Global Indian News
With Pakistan dilly-dallying on the trial of the 26/11 accused, here is a disclosure that should prod Islamabad to stop hiding behind legal subterfuge and spur the justice for victims …
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In Maputo, being Indian is not an oddity – it’s not just 20,000 persons of Indian origin living in this picturesque Lusophone country that make you feel at home, but a sense of deep cultural connections that hark back centuries, predating Vasco da Gama’s voyages. It does not matter if you don’t understand a word of Portuguese; the sensuous lilts of music, spicy food and rich emotions draw you in. And it’s a relationship that is literally shining in the sun — drive around 20 miles away from Maputo to the India-assisted Solar Photovoltaic Manufacturing Plant set up in Matola Rio Administrative Post, and you get a sense of what’s bringing the Gujarat-educated Mozambique President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi to India on a five-day visit (starting August 4).
The solar panel plant, which was built with India’s Line of Credit and technical assistance over two years ago, is now literally bringing clean light into the lives of thousands of people in villages, and also generating new employment opportunities. “The solar panel factory represents an important milestone on the development of our country,” said Castro José Elias, Provincial Director for Maputo.
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In a historic step, the Indian government signed a peace pact with the chief rebel group of Nagaland NSCN (IM), bringing an end to India’s longest insurgency after six decades. The pact, which marks the closure of nearly two decades of peace talks, was signed by chief Indian interlocutor N. Ravi and T. Muivah, chairman of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) at 7 Race Course Road, the official residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Besides Mr Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and 19 Naga leaders from various organizations were present at the historic signing ceremony. Mr Modi hailed the accord, saying “it is a lesson and an inspiration in our troubled world.”
“We will not only try to heal wounds and resolve problems, but also be your partner as you restore your pride and prestige,” he stressed.
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The warmth and bonhomie seen between the leaders of India and Pakistan in the Russian city of Ufa barely three weeks ago seem to be rapidly evaporating into thin air. The terror attack on a police station in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, blamed on Pakistan-based militants, and frequent ceasefire violations, along with mutual recriminations, have vitiated atmosphere between the two compulsively suspicious neighbours. But the redeeming news, amid the usual charges and counter-charges, is that the meeting between the National Security Advisers (NSAs) – the principle outcome of the Ufa meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif on July 10 – hasn’t been derailed.
In fact, India has proposed August 23-24 as dates for the meeting of NSAs, which is expected to focus on terror-related issues, said sources in Delhi. Confirming it, Pakistan’s NSA Sartaj Aziz said in Islamabad that a proposal for the National Security Advisors meeting towards the end of August has been received by Islamabad. Pakistan has not yet confirmed the meeting and neither has any agenda for the meeting been set.
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The pace and scale of expansion of building seven new islets by China has set the alarm bells ringing in the region. Recent reports show how China has been piling sands onto the reefs for the past one year and made progress by creating seven new islets.
In June, China had announced that its plan to create islands would soon be completed. China has built port facilities, military buildings and an airstrip on the islands, according to a report in New York Times. The new islands give China access to harness the portion of seas for its own use that have been out of reach in the past. This move of China has also raised concerns about the marine ecosystem which is getting damaged due to the building of these islands by China.
The Fiery Cross Reef, which is one of the most strategically important island to China, was acquired by Beijing after a confrontation with Vietnam in 1988. Twenty seven years later, this has become the most important of the seven newly created positions of China in the South China Sea. The rise in number of troops in Fiery Cross is said to have gained momentum in the recent past and the island has been equipped with an airstrip estimated to be around 3300 metres that can accommodate a wide range of Chinese combat and transport planes, along with a harbour big enough to accommodate the largest of the ships in China.
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It was literally freedom at midnight. Ending nearly seven decades of living in limbo and darkness of statelessness, it was time for thousands of people living on tiny islands of land to celebrate as India and Bangladesh swapped enclaves, bringing to an end the 68-year-old boundary dispute.
The formal swapping of enclaves promises to usher in a new life of hope and dignity for around 51,000 people living in 162 enclaves across both countries. Both countries have exchanged 162 enclaves, with 51 from the Indian side and 111 from the Bangladesh side. It is estimated that there are more than 37,000 people in the Indian enclaves inside Bangladesh and more than 14,000 people in Bangladeshi enclaves in India. The people in these enclaves have been deprived of education, healthcare, citizenship, electricity. In terms of the area to be exchanged between both countries as per the agreement is 17,160.63 acres returned to Bangladesh and 2267.68 acres returned to India.
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In an early success in the hostage crisis, two of the four Indian teachers kidnapped in Libya by Islamic State militants have been freed and brought back safely to the University of Sirte.
The released Indians included Laxmikant and Vijay Kumar, residents of Karnataka.
“Four Indians abducted in Libya – I am happy we have been able to secure the release of Lakshmikant and Vijay Kumar. Trying for other two,” India’s foreign minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted.
“Welcome news from Libya,” tweeted Vikas Swarup, the official spokesman of the ministry of external affairs.
“I hope that the other two are also released soon,” said Vijaylakshmi, whose brother Lakshmikanth was rescued.
The two Indians who continue to be in captivity are both residents of Andhra Pradesh — Gopikrishna Tiruveedula, a professor in computer science, and his colleague Balram.
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More than a year after 39 Indians were kidnapped in Iraq by ISIS militants, four Indians have now been kidnapped in Libya. The barbaric ISIS is said to have kidnapped …
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It’s a transformational moment in the history of India-China relations, marked by an infusion of fresh energy, dynamism and creativity in the way the two neighbours engage with each other. This is the first time the leaders of the two Asian giants have visited each other’s country within nine months, signalling their resolve to proactively cooperate in fashioning an emerging Asian century. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s May 14-16 visit to three cities in China – Xian, Beijing and Shanghai – was unique in many ways and cohered multiple strands of variegated relationship between the two Asian juggernauts that comprise one-third of the world’s population and boast of a collective GDP of over $12 trillion.
Prime Minister Modi’s visit to China consolidated the momentum generated by President Xi Jinping’s maiden visit to India in September 2014. Put together, these twin visits, and initiatives taken during the tenure of the previous government in Delhi, crystallize the emerging alphabet of India-China relations: A for Asia; B for Business; C for Culture; and D for Diplomacy and Development. This new vocabulary and semantics is set to script afresh new pathways of cooperation between the two neighbours, which are often portrayed as rivals and competitors in the Asian hemisphere, but are incrementally forging an ambitious and all-encompassing cooperative partnership straddling diverse areas.
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It’s a disclosure that’s going to test the so-called Ufa spirit, which essentially means not letting terror attacks derail the course of dialogue to resolve issues between India and Pakistan. In a matter-of-fact manner, India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the parliament on July 30 that the terrorists who targeted Gurdaspur came from Pakistan, and warned of “a befitting reply”.
It’s not clear what form this befitting reply take, but for now going by the latest signals and messaging, New Delhi seems to have taken a measured view not to allow the Gurdaspur incident to deflect it from the planned meeting of the National Security Advisers of the two countries. The NSA-level meeting, which will focus on terror-related issues, was the key outcome of the July 11 meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in the Russian city of Ufa.
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