[🇮🇳] India---News & Views

[Krishna with Flute]

Preacher urges India govt to declare cow as Rashtra Mata

Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the Jyotish Peeth in Uttarakhand, has given the central government a 33-day deadline to decide on banning cow slaughter and declaring the cow as ‘Rashtra Mata.’ He has warned that if no action is taken by March 17, he will take a ‘tough...

www.newagebd.net

Preacher urges India govt to declare cow as Rashtra Mata
New Age Desk 13 February, 2025, 00:26

Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the Jyotish Peeth in Uttarakhand, has given the central government a 33-day deadline to decide on banning cow slaughter and declaring the cow as ‘Rashtra Mata.’ He has warned that if no action is taken by March 17, he will take a ‘tough decision’, PTI reported.

Addressing reporters at the Shankaracharya Camp in Sector 19, Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati stated that his movement to have the cow recognised as ‘Rashtra Mata’ has been on-going for the past one-and-a-half years.

‘It is mentioned in the scriptures that 33 crore gods and goddesses reside in the body of a cow. We have been running a movement to declare the cow as ‘Rashtra Mata’ for the last one-and-a-half years,’ he said.

The seer announced that a 33-day-long yatra would begin the day after Maghi Purnima 13 February and conclude in Delhi on March 17.

Swami Avimukteshwaranand stated that the Centre has until March 17 to take a decision on the matter. ‘The central government has 33 days to take a decision. If it does not take any decision in these 33 days, then we will take a tough decision after 5 pm on March 17,’ he said.

He emphasised that the government should not categorise cows as animals but should recognise them as ‘Rashtra Mata.’

‘Our demand from the government is that cow should be removed from the category of animal and declared as ‘Rashtra Mata’ and cow slaughter should be considered a crime. The state government is going to include the cow in the school curriculum. But even there, if the cow is called an animal, then what is the benefit of it?’ he questioned.​

26 inch ke sine wala farzi hindu vo nahi kar payega.

 

[Saif]

India's Modi builds bromance with Trump, Musk despite trade war

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump -- and billionaire Elon Musk -- at the White House on Thursday, with the two national leaders hailing their close bond despite Trump's expanding global trade war.

www.newagebd.net

India's Modi builds bromance with Trump, Musk despite trade war
Agence France-Presse. Washington, USA 14 February, 2025, 05:04

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington DC on February 13, 2025. | AFP Photo

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Donald Trump -- and billionaire Elon Musk -- at the White House on Thursday, with the two national leaders hailing their close bond despite Trump's expanding global trade war.

‘He is a great friend of mine. For a long time we've had a wonderful relationship,’ Trump said as he greeted Modi in the Oval Office for a visit that he promised would bring ‘wonderful’ trade deals.

Modi, trying to build on the bromance that he fostered with Trump in his first term, said that the two had ‘the same bond, with the same trust and the same excitement.’

SpaceX and Tesla tycoon Musk -- who has launched an aggressive effort as Trump's righthand man to overhaul the US bureaucracy -- was in the Oval Office for the talks with Trump.

Musk also held a one-on-one meeting with Modi earlier Thursday, in an encounter that drew questions over whether the world's richest man was meeting the Indian premier in an official or a business capacity.

Modi said the meeting was ‘very good.’

The Indian premier posted pictures of himself shaking hands with the beaming Musk, with

several children on Musk's side of the room, and Indian officials on the other.

The White House said Trump and Modi hoped to agree on a long-sought US-India trade deal and a new defence partnership, while Trump said they would also sign deals on oil and gas.

But Trump had earlier put the leader of the world's most populous nation on notice over possible tariffs.

The meeting came hours after the US president announced reciprocal tariffs on all countries, including India -- but New Delhi is hoping to avoid further levies that Trump says are needed to counter the US trade deficit.

‘India, traditionally, is the highest, just about the highest tariff country. They charge more tariffs than any other country. And I mean, we'll be talking about that,’ Trump told reporters.

‘India is a very hard place to do business because of the tariffs.’

US officials said there had been ‘early body language’ from India but there was a ‘lot more work to do.’

Modi offered quick tariff concessions ahead of his visit, with New Delhi slashing duties on high-end motorcycles -- a boost to Harley-Davidson, the iconic US manufacturer whose struggles in India have irked Trump.

India has already accepted a US military flight carrying 100 shackled migrants last week as part of Trump's immigration overhaul, and New Delhi has vowed its own ‘strong crackdown’ on illegal migration.

Modi is the fourth world leader to visit Trump since his return, following the prime ministers of Israel and Japan, and the king of Jordan.

The Indian prime minister assiduously courted Trump during his first term.

The two share much in common, with both campaigning on promises to promote majority communities over minorities and both doggedly quashing dissent.

In 2020, Modi invited Trump before a cheering crowd of more than 100,000 people to inaugurate the world's largest cricket stadium in his home state of Gujarat.

Trump could visit India later this year for a summit of the Quad -- a four-way grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the United States.​

 

[Saif]

US deports 119 more Indian nationals in immigration crackdown

The Indians who returned home had illegally entered the United States over the years and came from various Indian states

www.thedailystar.net

US deports 119 more Indian nationals in immigration crackdown

Photo: AFP

A US plane carrying 119 deported Indian migrants reached the northern Indian city of Amritsar tonight, the second such flight to the country as part of a crackdown ordered by the Donald Trump administration on illegal immigrants, PTI reported quoting citing sources.

The Indians who returned home had illegally entered the United States over the years and came from various Indian states.

The second flight came a day after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned from Washington where he held talks with Trump.

A third plane carrying undocumented Indians in the US is expected to reach Amritsar today (Sunday), according to PTI quoting official sources.

Last week, a US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants from the US landed in Amritsar. Several people onboard that plane alleged they were handcuffed and shackled while being transported. That flight had landed ahead of Modi's visit to Washington.

India has cooperated with the US and said it is ready to accept the deported Indians after verification. India says it is against illegal immigration, mainly because it is linked to several forms of organised crime.

According to media reports, as of 2022, India ranked third, after Mexico and El Salvador, on the list of countries with the largest number of undocumented immigrants, 725,000, living in the US.​

 

[Saif]

US plane carrying 112 deported Indians reach Amritsar

On Saturday, another US military aircraft carrying 117 illegal Indian immigrants landed in Amristar

www.thedailystar.net

US plane carrying 112 deported Indians reach Amritsar

A US military aircraft carrying illegal Indian immigrants upon its landing at the Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport, in Amritsar, Punjab, on February 5, 2025. File photo: PTI

A US military aircraft carrying 112 Indian illegal immigrants reached the north Indian city of Amritsar last night in the third such flight bringing deportees as part of a crackdown by the Trump administration against undocumented immigrants.

The plane landed at the airport at 10:03pm, said sources.

On Saturday, another US military aircraft carrying 117 illegal Indian immigrants landed in Amristar.

The first batch of Indian deportees reached Amritsar on February 5. Several deportees on that flight claimed their hands and legs were cuffed throughout the journey and they were unshackled only after landing in Amritsar.

This triggered nationwide outrage with opposition parties demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise the issue with the US during his visit to Washington.

India has conveyed its concerns to the US about the treatment of deportees.​

 

[Saif]

Indian man sentenced to life for rape, murder of Irish tourist

A court in India’s western resort state of Goa sentenced a 31-year-old man to life in prison on Monday for raping and murdering an Irish tourist eight years ago...

www.newagebd.net

Indian man sentenced to life for rape, murder of Irish tourist
Agence France-Presse . Mumbai 18 February, 2025, 00:04

A court in India’s western resort state of Goa sentenced a 31-year-old man to life in prison on Monday for raping and murdering an Irish tourist eight years ago.

The body of 28-year-old Danielle McLaughlin was discovered naked in a field near a beach in the south of the picturesque state in 2017.

Police charged local resident Vikat Bhagat with the murder of McLaughlin, who was from Buncrana in Ireland.

Bhagat was pronounced guilty of the crime on Friday and on Monday the court sentenced him for life.

‘He has been convicted for life and it’s rigorous imprisonment,’ prosecutor Vikram Varma told reporters.

‘As per my understanding, the victim’s family is relieved that there is closure.’

McLaughlin had been celebrating the Indian spring festival of Holi at Goa’s popular Palolem beach when she was attacked, according to police.

Her badly bruised body was found a few kilometres away in Canacona by a farmer.

‘We, as Danielle’s family and friends, are so thankful to everyone involved in our fight for justice,’ a family statement said, according to local media reports.

‘They have treated her like their daughter and have tirelessly fought for her.’

Goa, a former Portuguese colony, lures millions of tourists every year with its nightlife, sandy beaches and laid-back coastal atmosphere.

But its reputation as a tropical paradise has been marred by high-profile crimes involving foreigners.

In 2008, British schoolgirl Scarlett Keeling, 15, was drugged, raped and murdered in Goa in a case that made global headlines.

Chronic backlogs in India’s criminal justice system mean some cases take years to be resolved.

More than 43 million cases were pending before courts across the country in 2022, according to government figures.​