Author: India Writes Network

Why US & Israel are quitting UNESCO

- by India Writes Network

Citing anti-Israel bias, mounting arrears and a need for fundamental reforms, the Unites States has decided to quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) by end of this year, marking yet another withdrawal from world organisations by the Trump administration.

US spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement: “This decision was not taken lightly, and reflects US concerns with mounting arrears at UNESCO, the need for fundamental reform in the organisation, and continuing anti-Israel bias at UNESCO.” The US will, however, remain engaged with the organisation it helped set up the UNESCO in 1945 as a non-member observer state.

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Bonding over Sanskrit, India, Lithuania script new horizons

- by India Writes Network

They are located thousands of miles away, but India and the southernmost Baltic state of Lithuania find it easy to connect culturally and do business, with the ancient Sanskrit language serving as an enduring bond between the two nations.
There are some 10,000 Sanskrit words in Lithuanian language, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius told his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj during his recent visit to New Delhi. Mrs Swaraj, who has deftly woven core values of Indian culture in her diplomatic outreach, was delighted as the minister gifted her a dictionary of 108 common Sanskrit and Lithuanian words, called the “Sanskrit-Lithuanian Mala.”
Sanskrit and the Lithuanian language, as the oldest surviving languages, share a unique phonetic and grammatical bond. Last year, at the Make in India Week in Mumbai, Lithuania had presented Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a specially published small Sanskrit-Lithuanian dictionary.
It’s not just Sanskrit and yoga that are scripting a new phase in India-Lithuania relationship. Building on spiritual bonds, India and Lithuania, a picturesque country known as land of wood and water, are now stepping up their efforts to fashion a contemporary multi-faceted relationship, which was reflected during the Lithuanian foreign minister’s Oct 8-11 visit to India.

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International Day of Girl Child: Long way to go for India

- by India Writes Network

In a landmark verdict on October 11, upholding the rights of over 20 million child brides of India, the Supreme Court ruled that sex with a minor wife, in the age group of 15 to 18, would be considered as rape and will be treated as a criminal offence. The court order came even as India along with the rest of the world commemorated the International Girl Child Day around the theme of ‘The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030’ to celebrate and empower girl children around the world.

According to a United Nations Population Fund report last year, India accounts for a third of the world’s child brides. About 47 per cent of girls in India are married before they turn 18. Though the trend of child marriages has been declining, India still has a long way to go to eradicate the menace completely. The latest Supreme Court order is a major milestone towards achieving that goal.

As part of United Nation’s international day to create greater awareness on the issues impacting girl children around the world and to promote steps for their empowerment, several countries have undertaken major programmes to highlight and support girl children and to end gender discrimination.

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Namaste, Ni Hao! Sitharaman’s charm offensive signals improving India-China ties

- by India Writes Network

Namaste, Ni Hao! It’s time for bonhomie and friendly gestures between India and China, who are trying to put the bitterness of the Doklam standoff behind. India’s Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s visit to Nathu La in Sikkim and her informal interaction with the Chinese troops across the border has been hailed in China as a warming signal for better India-China relations.

A video clip showing Ms. Sitharaman teaching the meaning of ‘namaste’ to the People’s Liberation Army soldiers has gone viral with several Chinese media groups sharing it widely as a positive gesture from the Indian side. “Do you know what ‘Namaste’ means?,” Mrs Sitharaman is seen asking in the clip to which one Chinese soldier responds saying: “Namaste means nice to meet you” before greeting her with a “Ni hao” in Chinese. Soon after the exchange of greetings, Ms. Sitharaman tweeted saying, “Acknowledged a row of Chinese soldiers from across the fence who were taking pictures on my reaching Nathu La.” Nathu La border post is around 30 km from Doklam where the two countries were engaged in a prolonged 73-day standoff.

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World leaders hail Nobel Peace Prize for ICAN

- by India Writes Network

Amid rising tensions of a nuclear threat from North Korea and the risks around the Iran nuclear deal, world leaders and peace activists have hailed the Nobel Peace Prize for the Geneva-based anti-nuclear advocacy group International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).
The recognition follows the organisation’s decade long work which led to the recent signing of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

“The organisation is receiving the award for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement. “Through binding international agreements, the international community has previously adopted prohibitions against land mines, cluster munitions and biological and chemical weapons. Nuclear weapons are even more destructive, but have not yet been made the object of a similar international legal prohibition,” said Nobel Committee chairman Berit Reiss-Andersen announcing the prize. The UN treaty adopted in July has the support of 122 countries, which also includes Iran. However, major nuclear powers like the United States and Russia have stayed away from it.

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