PM Modi meets Chinese FM Wang Yi in Delhi, stresses steady progress in India-China relations
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Hindustan Times
13 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
TikTok ban update: Trump and White House make big move; positive news for fans
While President Donald Trump has about a month to finalize the sale of TikTok or send the video-sharing platform into a ban, the White House has made a massive move. The Trump administration on Tuesday started a TikTok account, and fans now think that the China-based application is here to stay. A 3D-printed miniature model of Donald Trump and TikTok logo are seen in this illustration(REUTERS) This comes as Trump has time and again discussed the sale of TikTok, citing its Chinese ownership. ByteDance had first faced a deadline for the sale of the platform earlier this year. However, the deadline was pushed. On Tuesday, the White House launched an official TikTok account. 'The Trump administration is committed to communicating the historic successes President Trump has delivered to the American people with as many audiences and platforms as possible," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said as the site went live. "President Trump's message dominated TikTok during his presidential campaign, and we're excited to build upon those successes and communicate in a way no other administration has before,' she added. White House's first video on TikTok In the first video posted on the new account, dramatic music plays over a compilation of President Trump meeting people. "Every day I wake up determined to deliver a better life for the people all across this nation," Trump says in the 27-second video. 'I am your voice,' he adds. The clip received over 7,500 likes and more than 500 comments in less than an hour. TikTok users excited While the White House did not mention whether the new account is an indication of the sale of TikTok, several users were excited. 'White House rolled out a TikTok account. Something tells me the ban isn't coming anytime soon,' one person noted on X, platform formerly known as Twitter. 'Back in my day, White House was going to ban TikTok. We live in interesting times! 🤔' another person tweeted.
Indian Express
13 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Jaishankar said Taiwan part of China, says Beijing; no change in ties with Taipei: Delhi
Beijing said Tuesday External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that 'Taiwan is part of China' and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval conveyed that India 'consistently adhered to the one-China policy'. Responding to these remarks in the Chinese readout of Wang's meetings in New Delhi, official sources said there has been 'no change' in India's position on Taiwan and its ties with Taipei are focused on economy, technology and culture. The Chinese Foreign Ministry, in an English version of the readout on Jaishankar's meeting with Wang Monday, quoted the External Affairs Minister as having said: 'Stable, cooperative, and forward-looking India-China relations serve the interests of both countries. Taiwan is part of China.' And, in its readout of the meeting between Doval and Wang, China quoted Doval saying 'it is necessary to enhance understanding, deepen trust, and strengthen cooperation, as this is crucial for the well-being of the peoples of both countries and world peace and development. India has consistently adhered to the one-China policy.' India has always maintained the One-China policy – which means Taiwan is part of China. India and Taiwan have their representative offices in each other's country, focusing on trade and cultural activities. And now, a technology component has been added to it. India does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan yet because it follows the One-China policy. However, during then Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to India in December 2010, India did not mention support for the One-China policy in the joint communique. That has been the template for the last 15 years. Responding to the Chinese readout Tuesday, sources said, 'There is no change in our position on Taiwan. We stressed that like the rest of the world, India has a relationship with Taiwan that focuses on economic, technology and cultural ties. We intend to continue it.' In an oblique reference to US President Donald Trump's moves on tariffs, the Chinese readout of the meeting between Jaishankar and Wang said, 'Wang Yi stated that in today's world, unprecedented changes are unfolding at a faster pace, unilateralism and bullying acts are rampant, and free trade and the international order face severe challenges.' 'On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, humanity has reached a critical crossroads in determining the direction of the future. As the two largest developing countries with a combined population of more than 2.8 billion, China and India should demonstrate a sense of global responsibility, act as major countries, set an example for developing countries in pursuit of strength through unity, and contribute to advancing a multipolar world and greater democracy in international relations,' it said. According to the Chinese readout, Wang also said that the 'successful meeting between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kazan (in Russia last October) has provided guidance for the resumption and a new start for China-India relations. Both sides have been earnestly implementing the common understandings reached by the leaders of the two countries, gradually resuming exchanges and dialogues at various levels, maintaining peace and tranquility in border areas, and enabling Indian pilgrims to resume their pilgrimages to the sacred mountains and lakes in China's Xizang' – a reference to the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. 'China-India relations are showing a positive trend toward returning to the main course of cooperation. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India. Both sides should earnestly draw lessons from the past 75 years, form a correct strategic perception, view each other as partners and opportunities rather than rivals or threats, invest their valuable resources in development and revitalization, and explore right ways for neighboring major countries to get along with each other, which are characterized by mutual respect and trust, peaceful coexistence, pursuit of common development, and win-win cooperation,' it said. Wang 'emphasized that China is ready to uphold the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness and the vision of a shared future, and work with neighboring countries, including India, to build a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home. China and India should remain confident, move in the same direction, avoid disruptions, expand cooperation, and consolidate the improvement momentum of bilateral relations, so that revitalization processes of the two great eastern civilizations can reinforce each other and achieve mutual success, providing the most needed certainty and stability for Asia and the world at large,' it said. According to an Indian official, China 'promised to address three key concerns of India. FM Wang Yi assured the External Affairs Minister that China is addressing India's needs of fertilisers, rare earths and tunnel boring machines.' The Chinese readout also said that 'Jaishankar said that under the joint guidance of leaders of both countries, India-China relations have moved from the bottom and are continuously improving and developing, with exchanges and cooperation between the two sides across various fields moving toward normalization. He expressed gratitude to China for facilitating Indian pilgrims' visits to the sacred mountains and lakes in China's Xizang. It is crucial for India and China to improve their strategic perceptions of each other. As the two largest developing countries, both India and China uphold multilateralism and are committed to promoting a fair and balanced multi-polar world. The two countries should also jointly maintain the stability of the world economy.' 'Stable, cooperative, and forward-looking India-China relations serve the interests of both countries. Taiwan is part of China. India is willing to take the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries as an opportunity to deepen political mutual trust with China, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in economy, trade and other fields, enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and jointly maintain peace and tranquility in border areas. India fully supports China in hosting the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Tianjin Summit and is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China in BRICS and other multilateral mechanisms,' it said, adding that both sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common interest and concern.
News18
38 minutes ago
- News18
Decoding RSS: Ten Key Tenets Of World's Largest Voluntary Movement
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the RSS for its selfless contribution to nation-building from the ramparts of the Red Fort during his Independence Day speech It is very difficult to understand the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) but very easy to misunderstand it. This is what can be said about the largest voluntary movement in the world that is completing 100 years on this year's Vijayadashami. That is also the reason for a political debate that has started after Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the RSS for its selfless contribution to nation-building from the ramparts of the Red Fort during his Independence Day speech. Let us take a look at 10 key tenets that are key to understanding the RSS: First, RSS is not an organisation in society, but it is organising society. So, it can't be looked at from the traditional or any other existing lens of analysing non-governmental organisations or, in fact, any other organisation. Second, RSS's only work is to create people with strong character who are committed to the service of the society and nation. Whatever work is done, it is done by the RSS volunteers known as 'swayamsevaks". And as they work closely with society in different fields, the credit for any change or betterment goes to society itself. Thus, neither the RSS nor its volunteers seek recognition for any achievements. Third, the objective of the RSS is to transform society. This 'transformation" would be achieved, according to the RSS, when every individual would get an opportunity to realise their full potential. Fourth, when this objective is achieved, the RSS should just merge with the whole society and vanish. And when history is recorded, no credit should be given to the RSS, as it is the society that has transformed itself. Fifth, the RSS believes in a holistic perspective and not a binary vision. It doesn't believe in the fragmented vision of 'majority vs minority" or 'left vs right". For the RSS, all Bharatiyas are part of one nation. Sixth, when the RSS talks about Hindu unity, it doesn't associate the word 'Hindu" with a religion or a way of worship. For the RSS, the word 'Hindu" denotes all those who consider Bharat to be their motherland and are committed to serving her. An individual going to the mosque or a church or even an atheist is as much a 'Hindu" for the RSS as an individual going to the temple if he or she is ready to live and die for Bharat. Seventh, the RSS believes that the concept of 'secularism" was picked up from the West and imposed on India in the post-Independence era by politicians and intellectuals who were not rooted in the cultural ethos of Bharat. The concept of 'secularism" as it is applied today was a typical Christian response to intra-Christianity wars and the dominance of the Church in Europe. The Christian wars in the 16th and 17th centuries had ravaged Europe, as the Church was intertwined with the State in such a manner that one couldn't segregate the two. The French Revolution laid down the foundation for the principle of laïcité—the separation of religion and the State. In 1905, France formally codified it as a law. The rest of Europe broadly followed this principle. Indian intellectuals and politicians who were in awe of 'Western liberalism" or 'Marxism" picked up this idea and thrust it upon India. In the Indian civilisational construct dating back several millennia, religion never dominated the State because we were ruled by the concept of 'dharma"—a set of eternal values that has nothing to do with any particular way of worship. Eighth, the RSS associates 'religion" with a way of worship and 'dharma" with a set of eternal values that have been driving Bharat's civilisational journey since the beginning. This set of eternal values is 'Hindu Dharma". So, when the RSS talks about the concept of 'Hindu Rashtra", it implies a nation that is constantly guided by 'dharma", not by any 'religion". Ninth, the RSS believes that we as a 'nation" are different from the modern 'nation-states". Our idea of nationalism is different from the West's idea of nationalism. Noted historian David Sasson, who earned his PhD under Eric Hobsbawm, one of the foremost authorities on Western nationalism, observed in his introduction to a collection of essays and lectures by Hobsbawm, 'On Nationalism", 'In Europe, nationalism was the product of the 'dual revolutions', the French Revolution and the British Industrial Revolution. The rise of the 'White man's nationalism' in Europe resulted in colonisation of large parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, civil wars within the Western nation-states, countless military conflicts between nations, at least two world wars and ethnic cleansing of minorities in the Western countries by the dominant political powers who had captured the power riding on the wave of 'nationalism'. That is why significant sections of the society as well as the academia, media and intelligentsia in the West are wary of 'nationalism'. In the West, utterance of the word 'nationalism' brings back memories of loot, plunder, bloody wars and a quest for material wealth and military superiority. 'Hindu Nationalism' is quite different from European or Western Nationalism. The trajectory of European nationalism and Hindu nationalism are altogether different. Radha Kumud Mookerji, known for his monumental work on history and culture of India. has explained the difference in his seminal work Nationalism in Hindu Culture published in 1921. According to Mookerji, it is a mistake readily to assume that the origin of that remarkable social phenomenon of nationalism is to be found in the West; that it is a genuinely Western product imported into the Eastern countries long after their growth and development; that the Eastern mind was completely a stranger to the very conception of the mother country, a sense of natural attachment to her, and a corresponding sense of duties and obligations which the children of the soil owe to her. Such misconceptions are due to a colossal ignorance of the culture of the East. Even in the dim and distant age of remote antiquity, unillumined by the light of historical knowledge, we find the underlying principles of nationalism chanted forth in the hymns of the Rig Veda embodying the very first utterance of humanity itself. That book, one of the oldest literary records of humanity, reveals conscious and fervent attempts made by the Rishis (seers), those profoundly wise organisers of Hindu polity and culture, to visualise the unity of their mother-country, nay, to transfigure the mother earth into a living deity and enshrine her in the loving heart of the worshipper." Tenth, and the most interesting tenet of the RSS philosophy, is that there are two kinds of people in our society—those who have joined the RSS and those who would ultimately join it. That is why the RSS doesn't respond to even its most vicious critiques, and history has been a witness—there is no dearth of RSS-baiters who later became the most committed swayamsevaks. The writer is an author and columnist. His X handle is @ArunAnandLive. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views. Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. tags : hindu Narendra Modi rss view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: August 20, 2025, 04:29 IST News opinion Right Word | Decoding RSS: Ten Key Tenets Of World's Largest Voluntary Movement Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Loading comments...
