by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
By Arul Louis,
United Nations : The number of Bangladeshis living in India has come down by 800,000 since 2000 and now stands at 3.1 million, a UN report said.
In 2000, there were 3.9 million migrants from Bangladesh living in India, according to the 2017 International Migration Report released here on Monday.
It said that the number of migrants from all countries living in India now was 5.2 million, a fall of 1.22 million from 2000.
The definition of international migrants used in the report is broad and takes into account anyone living in a country different from their own and includes refugees and economic migrants, both those immigrating officially and those who do so “irregularly,” said Bela Hovy, the chief of the Migration Section of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).
According to data from UNDESA’s Population Division made available with the report, there had been 4.375 million people from Bangladesh living in India in 1990.
There are 35,250 people from India now living in Bangladesh, an increase of 12,439 since 2000 when there were 22,811, according to the data.
The data showed that there were about 258,000 fewer people from Pakistan now living in India than in 2000. There are now 1.095 million people originating from Pakistan in India, while there had been 1.353 million in 2000.
The number of migrants from India living in Pakistan has also come down during the period by about 288,000, according to the data. There were now 1.873 million people from India living in Pakistan now while there had been 2.161 million in 2000.
(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News
New Delhi : India is among the deadliest countries for defenders of rights related to land, territory, environment, rights NGO Amnesty International said on Tuesday.
In its global report ‘Deadly but Preventable Attacks: Killings and Enforced Disappearances of Those who Defend Human Rights’, released on Tuesday, the rights watchdog said: “In India, journalists, land rights activists, and those advocating the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, Dalits and Adivasis (tribal) are among those at risk of attack.”
Among the deadliest countries for this group of human rights defenders are Brazil, Colombia, the Philippines, India and Honduras, it said.
According to an Amnesty release, as many as 3,500 human rights defenders were killed worldwide since 1998 while the number in 2016 was 281– a significant increase from 156 defenders killed in 2015 and 136 in 2014.
Also, 48 journalists were killed worldwide in 2016, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The report included testimonies from human rights defenders as well as their relatives and colleagues in India, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Honduras, Indonesia, Kenya, Mauritania, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, South Sudan and Syria.
Many described how victims’ pleas for protection had been repeatedly ignored by the authorities and how the attackers had evaded justice, fueling a deadly cycle of impunity, it said.
Asmita Basu, Programmes Director at Amnesty International India, said human rights defenders were painted as a threat to development or traditional values.
“Human rights defenders, instead of being recognised and protected by the state, are
portrayed as ‘criminals’, ‘foreign agents’, ‘anti-nationals’ and ‘terrorists’, and painted as a threat to development or traditional values. Such labels are divisive, signal contempt for constitutional rights, and give a green light to further abuses,” she said, as per the release.
The report has brought together stories from around the world including that of journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was fatally shot outside her home in Bengaluru in September 2017.
It also mentioned Chhattisgarh’s Jailal Rathia, who had challenged the Adivasi land grabbing and later died of what was suspected as deliberate poisoning, and killing of Maharashtra Dalit activist Chandrakant Gaikwad.
The report focused on the gravest of violations against human rights defenders– killings and enforced disappearances.
“The motives behind these attacks are multiple and layered. Some people are attacked because of their legitimate activities, for example, as they stand up to powerful actors violating human rights, share information and raise awareness, or confront discriminatory public opinion and social norms. Others are attacked both for what they do and who they are,” it said.
The human rights defenders included those defending the rights of women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people and indigenous peoples and minority groups, it added.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
M.J. Akbar
Baku (Azerbaijan) : Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar on Friday said several countries, including India, have striven hard to improve the socio-economic and security situation in Afghanistan but a “certain neighbour” of Afghanistan has consistently indulged in violence, extremism, disruption and deceit as its only contribution to the region.
While many concerned members of the international community had invested billions of dollars in the search for peace, prosperity and stability in Afghanistan, one nation invested in death, destruction and destabilisation, Akbar said at the “7th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process” here.
“When we discuss Afghanistan’s security, we can’t do so without recognising that the fountainhead of violence in Afghanistan is nurtured in the city of Quetta, which has become the biggest sanctuary and export hub of terrorism,” a release quoted him as saying.
“Afghanistan‘s people and government are at war with a force whose leadership lives not only outside the borders of Afghanistan but also outside the laws of humanity. They continue to thwart our collective efforts, in pursuit of narrowly defined and warped geo-theological priorities.
“It is time to call a spade a spade,” Akbar said.
“We must send a consistent and firm message to those who sponsor, arm, finance and supervise terrorism and violence from beyond Afghanistan’s borders. Security in Afghanistan is going to be a difficult proposition as long as sponsors of mayhem and chaos are not held accountable. The world is watching… The world cannot remain silent, for silence is an invitation to continued havoc,” he said.
The minister said India welcomed the growing determination and international consensus against terrorists and their supporters.
He pointed out that Afghanistan has the undeniable potential to emerge as the land-bridge between various parts of the vast and dynamic Eurasian landmass.
“We describe Afghanistan, correctly, as the Heart of Asia. This has been its vantage across the centuries, from an era that drifts back to the days of pre-recorded history. But what do we do when a deliberate attempt is made by one of its neighbours to choke an ancient and vibrant artery to this heart?” Akbar said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Arvind Kejriwal
New Delhi : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday accused the BJP of dividing India on Hindu-Muslim lines and said it had done in three years what Pakistan and its ISI could not do in 60 years.
“Pakistan’s biggest dream is to divide Hindustan on the lines of Hindus and Muslims. Those who’re dividing the country on the lines of Hindus and Muslims are ISI agents,” the Aam Aadmi Party leader said at the party’s National Conference here.
“Under the veil of patriots, they’re anti-nationals. They want to weaken the country. This dream has been harboured by Pakistan. What Inter-Services Intelligence could not do in 60 years, the BJP has done in three years,” he said and asked voters in Gujarat to defeat the BJP.
Thousands of party workers participated in the conference at the Ramlila Maidan here, from where the India Against Corruption movement led by Anna Hazare started and later gave birth to the AAP party in 2012. The event drew participation from 22 states.
Talking about the December Gujarat elections, Kejriwal said: “I request the people of Gujarat to give your vote to the candidate or party who can defeat the BJP.”
“If somewhere, the AAP is winning, give your vote to AAP. If any other party is winning, give the vote to them. But defeat the BJP,” Kejriwal said.
Speaking on the occasion, AAP founder-member Kumar Vishwas said the party had moved away from the path it set out on and has to find the right way forward.
“Don’t you think we have gone somewhere else from where we were moving to five years ago? We have to find the right way,” the AAP leader said.
He also called for introspection on the part of the AAP leadership and cadres. “We should think about ourselves as to where we started five years ago and where we are now.”A
Vishwas said some party leaders do not talk about social activist Anna Hazare, under whose leadership many of them participated in the 2011 anti-corruption movement. “Anna was the creator of this campaign.”
Referring to the AAP National Council meeting held this month, he said his name was not in the list of speakers at the event. However, he said, he will not go anywhere and stay in the party.
In October, AAP revoked the suspension of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, who had accused Vishwas of being a traitor. In May, Khan was suspended, days after making the accusation and Vishwas was named AAP incharge of Rajasthan.
While thousands of party volunteers in the crowd sported the trademark AAP white cap with the party symbol “broom”, many like Munesh Rani, 53, had the broom symbol and “AAP” painted on their cheeks.
AAP party flags with Kejriwal’s face and party symbol dotted the ground as volunteers waved them as AAP leaders spoke from the stage.
Party leaders, including Delhi Ministers Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai, AAP Spokesperson Ashutosh, National Secretary Pankaj Gupta, as well as Punjab MP Bhagwant Mann spoke on the occasion, as were a large number of AAP MLAs from Delhi and Punjab as well as AAP corporators from the national capital.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Corporate, Corporate Governance, Emerging Businesses, Investing, News, Politics
New Delhi : Cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, renewable energy and science and technology were among the issues that came up for discussion when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Finnish counterpart Timo Soini met here on Friday.
“The two Ministers held discussions on various aspects of bilateral ties as well as important regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest,” the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
It said that the discussions between the two Ministers focused on building cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, vocational education, science and technology, renewable energy, culture and tourism.
India’s trade with Finland has crossed $1 billion and is in favour of the Nordic country. Finnish companies have invested $419 million in India between April 2000 and July 2017, while around 30 Indian companies have invested in Finland in IT, healthcare, hospitality and automotive sectors.
Soini also participated in the two-day Fifth Global Conference on Cyber Space that concluded here on Friday.
—IANS
