Hindutva Terrorism in India

Hindutva Terrorism in India
By Sudha Ramachandran
July 07, 2017

In the name of protecting cows, members of extremist outfits affiliated to India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are attacking Muslims.

On June 29, a mob beat up and killed Asgar Ansari, a 45-year-old Muslim trader in the eastern state of Jharkhand, for allegedly carrying beef in his car. Three days earlier, a Muslim dairy owner, Usman Ansari, was beaten up and his house set on fire; a cow carcass was reportedly found near his house.
The two incidents are the latest in a string of attacks carried out by activists belonging to outfits like the Bharatiya Gau Raksha Dal (BGRD) and its regional units as well as organizations like the Bajrang Dal and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) that are part of the Sangh Parivar, a family of Hindu right-wing organizations of which the BJP is a part.

The attacks, which are illegal and being described as cow vigilantism, have surged in recent years.
According to an analysis by IndiaSpend, a public interest journalism website, 63 incidents of “violence centered on bovine issues” were reported between 2010 and 2017; 97 percent of these occurred after the BJP came to power in May 2014. Twenty-five of these incidents were reported in 2016 alone, the most so far in a single year.

However, 2017 seems poised to break this record as around 20 cow vigilante attacks have been reported in the first six months this year, with the violence showing no signs of abating.

Targeting Muslims

The cow vigilantes claim they are “gau rakshaks” (protectors of cows). According to the BGRD’s website, caring for abandoned cattle and orphaned calves by providing them food, medical care, and shelter is the organization’s main objective.

In addition, “we focus on preventing cow slaughter too and hence act to shut down the beef trade,” Bobby Singh, a BGRD activist from Haryana, told The Diplomat.

However, protecting cows is not a priority of the cow vigilantes, critics point out, drawing attention to the fact that the groups do little work to prevent ill-treatment of cows roaming India’s streets, for instance. Rather, their main activity appears to be tracking and trapping people transporting cattle and unleashing horrific violence on them.

Many Hindus consider the cow to be sacred, oppose cow slaughter, and do not eat beef. However, Muslims and Christians as well as a section of Hindus are beef-eaters. The beef business in India is dominated by Muslims, and those who skin cows and work with leather are largely Muslims and Dalits.

The beef issue thus comes in handy to target Muslims.

Although Dalits have been targeted occasionally by the cow vigilantes, Muslims have borne the brunt of their attacks. Of the 28 people killed in such attacks so far, 86 percent were Muslim.

The violence, then, seems designed to terrorize Muslims, damaging their livelihood and way of life. The ultimate objective of the cow vigilantism is achieving the goal of the Sangh Parivar: homogenizing pluralistic India and making it a Hindu state.

The Cow as a Nationalist Symbol

It was in the late 19th century that the cow emerged as an important rallying point for mass political mobilization in India. Hindu nationalists sought to unite Hindus against British colonial rule and subsequently, against Muslims amidst the growing Hindu-Muslim communalism in the early 20th century.

The cow has since become a potent symbol of Hindutva, a Hindu supremacist ideology espoused by the Sangh Parivar. Hindutva proponents view India as a Hindu nation, define Indian culture in terms of Hindu values, and seek to establish the hegemony of Hindus and the Hindu way of life.

In recent years, the Sangh Parivar has accelerated efforts to promote its Hindutva agenda and is pushing the cow slaughter issue to the political center-stage. “Cow protection,” the imposition of upper-caste Hindu food habits on Muslims and others, calls for a beef ban. The current wave of cow vigilantism must be seen in this context.

BGRD at the Helm

At the forefront of hundreds of cow vigilante outfits active across India is the BGRD, “a non-profit, tax-exempt organization” that was set up in 2012 and registered as a company by the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Although there are no organizational links between the BGRD and the Sangh Parivar, many activists are members of Parivar constituencies such as the VHP and the Bajrang Dal or in close touch with them.

They are fierce supporters of Hindutva. According to Pawan Pandit, the BGRD’s chairman, India is divided in two, one part that includes “the so-called kattar [Hindi for radical] Hindutva people” like himself and the other comprising people who don’t share this ideology.

The BGRD takes pride in its violent methods. Videos and photographs of activists flaunting automatic weapons and swords and beating people with iron rods are available online. Facebook pages of BGRD leaders and activists show them armed with guns, a brazen acknowledgement of their violent tactics.

Police and politicians have often described the BGRD’s attacks as the outcome of mob fury, as though these are spontaneous incidents. However, the attacks are pre-planned and activists even undergo training in how to inflict injuries.

Indian analysts have so far avoided categorizing these attacks as acts of terror.

While acknowledging that the BGRD’s violent attacks are “extreme and deeply insidious” with “potential to cause great harm to India’s stability,” terrorism analyst and executive director of the New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management, Ajai Sahni, stops short of categorizing them as terrorism, arguing that they “fall into a pattern of communal mobilization and vigilantism.”
Terrorist violence is “indiscriminate,” Sahni told The Diplomat, pointing out that unlike the BGRD activists, terrorists “do not seek out specific individuals purportedly guilty of particular deemed offenses but put bombs in public places or shoot indiscriminately, to kill just about anybody to draw attention to their political agenda, and to intimidate authorities into compliance.”

However, the violent attacks by BGRD and other cow vigilantes are similar to terror attacks in several ways. Both are pre-meditated, politically motivated, and carried out by non-state actors against unarmed civilians. And their target is not so much the immediate victim as it is the larger community.
Cow vigilantism is therefore terroristic in nature. This is Hindutva terrorism.

Hindutva Terror

Hindutva terrorism is not new to India. Hindutva activists have carried out several massacres of Muslims, as in Mumbai (then Bombay) in 1992 and Gujarat in 2002, and set off bombs in neighborhoods and towns that are predominantly Muslim, even in their places of worship.
Yet these attacks have not been described as acts of terrorism. They are part of a world-wide trend wherein majoritarian terror against minorities is not termed terrorism and consequently not dealt with sternly by the state.

Indeed, given the links between cow vigilantes and the ruling BJP, rarely has action been taken against the perpetrators of violence, especially in BJP-ruled states. Often, it is the victims of the vigilantes who are punished.

In BJP-ruled states, existing laws banning cow slaughter have been amended to expand the scope of such bans and to increase punishments for violation. Gujarat, for instance, amended its animal protection law this year to make cow slaughter punishable with life imprisonment. Other BJP chief ministers have endorsed hanging those who slaughter cows and have even exhorted vigilantes to do more and not stop at sloganeering. Little action is being taken to rein in the vigilantes or punish them. Emboldened by such state support, violence targeting Muslims is being unleashed in the name of protecting the cow.

India’s reluctance to take stern action against the BGRD’s unleashing of violence against Muslims will deepen communal divisions in the country. Its failure to bring to justice those who orchestrated and unleashed horrific violence on Muslims in the Bombay and Gujarat “riots” of 1992 and 2002, respectively cost it dearly. These incidents prompted hundreds of Muslim youths to take up arms against the Indian state.

If the ongoing violence against Muslims in the name of protecting the cow persists and goes unpunished, another generation of angry and alienated Muslim youth will turn to militancy and terrorism again.

Dr. Sudha Ramachandran is an independent journalist and researcher based in Bangalore, India. She writes on South Asian political and security issues.

UAE Hacked Qatari Web sites and publish her own report against Qatara's emir

National Security

UAE orchestrated hacking of Qatari government sites, sparking regional upheaval, according to U.S. intelligence officials

U.S. officials say the United Arab Emirates orchestrated the hacking of Qatari government sites that occurred shortly before the Saudis, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt broke ties with Qatar. 

(The Washington Post)

By Karen DeYoung and Ellen Nakashima 
July 16   
 
The United Arab Emirates orchestrated the hacking of Qatari government news and social media sites in order to post incendiary false quotes attributed to Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani, in late May that sparked the ongoing upheaval between Qatar and its neighbors, according to U.S. intelligence officials.

Officials became aware last week that newly analyzed information gathered by U.S. intelligence agencies confirmed that on May 23, senior members of the UAE government discussed the plan and its implementation. The officials said it remains unclear whether the UAE carried out the hacks itself or contracted to have them done. The false reports said that the emir, among other things, had called Iran an “Islamic power” and praised Hamas.

The hacks and posting took place on May 24, shortly after President Trump completed a lengthy counterterrorism meeting with Persian Gulf leaders in neighboring Saudi Arabia and declared them unified.

Citing the emir’s reported comments, the Saudis, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt immediately banned all Qatari media. They then broke relations with Qatar and declared a trade and diplomatic boycott, sending the region into a political and diplomatic tailspin that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has warned could undermine U.S. counterterrorism efforts against the Islamic State.

In a statement released in Washington by its ambassador, Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE said the Post article was “false.”

“The UAE had no role whatsoever in the alleged hacking described in the article,” the statement said. “What is true is Qatar’s behavior. Funding, supporting, and enabling extremists from the Taliban to Hamas and Qadafi. Inciting violence, encouraging radicalization, and undermining the stability of its neighbors.”

The revelations come as emails purportedly hacked from Otaiba’s private account have circulated to journalists over the past several months. That hack has been claimed by an apparently pro-Qatari organization calling itself GlobalLeaks. Many of the emails highlight the UAE’s determination over the years to rally Washington thinkers and policymakers to its side on the issues at the center of its dispute with Qatar.

All of the Persian Gulf nations are members of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State. More than 10,000 U.S. troops are based at Qatar’s al-Udeid Air Base, the U.S. Central Command’s regional headquarters, and Bahrain is the home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. All are purchasers of U.S. defense equipment and tied to U.S. foreign policy priorities in numerous ways.

The conflict has also exposed sharp differences between Trump — who has clearly taken the Saudi and UAE side in a series of tweets and statements — and Tillerson, who has urged compromise and spent most of last week in shuttle diplomacy among the regional capitals that has been unsuccessful so far.

“We don’t expect any near-term resolution,” Tillerson aide R.C. Hammond said Saturday. He said the secretary had left behind proposals with the “Saudi bloc” and with Qatar including “a common set of principles that all countries can agree to so that we start from . . . a common place.”

Qatar has repeatedly charged that its sites were hacked, but it has not released the results of its investigation. Intelligence officials said their working theory since the Qatar hacks has been that Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt or some combination of those countries were involved. It remains unclear whether the others also participated in the plan.

U.S. intelligence and other officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment, as did the CIA. The FBI, which Qatar has said was helping in its investigation, also declined to comment.

A spokesman for the Qatari Embassy in Washington responded by drawing attention to a statement by that government’s attorney general, Ali Bin Fetais al-Marri, who said late last month that “Qatar has evidence that certain iPhones originating from countries laying siege to Qatar were used in the hack.”

Hammond said he did not know of the newly analyzed U.S. intelligence on the UAE or whether Tillerson was aware of it.

The hacking incident reopened a bitter feud among the gulf monarchies that has simmered for years. It last erupted in 2013, when Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain accused Qatar of providing safe haven for their political dissidents and supporting the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood; funding terrorists, including U.S.-designated terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah; and using its state-funded media outlets to destabilize its neighbors.

Qatar — an energy-rich country ruled by its own unelected monarchy — saw the Saudi-led accusations as an attempt by neighboring autocrats to stifle its more liberal tendencies. Separately, the United States warned Qatar to keep a tighter rein on wealthy individuals there who surreptitiously funded Islamist terror groups — a charge that Washington has also made in the past against the Saudis and other gulf countries. While Qatar promised some steps in response to the charges in a 2014 agreement with the others, it took little action.

During his two-day visit to ­Riyadh, Trump met with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar — and held individual closed-door meetings with several GCC leaders, including the Qatar emir. The day before his departure on the morning of May 22, Trump delivered a speech, focused on the need for religious tolerance and unity against terrorism, to more than 50 Muslim leaders gathered from around the world for the occasion.

But he devoted most of his attention to Saudi King Salman, praising as a wise leader the man who controls his country’s vast oil reserves. In what the administration hailed as a high point of the visit, the Saudis agreed to purchase $110 billion in U.S. arms and signed letters of intent to invest hundreds of billions in deals with U.S. companies.

He had told the Saudis in advance, Trump said in an interview Wednesday with the Christian Broadcasting Network, that the agreements and purchases were a prerequisite for his presence. “I said, you have to do that, otherwise I’m not going,” Trump recounted.

The statements attributed to the emir first appeared on the Qatar News Agency’s website early on the morning of May 24, in a report on his appearance at a military ceremony, as Trump was wrapping up the next stop on his nine-day overseas trip, in Israel. According to the Qatari government, alerts were sent out within 45 minutes saying the information was false.

Later that morning, the same false information appeared on a ticker at the bottom of a video of the emir’s appearance that was posted on Qatar News Agency’s YouTube channel. Similar material appeared on government Twitter feeds.

The reports were repeatedly broadcast on Saudi Arabian government outlets, continuing even after the Qatari alert said it was false. The UAE shut down all broadcasts of Qatari media inside its borders, including the Qatari-funded Al Jazeera satellite network, the most watched in the Arab world.

The first week in June, the ­Saudi-led countries severed relations, ordered all Qatari nationals inside their countries to leave, and closed their borders to all land, air and sea traffic with Qatar, a peninsular nation in the Persian Gulf whose only land connection is with Saudi Arabia.

In addition to charges of supporting terrorism and promoting instability inside their countries, they accused Qatar of being too close to Iran, Saudi Arabia’s main rival for regional power and, according to the United States, the world’s foremost supporter of global terrorism. Iran conducts robust trade with most of the gulf, including the UAE, and shares the world’s largest natural gas field with Qatar.

The day after the boycott was announced, Trump indirectly took credit for it. “So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with King and 50 countries already paying off,” he tweeted. “They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar.”

At the same time, Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis called for negotiations and a quick resolution of the dispute. When the Saudi-led group released a list of 13 “non-negotiable” demands for Qatar — including shutting down Al Jazeera and expelling a number of people deemed terrorists — the State Department suggested that they were unreasonable and that the terrorism funding issue was a smokescreen for long-standing regional grievances that should be resolved through mediation and negotiation.

Qatar rejected the demands. Tillerson appeared to agree that they were draconian. But when he called for the boycott to be eased, saying it was causing both security and humanitarian hardship, Trump said the measure was harsh “but necessary.”

The one concrete result of Tillerson’s stops in the region last week was a new bilateral agreement signed with Qatar on stopping terrorism financing, the only one of the gulf countries that had responded to an invitation to do so, Hammond said.

Speaking to reporters on his plane flying back to Washington on Friday, Tillerson said the trip was useful “first to listen and get a sense of how serious the situation is, how emotional some of these issues are.” He said that he had left proposals with both sides that suggested “some ways that we might move this forward.”

All of the countries involved, Tillerson said, are “really important to us from a national security standpoint. . . . We need this part of the world to be stable, and this particular conflict between these parties is obviously not helpful.”

Asked about Trump’s tweets and other comments, he noted that being secretary of state “is a lot different than being CEO of Exxon,” his previous job, “because I was the ultimate decision-maker.” He knew what to expect from long-standing colleagues, he said, and decision-making was disciplined and “highly structured.”

“Those are not the characteristics of the United States government. And I don’t say that as a criticism, it’s just an observation of fact,” Tillerson said. While neither he nor the president came from the political world, he said, his old job put him in contact with the rest of the world and “that engagement . . . is actually very easy for me.”

For his part, Trump agreed in the Christian Broadcasting Network interview that he and Tillerson “had a little bit of a difference, only in terms of tone” over the gulf conflict.

Qatar, Trump said, “is now a little bit on the outs, but I think they’re being brought back in.” Asked about the U.S. military base in Qatar, Trump said he was not concerned.

“We’ll be all right,” he said. “Look, if we ever have to leave” the base, “we would have 10 countries willing to build us another one, believe me. And they’ll pay for it.”

Kareem Fahim in Istanbul and  Carol Morello in Washington contributed to this report.
==================================

 

அஞ்சா நெஞ்சுக்கு அஞ்சலி!

காலமான ஓவியம்

 

ஓவியர் வீரசந்தானம் சென்னையில் காலமானார்!

 

Tamilnadu Devarajan Posted By: Devarajan Published: Thursday, July 13, 2017, 21:35 [IST] 

 

ஓவியர் வீரசந்தானம் சென்னையில் இன்று காலமானார். மூச்சுத்திணறல் ஏற்பட்டு அவதிப்பட்ட ஓவியர் வீரசந்தானம் தனியார் மருத்துவமனையில் சிகிச்சை பலனில்லாமல் மரணமடைந்தார். தமிழ் பற்றாளரும் சிறந்த ஓவியருமான வீரசந்தானம் உலக தமிழர்கள் நெஞ்சில் நீங்கா இடம்பிடித்தவர்.

 

தஞ்சை முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் முற்றம் என்ற ஈழத் தமிழர்களின் நினைவகத்தை தனது ஓவிய திறனால் நிஜமாக்கித் தந்தவர்.

 

தமிழ் மக்களுக்கான கலையையும் மண்ணுக்கான அரசியலையும் சுமந்து திரிந்த மக்கள் கலைஞன்

 

71 வது வயதில் மறைந்துள்ளார்.

 

கும்பகோணம் ஓவிய பள்ளியில் படித்து, மும்பையில நெசவாளர் பணி மையத்தில் டிசைனராக பணியில் சேர்ந்தார். பின்னர் அங்கிருந்து, தமிழ் இனத்துக்காகப் போராட வேண்டும் என்ற நோக்கோடு விருப்ப ஓய்வில் வெளியேறினார். கடந்த ஆண்டு அவருக்கு உடல்நலத்தில் குறைபாடு ஏற்பட்டது. அதனைத் தொடர்ந்து பல மாதங்கள் மருத்துவ சிகிச்சையில் இருந்து, நோயிலிருந்து மீண்டு, தமிழர் நலன் சார்ந்த பணிகளை மேற்கொண்டார். ஆனால் இன்று திடீரென்று உடல்நலக்குறைவு ஏற்பட்டு, மறைந்துவிட்டார்

 

 

 

 

 

மேற் திசை மீறி எம் ஈழக் காற்றிசை வெல்லும் என்பது உறுதி!

நினைவேந்தல்

 ஓவியர் - தோழர் வீர சந்தானம் 

 (1947 ஒப்பிலியப்பன் கோயில் தஞ்சாவூர் - 2017.07.13 சென்னை)

 

 சொல்லும் செயலுமாக வாழ்ந்த அறம்சார் மென் மனப் பண்பாளர்.

 

காலமாகிய தமிழ்த் தூரிகையாளருக்கு
 வீர சந்தான ஓவிய மலராகத் தூவி
 சமர்ப்பணப் படைப்பாக இறுதி வணக்கம் !

 

அவரது நினைவு தாங்கி தமது தூரிகைகளால் இந்த ஓவியங்களை வரைந்த ஓவியர்களுக்கு நன்றி கூறிப் பகிர்கிறேன்.

 

70களின் கடைசியில் ‘ஈழக் கனவு சுமந்த’ பணியாளர்களாக சென்னையில் அலைந்த போராட்ட முன்னோடிகளை வரவேற்று கைகுலுக்கிய தொடக்க கால ஆரம்பக் கரங்களில் இவரது கரங்களும் வாஞ்சையுடன் இறுகிப் பற்றியவை.

 

அந்த இறுக்கம் அவரது இறுதி மூச்சு வரையில் நிலைத்திருந்தது. தமிழக ஈழ நட்புறவுக் கழகமாகவும் பின்னர் ஈழ நண்பர் கழகமாகவும் கடைசியாக காக்கைச் சிறகினிலே இதழின் தொடக்க நெறியாளர்களில் ஒருவராகவும் முன்னின்ற உழைப்பாளி – அர்ப்பணிப்பாளர் !!

 

கறுப்பு – வெள்ளைக் காட்சியாகப் புலப்படுத்தும் தமிழ் அடையாளத் தூரிகையாளர்.
வார்த்தைகளைக் குவிக்கும் ஒற்றை ஓவியமாக இவரது தூரிகையால் வெளிப்பட்ட படையல்கள் வெளியீடுகளில் தடமிட்டன. ஓவியக் கலையை அசட்டை செய்யும் தமிழ்ச் சமூகத்தில் முகிழ்தெழுந்து தலைநிமிரப் பவனிவந்த முன்னோடிகளில் ஒருவர்.

 

இவரது அன்றைய ஓவியங்களைத் தொகுத்து 1987 இல் ‘முகில்களின் மீது நெருப்பு’ ஓவிய
 நூல் வெளியீட்டை நண்பரும் தோழருமான வைகறை பொன்னி மூலம் வெளியிட்டார். இந்தத் தொகுப்பை நண்பரும் தோழருமான மாரீசு அமைத்திருந்தார். நண்பர் இந்திரன் முன்னுரையுடன் இந்நூல் வெளிவந்தது. அக்காலத்தில் தமிழ்நாட்டில் வெளிவந்த ‘தனி ஓவியத் தொகுப்பு’ நூல்களில் இது முதன்மையானது என்பதை நினைவில் கொள்ளலாம்.

 

நெருநல் உளனொருவன் இன்றில்லை என்னும்
 பெருமை உடைத்து இவ் வுலகு.

 

(குறள் 336 – நிலையாமை)

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புதிய ஈழம்: கறுப்பு ஜுலை 2017 - ENB சிவப்பு முழக்கம்

புதிய ஈழம்: கறுப்பு ஜுலை 2017 - ENB சிவப்பு முழக்கம்: கறுப்பு ஜுலை 2017 ENB சுவரொட்டி

Modi in Israel: Full text of joint statement issued by India and Israel

Full text: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

By: Express Web Desk |   Updated: July 5, 2017 9:56 pm
 

PM Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu

Marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India visited Israel from 4-6 July 2017 at the invitation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. This historic first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Israel solidified the enduring friendship between their peoples and raised the bilateral relationship to that of a strategic partnership.

2. Noting that they represent two cradles of civilizations that have nurtured their respective heritages over the centuries, the two leaders affirmed their intention to build a broad-based relationship that will realise the full potential of their association. In doing so, they recognized that throughout history, the Jewish Communities have always had a home in India and have been treated with warmth and respect.

3. Reviewing the development of the relationship after a quarter century of diplomatic ties, the two leaders agreed on initiatives and policies that would reflect the goals and aspirations of both nations and widen their collaborative endeavours in a broad range of areas. They visualized that the two countries will become close partners in development, technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, defence and security.

4. Recognizing its centrality for development, India and Israel agreed to establish a “Strategic Partnership in Water and Agriculture”. This will focus on water conservation, waste-water
treatment and its reuse for agriculture, desalination, water utility reforms, and the cleaning of the Ganges and other rivers using advanced water technologies. It will also include the
reinforcement and expansion of the existing Centres of Excellence (COE) under the stewardship of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MASHAV) and the Ministry of Agriculture of
India to promote commercially viable business models involving Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs); the provision of quality planting material; and the transfer of post-harvest
technical know-how and market linkages involving the private sector through PPP, B2B & other models. The two leaders also agreed on the establishment of a Joint Working Group to
steer this Partnership.

5. The two Prime Ministers noted the importance of realizing the full potential of bilateral trade and investment. They tasked the India-Israel CEO Forum to come up with early recommendations in this regard. Both leaders underlined the need to boost bilateral cooperation in innovation and entrepreneurship and called for greater collaboration in the field of
start-ups.

6. Recognizing the importance of facilitating movement of businessmen and women, India and Israel underlined their expectation that the granting of multiple entry visas to business people for up to five years will encourage greater economic and commercial exchanges.

7. The two Prime Ministers agreed that negotiations would be conducted on an agreement for the Protection of Investments in order to encourage bilateral investments from both sides.

8. The two Prime Ministers welcomed the conclusion of the Memorandum of Understanding for establishing the India-Israel Industrial R&D and Innovation Fund(I 4 F) by the Department of Science and Technology, India and the National Authority for Technological Innovation, Israel with a contribution of US$ 20 million from each side. This MoU will play a seminal role in enabling Indian and Israeli enterprises to undertake joint R&D projects leading to development of innovative technologies and products that have potential for commercial application.

9. Recognising the importance of fostering wide ranging knowledge-business partnership for industries, R&D institutions and government agencies from both countries, Israel warmly
welcomed India’s offer to be the “Partner Country” for the annual Technology Summit to be held in India in 2018.

10. Both leaders welcomed the ongoing cooperation between the Israel Space Agency (ISA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). They expressed satisfaction over the signing of three MoUs and Plan of Cooperation in the areas of Cooperation in Atomic Clocks; GEO-LEO Optical Link; Academic collaboration and Electric propulsion for small satellites which would further enhance cooperation between the two countries. They also encouraged the two Space Agencies to further enhance the growing relationship for mutual benefit.

The two leaders acknowledged that the recent launching by ISRO of an Israeli nano satellite is an important milestone in this arena.

11. The Prime Ministers noted with satisfaction that both sides have agreed to upgrade their scientific and technological collaboration by supporting joint research and development projects in the cutting edge areas, including ‘Big Data Analytics in Health Care’. They directed the India-Israel Joint Committee on Science and Technology to explore the possibility of further advancement of scientific collaboration including setting up of Networked Centres of Research Excellence in the cutting edge areas of mutual strength and interest.

12. Reaffirming the importance of bilateral defence cooperation over the years, it was agreed that future developments in this sphere should focus on joint development of defence products, including transfer of  technology from Israel, with a special emphasis on the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

13. India and Israel are committed to promote security and stability in cyberspace on both the governmental and private levels. The Prime Ministers emphasized the importance of
enhanced dialogue between their national cyber authorities and expressed their commitment to expand and accelerate their cooperation in this sphere including laying a mutual roadmap for its implementation. Both sides also recognise the value of enhancing and further institutionalising their broad-based cooperation on cyber issues through a Framework for cooperation in the area of cyber security.

14. Recognizing that terrorism poses a grave threat to global peace and stability, the two Prime Ministers reiterated their strong commitment to combat it in all its forms and manifestations. They stressed that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever. The leaders asserted that strong measures should be taken against terrorists, terror organizations, their networks and all those who encourage, support and finance terrorism, or provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups. They also underscored the need to ensure that terrorist organizations do not get access to any WMD or technologies. Both leaders also committed to cooperate for the early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT).

15. Both leaders reaffirmed their commitments as envisaged in the agreement on cooperation on Homeland and Public Security and encouraged the various Working Groups to
implement the agreement in an efficient and effective manner.

16. The two Prime Ministers underlined the importance of enhanced collaboration in the field of Higher Education and Research and agreed to promote this through relevant
agreements and the Joint Research Grant Programme.

17. Noting the importance of growing people to people contacts between India and Israel, the two leaders agreed to facilitate the promotion of travel & tourism in both directions,
including through the further enhancement of air links between India and Israel.

18. Appreciating the contribution of the Jewish community in India and Jews of Indian origin in Israel in bringing the two societies closer, Prime Minister Modi announced the opening
of an Indian Cultural Centre in Israel. This was warmly welcomed by Prime Minister Netanyahu who expressed his deep respect for Indian culture and recalled Israel’s strong support
and sponsorship of PM Modi’s initiative to promote the practice of Yoga by designating June 21 as International Yoga Day.

19. The two Prime Ministers recognized the contribution of Indian care-givers in Israel and expressed their intention to reach a mutually agreed-upon arrangement which will provide
for their continued arrival in a regulated manner.

20. The two Prime Ministers discussed the developments pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process. They underlined the need for the establishment of a just and durable
peace in the region. They reaffirmed their support for an early negotiated solution between the sides based on mutual recognition and security arrangements

21. During the visit, the following Agreements were signed:

i. MoU between the Department of Science & Technology, India and National Technological Innovation Authority, Israel for setting up of India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological
Innovation Fund (I 4 F).
ii. MoU between the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation of the Republic of India and the Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources of the State of Israel
on National Campaign for Water Conservation in India.
iii MoU between U.P. Jal Nigam, Government of Uttar Pradesh, of the Republic of India and the Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources of the State of Israel
on State Water Utility Reform in India.
iv India-Israel Development Cooperation – Three Year Work Program in Agriculture 2018-2020
v Plan of Cooperation Between the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) and the Israel Space Agency (ISA) regarding cooperation in Atomic Clocks
vi MoU between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Israel Space Agency (ISA)regarding cooperation in GEO-LEO Optical Link
vii MoU between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Israel Space Agency (ISA) regarding cooperation in Electric Propulsion for Small Satellites

22. Prime Minister Modi thanked the people and Government of Israel for their gracious hospitality and extended a warm invitation to Prime Minister Netanyahu to visit India at a mutually convenient time. Prime Minister Netanyahu accepted the invitation.

North Korea warns of nuclear conflict and world war

The US B-1B bombers were flanked by several Japanese and South Korean warplanes(Reuters file photo)

North Korea warns of nuclear conflict and world war after US flies bombers

State-run paper slams US over 'crazy act of playing fire on top of an ammunitions locker'.

VASUDEVAN-SRIDHARAN
By Vasudevan Sridharan Updated July 9, 2017 09:17 BST
     
After the US flew sophisticated B-1B Lancer bombers over the Korean peninsula, Pyongyang warned that more such actions could lead to a nuclear conflict and eventually world war,

In a show of force against the reclusive regime of North Korea, Washington flew two long-range strategic bombers on Saturday, 8 July, flanked by several Japanese and South Korean fighter jets. The trilateral action came days after North Korea test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Responding to the unscheduled military exercises, the North said such actions could only exacerbate the already tense situation.

"A simple misjudgment or mistake may lead to the outbreak of a nuclear war and that, in turn, is sure to lead to a new world war. The US saying it will regularly deploy strategic bombers to the Korean peninsula is the same as a crazy act of playing fire on top of an ammunitions locker," said the state-run Rodong Sinmun on Sunday, 9 July.

The signed commentary by the mouthpiece is in line with North Korea's policy. It usually sees any joint military drills by South Korea and the US as actual preparations for a full-scale invasion.

"US schemes aimed at increasing its threats of nuclear war against the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea – North Korea's official name] for its legitimate and justified measures to defend its sovereignty and dignity will not evade self-destruction," added the Pyongyang daily.

The nuclear-capable B-1B bombers, originating from the Guam airbase, practised "attack capabilities" for several hours. In an unusual move, US forces also published a photo of the bombers dropping inert GBU-56 laser-guided bombs on mock targets.

Immediate withdrawal is only wise move for India

Commentary: Immediate withdrawal is only wise move for India
(Xinhua)    16:33, July 07, 2017
  
After a three-week stand-off with China on Chinese territory, India should immediately pull back its trespassing troops.

The face-off was caused by Indian border guards who crossed the border at the Sikkim section into Chinese territory and obstructed routine road construction in the Doklam area of China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

In contrast to previous confrontations, the current border dispute is at a long-demarcated section of the China-India border, where no incidents had occurred over the past years.

India has tried to justify its incursion in the name of protecting Bhutan, arguing that Doklam is Bhutanese territory.

However, according to the Convention between Great Britain and China Relating to Sikkim and Tibet (1890), Doklam undoubtedly belongs to China. The agreement was inherited by India after its independence and has been repeatedly confirmed in writing by successive governments of the former British colony.

Documents between the Chinese and Indian governments show former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru confirmed several times, on behalf of the Indian government, that the Sikkim-Tibet border was defined by the 1890 convention.

It is a basic principle of international law that binding treaties must be executed in good faith.

India's sudden disregard of the 1890 convention runs counter to the ongoing position of the Indian government. It has breached the basic norms of the UN Charter and international laws and will pose a significant threat to bilateral relations.

By creating disputes in Doklam, India seeks to obstruct border negotiations between China and Bhutan, and follow its own ulterior motives in the area.

The claim can not hold water. Doklam has long been under the effective jurisdiction of China. Both Bhutan and China have a basic consensus on the functional conditions and demarcation of their border region.

Moreover, India has no right to interfere in China-Bhutan boundary issues, nor is it entitled to make territorial claims on behalf of Bhutan.

India's current actions have not only encroached on China's territorial sovereignty, but also impaired the independence of Bhutan, one of the world's smallest countries, which is closely allied with India.
India has also argued that Chinese construction would represent a "significant change of status quo with serious security implications for India" in a statement by its Ministry of External Affairs. That argument is unconvincing.

Chinese construction is being conducted within its own territory. It is India that has broken the status quo by trespassing onto Chinese soil. It is not acceptable to any sovereign country that India has crossed a demarcated border into another country on the grounds of its "security concerns."
Indian troops should immediately withdraw to the Indian side of the border as a precondition for any meaningful dialogue between the two countries.

It is clear that if the "Chinese Dragon" and the "Indian Elephant" co-exist harmoniously and achieve peaceful, cooperative development, it will benefit not only their combined 2.7 billion people, but also those living beyond their borders.

Otherwise, a spiral of bilateral rivalry would definitely result in a slow down in their growth.

Al Jazeera demands press freedom

 

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