- Friday, March 28, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Here are news in brief related to India for Friday, June 16, 2023:
Indian National Congress leader Shashi Tharoor suggested that instead of removing the name of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in New Delhi, it could have been renamed as the Nehru Memorial Prime Ministers’ Museum, respecting the past without demeaning the original. Tharoor emphasised that today’s rulers will also become part of history and will desire the respect they deny their predecessors. The renaming of the museum has sparked a dispute between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, with the BJP defending the move and the Congress criticising it. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge called it a disgusting attempt and criticized the BJP-RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) for erasing history. The decision was finalised in a meeting led by defense minister Rajnath Singh, the vice president of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society housed in Delhi’s Teen Murti Bhavan.
Security forces successfully thwarted the “biggest” infiltration attempt since the 2021 ceasefire understanding between India and Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district. Acting on intelligence input, the operation was launched in the Keran sector, resulting in the elimination of five heavily armed foreign terrorists. The alert troops engaged the infiltrators with precise fire, neutralizing them without any collateral damage. A significant cache of weapons and equipment, including rifles, magazines, grenades, night vision devices, and binoculars, was recovered during the search. The operation showcased the strong collaboration between the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police in maintaining peace and promoting development in the region.
The Narendra Modi government has taken significant measures to restore normalcy in the north-eastern Indian state of Manipur, including increased area domination by security forces in fringe areas and higher regions, deployment of additional troops, and close monitoring by senior officials, according to sources. Director general (DG) of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) S L Thaosen has been sent to Manipur for assessing the situation and ensuring better coordination among central forces. The government’s urgency in addressing the ongoing violence in Manipur stems from the recent incident where nine youths were killed and Union minister Rajkumar Ranjan Singh’s residence was torched. The central forces deployed in Manipur consist of central paramilitary forces, Army units, and Assam Rifles. The central government is promptly providing additional forces based on the state administration’s demands. The CRPF DG has met with the governor and local commanders to enhance coordination among security forces.
The Hindu right-wing Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has accused the government of the southern Indian state of Karnataka of revealing its “anti-Hindu and anti-national” stance by repealing the anti-conversion law, stating that the ruling Indian National Congress supports the forceful conversion of innocent Hindus. The decision to repeal the law, introduced by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government, was made by the Karnataka cabinet on Thursday. The state government plans to present a bill during the upcoming legislative session starting on July 3. The VHP spokesperson condemned the Congress, asserting that their decision exposes their longstanding support for religious conversion groups that deceive Hindu society. The VHP, along with Bajrang Dal and members of the Hindu community, will stage demonstrations across Karnataka to protest against the Cabinet’s decision and expose the Congress.
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) has submitted a chargesheet against 13 individuals, including three Indians and 10 Sri Lankans, in connection with the illegal drugs and arms trade between India and Sri Lanka. The case is linked to efforts to revive the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a former militant organization that sought an independent Tamil state in Sri Lanka. According to the NIA, the accused conspired with individuals involved in the Vizhinjam Arms case to exploit the illegal drug trade for funding and acquiring weapons to revive the LTTE in both countries. The accused used foreign WhatsApp numbers and sourced drugs from a suspected individual residing in Pakistan. The investigation uncovered their plan to fund the LTTE revival through drug trafficking. The chargesheet was filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
(With agency inputs)
