Free Republic

Modi’s triumph lays bare the electoral irrelevancy of his liberal opponents. Purely as a dispassionate observer of politics, it is amusing to watch the liberal implosion in Indian politics.

The nine-phase ballot begins on Monday and concludes on 12 May. Votes will be counted on 16 May... A new anti-corruption party, the AAP, is also contesting the elections after a spectacular result in local polls. The AAP (Aam Aadmi, or Common Man's Party) made a strong showing at the state assembly polls in the capital, Delhi, and is standing for all the seats in the parliament. ..The Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) has 543 elected seats and any party or a coalition needs a minimum of 272 MPs to form a government. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already...

New Delhi - Terming as "outlandish and bizarre" the statement of Chuck Hagel, the new US Defence Secretary, that India has financed problems for Pakistan in Afghanistan, BJP today asked the government to exert diplomatic pressure on Washington for unconditional withdrawal of his statement. The statement given by Hagel that India has financed problems in Pakistan is "outlandish, bizarre and baseless," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said. He also expressed surprise over Hagel giving a clean to Pakistan, which has harboured in the backyard of its military base al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, who was responsible for killing of...

Ranchi (AsiaNews) – The state of Jharkhand, backed by the Hindu fundamentalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) administration, is prepared to adopt a law that would prevent Hindus from converting to other religions.  “Everyone should oppose it. Everyone should join forces against the planned anti-conversion law,” said Fr Stan Kujur, a Jesuit clergyman from Jameshedpur.Jaggnath Sahi, RSS chief in Jharkhand, told journalists that his organisation would asks the BJP-lead government to draft a bill banning religious conversions.“We will take up the issue with Chief Minister Arjun Munda . . . to draft a law to ban...

India’s Ruling Party Set for Decisive Victory By SOMINI SENGUPTA Published: May 16, 2009 NEW DELHI — The ruling Indian National Congress was poised Saturday to soar to a surprisingly decisive victory in India’s parliamentary elections, sidelining small, regional party bosses and potentially diminishing the power of communists who had been largely responsible for blocking economic reforms over the last five years. With the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party conceding defeat by early afternoon, the apparent Congress landslide signals the possibility of a stable and strong government in the face of stiff challenges: a sharp slowdown in economic growth, abiding poverty...

This week’s kickoff of India’s multi-stage election was marred by violence carried out by Maoist rebels, but for many of the country’s Christians, Hindu extremists are of greater concern. The communist insurgents killed at least 16 people, including security and polling officials, in three northeastern states – Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Bihar – on Thursday, one of five election days spread over the next month. Around 140 million people out of a total electorate of some 714 million were eligible to vote on the first day of what is described as the world’s biggest democratic electoral process. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s...

Senior BJP leader L K Advani has said that terrorism in the country will not be eradicated with talks or negotiations but there is a need for legislative measures, providing stringent punishment for those indulging in terrorist activities. Addressing a public meeting in Kota on Saturday, he said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should ask Pakistan to hand over Dawood Ibrahim, whom he alleged was the mastermind of terrorist activities in the country. Referring to the growing terror attacks in the country, Advani said legislative measures, providing stringent punishment to those indulging in terror activities, were needed to tackle terrorism which...

NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian naval vessel sank a suspected pirate "mother ship" in the Gulf of Aden and chased two attack boats into the night, officials said Wednesday, as separate bands of brigands seized Thai and Iranian ships in the lawless seas.

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said the United States presidential nominee Barack Obama’s charge against Pakistan was a serious issue and the Manmohan Singh government should take it up with the Pakistan High Commissioner here. Mr. Obama had accused Pakistan of misusing American aid for preparing for a war against India. BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said it was known that terror attacks in Kashmir had increased recently and Bangladesh had become the new nerve centre for Islamic fundamentalists. Now Mr. Obama had made a specific charge against Pakistan.

Thousands of furious Hindus took to the streets after the Indian Government claimed that the epic that forms the cornerstone of their religious beliefs was a work of fiction. Police used teargas to disperse crowds in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, where protesters accused the Government of blasphemy. The row erupted when the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), an arm of the Culture Ministry, told the country’s highest court that there was no evidence to support the existence of the characters in the Ramayana, a revered ancient text. Nor was there any historical record that Lord Ram, one of...

So the cat is finally out of the bag! A regional party of Kerala [Images] and Bengal now wants to rule the country, run our foreign policy for the benefit of their 'fatherland' and get more Indian soldiers killed by jihadis by denying our army technology and help from Israel. In one sense the transparently dishonest Communists are dead right: The nuke deal is NOT about the nuclear issue at all. It is a means to an end. The end being Indo-US strategic partnership for the next 40 years! This is essentially an adjustment that both countries are making to...

Police in northern India thwarted a plot by Hindu extremists who threatened to burn to death more than 60 Christian converts if they refused to return to Hinduism by Sunday. Members of a Christian movement called Believers Church met peacefully Sunday in the state of Himachal Pradesh, according to Compass Direct, a news service that monitors persecution of Christians. "We were able to meet without incident," said Ramish Masih Battih, the son of Pastor Feroz Masih.

Kochi (AsiaNews) – A gaggle of Hindu fundamentalists assaulted Christians who were watching a screening of The Passion of the Christ inside the Kanai Church, the oldest church in the state of Kerala (south-western India). One Christian was seriously wounded and scores of others were beaten and injured, including women and children. The incident occurred on Easter Eve in Chalakud Taluna when 25 militants from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)—the paramilitary wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—disrupted the viewing of Mel Gibson’s movie and started attacking the spectators, one of whom George Kutty, was seriously hurt. Kanai Church members...

Ahmedabad, March 22: NDA leaders were jeopardising the "life, liberty and livelihood" of Indians residing in America by holding out "veiled threat" to US over denial of visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, according to an NGO. The conflict between Modi and US State Department has nothing to do with the ordinary people of India or America, Jan Sangharsh Manch, an NGO representing post-Godhra riot victims before the Nanavati Commission probing the riots, said in a release. "The irresponsible statements by NDA leaders, especially L.K. Advani including his threat to start a sustained agitation on the issue is fraught...

The surprising return of India's Congress Party to power is potentially a major social, economic, and geopolitical development. The change of power in the world's largest democracy, which followed an election that lasted three weeks, has confounded not only outgoing Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but also pundits, pollsters, and diplomats worldwide. Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born widow of Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated in 1991, was widely expected to lose an election that was called ahead of its original date by a government that was sure of its victory. With gross domestic product growing last year...

The pro-business government of Infia (BJP) has just lost the national elecetion. It has been replaced by an ultra-left wing government lead by the Italian born wife of the last male-Gahndi, who died some years back. The communists have a place in the new government for the first time in a long time with the socialists haveing the major part.The new government will do what left wingers world over do, tax the devil out of those who have anything, stuff a large portion in their own pockets and redistribute the remainder to the "needy."This must certainly cause those who outsourced...

US clears Israel-India radar deal   The radar will be mounted on Russian aircraft The United States has given the formal go-ahead for Israel to sell its Phalcon early warning airborne radar system to India.State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said Washington had informed both governments that it had no objection to the $1bn sale. He said the improving security situation between India and Pakistan made the sale of the radar less likely to destabilise the region. The deal had been held up for 18 months because of fears it could heighten tension between Delhi and Islamabad. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry...

Sunday September 7, 12:21 PM In India, Israeli PM to find small but resilient Jewish community A stone's throw from the hotel where Ariel Sharon will stay on the first visit by an Israeli premier to India, a minuscule but ancient part of the Jewish diaspora perseveres after decades of emigration. Behind a simple padlocked fence on one of central New Delhi's broad avenues lies the Judah Hyam Hall, northern India's only functioning synagogue, offering a spot to worship and to socialize for both the 50 Indian Jews in the city of 14 million and Jewish expatriates. Fifteen people turned...

Sep. 6, 2003 Editorial: Seek India's support Several months ago, while visiting Washington, Indian National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra addressed members of the American Jewish Committee and recommended that free societies join hands to combat terrorism. He noted that India, America, and Israel are all targeted by the terrorist scourge, and ought to develop "multilateral mechanisms to counter it... Such an alliance would have the political will and moral authority to take bold decisions in extreme cases of terrorist provocation... It would not get bogged down in definitional and causal arguments about terrorism. Blocking financial supplies, disrupting networks, sharing intelligence,...

Last Update: 05/09/2003 21:27 Muslims protest in Mumbai against visit by PM By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent, and agencies Indian Moslems in the western city of Bombay gathered in large numbers after Friday prayers to protest against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's visit next week. Children held white banners with red letters in English and Urdu that said, "Sharon: Enemy of the people", "Sharon should be hanged", as they marched on crowded Mohammed Ali Street, one of the city's Moslem enclaves. Scores gathered around and clapped as the protestors hanged an effigy of Sharon. Sharon leaves for India on Monday, for...