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Palestine can wait

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6 years ago

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Palestine can wait

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The relatively new India-Israel bonhomie makes much sense, both economically and strategically for India, and politically for PM Modi

By Sujit Bhar

This is a tricky issue, especially tricky for India, traditionally an Arab (read Palestine) backer. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be travelling to Israel in July, the first Indian PM to do so, and he will not be stopping over in Palestine. That’s a rather unusual thing to do for a ‘friend’, when you are visiting a neighbour. One believes even the Arabs know the meaning of ‘atithi debo bhava’ and they would have reciprocated well.

The history of India-Palestine relationship cannot be overstated, starting from Mahatma Gandhi’s assertion that it wasn’t fair a land of and for the Arabs was forcibly sliced away and handed over to the Jews, who believed the Old Testament said this was their land.

India was always for the “Palestinian cause” trying to project its influence in multilateral forums. The draft resolution on “the right of Palestinians to self-determination” was co-sponsored by India and placed at the 53rd UN General Assembly. On the other hand, India recognised Israel only a year after its formation. India-Israel relations were on the upturn from 1992 and there have been no letup since. President Pranab Mukherjee visited Israel in October 2015.

There has been a safety valve put in place, though. It has been reported that India would possibly host Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas before Modi’s visit to Israel. There will be a great deal of ironing out of kinks at that time and, fingers crossed, the Israel visit of Modi will not be affected by bad blood.

Let us look at this objectively. Gandhi’s views – it was also the view held by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru – on Arab self-determination was on political lines. It not only protected India from the larger influence of the US, but also helped the country produce a counter-balance to Pakistan and a larger than life image as founder of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM).

Technically, NAM is a closed chapter, defence compromises being overtaken by economic considerations. In the new world order, sentiments of the past can cause a negative draft. Now it’s the human face versus the business face of a nation. Let us face the practical world.

Sooner or later, Modi will meet US President Donald Trump, and there will be discussions and deals to sign if Israel is happy. Like it or not, the Trump-Benjamin Netanyahu (Israeli Prime Minister) relationship is going to flower. India has huge defence partnerships going with Israel, and there is a possibility that US aircraft manufacturer Boeing would be interested in moving some of its manufacturing bases to India. Airbus has.

Think of the possibilities for Modi. He has not been able to create the jobs he had promised the country in 2014. What he has created instead is race-caste hatred, the debilitating frustrations and joblessness of demonetisation and an atmosphere of fear and apprehension. He has delivered exactly what he had promised to remove.

Therefore, the face-saver. Israel, and hence the US, can offer opportunities in manufacturing that can produce a decent number of jobs and a technical base that the country has failed to produce even after 70 years of Independence. Remember, the only brand that India can proudly claim Intellectual Property Rights to around the world today is probably the BrahMos missile system (the fastest in the world, with Russia) and the PSLV space vehicle.

This digression was necessary to bring some perspective to the issue. While we cannot crudely say thanks, but no thanks to Palestinian overtures, it would be up to Palestine to realise that the vital necessities of a nation can often override humanitarian overtures.

Here’s the rub. Modi needs the jobs, the industry, the recognition, the export capabilities he craves, and to top it all, he wants to be remembered as a great statesman. How logical the last aspiration is, only time will tell, but if he fails to put food on Indian tables, and seal their backyards safely, he is in for a shock outcome sooner rather than later, whatever the Uttar Pradesh polls might indicate.

One would not want to look at this from narrow, personal perspectives, but that possibly is what it is.

India has drawn huge advantages from Israeli technology advances, especially in the agricultural and defence sectors. They are now cooperating in cyberspace security issues that would be the key point of worry in the coming years. Modi wants to take it further. And in doing so if he can jump to the US, why not?

It was a great relationship Modi had with former US President Barack Obama. They had tea in the gardens and talked about cooperation and Obama managed a $ 10 billion defence deal out of it. What did India get? Not even a sanction against Pakistan. The humanitarian angle simply does not exist. India still has the market advantage, and technology has to be a big input in setting up industry for Make In India.

Frankly, Modi’s Make in India has suffered at the very concept stage. Make what, and for whom? The Indian domestic market is big, but oversupplied in the low-tech region. High-tech is Intellectual Property-dependant and such technology is mostly imported. Indian cannot survive on low tech-mass production any more. Nobody is buying.

In a recent, ambitious policy statement, it was announced that India would go for a Rs 10,000 per month minimum wage limit. There has been no talk as to how this would be possible in the unorganised sector. If the unorganised sector is left out – it employs 70 percent of all employable Indians, contributing over 40 percent to India’s GDP – what is the point of this exercise? And the low-tech factories across unorganised setups will never be able to afford this level of payment.

Conversely, Israel needs a market that is receptive not only of its technology, but also of its ideology. The India market is a good fit. There is great scope for cooperation, and sorry Palestine, you lose out on all counts.

Frankly, let’s not make a mountain out of this Israel-Modi molehill. The nation deserves to survive and prosper. The world is a little different now from the heady 70s, and there is opportunity to grab. The economic realities are in the face, we cannot avoid them.

Palestine can wait.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed handed life-sentence in Umesh Pal kidnapping case; brother Khalid Azim acquitted

Gangster-turned politician Atiq Ahmed was pronounced guilty in the 2006 Umesh Pal kidnapping case by an MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on Tuesday and handed a life-sentence along with two others, while his brother, Khalid Azim alias Ashraf and six other accused in the case were acquitted.

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5 hours ago

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March 28, 2023

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Atiq Ahmed

Gangster-turned politician Atiq Ahmed was pronounced guilty in the 2006 Umesh Pal kidnapping case by an MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on Tuesday and handed a life-sentence along with two others, while his brother, Khalid Azim alias Ashraf and six other accused in the case were acquitted.

Special MP-MLA court judge Dinesh Chandra Shukla pronounced the guilty verdict against Atiq Ahmed, Lawyer Saulat Hanif and Dinesh Pasi under section 364-A (kidnapping or abduction in order to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which carries the death penalty as the maximum sentence.

Justice Shukla sentenced the guilty trio to 14 years life imprisonment in the case.

Earlier, Ahmed, who was brought by a 45-member team of the Uttar Pradesh Police to the special MP-MLA court in Prayagraj today from Gujarat’s Sabarmati Jail, was convicted, along with the other two accused in the kidnapping of BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case prime witness, Umesh Pal in 2006.

Umesh Pal, then a zila panchayat member, had come forward as the prime witness in Raju Pal’s murder, who was killed on January 25, 2005.

Umesh Pal had claimed that Atiq Ahmed and aides kidnapped him at gunpoint on February 28, 2006 after he refused retract his statement given to the police in the BSP leader’s killing. Based on his complaint, the police on July 5, 2007, had lodged an FIR against Ahmed, his brother, and others.

The UP Police had submitted a chargesheet in the matter against 11 accused. One of them later died.

Read Also: Prayagraj court convicts gangster Atiq Ahmed in Umesh Pal kidnapping case

On February 24 last month, Umesh Pal was shot dead along with his two security men in Prayagraj. Atiq and his brother—who were both in jail at the time—are also the accused in the conspiracy to assassinate Umesh Pal.

On Sunday, a 45-member team of the Uttar Pradesh Police arrived at the Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad to escort Atiq Ahmed to UP to produce him before the special court in Prayagraj in the Umesh Pal abduction case.

Earlier today, reports said that ahead of the hearing, security was heightened outside the Prayagraj court and security personnel were also deployed outside the residence of Ahmed as well as that of his advocate as well.

Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya Pal earlier said she won’t attend the hearing but had prayed for Ahmed to be sentenced to death for her husband’s murder.

On Jaya Pal’s complaint, a case a case was lodged at the Dhoomanganj police station in Prayagraj against Ahmed, his brother, his wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Ghulam, and nine others.

A mafia kingpin feared across Uttar Pradesh and former Samajwadi Party MP from Phulpur, Atiq Ahmed was shifted to the Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat in June 2019 following a Supreme Court order after he was accused of allegedly orchestrating the kidnapping and assault of real estate businessman Mohit Jaiswal while in prison in the state.

According to the police, Ahmed is named in the Umesh Pal murder case and in over 100 others of criminal nature.

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Video of man singing Kya Hua Tera Waada song in UK goes viral, users laud the singer | Watch

A little girl can also be seen approaching the busker as she hands him some loose change as a reward for his singing. The busker can be seen gladly taking the money and putting it in his bag.

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6 hours ago

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March 28, 2023

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man singing Kya Hua Tera Waada song

A video has been making rounds on the internet where a busker can be seen singing and catering to the Indian audience in UK’s Hounslow. The man sang Muhammed Rafi’s classic Kya Hua Tera Wada as many stood by witnessing and getting the taste of Indian music.

In the video, the busker can be seen surrounded by people from all walks of life, as well as ethnic backgrounds. The people can be seen enjoying the soulful voice of the man as many record him.

A little girl can also be seen approaching the singer as she hands him some loose change as a reward for his singing. The busker can be seen gladly taking the money and putting it in his bag. The mother of the girl can also be seen patting her to tell her that she did great.

Watch video here:

User’s reaction

After the video of the singer went viral, many users came forward to add their take on social media. One user wrote and praised the singer for singing a Rafi song, implying that Muhammed Rafi’s songs should be introduced to everyone.

One user wrote and praised the little girl for rewarding art as the user wrote that praised the artist as well as the little girl can be seen being inspired by the song so much that she rewards it. One user also wrote and praised the singer for his soulful voice and great performance.

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Another incident

Another incident of a similar nature came to light from Haryana’s Gurugram where a policeman can be seen fervently grooving to the singers on the stage as he guides and sings along with them. In the video, a policeman can be seen standing meters away from the singers performing on the stage.

The policeman can be seen passionately guiding the singers with his hands as he also uses his vocals to support them.

See post here:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cpm4gg6DSEC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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Prayagraj court convicts gangster Atiq Ahmed in Umesh Pal kidnapping case

A special court in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on Tuesday convicted gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and others in the Umesh Pal abduction case.

Published

8 hours ago

on

March 28, 2023

By

Atiq Ahmed

A special court in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on Tuesday convicted gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and others in the Umesh Pal abduction case.

Ahmed, who was brought by a 45-member team of the Uttar Pradesh Police to the special MP-MLA court in Prayagraj today from Gujarat’s Sabarmati Jail, was convicted, along with his brother Khalid Azim alias Ashraf and other accused in the kidnapping of BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case prime witness, Umesh Pal in 2006.

Umesh Pal, then a zila panchayat member, had come forward as the prime witness in Raju Pal’s murder, who was killed on January 25, 2005.

Umesh Pal had claimed that Atiq Ahmed and aides kidnapped him at gunpoint on February 28, 2006 after he refused take back his statement given to the police in the BSP leader’s killing. Based on his complaint, the police on July 5, 2007, had lodged an FIR against Ahmed, his brother, and four other accused.

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On February 24 last month, Umesh Pal was shot dead along with his two security men in Prayagraj. Atiq and his brother—who were both in jail at the time—are also the accused in the conspiracy to assassinate Umesh Pal.

On Sunday, a 45-member team of the Uttar Pradesh Police arrived at the Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad to escort Atiq Ahmed to UP to produce him before the special court in Prayagraj in the Umesh Pal abduction case.

Earlier today, reports said that ahead of the hearing, security was heightened outside the Prayagraj court and security personnel were also deployed outside the residence of Ahmed as well as that of his advocate as well.

Prayagraj District Bar Association said the MP-MLA court of Prayagraj has cleared its schedule for today and will only hear Umesh Pal case.

The Bar Association in a statement said that Presiding Officer of MP MLA Court has written to Minister of District Advocates Association wherein it was requested to pronounce a verdict in the case today itself.

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Gangster-turned politician Atiq Ahmed to be produced in Prayagraj court today amid high security

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