New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia last week amid tensions with China has raised alarm among Western allies, says a new report in the South China Morning Post, headlined: ‘Modi’s Russia visit part of India strategy to boost security amid China tensions: analysts’.
“…analysts say it is part of New Delhi’s strategy to shore up its own security,” wrote senior correspondent Biman Mukherji.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced Modi’s visit, saying it was detrimental to peace efforts, the report notes. However, Indian analysts are of the view that the longstanding defence ties between India and Russia are important for India’s security, especially as Chinese aggression continues along the border. “It [India] has to stand up to China at its borders and it does need Russian support for that,” Harsh Pant, an international relations professor at King’s College London, tells Mukherji. Moreover, Modi’s visit to Russia is being seen as a move to prevent Russia from aligning with China, underscoring India’s complex foreign policy.
‘India’s Arm Sales to Israel During a War Are a Political Statement’, a piece published in The Diplomat, written by Omair Anas, an assistant professor of International Relations at Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Turkiye, discusses why India must seek a broader regional engagement beyond bilateral immediacies in the Middle East.
The piece says India’s diplomacy in the Middle East is again under pressure from conflicting parties of the Arab-Israeli crisis. While India continues with its traditional policy of favouring the two-state solution with East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian state remains unchanged, how India interprets it has changed, writes Anas.
After the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel, Indian media and right-wing public opinion overwhelmingly continued to support the Israeli military response in Gaza, he adds. “Arab diplomats based in New Delhi expressed their unease over the increasingly hostile public opinion toward Palestine,” the piece says.
‘Italy frees 33 Indians and grants them instant residency after farm ‘slavery’ ordeal’, a report published Monday in the Independent, is about how in northern Italy, 33 Indian farm labourers were rescued from severe exploitation resembling slavery following the tragic death of Satnam Singh, a Punjabi farm worker.
Independent reporter Shweta Sharma dives deeper into the case and highlights that the Italian tax police seized nearly half a million euros from two Indian ‘gangmasters’ who lured their compatriots with false promises of decent jobs and a better life. Instead, the men were coerced into gruelling farm labour, working up to 12 hours a day, seven days a week, for a daily wage as low as four euros. These meagre earnings were often withheld under the guise of debt repayment for promised work permits, which the workers would never receive. Some were even forced to work without pay to cover additional fees.
The report further says that while the accused gangmasters are being investigated for enslavement and labour exploitation, the victims were promised police protection, job opportunities and legal residency documents.
A piece in The Economist headlined ‘The world’s next food superpower’, is based on the transformation of the Araku Valley, previously plagued by poverty and Maoist violence, into a thriving coffee-growing region. Local farmers, supported by Araku Coffee, shifted from traditional slash-and-burn farming to cultivating high-grade coffee, which they now sell at premium prices globally.
The piece highlights the potential of Indian agriculture if supported by effective policies, and the broader issues in Indian agriculture, including inefficiencies, low productivity compared to global standards, and the need for reforms. Despite challenges such as government subsidies distorting incentives and infrastructure deficiencies, examples like the Araku Valley show that targeted support and market-oriented approaches can significantly improve rural livelihoods and economic prospects, it says. “It is not loan waivers, it is not subsidies, it is to see how we can create an ecosystem which is conducive to growth,” Manoj Kumar, the head of Araku Coffee, tells The Economist.
“Younger generations’ open-mindedness shakes conservative society,” writes contributing writer Neeta Lal in a piece headlined, ‘Popular Indian reality show kicks up a polygamy storm’, published in Nikkei Asia. It is about the nationwide debate on polygamy in India sparked by the inclusion of YouTuber Armaan Malik and his two wives on the Indian reality show ‘Bigg Boss’.
Malik’s unconventional marital arrangement is now drawing swift and severe criticism on social media, with calls for the show’s cancellation from women’s rights activists like Kirti Bhatti, who condemned it as misleading and against Indian societal norms. “Do the show’s producers have to stoop so low to get viewership? The trio is selling a lifestyle that is misguiding youth. The show must be banned immediately,” she tells Nikkei Asia. The controversy has highlighted broader social shifts influenced by factors like online dating and exposure to global culture.
Trump’s 1st public appearance since attack
With a bandage covering his right ear, Donald Trump appeared in public amid loud cheers, the first time since he survived an assassination attempt. To know more, read the latest report by The Guardian.
Violent clashes between people loyal to Bangladesh’s ruling party and demonstrators protesting against quotas for coveted government jobs have wounded at least 100 people, say police. Read the latest report by Al Jazeera.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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