Who said what at the virtual meet between POTUS Biden and PM Modi, and the 2+2 talks between Indian Defence Minister and External Affairs Minister and their US counterparts?
🇮🇳 "As the world's largest democracies, India & US are natural partners. Our talks are taking place when the situation in Ukraine remains very worrying."—PM Narendra Modi
🇺🇸"US & India are going to continue close consultations on how to manage the destabilising effects of the Russian war."—US President Joe Biden
"India will make its own decisions...but when they see the tight links between China and Russia, that's obviously going to impact their thinking."—White House after Modi-Biden meet
In a rare rebuke, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: "We are monitoring...a rise in human rights abuses by some government, police, prison officials in India."
🙄 Oh, and EAM Jaishankar has an answer for the many, many, many people who are upset about India buying oil from Russia.
🤫 PS: A new Bloomberg report says India is planning to boost exports to Russia by $2 billion as the two countries work out a payment system in local currencies to circumvent international sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine.
🇱🇰 WHAT: Sri Lanka has announced it will not be able to repay the $51 billion it owes countries, money markets and organisations, on time.
❗️WHY: Foreign reserves are running low on the import-dependent island nation leading to shortage of essential commodities like food, medicines and fuel.
🗯 ON THE RECORD: Covid-19 and the fallout from the “hostilities in Ukraine” has made continuing of “normal servicing of external public debt obligations…impossible”: Finance Ministry
💴 WHAT NOW: The Sri Lankan government has said creditors are free to capitalise on interest or seek repayment in Sri Lankan rupees.
📣 The government is looking for external assistance of about $3 billion over the next six months. It is also seeking to restructure international sovereign debt and a moratorium on payments.
🇵🇰 WHAT: In his first speech, newly elected Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif, devoted more time to India than any other country, including Pakistan’s traditional ally China and the US.
🗯 ON THE RECORD: “We desire good relations with India but there cannot be lasting peace till the equitable resolution of the Kashmir issue.”
🗯 “I would give Prime Minister Modi this advice that you should understand about the poverty, unemployment [and] sickness on both sides. People don’t have medicines, education, trade or jobs. Why do we want to cause harm to ourselves and the coming generations?”
🗯 “Neighbours are not a matter of choice, it is something you have to live with…Come, let us decide the Kashmir issue according to UN resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people and end poverty on both sides and create jobs, and bring progress and prosperity.”
🇮🇳 INDIA SAYS: “India desires peace and stability in a region free of terror, so that we can focus on our development challenges and ensure the well-being and prosperity of our people.”—PM Modi congratulating Sharif on Twitter
🕊 FYI: India and Pakistan have not had any formal dialogue since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Pakistan cut virtually all ties after India scrapped the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019.
NO LONGER FRINGE
A LARGER PATTERN
A stone structure inside the University of Hyderabad campus was converted into a “Ram temple” on the occasion of Ram Navami. The students’ union alleged that it was an attempt to “saffronise” the campus by right-wing groups.
Further escalating tensions after communal violence in Khargone on Sunday, Madhya Pradesh's Home Minister Narottam Mishra, rather explicitly, said: "If Muslims carry out such attacks then they should not expect justice."
Four activists of Sri Ram Sene have been arrested for vandalising pushcarts of Muslim vendors in Karnataka’s Dharwad district over the weekend.
WATCH: PANGONG TSO IS MELTING
UNSEASONALLY
#NEWSWORTHY SNIPPETS
MINI STORIES WORTH YOUR ATTENTION
🍋 India's retail inflation rose to 6.95% in March. It was 6.07% in February. In other words, everything is more expensive, starting with fuel and so, all else. Lemon prices, for instance, have skyrocketed to Rs 350 per kilogram over the past few months. One lemon now costs Rs 10, five times more than its average price.
✔️ The Centre has granted permission to the CBI to prosecute the Amnesty International and its chair Aakar Patel. Under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, an association cannot be prosecuted without sanction from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
🚠 The nail-biting rescue operation in Jharkhand where over 40 people were trapped in cable cars mid-air since Sunday after two cable cars collided with each other due to a technical glitch on the ropeway—ended this morning. Three people died; one succumbed to injuries, while two lost their grip while being airlifted and fell to their deaths.
🌳 It's forest fire season in Chattisgarh. Except this year, most frontline responders who would respond and bring the fires under control in a timely manner—are not on duty. 10,000 employees of the forest department have been on strike since March 21, demanding, among other things, regularisation and a pay raise. In their absence, there were 14,487 cases of forest fires in Chhattisgarh in March (India Forest Survey), including in national parks and tiger reserves.
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