India a force for stability with unprecedented accommodation for minorities: US report

Agencies

July 29, 2018

Jul 29: The Indian government provides "unprecedented" religious accommodations to its religious minority population, says a report by a US-based Hindu advocacy group, according to which India is a force for stability in the region.

As such, it is critical that the US continues to strengthen relations with India, in order to bring greater stability to the region and prevent the growth of radical Islamist and Communist/Maoist terrorism, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) said in its latest policy brief titled 'India: Democracy in Diversity'.

Released at the historic rotunda of the US Capitol this week, the policy document highlights India's centuries-old status as a multi-religious, multi-ethnic region, and later nation-state, that is both the birthplace of four of the world's religions, as well as a refuge for faith communities fleeing persecution.

The report also details the ways in which the Indian government "provides unprecedented religious accommodations to its religious minority population", with more than USD 600 million allotted in 2016-2017 in benefit programs, the allowance for faith-based law for both Muslims and Christians, and how India has had significant minority representation at all levels of government, military, and judiciary.

Highlighting the infrequent nature of interreligious conflict in the country, the report explores the varied root causes - from pecuniary to political, and historical to religious - of the same.

"Though there have not been major riots or attacks targeting religious minorities in India in recent years, there have been reports of individual incidents involving attacks by Hindus on Christians and Muslims," the report acknowledges.

HAF said that it unequivocally condemns these attacks and believes that any such violence is unacceptable and contravenes Hindu teachings and India's pluralistic ethos.

India is a force for stability in the region, it said recommending the US continue to "strengthen relations with India in order to bring greater stability to the region and prevent the growth of radical Islamist and Communist/Maoist terrorism that is impacting the lives of innocent civilians, causing domestic unrest, and forcing large scale migrations of Hindu refugees (and other religious minorities) from Pakistan and Bangladesh into India".

"This report is both timely and necessary, as its release coincided with the US State Department's inaugural Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom," said Samir Kalra, managing director of HAF.

"Overall, it seeks to show the broader story of religious freedom and pluralism in India, which is often not reflected in the media or US policy circles," Kalra said.

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Not an inch of our land can be taken by any power in the world: Rajnath Singh

News Network

July 17,2020

Lukung, Jul 17: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday assured that not an inch of our land can be taken by any power in the world while he interacted with the Indian Army and ITBP personnel at Lukung.

Referring to the India-China border standoff, he said, "Talks are underway to resolve the border dispute but to what extent it can be resolved I cannot guarantee. I can assure you, not one inch of our land can be taken by any power in the world."

Emphasising on finding a diplomatic solution to the standoff, he further said, "If a solution can be found by talks, there is nothing better."
"Recently what happened between troops of India and China at PP14, how some of our personnel sacrificed their lives protecting our border. I am happy to meet you all but also saddened because of their loss. I pay my tributes to them," he added.

Singh interacted with the Army and Paramilitary troops here along with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General MM Naravane.

Earlier today, the Defence Minister witnessed para dropping and scoping weapons here. He also inspected a Pika machine gun.

Indian Army T-90 tanks and BMP infantry combat vehicles carried out the exercise at Stakna, Leh in presence of Singh, Chief of Defence Staff and Army Chief.

Defence Minister is on a two-day visit to Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. He will take stock of the situation at both the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the Line of Control (LOC).

While Pakistan constantly violates ceasefire from across the LoC, China has continued to intrude into Indian territory in Ladakh region in recent past, escalating tensions between India and its eastern neighbour.

On June 15, twenty Indian soldiers laid out their lives during combat with Chinese forces in Galwan valley, leading to tensions between both nations. Chinese soldiers subsequently started moving back following dialogues between two countries through the military level and diplomatic level.

Singh was accompanied by the Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General MM Naravane.

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India needs to look beyond what rating agencies think, says Raghuram Rajan

Agencies

August 6,2020

Mumbai, Aug 6: Former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan said on Thursday that overly focusing on what sovereign rating agencies think can take one's eyes off what needs to be done for the economy.

"It is also important to convince both domestic and international investors that after the crisis associated with the pandemic is over, we will return to fiscal responsibility over the medium term, and the government should do more to convince them of that," Rajan told the Global Markets Forum.

India was placed under one of the strictest lockdowns in the world in late March for more than two months to stem the spread of the coronavirus, but cases have continued to rise steadily since the government eased restrictions in June, stymieing hopes of an economic recovery.

The government has announced several initiatives to help the poor and small- and medium-size businesses, but actual cash outgo from the government's measures has been estimated at just about 1% of GDP.

Several attribute the fiscal prudence to fear of a downgrade after Moody's cut India's rating and outlook in early June followed closely by a change in outlook from Fitch.

The central bank on its part too has reduced the key lending rate by 115 basis points on top of the 135 bps last year and is widely expected to cut rates by another 25 bps later on Thursday.

"The RBI and government have certainly been cooperating, but it seems like it is elsewhere, the ball is in the government's court to do more," Rajan said.

He said the RBI needs to focus on whether credit is reaching the stressed areas of the economy and also if the viable firms were able to access credit and not the unviable ones.

"And I think that's where it has to focus its attentions, because resources, as you well know, are limited in India today."

Recently analysts, however, have cited the growing possibility the RBI may prefer to pause and cut rates only at its October meeting.

Government officials too have suggested the possibility of any more fiscal stimulus being announced, would only come in the second half of the fiscal year, once a recovery has taken root and coronavirus cases have peaked.

"What India should focus on at this point is protecting its economic capabilities, so that when it has dealt with the virus it can go resume activity in a reasonable way. That should be the focus," Rajan said.

"And if it does that, there is no reason why the rating agencies will not see that as an appropriate policy".

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Amit Shah unveils 5.5 lakh ‘thank you’ letters to PM Modi on CAA

News Network

January 12,2020

Ahmedabad, Jan 12: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday unveiled over 5.5 lakh postcards written by Ahmedabad residents to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thanking him for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The postcards were stacked on the dais as Shah addressed a gathering of BJP workers who formed letters `C A A’ in front of him.

The state BJP claimed that the party’s “largest awareness campaign” in support of the CAA had found a place in Limca Book of Records and World Record of India.

“It is not just words but a letter of thanks written from the heart. Our public outreach programme is a reply to the lies being spread against the CAA,” Shah said addressing BJP workers from his former Assembly constituency Naranpura.

The BJP had promised to enact the CAA in its manifesto, he said, asking why the Congress did not oppose it then.

Targeting Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Shah said, “Congress has a government in Rajasthan. The Congress party in that state had promised that Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan would be given citizenship.

“Why do you oppose it when we fulfill the promise made by you?” the Union home minister asked.

“In 2006 and 2009, Ashok Gehlot wrote a letter for the same. We covered Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians, all of them under the Act, you had only mentioned Hindus and Sikhs,” Shah claimed.

Saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by bringing in the CAA, granted “human rights to lakhs of people”, he asked why opposition was against it.

He challenged “Rahul Baba” (Congress leader Rahul Gandhi), Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal to show if any provision of the CAA took away the citizenship of Indian Muslims.

“There is no such provision. Lakhs and crores of people have come to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh to save their religion, their self-respect, to save themselves. Where else will they go?” he asked.

“From the first prime minister of the country Jawaharlal Nehru to the first home minister, first president of the country, and Mahatma Gandhi himself had said that whoever comes to India from Pakistan will be granted citizenship. Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains coming from Pakistan have nowhere else to go,” he said.

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From this figure its clear that most of BJP mebers are aganst CAA, Becuase its below 0.5% from Indian population.