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Hindustan Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Will convey Pahalgam was not one-off incident: Ravi Shankar Prasad
Senior Bharatiya Janata party leader and former union minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is leading a delegation of lawmakers to several European countries including the UK and Italy to talk about Operation Sindoor, said the thrust of their outreach will be on Pakistan's continued support of cross border terrorism. In an interview to Hindustan Times, before the delegation leaves on the 13-day tour, Prasad spoke about India's enhanced military strength and its precision strikes against terror camps. Edited excerpts You are leading the delegation to the UK, France, Germany, European Union, Italy and Denmark to shed light on Operation Sindoor and how it was conceived. What will be the thrust of this outreach? The essence of our communication will be that we believe in peace and amity, but not at the cost of mayhem and brutal killing of our innocent people. We will also convey that this (the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22 that provoked Operation Sindoor) is not a one-off instance . It is a matter of global concern that Pakistan today has become a sanctuary for terrorism. Anything that happens anywhere can be traced to Pakistan, whether it was giving asylum to Osama Bin Laden the co-founder of Al Qaeda who masterminded the 9/11 terror attacks or the barbaric killing of (journalist) Daniel Pearl. Pakistan's links can be traced to the multiple terror attacks on Indian soil from Uri, to Pulwama and now Pahalgam. So, the focus will be on Pakistan's role in fostering terrorism? After every attack, when it has been conveyed to them that there is a link, the response has always been denial. Even after the recent attack, the link between the establishment and terror networks has been blurred. We are going with the message that terrorism is the biggest enemy of humanity, of basic human rights. Terrorism is a threat to democracy and is against the human rights of ordinary citizens. Pahalgam is the most striking example of how terrorists killed innocent people with impunity. These people were killed in cold blood after being asked to state their religion; men were massacred in front of their wives and families. It is imperative for the world to know this. We will focus on the scourge of cross border terrorism and how Pakistan cannot tolerate peace and development in Jammu and Kashmir. You have been part of such an outreach before as well. In 2002, after the terror attack on Indian Parliament, you were part of a delegation that went to South Africa. Do you think there is a change in how the world now perceives India's message about terrorism? Absolutely. Earlier there was equivalence, justification and there is a change. Now the primary focus is that peace and amity cannot coexist with the designs of terror groups and their patrons who kill with impunity. India has been assertive that it carried out precision strikes against terrorist bases and did not hit civilians. Will this reflect in your message as well? The Indian armed forces have showcased their might, and their technological superiority in being able to carry out clinical, precision strikes. Israel is a small state and has flawless air defence, but India too proved its prowess, protecting the whole area from Bhuj (in Gujarat) to Leh (Ladakh); our systems intercepted Pakistani missiles and protected our people. This also shows that the Narendra Modi government's thrust on ramping up defence spending has borne results, from Akash to Brahmos we have superior technology. Of course, we have also been able to voice our concerns through diplomatic channels about terrorism. The government has selected lawmakers from across the political spectrum for the outreach, but parties such as the Congress and the TMC have struck a discordant note vis-a-vis the selection of delegates. I do not want to politicise the issue, but it would have been good if these parties had also reacted in the same way. TMC is the second largest party in Parliament, and it will be good to have them on board.
The Guardian
04-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘They threatened to bulldoze my house': fear and violence stalk journalists in Modi's India
At her home in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Harleen Kapoor* reflects with melancholy on how, since Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014, she has spent a lot of time in the office instead of out on the powerful human rights exposés she used to work on. Stories from some of the most deprived areas in the country were her forte. But, she says, in the climate of fear that has built up in India in the past decade, her media outlet has made it clear that her reports on topics such as sexual violence against lower-caste women and the harassment of Muslims are no longer welcome. When the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), which rules nationally, won power in Uttar Pradesh for a second term in 2022, the outlet told her to stop travelling altogether. Its finances were already fragile, and it feared losing government advertising. In theory, the press in India enjoys freedom. Anyone looking at the media landscape would find it vibrant, with about 20,000 daily newspapers and about 450 privately owned news channels. No minister has ordered any curtailment of press freedom or freedom of expression. No formal policy of shutting down newspapers or channels has been announced. Reporters are, for the most part, free to travel. But because of violence against journalists and highly concentrated media ownership, India is ranked among the worst countries in the world for press freedom– 151st out of 180 countries – according to the annual index compiled by Reporters Without Borders. Press freedom is in worrying decline in many parts of the world, with widespread attacks on journalists - last year was the deadliest on record - and the shutting down of news outlets due to economic hardship. We are running a series of pieces exploring the threats and challenges faced by media around World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, created to remind governments of their duty to uphold freedom of expression. 'There is no holding anyone accountable any more if you don't report on such stories,' says Kapoor, who says she held off reporting on the many cases of severe gastrointestinal illnesses among devotees at the world's largest religious gathering, Kumbh Mela, this year. She feared being detained for challenging the official narrative that the festival had been a consummate masterclass in crowd management. 'My children said, 'how will you cope in a cell in the summer without air conditioning and sharing one toilet with 40 other people?' People like me in small towns don't have the resources to survive an onslaught by the police,' she says. Today, in Modi's India, many journalists say they fear being framed under draconian anti-terrorism laws, or the arrival of pro-Modi gangs at their front door. Arjun Menon*, also based in Uttar Pradesh, says he received death threats after writing a piece critical of Modi's leadership two years ago. 'Modi supporters threatened to bulldoze my house. I was trolled viciously for being unpatriotic. It's made me meticulous about recording all my conversations and keeping detailed notes just in case I end up in court,' Menon says. At least 15 journalists have been charged under the anti-terrorism law, the 1967 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, since Modi came to power, according to the International Journalists' Network (IJN). Thirty-six journalists have been detained. Siddique Kappan was jailed for two years without trial after being arrested on his way to Uttar Pradesh to report on the high-profile case of a Dalit girl who was gang-raped and later died in 2020. He had been picked up by Uttar Pradesh police and accused of belonging to an Islamist fundamentalist group and conspiring to incite violence among Muslims. India's laws, says the IJN, have been 'weaponised' to silence and intimidate journalists, with the 1967 security law amended in 2019 to allow the authorities to declare an individual a 'terrorist' before any crime is proved in court. The Delhi-based independent journalist Aakash Hassan, a regular contributor to the Guardian, says he has been visited at home by police and intelligence officials for his coverage of the restive Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is claimed by both Pakistan and India. He has now been banned from travelling outside India, he says, and has had his phone confiscated by police, who demanded his password. 'There are many important stories I have wanted to do, and I should be doing, but fears for my safety and that of my family have stopped me. It's very scary to know that any number of draconian laws can be used to jail journalists. Then you can wait years for a verdict,' says Hassan. Modi and the BJP are not the first in India to try to suppress media freedom, says the journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta. Earlier governments also tried, including the Congress party, now the main opposition. Under a Congress government in 2012, the cartoonist Aseem Trivedi was arrested for depicting parliament as a toilet. The difference, says Thakurta, is that the Modi regime has 'weaponised law-enforcing agencies to target not only its political opponents but several independent journalists who have not kowtowed to the right wing'. Large sections of the mainstream media appear to have been turned into subservient mouthpieces. Modi himself has never exposed himself to a press conference to answer difficult questions, not even during the Covid pandemic. 'Never since 1975-77, when former prime minister Indira Gandhi imposed an 'emergency', has media freedom been so shackled and constricted in the country,' says Thakurta. While dismayed at the suppression of freedom of expression and the fear inhibiting reporters, N Ram, director of the Hindu Publishing Group, says critical voices remain. Stories that embarrass the government do still get published. Independent news websites such as the Wire and Newslaundry continue to criticise the government, along with magazines such as the Caravan. For a non-official perspective, Indians have started turning to independent YouTube channels and popular podcasters such as Ravish Kumar, Dhruv Rathee and Akash Banerjee, who are all critical of the Modi regime. And in southern India, where the BJP is not in power in any of the five states, there is less fear among journalists. Last month, Vikatan, a news website in the southernmost state of Tamil Nadu, managed to get a court to overturn the government's move to block it after it published a cartoon showing a handcuffed Modi sitting next to Donald Trump following news of the deportation of Indian immigrants from the US. The Modi government's lawyer had argued that the cartoon was 'detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India' and its 'friendly relations with foreign states'. Ram says independent journalism is not dead. 'There remain spaces and voices that resist suppression and I think we will see more people standing up to pressure.' * Names have been changed to protect identities
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How has India reacted to attack in Kashmir and why are tensions in region so high?
Tensions between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan have escalated rapidly after the massacre of 25 Indian tourists and a Nepalese citizen in the disputed Himalayan Kashmir region on Tuesday, prompting warnings of a return to conflict. A previously unknown Islamic militant group calling itself the Resistance Front has claimed responsibility for the attack, which India immediately linked to Pakistan, although it did not publicly produce any evidence. Pakistan has denied any involvement. Among a string of punitive measures announced since Tuesday, India has downgraded diplomatic ties, suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty and revoked all visas issued to Pakistani nationals. In retaliation, Pakistan has closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The region, in the foothills of the Himalayas, has been disputed since India and Pakistan came into being in 1947. Both claim it in full, but each controls a section of the territory, separated by one of the world's most heavily militarised borders: the 'line of control' based on a ceasefire border established after the 1947-48 war. China controls another part in the east. India and Pakistan have gone to war a further two times over Kashmir, most recently in 1999. The dispute stems from the partition of colonial India in 1947, when small, semi-autonomous 'princely states' across the subcontinent were being folded into India or Pakistan, and the local ruler chose to become part of India despite the fact the area had a Muslim majority. Armed insurgents in Kashmir have resisted Delhi for decades, with many Muslim Kashmiris supporting the rebels' goal of uniting the territory either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. India accuses Pakistan of backing militants – a claim Pakistan denies. In 2019 Narendra Modi's government launched a severe security crackdown in Indian-administered Kashmir and revoked the region's special status, which had granted it limited autonomy since 1949. The move fulfilled a longstanding Hindu-nationalist pledge and was widely welcomed across India, but angered many in the territory itself. Against a backdrop of widespread repression, insurgent violence tapered off and tourists returned to the region. New rules were implemented that allowed outsiders to buy land in Kashmir for the first time, which many saw as an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) to dispossess them from their land and change the Muslim demography of the region. Under its special status Kashmir had been able to define who its permanent residents were, preventing incomers from other parts of India from applying for jobs, scholarships or buying land. With the new domicile rule India widened who was eligible to live and work in Kashmir, leading to accusations that it was trying to change the demographic make up of the region. The Resistance Front cited this claim when it claimed Tuesday's attack. The attack – in the midst of a visit by the US vice-president, JD Vance – was highly embarrassing for Modi and his BJP party, which has been boasting since 2019 about the success of its security policies in Kashmir. The anger in India has been exacerbated by the sectarian nature of the attack, during which some of the male tourists were reportedly asked to recite Islamic verses to determine who would be killed. While some of the bellicose rhetoric that has been visible in the past few days is familiar from past crises between India and Pakistan that have fallen short of war, India's decision to suspend the 1964 Indus Waters treaty is a very big deal. The treaty, which has survived endless crises over the years, is one of the world's most successful water-sharing agreements, allowing for sharing the waters of a river system that is a lifeline for both countries. Pakistani agriculture's massive reliance on the Indus system's waters for irrigation makes the treaty crucial for the country. Pakistan has said any interference with waterflow would be treated as 'an act of war'. The last major conflict fought between India and Pakistan was the 1999 Kargil war, which was limited in comparison with previous conflicts. While much is made of the fact that both countries retain nuclear weapons, conventional wisdom is that this has tended to limit rather than exacerbate the danger of serious conflict in recent decades. However, past militant attacks – in 2016 and 2019 – have resulted in Indian military retaliation. Many observers believe that bar means that India will like launch airstrikes on militants across the border as a minimum response.
The Guardian
24-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
How has India reacted to attack in Kashmir and why are tensions in region so high?
Tensions between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan have escalated rapidly after the massacre of 25 Indian tourists and a Nepalese citizen in the disputed Himalayan Kashmir region on Tuesday, prompting warnings of a return to conflict. A previously unknown Islamic militant group calling itself the Resistance Front has claimed responsibility for the attack, which India immediately linked to Pakistan, although it did not publicly produce any evidence. Pakistan has denied any involvement. Among a string of punitive measures announced since Tuesday, India has downgraded diplomatic ties, suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty and revoked all visas issued to Pakistani nationals. In retaliation, Pakistan has closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The region, in the foothills of the Himalayas, has been disputed since India and Pakistan came into being in 1947. Both claim it in full, but each controls a section of the territory, separated by one of the world's most heavily militarised borders: the 'line of control' based on a ceasefire border established after the 1947-48 war. China controls another part in the east. India and Pakistan have gone to war a further two times over Kashmir, most recently in 1999. The dispute stems from the partition of colonial India in 1947, when small, semi-autonomous 'princely states' across the subcontinent were being folded into India or Pakistan, and the local ruler chose to become part of India despite the fact the area had a Muslim majority. Armed insurgents in Kashmir have resisted Delhi for decades, with many Muslim Kashmiris supporting the rebels' goal of uniting the territory either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. India accuses Pakistan of backing militants – a claim Pakistan denies. In 2019 Narendra Modi's government launched a severe security crackdown in Indian-administered Kashmir and revoked the region's special status, which had granted it limited autonomy since 1949. The move fulfilled a longstanding Hindu-nationalist pledge and was widely welcomed across India, but angered many in the territory itself. Against a backdrop of widespread repression, insurgent violence tapered off and tourists returned to the region. New rules were implemented that allowed outsiders to buy land in Kashmir for the first time, which many saw as an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) to dispossess them from their land and change the Muslim demography of the region. Under its special status Kashmir had been able to define who its permanent residents were, preventing incomers from other parts of India from applying for jobs, scholarships or buying land. With the new domicile rule India widened who was eligible to live and work in Kashmir, leading to accusations that it was trying to change the demographic make up of the region. The Resistance Front cited this claim when it claimed Tuesday's attack. The attack – in the midst of a visit by the US vice-president, JD Vance – was highly embarrassing for Modi and his BJP party, which has been boasting since 2019 about the success of its security policies in Kashmir. The anger in India has been exacerbated by the sectarian nature of the attack, during which some of the male tourists were reportedly asked to recite Islamic verses to determine who would be killed. While some of the bellicose rhetoric that has been visible in the past few days is familiar from past crises between India and Pakistan that have fallen short of war, India's decision to suspend the 1964 Indus Waters treaty is a very big deal. The treaty, which has survived endless crises over the years, is one of the world's most successful water-sharing agreements, allowing for sharing the waters of a river system that is a lifeline for both countries. Pakistani agriculture's massive reliance on the Indus system's waters for irrigation makes the treaty crucial for the country. Pakistan has said any interference with waterflow would be treated as 'an act of war'. The last major conflict fought between India and Pakistan was the 1999 Kargil war, which was limited in comparison with previous conflicts. While much is made of the fact that both countries retain nuclear weapons, conventional wisdom is that this has tended to limit rather than exacerbate the danger of serious conflict in recent decades. However, past militant attacks – in 2016 and 2019 – have resulted in Indian military retaliation. Many observers believe that bar means that India will like launch airstrikes on militants across the border as a minimum response.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Indian security forces hunt militants after 26 tourists killed in Kashmir attack
Indian security forces fanned out across the Himalayan region of Kashmir as the army and police launched a massive manhunt for the perpetrators of a militant attack on Tuesday that killed at least 26 tourists. Tens of thousands of armed police and troops headed to the region, setting up checkpoints and searching vehicles, while many businesses remained closed after a call by religious and political figures. 'The search operation is currently in progress, with all efforts focused on bringing the attackers to justice,' the Indian army said in a statement. A little-known militant group, the Kashmir Resistance, claimed responsibility for the attack. Posting on social media it expressed discontent that more than 85,000 'outsiders' had been settled in the region, spurring a 'demographic change'. The attack, reportedly involving four gunmen, took place in a meadow in the Pahalgam area of the scenic Himalayan federal territory. The dead people included 25 Indians and one Nepalese national, the worst attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai shootings. The prime minister, Narendra Modi, cut short a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia and returned to New Delhi on Wednesday morning. Modi held a meeting with his national security adviser, the foreign minister and other senior officials at the airport, and a special security cabinet meeting was called for later on Wednesday. The attack is seen as a setback to what Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party have hailed as a significant achievement in revoking the semi-autonomous status Jammu and Kashmir enjoyed and bringing peace and development to the long-troubled Muslim-majority region. Tuesday's attack is being viewed as a major escalation in the regional conflict, in which attacks targeting tourists have been rare. The last deadly incident took place in June 2024 when at least nine people were killed and 33 injured after militants caused a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims to plunge into a deep gorge. In a fresh statement on Wednesday, the Kashmir Resistance said that those attacked on Tuesday 'were not ordinary tourists; instead, they were linked to and affiliated with Indian security agencies'. The attack prompted an immediate exodus of tourists from the region, with airlines operating extra flights from Srinagar, the summer capital of the territory. Local television showed tourists carrying their bags to taxis and filing out of a hotel in Srinagar. 'How can we continue our trip in such a situation?' Sameer Bhardwaj, a tourist from New Delhi, asked the news agency ANI. 'We need to prioritise our safety. We can only travel if our minds are relaxed but everyone is tense here. So, we cannot continue to travel.' Gulzar Ahmad, a taxi driver in Pahalgam, said: 'This attack will impact our work, but we are more concerned about the loss of lives. No matter what we do in the future, our tourism industry has been stained by this attack. The perpetrators must receive exemplary punishment so that no one dares to commit such an act again.' The attack occurred during a four-day visit to India by the US vice-president, JD Vance, who called it a 'devastating terrorist attack'. Donald Trump also expressed solidarity, writing on social media: 'The United States stands strong with India against terrorism.' Other global leaders, including the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, condemned the attack. The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said: 'Attacks against civilians are unacceptable under any circumstances. Omar Abdullah, the region's top elected official, posted on social media: 'It's heartbreaking to see the exodus of our guests from the [Kashmir] valley after yesterday's tragic terror attack in Pahalgam. But at the same time, we totally understand why people would want to leave.' He added that his administration had been directed to facilitate the smooth departure of tourists. Abdullah recently stated in the regional assembly that 23 million tourists visited the region in 2024. There has been an increase in the number of targeted killings of Hindus, including migrant workers from other Indian states, in the disputed Himalayan region since New Delhi unilaterally revoked Kashmir's limited autonomy in 2019 by imposing a communication blockade and jailing activists and political leaders. It split the state into two federally administered territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh – and allowed local authorities to issue domicile certificates to outsiders, enabling them to apply for jobs and buy land. Since then, civil liberties and media freedom in the region have been severely curtailed. While officials indicated they believed that Pakistani militant groups may be behind the attack they did not officially confirm the identities of the perpetrators or of those killed. Pakistan's foreign office spokesperson, Shafqat Khan, issued a statement saying Pakistan was 'concerned about the loss of tourists' lives in the attack', and extended condolences to the victims.
