VIT Mauritius signs MoU with Binghamton University, US
The MoU was signed by Dr G Viswanathan, Founder & Chancellor of VIT and Dr Harvey G Stenger, President of Binghamton University (SUNY), New York, US.
The event was held at the Binghamton campus in the presence of Nobel laureate Dr M Stanley Whittingham and other senior leaders from both the institutions.
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The Print
7 hours ago
- The Print
‘God made me Pakistan's protector,' says army chief Munir, adds his greatest desire is ‘martyrdom'
'God has made me the protector of the country. I do not desire any position other than that,' he is said to have said. 'I am a soldier and my greatest desire is martyrdom,' In a public interview with Pakistani journalist Suhail Warraich in Brussels, Munir publicly denied rumours of an imminent political shake-up in Islamabad, dismissing such claims as fabrications fueled by elements seeking to destabilise the country. New Delhi: Pakistan army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir is focused on being 'the god ordained protector of Pakistan' and has no plans of being a President or a politician. He also threatened to launch an attack on India if it collaborated with the Afghans 'to create instability' in the country. The Pakistan field marshal said he 'genuinely appreciates' US president Donald Trump's peacemaking efforts and is proud that Pakistan led the way when it came to nominating Trump for Nobel. At the same time, he said Pakistan will not choose the US over China. 'We will not sacrifice one friend for the other,' he said. Shifting to economic matters, Munir presented a comprehensive roadmap for what he projected as aimed at lifting Pakistan out of its financial crisis and positioning it among the world's developed nations within the next five to ten years. He projected that starting next year, Pakistan would begin generating an annual net profit of $2 billion from the Reko Diq mining project, with revenues expected to grow steadily. Emphasizing the country's untapped wealth, he noted that Pakistan possesses significant rare earth mineral reserves—resources that, if properly harnessed, could dramatically reduce the national debt and transform Pakistan into one of the world's most prosperous economies. Addressing Imran Khan's incarceration, he gave his solution: the way forward for the former Pakistan prime minister would be to apologise to the military and went on to use Islamic metaphors to drive his point. He reportedly compared himself to God and Khan to Satan who chooses to not recognise Adam, the first man. Drawing a parallel, he remarked that those who are willing to sincerely apologize align themselves with righteousness, like the angels, whereas those who persist in defiance resemble Satan in their obstinacy. The Brussels stop was part of the Pakistan army chief's return journey from his second visit to the US in two months, where his nuclear sabre-rattling speech against India was widely criticised. Also Read: Pakistan army chief Asim Munir awards himself top honour, rewards political brass for 'victory' over India 'False rumours about political change' The Pakistan army chief rebutted the talks that the military might be positioning itself to replace either the president or prime minister. 'The rumours about a change are completely false,' he said. 'These narratives are not being spread by any civil or military institutions. In fact, behind them are elements who oppose both the government and the state apparatus and wish to create political anarchy.' His comments follow weeks of speculation on social media suggesting that President Asif Ali Zardari may be asked to resign. Zardari's condition, according to some unverified reports, for stepping down involved securing a political role for his son, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. He then went on to praise the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his cabinet for their performance during recent national crises, including Operation Sindoor when India retaliated for the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack. The prime minister's '18-hour workdays' were specifically cited as an example of commitment and leadership under pressure. Munir accused both India and Afghanistan of destabilising Pakistan through proxy efforts and cross-border interference. 'Instead of repaying our kindness over decades, a conspiracy is being hatched (by Afghanistan) in collaboration with India,' he said. 'If Taliban elements are pushed into Pakistan, we will have to avenge the blood of every Pakistani.' (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: US tags BLA as foreign terrorist group days after Pakistan army chief Munir's visit. What it means
New Indian Express
13 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Centre should spend more on education: VIT founder
VELLORE: Highlighting the long-standing demand to allocate 6% of the country's GDP to education, the founder and chancellor of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) Dr G Viswanathan, said that the central government should spend more on education, noting that only 3% is currently spent. He was speaking at the 40th convocation of the institute on Saturday. 'In the 2025-26 budget, the central government allocated only 2.5% of its Rs 55 lakh crore budget for education. With 4.3 crore students currently enrolled in higher education in India, the new education policy aims to achieve a 50 % gross enrolment ratio, requiring the student count to rise to 8 crore. This requires more classrooms, infrastructure and funding,' he said.
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First Post
a day ago
- First Post
Trump has risked US-India ties for a cheap win
Great partnerships are built slowly and destroyed quickly. In torching trust for the sake of a few headlines and a Nobel nomination, Trump risks more than a temporary chill Trump actions suggest a transactional mindset in which strategic relationships are subordinated to momentary political wins and rhetorical jabs. Representational image 'In geopolitics, there are no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests.' – Lord Palmerston From Warmth to Whiplash Few bilateral relationships have been cultivated with more care over the last two decades than that between the United States and India. The strategic logic was clear: as Asia's other democratic giant, India could help anchor an Indo-Pacific balance of power to check China's rise. But President Donald Trump, in a matter of months, has managed to turn goodwill into suspicion. What began with a 'MAGA plus MIGA equals mega partnership' in February has degenerated into public insults, punitive tariffs, and a humiliating tilt towards Pakistan. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The consequences go well beyond bruised egos. They threaten to undo years of steady alignment between the two largest democracies, alignment that took decades to build and that the US can ill afford to squander. The Tariff Hammer Trump's decision to slap a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, then double it to 50 per cent, was framed as punishment for New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil. Yet the hypocrisy is glaring: China, America's main strategic rival, buys far more Russian oil without incurring such penalties. The president's taunt 'They can take their dead economies down together' was not only factually wrong (India's economy is booming) but needlessly insulting. For India, it confirmed that Washington's so-called 'strategic partnership' can be tossed aside the moment it becomes inconvenient. Lisa Curtis, a veteran South Asia hand who served on Trump's National Security Council, calls this approach 'mystifying' and 'short-sighted'. The words are diplomatic; the implications are blunt. This is self-sabotage. Kashmir: The Breaking Point If the tariffs soured the mood, the Kashmir episode poisoned it. In May, after a terrorist attack sparked tensions between India and Pakistan, the US quietly urged restraint, standard practice in such crises. But Trump couldn't resist claiming full credit, even boasting that he had threatened India to force a climbdown. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This crossed a red line. India has never accepted third-party mediation on Kashmir. Modi's government took the extraordinary step of publishing its call minutes with Trump, stressing 'at no point' had there been mediation. Indian commentators called it 'typical Trump overreach'. The damage was compounded when Pakistan publicly praised Trump's 'peacemaking' and even nominated him for the Nobel Prize he so covets. For New Delhi, the symbolism was clear: Washington had chosen public flattery from Islamabad over strategic discretion with India. Playing Favourites Soon after, Pakistan secured a tariff reduction from 29 per cent to 19 per cent. India's rate stayed at 50 per cent. That sent a starker message than any speech: a supposed partner was punished harder than an adversary. For many in India's foreign policy establishment, this rekindled the suspicion that the US still sees South Asia primarily through a Pakistan-centric lens, a Cold War hangover they thought was long gone. More Than Trade STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The damage isn't confined to tariffs and Kashmir. Indian students face increased harassment on American campuses under a tightening immigration regime. Deportations of undocumented Indians have spiked. Meanwhile, Trump's attendance at the upcoming Quad summit in India is now in doubt. Curtis is unequivocal: 'Prime Minister Modi is just not going to trust President Trump anymore.' Without personal trust, strategic logic will not hold the partnership together. China and Russia Waiting in the Wings It is naïve to think India will simply pivot to Beijing. The two countries remain strategic rivals, with unresolved border disputes and conflicting ambitions in the Indian Ocean. But Modi is preparing to visit China for the first time in seven years, a signal that New Delhi is willing to thaw ties when it suits its interests. Russia, meanwhile, remains a trusted partner in defence and energy. President Putin's planned visit to India underscores Moscow's enduring relevance. If Washington keeps pushing India away, it risks accelerating a Eurasian convergence that US strategists have spent decades trying to prevent. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Strategy Demands Consistency The US-India partnership was never about sentiment. It was built on shared interests, counterbalancing China, securing supply chains, and stabilising the Indo-Pacific. Such a partnership demands steadiness and respect for India's strategic autonomy. Trump's approach has been neither steady nor respectful. His actions suggest a transactional mindset in which strategic relationships are subordinated to momentary political wins and rhetorical jabs. That is not how great-power partnerships survive. A Self-Inflicted Wound Palmerston's maxim about permanent interests is more than a cynical quip; it is a warning. The US and India will always have differences, over trade, over Russia, over immigration. But these must be managed quietly, without public humiliation, if the broader strategic compact is to hold. In torching trust for the sake of a few headlines and a Nobel nomination from Islamabad, Trump risks more than a temporary chill. He risks driving India to hedge harder with Beijing and Moscow, fracturing the delicate geometry of Asian geopolitics. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Great partnerships are built slowly and destroyed quickly. Washington still has a narrow window to repair the damage. But if it fails, it will discover, too late, that India, once alienated, will not be easily won back. Ashutosh Kumar Thakur is a Bengaluru-based management professional, literary critic, and Curator. He can be reached at ashutoshbthakur@ The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
