Latest news with #Hindu-nationalist
Saudi Gazette
4 days ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
World's highest railway bridge opens in conflict-hit Kashmir
SRINAGAR — The world's highest railway bridge, an ambitious piece of engineering across a mountain valley in Kashmir, was opened Friday by Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi, just weeks after a deadly tourist massacre in the Himalayan region sparked a brief conflict with neighboring Pakistan. Modi's visit to India-administered Kashmir was his first since a brief but deadly conflict between India and Pakistan in April. The nuclear-armed neighbors traded missiles, drones, and artillery shelling for four days after New Delhi blamed the massacre on its neighbor, which Pakistan denies. Decades in the making, the arched Chenab Bridge sits 359 meters (about 1,180 feet) above the river of the same name – that's 29 meters (over 95 feet) higher than the top of the Eiffel Tower. Costing more than $160 million with a length of 1,315 meters (4,314 feet), the bridge is part of the first railway link between Kashmir and the rest of India. Modi's Hindu-nationalist government has moved to integrate the Muslim-majority region with the rest of the country, including revoking a constitutional provision that allowed it to set its own laws in 2019. The Himalayan region of Kashmir is claimed by India, Pakistan and China. All three administer a part of the region, one of the most militarized zones in the world. In addition to the Chenab Bridge, Modi also inaugurated the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link project, which connects key cities in India-administered Kashmir to the rest of India. For Modi, who swept to power more than a decade ago on a ticket of nationalism and a promise of future greatness, investments in infrastructure like the Chenab Bridge and the broader rail link project can be seen as a powerful tool for social integration and political influence. Since he was first elected in 2014, the prime minister has rapidly expanded the region's road and rail connectivity, building networks that connect disparate towns with major cities. In 2019, New Delhi revoked a constitutional provision giving India-administered Kashmir the autonomy to set its own laws. The southern and eastern portions of the region known previously as the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir became two separate union territories, bringing them under direct control of New Delhi – a move Modi claimed would promote stability, reduce corruption and boost the economy. The Chenab Bridge is being hailed as a major win for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party government. His administration has poured billions into upgrading India's old and outdated transport network, part of its vision to transform the country into a developed nation by 2047. Among these ambitious projects is the construction of several tunnels and highways in the mountainous Himalayan region which has been criticized by some environmentalists who say the heavy construction could damage fragile topography already feeling the effects from the climate crisis. Modi's Char Dham Highway project, a multimillion-dollar infrastructure plan to improve connectivity in the state of Uttarakhand, came under fire in November 2023 when an under-construction mountain tunnel collapsed, trapping dozens of workers inside for several days with little water and oxygen. In August that year, more than a dozen workers were killed after a bridge under construction collapsed in the northeastern state of Mizoram. In June, a four-lane concrete bridge that was being built across the River Ganges in the eastern state of Bihar collapsed for the second time in just over a year, raising questions about the quality of its construction. — CNN
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Modi visits restive Indian region to inaugurate world's highest railway bridge
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first trip to the restive Kashmir region since April's deadly tourist massacre, to inaugurate the world's highest railway bridge. His Friday visit to India-administered Kashmir comes weeks after a brief but deadly conflict between India and Pakistan. The nuclear-armed neighbors traded missiles, drones, and artillery shelling for four days after New Delhi blamed the massacre on its neighbor, which Pakistan denies. Decades in the making, the arched Chenab Bridge sits 359 meters (about 1,180 feet) above the river of the same name – that's 29 meters (over 95 feet) higher than the top of the Eiffel Tower. Costing more than $160 million with a length of 1,315 meters (4,314 feet), the bridge is part of the first railway link between Kashmir and the rest of India. Modi's Hindu-nationalist government has moved to integrate the Muslim-majority region with the rest of the country, including revoking a constitutional provision that allowed it to set its own laws in 2019. The Himalayan region of Kashmir is claimed by India, Pakistan and China. All three administer a part of the region, one of the most militarized zones in the world. In addition to the Chenab Bridge, Modi also inaugurated the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link project, which connects key cities in India-administered Kashmir to the rest of India. For Modi, who swept to power more than a decade ago on a ticket of nationalism and a promise of future greatness, investments in infrastructure like the Chenab Bridge and the broader rail link project can be seen as a powerful tool for social integration and political influence. Since he was first elected in 2014, the prime minister has rapidly expanded the region's road and rail connectivity, building networks that connect disparate towns with major cities. In 2019, New Delhi revoked a constitutional provision giving India-administered Kashmir the autonomy to set its own laws. The southern and eastern portions of the region known previously as the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir became two separate union territories, bringing them under direct control of New Delhi – a move Modi claimed would promote stability, reduce corruption and boost the economy. The Chenab Bridge is being hailed as a major win for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party government. His administration has poured billions into upgrading India's old and outdated transport network, part of its vision to transform the country into a developed nation by 2047. Among these ambitious projects is the construction of several tunnels and highways in the mountainous Himalayan region which has been criticized by some environmentalists who say the heavy construction could damage fragile topography already feeling the effects from the climate crisis. Modi's Char Dham Highway project, a multimillion-dollar infrastructure plan to improve connectivity in the state of Uttarakhand, came under fire in November 2023 when an under-construction mountain tunnel collapsed, trapping dozens of workers inside for several days with little water and oxygen. In August that year, more than a dozen workers were killed after a bridge under construction collapsed in the northeastern state of Mizoram. In June, a four-lane concrete bridge that was being built across the River Ganges in the eastern state of Bihar collapsed for the second time in just over a year, raising questions about the quality of its construction.
DW
5 days ago
- Politics
- DW
India media crackdown after Pakistan cross-border fighting – DW – 06/05/2025
Adil Bhat | Sharique Ahmad 06/05/2025 June 5, 2025 India's Hindu-nationalist government has responded to the cross-border conflict with Pakistan with a crackdown on critics. What's behind this curtailing of free speech? DW's Adil Bhat reports.
DW
6 days ago
- Politics
- DW
Media crackdown in India: national security or censorship? – DW – 06/05/2025
Benita von Kyaw 06/05/2025 June 5, 2025 India's Hindu-nationalist government has responded to the cross-border conflict with Pakistan with a crackdown on critics, with serious consequences for dissenters. So what's behind the Modi government's crackdown on free speech? DW's Adil Bhat reports.
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
‘Give Modi a chance,' Shah urges Bengal voters from rally
Kolkata: Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday took off from where PM Narendra Modi had ended his first Bengal poll campaign speech on Thursday, signalling BJP's twin strategy for the 2026 assembly election in Bengal: Focus on and retain its core Hindu-nationalist votes while trying to chip away at TMC's female support base. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Shah addressed BJP's 'Vijay Sankalpa Karyakarta Sammelan' at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Sunday, three days after PM Modi addressed a public rally in north Bengal's Alipurduar. While reaching out to the the women voters in Bengal, Shah said, "Bengal's women will not tolerate any insult to sindoor," and urged them with "folded hands" to give Modi a chance and form a govt of true "deshbhakts". Shah then took aim at Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, claiming that she had been pained when Operation Sindoor was on and "hundreds of terrorists were being killed". "It would have been better if she felt the pain when Bengalis were killed. She didn't utter a word then," he said. Shah alleged that Banerjee had tried to oppose "Operation Sindoor" and "play with the emotions of crores of women in India". "She wanted to appease her Muslim vote bank. Mamata can support Pakistan-sponsored terrorists, but we haven't finished Operation Sindoor," the home minister added. He then urged the women voters to "make her (CM Banerjee) understand the value of sindoor in the next election." "Bengal has guided the entire nation — be it in knowledge, science, spirituality, or the freedom struggle. For years, Bengal led India in every field. But then came the rule of the Communists, and after that, Mamatadidi took charge with the slogan of 'Ma, Mati, Manush'. She has now turned this great land of Bengal into a hub of infiltration, corruption, atrocities on women, crimes, bomb blasts and injustices against Hindus," Shah added and said the Banerjee-led govt's time was up. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "During elections and even after Didi's victory, hundreds of BJP workers have been brutally killed. Didi, how long will you hide them? Mark my words — your time is over. In 2026, BJP govt is coming to office in Bengal," he went on to say. The home minister asked the CM as to what she had done for Bengal. "Under UPA, Bengal received Rs 2.09 lakh crore. Under Modiji, Bengal received Rs 8.27 lakh crore in 10 years. We have a list of every single development work. BJP will release this list. But this money didn't reach the villages—it was looted by the TMC syndicate. Even if Modiji sends Rs 50 lakh crore, it won't reach the people unless BJP is in power here. To get Modiji's benefits and homes, you must bring a BJP govt in Bengal," Shah said. Calling the violence at Murshidabad "state-sponsored riot", Shah said, "state govt did not seek help from BSF despite repeated alerts from us. Finally, BSF intervened only after the court's order. Meanwhile, Trinamool netas have been accusing BSF and encouraging the rioters. The way a minister was involved, it was nothing but a state-sponsored riot." he said. Attacking the CM again, Shah said: "She opposed the waqf amendments. Who was she trying to protect?" Shah underlined the "increase" in BJP's support base in Bengal from 77 assembly seats in 2021 to a lead in 97 assembly segments in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. "In 143 seats, we secured more than 40% votes. We are not behind by much. We will have to increase our vote shares only by 4-5%. Didi's deposit will be forfeited in her own seat if she dares to conduct elections free of violence and rigging. We will not say zindabad till a BJP CM takes oath after the 2026 polls," Shah told the workers. In his 33-minute speech, Shah listed out alleged scams and corruption cases in Bengal and said that jobs of the state's youths were being sold. He claimed that in Sandeshkhali and RG Kar incidents, the CM stayed silent to appease her vote bank. Tribal and backward communities had been left out and Gorkhas were being harassed for not voting for TMC, he said, claiming no one was happy in Bengal. He promised that if voted to power, no Gorkhas will face "political vendetta". Mentioning Centre's efforts to give classical language status to Bengali, Shah assured that Hindu refugees, whose names were being deleted from voters' list, need not worry and should apply for citizenship under CAA.
