India and the World

348 Indian nationals evacuated from war-torn Yemen

- by India Writes Network

As the Gulf country descended deeper into violence and anarchy, India evacuated 348 Indian nationals from the war-torn Yemen. They are being taken to Djibouti across the red sea on the horn of Africa, where the Indian Air Force is waiting to fly them home.

INS Sumitra, India’s major petrol vessel, was deployed to rescue Indian nationals after New Delhi got permission to dock its ship at Aden Harbor in Yemen, and evacuate Indians who were stranded in the port city. The Indian government has launched a massive operation through sea and air to bring back around 4,000 citizens stuck in different part of war-ridden Yemen.

The Indian Navy ship departed from Yemen to Djibouti with 348 Indian nationals on March 31 night. They have reached Djibouti on April 1 morning, from where they will be airlifted to India.

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Pakistan wakes up, says India’s growth crucial for SAARC’s success

- by India Writes Network

Signalling a turnaround in Islamabad’s attitude towards the India story, Pakistan’s High Commissioner Abdul Basit has underscored that India should continue to achieve higher growth rate and termed the country a major driving force in the success of entire South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries.

“If India rises, confidence of the entire region rises. We in South Asia do believe that India does have a wherewithal and resolves to step to the plate and ensure that it achieves its economic goals, because if India rises we are confident the entire region will rise with India,” said Mr Basit at a meeting organized by industry body ASSOCHAM in New Delhi on March 30.

The envoy also stressed on the importance of creating a level playing field among the members of SAARC, and said that economic development shouldn’t be muted in the political noise.

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Flood in Kashmir again, Modi govt. springs into action

- by India Writes Network

Before Jammu and Kashmir could fully recover from the disastrous flood of September last year, the valley woke up to another nightmare due to the incessant rain, which has created havoc in the state.

The unseasonal heavy rain in the most part of Kashmir destroyed homes, crops and raised fears of flash- flood in the state. Hundreds of people fled their homes to safer places as the main rivers started to swell. People in the state witnessed continuous power cuts, water logging and landslides, bringing back the dreadful memory of the flood last year. The weather department has forecasted torrential rain in coming week.

According to the J & K government officials, water level of Jhelum River has passed the danger level at 22.4 feet and 18.8 feet at Sangam in South Kashmir and Ram Munshi Bah Srinagar city respectively. If the water level crosses 23-feet mark, state will have to undertake massive rescue operations to evacuate people stranded in areas adjoining the river.

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Israeli Elections: Process, outcomes and what lies ahead

- by India Writes Network

The campaign slogans showed a stark divide. Likud’s “It’s us or them” and Zionist Union’s “It’s us or him”, made the campaign personal and, as several media outlets called it, a referendum on Netanyahu’s leadership. He has been in power since 2009, and the economy worsened and the peace process stalled. However, Bibi’s last-minute acrimonious campaign for right wing votes seems to have paid off.
By these elections, Israelis have shown that homeland security remains central. The peace process seems to be stalled yet again. Soon after the election results, PA official Erekat said that in light of Mr Netanyahu’s statements, it was clear that “there is no partner on the Israeli side”.
For India, the election results mean business as usual. The bilateral relations have been on an upsurge since the NDA government took over, which looks forward to buttressing ties on homeland security, defence (Israel is the third largest arms supplier) and agriculture. Israel has a robust high-technology agriculture research and implementation programme, especially suited to dry land agriculture (majority of Indian agriculture remains drought/ desertification prone). Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited Israel last year after the warm exchanges between Mr Netanyahu and Mr Modi on sidelines of the UNGA meet in Washington last year.

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Bharat Ratna Vajpayee: Rejoicing across the political divide

- by India Writes Network

It’s rarely that the president of India drives down to confer honours, but Atal Bihari Vajpayee is in a league of his own.
In a departure from protocol, President Pranab Mukherjee travelled to Mr Vajpayee’s residence at Krishna Menon Marg in Lutyen’s Delhi and presented India’s highest civilian award to the three-time prime minister of India, a living legend and the charismatic politician-statesman who towers above ideologies and partisan agendas.
A towering political personality, Mr Vajpayee, known for his dazzling oratory, formidable diplomatic skills, and political acumen, successfully led the first non-Congress government for a full five-year term. He headed the first NDA government as the 11th Prime Minister of India, first for 13 days in 1996, second time for 13 months from 1998-mid 1999, and then from 1999 to 2004.
For once, ideological and partisan bickering was out; there was rejoicing across the spectrum for the conferral of the honour on the leader-statesman who is fondly esteemed by his admirers as ‘Swadeshi Nehru.’
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who sparred with Vajpayee and his party many a time, hailed Bharat Ratna for Vajpayee, saying it is a “fitting recognition” to his wisdom, statesmanship and deep commitment to national interest.

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