A recent indictment from the United States Department of Justice has alleged an Indian security official was involved in attempting to assassinate a U.S. and Canadian citizen in New York. The alleged target, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, is a leader in the Sikh separatist movement and has been involved in organizing referendums for the establishment of Khalistan, a proposed independent Sikh state in northern India.

The indictment also states that there is a link between the foiled attempt to kill Pannun and the murder of Canadian Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C. earlier this year.

The Indian government said it was investigating the allegations, and had established a committee to “address the security concerns highlighted by the US government.”

This announcement by the U.S. could have potential ramifications for Indian politics, both at home and abroad. However, it is unlikely to have any significant impact on next year’s general elections, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be seeking his third term in office.

Bolstering Modi’s strongman image

Canadian allegations against India had handed Modi an excellent political platform for the next general elections.

It sent a clear message that India’s government would, under no circumstances, tolerate any threats to the country.

India’s foreign policy has become more muscular under Modi; and that’s a strategy that resonates with his supporters.

His landslide victory in 2019 had a lot to do with support for India’s “surgical strikes” in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir in 2016 in response to an attack that killed 19 Indian soldiers.

Following Canada’s allegations of Indian involvement in Nijjar’s killing, the Modi government was once again able to successfully generate a narrative against Canada in general and the Liberal party in particular.

India’s narrative consists of four parts:

• Canada is a safe haven for terrorists, extremism and organized crime, and there is a nexus between Indo-Canadian gangsters and Sikh separatists working with Pakistan’s intelligence agency.
• The Canadian government has consistently ignored repeated requests from India to take actions against Khalistani “terrorists” operating on Canadian soil.
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is pandering to the large Sikh diaspora in Canada.
• The Liberal minority government is dependent on support from the New Democratic Party leader, Jagmeet Singh, a Sikh supposedly sympathetic to the Khalistani cause.

Indian news media and politicians have repeated the official discourse constantly for weeks.

While India was quick to dismiss Canadian allegations, it has adopted a much more cautious approach to the U.S. indictment. India has much to lose by alienating the Biden administration as both countries have invested a great deal in enhancing Indo-U.S. relations and making India a central ally in America’s Indo-Pacific strategy.

Meanwhile, Indo-Canadian relations have been chilly since 2015, largely due to Khalistan activity in Canada. Moreover, annual trade between India and Canada is worth about $12 billion while trade with the U.S. is worth $192 billion. In short, India has much more to lose by alienating the U.S than it does by taking a hard line with Canada.

Furthering authoritarianism

On the surface it might appear that news of the U.S. indictment could fracture India’s muscular foreign policy. However, this episode is unlikely to have much impact on India’s domestic politics. Modi remains popular with an approval rating of 78 per cent.

He is credited, among other things, with India’s emergence as a global power, with his effective handling of border issues with China, for taking on Pakistan and with the success of the country’s space program.

The 26-party opposition coalition, Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), is unlikely to challenge Modi on this particular issue. The national defense narrative is a strong one, and India’s territorial integrity is a sacrosanct issue for all political parties.

However, among some minority communities, Muslims and Sikhs, both at home and abroad, revelations of assassination plots could raise serious concerns. The Modi government’s aggressive pursuit of a Hindu nationalist agenda, its repression of minorities and control over dissent have become more entrenched.

India’s parliament is in the process of amending its sedition laws. If the changes are passed, endangering the unity and integrity of the country could result in life-term imprisonment. These proposed changes to the already harsh and draconian penal code will only further criminalize dissent. The Modi government is ensuring that dissenting voices, particularly those of minority communities, completely disappear from Indian democracy.

Amplifying the Khalistan movement

India’s campaign of global repression of Sikh separatists could have the effect of unifying the Sikh diaspora. It was in 2018 that Pannun came up with the idea of holding a non-binding referendums to mobilize the global Sikh community.

That year, Sikh activists announced their campaign for holding referendums starting in 2021 across multiple cities. The first referendum took place in London on Oct. 31, 2021, followed by eight more referendums during 2022 and 2023 in the cities of Leeds and Luton (United Kingdom), Geneva (Switzerland), Brampton, Mississauga and Surrey (Canada), Melbourne (Australia), and Brescia (Italy).

Pannun announced plans for referendums in Punjab and the U.S, and for another round of voting in Canadian cities. In October, following Trudeau’s announcement of credible allegations against the Indian government, thousands of voters turned out to participate in a referendum in Surrey, B.C., some coming from as far as the cities of Edmonton and Calgary.

While only a small minority of the Sikh diaspora is thought to support creating a separate Sikh state, the majority were likely registering their disapproval of India and its repression of minorities. Memory of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the wake of Indira Gandhi’s assassination which left thousands dead remains very much alive within the entire Sikh community to this day.

But Khalistani referendum politics relies heavily on images depicting so-called “martyrs” (separatists killed by India) and Indian diplomats as the assassins of Sikh activists. The desecration of Hindu temples also has the potential to create division within the Indian Hindu and Sikh diasporas. Canadian Liberal MP Chandra Arya has accused Khalistan supporters of targetting Hindu temples.

As more information comes out, the Canadian government will need to carefully manage its relations with India and the relationship between diasporic communities here.

Source : The Conversation

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The first meeting of Karnataka’s newly formed State Education Policy (SEP) commission set the foundation for an ambitious project that aims to overhaul the state’s education system.

Sukhdev Thorat, former UGC Chairman and current SEP Chairman, has promised a comprehensive and forward-thinking approach that will address short and long-term challenges in the education landscape of the state.

CREATION OF THE COMMISSION AND ITS MANDATE

The formation of a 15-member committee in charge of drafting the state education policy was directed by the government’s October 11 order, which calls for the inclusion of retired ICS officers, professors, and writers.

The team at this helm has been tasked with a thorough examination of the current status of both the school and higher education institutions in Karnataka, and to outline a comprehensive report by February 28, 2024.

NINE WORKING GROUPS TO REVIEW EDUCATION SECTORS

In an all-encompassing approach, the commission has instituted nine working groups to focus on distinct aspects of education.

These include the dissection of quality and accessibility, financing, governance, student enrolment, professional education, and issues surrounding online and distance education, alongside an evaluation of the role of value education in the curriculum.

Sukhdev Thorat emphasised the commission’s intent to include the perspectives of former vice-chancellors, education experts, retired professors, civil society groups, student forums, and other relevant stakeholders from across states in their fact-based report.

A POLICY DRAFTED ON FACTS AND DATA

“The report will be based on facts, not presumptions. The policy will fix short and long-term challenges for Karnataka’s education system. It will be comprehensive and futuristic, in line with the Radhakrishnan Commission and Kothari Commission reports.” Thorat said.

EXTENSION, IMPLEMENTATION, AND FUTURE PLANS

While under a directive to submit the policy within a stipulated timeframe, Thorat said that an extension may be requested if required. “As for implementation, it is up to the government to decide,” Thorat added.

The formation of the commission aligns with a proposal made in August, whereby the state government gave an in-principle nod for the formulation of SEP ready for the next academic year.

Source : India Today

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The State government has constituted a committee to frame the Karnataka State Education Policy, which will be a model for the entire country, said Madhu Bangarappa, Minister for School Education and Literacy.

In an interview with The Hindu in Shivamogga, the Minister said the policy would not favour any particular political party or be against any party. “Our motto is to focus on what is essential for providing quality education for our children. The committee has been told to interact with all stakeholders, including those who oppose the SEP,” he said.

Excerpts:

Why did the State go for SEP, in place of the new National Education Policy-2020, proposed by the Union government?

There are many reasons. For one, the Centre tried to infuse saffronisation through the policy. Such a policy and syllabus end up communalising children. They will be encouraged to hate somebody. How can we accept that?

Moreover, the BJP government introduced it without holding a discussion with anybody. They were in a hurry to implement it because of the pressure from the party high command. It showed they were more committed to the party high command than quality education for children.

On the other hand, we are not bringing any agenda of Congress in the name of policy. It will remain unbiased.

Besides that, the simple reason for SEP is that we want the schools to be under the State government’s control. Here, for example, we teach children about our great poet Kuvempu, our rulers Krishnadevaraya, Rani Chennamma, warrior Onake Obavva, social reformers Basavanna, Narayana Guru or the rivers like the Cauvery of our land. These are all part of our culture.

In the name of NEP, our children will be forced to study something not connected to our culture. Hence, we want a policy that talks about our culture and nativity.

Do you anticipate the Union government’s non-cooperation to implement the SEP by stopping funds for Centrally sponsored schemes?

I don’t think they will be so cruel… Anyhow, we are providing food for children in Classes 9 and 10. They (the Centre) are providing for children only up to Class 8. We are providing uniform, eggs, and books. We will manage. Already, they are not giving us our due share of taxes. Let them clear our dues first.

The committee headed by Dr. Sukhdev Thorat has only six months time. When you are planning to implement SEP?

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said it will be implemented by next academic year.

I feel the time we have is short. The committee has six months. It has begun the work just two days ago. By April 2024, they may submit the report. Later, we may have to go for textbook revision. It may require more time. Then, we will convey this to the CM.

However, the transition from the NEP to the SEP will be smooth. NEP was implemented only in higher education. The changes will be made so that the students do not feel disturbed.

Will the SEP be applied to ICSE, CBSE, and Central Syllabus schools as well?

The SEP committee will deliberate on this issue. At the end of the day, the idea is to give good education. There are a lot of similarities in the syllabus. SEP aims to do away with any agenda that infuses hatred among children through their textbooks…. We will not saffronise or Congressise our SEP.

Are there any specific instructions to the SEP committee on teaching of Kannada and the medium of instruction?

Kannada will have primacy. Students will have the option to learn other languages. English will be taught too.

With regard to the medium of instruction, the students will have a choice of both Kannada and English medium. Many parents are opting for English medium in our Karnataka Public Schools (KPS). Even those who initially chose Kannada as their medium of instruction are gradually transitioning to English. We respect their choice.

Recently, NCERT panel recommended replacing India with Bharath in textbooks. How do you see it?

All these years, we accepted both Bharath and India. When we introduce ourselves in English, we call ourselves Indian, and in Kannada, we identify ourselves as Bharathiya. But the Centre is trying to divide between Bharath and India.

Moreover, they are bringing up the issue of India and Bharat at the very end of their term. It shows they have no other issue to go before the public. They want to whip up emotions for political gains. Our policy will be clear on this. We will retain both names.

Source : The Hindu

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The rise of security-driven economic policy in industrial countries gives licence to atavistic inward-looking policy thinking, infecting the framing of development strategies at a critical time in countries on the cusp of major developmental breakthroughs like India and Indonesia.

Geopolitics is changing the global economic policy landscape. Today’s backdrop of strategic competition and conflict has seen the return of industrial policy in advanced countries, driven by a security-based logic mixed with a second-best approach to the energy transition without a price on carbon. There has been an explosion of trade interventions, industrial policies and subsidies, exacerbating the threat to the world economy posed by the widespread derogation from the global trade rules.

How should developing economies like India and Indonesia navigate this policy environment, where self-sufficiency and import-substituting strategies are finding potent new favour?

East Asian economies have effected the only significant transformation from economic backwardness to advanced economy status in modern times. It’s thus wise to understand the lessons from the East Asian growth miracle, which still hold true today. And developing economies, constrained by their fiscal capacity, should recall the waste and futility of past industrial policies that picked industry champions rather than creating public goods to lay the base for broad-based industrial growth.

Successful East Asian development, based on the historical experience of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Southeast Asia and China, was founded on trade-oriented growth (anchored in the disciplines of participation in international markets) and deeper integration into the international economy, not retreat from it or reliance on import-substitution. The rapid trade growth enjoyed by these economies was supply-driven, built on the expansion of market share in old, established industries, not expansion of trade in new, high-growth sectors of the global economy. Government investments were directed towards social and economic infrastructure in public goods such as roads and schools, with withdrawal from state involvement in enterprise.

Today, policymakers seem to live in a different age. Domestic events and geopolitical circumstances are visiting the prospect of stagnating growth upon established industrial economies, globalisation appears to have peaked, the international economy is becoming fragmented, and a policy pathology that favours self-sufficiency and import-substituting industrial policy is sweeping around the world.

The trope that a less optimistic outlook for global market growth now recommends that emerging economies turn to inward-looking import-substitution does not square with the experience of successful industrial growth in Asia.

In an international economic context, development is about drawing abundant labour into more and more productive employment, lifting productivity and national incomes.

Pro-development strategies are thus those that favour export-specialisation in labour-intensive products, drawing large amounts of labour into internationally competitive production and higher productivity employment. With the accumulation of capital, dynamic comparative advantage drives a more technology intensive export trade structure over time. The beneficent corollary of export-oriented development strategies has been a distribution of income that commonly favours labour.

The recent trend towards self-reliance and security has seen countries emphasise the production of high-tech capital-intensive goods from the start. Focusing on these sectors requires skilled labour, in short supply relative to abundant unskilled labour, and expensive government outlays, which come at the cost of providing essential government infrastructure. Failing to create jobs risks an entrenchment of inequality and an unsustainable stretching of public resources if a country grows old before it gets rich.

Successful trade-oriented growth comes from absorbing labour into industries that can capitalise on its abundance and establish international competitiveness. Doing this allows countries to take over others’ market shares as comparative advantages evolve, a process underwritten by a policy regime based on the principles of non-discrimination and open markets.

Even in a period of slow growth, the logic of comparative advantage still holds. Import-substituting policies undermine this transition by restricting access to low-cost and high-quality capital and technological inputs, preventing firms from achieving international competitiveness.

The East Asian economic miracle was certainly a messier and more complex story than has sometimes been portrayed in the narrative that describes its main features. In Japan, Northeast Asia, Singapore, China and Southeast Asia, the policy strategies that drove success were fashioned in different institutional and political settings and each had their own distinctive national character. Policy idiosyncrasies, technological context, geographic size and location have all shaped particular national paths and patterns of development across the region.

But some factors were ubiquitous throughout the East Asian experience. Opening up to competition from foreign markets and embracing international investment were central to rapid growth by enabling access to inputs that facilitated the absorption of abundant domestic labour into productive manufacturing employment. In addition to domestic reforms to support openness, increased mobilisation of state investment in education, health, transportation, communications networks and supportive industrial infrastructure, and reduced state shares in economic enterprise and the allocation of capital, typified successful industrial policy across the region.

China was no exception to these principles or to this experience. It has been a central element of it, at scale.

India and Indonesia, two of Asia’s most promising candidates for transformative industrialisation over the coming few decades, stand at a critical juncture in their development trajectories. Their youthful populations and recent strong economic performance put them in a demographic sweet spot.

Yet both countries are in danger of being caught in the undertow of industrial policy 2.0. The attunement of their development strategies to the principles derived from the East Asian experience would position them better both to fulfil their economic potential and avoid the danger that both now face of jobless growth.

Source : East Asia Forum

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Delhi News Highlights:  The India Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert for Delhi on July 5 and gave a warning that moderate rain could flood low-lying areas and disrupt the flow of traffic on key roads on Wednesday. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover between 33 degrees Celsius and 37 degrees Celsius tomorrow. The weather department further stated that cloudy weather and intermittent showers can be expected in the national capital over the next six to seven days.

The Supreme Court is set to hear a plea moved by the Delhi government relating to the appointment of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairperson on July 11. In the meantime, the apex court orally said that the oath-taking of  chairperson-designate Justice (Retd) Umesh Kumar is to be deferred.

The wife of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Seema, has been admitted to hospital yet again. AAP sources said this was the third time that she had been hospitalised in recent weeks. The health of Seema, 49, a Multiple Sclerosis patient, deteriorated late on Monday evening following which she had to be hospitalised. Party sources said being alone at home—with Manish Sisodia in jail for his alleged role in the now scrapped excise policy case and the couple’s son studying abroad—had worsened matters in this regard.

Source: Indian Express

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The centre is preparing agenda for the monsoon session of Parliament which is set to begin on 20 July. The opposition is likely to raise the issue of UCC to corner the government

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a meeting of the Council of Ministers at Pragati Maidan Convention Centre and said that the meeting was fruitful.

“A fruitful meeting with the Council of Ministers, where we exchanged views on diverse policy-related issues,” PM Modi tweeted.

Meanwhile, after the meeting, the Council of Ministers were seen leaving from the Pragati Maidan Convention Centre.

Sources said some ministries are likely to present a report of various central schemes and their implementation. They said meetings of the Council of Ministers have seen such discussions in the past.

The government is preparing agenda for the monsoon session of Parliament which is set to begin on 20 July. The opposition is likely to raise the issue of UCC to corner the government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BL Santosh and BJP’s National President JP Nadda last week. The BJP, for the first time, will hold region-wise meetings of the three zones- the eastern, northern and southern – on 6, 7 and 8 July.

The BJP is gearing up for assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram to be held later this year as well for the Lok Sabha elections.

Source: Business World

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers at the newly built convention centre at Pragati Maidan, which will host the G20 Leaders Summit on September 9-10, discussing policy-related issues.

“A fruitful meeting with the Council of Ministers, where we exchanged views on diverse policy related issues,” Modi tweeted soon after the four-hour meeting concluded.

“In today’s meeting, topics like Vision 2047, development works, steps to take India forward and infrastructure development were discussed,” Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi told the media afterward.

In these meetings, some ministries generally give a presentation about their work, with the PM sharing his views.

Monday’s meeting comes amid a heightened buzz about a likely Cabinet reshuffle following a series of meetings of the BJP’s leadership. On June 28, Modi held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda and party’s organisational secretary B L Santhosh, among others, to take stock of organisational and political affairs. The BJP has been making hectic preparations for several state elections scheduled this year, including those in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Mizoram.

Sources said that during Monday’s meeting, the PM spoke in detail about his recent official trips to the US and Egypt. “There was also a presentation about those visits,” they said.

Modi spoke in detail about the upcoming G20 Summit and the need for every minister to take it seriously, sources said. He is learnt to have reiterated that the government is focusing on the 2047 road map, when India completes 100 years of Independence, specifically mentioning infrastructure development in this context.

According to sources, two Powerpoint presentations were made during the meeting: on the infrastructure sector and capital expenditure, and on ‘India 2047’ vision.

If a Cabinet reshuffle is to be effected, the period before Parliament’s monsoon session, which begins July 20, could be the last window for such an exercise. Sources said Modi may effect changes in his ministry to “infuse freshness” in departments that have not performed up to his expectations. Changes also help the government remove the fatigue factor, they said.

Speculation is rife that the BJP leadership is considering bringing in some senior leaders from its state units to the Centre — both in the government and the party.

With the Opposition likely to raise the issue of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to corner the government during the upcoming monsoon session, Lekhi earlier in the day called UCC a welcome step and said the country’s women deserve equality. “It’s a welcome step and I am glad that it has been done when our government is there… women of this country deserve equality and justice, irrespective of which religion they come from..,” she said.

Among the legislation expected in the short session — likely to have 17 working days — are the much-awaited Digital Personal Data Protection Bill and the Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill, besides the Bill to replace the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance.

Lekhi also said the monsoon session will start in the old Parliament building, and “as and when” the new building is ready, the session will be moved there.

Source: Indian Express

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday said a forward-looking and futuristic education system was being created in the country through the new National Education Policy (NEP).

In a virtual address to the 75th ‘Amrut Mahotsav’ of Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Sansthan, the Prime Minister added that the number of Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) and medical colleges have also increased substantially since 2014.

PM Modi said, “In the country today, the number of larger educational institutions like IIT, IIIT, IIM and AIIMS are increasing. After 2014, the number of medical colleges has seen more than 65 per cent increase. Through the new education policy, the country is for the first time preparing an education system which is forward-looking and futuristic”.

“You know very well that for the bright future of India, our existing education policy and institutes have a big role to play. Therefore, in this ‘amrit kaal’ of independence, whether it is educational infrastructure or education policy, we remain involved with greater speed and expansion,” he added.

According to Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Sansthan has expanded and currently has more than 40 branches all over the world, providing facilities for school, undergraduate and postgraduate education to more than 25,000 students.

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The lists of nuclear installation and facilities were exchanged as per the provisions of the Article-II of the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, signed on December 31, 1988 and ratified on 27 January 1991.

According to this agreement, both countries have to inform each other of the nuclear facilities. This practice of exchanging lists has continued since January 1, 1992.

“Pursuant to the agreement, the list of nuclear installations and facilities in Pakistan was officially handed over to a representative of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday,” the Foreign Office said in the statement.

Simultaneously, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs also handed over their list of nuclear installations and facilities to a representative of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, according to the Foreign Office.

The exchange comes amid strain in ties between the two countries over the Kashmir issue as well as cross-border terrorism. These lists are exchanged under the provisions of the Agreement on Consular Access signed in May 2008.

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“Deeply concerned about the news of rioting and vandalism against the State institutions in Brasilia. Democratic traditions must be respected by everyone. We extend our full support to the Brazilian authorities,” he wrote on Twitter.

On Sunday, the supporters of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro clashed with police in the country’s capital and broke into the National Congress (Parliament) and other state institutions. The few security guards at the empty sites on Sunday were unable to rebuff the protesters who did not recognize the results of the October presidential election.

According to preliminary estimates, about 5,000 people participated in the riots. To disperse the demonstrators, the security forces used smoke bombs and tear gas grenades, including dropping them from a helicopter. Law enforcement officers are successfully regaining control over the buildings attacked by vandals, the detainees are sent to police stations.

Socialist Lula da Silva took office as President of Brazil on January 1, defeating Bolsonaro in the second round of elections. The gap between them was 2.1 million votes. The conservative did not admit defeat, and his supporters massively took to the streets and to the garrisons of the armed forces demanding that Lula da Silva not take office. At the end of December 2022, Bolsonaro left for the United States.

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