INDIA

On June 6, in the Namkum area of Ranchi, Jharkhand, three Muslim labourers were violently assaulted by a mob of over 30 individuals allegedly associated with Hindutva groups. The victims say they were targeted solely because of their religious identity. According to a video circulating on social media platform X, the men said the attack occurred during their lunch break near their worksite, shortly after they had returned from offering namaz at a mosque. “They asked us, ‘Who are you? What are your names? What are you doing here?’” one of the victims told local reporters. “When we told them our names and they saw our kurta-pyjamas, their tone changed.” The mob, upon learning the men were Muslims, allegedly told them to vacate the area. As tensions escalated, the crowd grew to over ...

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his statement that “peace has been established in Jammu-Kashmir and the Northeast.” Ramesh termed the “claims” made by the Union Home Minister as “absurd” and “baseless”, saying that it was made to “divert attention” from the failures of the government. In a social media post on X, the Congress MP wrote, “The claims made by the Union Home Minister yesterday about peace in Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur are absurd and baseless. These claims have actually been made to divert attention from his own colossal failures.” Highlighting the recent Pahalgam attack and past attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, Ramesh said, “The terrorists responsible for the barbaric terror attacks in Pahalgam on 22 ...

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the 11 years of Modi government was a “golden period” of resolve, endeavour and dedication towards public service. In Narendra Modi’s third term as prime minister, Shah said this new India is rapidly progressing towards development and self-reliance with the power of reform, perform and transform. He said this journey of making India “number 1” in every field by bringing positive changes in the lives of the countrymen will continue. “The historic 11 years of the Modi Government have been a golden period of resolve, endeavour and dedication towards public service,” he wrote on ‘X’ in Hindi and called it 11 years of “seva” (service). The Modi government completes the first year of its third term on Monday. The home minister said the country has...

  Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday, June 7, confirmed arrest of 16 individuals over allegations of illegally slaughtering cattle during Eid-ul-Adha, amid rising communal tensions in parts of the state. The arrests were made following reports of cattle parts being discovered in several locations, including the sensitive Barak Valley region and Hojai. According to Sarma, five unauthorized slaughter sites were identified in Barak Valley—specifically in Gumrah, Silchar, and Lakhipur in Cachar district, and Badarpur and Banga in Karimganj district. Nine arrests were made from Cachar and seven from Sribhumi, he said in a post on X. In Hojai, tensions escalated after members of the Hindu community reportedly found meat scattered across residential areas on Satur...

India’s external debt continues to rise in absolute terms, reflecting growing corporate borrowings and valuation shifts, but the overall debt situation remains stable relative to the size of the economy. According to recent figures, India’s total external debt stood at US $711.8 billion at the end of September 2024, marking an increase of over US \$29 billion from the previous quarter. The debt-to-GDP ratio, however, edged up only slightly to 19.4 percent, indicating that strong economic expansion is helping absorb the increase. Despite the rise in borrowing, India’s debt remains well-covered by its robust foreign exchange reserves, which stand at approximately US $691.5 billion. The reserve coverage of external debt is close to 96 percent, a comfortable buffer that allows the ...

The Congress on Wednesday said it is wrong to think that "Narendra Modi is India and India is Narendra Modi", as it slammed the ruling BJP for its criticism of Rahul Gandhi over his dig at the prime minister and doubled down on the "Narendra-surrender" jibe. Amid the BJP's criticism of his remarks, Gandhi reposted a post he had made on X on June 21, 2020, in which he had said, "Narendra Modi is actually Surender Modi." Congress's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera claimed that Gandhi's "Narender...surrender" remarks encapsulate how the prime minister has time and again "surrendered India's national interests in situations where the requisite deft and the "vishwaguru" status should have been shown. "The BJP people were making a film for their hero for the last 11 years...

The Vande Bharat Express train between Katra and Srinagar is all set to begin its commercial operations for the public from June 7, following its formal inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) opened advance bookings for the train on Thursday afternoon, drawing interest from passengers eager to experience high-speed rail travel through the scenic stretch of Jammu Kashmir. According to officials from Northern Railway, two Vande Bharat trains—numbered 26401 and 26403—will operate daily on the route, completing a total of four trips between Katra and Srinagar each day. Train 26401 will depart from Katra at 8:10 AM and reach Srinagar at 11:08 AM. It will make the return journey the same afternoon, departing fr...

All states have been instructed to ensure the availability of oxygen, isolation beds, ventilators, and essential medicines in view of rising Covid-19 cases, official sources said on Wednesday. A series of technical review meetings were held on June 2 and 3 under the chairpersonship of Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr. Sunita Sharma. The meetings included representatives from the Disaster Management Cell, Emergency Management Response (EMR) Cell, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), central government hospitals in Delhi, and representatives from all states and Union Territories. These discussions were aimed at evaluating the current Covid situation and preparedness measures...

The Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) of Bijnor district, Yogendra Kumar, has suspended Rafat Khan, the headmistress of Primary School Sahanpur II, for allegedly getting the school’s name written in both Hindi and Urdu on the main entrance of the building. According to the suspension order, the BSA acted after photos of the school signage, displaying the name in Urdu alongside Hindi, went viral on social media. The BSA stated that "prima facie, the headmistress has been found responsible" and was therefore suspended with immediate effect. Rafat Khan has been attached to the Block Resource Centre (BRC) office in Najibabad during the period of her suspension. In the preliminary inquiry initiated by the education department following the controversy, officials claimed that the Urdu text w...

A Muslim journalist couple from Pilibhit, Israr and his wife Miraj, are in critical condition after allegedly consuming poison. The act followed a sustained period of harassment, which they claim was triggered by Israr’s investigative report exposing corruption in a road construction project in the Barkheda area. In a distressing video message shared on social media moments before the incident, the couple directly accused Bisalpur Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Nagendra Pandey, Barkheda Nagar Panchayat Chairman Shyam Bihari Bhojwal, and contractor Moin of orchestrating false charges and sustained intimidation. The video has since gone viral, sparking outrage across journalist circles and among civil rights groups. Israr stated that his report on the alleged irregularities in the ...