This handout photograph taken on January 30, 2024 and released by the Indian Navy shows commandos stand guard with a group of detained pirates.

In an age dominated by information flow, understanding how a nation is portrayed on the global stage becomes paramount. The “India in Global Media” weekly digest serves as a compass, guiding readers through the diverse lenses of international news agencies from January 28 – February 03

Associated Press – India begins to flex its naval power as competition with China grows

India sent three guided missile destroyers and reconnaissance aircraft in November when Yemen-based Houthi rebels began targeting ships in solidarity with Hamas, causing disruptions in a key trading route that handles about 12% of global trade.

India is widely publicizing the deployments, signaling its desire to assume a wider responsibility in maritime security to the world and its growing maritime ambitions to regional rival China.

“It is a message to China that, look, we can deploy such a large force here. This is our backyard. Though we don’t own it, but we are probably the most capable and responsible resident naval power,” Chawla said.

The Indian navy has helped at least four ships, three of which were attacked by Houthi rebels and another that Washington blamed on Iran, a charge denied by Tehran. It has also conducted several anti-piracy missions.The deployment highlights the country as a “proactive contributor” to international maritime stability, said Vice Adm. Anil Kumar Chawla, who retired in 2021 as head of India’s southern naval command.

For detailed report click on : https://apnews.com/article/india-china-maritime-security-d53925a976e667f275024fa964818c8f

The Guardian – Hindus can worship in contested mosque, Indian court rules

• An Indian court has ruled that Hindus can worship inside a contested mosque, a verdict that it is feared will increase religious tensions and galvanise further claims against other Muslim places of worship.
• Gyanvapi mosque, in the holy city of Varanasi, was built in the 17th century by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and has been in use by Muslims for prayer ever since.
• Since 2021 the mosque has been subjected to dozens of legal petitions by Hindus who are fighting for the right to pray there, claiming it is the site of an ancient Hindu temple and Hindu deities were present there. They also claimed Hindu priests had worshipped in the mosque cellar until 1993.
• As the legal disputes against the mosque reached 24 petitions, a judge ordered the site to be surveyed, during which it was claimed a religious icon of the Hindu god Lord Shiva was found in the mosque, and that area was sealed off. However, the mosque committee has argued it is not a religious icon but part of a fountain for washing feet.
• Last week, a court-ordered archaeological survey released a report saying it had found evidence “there existed a large Hindu temple prior to the construction of the existing structure” in the 17th century.

For detailed report click on : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/01/hindus-worship-contested-mosque-indian-court-gyanvapi

Financial Times – India tells tech giants to police deepfakes under ‘explicit’ rules

• Minister says New Delhi has ‘woken up’ early to the dangers of AI-generated content due to the size of its online population
• A senior official in Narendra Modi’s government has warned that social media companies will be held accountable for AI-generated “deepfakes” posted on their platforms in compliance with “very clear and explicit rules” as India prepares for a general election this year.
• Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state for electronics and IT, said that India had “woken up earlier” to the danger posed by deepfakes than other countries because of the size of its online population. As many as 870mn people are connected to the internet while 600mn use social media out of a total population of 1.4bn.
• “We are the world’s largest democracy [and] we are obviously deeply concerned about the impact of cross-border actors using disinformation, using misinformation, using deepfakes to cause problems in our democracy,” Chandrasekhar told the Financial Times. “We have been alert to this earlier than most countries because it impacts us in bad ways much more than smaller countries.”

For detailed report click on : https://www.ft.com/content/fc600196-f821-4397-92fc-364ed8d2608a

BBC – India-Myanmar: Why Delhi wants to fence the ‘troubled’ border

• Just over a week ago, India’s federal home minister Amit Shah announced a plan to fence the open border with neighbouring Myanmar. He said India would secure the rugged 1,643km (1,020-mile) boundary the same way in which “we have fenced the country’s border with Bangladesh”, which is more than twice as long.
• Mr Shah said the government would also consider scrapping a six-year-old free movement agreement, allowing border residents from India and Myanmar to travel 16km into each other’s territory without a visa. He gave few details of how the fence would be built, or over what timeframe.
• The move to fence the border – involving the four north-eastern Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram – appears to have come against the backdrop of two major developments.
• First, the escalation of the conflict in Myanmar since the military coup in February 2021 posed a mounting risk to Indian interests. Some two million people have been displaced in the fighting, according to the UN. In recent weeks, ethnic rebels claimed to have taken over the crucial town of Paletwa in Chin state, disrupting a key route from Myanmar to India.
• Second, ethnic violence sparked by an affirmative action row erupted last year in Manipur, which shares a near-400km border with Myanmar. Clashes between members of the majority Meitei and tribal Kuki minority have claimed more than 170 lives and displaced tens of thousands of people.

For detailed report click on : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-68078252

The Guardian – Labour trying to reconnect with British Indians amid fears support has slumped

• Party has hired two community outreach volunteers and will send two shadow ministers to India. Labour is overhauling its outreach efforts to British Indians, amid concern that the party’s support among the country’s largest ethnic minority has slumped in recent years.
• Keir Starmer’s party has taken a series of measures designed to reconnect with British Indians, including hiring two community outreach volunteers, revamping the Labour Friends of India group and organising a trip to India for two of its senior shadow ministers.
• There is growing evidence that Labour has lost the support of people of Indian descent. In 2010, 61% of British Indians said they supported Labour, but a survey seen by the Guardian shows by 2019 that figure had dropped to just 30%.
• One party official said: “We’ve taken Indian voters for granted for years, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious they are going elsewhere and we need to do something about that.”

For detailed report click on : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/01/labour-trying-reconnect-british-indians-fears-support-slumped

Gulf News – India court allows Hindus to pray in Gyanvapi mosque

• Authorities told to ‘make proper arrangements within 7 days’ to facilitate worshippers. An Indian court on Wednesday permitted Hindu worshippers to pray inside Gyanvapi mosque in the city of Varanasi.
• The mosque was built in the 17th century by the Mughal empire in a city where Hindu faithful from across the country cremate their loved ones by the Ganges river.
• The court in Varanasi ruled that Hindu worshippers — who believe the mosque replaced a destroyed temple to the deity Shiva — could pray in the building’s basement.
• Its verdict ordered district authorities to “make proper arrangements within the next seven days” to facilitate worshippers.
• The decision is the latest in a long-running legal saga over Gyanvapi’s future. This month, India’s official archaeological agency said a survey of the site appeared to corroborate the belief that it was originally home to a temple, according to local news reports.

For detailed report click on : https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/india-court-allows-hindus-to-pray-in-gyanvapi-mosque-1.100763754

Reuters – India’s Tata Motors says govt support needed for shift to EVs

• India needs to make clear which clean-car technology it intends to support to meet its zero-emission goals, a top official at the country’s most valuable carmaker, Tata Motors’ (TAMO.NS), opens new tab, said on Friday.
• “The government, as part of its commitment towards zero-emission economy, needs to be very clear in terms of where they are going to put their money,” CFO P.B. Balaji said, explaining that automakers can’t invest in all technologies.
• India taxes electric vehicles at just 5%, while the levy on hybrids is as high as 43%, just below the 48% imposed on petrol cars.
• While India’s trade department has backed calls by some Japanese carmakers to reduce taxes on hybrids, Tata Motors has urged government officials to not shift their stance.

For detailed report click on : https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-tata-motors-q3-profit-rises-over-two-fold-2024-02-02/

Gulf News – India’s navy rescues 19 Pakistani crew from fishing boat hijacked by Somali pirates

• The rescue operation was the third this week involving Somali pirates and came a day after India’s forces freed another Iranian fishing vessel named Iman and its 17 crew members from Somali pirates in the same waters.
• The Indian navy’s latest operation rescued the Iranian vessel Al Naeemi from the pirates late Monday. The ship intercepted the vessel and forced the pirates to release the crew and boat, which 11 Somali pirates had boarded, the statement said.
• The navy did not immediately say what happened to the pirates responsible for the hijacking. But it posted images showing 10 pirates with their hands tied behind them and armed Indian naval troops guarding them. Another image showed some armed pirates on the vessel. The piracy occurred in international waters about 850 nautical miles (1,570 kilometers) west of the Indian coastal city of Kochi.
• Amid disruptions in global shipping due to attacks by Yemen-based Al Houthi militants in the Red Sea since November, the Indian navy has ramped up its deployment by sending three guided missile destroyers and reconnaissance aircraft to the vast Indian Ocean.

For detailed report click on : https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/indias-navy-rescues-19-pakistani-crew-from-fishing-boat-hijacked-by-somali-pirates-1.100741285

Reuters – India to replace troops in Maldives with civilians by May

• India will remove its troops in the Maldives by May, the Maldivian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, as the two countries seek agreement on a pullout that has strained ties.
• The roughly 80 soldiers stationed in the Indian Ocean archipelago will be replaced by civilians, officials from both countries said.
• New Delhi’s ties with Male have under strain since Mohamed Muizzu was elected president of the Maldives last year, pledging to end the country’s “India First” policy.
• He has called for the withdrawal by March 15 of the troops stationed to provide support for military equipment given to the Maldives by New Delhi and assist in humanitarian activities in the region.
• The first set of Indian troops will leave by March 10 and the rest by May 10, the Maldives said, citing an agreement reached at a high-level meeting in the Indian capital on a range of issues concerning bilateral cooperation.

For detailed report click on : https://www.reuters.com/world/india-replace-troops-maldives-with-civilians-by-may-2024-02-03/

The Wall Street Journal – Modi Can’t Be Everywhere in India. Cutouts of Him Can.

• Selfie stations containing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s likeness have received an enthusiastic response across India. Too enthusiastic, some say.
• Everywhere you go in India these days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is there, gazing at you with a slight smile.
• His image has long appeared on billboards and signs throughout India, but now his visage, in board, is popping up at train stations, airports, monuments and parks as national elections approach. The government calls them 3-D selfie points.

For detailed report click on the link : https://www.wsj.com/world/india/modi-cant-be-everywhere-in-india-cutouts-of-him-can-a1b24525?mod=india_news_article_pos1

(The Report is curated by Dr Vinay Nalwa)