Indian Government: We're Sticking with Russia | DW News

Feb 17, 2024 | ndia is standing by its close relationship with Russia - refusing to join the widespread condemnation of the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Speaking to DW at the Munich Security Conference, BJP National Spokesman Jaiveer Shergill said India is “on the side of peace.” With Germany and France signing pledges to keep providing Ukraine with weapons, Shergill urged Europe to consider “what would it take to stop the war?” Shergill addressed the challenge facing India from China, saying “the era of one single power domination is long gone.”

Canada Sees Drop in Citizen Applications from Permanent Residents | BBC News

Feb 7, 2024 | Canada has been a magnet for immigrants for decades, but recently the number of permanent residents applying for citizenship has been dropping. Thousands emigrate from India to Canada every year, with the Punjab community making up one of the country’s biggest diasporas, but some are now choosing to return to their home country.

Being Gay and Out in Mumbai - True Story Documentary Channel

Jan 8, 2022 | Under British colonial rule in 1860, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalized any sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex, stigmatizing them as “against the order of nature”.

On 2nd July 2009 the Delhi High Court passed a landmark judgment repealing this clause, thus fulfilling the most basic demand of the Indian LGBTQ community, which had been fighting this law for the past 10 years.

The film documents the diverse lives of three members of Mumbai’s LGBT community, Beena, Pallav and Abheena, who travel through the city heading to the celebrations for the first anniversary of the historic verdict.

Through the personal stories and struggles of the three protagonists, the film explores the reality of living a queer identity in today’s India, between tradition and change.

Out in Mumbai is the story of their journey towards freedom.

Why India's Fair Skin Business Is Booming

Jan 20, 2020 | India is home to Bollywood, the world's most prolific movie industry. For those who dream of stardom, landing a leading role may depend on the color of your skin.

India's preference for fair skin has given rise to a skin-lightening industry worth nearly $500 million dollars.

VICE's Gianna Toboni heads to Mumbai to find out how this cultural bias is fueling the booming business of fairer skin.

India’s Obesity Time Bomb

Nov 3, 2023 | Almost 1 in 4 adults is considered overweight or obese in India. As junk food giants push into developing nations with weaker public health awareness, campaigners are calling for tougher regulation.

India Is special for Israel and Jews | #shorts

Jews never faced persecution there.

How Same-sex Unions Are Rooted in Indian Tradition

Indian LGBTQ+ activists and couples were hoping for a positive verdict from the Supreme Court | RAHUL BAXI
BBC: On Tuesday, India's Supreme Court refused to legalise same-sex marriage, disappointing millions of LGBTQ+ couples and activists. While these unions may still not have legal sanction in India, they were far from rare even centuries ago, experts say.

When author and activist Ruth Vanita attended and taught at the Delhi University - from the 1970s to 1996 - "same-sex love was almost never mentioned in the academy".

Around the same time, she was active in the women's movement, and found that a "similar silence prevailed then in feminist politics as well, both left-wing and right-wing".

"Many of the leading activists in women's groups were lesbians, but they never mentioned or discussed this in activist forums," Prof Vanita, who now teaches at University of Montana, wrote in a 2004 essay.

Fourteen years later, in a historic decision, India's Supreme Court ruled that gay sex was no longer a criminal offence, overturning a 2013 judgement that upheld a colonial-era law - known as section 377 - under which gay sex was categorised as an "unnatural offence".

While some in India voiced concerns that the repeal of the colonial-era law was driving the country toward the adoption of Western ideals of liberalism, Prof Vanita's argument was that history actually demonstrates the contrary. » | Soutik Biswas, India correspondent | Wednesday, October 18, 2023

India Supreme Court declines to legalise same-sex marriage: India's Supreme Court has declined to legalise same-sex unions, dashing the hopes of millions of LGBTQ+ people seeking marriage equality. »

Canada Asks India to Cooperate in Murder Probe

Sep 22, 2023 | Canada's Prime Minister says the murder of a Canadian Sikh leader must be taken seriously.

Justin Trudeau is calling on the Indian government to cooperate. He says Canada has evidence that India was involved in the killing, but that he will not make it public. New Delhi denies the accusation and has suspended visas for Canadians. Both sides have expelled each other's diplomats.

Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi reports from Vancouver, Canada.

India Suspends Visas for Canadians as Row Escalates

BBC: India has suspended visa services for Canadian citizens amid an escalating row over the killing of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil.

Visa service provider BLS posted a message from India's mission blaming "operational reasons" for the decision.

Tensions flared this week after Canada said it was investigating "credible allegations" linking India with the murder of the separatist leader.

India angrily rejected the allegation calling it "absurd".

Analysts say relations between the countries, which have been strained for months, are now at an all-time low.

The message about the suspension of visas was first posted on the BLS website on Thursday.

"Important notice from Indian Mission: Due to operational reasons, with effect from 21 September 2023, Indian visa services have been suspended till further notice," it read. » | Meryl Sebastian, BBC News, Cochin | Thursday, September 21, 2023

Nijjar Killing Accusation No Surprise to Surrey, B.C., Temple Members

Sep 19, 2023 | Members of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, B.C., have for months been accusing the Indian government of killing Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Watch The National live on YouTube Sunday-Friday at 9 p.m. ET

Related.

Canada Links Indian Government to Sikh Leader's Murder

Sep 19, 2023 | Canada says it is investigating credible evidence that the Indian government was linked to the killing of a prominent Canadian Sikh activist in British Columbia in June. India has rejected the allegations made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as absurd. But Canada has already expelled an Indian diplomat, while the investigation is still under way. Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi reports from Ontario, Canada.

Related.

Justin Trudeau Accuses India of a Killing on Canadian Soil

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Canadian leader said agents of India had assassinated a Sikh community leader in British Columbia in June. India called the accusation “absurd.”


Justin Trudeau said it was “unacceptable,” and the Canadian foreign minister said Ottawa had expelled a top Indian diplomat. | Blair Gable/Reuters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada said on Monday that “agents of the government of India” had carried out the assassination of a Sikh community leader in British Columbia in June, an explosive allegation that is likely to further sour relations between the two nations.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr. Trudeau said that he had raised India’s involvement in the shooting of the Sikh leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, directly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Group of 20 summit meeting earlier this month “in no uncertain terms.” He said the allegation was based on intelligence gathered by the Canadian government.

“Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Mr. Trudeau told lawmakers. He said Canada would pressure India to cooperate with the investigation into the killing of Mr. Nijjar, who advocated Sikh separatism.

Mélanie Joly, the foreign minister, later announced that Canada had expelled an Indian diplomat whom she described as the head of India’s intelligence agency in Canada. » | Ian Austen and Vjosa Isai, Ian Austen reported from Ottawa, and Vjosa Isai from Toronto. | Monday, September 18, 2023

Biden Praises India's Modi and Saudi Arabia's MBS at G20 Summit

Sep 9, 2023 | President Biden speaks at a G20 Summit panel on the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Receives Ceremonial Reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan

Sep 11, 2023 | Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud arrived at Rashtrapati Bhavan. He was welcomed by President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince MBS received a Guard of Honour from the Indian Tri-Services. On September 09, Al Saud landed in India for the G20 Leaders’ Summit.

Brexit Means Britain Can ‘Attach’ Itself to India’s Booming Economy, Says Rishi Sunak

THE TELEGRAPH: Prime Minister says UK's newly won freedom to strike trade deals with countries such as India was one of the reasons he backed leaving EU

Mr Sunak and Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, met at the G20 summit in New Delhi CREDIT: Dan Kitwood/PA
Brexit means Britain can “attach” itself to India’s booming economy and benefit from its success, Rishi Sunak has said.

Speaking on his first visit to the country as Prime Minister, Mr Sunak said that Britain’s newly won freedom to strike trade deals with countries such as India was one of the reasons he backed leaving the EU.

India’s success as the fastest-growing economy in the world now presents an “exciting opportunity for the UK”.

Mr Sunak also said that he had found it “inspiring” to see India’s focus on training children in maths science and engineering, suggesting that Britain could learn from the country’s example.

The Prime Minister’s remarks came as Britain seeks to close a trade deal with India, amid disagreements on issues such as alcohol tariffs and UK demands for curbs on the production of cheap generic drugs. » | Edward Malnick, Sunday Political Editor, in New Delhi | Saturday, September 9, 2023

The truth will out! So Sunak wants us to go cap in hand to India – the country we once ruled over! This is indeed a reversal of fortunes! The Raj is being turned upside down! Great good fortune for india and the Indians, not, perhaps, so good for the United Kingdom or its citizens subjects. Is this what you get when the governance of your country is handed over to people who have shallow roots in your country? For those of us whose families can be traced back many generations, we feel far more attached to the European continent. With all due respect, we are Europeans; we are not Indians. Successive governments have allowed hitherto alien religions and cultures to grow and proliferate in our once hallowed, united nation; and in so doing, have diluted the nation's European character and identity.

It is too much to expect a person of Indian heritage to understand what it means to be European. No more than a Brit can truly understand what it means to be an American.

Truth to tell, I had a sneaking suspicion that Sunak would want to draw this country closer to India. Why? Because Sunak's commitment to Brexit made no sense otherwise. A man as well-educated and well-versed in matters of economics and commerce as Sunak so obviously is would not otherwise be in favour of his country committing economic suicide by walking away from the largest single market in the world - The Single Market. Could one, perhaps, speak of an agenda here? A secret agenda that has been shown the light of day, at last?

Well, I have news for Sunak... I—along with millions of other Brits—am a dyed-in-the-wool European. And as dilute as my commitment to Christianity can sometimes appear, I am a Christian, and a proud Christian. And Christianity is the religion and heritage of Europe, however dilute it might sometimes appear to outsiders. We Brits are not Muslims and we are certainly not Hindus.

However much the Indian economy is booming, India is no role model for us Brits. We need no caste system and we need not come under Hindi raj or subservience either.

The Tories have turfed out European workers whom we so desperately need only now to have to replace them with workers from the Indian sub-continent, Asia and Africa. What is this government trying to do to the indigenous population of this once proud nation?

I am not against people from any culture, nation, or continent; but I DO want to protect my own kind. This cannot be done if we are going to swamp the country with all manner of alien religions and cultures. Multiculuralism has its limits!

To repeat Margaret Thatcher's now famous words: No! No! No!

You, Mr Sunak, clearly don't know it, still less understand it; but we, Sir, are Europeans, not Asians! Our place is in Europe, in the Europeaan Union, to be precise. Our place is at their top table, not at the top table in new Delhi! – © Mark Alexander

‘India Is on the Moon’: Lander’s Success Moves Nation to Next Space Chapter

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Chandrayaan-3 mission makes India the first country to reach the lunar south polar region in one piece and adds to the achievements of the country’s homegrown space program.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission makes India the first country to reach the lunar south polar region in one piece and adds to the achievements of the country’s homegrown space program.

Two visitors from India — a lander named Vikram and a rover named Pragyan — landed in the southern polar region of the moon on Wednesday. The two robots, from a mission named Chandrayaan-3, make India the first country to ever reach this part of the lunar surface in one piece — and only the fourth country ever to land on the moon.

“We have achieved soft landing on the moon,” S. Somanath, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, said after a roar ripped through the ISRO compound just past 6 p.m. local time. “India is on the moon.” » | Hari Kumar, Alex Travelli, Mujib Mashal and Kenneth Chang | Hari Kumar and Alex Travelli reported from Bengaluru, India, near the Chandrayaan-3 mission control. | Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Heavy Rainfall and Flooding in India's Himachal Pradesh

Read the short comment here.

India Heatwave: 96 People Dead Reportedly from Heat-aggravated Conditions

THE GUARDIAN: Questions raised about death toll after more than half of the fatalities reported in a single district in Uttar Pradesh

At least 96 people are reported to have died from heat-aggravated conditions during a blistering heatwave across two of India’s most populous states over the past several days, although questions have been raised after more than half of the deaths were reported in a single district.

The deaths happened in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the east, where 45C (113F) temperatures were recorded over the past few days, coupled with humidity. » | Amrit Dhillon in Delhi, and agencies | Monday, June 19, 2023

India Train Crash Investigation Begins - BBC News

Jun 4, 2023 | Investigations have been launched to determine the cause of a deadly train crash involving three trains in India. At least 288 people were killed and more than 800 injured in Friday's incident in Odisha state, involving two passenger trains and a goods train. Rescue efforts have concluded, with officials saying all trapped and injured passengers have been retrieved. It is still not clear what caused the multi-train collision in Balasore district, which has been described as India's worst rail accident this century.

Related video.

India Train Crash: More Than 260 Dead after Odisha Collision - BBC News

Jun 3, 2023 | At least 261 people have been killed and 1,000 injured in a crash involving three trains in India's eastern Odisha state, officials have said. One passenger train derailed on to the adjacent track and was struck by an incoming train on Friday, also hitting a nearby stationary freight train. A massive rescue operation was launched, with hundreds of emergency services searching the wreckage. It is India's worst train crash this century and the cause is not yet clear.