In a dynamic world where information is abundant, understanding India’s global representation is essential. This edition of “India in Global Media,” spanning to April 28 – May 04, offers an in-depth exploration of India’s portrayal through the lenses of international news outlets. Delve into this weekly compilation as we navigate the narratives that frame India’s image on the world stage.
Reuters – India deports Myanmar refugees who fled 2021 coup
- India on Thursday deported the first group of Myanmar refugees who had sought shelter after a 2021 military coup, a top state minister said, following weeks of efforts that were hampered by fighting between Myanmar’s rebel forces and the ruling junta.
- Thousands of civilians and hundreds of troops from Myanmar have crossed the border to India after the coup. This has worried New Delhi, which has announced plans to fence its border with Myanmar and end a visa-free movement policy.
- At least 38 refugees were deported on Thursday by the border state of Manipur, which plans send back a total of 77 people as it copes with sporadic violence that has killed at least 220 people since ethnic clashes broke out in May last year.
- “Without any discrimination, we have completed the first phase of deportation of illegal immigrants from Myanmar,” Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said in a social media post. “The state government is continuing the identification of illegal immigrants.”
For detailed report click on: https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-deports-myanmar-refugees-who-fled-2021-coup-2024-05-02/
Gulf News – Rahul Gandhi to contest key seat in Uttar Pradesh in India polls
- Gandhi will contest the election in Raebareli, the Indian National Congress said
- India’s main opposition party selected Rahul Gandhi as its candidate to contest a key seat in Uttar Pradesh state previously held by his mother.
- Gandhi will contest the election in Raebareli, the Indian National Congress said in a post on social media platform X on Friday, a seat that Sonia Gandhi held for four terms. Rahul Gandhi is also contesting elections from Wayanad constituency in the southern state of Kerala.
For a detailed report click on : https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/rahul-gandhi-to-contest-key-seat-in-uttar-pradesh-in-india-polls-1.1714718568702
Reuters – India widens spices probe amid contamination concerns
- India’s food safety regulator said on Thursday it had ordered testing and inspections at all companies making spice mixes, widening an investigation into the sector as global regulators look into suspected contamination in two popular local brands.
- Hong Kong last month suspended sales of three spice blends made by India’s MDH and an Everest spice mix for fish curry. Singapore ordered a recall of the same Everest mix as well, flagging high levels of ethylene oxide, which is unfit for human consumption and a cancer risk with long exposure.
- MDH and Everest products are hugely popular in India and also sold in Europe, Asia and North America, and the companies have said they are safe. Still, U.S. and Australian food authorities said they are gathering more information on the matter, and India had already ordered testing of the two brands’ products.
For detailed report click on: https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-widens-spices-crackdown-with-nationwide-checks-all-manufacturers-2024-05-02/
BBC – Delhi: Fake bomb threats shut nearly 100 schools in Indian capital
- Authorities say the threats appear to be a hoax. Nothing was found during a search of the schools, they add.
- Police say they have traced the origin of the threat emails and an investigation is under way.The city’s Fire Services said they sent fire engines to the schools but found nothing during their search.
- “Dog squads, and bomb disposal units are also working,” Mr Saxena told local media. “I want to assure the people of Delhi that Delhi Police is fully prepared and we will try to prevent any untoward incident from happening.”
- On X, formerly Twitter, Mr Saxena posted a message asking parents not to panic and to co-operate with the administration “in ensuring safety of schools and the children”.
- A senior Delhi Police official told reporters that some hospitals in the capital had also received similar letters on Tuesday.
- Suman Nalwa, a public relations officer with the police, said that it seemed “someone had done this to create panic”.
For detailed report click on: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-68918332
Gulf News – Suspected heatwave kills two people in southern Indian state of Kerala as south swelters
- At least two people have died in the southern India’s state of Kerala of suspected heat stroke, media reported on Monday, as the country battles temperatures soaring to record levels.
- A 90-year-old woman and a 53-year-old man died in Kerala on Sunday, the Hindu newspaper reported, as temperatures soared to 41.9 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit), nearly 5.5 degrees Celsius above normal.
For detailed report click on : https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/suspected-heatwave-kills-two-people-in-southern-indian-state-of-kerala-as-south-swelters-1.102392000
Gulf News – India is not an autocracy, insists Prime Minister Modi
- ‘Because opposition is not able to get power, they start defaming India on world stage’
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi denied on Monday that his country was sliding towards autocracy, following accusations that his government orchestrated criminal probes to weaken rivals ahead of an ongoing general election.
- Modi, 73, remains resoundingly popular after a decade in office, and he is widely expected to win a third term when the six-week-long national polls conclude in June.
- His prospects have been further bolstered by several criminal investigations into opponents, including a tax probe that in February froze the bank accounts of Congress, India’s largest opposition party.
- But Modi said the suggestion India was becoming “an electoral autocracy” under his rule was a fiction spread by his disgruntled rivals.
For detailed report click on : https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/india-is-not-an-autocracy-insists-prime-minister-modi-1.102385271
The Guardian – Cool solution: how ice-cream saved drought-hit farmers in India
- As the climate crisis forces people to abandon their land in Rajasthan, a new industry has sprung up in the desert state, with thousands of gaily decorated vans setting off to sell ice-cream across the country
- The parched villages of Gangapur in the desert state of Rajasthan have a new season in their calendar. Between November and February, car workshops along the town’s dusty mile-long market open before sunrise, cylindrical stainless-steel food containers are put on display, and traders stock up on chocolate and strawberry syrups.
- Come March, the villagers start preparing to migrate. In the workshops, thousands of vehicles are converted into vans for selling a variety of ice-cream, from plain condensed milk flavoured with cardamom to chocolate, vanilla and pistachio, while local farmers turned dessert makers have their old mini-trucks serviced in readiness for the drive to distant towns and cities, where they will sell the sweet treat for the next nine months.
- Ice-cream has become a lifeline for villagers in north-west India as decades of water scarcity have ruined farm yields and families’ livelihoods.
- The ice-cream business has also spawned an entire industry in the town itself, yielding the rarest of all commodities: jobs. The number of vehicle repair shops and stores selling ice-cream paraphernalia has increased from 50 in 2015 to about 500 today.
- Every year, an estimated 50,000 trucks are converted during the four-month season. Even the local printers are hiring staff to produce posters of ice-cream scoops against a backdrop of local temples and warrior kings.
For detailed report click on: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/may/03/ice-cream-trucks-gangapur-rajasthan-india-drought-farmers
Khaleej Times – Vote or work? Tough call for India’s ‘invisible’ migrant workers
- While the number of internal migrants in India has not been updated for more than 10 years, experts say they could make up as much as 40% of the electorate
- To go back home in eastern India, cast his vote and spend time with his wife and three children would be ideal, said Shafiq Ansari, but he cannot afford to lose wages and so has to keep toiling under the sweltering summer sun near New Delhi.
- Ansari is far from alone. Many millions of migrant workers across India face a similar dilemma as voting takes place in the world’s biggest election, with nearly 1 billion people eligible to vote until June 1. Results are due by June 4, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi predicted to win a rare third term.
- The Thomson Reuters Foundation spoke to two dozen migrant workers in and around New Delhi, with only four saying they would go back to their home town to vote. Of those four, three said their towns were relatively close so it would only cost them a day’s wage and a few hours’ of travel time.
For detailed report click on: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/opinion/vote-or-work-tough-call-for-indias-invisible-migrant-workers
(The Report is curated by Dr Vinay Nalwa)
