India Narrative

Pakistan is considered to be one of the most dangerous places for journalists. This year journalists discovered that, if they get too troublesome for those who matter, they are not safe even in Europe. Pakistani journalist Sajid Hussain, who escaped from Pakistan in 2012 after continuous death threats for writing on human rights violations and forced disappearances by the Pakistani Army, disappeared from Sweden. Hussain disappeared on March 2 from Uppsala in Sweden—a country which ranks high as one of the safest places on earth. Swedish investigating agencies have no clue about what happened to Hussain. Hussain had fled for his life   after police raided his home in Balochistan and questioned family members. He used to write on abuses by the Pakistani Army, which included reporting on extrajudicial political killings, arbitrary arrests and torture. He was the editor-in-chief of the Pakistani news website  Baluchistan Times , which often offended Pakistan’s powerful i...

In view of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, India should impose sanctions on Pakistan for perpetrating cross-border terrorism in Kashmir and other parts of the country. This policy recommendation has been made by one of India’s top foreign policy think tanks, Gateway House based in Mumbai. Established in 2009 by Manjeet Kripalani, ‘Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations’, engages India’s leading corporations, thinkers and scholars on international relations. The think tank has recommended that the government should sanction Indian stakeholders and corporations that have a presence in Pakistan or that have a business relationship with Pakistan entities. This and several other recommendations have appeared in a paper written by Ambika Khanna, a senior researcher on international law at the Gateway House. Following the US-Taliban peace deal in Afghanistan and the coronavirus pandemic, the Pakistani army has assumed a central role in the region, bolstering the con...

The Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), an auxiliary to the government, has been tasked with collating data of Covid-19 cured people and counsel them to donate plasma for the plasma therapy. In the plasma therapy, the antibodies of a person who has recovered from the viral infection are taken and transfused into an infected person in a bid to boost their immune system. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has started a national study to understand the efficacy of therapy. Dr Vanshree Singh, director of Indian Red Cross Society’s blood bank, told IANS, “The Red Cross will collect data of cured patients from the hospitals and the ICMR. Our organization will then conduct online psychosocial counseling of the shortlisted donors to urge them to donate plasma for the therapy.” The donors would have to fulfill certain guidelines to donate plasma, she said. “First, the donor should have completely recovered from the viral disease and will have to be of 18-50 years of age....

Manikaran Singh Arneja has hardly had any good sleep for the past eight days. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought his life would be in such dire straits. An automobile businessman from Delhi, Arneja, 40, had gone to the United States in the first week of March to visit his sister. He was due to return on March 30. But, with India banning all international flights on March 23, the Sikh gentleman has been stuck in California till now. That, of course, is acceptable. There are several such cases the world over. Arneja too had to live with it. Until that phone call—which everyone dreads in these times of Covid-19—came from home last week. “Papa is no more,” his wife told him from their Kirti Nagar home. Gutted, helpless, Arneja was speechless. He was the only son of his parents and, as the last rites were being performed at the Punjabi Bagh crematorium with just a few from the family in attendance, a brief video call was the only way with which he could see his father...

The versatile National Award-winning film actor Irrfan Khan passed away today morning. He breathed his last early today at the age of 53. Khan was admitted to Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital with a colon infection earlier this week. However, he succumbed to his ailment. The actor is survived by his wife Sutapa Sikdar and two sons Babil and Ayan. “Irrfan was buried at the Versova kabrastan in Mumbai at 3 p.m. this afternoon soon after the news of his passing away was announced. In presence were his family, close relatives and friends. Everyone paid their final respects and mourned the loss of his passing away. We pray for his peace and we hope he’s in a better place today. He was strong in his fight, and we all have to be strotoo in this loss,” an official statement from his spokesperson said. Film celebrities took to the social media to express their grief on Khan’s untimely demise. His Piku co-star Amitabh Bachchan referred to the late actor as a “gracious col...

Today, Covid-19 cases in India are over 33,000 after a national lockdown of over a month. The numbers do seem intimidating. After all, India now is in the 16th slot as far as the number of novel coronavirus cases go. But let’s understand the math. India is a country with 1.3 billion people. This means that the number of people infected with this virus accounts for 0.02 per cent of the population. In other words, out of every 10,000 people, about two are infected by this disease. Infected, not killed. Since many naysayers have suggested that the numbers would have been much higher if more tests were conducted, let’s take a hypothetically extreme case and put the Covid-19 positive cases in India at one lakh—close to 3x of the current figure. Even then it would be 0.07 per cent or about seven people out of 10,000. Several analysts and even politicians and administrators have already given their verdict: if the national lockdown is not extended beyond May 3 for at least a few m...

Known as a Maoist bastion in the hills of south Chhattisgarh, Abujmarh, where two state security personnel were killed in a face-off with guerrillas on yesterday, the people are being taught by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to follow the lockdown norms to beat the Covid-19 pandemic. The credit goes to the CRPF’s 195 Battalion that has broken the local languages barrier to teach social distancing, hand sanitizing and home stay to tribals, living in hamlets deep in hilly, forested Abujmarh, which is larger than Goa in terms of area. Spread over 1,500 sq miles (3,900 sq km), covering Narayanpur, Bijapur and Dantewada districts, Abujmarh is home to indigenous tribes—Gond, Muria, Abuj Maria and Halbaas. It was only in 2009 the Chhattisgarh government lifted restrictions, imposed in the early 1980s, on the entry of common people to the area. Geographically isolated and largely inaccessible, the area continues to look bereft of the civil administration, and is also kno...

Bollywood has lost another gem. Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor, who was battling cancer, passed away in Mumbai today. He was 67. On Wednesday, the actor was admitted to the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital. Kapoor debuted in his father Raj Kapoor’s movie Mera Naam Joker. However, it was his role as hero in Bobby, opposite Dimple Kapadia, that won him acclaim and recognition. He went on to act in several movies including Chandni, Amar Akbar Anthony, Karz, Khel Khel Mein, Deewana, and Kapoor & Sons. “Our dear Rishi Kapoor passed away peacefully at 8:45am IST in hospital today after a two-year battle with leukemia. The doctors and medical staff at the hospital said he kept them entertained to the last,” read a statement from Rishi Kapoor’s family. The statement also read that the actor remained jovial and kept the doctors entertained till the end. Neetu Kapoor, the actor’s wife, and son Ranbir Kapoor were by his side. Kapoor, known for his humor and plain speaking, had re...

Investors in India are worried especially after Franklin Templeton unexpectedly announced its decision to wind up six of its India funds. With rising uncertainty as most economic activities across the country has come to a standstill, investors may turn to gold—considered a safe investment option. Typically, in uncertain times, Indians have preferred gold, considered a safe investment option and asset. Besides, gold has a cultural and emotional connect with Indians. “Gold is a hedge against uncertainty and a good investment vehicle, especially in the current scenario. With the Covid-19 pandemic bringing the world economy to a standstill and a possible contraction ahead, gold seems an attractive option,” Pankaj Bobade, head, fundamental research, Axis Securities, said ahead of Akshaya Tritiya. As central banks across the world have been on an easing spree to fight the economic contraction, the fiat currencies are expected to face pressure in the near future, he said, adding ...