All set for August 15 Independence Day celebrations
He suggested that suitable arrangements be made for students, officials and the public to watch the celebrations. The arrangements for stalls were also inspected.
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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Thattil condemns growing attacks by communal forces against Christians
Kochi: The second session of the 33rd Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church began on Monday at Mount St Thomas, the headquarters of the Church in Kakkanad. A total of 52 bishops, including those serving in India and abroad as well as those retired from pastoral ministry, are participating in the session. Major archbishop Mar Raphael Thattil, the head of the Syro-Malabar Church, delivered the inaugural address. In the context of India's 79th Independence Day celebrations, the major archbishop recalled the nation's progress in modern times, the persecution faced by religious minorities, especially Christians in independent India, and the injustices endured by nuns in Chhattisgarh. He strongly condemned the growing attacks by communal forces against Christians across the country. Thattil assured persecuted church communities and individuals in different parts of India that they are not alone and that the Church will always stand with them. He reminded the bishops that the Church should never retreat from the evangelising mission in the face of crises. Instead, he called on the Synod bishops to overcome all shortcomings in the Church's mission of evangelisation and move forward, praying for true and complete freedom by surrendering fully to the will of God. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Highest Earning College Majors—2025 Edition Best Paying Degrees | Search Ads Learn More Undo The synod session opened with meditations led by Mar Alex Tharamangalam, auxiliary bishop of the Eparchy of Mananthavady. Afterwards, the synod bishops celebrated Holy Qurbana together, presided over by the major archbishop. At 2.30pm, thattil officially inaugurated the session by lighting the lamp. The synod will conclude on Friday, Aug 29. The synod is being held against the backdrop of comparatively peaceful time in the Ernakulam Angamaly archdiocese where the holy mass row has subsided following peace talks. Meanwhile, there are criticism over the Church's action against a tribunal appointed for implementing disciplinary action in the archdiocese. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
India.com
5 hours ago
- India.com
Trump's Official Urges India To Stop Purchases Of Russian Oil For 'Funding' War In Ukraine
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has targeted Indian purchases of Russian crude oil, accusing it of funding Moscow's war in Ukraine and called for New Delhi to stop, Al Jazeera reported, citing the opinion piece published in the Financial Times. In an opinion piece published in the Financial Times on Monday, Navarro wrote, "India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs." Notably, US President Donald Trump and his administration have continuously targeted India over its purchase of Russian crude oil. India, on the other hand, has always maintained that India's purchases are based on its domestic needs and economic security. The Ministry of External Affairs also pointed out in its recent statement that the US and European Union purchase much more oil and other goods than India. Further, Navarro slammed India for "cosying up" to Russia and China, saying "if India wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one." India's dependence on Russian crude is "opportunistic and deeply corrosive of the world's efforts to isolate Putin's war economy," he added. The adviser also said that it was risky to transfer cutting-edge US military capabilities to India as New Delhi's ties to China and Russia deepen, as per Al Jazeera. Navarro is the second senior Trump administration official to accuse India of financing Russia's war in Ukraine. Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff at the White House, in the first week of August, said that New Delhi's purchase of Russian crude was "not acceptable". "What he (Trump) said very clearly is that it is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing the oil from Russia," Miller, one of Trump's most influential aides, said in an interview to Fox News. In response, the Ministry of External Affairs said that the country is being 'unfairly' singled out for buying Russian oil. At the same time, the US and European Union continue to buy goods from Russia. The EU and US trade much more with Russia than India does, New Delhi's contention for being singled out - although this trade has dipped significantly since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The EU's total trade with Russia plummeted to USD 77.9 billion in 2024, down from USD 297.4 billion in 2021. Notably, the EU continues to import Russian gas, with expenditures reaching USD 105.6 billion since the war began. This amount is equivalent to approximately 75 per cent of Russia's 2024 military budget, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. In contrast, the total trade between the US and Russia stood at USD 3.5 billion in 2024. US goods exports to Russia in 2024 were USD 528.3 million, down 11.8 per cent (USD 70.5 million) from 2023. Meanwhile, on this 79th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his speech, said that, "Modi will stand like a wall against any policy that threatens their interests. India will never compromise when it comes to protecting the interests of our farmers." Notably, at the beginning of this month, United States President Donald Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods over the issue, straining US-India ties. India and the US have been negotiating for months to finalise a free trade agreement, with Trump accusing New Delhi of denying access to US goods by imposing high tariffs.
The Wire
7 hours ago
- The Wire
Modi's 'Demography Mission' is Part of the Larger Plan to Transform India Into Hindutva's Dream Nation
Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay There was a time when it was presumed that there would be a 'full stop' after the BJP's 'core issues'. Now it is clear that under Modi at least, there will never be an end to this process. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation from the Red Fort on the occasion of the 79th Independence Day, in New Delhi on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. Photo: PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi's declaration of intent to launch a high-power Demography Mission, during his speech on Independence Day, needs to be framed within the backdrop of innumerable transformative initiatives and steps taken by his government in the past eleven years. These have taken India closer to becoming recast as the dream-nation, backed by a remorseless State apparatus, as imagined by his political and ideological forbearers, including Hindutva's codifier, V.D. Savarkar and founder of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), K.B. Hedgewar. There was a time when it was presumed that there would be a 'full stop' after the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) 'core issues' – Ram Temple, the reading down of Article 370 and introduction of Uniform Civil Code'. But now, when the first two objectives are accomplished and introduction of the third has started via the states route, it is clear that under Modi at least, there will never be an end to this process. Modi amplifying the idea of Hindu Rashtra and diminishing State institutions Since 2014, Modi has further amplified the idea of Hindu Rashtra and diminished State institutions and invalidated various ideas, previously considered irrevocable. More importantly, these manoeuvres made it progressively more thorny for political and ideological adversaries of the Prime Minister and the saffron brotherhood to even articulate contrarian views, forget putting into practice. Exceptions remain, and there are opponents like Rahul Gandhi and several regional leaders (not listing them because it is a different exercise) and sections of his/their parties continuing to act as counterbalancing forces. For instance, they spoke unrestrainedly, against Modi for formally legitimising the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh with glowing reference to the organisation in his speech. His words stood in contrast to what Jawaharlal Nehru said from the same platform, 77 years ago on August 15, 1948. The first premier of independent India, on that occasion, expressed immense sadness even while expressing satisfaction that independent India's trajectory on certain avenues was adequate in the given situation. His melancholiness however, was over India being enveloped within with the heart of darkness after Mahatma Gandhi's cold-heartedly assassinated by a person indoctrinated by the RSS. But, Modi's paeans for the RSS, is little but a precursor of what is likely to come if he continues remaining at the helm. If there were any doubts, these were negated by the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas' advertisement, wishing people 'happy Independence day' with a visual placing Savarkar above Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh. The advertisement carried a caption like line: 'Freedom was their gift, Shaping the future is our mission.' As we celebrate our nation's independence, let's remember — liberty thrives when we nurture it every day, through unity, empathy, and action. 🇮🇳 Happy #IndependenceDay #MoPNG — Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas #MoPNG (@PetroleumMin) August 15, 2025 It would be wrong to contend that Modi is solely responsible for the deviation from the profile and path chosen for the nation at birth by nationalists across the political spectrum following protracted debate in the Constituent Assembly. After all, it was Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister who took the lead in hoisting Savarkar's portrait in the sanctum sanctorum of the 'old' Parliament Building, the Central Hall. And, Modi's admirers would point out – Indira Gandhi's government too, issued a postage stamp in the memory of the person who was not cleared by Jivanlal Kapur Commission, of the accusation of involvement in the conspiracy to murder Gandhi. Like many leaders from his own political stable (and family) in the past, several like Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders too played along, hoping to convince the electorate that they too are 'nationalists', although not the way the Sangh Parivar and Modi define it. They did so because over the past eleven years, Modi has succeeded in securing considerable public acceptance for the Hindutva idea of nationalism and labeling all other perspectives as anti-national. However, in defence of non-BJP politicians, many would point out that in their early years in the rough and tumble of politics and elections, they found that the notion of 'soft Hindutva' was already part of the nation's political parlance. Demography Mission further takes India away from its imagination as a democratic and secular State Each of these changes, schemes, programmes and projects etc, against which Modi's announcement on his plan to initiate a high-power Demography Mission must be framed, have taken India further away from its imagination at independence as a democratic and secular State in name, practice and value-system. It would be premature to determine at this stage, which of these features shall remain in the India of the future that Modi has harped on over the past several years and coined as Viksit Bharat. The Demographic Mission – its nomenclature and formal brief is not known yet – comes close on the heels of the narrative created by the Election Commission's special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and subsequently in other states. The raison d'être for the previous exercise ominously overlaps the one unveiled by Modi. The objective of the two initiatives is the same – to delegitimise the existence of a significant section of Indian citizens and dub them 'foreigners'. None of this can even be now termed – save by perennial no-sayers – as communal, because this politics is now labeled as politically correct nationalism. For practical purposes, deportation to their 'home' nation will never be an option if these are ordered in hordes. Consequently, these people, labeled by the Mission as infiltrators and conspirators collectively working towards altering India's demography, will remain living in India, but sans constitutional rights (although obliged to fulfill 'duties'). These people will have no option but living the daily dread of attacks by a bevy of people, who have remained in news almost from the start of Modi's tenure, for assaulting individuals on mere 'suspicion' of having committed various 'crimes' – culinary intent or consumption, sartorial or linguistic display of identity, or for other imagined encroachment on public land to erect 'their' places of worship, or just a birthmark or talisman. Be it the special intensive revision (SIR), the National Register of Citizens, or the Commission's 'report' in times to come, despite ostensibly having little to do with one another, the purpose remains the same. The entire bunch of these initiatives, steps, policies and programmes perform as a gigantic political orchestra, comprising an ensemble or ideologically motivated lot and other performers, with expertise in multiple sectors: core political arena, the 'fringe' forces operating on the flanks of politics, officialdom, social and mainstream media, education, history, archaeology and even films and entertainment to determine which violent episode of 'subjugation' of 'our' people was not permitted during tenures of previous regimes and can be made now (Chhaava for instance) and which films must be given a National Award (The Kerala Story for example, despite being based on complete untruth). In fact, months will be consumed even if a dedicated team of researchers are tasked with compiling an inventory, or writing a monograph on instances when this regime unilaterally rolled-back the consensus of the past and replaced with an exclusionary alternative. But all this is also being provided with a veneer of newness. A new architecture, which started with the riverfront in Ahmedabad years ago, has gradually sprung up in place of the old – beginning with the Capitol complex – the shut-to-the-outside-world New Parliament Building (in contrast to the Old Building which exuded transparency. This new complex, surrounded by a plethora of recently constructed characterless buildings housing various government offices are notable for opacity from outside, and lack of privacy for employees within. Importantly, to lend weight to the political priorities that the government wants accepted, the prefix in the names for each of these new constructions, offices and roads, is either Kartavya (duty) or Seva (service). In his speech, Modi referred to what he first stated post Operation Sindoor to hype the government's nationalistic pitch – with the assault on Pakistan-based forces of terror and their backers, his government 'established a new normal.' But this new routine or response is actually across the board, from altering school textbooks, promotion of false narratives, selecting faculty and those intended for non-faculty positions, to embarking on new archaeological missions while denotifying numerous ancient monuments from the 'protected' by ASI category. The tussle between Modi and the RSS Undeniably, this is a multi-pronged venture aimed at leaving nothing unchanged, even names of cities, towns, streets and even official programmes. The message is clear – play along if you too want to be part of the imagined New Bharatiya Philharmonic Orchestra which occupies the pit below the stage on which the 'great transformative performance', sugar-coated with promises and steps for economic betterment of people, is being enacted. For more than a century, the debate over Indian nationalism has been shaped chiefly by the divergence between secular or inclusive nationalism on the one hand, and cultural or exclusivist nationalism on the other. The ideological fraternity which spawned the likes of Modi believes in the latter, and continues to see culture and religion as synonyms. As a consequence, Modi has his defence ready for critics if they point out that he provided a Hindu name (Sudarshan Chakra), rooted deeply in mythology, for a new planned national security cover. He will conveniently say the name is not religious in essence, but merely a cultural concept or idea. By disagreeing with him on this count, given that a defence plan for the nation is concerned, adversaries can only risk being labeled as unpatriotic or treasonous by making such a point. Despite tilting the scales, insofar as the perceptible discourse is concerned, in favour of cultural nationalism with his all-encompassing style of politics, Modi remains in a Catch-22 situation and faces a predicament. The more ideology becomes the primary draw in electoral politics, the more shall the role of the individual decline. The RSS has traditionally considered the vyakti as secondary to the sangathan and its divergence with Modi because he believes in personalization of politics and promoting his own cult. In this tussle between Modi and the RSS, personified by Mohan Bhagwat, the moment the RSS feels that support for Hindutva has crossed the threshold level, and the narrative no longer requires a leader to drive it further, insecurities for Modi shall mount. The centenary year of the RSS shall thereby be a crucial year for all that Modi addressed in his speech and even those issues which were consciously left out. A journalist and author, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay 's books include Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times and The RSS: Icons of the Indian Right. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments. Advertisement
