"India practices policy of zero tolerance against terrorism," says EAM Jaishankar during meeting with UK Foreign Secy Lammy
New Delhi [India], June 7 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday met UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and appreciated the UK government's 'strong condemnation' of the terror attack that took place in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22.
Jaishankar reiterated that India practises a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism.
'At the outset, let me thank the government of the United Kingdom for the strong condemnation of the barbaric terrorist attack in Pahalgam in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and for your solidarity and support to India in the fight against terrorism. We practice a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and expect our partners to understand it. We will never countenance perpetrators of evil being put at par with their victims,' he said.
On April 23, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the terrorist attack in Kashmir 'utterly devastating' and said that his thoughts were with those affected by the attack and the people of India.
'The horrific terrorist attack in Kashmir today is utterly devastating. My thoughts are with those affected, their loved ones, and the people of India,' Starmer posted on X.
https://x.com/Keir_Starmer/status/1914802897818112327
An All-Party Delegation led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad visited the UK from May 31 to June 3 to brief the officials there on the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent Operation Sindoor.
https://x.com/HCI_London/status/1930592492291833956
https://x.com/HCI_London/status/1929962978667049105
The All-Party Parliamentary Delegation from India concluded the last day of engagements in the UK, meeting with the Speaker of the House of Commons, members of the UK and Indian media, and a detailed interaction with the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on India. Discussions centred on India's zero-tolerance approach to terrorism and response to cross-border terrorism through Operation Sindoor, an official statement by the Indian High Commission said.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his second visit to India to discuss ongoing economic and migration partnership.
British High Commission said talks are on between the UK and the Indian Government to deepen and diversify the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries to deliver for working people in the UK. (ANI)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
31 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Knowledge Nugget: Golden Dome missile defence system — A must know for UPSC Exam
Take a look at the essential events, concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here's your knowledge nugget for today on Golden Dome. (Relevance: Various air defence systems, missiles, fighter jets, and aircraft types are some of the important topics of defence technology that have been asked by UPSC in prelims. In 2018, a question was asked on Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD). As in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor, air defence systems have been in the news; it becomes important to know about the Golden Dome and Iron Dome. US President Donald Trump has offered the 'Golden Dome' missile defence system for free to Canada, which had shown interest after the Republican leader announced it but added a rider that Ottawa can have it without paying any charge 'if it becomes part of the US' 51st State'. Notably, on May 20, US President Donald Trump said he has shortlisted a design for the 'Golden Dome' missile defence shield and made General Michael Guetlein of the US Space Force in charge of the project. In this context, let's know about Trump's proposed 'Golden Dome' and what it is inspired by. 1. First floated by Trump this January, the Golden Dome is inspired by Israel's much lauded Iron Dome system — a short-range, ground-to-air, air defence system. But it is far more ambitious in scale and scope, and seeks to integrate 'next-generation' technologies across land, sea, and even space. 2. Trump said that the system will comprise, among other things, space-based sensors and interceptors. If this were to be true, this would make the Golden Dome the very first truly space-based weapon system. 3. As of right now, the use of space technology in defence has largely been restricted to reconnaissance. Satellites provide crucial targeting and other data for Earth-based weapon systems such as long-range missiles, guided munitions, etc. 4. The proposed Golden Dome goes one step further, with the introduction of interceptors to be launched from space. Exactly how they will work is still unclear. But according to the initial plans, the system will comprise thousands of small satellites orbiting Earth, which will intercept an enemy missile mere moments after it is launched, NPR reported. 5. Trump said the defense shield would cost some $175 billion, and will be operational by January 2029, when his term ends. But industry experts are skeptical of both this timeline and estimated cost, Reuters reported. 6. Technologically speaking, the idea behind Golden Dome is not far-fetched. But it is untested, and at the moment, more of a 'concept'. 'Right now, Golden Dome is, it's really an idea,' one source had told CNN in March. This also makes projecting timelines and costs very difficult, the article added. 1. Iron Dome is a short-range, ground-to-air, air defence system that includes a radar and Tamir interceptor missiles that track and neutralise any rockets or missiles aimed at Israeli targets. It is used for countering rockets, artillery & mortars (C-RAM) as well as aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. 2. The genesis of the Iron Dome goes back to the 2006 Israeli-Lebanon war, when the Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets into Israel. The following year, Israel announced that its state-run Rafael Advance Systems would come up with a new air defence system to protect its cities and people. It was developed with Israel Aerospace Industries. 3. Notably, the idea behind Trump's proposed Golden Dome is inspired by Israel's much lauded Iron Dome system. But the Iron Dome's capabilities pale in comparison to what Trump wants with the Golden Dome. 📌 The Iron Dome does not rely on satellites for any aspect of its functionality, even tracking. It primarily relies on radars to identify and track enemy targets. Although Trump's Golden Dome will likely comprise radar and other ground-based targeting systems as well, its main selling point, thus far, is the deployment of space-based systems. 📌Israel is nearly 400 times smaller than the US, and consists of mostly flat desert terrain, which makes short-range interceptors ideal and cost-efficient for air defence. Moreover, its primary threats come from non-conventional actors like Hezbollah and Hamas. The US requires a far more expansive air defence system. Most notably, the US must be able to defend against Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), technology which both China and Russia — Washington's two main geopolitical rivals — possess. ICBMs can be launched from tens of thousands of kilometres away, and travel to space as a part of their flight trajectory. Tracking ICBMs necessitates the use of satellites. And while they can be neutralised using ground-based interceptors, space-based weapons have long been thought to be more effective for this task given that they re-enter Earth's atmosphere at hypersonic speeds. 1. The United Nations' Outer Space Treaty is an international agreement binding member states to only use outer space for peaceful purposes. It spells out the principles governing the activities of states in the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies. 2. The treaty came into force in October, 1967, during the peak of the Cold War, after being ratified by Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. It lays down the following governing principles: 📌 The exploration and use of outer space will be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries and will be the province of all mankind. 📌 Outer space will be free for exploration and use by all states. 📌 Outer space is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty. 📌 States will not place nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies or station them in outer space in any other manner. 📌 The Moon and other celestial bodies will be used exclusively for peaceful purposes. 📌 Astronauts will be regarded as the envoys of mankind. 📌 States will be responsible for national space activities whether carried out by governmental or non-governmental entities. 📌 States will be liable for damage caused by their space objects. 📌 States shall avoid harmful contamination of space and celestial bodies. 1. The Artemis Accords, launched by NASA and the US Department of State in 2020, have 53 signatories, including India. 2. It implements fundamental commitments from the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and emphasises commitment to the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, and best practices for responsible behaviour, such as the public distribution of scientific data. 3. The accords are a series of non-binding agreements that establish principles to be respected in outer space. With reference to the Outer Space Treaty, consider the following statements: 1. It entered into force during the peak of World War II and provides the basic framework on international space law that remains in place to date. 2. As per one of the Articles of the treaty the activities of non-governmental entities in outer space shall require authorisation and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 (Sources: What we know about Trump's 'Golden Dome', Trump offers Golden Dome missile shield to Canada 'for free', but 'only if it joins US as 51st state', What is the Outer Space Treaty and why the US and Russia are at odds over it? ) Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – Indian Express UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X. 🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for May 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at Roshni Yadav is a Deputy Copy Editor with The Indian Express. She is an alumna of the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University, where she pursued her graduation and post-graduation in Political Science. She has over five years of work experience in ed-tech and media. At The Indian Express, she writes for the UPSC section. Her interests lie in national and international affairs, governance, economy, and social issues. You can contact her via email: ... Read More
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Nepal ex-PM under fire for alleged corruption over Patanjali-linked land deal, fined $1 million
Authorities in Nepal have charged former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal with corruption and demanded a million-dollar fine over the purchase of land by a firm owned by Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev, a court official said on Friday. Nepal, prime minister between 2009 and 2011, faces charges of allowing Patanjali Yogpeeth Nepal company to purchase more land than it was legally allowed to own for herb production, processing and a hospital in the Himalayan nation 15 years ago. Both Nepal and Patanjali Yogpeeth deny any wrongdoing. The 72-year-old Nepal heads a small opposition group in parliament and his United Socialist Party says the prosecution is an act of "political vendetta" against him. "I have not done anything illegal nor indulged in any corruption concerning Patanjali land deal causing any loss to the state," Nepal told the Kantipur daily newspaper. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), a corruption watchdog, alleged that some of the land, in Kavre district, was later allowed to be swapped with other land, or sold at a higher price, causing a loss to the state. The allegations were set out in a charge sheet filed by the commission on Thursday at the Special Court in Kathmandu. The commission demanded Nepal be ordered to pay a fine of 185.85 million Nepali rupees ($1.35 million). If found guilty, he could also be sentenced to up to 17 years in jail. A spokesperson for Patanjali in India denied any wrongdoing, saying it bought the land privately through due legal process. "Patanjali has not acquired any government land. It is unfair to drag our name in local political vendetta actions and proceedings," S K Tijarawala, Patanjali's spokesperson, told Reuters in a text message. The commission also charged 92 others, including some former ministers and officials, some of whom are already dead. Yaga Raj Regmi, information officer of the court, said Nepal would receive a formal court notice giving him 15 days in which to present himself at court and the hearing would start after that.
Scroll.in
an hour ago
- Scroll.in
‘What unites the Kannada world is an admiration for vachana literature': Writer Srikar Raghavan
As may be expected, reviews of Rama Bhima Soma: Cultural Investigations into Modern Karnataka have focused on the vast and varied connections between life and literature, and state and society, that the book has aimed to chronicle. Karnataka, the home state of the author, is the playground for the ball game introduced to us through the title, which is also an extremely imaginative metaphor for democracy. For this interviewer, the tales of civil society and activism, their admirable struggles, and their latent possibilities are quite as important. The book is a personal narrative, without the pretence of being all-seeing or all-knowing. The narrative would not be possible without the several personalities who are its anchors, whether dead or living, obscure or celebrated. The journalistic style may leave some feeling ignored, but this very mode signals an openness to engage with them in the future. Indeed, pluralism is the personal creed of the author, constituting both the ends and the means. It might seem as though certain movements and figures, such as socialism and Gandhi, respectively, receive inordinate attention or seem omnipresent. But one must remember that the author has dealt with the 20th century and Karnataka on its own terms, and not through the polarised lens of present-day discourse. This makes the account entertaining and enlightening. The influence of Gandhi on writers, activists, and even politicians and civil servants is palpable, and not merely the projection of the narrator. The book provides much for historians and sociologists to investigate. Despite the faithful recording and echoing of leftists that they failed to engage culturally with the masses, the book amply demonstrates the deep interest and grounding of writers (who may broadly be grouped with the left) in Indian religions, philosophy, and folk culture. A telling line is the claim by UR Ananthamurthy that they earnestly searched for god but returned empty-handed. This belies claims of mindless imitation of the West, often levelled by the right wing. Instead, their own ideologues come up woefully short, offering only identitarian cliches and a call for arms. Leaving aside these musings forced upon us by daily headlines, the true heroes in the book turn out to be activists and members of civil society, who have bravely persisted in working out the truth and laying it bare before society and the state. From the unimpeachable Gopala Gowda, who fought for land redistribution to the Dalit activist Kotiganahalli Ramaiah with his distinctive cultural vision that sees children as the true wealth of society, these sketches remind us of the intricate relationship between individuals, society, economy, and culture. Time and again, we have realised that none of these is complete without the other. The examples of the civil servant Uma Mahadevan-Dasgupta, who is spearheading a reinvention of children's libraries or the environmental activist SR Hiremath with multiple wins against industrial giants, might kindle in us a recognition of what is important in the long term. The latter's quiet training of future activists and willingness to wait out a dark phase in Indian environmental destruction is inspiring. The book, thus, not only looks at the past through its creative web of connections, which is both deep and surprisingly light, but also provides a sourcebook for those who dream of bettering the world around them. In a conversation with Scroll, Srikar Raghavan discussed literature, history, and politics against the backdrop of his research. Excerpts from the interview: It is understandable that in tracing social movements, the emphasis is on the relationship between literature and society. However, literature is perhaps our main recourse for thinking about the self. For instance, even though UR Ananthamurthy's writings might be criticised as 'self'-indulgent, he is also at his best in that mode. Based on the literature that you have read, what are the selves that were realised in it? Autobiographies and memoirs gave me an entire range of selves on a platter – the genre is a flourishing one in Kannada. They were the first books I read when I started on this project too, and I found them to be invaluable sources of history as much as they formed multitudes of self-hoods – from subaltern histories to activist chronicles to tell-all feminist memoirs. Personally, my favourite discoveries were Gandhi Classu and Monusmriti – the autobiographies of Kum Veerabhadrappa and Bolwar Mahammad Kunhi – which are both hilarious, rollicking, unusual texts. Historiography becomes a kind of self-unravelling in itself, a personal quest to master one's birthland and its history, exemplified by the life of MM Kalburgi, say, whose students remember him as a man 'who devoured entire shelves', and not just individual books (or selves?). The Navya (Modernist) movement of the 50s and 60s was self-professedly a self-investigation project, and it sought to plumb the interiors of the subjective self, which it believed had hitherto been neglected by Kannada writers. These modernists went in pursuit of ruptures and transgressions, like the character Praneshacharya in Ananthamurthy's novel Samskara, who experiences something akin to spiritual emancipation after making love to the fisherwoman Chandri. They were also trying to capture a desi earthiness (Gopalakrishna Adiga's famous mannina vasane) that could somehow absorb cosmopolitan modernity into local roots. AK Ramanujan's experiments with ingesting mescaline – which leads him to some extraordinary verse-musings expressing great longing for his then-separated wife – or the linguist and poet HS Biligiri's experiments with LSD (which he writes about in Sakshi magazine in the early 70s) where he sheepishly wonders what his sheltered wife must be thinking regarding his latest proclivities – give us another interesting glimpse into the interiors of the self that the Navya generation desired to explore. Modernism (in life as in literature) could expand the self, breach puritanical codes, and lead to new sensorial pastures. Those in Karnataka on the cultural right might feel that you have given them short shrift. Your thoughts on their vision for society are clear enough. However, let us take up the claim of being grounded in religion, or rather a pure version of it. What does Hindu conservatism have to say for that bit of religion that is beyond codes of interpersonal conduct? Did you find anything appealing or interesting? The term 'cultural right' might require some unpacking, because culture, it often seems to me, is a realm where ideologies can be stripped of their rigidities and held up for scrutiny. But I see what you're getting at, and I think I have tried to track a trajectory of this sensibility throughout the book, beginning from the early twentieth century, through figures like KV Iyer or Pandit Taranath. That inaugural generation of Kannada literati was hugely animated by Gandhian ideals (austerity, reform, pluralism), and these strains of thought have exercised much influence on social movements thereafter too. Even in the second half of the century, writers like Ananthamurthy and Shankar Mokashi Punekar embodied forms of conservativism (vis-à-vis religion and spiritual traditions) that fell under this broad rubric – it was again a Gandhian attempt to rescue Indian philosophical traditions from the stranglehold of modern fundamentalists. The Kannada novelist Triveni adopted her penname as a tribute to Gandhi (his ashes were immersed in the Triveni Sangam and so on), and I heard from activist and playwright Du Saraswati that she had looked up to Gandhi and the Buddha as admirable figures since her childhood. Cultural conservatism and social progressivism can co-exist and need not be pitted as irreconcilable entities. The presently regnant right-wing ethos does seem to be quite far from these accommodative strains, and I have had to (unfortunately) quote some of their bigotry to prove my point. Of course, this twentieth-century supremacist project has also been helped along by pre-existing hierarchical ideologies that had already fragmented Indian society. The cultural right, which I found interesting, had tried to tackle these inheritances head-on, and they saw themselves as fiercely critical insiders. It is in this regard that I dissect Shankar Mokashi Punekar's 1980s novel Avadheshwari, which reanimates a historical time (set in ancient Ayodhya, no less) before the rigidification of social hierarchies, in an attempt to see religion and mysticism as the quest for personal codes rather than collective impositions. It produced an existentialist (and riveting) portrayal of birth-based caste organisation (and ancient queenship), and it was intriguing to me that Punekar himself was a deeply religious man, devoted to the Sathya Sai Baba (as well as Indira Gandhi), greatly interested in ancient Hindu traditions, who saw his bhakti-sensibility as a gift to be savoured. He was also widely respected and admired by the Kannada world – atheists, believers, and Emergency-opposers alike. I remember this scary looking map from around 2010 that showed large chunks of India in red, denoting the Naxal threat. But reading the chapter on Saketh Rajan, the Maoist revolutionary who was shot dead in 2005, it seems that in Karnataka at least, they were only a handful of people in self-exile and up in arms. There was a fork in the road that the state ignored in reacting as it did with overwhelming force. As we speak, Maoists in central India are surrounded, vastly outnumbered by troops who seem dead set on a 'final solution'. What might have been a happier ending for Rajan, and what could the nation still do to those who survived? It might also be worthwhile to recall that those were the years when the Salwa Judum was engaged in horrific forms of state-sponsored vigilante violence in Chhattisgarh, recruiting child soldiers for its activities and essentially turning entire communities against each other – the Supreme Court deemed it illegal and unconstitutional in 2011. This has since remained the high watermark of the state's malevolence towards its own people in the war against Naxalism, as well as a spectacular display of its incompetence and immaturity. The situation in Kudremukh during the early 2000s was very different from this theatre of war playing out in the forests of Dandakaranya – a reality that both the Naxals and the state failed to grasp. There was sufficient space for civil-society protests shorn of gun-toting, and the Karnataka government could have initiated genuine efforts towards dialoguing with what was, in reality, an extremely small group of Naxals – I heard there might have been around thirty people in the movement at its height in Karnataka. Disarmament and rehabilitation of guerrillas is the only happy ending really possible – this would also be greatly aided by the emergence of a sensible and discerning media to cover the process. The successful rehabilitation of ex-Naxals Noor Shridhar and Sirimane Nagaraj, who left the movement after Saketh Rajan's killing, is evidence that such things are possible. The two of them have also remained ardent advocates of furthering this model since they believe that there is a broad consensus regarding peaceful capitulation – Maoists mostly see themselves as a spent force and are presently requesting dialogue in Central India too. A truly happy ending would also have to be accompanied by the reining in of mining hegemons who wish to conquer vast tracts of resource-laden landscapes for private enrichment. What do you think of the relationship between liberalism and the state? One may not be in awe of it, but you need the state to enforce rights at the very least. The state might have to lean on its muscular arm to accomplish this. What are your thoughts on the very real practical, and ethical dimensions of exercising power? Increasingly, the role of the state in our country has been reduced to just advancing the interests of Big Business. Those who continue to believe in the benevolence of neoliberalism would like to see the state slim down completely – in America, you now have private prisons and so on. This is nothing less than a wholesale outsourcing of the practical and ethical purposes of the erstwhile state. Back here, I'm amazed to see people like Shekhar Gupta – who understands not an ounce of economics – vigorously endorse the disastrous austerity policies of those like Javier Milei. It is also becoming clear that India is trying to ingratiate itself on the world stage with new imperialist forces that are bent upon perpetuating an extractive oligopoly, in collusion with some of the nastiest demagogues on the planet. These developments must be critiqued fiercely. On the ground, the state's muscle should be directed towards strengthening democratic institutions, and towards investments in health, education, rural community-building, and a politics of care that goes beyond mere sponsorship. This is in addition to its traditional responsibilities in terms of defence and internal security, which goes without saying. Vittal Malekudiya was the first graduate from his tribal community but was arrested arbitrarily, on grounds that he was a Maoist since he had some literature about Bhagat Singh. The campaign for his release which brought in even the national leaders of the Left, was surprising and heartening to me. Today, Umar Khalid, Gulfisha Fatima and others are locked up on equally trumped-up charges. However, there has been little outrage or sustained protest regarding these. You write of the disagreement over '-isms' among activists. Has the fear of even pronouncing these words prevented civil society from banding together? There are actually some highly uncivil elements of our society, which includes the mainstream television media, that work extra hard to discredit individuals and morph public perception of these issues. Outrage and protests have happened on social media and many public figures have consistently highlighted these unlawful imprisonments, but there seems to be a more perverse and intractable crisis in the legal system as well. Vittal Malekudiya's story is really just a wild anomaly in a country where Gauri Lankesh's killers are out on bail, even as Umar Khalid and Gulfisha Fatima have been awaiting trial for five years. The lack of transparency, the nightmare of bureaucracy, the cunning of the incumbent regime – all of these come together, and there seems to be a desperate need for serious judicial reforms. What is the burden of history on modern Karnataka? Reading Prachi Deshpande in Creative Pasts, we understand that the search for a 'Maharashtra dharma' has been present for long, which helps in understanding the figure of Shivaji. How do you interpret society's tryst with the past? This is a really interesting question and connects with your earlier thoughts on the cultural right. If there is one thing that unites the Kannada world (left, right and centre), it might be the unhindered admiration for the treasure trove that is vachana literature, the genre-shattering, king-denouncing, free-spoken body of verses which emerged in the 12th century. Its outsize influence on Kannada cultural history cannot be overstated. The vachanas become nothing less than a primordial ore of ideas when seen through the eyes of all the eminent scholars and translators (from MM Kalburgi to AK Ramanujan to DR Nagaraj) who found in it a desi source of social egalitarianism and universalism – ideas we tend to conflate with the European Enlightenment. While the early 20th century sub-nationalists (like Alur Venkat Rao) looked to the Vijayanagar Empire to inform their sense of glory, the more serious historians of the succeeding generation (Kalburgi in particular) saw encapsulated in the Sharana rebellion and its vachana heritage nothing less than the genius of this land, a kind of 'Karnataka Dharma' perhaps. Also, if you scrutinise the founding historical fiction that went into the creation of the Karnataka statehood movement in the early 20th century, the first thing which might strike you is that this imaginary did not incorporate the many sultanates of the Deccan. Of course, this was more due to ignorance rather than malevolence at that time. In the years leading to his assassination in 2015, MM Kalburgi was leading an ambitious project to translate 16th century Adil Shahi poetry to Kannada (from Persian, Arabic, and Urdu), which was completed a few years ago. The excellent work of scholars like Richard Eaton and Rahamath Tarikere on the history of Sufism in the Deccan must also bear mention here. I was also intrigued to hear from a VHP ideologue that he'd read Manu Pillai's Rebel Sultans with some interest. I think we're seeing a new wave of reckonings with history (however contested they might be), and there is still much work to be done to recover (and chronicle) these pasts in all their complexity and wonder. There is an epigraph in the book from Ibrahim Adil Shah II's 16th century collection of verses Kitab-i-Nauras, which is his explication of the nava rasas, held together by his deep devotion to the Goddess Saraswathi. By all standards, he comes across as an extraordinary figure of aesthetic liberalism – this is reflected in Deccan art from that period too. I heard from an audience member at an event in Mysore that he had lived in Bijapur for years but still never encountered these histories. Might these universalist imaginaries not be valuable landmarks in our current search (the world over) for alternatives to parochial nationalisms?
