The Asian Age – Didn’t see India – China war: USA

Lloyd James Austin pointed out that US President Joe Biden has said that human rights and rule of law are important to the United States of America.

New Delhi – India, US secretary of defence Lloyd James Austin said on Saturday that the United States never thought that India and China were on the threshold of war during their military stand-off in Ladakh.

He also said that he had discussed the issue of human rights of minorities in India with Cabinet ministers in the Modi government and added that “partners need to be able to have those kinds of discussions.”

“We have never considered India and China were on the threshold of a war,” Mr Austin said during a press conference.

To a question whether he had spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about “violations of human rights especially against Muslim minorities in the Northeast”, Mr Austin replied: “I did not have an opportunity to talk with him about that. I did have a conversation with other members of the Cabinet on this issue.”

Mr Austin pointed out that US President Joe Biden has said that human rights and rule of law are important to the United States of America. “We always lead with our values. As a democracy that’s pretty important to us. India is a democratic country and you treasure your values as well. There are a number of things that we can and will work on together,” he said.

Sources said that Mr Austin on Saturday told external affairs minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar in an hour-long meeting that “as the two largest democracies in the world, human rights and values are important to us and we will lead with these values”.

Mr Jaishankar “agreed and emphasised that a strong relationship between the two democracies was not only important for both countries but for the rest of the world”, sources said.

Mr Austin said that India is an important partner amid the rapidly shifting international dynamics. “US-India relationship is a stronghold of a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” he said.

Secretary Austin and defence minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday discussed the need to keep the Indo-Pacific region free, expanding US-India military-to-military engagement, information sharing, cooperation in emerging sectors of defence, and mutual logistics support.

Earlier, chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Bob Menendez had, in a letter to the US defence secretary, urged him to raise the issue of human rights and democracy with India, and also the acquisition of S400 air defence systems from Russia.

“The Indian government’s ongoing crackdown on farmers peacefully protesting new farming laws and corresponding intimidation of journalists and government critics only underscores the deteriorating situation of democracy in India,” Senator Menendez had said in the letter.

Secretary Austin said that he and defence minister Rajnath Singh had a bilateral meeting during which they discussed India’s planned purchase of Russia’s S-400 air defence system.

He said that US has urged all of its allies to move away from Russian equipment and avoid any kind of acquisition which can trigger sanctions(under CAATSA). He said that since there has been no delivery of S-400 systems to India the issue of sanctions was not discussed.

“We are keen to work together to realise the full potential of the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership,” Mr Singh said after the meeting.

He said that both sides reviewed the wide gamut of bilateral and multilateral exercises and agreed to pursue enhanced cooperation with the US Indo-Pacific Command, Central Command and Africa Command.

“The recent Leaders’ Summit of India, USA, Japan and Australia under the Quad framework emphasized our resolve to maintain a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region,” added Mr Singh.

Mr Austin said that the US reaffirmed its commitment to a comprehensive and forward-looking defence partnership with India as a central pillar of its approach to the region.

https://www.asianage.com/india/all-india/210321/didnt-see-india-china-war-us.html

The Tribune – Afghanistan vows to protect its Sikh – Hindu minorities

There are about 1000 Sikh and Hindus left in Afghanistan, and the sense of security was heightened after the massacre in Gurudwara Guru Har Rai – Kabul

Tribune News Service

New Delhi – India, 23 March 2021. Describing Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan as “proud citizenry” of his land, the Afghanistan Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar on Tuesday said that it would be the responsibility of the government to provide them with protection and security.

“We got to do that”, he said during a press conference here.

Disagreeing with the perception of Hindus and Sikhs being “especially” targetted in Afghanistan, Atmar said: “The violence against Afghans, unfortunately, did not spare our minorities either.

So, it is not a kind of persecution against specific minorities per se. It’s the general violence against the entire nation and unfortunately, this part of the population has been disproportionately affected”.

Last July, India had said it would facilitate a settlement of Afghan Hindu and Sikh community members facing security threats in Afghanistan.

There are about 1,000 Sikh and Hindus left in Afghanistan, and the sense of insecurity was heightened after the massacre in Gurudwara Guru Har Rai, Kabul, in May last year, followed by the kidnapping of a Sikh Nidan Singh Sachdeva.

“They are citizens of Afghanistan, and Afghanistan is proud of them. It has been like that for centuries, and will be like that. It is the responsibility of not just the Afghan government, but the Afghan people too to protect their federal brothers,’’ he declared.

Soon after the May 15, 2020, massacre at the Kabul Gurdwara, Democratic Party’s Presidential nominee Joe Biden had promised to raise the annual global refugee admissions cap to 1.25 lakhs if he won the November US Presidential elections.

Implicit was the assurance that some quotas would be for Afghanistan’s embattled Sikh community.

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/afghanistan-vows-to-protect-its-sikh-hindu-minorities-229401

Hindustan Times – If Pakistan-bound Sikh jatha given nod now, why not for Nankana massacre centenary: SGPC

HT Correspondent

Amritsar – Panjab – India, 24 March 2021. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Jagir Kaur on Tuesday said if the central government could give a go-ahead to a Sikh jatha going to Pakistan on the occasion of Baisakhi then what stopped it from approving a group of pilgrims visiting the neighbouring country to mark the Nankana Sahib massacre centenary in February.

Baisakhi is also celebrated as the Khalsa foundation day.

“Four jathas visit the holy shrines in Pakistan every year, The government’s decision of giving permission to the jatha raises question on its earlier move when a special jatha was denied nod citing the pandemic and security reasons.

It is clear that the government deliberately banned the jatha. The pandemic situation at that time was much better as compared to the present,” Jagir Kaur said.

The Sikh community, she added, can never forget the jatha getting stopped by the government on the occasion of 100th anniversary of Saka Nankana Sahib.

Questioning the closure of the Kartarpur corridor, she said, “The corridor was also closed citing Covid-19 even as the sangat visiting the holy place will return in the evening.

If there is no prohibition for coronavirus elsewhere, why the corridor should remain closed. The government should seriously consider this matter.”

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/if-pak-bound-sikh-jatha-given-nod-now-why-not-for-nankana-massacre-centenary-sgpc-101616528698127.html

Scroll.in – Investigating alleged cyber bullying of Indian student Rashmi Samant, says Oxford University

Samant had resigned as the Oxford University student union president last month after facing backlash for some of her old media posts.

Scroll Staff

Oxford – Oxfordshire – UK. The University of Oxford on Tuesday said it was conducting a “thorough investigation” into complaints related to harassment and equality on campus, in light of the cyber bullying allegations made by Indian student Rashmi Samant, PTI reported.

Samant had quit from the post of the Oxford University student union president last month after facing backlash for some of her old social media posts, which were called out for being racist and insensitive.

She has been studying remotely from her hometown in Udupi, Karnataka, in the wake of her resignation. Samant said the “continued cyber bullying” made it difficult for her to consider returning to the university at this stage.

Some British Hindu groups on Twitter have raised concerns alleging that Samant was also trolled for her Hindu identity.

They flagged some comments made by Abhijit Sarkar, a university staffer from the history faculty, who allegedly posted a photograph of Samant’s family on Instagram.

It was alleged that Sarkar made references to the student’s religion, and also called her home state of Karnataka a “bastion of Islamophobic forces”.

The groups approached the local Thames Valley Police in the United Kingdom, urging an investigation into a possible hate crime. The police force confirmed that it has “received a report of an alleged hate incident”, according to PTI.

A university spokesperson said that Oxford was fully committed to creating an environment where people of all backgrounds, including the Hindu students and staff, “can feel welcome, valued and respected”.

“An investigation into these online comments is ongoing and we must allow time for this formal process to be followed,” the spokesperson added. “In cases such as these, student support is provided through their college and department.”

Samant said she was “very glad” that the university and the police have launched an investigation into her complaint.

“I think it’s a long road for me to feel safe about the prospect of coming back and getting respite from the cyber bullying,” she said, adding that the Indian community in the UK had been “super supportive” through the course of the incident since last month.

A 22-year old graduate student, Samant had won the Oxford Student Union election for the president’s post in February. However, a week later, some of her old social media posts resurfaced online, and she was widely condemned for her controversial views.

Samant’s posts included a holocaust reference during a visit to the Berlin Holocaust Memorial in Germany in 2017, and an Instagram caption of her picture in Malaysia that read “Ching Chang”.

She was also criticised for a post that separated women and trans women. Samant later announced her resignation as the president-elect as she continued to face criticism.

However, since her resignation, Samant has been vocal against what she has termed as “faculty harassing, stalking and bullying”. In a tweet on 13 March, she posted a clip on a discussion on the topic, with the caption, “Cancel the cancel culture!!!” Earlier this month, her Twitter account was also suspended.

The controversy around Samant’s resignation has become the centre of debates in Indian media. On 15 March, it even found its way to Parliament, when Bharatiya Janata Party MP Ashwini Vaishnav raised the matter of “racial discrimination” in the Rajya Sabha.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had responded, saying that India would “never ever turn our eyes away from racism wherever it is” and that these developments will be monitored “very, very closely”.

https://scroll.in/latest/990414/investigating-alleged-cyber-bullying-of-indian-student-rashmi-samant-says-oxford-university