Category Archives: India

The power behind the thrones: 10 political movers and shakers who will shape 2020

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Some are trusted aides, others are fixers who work in the shadows. Often unelected and unaccountable, they all have the ear of national leaders

The role of Dominic Cummings in plotting and facilitating Boris Johnson’s drive for power has focused attention on the influence exerted by behind-the-scenes advisers and confidants who have the ear of prominent politicians.

Powerful men and women around the world all have personal counsellors, trusted aides and backroom mentors. Then there are the “insiders” – string-pullers, fixers and manipulators with ambitions of their own. Few become well-known, although Cummings’s notoriety is by no means exceptional.

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From rubbish to rice: the cafe that gives food in exchange for plastic

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The Garbage Cafe in Ambikapur, India, is helping to tackle the country’s plastic waste problem – and their novel idea is catching on

On bad days, when his employer made some excuse for not paying him his paltry daily wage, Ram Yadav’s main meal used to be dry chapatis, with salt and raw onion for flavour. Sometimes he just went hungry. For a ragpicker like him, one of the thousands of Indians who make a living bringing in plastic waste for recycling, eating in a cafe or restaurant was the stuff of fairytales.

But last week, Yadav was sitting at a table at the Garbage Cafe in Ambikapur, in the state of Chhattisgarh, over a piping hot meal of dal, aloo gobi, poppadoms and rice. He earned the food in exchange for bringing in 1kg of plastic waste. “The hot meal I get here lasts me all day. And it feels good to sit at a table like everyone else,” he said.

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Gandhi’s great-grandson joins wave of protest at law isolating India’s Muslims

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As the new Citizenship Act risks defining Muslims as ‘infiltrators’, Tushar Arun Gandhi lends support to the backlash

Last week 25,000 protesters gathered in Mewat, in the Indian state of Haryana, to begin the historic five-mile walk to Ghasera village. It was here, 72 years ago, that Mahatma Gandhi made the same journey during the turmoil of partition, visiting the area with the promise of a dignified life for local Muslims.

While millions have retraced Gandhi’s steps before, this time felt different. Against the backdrop of a new Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) passed by the Indian parliament last week, which many believe is openly discriminatory against Muslims and relegates them to second-class citizens, honouring Gandhi’s words of religious harmony and reconciliation felt like a powerful political statement. “Mewat has witnessed many protests, but this is the biggest in our life,” resident Shahzad Khan told local media.

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Deadly clashes in India as protests take place across country – video

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Police and protesters have clashed across India and six people died during standoffs on Friday in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where tensions exploded between majority Hindus and minority Muslims.

Thousands of protesters have been demonstrating since 11 December in several parts of the country to oppose a new law championed by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, which makes it easier for people from non-Muslim minorities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who settled in India prior to 2015 to obtain Indian citizenship


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India citizenship law: Modi meets ministers as protests continue

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At least 14 killed in clashes between police and protesters since law passed on 10 days ago

India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, met his council of ministers on Saturday to discuss security measures to end violent protests against a citizenship law, in one of the biggest crises his Hindu nationalist government has faced.

At least 14 people have been killed in clashes between police and protesters since parliament passed the law on 11 December. Critics saying it discriminates against Muslims and undermines India’s secular constitution.

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‘They travel hours to see a doctor for a minute’: India’s mental health crisis

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With fewer than two psychiatrists for every 100,000 people, experts are seeking innovative solutions to address the emergency

On a sunny morning at Calcutta Pavlov Hospital, 600 people wait patiently in the outpatient department. For many, the journey to see a doctor started hours before sunrise, with some even travelling overnight to secure their place in line. Despite waiting for hours, most will spend just 90 seconds with the psychiatrist.

One of the doctors on call, Dr Debananda Saha, expects to treat about 250 patients during his seven-hour shift at the government hospital.

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2019 has been a year of climate disaster. Yet still our leaders procrastinate | Geoff Goldrick

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We should pause to remember just how extraordinary this year has been, and reflect on what it might mean for our future

2019 may go down in history as Year Zero of the climate apocalypse. The tsunami of extreme events has been so relentless that each is quickly forgotten in favour of its successor.

So before the year ends we should pause, remember just how extraordinary it was, and reflect on what this might mean for our future.

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India citizenship law: protesters across country defy ban

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Government orders ban on mobile internet as violence escalates

Turmoil has continued to escalate across India over a controversial citizenship law that is seen as discriminatory against Muslims, as tens of thousands defied bans on public assembly to take to the streets, the largest internet shutdown yet was imposed and three more people were killed.

Attempts by the authorities to clamp down on the demonstrations by banning large gatherings in areas across the country proved futile, as protesters gathered in their thousands in Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Bangalore and many other big cities.

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India suffers most pollution-linked deaths in world, study finds

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Pollution causes more than 2 million deaths a year in India, while Chad, Central African Republic and North Korea saw highest per capita rates

India leads the world in pollution-linked deaths– followed by China and Nigeria – according to a report published on Wednesday that estimated the global impact of contaminants in the air, water and workplace.

The report by the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) found pollution to be the largest environmental cause of premature death on the planet, causing 15% of all deaths – some 8.3 million people.

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India clamps down on citizenship law protests

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Critics say Narendra Modi’s Citizenship Amendment Act ‘has declared war on Muslims’

Authorities have imposed an emergency law banning large gatherings in parts of India’s capital, Delhi, as nationwide protests escalated, injuring police and demonstrators.

A week after a controversial new citizenship law was passed by parliament, which has been accused of openly discriminating against Muslims, protests across the country showed no sign of abating.

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Police storm Indian university campus in violent crackdown on students – video report

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Students have condemned as 'barbaric' the tactics of Delhi police after they stormed a university campus to break up a peaceful protest, injuring dozens. Footage shot by students showed police firing teargas inside a library and beating people with batons. Demonstrators at the predominantly Muslim Jamia Millia Islamia University were protesting against a new law that will fast-track citizenship for migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, but excludes Muslims


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Police fire teargas inside university library during India citizenship protests – video

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Indian police storm main library of New Delhi's Jamia Millia University on Sunday, firing teargas at students barricaded inside. Footage shot inside the library shows people scrambling over desks and climbing through smashed windows to escape

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Women protect unarmed man from police beating in India student protests – video

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Women form human shield around man in New Delhi and shout 'go back, go back' as officers attempt to beat him with sticks. Protests have erupted across India against law to fast-track citizenship for everyone except Muslim asylum seekers

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India protests: students condemn ‘barbaric’ police

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Anger grows across country at new law which denies citizenship to Muslim migrants

Students in Delhi have condemned their “barbaric” treatment at the hands of police who stormed a peaceful protest against the new citizenship bill over the weekend, injuring dozens.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, students who were caught up in Sunday’s protest at Delhi’s predominately Muslim Jamia Millia Islamia University – which turned violent after police descended on the campus firing teargas and rubber bullets and beating demonstrators with batons – said it had turned into a “battlefield”.

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India citizenship law: shock at crackdown may unite Modi opponents

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Protests are most significant show of dissent in nearly six years of Modi in power

Student protests are not unusual in India. Nor is police violence. But the scenes of officers entering one of Delhi’s Muslim-majority universities, teargassing the library and beating demonstrators and bystanders have shocked a country thought to have become inured to both.

Fuelled by the apparent police brutality, protests against a controversial law to fast-track citizenship for everyone but Muslim asylum seekers were spreading on Monday to other major universities and cities across the country, in what is becoming the most significant show of dissent in the nearly six years since Narendra Modi took office.

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Indian students join fierce protests against ‘anti-Muslim’ citizenship law

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Campus protests take place across country, as alleged police brutality fuels anger

Intense protests against a divisive Indian citizenship law that excludes Muslims have spread to university campuses across the country, fuelled by a brutal police crackdown on a demonstration in Delhi at the weekend.

Police entered the Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMI) campus in the capital on Sunday and detained more than 100 students, beating activists in the street and firing teargas. JMI was shut on Monday, as were nearby schools and offices, after barricades and buses were set alight during the protest.

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Violent clashes continue in India over new citizenship bill

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Protests spread to Delhi as BJP government accused of making Muslims second-class citizens

Violent clashes erupted in Delhi amid allegations a new citizenship bill discriminates against Muslims and undermines the secular foundations of India, with protests over the legislation spreading to other regions and prompting Japan’s prime minister to cancel a visit to the country.

Thousands took to the streets of Assam’s capital Guwahati for the third day, following the death of two protesters who were caught in police fire on Thursday. The north-eastern state has been the epicentre of the protests against the citizenship amendment bill (CAB).

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‘They will lock us up or just kill us’: Muslims fearful in West Bengal

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BJP politicians have said ‘no Hindu family will have to leave India’ after national register of citizens

It was 81 days ago that Kamal Hussain Mondal, a 32-year-old brick factory worker from a remote village in West Bengal, took his own life. He had been a carefree man and attentive father to his two young sons, and was known throughout Soladana village for his devotion to his wife Khayrun Nahar Bibi. The pair had been married for 13 years but she spoke of their “puppy love”. He would feed her with his hands at mealtimes and on Sundays he would take her out on the back of his bicycle, telling others he loved simply riding through the fields together and chatting.

“He promised he would look after us for ever,” says Bibi. “But after he heard about NRC, everything changed and he fell into a deep despair. He told me: all Muslims are going to be driven from India now. They will lock us up or just kill us. Just wait and see.”

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Indian police fire teargas at citizenship bill protesters

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Paramilitary forces deployed at demonstrations in north-east over bill excluding Muslims

Indian police have fired blanks on protesters as thousands ignored a curfew in the north-east of the country in fresh demonstrations against contentious new citizenship legislation.

Officials said on Thursday about 20 to 30 people have been hurt in the protests in recent days, with vehicles torched and police firing teargas and charging the crowds with heavy wooden sticks.

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Indian citizenship law discriminatory to Muslims passed

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Bill will allow refugees from nearby states to become Indian but not if they are Muslims

Indian lawmakers have approved legislation granting citizenship to migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan – but not if they are Muslim. Critics of the government said the legislation undermines the country’s secular constitution, as protests against the law intensified in some parts of the country.

The citizenship amendment bill seeks to grant Indian nationality to Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Parsis and Sikhs who fled the three countries before 2015.

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