Demonstrations turn aggressive as Indian tricolour ripped during PM Modi's UK visit

Agencies
April 20, 2018

London, Apr 20: Some groups protesting against atrocities in India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit here turned violent after a tricolour was torn down from one of the official flagpoles set up for all 53 Commonwealth countries.

Modi, who is in the UK for bilateral talks and the multilateral Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), was greeted by protesters as he met his British counterpart Theresa May on Wednesday.

Some of the protesters at Parliament Square turned aggressive after the Indian tricolour was torn down from the flagpole.

"Police are investigating after an Indian flag in Parliament Square was pulled down at 1500 (UK time) on Wednesday, 18 April. The flag has been replaced. There have been no arrests. Enquiries continue," a Metropolitan Police statement said.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the matter was taken up with the British authorities, who expressed their regrets and immediately had the torn flag replced with a new one.

"We're deeply anguished with the incident involving our national flag. Matter was taken up strongly with the UK side. They have regretted the incident. The flag was immediately replaced. We expect legal action against the people who were involved in this," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kuamr said at a press briefing on Thursday.

A UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spokesperson said, "While people have the right to hold peaceful protests, we are disappointed with the action taken by a small minority in Parliament Square and contacted High Commissioner Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha as soon as we were made aware.

"The visit to the UK by Prime Minister Modi has strengthened our relationship with India and we look forward to working even more closely together on a number of important areas."

A senior broadcast journalist from one of the leading Indian media channels covering the protests was caught in a violent scrum with some of the more aggressive pro-Khalistani protesters and Scotland Yard officers on duty had to step in to the rescue. The group is planning to file a complaint with the Metropolitan Police on the incident.

"We have expressed our concerns with the British authorities and they have apologised for the incident. We have been warning against some of these elements out to make trouble and they have assured us of action. The Indian flag has now been replaced," a senior Indian official associated with the PM's visit said.

The pro-Khalistani demonstrators from Sikh Federation UK and demonstrators from the so-called "Minorities Against Modi" group, led by Pakistani-origin peer Lord Ahmed, were among nearly 500 protesters who descended upon Parliament Square. These included groups led by some Kashmiri separatist groups and at one point, some of them had surrounded the Mahatma Gandhi statue at the square with their banners and flags.

Officials involved with the prime ministerial visit to the UK had said that protests and demonstrations are "part and parcel of any democratic society" as long as they remain peaceful. There are now concerns that some of the more aggressive elements hijacked the tone of the protests.

Earlier on Wednesday, flash mob of sari-clad women with dhols set the tone for the pro-Modi crowds opposite 10 Downing Street as the Indian PM arrived for his breakfast meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May. They were joined by the Friends of India Society International (FISI) group, which spearheaded a crowd of Indian diaspora from across the UK waving banners such as "Chak De India" and "Jai Hind" outside Downing Street and nearby Parliament Square.

"We want to welcome the Indian PM to the UK and show him the diaspora support he enjoys," said one of the members of the gathering.

On the other side, the anti-Modi protesters from Caste Watch UK and South Asia Solidarity group waved banners such as 'Modi, you have blood on your hands' and 'Modi Not Welcome'.

"Hindu nationalism must be curtailed to avert India sliding towards wholesale dictatorship threatening democratic fabric, rule of law and the unity of India," a Caste Watch UK spokesperson said.

They were joined by other protestors carrying images the eight-year-old rape victim from Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, and Gauri Lankesh, the Indian journalist who was shot at her doorstep last year.

The group also included representatives of several Indian women's groups in the UK, wearing white as part of their silent protest against "atrocities that are taking place in India".

"I am Hindustan, I am ashamed," read their placards alongside banners such as 'Beti Bachao' and 'Politics minus rape'.

Comments

True Indian
 - 
Friday, 20 Apr 2018

The problem is BALATKARI JANWAR PATRY (BJP), Modi and Amit shah style of running the government on Hitler style has already filled the gandu rashtra people with poison in their brains to send Muslims out of India.  This is the real problem.  Gandus want their gandu rashtra at any cost now. Arab Muslims ruled India for 900 years and enriched the country with coffee,  silk etc. Then British came and looted the country.  Then these BJP and RSS are gifted with the divide and rule formula from British.  They are now just following the same old formula to eat up whatever is left in the country.  All this making hindu rashtra etc is a drama. 

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Agencies
January 15,2020

New Delhi, Jan 15: Suspended Deputy Superintendent of J&K Police Davinder Singh had ferried Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Naveed Babu to Jammu last year also and facilitated his return to Shopian after "rest and recuperation", officials interrogating him said here Tuesday.

"Meri mati maari gayi thi (I must have lost my mind to do what I did)," an interrogator quoted Singh as saying after the DSP failed to impress them with his theory of catching a big terrorist.

Singh was arrested last Saturday along with Naveed Babu alias Babar Azam, a resident of Nazneenpora in South Kashmir's Shopian district, and his associate Asif Ahmad.

He is believed to have taken Rs 12 lakh for smuggling the two to Chandigarh for providing them accommodation for a couple of months, officials said. The officials, who have been spending considerable time questioning Singh, said there have been many inconsistencies in his statements and everything was being crosschecked and corroborated with the confessions of captured militants who have been kept in different rooms at an interrogation centre in South Kashmir.

During questioning it emerged that Singh had taken them to Jammu in 2019 also, the officials said.

In a tone laced with sarcasm, they said the DSP was taking the militants for "rest and recuperation".

Naveed told the interrogators that they used to stay in the hilly regions to avoid the J&K police and left the areas to escape harsh winters, they said.

The official said the DSP's bank accounts and other assets were being verified by the police and papers were being collected, amid speculations that the case may be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Going into the service history of Singh, majority of retired and serving officials of the JKP spoken to referred to a proverb -- coming events cast their shadows long before -- to say that if action had been taken against the officer during his probation period, such things would not have happened.

Recruited in 1990 as a sub-inspector, Singh along with another probationary officer were subject of an internal enquiry where some narcotics had been seized from a truck. However, the contraband was sold by Singh and another sub-inspector, the officials recalled.

There was a move to dismiss them from the service which was stalled by an Inspector General rank officer purely on humanitarian ground and the duo was shifted to the Special Operations Group, a team of policemen engaged in counter-militancy offensive.

However, he could not last there for long and was shifted this time to the police lines only to be rehabilitated in 1997 again in the SOG.

During this period, he was posted in Budgam and is alleged to have indulged in extortion for which he was sent back to the police lines.

His proper rehabilitation began in 2015 by the then Director General of Police K Rajendra, who posted him in district headquarters of Shopian and Pulwama, the officials said.

However, after some alleged wrongdoing during his stint in Pulwama, the then Director General of Police S P Vaid transferred him in August 2018 to the sensitive Anti-Hijacking Unit in Srinagar, though the move was opposed by some other officers.

An advocate, Irfan Ahmad Mir, was driving the vehicle when they were caught by the police on National Highway in Kulgam district.

The advocate, who has also been arrested, had travelled to Pakistan five times on an Indian passport.

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News Network
January 12,2020

Kolkata, Jan 12: Strongly defending the new citizenship law, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday the dispute that has arisen over it has made the world aware of persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan.

He, however, deplored that a section of the youth is being “misguided” over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which is aimed at giving and not taking away anybody's citizenship rights.

“CAA is not about taking away citizenship, it is about giving citizenship. Today, on National Youth Day, I would like to tell this to the youngsters of India, West Bengal, North East that this is not an overnight law for giving citizenship.

“We must all know that any person of any religion from any country of the world who believes in India and its Constitution can apply for Indian citizenship through due process. There's no problem in that,” he told a gathering at Belur Math, the headquarters of Ramkrishna Mission.

Modi said even Mahatma Gandhi had favoured Indian citizenship to those fleeing religious persecution and that his government has only delivered on the wishes of the freedom fighters.

Referring to anti-CAA protests in the North-East, Modi vowed to protect the distinct identity and culture of the people of the region, and asserted the new law will not hurt their interests.

“We've only done what Mahatma Gandhi had said decades ago. Should we send these refugees back to die? Are they our responsibility or not? Should we make them our citizens or not?” he said, evoking a thunderous applause by the gathering.

Modi said some people with political interests are deliberately spreading rumours about the new citizenship law, despite “complete clarity” over the CAA.

“Our initiative to amend the citizenship act has created a dispute. It is the result of our initiative that Pakistan will now have to answer why they have been persecuting minorities for the last 70 years. Human rights have been demolished in Pakistan,” he said.

Seeking to assuage the concerns of the people of the North-East, Modi called the region “our pride”. “Their culture, traditions and demography remains untouched by this amended law,” he said.

He said the citizenship law was only “changed a little” for those who were ill-treated in Pakisan after Partition.

“They were having a bitter time living there. Women were in danger of losing their pride,” he said.

“Young people have understood the whole thing but those who want to indulge in politics over it will not,” he said.

Modi said five years ago, there was disappointment among the youth of the country, but the situation has changed now.

“Not just India, the entire world has a lot of expectations from the youth of the country. The youth are not afraid of challenges....they challenge the challenges,” he said at the Belur Math, the abode of Swami Vivekananda for several years until his death in 1902, aged 39 years.

Modi, an ardent devotee of Vivekananda, spent the night at the Math.

He has a long association with the Ramkrishna Mission order founded by Vivekananda in 1897. Inspired by the teachings of Vivekananda, Modi had arrived at the Mission Ashram in Gujarat's Rajkot and expressed desire to join the order.

Swami Atmasthananda, who later went on to become the 15th president of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission, then headed the Rajkot branch and had advised him that sanyas was not for him and that he should work among people.

During those days, Modi used to regularly meet Atmasthananda and sought his spiritual guidance.

Although Modi went back after spending some time there his the relationship with Swami Atmasthananda and the Ramkrishna Mission continued.

Whenever Modi used to visit Kolkata, even during his days as Gujarat chief minister, he would travel to the Math.

In 2013, during his Kolkata visit, he had gone to Belur and sought the blessings from Atmasthananda.

He had in 2015 called on ailing Swami Atmasthananda at Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratisthan, a hospital run by the Mission in south Kolkata and enquired about his health.

After Atmasthananda's death in 2017, Prime Minister Modi had termed it as a “personal loss”.

On Sunday, the prime minister paid tributes to Swami Vivekananda on his birth anniversary, which is celebrated as the National Youth Day, and spent some time in the spiritual leader's room in quietude.

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News Network
April 17,2020

The coronavirus pandemic has sickened more than 2,425,000 people, according to official counts. So far at least 164,000 people have died, and the virus has been detected in at least 177 countries, as the following table shows.

United States 

780,330

37,782

Spain

200,210

20,852

Italy 

181,228

24,114

Germany

141,672

4,404

U.K.

124,743

16,509

France

114,657

20,265

Turkey

90,980

2,140

Mainland China

88,466

4,632

Iran

83,505

5,209

Russia

47,121

405

Brazil

40,743

2,587

Belgium

39,983

5,828

Canada

36,823

1,690

Netherlands

33,405

3,751

Switzerland

27,944

1,142

Portugal

20,863

735

India

18,539

592

Peru

16,325

445

Ireland

15,652

687

Austria

14,795

470

Sweden

14,777

1,580

Israel

13,713

177

Japan

10,915

168

South Korea

10,674

236

Chile

10,507

139

Saudi Arabia

10,484

103

Ecuador

10,128

507

Poland

9,593

380

Romania

8,936

478

Mexico

8,772

712

Pakistan

8,418

176

Singapore

8,014

11

Denmark

7,515

364

U.A.E.

7,265

43

Norway

7,156

181

Czech Republic

6,900

194

Indonesia

6,760

590

Serbia

6,630

125

Australia

6,625

71

Philippines

6,459

428

Belarus

6,264

51

Qatar

6,015

9

Ukraine

5,710

151

Malaysia

5,425

89

Dominican Rep.

4,964

235

Panama

4,467

126

Colombia

3,977

189

Finland

3,868

98

Luxembourg

3,558

75

Egypt

3,333

250

South Africa

3,300

58

Morocco

3,046

143

Bangladesh

2,948

101

Argentina

2,941

136

Thailand

2,792

47

Algeria

2,718

384

Moldova

2,548

70

Greece

2,245

116

Kuwait

1,995

9

Hungary

1,984

199

Bahrain

1,907

7

Croatia

1,881

47

Kazakhstan

1,852

19

Iceland

1,773

10

Uzbekistan

1,627

5

Iraq

1,574

82

Estonia

1,535

40

New Zealand

1,440

12

Azerbaijan

1,436

19

Oman

1,410

7

Armenia

1,339

22

Slovenia

1,335

77

Lithuania

1,326

37

Bosnia and Herzegovina

1,309

49

North Macedonia

1,225

54

Slovakia

1,173

13

Cameroon

1,163

42

Cuba

1,087

36

Ghana

1,042

9

Afghanistan

1,026

36

Hong Kong

1,025

4

Bulgaria

929

43

Tunisia

884

38

Ivory Coast

847

9

Djibouti

846

2

Cyprus

772

12

Latvia

739

5

Andorra

717

37

Lebanon

677

21

Nigeria

665

22

Costa Rica

662

6

Niger

648

20

Guinea

622

5

Albania

584

26

Burkina Faso

581

38

Kyrgyzstan

568

7

Bolivia

564

33

Uruguay

535

10

Kosovo

510

12

Channel Islands

488

24

Honduras

477

46

San Marino

462

39

West Bank & Gaza

449

3

Malta

431

3

Jordan

425

7

Taiwan

422

6

Georgia

402

4

Senegal

377

5

Congo

332

25

Mauritius

328

9

Montenegro

312

5

Sri Lanka

304

7

Isle of Man

300

9

Guatemala

289

7

Kenya

281

14

Vietnam

268

Venezuela

256

9

Tanzania

254

10

Mali

246

14

Somalia

237

8

Jamaica

223

5

El Salvador

218

7

Paraguay

208

8

Faroe Islands

185

Republic of the Congo

160

6

Rwanda

147

Brunei

138

1

Gibraltar

132

Cambodia

122

Madagascar

121

Gabon

120

1

Myanmar

119

5

Trinidad and Tobago

114

8

Ethiopia

111

3

Sudan

107

12

Liberia

99

8

Aruba

97

2

Monaco

94

3

Bermuda

86

5

Togo

84

6

Liechtenstein

81

1

Equatorial Guinea

79

Barbados

75

5

Maldives

69

Cape Verde

67

1

Sint Maarten

67

10

Cayman Islands

66

1

Guyana

65

7

Zambia

65

3

Bahamas

60

9

Haiti

57

3

Uganda

56

Benin

54

1

Libya

51

1

Guinea-Bissau

50

Macau

45

Sierra Leone

43

Eritrea

39

Mozambique

39

Syria

39

3

Chad

33

Mongolia

33

Nepal

31

Zimbabwe

25

3

Angola

24

2

Eswatini

24

1

Antigua and Barbuda

23

3

Timor-Leste

22

Botswana

20

1

Laos

19

Belize

18

2

Fiji

18

Malawi

17

2

Dominica

16

Namibia

16

Saint Kitts and Nevis

15

Saint Lucia

15

Curaçao

14

1

Grenada

14

Central African Republic

12

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

12

Falkland Islands

11

Greenland

11

Montserrat

11

Seychelles

11

Turks and Caicos Islands

11

1

Gambia

10

1

Nicaragua

10

2

Suriname

10

1

Vatican City

9

Mauritania

7

1

Papua New Guinea

7

Western Sahara

6

Bhutan

5

British Virgin Islands

5

1

Burundi

5

1

South Sudan

4

São Tomé and Príncipe

4

Anguilla

3

Yemen

1

 

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