beijing. Propaganda outlets of the Chinese Communist Party have already labeled IMEEC as a mere “castle in the air” The European Union, the United States, and India alike have marketed the corridor as the next intracontinental highway for digital and economic connectivity. However, IMEEC is in nascent stages of development, and no blueprint is currently on offer on how it is going to function.

These new economic highways, minilaterals, and reoriented geopolitics are transforming Indian foreign policy from one that has always been risk-averse to one that is willing to be a little more adventurous. Today, India is much closer to the United States than it has been at any point in its independent history.

Between its increasingly West-centric defense and technology shopping list—a historical break away from having a predominantly Soviet-era military ecosystem that continues to rely on Russian know-how even today—and the India-U.S. 2+2 dialogues regularly setting new precedents, it is not that surprising to see India partner with the United States in theaters such as the Middle East, where the Abraham Accords have leveled the playing field in a limited fashion between Israel, the United States, and a part of the Arab world.

Simultaneously, a counterargument against deeper U.S. collaboration from India also comes from the time that India helped the United States with the Iran nuclear deal prior to its unceremonious end in 2018. New Delhi had let go of significant diplomatic access to align with U.S. requirements by ending nearly all oil imports from Iran, which has vast reserves, offers good deals, and is geographically conveniently located. This fed into the then-U.S. policy of strong sanctions against Tehran to push it to negotiate with the U.N. Security Council’s group of permanent members. Experiences such as the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the deal continue to fuel a strong undercurrent of distrust toward Washington in Indian political circles.

India’s own position of upholding its strategic autonomy and self-styled leadership of the global south may find it often at odds with its strategic role in the Middle East as a partner of the United States. One of India’s longest-serving successes in this region has been its embrace of nonalignment. The fact that the I2U2 was almost immediately identified by some observers as the Middle East Quad gave it a texture of being an extension of a core U.S. interest—that of containing China. While India has never officially used such terminology, these portrayals in the media were detrimental to the kind of neutrality that New Delhi still hopes to preserve.

Finally, India’s outlook toward the Middle East is looking beyond the traditional centrality of energy and migration. Today, from the beginning, it wants to be a partner in the region’s post-oil growth designs. Indian diplomats in the region, earlier almost exclusively bogged down with migrant matters, are now tasked to secure foreign direct investments from the large Arab sovereign wealth funds. Modi’s majority government, in power since 2015, has been palatable to Arab monarchs who do not have to navigate a labyrinth of India’s coalition politics looking for fast decision-making, which they are accustomed to.

Whether its own leaders like it or not, India has bought into aspects of future security architectures with its membership of the I2U2 and IMEEC in one of the world’s most flammable regions. This is a bold and commendable posture for an economy that will require significant global input for its challenging future economic goals. It is also palatable for the Middle East to have India as a major energy market to diversify its exports and offset Chinese influence over critical commodities such as oil and gas.

[beardedmrbean]

Patna, India — At least 31 people died and 20 others were hospitalized in serious condition after allegedly drinking tainted liquor sold without authorization in eastern India, a top elected official said Thursday. The deaths occurred Tuesday and Wednesday and the victims belonged to three villages in Saran district of Bihar state where the manufacturing, sale and consumption of liquor are prohibited.   The deaths were reported in a district government-run hospital where the sick were brought by their families for treatment, said Dr. S.D. Sinha, the hospital chief.   Sale and consumption of liquor were prohibited in Bihar state in 2016 after women's groups campaigned against poor workers splurging their meager incomes on drinking.   Police officer Santosh Kumar said several of the 20 hospitalized had lost their eyesight.   Several opposition parties, including the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, held protests Thursday outside the state legislature building to demand the state's liquor ban be scrapped and some monetary compensation provided to the bereaved families.   Sushil Modi, the state BJP leader, said more than 1,000 people have died after drinking tainted liquor since the ban was imposed six years ago. The BJP is in opposition in the state.   Nitish Kumar, the state's top elected official belonging to the socialist party Janata Dal, rejected their demands and said the ban on the sale of liquor was "not my personal wish but a response to the cries of the women of the state."   Three people have been detained for questioning for allegedly selling spiked alcohol in the area, he said. Saran district is nearly 40 miles north of Patna, the Bihar state capital.

Deaths from illegally brewed alcohol are common in India, where illicit liquor is cheap and often spiked with chemicals such as pesticides to increase potency. Illicit liquor has also become a hugely profitable industry across India, where bootleggers pay no taxes and sell enormous quantities of their product to the poor at a cheap rate.   At least 28 people died and 60 others became ill from drinking tainted liquor in the western Indian state of Gujarat earlier this year. Gujarat is another Indian state where the manufacturing, sale and consumption of liquor are prohibited.

In 2020, at least 120 people died after drinking tainted liquor in India's northern Punjab state.

[influencermagazineuk]

India: Election Trends Show Moral Defeat For Modi

By Prime Minister's Office - https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-meeting-with-prime-minister-modi-of-india-9-september-2023, OGL 3, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=137785809 India Election Results 2024 Live: Modi’s BJP May Fall Short of Majority As India counts votes for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition is currently leading. However, early trends suggest the BJP might not secure a majority on its own, with a united opposition led by the Indian National Congress making significant gains. The election, the world's largest democratic exercise, spanned seven phases, beginning on April 19 and concluding on Saturday. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge described the results as a clear mandate against Modi, calling it his "moral and political defeat." Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi, Kharge stated, "This election results are 'janta ka result'… They are clear this mandate is against Modi ji. This is his moral and political defeat." He was joined by party colleagues Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. When asked about the possibility of the INDIA bloc forming a government, Rahul Gandhi responded, “We will hold a meeting with our alliance partners tomorrow. These questions will be raised and answered there. We won't make any statements without asking our alliance partners.” Kharge later took to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to express the party's acceptance of the election results. He wrote in Hindi, “We humbly accept the mandate of the 18th Lok Sabha elections. This is the victory of the people. This is the victory of democracy. This time the people did not give absolute majority to any single party. Especially the ruling party, BJP, had asked for votes in the name of one person-one face. Now, it is clear that this mandate is against Modiji. This is his political and moral defeat.” He further commented on the Congress Party's campaign, emphasizing its positive approach. “The Congress Party's campaign was positive from the beginning to the end. We made issues like inflation, unemployment, the plight of farmers and labourers, and misuse of constitutional institutions central issues. A large number of people joined us and supported us on these issues. The kind of campaign the Prime Minister conducted will be remembered for a long time in history. The public understood the lies that Modiji spread about the Congress manifesto,” Kharge said. Kharge also highlighted the significance of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, during which he met with countless people to listen to their problems and propose solutions. “We named this as 5 Nyay and 25 guarantees. On this basis, we made a guarantee card. Our workers went door to door with it,” Kharge noted. Kharge also criticized the BJP leadership's approach to constitutional institutions. “Another important thing happened because of the BJP leadership's arrogance. They slowly tried to capture all the constitutional institutions through illegal means. Then, they started using them against the opposition party. Those who were subdued were suppressed and brought to their side. Those who were not subdued had their party broken, or else they were put in jail,” he said. As the counting continues and the final results approach, the political landscape in India appears poised for significant changes, reflecting the electorate's shifting sentiments and the effectiveness of the opposition's campaign strategies. Read the full article

[warningsine]

KOLKATA, India (AP) — Police in India fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters demanding the resignation of a top elected official in the country’s east, accusing her of mishandling an investigation into a rape and killing of a resident doctor earlier this month.

The Aug. 9 killing of the 31-year-old physician while on duty at Kolkata city’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital triggered protests across India, focusing on the chronic issue of violence against women in the country. Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal state.

The protesters say the assault highlights the vulnerability of health care workers in hospitals across India.

Protesters from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party tried to break the police cordon and march to the office of Mamta Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress party rules the West Bengal state, and demanded her resignation.

Modi’s party is the main opposition party in West Bengal. Police had banned its rally and blocked the roads.

Police officers wielding batons pushed back the demonstrators and fired tear gas and water cannons. Four student activists were arrested ahead of the rally, police said, accusing them of trying to orchestrate large-scale violence.

India’s top court last week set up a national task force of doctors to make recommendations on the safety of health care workers at the workplace. The Supreme Court said the panel would frame guidelines for the protection of medical professionals and health care workers nationwide.

An autopsy of the killed doctor later confirmed sexual assault, and a police volunteer was detained in connection with the crime. The family of the victim alleged it was a case of a gang rape and more were involved.

In the days since, mounting anger has boiled over into nationwide outrage and stirred protests over violence against women. The protests have also led thousands of doctors and paramedics to walk out of some public hospitals across India and demand a safer working environment. The walkouts have affected thousands of patients across India.

Women in India continue to face rising violence despite tough laws that were implemented following the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in Delhi in 2012.

That attack had inspired lawmakers to order harsher penalties for such crimes and set up fast-track courts dedicated to rape cases. The government also introduced the death penalty for repeat offenders.

[swldx]

BBC 0411 4 Jun 2024

12095Khz 0358 4 JUN 2024 - BBC (UNITED KINGDOM) in ENGLISH from TALATA VOLONONDRY. SINPO = 55444. English, dead carrier (with substantial 50hz hum) s/on @0358z then ID@0359z, a very short break in transmission just before pips and newsday preview (hum goes away but slowly returns, along with audio volume). @0401z World News anchored by Stewart Macintosh. Votes are being counted after hundreds of millions of Indians voted to choose their new government. The world's biggest election was held in seven phases over six weeks with almost a billion people registered to vote. A party or alliance that wins more than 272 seats in the 543-member parliament can form the government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is eyeing a rare third consecutive term for himself and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The US says it has submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council supporting the ceasefire plan outlined by President Biden. The three-phase plan involves an end to the conflict, the release of the hostages and reconstruction of the Palestinian territory. Israel has strong domestic reasons for wanting to take this deal step by step. But Hamas is unlikely to give up its most politically sensitive hostages (women, wounded, elderly) without some kind of guarantee that Israel won’t simply restart the war once they’re home. Millions of Nigerians are without electricity after the national grid was shut down as part of a general strike over the rising cost of living. Many flights have also been cancelled in the country's busiest airport in Lagos, and in the capital, Abuja, with passengers left stranded. Unions are demanding a huge increase in the minimum wage, saying workers cannot survive on the current rate of 30,000 naira (£18; $22) a month. The government is offering to double this but security guard Mallam Magaji Garba tells the BBC that this would not even be enough to buy a 50kg bag of rice, which he needs to feed his family each month. Defeated Mexican opposition candidate Xochitl Galvez complained Monday of "unequal competition" in the country's presidential election, won by the ruling party's Claudia Sheinbaum. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday denied the claim by Chinese state media that Filipino troops stationed at BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal pointed guns at the China Coast Guard (CCG). Chinese broadcaster CCTV reported on Sunday that at least two personnel onboard BRP Sierra Madre pointed guns in the direction of CCG. The AFP rejected the accusation, saying its personnel “acted with the highest level of professionalism, restraint, and discipline.” China's lunar probe lifts-off from Moon with rocks from the far side. Unlike its predecessor, Chang'e-5, which collected samples from the near side of the moon, Chang'e-6 faced the additional challenge of operating without direct communication with ground stations on Earth. @0406z "Newsday" begins. Backyard fence antenna w/MFJ-1020C active antenna (used as a preamplifier/preselector), JRC NRD-535D. 250kW, beamAz 315°, bearing 63°. Received at Plymouth, MN, United States, 15359KM from transmitter at Talata Volonondry. Local time: 2258.