Nitish refuses ‘topi' at madarsa event, 12 years after slamming Modi for it
Much has changed in the 12 years in between, and his views on the 'topi' appear to have taken a 180-degree turn; or come full circle, depending on where you start looking at his political journey so far.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
PWD takes possession of disputed Imambara in M.P.'s Dhar; heavy force deployed
The Public Works Department (PWD) of the Madhya Pradesh Government has taken the possession of a disputed Imambara from the local Muslim community in Dhar district under heavy police protection, authorities said on Thursday (August 21, 2025). A large number of personnel remain deployed in the area. On the intervening night of August 19 and 20, the PWD took possession of the long-disputed property from the local Tazia Committee over a month after the local Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) ruled in the favour of the department. The local Tazia Committee has challenged the move in the Supreme Court. Dhar Superintendent of Police (SP) Manoj Kumar Singh told The Hindu that at least 1,500 security personnel, including one company of the Special Task Force (STF) and two companies of the Special Armed Forces (SAF), and surveillance from neighbouring buildings as well as drones. The multi-layered security arrangements remain in place given the sensitivity of the matter, he added. A local Hindu body, Sanskritik Dharohar Raksha Manch Samiti had been running a campaign to get it vacated since 2021 and has submitted requests to the district administration. Earlier this year, the district administration issued a notice to the Tazia Committee, prompting the body to move the Madhya Pradesh High Court against it. However, in April, 2025, the High Court directed the Dhar SDM to decide on the matter, who after hearing representation from the concerned sides, declared in the favour of the PWD on July 14. The Muslim body approached the Divisional Commissioner against the order which was turned down, prompting it to move the Supreme Court. Mr. Singh said, 'The building used to be the property of the Dhar ruler earlier and had been under the control of the PWD since the independence. In 1973, the Tazia Committee took it on rent for about two weeks to prepare the Muharram tazias and has been in their possession ever since.' He said that for a month after the SDM court's order, the police and the administration had held several meetings with community leaders and bodies from both Hindu and Muslim communities to ensure that the possession can be taken peacefully. 'The situation is peaceful in the area but we have kept the security cover to prevent any incident,' he said. Dhar has been communally sensitive for years due to multiple religious disputes, including the famous Bhojshala-Kamal Maula mosque dispute between the Hindu and Muslim communities.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
China stands by India, firmly opposes 50% US tariff & threat to hike it: Envoy
Xu said in the face of such acts, silence or compromise only emboldens the bully. NEW DELHI: With PM Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping set to carry forward the Sino-Indian rapprochement in their upcoming meeting in Tianjin, Chinese ambassador to India Xu Feihong Thursday backed India on the issue of US tariffs saying China strongly opposed the Trump administration's move to impose 50% tariffs on India for its oil procurement from Russia. Xu said in the face of such acts, silence or compromise only emboldens the bully. "US has imposed tariffs of up to 50% on India and even threatened more. China firmly opposes it. China will firmly stand with India to uphold the multilateral trading system with WTO at its core," said the ambassador. He also said the essence of trade was to complement each other's advantages and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, not a calculation of who loses and who gains. He said trade should not become a tool for pursuing individual selfish interests. "US has long benefited gr-eatly from free trade, but now it is using tariffs as a bargaining chip to demand exorbitant prices from various countries," said Xu at an event organised by thinktanks Chintan Research Foundation and Centre for Global India Insights. "The development of China and India has not been completely smooth, but fri-endship and cooperation have always been the main theme. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Benefits of Trading Bitcoin CFDs IC Markets Learn More Undo There might be challenges, but unity and cooperation are our only options," said Xu. His remarks came ahead of Modi's first visit to China in seven years. He will be in Ti-anjin on Aug 31 for SCO summit, on the margins of which he will have bilateral meetings with Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of other member-states. The ambassador called for enhancing strategic trust and focusing on common interests. He said economic and trade structures of China and India were complementary. "We'll welcome more Indian commodities into the Chinese market. India has a competitive edge in IT, software and biomedicine, while China is seeing rapid expansion in the fields of electronic manufacturing, infrastructure construction and new energy. The Chinese side welcomes more Indian enterprises to invest in China. It is also hoped that the Indian side could provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for the Chinese enterprises in India, so as to promote common development of industries and benefit the people of the two nations," he said.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Beijing attaches 'great importance' to PM Modi's China visit: Key for SCO, bilateral ties, says ambassador
Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong said on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China for the SCO Summit later this month "will be very important", not only for the summit but also for the bilateral ties between the two nations. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital on August 19.(AP) He said that China attaches "great importance" to this visit of the Prime Minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin on August 31 and September 1. "The visit of Prime Minister Modi to China will be a very important event not only for the SCO but for the bilateral relationship between the two countries. A working group from China and India are preparing to make this visit a successful one. We attach great importance to this visit," Fiehong told reporters. He also mentioned the outcomes of Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi's visit to India earlier this week, news agency ANI. Wang Yi co-chaired the 24th round of the Special Representatives' dialogue on the Boundary Question between India and China with the National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on August 19. He also held bilateral talks with external affairs minister S Jaishankar. The Chinese foreign minister called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital on August 19. "This time, during the Chinese FM visit to India, he had a very important talk with Mr Doval on the boundary issue. They reached a consensus on 10 points. Two groups will be set up by our two sides over the border issue. One group will be for border delimitation into appropriate sectors. The second group will focus on proper management of the border and border areas," the Chinese Ambassador said. Feihong further said that the border issue should not define the relationship between India and China, adding that the border issue is one side, and the cooperation between the nations is on the other. In a post X, the Ambassador highlighted the 10 points of consensus from the 24th round of talks between special representatives of China and India on the boundary question. Feihong said the two sides spoke positively of the progress made in implementing the significant leader-level consensus in Kazan. "The two sides reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas, emphasized handling the issue properly through friendly consultations, to promote overall development of the China-India bilateral relationship," he said. "Agreed on the need to take a political perspective of the overall bilateral relationship while seeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable framework for settlement of the boundary question in accordance with the Agreement on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for Settlement of the China-India Boundary Question signed in 2005," he added. The two sides also agreed to set up a Working Group to advance effective border management in order to maintain peace in the border areas, he said. "Agreed to create General-Level Mechanisms in the Eastern and Middle Sectors, in addition to the existing General-Level Mechanism in the Western Sector, and hold the next round of General-Level Mechanism meeting in the Western Sector at an early date," he added. Feihong said the two sides also agreed to engage border management mechanisms at both diplomatic and military levels. The Chinese Ambassador said the two sides exchanged views on trans-border rivers cooperation and agreed to give full play to the role of the China-India Expert Level Mechanism on Trans-border Rivers and keep communication on the renewal of relevant memorandum of understandings. "Agreed to re-open the three traditional border trading markets, namely Renqinggang-Changgu, Pulan-Gunji and Jiuba-Namgya. Agreed to hold the 25th Round of SR Talks in China in 2026," Feihong added.
