India Wants a US Trade Deal With an ‘Urgency' Not Seen Before
By and Shruti Srivastava
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India's trade teams are 'really charged up' and want to swiftly seal a bilateral deal with the US, a minister from Narendra Modi's government said, as the South Asian nation scrambles to shield itself from Washington's on-again, off-again tariff strategy.
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UK and India discuss 'counter-terrorism' cooperation after Pakistan ceasefire
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‘We are not just fighting for Harvard': For alums, this year feels different
In the 45 years since graduating from Harvard University, Laura Hastings has never been to a reunion. 'I've always felt that Harvard didn't need me,' Hastings said. However, like many of her classmates, when she saw the escalating battle between her alma mater and the Trump administration, she realized this year was the moment for her to 'show up.' The alumni day had a record of 9,000 attendees this year, a speaker said. A sea of maroon Harvard regalia coated the Cambridge streets as some men walked around with tophats and suits, and others waved reunion flags. Shrieks bounced off the brick buildings as classmates saw each other and young children in oversized Harvard merch clung to their parents. Read more: Funding cuts, lawsuits, foreign students: The latest on Trump's war with Harvard University The event comes only a few hours after the institution amended one of its lawsuits against the federal government on Thursday evening and asked for a temporary restraining order. Those actions were in response to President Donald Trump's issuance of a proclamation this week declaring that the school's foreign students would not be allowed into the country. Harvard has been a leader in resisting — through multiple lawsuits — the Trump administration as it attempts to cut billions of dollars from the university in addition to research funding. In one of the cuts, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it was due to 'continued failure to address anti-Semitic harassment and race discrimination.' 'In the Trump Administration, discrimination will not be tolerated on campus. Federal funds must support institutions that protect all students,' the department said. Hastings said she has had some embarrassment about going to Harvard as an elite institution. 'Elite universities, by their very definition, suggest exclusion,' she said, adding that she had a privileged upbringing. While higher education can be the thing that can help people advance to higher-paying and more prestigious careers, the federal government has tapped into a segment of the population who feels excluded by higher education, said Hastings, who is a professor at Georgia State University. One Harvard alum who spoke with MassLive on Friday traveled across the United States border to come to the reunion, despite his fears of being let in — or out — of the country. MassLive isn't using his name because he isn't a citizen of the United States and fears retaliation from the federal government. 'As a non-citizen and non-[permanent resident] you have no procedural rights at the border, meaning that they could ask to see my phone, my messages, my WhatsApp history, anything that they would take that is politically not congruent with what they want they could use that as a basis to deny me entry,' he said. 'I was worried that that would happen. 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'We are fighting for every higher education institution's right to be able to pursue the research they want to do, teach what they want to teach, admit the students that they want to admit. This isn't just about Harvard, it's about all higher education,' she said. Crimson Courage is aiming to have other campuses create their own chapters to back their institutions in the face of cuts or other actions from the federal government. Lisa Paige, an alum and organizer with Crimson Courage, said the organization has around 300 volunteers and has continued to grow. Hastings, who handed out Crimson Courage stickers on Friday to alums, said that while there is overwhelming support, resistance from alums is also apparent. She said many people said they didn't want to talk about the Trump administration's actions against Harvard — instead wanting to enjoy their reunion. One alum who told her he stopped giving money to Harvard because it has become 'too liberal.' Much of what the Trump administration has critiqued about Harvard has focused on campus antisemitism, race discrimination and a lack of political diversity. All of the alums MassLive spoke with on Friday said they don't believe these explanations are why the federal government is going after Harvard. Hastings, for instance, said she thought Harvard leaned too conservative in its beliefs when she was a student on campus. And, as a Jew, she thinks the claim of antisemitism is ultimately being used as a 'scapegoat' for the administration to go after Harvard. The government going after universities is a 'red flag for a democracy' which could harm freedom of thought and speech, according to Olumide Adebo, a Harvard graduate school alum. At the same time, Adebo, along with many other alumni, has criticisms of how Harvard has reacted since the Trump administration shined a light on Harvard. One is the cancellation of affinity graduations — which was something he enjoyed when he graduated from Harvard. 'Whatever criticisms I can offer to Harvard are fairly similar to what I offer to our society in terms of how we embrace diversity and equity in general,' he said. Adebo pointed to the university not backing former president Claudine Gay, who stepped down in early 2024 after about six months on the job, and defending her against the attacks claiming that she had plagiarized scholarly work. 'That seems to me to be a very short leash for anybody in leadership. Frankly, regardless of the missteps. Especially since she was fully vetted before being hired for the role,' he said. Read more: What a monk, a librarian and a dentist have to do with Harvard's fight with Trump To the alum who is not a U.S. citizen, the debate about the future of higher education, funding between public and private higher education and research funding are all 'welcomed.' 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Fox prominently wore a keffiyeh, a traditional headdress worn by people in the Middle East that has taken on a greater symbol of resistance in the United States in support of Palestinians. She said she wore it on that day because many students at Harvard can't — and there is little the university can do against her in response. 'What are they going to do? Suck the degree back out of my head?' she said. Peter Coccoluto, joined by his wife, said he came on Friday to Harvard for his 70th reunion in part due to the actions taken toward the university. 'I feel we are being besieged by an ignorant man who also has the bad quality of seeking revenge on anyone who crosses his path,' Coccoluto said. 'I am here to support Harvard and to urge them to fight, fight, fight, because we fight not only for Harvard, but for all of the other free institutions of learning, higher learning,' he said. Casey Wenz stood outside the Harvard Yard on Friday morning with a finger brace holding up a wooden sign that read 'Harvard Thank You For Your Courage.' While she doesn't have an affiliation with the university, as a Cambridge resident, she said she wanted to show her gratitude to the university for 'standing up for themselves' and ultimately 'standing up for all of us.' She said she has friends who are international students and work at Harvard and that the federal government's actions against Harvard are hurting the country's economy. 'He's knee-capping innovation. And I think undoing that will take years — possibly decades,' she said. 'We might be losing a week or a month for every day that we lose in the research lab,' she said. 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A breakthrough appeared on Friday when Modi confirmed he would be attending the upcoming G7 summit in Alberta, at Carney's invitation. Since then, Dhaliwal says he has received dozens of calls and more than 100 emails from constituents expressing concern. 'They're worried. They're worried about their safety, they're concerned about the justice in Mr. Nijjar's case, as well,' he told National Post in an interview late Friday. Dhaliwal said he has heard from other Liberal MPs also expressing concern, but said he would not divulge details to protect their privacy. He said he intends to raise the concerns he has been hearing from constituents with Carney or members of his team, and will be in Ottawa next week for the ongoing sitting of Parliament. 'He's willing to talk,' Dhaliwal said of the prime minister. 'He's willing to listen to his MPs, that's what he has promised because he has always said that he's interested in the voice from the grassroots, not the message coming from the top to the grassroots.' 'I will certainly raise this with him or his team.' A statement from Carney's office in response to questions from National Post didn't directly address Dhaliwal's concerns, but said 'Canada's sovereignty and national security is paramount.' 'As Prime Minister of the fifth largest economy and the world's most populous country, Prime Minister Modi was invited to participate in these critical discussions,' the statement reads. The prime minister also defended his decision to invite Modi to the G7 at a Friday press conference earlier in the day. He said it was a matter he discussed with other G7 countries and, given that the group plans to discuss issues ranging from energy security to critical minerals and infrastructure, 'there are certain countries that should be at the table for those discussions.' Carney said India is central to a number of supply chains and has the fifth largest economy in the world and the largest population. 'So it makes sense.' Modi said in a statement on social media that 'India and Canada will work together with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests.' Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre backed the decision for Modi to attend, saying Canada needs to work with India on security and trade. Meanwhile, the World Sikh Organization, which advocates for Sikh Canadians, denounced the decision, with its legal counsel, Balpreet Singh, saying it amounts to a 'betrayal.' Carney declined to say on Friday whether he believed Modi was involved in Nijjar's assassination, saying it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the matter given the fact that legal proceedings were underway. Four Indian nationals have been charged in his death. Dhaliwal said he does not support the decision to have Modi in Canada, but said he should offer a 'commitment that his government or his agents of India, will never, ever intervene into the lives of Canadians.' India's prime minister should also agree to 'full cooperation' in the investigation into Niijar's death. Last fall, Canada and India expelled each other's diplomats after it cited RCMP evidence linking Indian government agents to crimes in Canada. Canada had requested that India waive diplomatic immunity to allow police to investigate, which the federal government said did not happen. Carney said on Friday that he and Modi in their discussion agreed to 'law enforcement to law enforcement dialogue. He also noted that 'some progress' had been made on issues of 'accountability.' Dhaliwal said the RCMP has been clear in its concerns about the links between the Indian government and violent crimes taking place in Canada. He also pointed to Justice Marie-Josée Hogue's report into foreign interference that named India as one of the top countries attempting to meddle in Canada's democratic process. The invitation to Modi touches on issues of the rule of law and fundamental rights, he added. 'We cannot sacrifice those values.' National Post staylor@ Mark Carney defends inviting Modi to G7, prompting shock from Sikh organization Carney prepared to sit over the summer to pass new bill to fast-track major projects Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
