India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated a sleek new Parliament complex, part of a more than $2 billion project to revamp India’s decrepit colonial-era center of government in New Delhi. But the inauguration ceremony, which reflected Mr. Modi’s usual penchant for Hindu religious and nationalist symbolism, was boycotted by his political opposition. And outside in the streets, the police were brutally breaking up a demonstration. The majority of opposition lawmakers from both chambers, about 250 people, stayed away to protest what they called the latest example of the prime minister’s overreach, which they say is undermining India’s constitutional democracy. In a rare statement of unity, about 20 opposition parties rebuked Mr. Modi for taking on a role they said was reserved for India’s president, Droupadi Murmu, who holds the symbolic but important role as the custodian of the Constitution. “The president is not only the head of state in India, but also an … [Read more...] about Modi Opens India’s New Parliament Building as Opposition Boycotts

Members of the majority-Christian Kuki tribe of northern Manipur, India, accused the government of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday of “tacitly” supporting the mob violence displacing tens of thousands of Christians in the region this month. The Kukis and dozens of other Christian tribes in Manipur have endured a month of brutal mob violence largely orchestrated by members of the largest tribe in the region, the majority-Hindu Meitei people, that erupted after the tribes protested against special privileges for the Meiteis. The Meitei people are petitioning the Modi government to be labeled a “Scheduled Tribe,” a designation that would award them extended land rights and political powers. The Meitei already control most local politics in Manipur and much of the state’s most fertile land. The Kukis and fellow tribes organized a protest in Imphal, the capital of Manipur, in mid-May to oppose the “Scheduled Tribe” designation for the Meiteis, attracting over … [Read more...] about India: Northern Manipur Christians Say Government Supporting Mob Violence Against Them

THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE WORLD , by Siddhartha Deb Siddhartha Deb’s extraordinary new novel, “The Light at the End of the World,” reads like four sequential novellas, each taking place in different locales in India and in different time periods, the connections between the parts not entirely clear till the concluding section. In the first section, “City of Brume,” we meet Bibi, a disillusioned former journalist working in Delhi for a company called Amidala, which produces reports “blitzed to media organizers and influential individuals.” The titles “have a distinct pattern, a primary color usually paired with an abstract word: ‘Green Justice,’ ‘Blue Economy,’ ‘Red Planet.’” Her work, and Delhi itself, feel oppressive. One Saturday, a man breaks into the headquarters of Vimana Energy Enterprises, one of Amidala’s clients. He escapes from an upper-story window; witnesses see a “monkey man” leaping from ledge to ledge before disappearing. He leaves behind a USB stick on which … [Read more...] about An Outsider’s History of India, in a Hallucinatory Novel

The Chinese government announced on Wednesday that it has taken “appropriate” measures in retaliation for India refusing to grant visas to Chinese reporters. With these actions, China and India have ejected almost all of each other’s journalists. “What I can tell you is that for a long time, Chinese journalists have suffered unfair and discriminatory treatment in India, and in 2017, the Indian side shortened the visa validity of Chinese journalists to three months or even one month for no reason,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning complained to reporters. “In the face of this prolonged and unreasonable suppression by the Indian side, the Chinese side had to take appropriate countermeasures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese media,” Mao said. Mao added that Beijing was willing to make accommodations for Indian journalists who have been living and working in China for over ten years, but only if “the Indian side can meet China … [Read more...] about China and India Eject Almost All of Each Others’ Journalists

Data from two top ship-tracking firms revealed that shipments of Russian crude oil to China and India, Russia’s top two buyers, rose by ten percent in May to hit record levels despite the Biden administration’s pleas to cut down on Moscow’s prodigious income stream by respecting sanctions and price caps. The data from ship tracking firms Kpler and Vortexa found between 62 and 68 million barrels of Russian crude arriving in India last month, while China took in 41 million to 50 million barrels. China might have imported even more, as its refining companies seem eager to stock up on Russian products at discounted prices and reduced shipping costs, but the faltering Chinese economy is hindering energy demand. China, India receive record Russian crude oil in May -data https://t.co/2U8eOUXBNC — Reuters Energy and Commodities (@ReutersCommods) June 1, 2023 Reuters noted that Russia is pumping so much oil that Middle Eastern and African producers are losing a substantial … [Read more...] about China and India Received Record Amounts of Russian Crude in May

A train crash in eastern India on Friday was the country’s worst rail disaster in two decades, killing more than 230 people . It renewed questions about rail safety in a country that has invested heavily in the system in recent years after a long history of deadly crashes. 238 people confirmed dead A passenger train derailed and struck two other trains in the Balasore district of Odisha state, officials said. The state’s chief secretary, Pradeep Jena, said on Saturday that 238 people had been killed in the crash and that 900 more had been injured. With rescue efforts still underway, the toll is likely to rise. The crash occurred when several cars of a train derailed and hit a second one, the train’s operator, South Eastern Railway, said in a statement. Local officials said that a third train, carrying freight, was ultimately involved, but details of this were not yet clear. One of the trains involved was a Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express train, according to South Eastern … [Read more...] about India’s Train Crash: What We Know