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Datanomics: India's ₹6.8 trn defence push highlights edge over Pak forces
India struck deep into Pakistan on Wednesday night, blowing up at least nine terror camps — including headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed — in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 tourists dead.
The strike marks a sharp escalation in India-Pakistan tensions, with Islamabad warning of a 'forceful response'.
Just a few days before, India had signed a ₹63,000 crore deal with France to acquire 26 Rafale Marine jets, jacking up its naval airpower.
The deal comes as part of a broader modernisation push, reflected in India's 2025-26 Union Budget, which allocated ₹6.8 trillion to defence, including
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The Hindu
10 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Hyderabad in fragments: a city's story told in micro-histories
Hyderabad's rich, layered history has long captivated writers and scholars. But with Telangana marking its 11th anniversary on June 2, there is a renewed interest around the State and its capital city, which has been shaped by dynasties, cultural syncretism and centuries of transformation. Tapping into this growing interest, author Daneesh Majid's new book, The Hyderabadis: From 1947 to the Present Day, paints a nuanced portrait of the city, weaving together micro-narratives of its people. Majid profiles families displaced by Operation Polo and its bloody aftermath, chronicling lives that were once comfortable but later upended, at times by the very hands that had once served them. The book presents diverse perspectives: from those who opposed the Razakars, to the story of a Hindu woman, heartbroken that her Hyderabad had fallen. Majid also turns his gaze outside India, tracing the lives of expatriates who spent several decades in West Asian countries, which became their second home. Upon returning, they had to rebuild their lives in a city that was rapidly changing. Through these different stories, he captures different lived experiences. He also seeks to reconcile the often divergent narratives many of which continue to carry political overtones. 'There was a lot of literature on the Partition which was evocative, but I found that the stories of Hyderabadis weren't many,' Majid says. 'Micro-history, which is about asking the big questions in smaller places, outside the corridors of power, these narratives are sometimes contrary to — let's say — mainstream histories. There is some truth in both narratives. And this is why micro-histories are important: they offer nuanced perspectives.' In the chapter 'From Jagirdar to Jamaati', Majid records the story of Omar Farooq Quadri, a student whose family fled Bamini in Marathwada on account of Operation Polo. They first sought refuge in rural Telangana and later moved to Hyderabad. A change in the family's fortunes turned them from landlords to paupers, even as a family member became a dervish. While 'Qadri' indicates either Sufi lineage or affiliation, the family had to change course spiritually. 'The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind played a crucial role in rehabilitating them socio-economically in Hyderabad. Omar is now a student leader at Maulana Azad National Urdu University. What struck me was that he is one of the few students from Hyderabad in place where one finds people largely from Kashmir, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,' Majid notes. Through the story of Narayan Raj Saxena, the great-grandson of Bansi Raja, a close aide of sixth Nizam Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, Majid illustrates how the Kayasth community has been an inalienable part of Hyderabad's history. 'He witnessed the tumultuous period of 1948. He saw Hyderabad change with his own eyes. There are few now who are well enough to remember,' says Majid. 'The Kayasthas were skilled administrators in the Nizam's government and were great with languages. They knew Persian, and when the official language changed to Urdu in the 1880s, they mastered that too.' Post-1948, some Muslim families moved to Pakistan. Ali Adil Khan, one of Majid's subjects, was born in Hyderabad in the 1960s during one of his parents' visits to the city from Pakistan. His father, Mohammed Anwar Ali, had left for Karachi on August 14, 1950. In 1948, when his grandfather Ishaq Ali was posted in Bidar, Operation Polo was launched. While Ishaq Ali was in Hyderabad, his family was still in Bidar. It was a Hindu neighbour who arranged for their safe passage to Hyderabad. However, Majid deliberately steers clear of discussing mainstream politics. For instance, the complex history of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, now led by the Owaisi brothers, is largely missing. While he does mention Abid Ali Khan, the influential Hyderabadi journalist, who co-founded Siasat Daily, the tussle between the heads — past and present — of these two power centres of Muslim politics does not find a place in the narrative.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Ex-Pak PM Imran Khan's party threatens to launch full-scale movement for his release
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India Today
4 hours ago
- India Today
Permanently closed label on Jaish headquarters in Pak after India's strike
When the Indian armed forces produced video evidence of their coordinated strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror headquarters, Markaz Subhan Allah camp in Pakistan's Bahawalpur, all that was left was rubble. Now, the Google Maps label on the terror den in Pakistan's heart, Punjab, reads "permanently closed". The Markaz Subhan Allah camp, under the guise of Jamia Masjid, was founded by terrorist Masood Azhar and was used for recruitment, fundraising, and strikes on terror camps and hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), on May 7, were a part of its precision strikes during Operation Sindoor. This was in retaliation for the terror attacks on April 22 that killed 26 people in Pahalgam, Markaz Subhan Allah camp in Bahawalpur, 100 kilometres from the International Border (IB), was crucial as it served as a stronghold for JeM. The terror group has carried out multiple deadly attacks on India, including the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack, and the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing. A video accessed by India Today TV on May 7 revealed the damaged terror hub Subhan Allah camp. It showed heaps of debris lying all around and a gaping hole in its roof.A month later, Google Maps shows the Markaz Subhan Allah, under the guise of the Jamia Masjid, situated right next to the Bahawalpur bypass, as "permanently closed".WHY GOOGLE MAPS SAY IT'S 'PERMANENTLY CLOSED'advertisementGoogle Maps marks a place as "Permanently Closed" based primarily on user-submitted reports, owner updates, or algorithmic detection of multiple users flag a location as closed or non-operational, Google's systems may prompt a physical verification is rare, Google may sometimes rely on trusted local guides (users who have been active), third-party data partners, or Street View imagery to confirm changes, especially in high-impact JEM HQ WAS STRUCK BY INDIA DURING OPERATION SINDOORFollowing the Pahalgam attack, India targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and the POK, associated with multiple attacks in India, including the Pahalgam attack. These included the camps of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).The Subhan Allah camp in Bahawalpur served as the main centre for the training and indoctrination of JeM agency Reuters on May 9 reported that the Subhan Allah camp had been "emptied of its students in recent days as speculation grew that it would be targeted by India", but the family of Masood Azhar, founder of the JeM, was still of Azhar's relatives were among 13 people killed in the strike, the group said in a 400 km south-west of Lahore, Bahawalpur is the 12th largest city in Pakistan. Incidentally, the camp is only a few miles from the Pakistan Army cantonment, the headquarters of Pakistan's 31 Subhan Allah camp is spread over 18 acres and is also known as the Usman-o-Ali campus. It served as the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)'s centre for recruitment, fundraising, and mosque was funded through the Al-Rahmat Trust, a frontal organisation of the JeM. It remained a basic structure until 2011 but was developed into a large complex with training facilities by was also the site where the 2019 Pulwama terror attack was other eight terror sites that India struck in Pakistan and POK included: Markaz Taiba in Muridke (LeT HQ), Sarjal Camp in Sialkot (HM), Mehmoona Joya Camp in Sialkot (HM), Abbas Camp in Kotli (LeT), Gulpur Camp in Kotli (LeT), Syedna Bilal Camp in Muzaffarabad (JeM), and Sawai Nala Camp in Muzaffarabad (LeT).More than 100 terrorists were killed in the JeM, despite being banned in 2002 in Pakistan, has had a free run in Pakistan, with its founder Masood Azhar being seen moving freely around Pakistan. Google Maps on June 6, shows Bahawalpur's Markaz Subhan Allah as Must Watch
