Indian-Americans, Students Protest Against Citizenship Act in US

News Network
December 21, 2019

Washington, Dec 21: Indian-Americans and Indian students held peaceful protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the US cities of Chicago and Boston, saying this is a step towards rupturing India's social fabric.

About 150 people marched to the Indian consulate from the Tribune Tower in Chicago.

"Chicago condemns the egregious behaviour of the Indian government," the protesting students said in a statement.

"We are outraged by the violence and actively condemn the brutality inflicted upon students at Jamia Milia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)," said the Indian students in Chicago.

Indian-American Muslim Council (IAMC), in a statement, strongly condemned the alleged "brutal crackdown" on students of Jamia and AMU.

"We have watched this tragic unfolding of events with great concern and anguish. The all India National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Law will have a primal impact on the Indian polity. This is a step towards rupturing India''s social fabric and students should at the very least have the democratic right to protest," said IAMC president Ahsan Khan.

A diverse section of the Indian diaspora gathered on the steps of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) early this week with a call to boycott the NRC and repeal the CAA, 2019.

Among those gathered consisted of scientists, engineers, students, service workers and computer professionals, artists and doctors, social justice activists, left and liberal intellectuals and community leaders.

"Just like the immigrants are being discriminated and criminalised in the US, similarly the Muslims and other minorities in India are being criminalised because of the NRC. Our struggles are very similar and we have to fight these oppressive powers together," said Alonso Espinosa from MIT Students Against War (MITSAW).

Rozina Amin Zama from Indian American Muslims Council Boston Chapter, which is a part of the The Boston Coalition, said, "The religious test of CAB is without a doubt unconstitutional and goes against universally accepted human rights framework. For example the Hindus and Buddhists from Sri Lanka, Atheists from Bangladesh, and Ahmadi Muslims from Pakistan are excluded while the Indian government claims to protect its minorities."

According to the CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities -- who came from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 following religious persecution -- will get Indian citizenship.

The protesters claim that the legislation is "unconstitutional and divisive" as it excludes Muslims.

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News Network
June 22,2020

New Delhi, Jun 22: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday left for a three-day visit to Russia. Singh is likely to discuss the India-Russia defence and strategic partnership during the visit and also attend a military parade in Moscow to mark the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

The visit comes days after the violent face-off with China in which 20 Indian Armymen were killed in Galwan valley in Ladakh.

"Leaving for Moscow on a three day visit. The visit to Russia will give me an opportunity to hold talks on ways to further deepen the India-Russia defence and strategic partnership. I shall also be attending the 75th Victory Day Parade in Moscow," the Defence Minister tweeted.

Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar is also accompanying the minister.

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News Network
June 16,2020

New Delhi, Jun 16: With an increase of 10,667 cases and 380 deaths in the past 24 hours, the COVID-19 count in India has reached 3,43,091 on Tuesday, according to the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry.

It is noteworthy that today's spike in cases is lower than the 11,502 registered in the country yesterday and has also stayed below the 11 thousand mark it had been crossing for the past two days in a row.

However, there is an increase in the number of deaths due to the infection from yesterday, with 380 deaths being reported from across the country, the toll due to COVID-19 has now reached 9,900.

The COVID-19 count includes 1,53,178 active cases, while 1,80,013 patients have been cured and discharged or migrated so far.

Maharashtra with 1,10,744 cases continues to be the worst-affected state in the country with 50,567 active cases while 56,049 patients have been cured and discharged in the state so far. The toll due to COVID-19 has crossed the four thousand mark and reached 4,128 in the state.
It is followed by Tamil Nadu with 46,504 and the national capital with 42,829 confirmed cases.

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News Network
February 11,2020

Feb 11: China reported 108 new coronavirus deaths on February 10, the highest daily toll since the outbreak began in Wuhan late last year, as two senior officials in the hard-hit province of Hubei were removed from their jobs.

The total number of deaths on the mainland reached 1,016 in the 24 hours until midnight, the National Health Commission said on Tuesday.

Some 2,478 new cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 42,638.

Of the new deaths, 103 were in the province of Hubei, including 67 in the provincial capital of Wuhan. The virus is thought to have originated there in a market that sold seafood as well as wild animals.

Two senior health officials in the province - Zhang Jin who was Party Secretary of the health commission for Hubei and Ling Yingzi who was director of the Hubei Provincial Health Commission - were both removed from their posts, state media reported on Tuesday,  a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited health facilities in Beijing.

In his first public appearance since the outbreak began, Xi donned a face mask and had his temperature checked while visiting medical workers and patients in the capital.

"We have seen very little of Xi Jinping since the outbreak began but he was out and about in Beijing on Monday," Al Jazeera's Katrina Yu said from Beijing. "He has been trying to rally the troops saying: 'We can win this battle.' But it's also a sign that the battle is far from over."

The other fatalities on Monday were in the provinces of Heilongjiang, Anhui and Henan and the cities of Tianjin and Beijing, the National Health Commission said.

During a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Monday, a group of leaders tasked with beating the virus said it would work to solve raw material and labour shortages and boost supplies of masks and protective clothing.

They said nearly 20,000 medical personnel from around the country had already been sent to Wuhan, and more medical teams were also on the way.

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