The warnings from Sweden’s defense leaders are being seen as a wake-up call
A warning to Swedes from two top defense officials to prepare for war has prompted concern and accusations of alarmism.
Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin told a defense conference “there could be war in Sweden”.
His message was then backed up by military commander-in-chief Gen Micael Byden, who said all Swedes should prepare mentally for the possibility.
However, opposition politicians have objected to the tone of the warnings.
Ex-prime minister Magdalena Andersson told Swedish TV that while the security situation was serious, “it is not as if war is just outside the door.”
Children’s rights organisation Bris said that its national helpline did not usually receive calls about the possibility of war. But this week, it had seen an increase in worried calls from youngsters who had seen news reports or posts on TikTok talking about it.
“This was well prepared, it wasn’t something blurted out,” Bris spokeswoman Maja Dahl told the BBC. “They should have provided information meant for kids when they come out with this kind of information for grown-ups.”
Despite the starkness of the messaging, the remarks from the civil defence minister and military chief are being seen as a wake-up call.
Gen Micael Byden said Swedes on an individual level had to prepare themselves mentally
After more than two centuries of peace, Sweden is a few steps from joining the Nato defensive alliance, waiting for a green light from Turkey’s parliament and then from Hungary.
The commander-in-chief said his remarks were nothing new.
He visited Ukraine’s eastern front a month ago and Sweden is one of a group of countries training Ukrainian pilots. Stockholm is also said to be considering sending advanced Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine.
“My ambition with this is not to worry people; my ambition is to get more people to think about their own situation and their own responsibilities,” Gen Byden later told Aftonbladet newspaper.
Finland has already joined Nato, and Russian officials have suggested it will be “the first to suffer” if tensions with Nato escalate.
Sweden’s civil defence minister said his aim was not for people to lose sleep, but to gain awareness of what was really going on. He appealed to local authorities, emergency planners and individuals to respond.
“If there is one thing that keeps me awake at night, it is the feeling that things are moving too slowly,” Mr Bohlin told the Society and Defence conference on Sunday.
Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin told his audience there could be war in Sweden
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Sweden during the conference to work with his country and others to manufacture weapons and “get stronger together”.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson added that in 2024, Sweden would meet Nato’s target of spending 2% of economic output (GDP) on military defence, doubling its spending since 2020.
Defence specialist Oscar Jonsson said the tone of the warnings from defence chiefs was something of a storm in a teacup and that 90% of what had been said arose from frustration that too little was being done to build civil and military defence.
“Time is limited and it was aimed at being a wake-up call for agencies, individuals and departments,” he told the BBC.
“The Swedish armed forces are incredibly competent, but the scale is nowhere near. The latest defence bill says we should set up 3.5 brigades, whereas Ukraine had 25 when the war started.”
Gen Byden’s warning to prepare mentally for war comes hard on the heels of a warning a month ago from the head of Poland’s National Security Bureau (BBN), Jacek Siewiera, who said that “to avoid war with Russia, countries on Nato’s eastern flank should adopt a three-year time horizon to prepare for confrontation”.
He said a German Council on Foreign Relations report suggesting Germany and Nato should prepare their armed forces to be able to fend off a Russian attack in six years was “too optimistic”.
Oscar Jonsson, a specialist from the Swedish Defence University, said that while war was a possibility, it would require several factors to fall into place: Russia’s war in Ukraine coming to an end, its military having the time to rebuild and rearm its fighting force and for Europe to lose US military support.
All of which were within the realms of possibility, he added.
Children now ‘biggest perpetrators of sexual abuse against children’
Police data shows 52% of alleged offenders in England and Wales are minors – a situation exacerbated by ‘accessibility of violent porn’
Boys are watching violent porn on their smartphones then going on to attack girls, police have said, as new data showed children are now the biggest perpetrators of sexual abuse against other children.
Police data shows there has been a quadrupling of sexual offences against children, in what officers say is the most authoritative analysis of offending against youngsters.
The report from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said the offending by adults against children was usually more serious, but said they were alarmed by the growth of sexual offending by those aged 17 or under.
In one case a child of four was referred to police after allegedly using a smartphone to upload an indecent image of a sibling. Police declined to give any more details.
In 2022 a total of 107,000 reports were made to police in England and Wales alleging sexual offences against children, ranging from rapes and, in a quarter of cases, to the making and sharing of indecent images.
The NPCC said 52% of alleged offenders were children, compared with around one third a decade ago.
Police received reports of 14,800 rapes and sexual assaults against children aged 10 to 17 where the suspect was classed as a child, the overwhelming majority being boys.
Ian Critchley, the NPCC lead for child protection, said: “This is predominantly a gender-based crime of boys committing offences against girls.
“I think that is being exacerbated by the accessibility of violent pornography and the ease with which violent pornography is accessible to boys and, therefore, a perception that is [normal] behavior, and that person can carry out that behavior that they are seeing online in the most violent way against other peers as well.
“Clearly the accessibility to smartphones has just rocketed, not just in relation to 11- to 16-year-olds, but in relation to under-10s as well. That accessibility has really exacerbated that and I think this is a debate that does need to be had in our society.”
A third of attacks take place within the family, the most common setting for abuse, and eight out of 10 victims knew their attacker.
Police said it is estimated as few as one in six offences are reported to them.
Critchley said the clear-up rate – where someone is charged or cautioned – was 12% where a child is physically attacked and 11% for indecent images offences. The clear-up rate for child-on-child attacks is 15% for sexual assault and 12% for rape.
He said offences involving AI were already being reported to police. These include “nudification” where the photo of a person – usually female – is digitally stripped of clothing to make it appear as if they are naked.
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) announced it was increasing the capacity and raising awareness of its helpline through which adults can report suspicions about child abuse. The charity last month said it was taking 14 months for a defendant in a child abuse case to stand trial after being charged, placing a greater strain on victims.
Wendy Hart, the deputy director for child sexual abuse at the National Crime Agency, said about 830,000 adults in the United Kingdom are estimated to pose a danger to children. “The severity of offending has increased, as have the complexities faced by law enforcement in tackling it,” she added.
“We are now seeing hyperrealist images and videos of abuse being created using artificial intelligence, for example, while the rollout of end-to-end encryption by technology platforms makes it a lot more difficult for us to protect children.”
How some Indian hospitals are cutting cancer drug costs
People waiting at Cachar Cancer Centre in Assam, India
Scores of patients quietly fill a modest tin shed which serves as a waiting area at a cancer hospital in Silchar, in north-eastern India.
Over the last few months, Cachar Cancer Centre in the state of Assam has seen an unusually high number of patients from nearby towns and villages.
The reason: a quiet revolution that is making cancer drugs more affordable.
The hospital is part of the National Cancer Grid, a group of treatment centres that have clubbed together to bulk buy drugs and bring down costs by more than 85%.
It is a modest start but, literally, a lifesaver for some of the country’s poorest people.
Expensive, protracted treatments often put families under immense financial strain or are simply out of reach.
For example, breast cancer treatments can extend for over 10 cycles and cost more than $6,000 (£4,719). In a country where the average monthly salary is less than $700, that is beyond many household budgets.
Baby Nandi has been receiving chemotherapy to treat breast cancer
Baby Nandi, 58, is waiting for her next chemotherapy session at the Cachar hospital clinic. Previously, she had to travel 2,000km (1,242 miles) for breast cancer treatment. The drugs alone cost $650 for one treatment cycle. She needed six cycles. Along with the travel and accommodation costs, her family’s finances were pushed to the brink.
Thanks to the new initiative, those drugs are now available in her home city, Silchar, at a third of the cost.
Baby’s husband Narayan Nandi said: “We don’t have so much money at a go. I had to sell land and borrow from my relatives to take her to Chennai. At least now we can afford her full treatment and be home.”
Nearly two million cancer cases are reported a year in India, but consultancy firm EY says that the actual figure could be up to three times as high.
Most people in India have to pay for healthcare themselves. Even for those with insurance or on government schemes, cancer care costs are often not fully covered.
Amal Chandra, the owner of a small shop in rural Assam, knows the problem well. Last year his wife’s government health card, which covered $1,800 of health expenses, expired midway through her breast cancer treatment. “I had to borrow $250 to pay for her remaining chemotherapy injections,” he told the BBC.
Amal and his wife are now back at the hospital as her cancer has returned but at least now the whole cost of her treatment is covered after the prices of drugs was brought down.
Oncologist Dr Ravi Kannan leads the Cachar Cancer Hospital’s operations
A major issue is that most of India’s cancer patients live in towns and rural areas, while the bulk of healthcare resources are in larger cities. This means that patients, like Mrs Nandi, and their families face the added burden of having to travel long distances to access treatment.
Healthcare experts say that getting cancer drugs to these parts of the country is one of the healthcare system’s biggest problems. Cachar Cancer Hospital, the only facility of its kind in India’s North-eastern hills, is trying to meet that challenge.
It treats 5,000 new patients a year and manages the ongoing treatment of another 25,000 people, who are mainly low-paid workers unable to afford the cost of cancer treatment and travel.
The intense pressure this puts on the not-for-profit organisation’s funding means it faces a budget deficit of more than $20,000 a month.
Oncologist Dr Ravi Kannan, who leads the hospital’s operations, told the BBC that the initiative to cut cancer drug prices has helped him to buy quality medicines and treat more patients for free.
It has also helped hospitals in smaller towns avoid another serious problem – running out of cancer drugs. Previously, drug supplies outside large urban centres were erratic due to the low numbers of patients and limited funds.
“Now smaller hospitals don’t have to get into the negotiation table at all. The price is already decided and comes with a commitment to supply to all hospitals at par,” Dr Kannan said.
A woman collects a prescription
The initiative to bulk-buy drugs is led by the country’s largest cancer centre, Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) in Mumbai. The initial list had 40 common off-patent generic drugs, covering 80% of their pharmacy costs, saving the group $170m.
The success of the scheme has attracted interest from hospitals and state governments across the country.
The next round will expand to over 100 drugs, while broader cancer care purchases like supplies, diagnostics and equipment are also being considered. However, more expensive patented treatments are currently not part of the plan.
“I think what pharmaceutical companies need to understand is in a market like India, unless you bring costs down, you’re not going to get the volumes and it’s a chicken and the egg phenomenon,” according to Dr C S Pramesh, Director of TMH and the Convenor of National Cancer Grid.
Dr Pramesh also says that with around 70% of global cancer deaths projected to be in lower and middle income countries, like India, initiatives similar to the National Cancer Grid could be key to helping patients around the world.
TB Joshua: Megachurch leader raped and tortured worshippers
TB Joshua founded the hugely popular Synagogue Church of all Nations
Evidence of widespread abuse and torture by the founder of one of the world’s biggest Christian evangelical churches has been uncovered by the BBC.
Dozens of ex-Synagogue Church of all Nations members – five British – allege atrocities, including rape and forced abortions, by Nigeria’s late TB Joshua.
The allegations of abuse in a secretive Lagos compound span almost 20 years.
The Synagogue Church of All Nations did not respond to the allegations but said previous claims have been unfounded.
TB Joshua, who died in 2021, was a charismatic and hugely successful preacher and televangelist who had an immense global following.
The BBC’s findings over a two-year investigation include:
Dozens of eyewitness accounts of physical violence or torture carried out by Joshua, including instances of child abuse and people being whipped and chained
Numerous women who say they were sexually assaulted by Joshua, with a number claiming they were repeatedly raped for years inside the compound
Multiple allegations of forced abortions inside the church following the alleged rapes by Joshua, including one woman who says she had five terminations
Multiple first-hand accounts detailing how Joshua faked his “miracle healings”, which were broadcast to millions of people around the world
One of the victims, a British woman, called Rae, was 21 years old when she abandoned her degree at Brighton University in 2002 and was recruited into the church. She spent the next 12 years as one of Joshua’s so-called “disciples” inside his maze-like concrete compound in Lagos.
“We all thought we were in heaven, but we were in hell, and in hell terrible things happen,” she told the BBC.
Rae says she was sexually assaulted by Joshua and subjected to a form of solitary confinement for two years. The abuse was so severe, she says she attempted suicide multiple times inside the compound.
The Synagogue Church of All Nations [Scoan] has a global following, operating a Christian TV channel called Emmanuel TV and social media networks with millions of viewers. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, tens of thousands of pilgrims from Europe, the Americas, South East Asia and Africa travelled to the church in Nigeria to witness Joshua performing “healing miracles”. At least 150 visitors lived with him as disciples inside his compound in Lagos, sometimes for decades.
More than 25 former “disciples” spoke to the BBC – from the UK, Nigeria, US, South Africa, Ghana, Namibia and Germany – giving powerful corroborating testimony about their experiences within the church, with the most recent experiences in 2019. Many victims were in their teens when they first joined. In some of the British cases, their transport to Lagos was paid for by Joshua, in co-ordination with other UK churches.
Rae and multiple other interviewees compared their experiences to being in a cult.
Jessica Kaimu, from Namibia, says her ordeal lasted more than five years. She says she was 17 when Joshua first raped her, and that subsequent instances of rape by TB Joshua led to her having five forced abortions while there.
“These were backdoor type… medical treatments that we were going through… it could have killed us,” she told the BBC.
Other interviewees say they were stripped and beaten with electrical cables and horse whips, and routinely denied sleep.
A shocking journey into a maze of manipulation and terrifying abuse perpetrated by one of the most powerful religious figures of the 21st Century
A nine-episode season – a shocking journey into a maze of manipulation and terrifying abuse
On his death in June 2021, TB Joshua was hailed as one of the most influential pastors in African history. Rising from poverty, he built an evangelical empire that counted dozens of political leaders, celebrities and international footballers among his associates.
He did, however, attract some controversy during his lifetime when a guesthouse for church pilgrims collapsed in 2014, killing at least 116 people.
The BBC’s investigation, which was carried out with international media platform Open Democracy, is the first time multiple former church insiders have come forward to speak on the record. They say they’ve spent years trying to raise the alarm, but have effectively been silenced.
A number of our witnesses in Nigeria claim they were physically attacked, and in one case shot at, after previously speaking out against the abuse and posting videos containing allegations on YouTube.
A BBC crew that attempted to record footage of the church’s Lagos compound from a public street in March 2022 was also fired at by the church’s security, and was detained for a number of hours.
The BBC contacted Scoan with the allegations in our investigation. It did not respond to them, but denied previous claims against TB Joshua.
“Making unfounded allegations against Prophet TB Joshua is not a new occurrence… None of the allegations was ever substantiated,” it wrote.
Four of the British citizens who spoke to the BBC say they reported the abuse to the UK authorities after escaping the church. They say no further action was taken.
In addition, a British man and his wife emailed eyewitness accounts of their ordeal and video evidence – including recordings of being held at gunpoint by men describing themselves as police who are also members of Scoan – to the British High Commission in Nigeria in March 2010 after fleeing the church. In his email, the man said his wife had been repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped by Joshua. He warned the commission that other British nationals were still inside the compound facing atrocities.
He also says no action was taken.
The UK Foreign Office did not respond to these claims, but told the BBC that it takes all reports of crime, including sexual assault and violence against British nationals overseas, very seriously.
Scoan continues to thrive today, under the leadership of Joshua’s widow, Evelyn. In July 2023, she led a tour of Spain.
Anneka, who left Derby in the UK to join Scoan at the age of 17, told the BBC she believes there are many other victims who have yet to speak out. She hopes further steps will be taken to uncover Joshua’s actions.
“I believe the Synagogue Church of All Nations needs a thorough investigation into why this man was able to function for so long the way he did,” she said.
Aditya-L1: India’s Sun mission set to reach destination in hours
India’s first solar observation mission is set to reach its final destination in a few hours.
On Saturday, the space agency Isro will attempt to place Aditya-L1 in a spot in space from where it will be able to continuously watch the Sun.
The spacecraft has been travelling towards the Sun for four months since lift-off on 2 September.
It was launched just days after India made history by becoming the first to land near the Moon’s south pole.
India’s first space-based mission to study the solar system’s biggest object is named after Surya – the Hindu god of the Sun, who is also known as Aditya. And L1 stands for Lagrange point 1 – the exact place between the Sun and Earth where the spacecraft is heading.
According to the European Space Agency, a Lagrange point is a spot where the gravitational forces of two large objects – such as the Sun and the Earth – cancel each other out, allowing a spacecraft to “hover”.
L1 is located 1.5 million km (932,000 miles) from the Earth, which is 1% of the Earth-Sun distance. Isro recently said that the spacecraft had already covered most of the distance to its destination.
An Isro official told the BBC that “a final maneuver” will be performed on Saturday at around 16:00 India time (10:30 GMT) to place Aditya in L1’s orbit.
Isro chief S Somanath has said they will trap the craft in orbit and will occasionally need to do more maneuvers to keep it in place.
Once Aditya-L1 reaches this “parking spot” it will be able to orbit the Sun at the same rate as the Earth. From this vantage point it will be able to watch the Sun constantly, even during eclipses and occultations, and carry out scientific studies.
The orbiter carries seven scientific instruments which will observe and study the solar corona (the outermost layer); the photosphere (the Sun’s surface or the part we see from the Earth) and the chromosphere (a thin layer of plasma that lies between the photosphere and the corona).
After lift-off on 2 September, the spacecraft went four times around the Earth before escaping the sphere of Earth’s influence on 30 September. In early October, Isro said they had done a slight correction to its trajectory to ensure it was on its intended path towards the final destination.
The agency says some of the instruments on board have already started work, gathering data and taking images.
Just days after lift-off, Isro sharedthe first images sent by the mission – one showed the Earth and the Moon in one frame and the second was a “selfie” that showed two of its scientific instruments.
And last month the agency released thefirst-ever full-disk images of the Sun in wavelengths ranging from 200 to 400 nanometers, saying they provided “insights into the intricate details of the Sun’s photosphere and chromosphere”.
Scientists say the mission will help them understand solar activity, such as the solar wind and solar flares, and their effect on Earth and near-space weather in real time.
The radiation, heat and flow of particles and magnetic fields of the Sun constantly influence the Earth’s weather. They also impact the space weather where nearly 7,800 satellites, including more than 50 from India, are stationed.
Scientists say Aditya can help better understand, and even give a forewarning, about solar winds or eruptions a couple of days ahead, which will help India and other countries move satellites out of harm’s way.
Isro has not given details of the mission’s cost, but reports in the Indian press have put it at 3.78bn rupees ($46m; £36m).
If Saturday’s maneuver is successful, India will join a select group of countries that are already studying the Sun.
The US space agency Nasa has been watching the Sun since the 1960s; Japan launched its first solar mission in 1981 and the European Space Agency (ESA) has been observing the Sun since the 1990s.
In February 2020, Nasa and ESA jointly launched a Solar Orbiter that is studying the Sun from close quarters and gathering data that, scientists say, will help understand what drives its dynamic behavior.
And in 2021, Nasa’s newest spacecraft Parker Solar Probe made history by becoming the first to fly through the corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun.
Joe Biden saying no to attending India’s Republic Day Parade.
The US making a big fuss over the Khalistani radical, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in the recently concluded 2+2 ministerial dialogue between the two countries.
India continuing to buy oil from Russia and growing ever closer to a country which is arguably America’s number one enemy.
India and China mending their dispute, which is not to America’s liking.
India keeping its options open regarding the 100+ jet aircraft that it has to buy from abroad, which again irks America.
1. In 2023, India’s Republic Day parade fell on 26 January. The US President’s State of the Union (SOTU) address to the US Congress fell on 7 February, 2023. In 2024, India’s Republic Day parade will fall on January 26. In 2024, the SOTU is slated for February or March. There really should be no conflict between the parade and the address.
Modi had extended the chief guest invite to Biden during the G-20 summit in November. Biden sat over the invite. It’s only now that we have learnt that Emmanuel Macron is coming. He was extended the invite and he accepted within the day.
India has awarded its highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, to only two foreigners—Abdul Ghaffar Khan of Pakistan and Nelson Mandela of South Africa. These are steep hills to climb for any foreigner. In lieu of the Bharat Ratna, India felicitates foreign leaders by calling them to the Republic Day parade. It’s a military parade, yet Nobel Peace Laureate Barack Obama chose to attend it in 2015. He was looking to sell US arms to India then.
So if you want to be friends with India, you don’t reject an honour such as being the chief guest at the parade, unless you want to miff the Indians. Perhaps Biden has some other meetings lined up, but so must have Macron. Macron is not a small leader. Certainly the Indians are not happy about Biden saying no and will in all likelihood hesitate to call him again in case he wins reelection. That means a US president could go about 15 years before being invited to India’s prestigious parade. This is certainly not how friends treat each other.
2. Pannun is a US citizen. The US cares about the lives of its citizens. But what if that citizen promotes the ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Canada as Pannun has done? What if he dares to down Indian civilian planes and storm our new Parliament, really a bastion of our democracy? I saw a state-run bus in Canada with a placard imploring Khalistanis to kill 50,000 Hindus.
Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, has said that India has constituted a high-level commission of inquiry to go into the US allegations over the alleged foiled plot on Pannun, but he added that it was Khalistani separatism and terrorism in the US and Canada that was of greater concern to India. The US is not treating India like a strategic partner here, like it would treat the UK. The breach between the US and India widens.
3. As if the above was not enough, India continues to buy Russian oil.This irks the US no end. India saved $2.7 billion in the first three quarters of 2023 by buying Russian oil compared to what it would have paid if it had bought Iraqi oil (which is of similar quality to Russian crude) instead.
Putin has showered plaudits on Modi for his US-independent policy in buying oil.S Jaishankar has called Russia an all-weather friend of India which has been there to save India at its times of need. How can India be allies with two visceral enemies, the US and Russia? India has shown that if push comes to shove, it will choose Moscow over Washington.
4. Galwan—the clash between India and China—happened in 2020. The US must have hoped that the situation would escalate. But India and China are deescalating. The Quad focuses on the Indo-Pacific but India’s navy is not strong enough to take on the Chinese one. The US perhaps hopes that if war comes to China, say over Taiwan, then India would attack China from up north in Ladakh. That may be a pipedream. India may not get involved in any war at all. Plus it is best friends with Russia and so is Russia with China, so Russia can be expected to pull India and China apart in case of a scuffle between them.
5. India has to buy some 100 fighter jets from abroad. When Modi visited the US in June, it seemed that the US had sewn up the deal. But that is not the case. India is still talking to the French and the Russians. That must make the Americans see red.
All in all, India and the US are not moving closer but moving apart.
Bangladesh elections: Why India matters across the border
As Bangladesh gets ready to hold general elections on 7 January, the role of its giant neighbor India is being intensely discussed in the country.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is seeking a fourth consecutive term and her win looks inevitable as the main opposition parties are boycotting the election.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies say they have no faith that Ms Hasina will hold a free and fair election. They asked her to step down and allow the polls to be held under a neutral interim government – demands she rejected.
The Muslim-majority nation of about 170 million people, Bangladesh is almost surrounded on three sides – barring a 271km (168-mile)-long border with Myanmar in the southeast – by India.
For India, Bangladesh is not just a neighboring country. It’s a strategic partner and a close ally, crucial to the security of its north-eastern states.
So, Indian policy makers argue that Delhi needs a friendly regime in Dhaka. Ms Hasina has forged close ties with India since she was first elected in 1996 and it’s no secret that Delhi wants to see her return to power.
Ms Hasina has always justified Dhaka’s close relationship with Delhi. During a visit to India in 2022, she said Bangladesh should not forget India, its government, people and armed forces as they stood beside the country during the independence war in 1971.
This backing for her Awami League party has triggered sharp criticism from the opposition BNP.
“India should support the people of Bangladesh and not a particular party. Unfortunately, Indian policy makers don’t want democracy in Bangladesh,” Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, a senior BNP leader told the BBC.
Mr Rizvi said Delhi was “alienating the people of Bangladesh” by openly rooting for Ms Hasina and backing what he called a “dummy election”.
An Indian foreign ministry spokesperson refused to comment on the BNP’s allegations on Delhi’s alleged interference in Bangladesh polls.
“Elections are a domestic matter to Bangladesh. It’s for the people of Bangladesh to decide their own future. As a close friend and partner of Bangladesh we would like to see peaceful elections there,” the spokesperson said in response to a question by the BBC.
India is also concerned that the return of BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami party could pave the way for the return of Islamists in Bangladesh, as it had happened when the coalition was in power between 2001 and 2006.
“They gave rise to so many of these jihadi groups which were used for various purposes, including the 2004 assassination attempt on Ms Hasina and the capture of 10 trucks full of arms that came from Pakistan,” Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, a former Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka told the BBC.
Soon after coming to power in 2009, Ms Hasina also won favor with Delhi after acting against ethnic insurgent groups of India’s northeast, some of which were operating from Bangladesh.
India and Bangladesh share close cultural, ethnic and linguistic ties. Delhi played a key role in Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971 by sending in troops in support of the Bengali Resistance Force.
Dhaka depends on Delhi for the supply of many essential commodities like rice, pulses and vegetables. So, India is influential in Bangladesh from the kitchen to the ballot.
India has also offered more than $7bn Line of Credit to Bangladesh since 2010 for infrastructure and development projects.
But over the decades, there have been irritants in relations ranging from disputes over sharing of water resources to accusations of meddling in each other’s internal affairs.
“India has an image problem in Bangladesh. It comes from the perception that Bangladesh is not getting the best of the good neighbor, whether it comes to Delhi’s support for the government that possibly doesn’t enjoy full democratic legitimacy or in deals where we seek equitable share,” Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka, told the BBC.
Ms Hasina came to power for a second time in January 2009 and her party has since won two more elections, although there have been accusations of widespread vote-rigging. The Awami League has denied the allegations.
Though India has gained road, river and train access via Bangladesh to transport goods to its north-eastern states, critics say Dhaka is still not able to do full-fledged overland trade with landlocked Nepal and Bhutan across the Indian territory.
India also has other strategic reasons to have a friendly government in Dhaka.
Delhi wants road and river transport access for its seven north-eastern states through Bangladesh.
Now the road and train connectivity from the Indian mainland to its northeast is through the “chicken’s neck” – a 20km (12 mile) land corridor that runs between Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan.Officials in Delhi are afraid this stretch is strategically vulnerable in any potential conflict with India’s rival, China.
While several Western governments had wanted to impose additional sanctions on Bangladeshi officials over alleged human rights violations and extra-judicial killings, India has been resisting the move calling it counterproductive. More so, since Beijing is keen to extend its footprint in Bangladesh as it battles for regional supremacy with India.
“We have conveyed to the West that if you push Ms Hasina, she will go into the Chinese camp, like other countries have done. That will cause a strategic problem with India,” the former Indian diplomat, Mr Chakravarty, said. “We can’t afford that,” he added.
Despite close ties between the two governments there is suspicion among some Bangladeshis when it comes to India.
“I don’t think Indians are friendly in all the areas. We are always having a problem with India as we are a Muslim nation,” Zamiruddin, a vegetable merchant in Dhaka, said.
“We will have to safeguard ourselves first and then rely on others. Otherwise, we will be in trouble,” he added.
While Delhi is concerned about the possibility of an Islamist regrouping, many in Bangladesh are worried about what’s happening across the border.
Rights groups say since the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014 in India, discrimination against religious minorities, particularly Muslims, has increased – an allegation the BJP denies.
Indian politicians also talk about alleged infiltration by “Bangladeshi illegal immigrants’ – seen as a part reference to Bengali Muslims who live in states like Assam and West Bengal.
“The maltreatment of Indian Muslims creates high potential possibility of maltreatment of the Hindu minorities in Bangladesh,” Mr Bhattacharya said.
Hindus constitute nearly 8% of Bangladesh’s population.
Delhi is clear that Sheikh Hasina at the helm will suit its interests. But the challenging part will be reaching out to the people of Bangladesh.
Death is separation of the soul from the physical body. Death becomes the starting point of a new life. Death merely opens the door to a higher and fuller form of life. Birth and death are jugglery of Maya. He who is born begins to die. He who dies begins to live. Life is death and death is life. No one comes, no one goes. Brahman or the eternal alone exists.
Just as you move from one house to another, the soul passes from one body to another to gain experience. Just as a man casting off worn-out garments takes new ones, so the dweller in this body, casting off worn-out bodies, enters into others which are new.
Life is a continuum. Death is necessary for further evolution. Dissolution of the body is no more than sleep. Birth is like waking up. Death brings new life. A man of discrimination is not afraid of death. Death unlocks the door to a wider existence. The soul is a circle whose circumference is nowhere but its Centre is in the body. Death means the change of this center from one body to another.
The supreme soul or paramatman is deathless, decayless, timeless, causeless and spaceless.It is the source and substratum for body, mind and world. There is death for the physical body, a compound of five elements. The eternal soul is beyond time, space and causation.
To free yourself from birth and death, you must become body-less. Body is the result of karmas or actions. If you free yourself from raga-dvesha, or likes and dislikes, you will be free from karma. If you annihilate ignorance through knowledge of the imperishable, you can annihilate the ego. The root cause for this body is ignorance. He who realizes the eternal soul, which is formless and attribute less, infinite and unchanging, frees himself from death.
The individual souls or jivas build various bodies to display their activities and gain experience from this world.They enter the bodies and leave them. The process goes on. This is known as transmigration of souls.The entrance of a soul into a body is called birth. The soul’s departure from the body is death.
Man has always tried to know what happens after the death of an individual. Science has been struggling to unravel the mystery of what lies beyond death. Experiments have yielded many interesting facts. Natural death, it is said, is unknown to unicellular organization. When life on earth consisted of these creatures, death was unknown. The phenomenon appeared only when from unicellular the multicellular evolved.
Laboratory experiments have shown that whole organs such as thyroid glands, the ovary, suprarenal gland, the spleen, heart and kidneys isolated from the body of a cat or a fowl, can be kept alive in vitro to show increase in size or weight due to the appearance of new cells or tissues.
It is also known that after the cessation of an individual parts of the organization can continue to function.The white corpuscles of the blood, if cared for, can live for months after the body from which they were withdrawn has been cremated. Death is not the end of life. It is merely cessation of an individuality. Life flows on to achieve the universal till it merges in the eternal.
Pakistan commission rejects Imran Khan’s bid to overturn election ban
Former prime minister is barred from standing in elections after being jailed for unlawfully selling state gifts while in office
Pakistan’s election body has rejected former prime minister Imran Khan’s nomination to contest the 2024 national elections in two constituencies, officials and his party’s media team said on Saturday.
The 71-year-old former cricket starhas been embroiled in a tangle of political and legal battles since he was ousted as prime minister in April 2022. He has not been seen in public since he was jailed for three years in August for unlawfully selling state gifts while in office from 2018 to 2022.
Khan was disqualified from contesting the national elections scheduled for 8 February because of the corruption conviction, but he nevertheless filed nomination papers for the elections on Friday, his media team said.
In a list of rejected candidates from Lahore, the election commission of Pakistan said Khan’s nomination was rejected because he was not a registered voter of the constituency and because he was “convicted by the court of law and has been disqualified”.
His media team said the commission had also rejected his nomination to contest the elections in his home town, Mianwali.
Khan, who is widely seen as the country’s most popular leader, says he is being targeted by the military, which wants to keep him out of the polls. The military denies this.
Last week, a high court refused to suspend Khan’s disqualification from contesting the elections.
In addition to Khan, the election commission has also rejected nomination papers submitted by other senior party members, including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, vice-chairman of Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Meanwhile, the election commission accepted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s nomination from two constituencies for the 2024 elections, weeks after a court overturned two graft convictions.
But Sharif still needs a life ban on holding any public office to be removed to qualify to stand, so it was not immediately clear how his nomination was accepted. A hearing on that ban will be held in January.
Sharif was banned from running in elections in 2017 by the supreme court, which declared him dishonest for not disclosing income from a company owned by his son.
Sharif, who arrived back home in October from four years of self-imposed exile in Britain, is bidding for a fourth premiership in the February elections. His biggest challenge will be to wrest back his support base from Khan.
Everything you need to know about Ayodhya Ram Mandir
Prime minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Ayodhya Ram Temple on January 22, 2024. During the pran-partisha (consecration) ceremony, the idol of Ram Lalla will be installed in the sanctum- sanctorum (garbha-griha) of the temple. Devotees on the other hand will be allowed entry to the grand temple from January 24.
Table of Contents
Ayodhya Ram Mandir: Background
One of the biggest temples to be built in India after Independence, the Ayodhya Ram Temple is touted to be a combination of new-age technological conveniences and age-old Indian traditions.
Between 1528 and 1529, the Babri Masjid was built by the Mughal emperor Babur. However, members of the Hindu community also sought possession of the site, claiming it to be the birthplace of Lord Ram. The site subsequently became a disputed site and a long, legal battle ensued. Ending the title dispute on November 9, 2019, the Supreme Court accepted the 2.77 acres of disputed location as the birthplace of Lord Ram, paving the way for the construction of the Ram Mandir.
Ayodhya Ram Mandir foundation stone-laying ceremony
After the SC verdict, prime minister Narendra Modi performed the Bhumi Poojan ceremony on August 5, 2020, and laid the foundation stone of the temple.
Ayodhya Temple area and capacity
Spanning 54,700 sq ft, the temple area covers nearly 2.7 acres of land. The entire Ram Mandir Complex would be spread over nearly 70 acres and will be equipped to host about a million devotees at any time.
Ayodhya Ram Temple: Agency overseeing construction
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is supervising the temple’s construction.
Ayodhya Mandir: Estimated cost and funding
The construction work of the temple is likely to take between Rs 1,400 crore to Rs 1,800 crore. The temple trust is receiving between Rs 60-70 lakh in donations for building the grand temple, officials of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Nyas say.
Ayodhya Ram Mandir: Building material
Bansi Paharpur Sandstone
The superstructure of the Ram Mandir will be made of carved Rajasthan Bansi Paharpur stone, the rare pink marble stones, world-renowned for its beauty and strength. It will require a total of 4 lakh sq ft of stone.
The Bansi Paharpur Sandstone is found in the Bayana Tehsil of Bharatpur District in Rajasthan and it is available in hues of pink and red. The centre, in 2021, gave an in-principal approval to convert 398 hectares of protected forest land into revenue land to allow the mining of the pink sandstone in the vicinity of the Band Baretha Wildlife Sanctuary in Bharatpur, reversing the ban on mining put in place in 2016.
The Bansi Pahadpur Sandstone has been used in various grand structures of the country, including the Akshardham Temple, the Parliament Complex and the Lal Quila of Agra. Steel or bricks would not be used in the construction of the Ram Mandir.
Ayodhya Ram Mandir: Builders
While Larsen & Toubro are responsible for building the main structure, Tata Consultancy Engineers Ltd would develop the allied facilities.
Ayodhya Ram Mandir: Interior
Specifications
The upcoming temple is 360 ft long, 235 ft wide and 161 ft high. In height, the temple will three times the height of existing structure n the old city.
Style
The temple is designed by chief architect, Chandrakant Bhai Sompura, whose grandfather, Prabhakarji Sompura, had designed the Somnath Temple, along with his son, Ashish Sompura. The 79-year-old architect was appointed in 1992. Sompura mentioned that the Ram Mandir is being built in the Nagara style, following the principles of Vastu Shastra. The entrance on the east would be built in the Gopuram style, which represents the temples of the south. The walls of the temple would display artworks depicting the life of Lord Ram.
Shape
The sanctorum of the mandir would be octagonal-shaped, while the structure perimeter would be circular.
Floors
The mandir will have five domes and one tower with a height of 161 ft. The 3-floor temple will have a centre – Garbh Griha – built to allow sun rays to fall on the idol of Ram Lalla, the infant embodiment of the Lord. Like the sanctorum, the Griha Mandap would be fully covered, while the Keertan Mandap, the Nritya Mandap, the Rang Mandap and the two Prarthana Mandaps on each side would be open areas.
Ram Lalla idol
There will be two idols of Lord Ram. One will be the actual idol found in 1949 and has been in the tent for decades. The other will be a huge statue which will be visible from a long distance, says Jagdish Afle, project manager of the ram Mandir construction work.
The temple bell
A 2,100-kg bell for the Ram Temple is being brought from Etah, a well-known destination for bell manufacturing in India. The 6-ft tall and 5-ft wide bell would cost Rs 21 lakh.
Doors and window
To build the windows and doors, Teak wood (Sagwan) has been procured from Maharashtra’s Chandrapur. Not an ordinary wood, Teak has a life span of over 100 years. Work on building the grand doors and windows is expected to start between June 26 and 30 after a ceremonial ritual.
Ayodhya Ram Mandir: Lifespan
The grand structure is being built to have a lifespan of over 1,000 years. “Each material, which is being used…each design and drawing that is being used…is being done in IIT Chennai. They are the initiators. That is then tested by L&T and TCE. Finally, we have given the stability test for this agenda of 1,000 years to the Central Research Building Institute. The CRBI has tested the entire load that will come onto the structure through simulations. In short, we are dependent on the best brains of this country. There is just one objective – how to make this temple durable for 1,000 years and unique,” Nripendra Misra, the chairman of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’s temple construction committee, said.
Number of pilgrims to Ayodhya Ram Mandir
Over 50,000 people visit the temple every day. This number is expected to increase to 100,000 once the temple is inaugurated.
Ayodhya Ram Mandir: Timeline
1528-1529: Mughal emperor Babur builds Babri Masjid
1850s: Start of communal violence over the land
1949: Ram Idol found inside the mosque, intensifying communal tension
1950: Two suits filed in Faizabad civil court seeking permission to worship the idol
1961: UP Sunni Central Wakf Board demands the removal of the idol
1986: District Court opens the site for Hindu worshippers
1992: Babri masjid demolished on December 6
2010: Allahabad HC rules three-way division of disputed area among Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla
2011: SC stays Allahabad HC order
2016: Subramanian Swamy files plea in SC, seeks the construction of Ram Temple
2019: SC accepts Ayodhya was the birthplace of Lord Ram, hands over the entire 2.77 acres of disputed land to the trust and orders the government to give 5-acre land to Sunni Waqf Board as an alternate site
2020: PM Modi performs Bhumi Poojan and lays the foundation stone
How to reach Ayodhya?
Air: You can book flights to the Ayodhya Airport from every major Indian city. The airport is conveniently connected to the city centre through the modes of taxi and auto rickshaws.
Road: Ayodhya is well-connected by road to nearby cities and towns. You can hire a taxi or use public transportation like buses to reach Ayodhya from nearby locations. The airport is located approximately 8-10 km from the city centre.
Train: The nearest major railway station to Ayodhya is the Ayodhya Junction. From there, you can take a taxi or an auto-rickshaw to reach Ayodhya Airport. The distance is around 6-8 km.
Ayodhya Ram Mandir: Impact on real estate
Land rates in and around Ayodhya have risen by up to 10 times in the past decade, property dealers and brokers active in the area inform.
“Land bought for lakhs in the city before the announcement of the temple construction overnight became crore-worthy after the Supreme Court verdict. With big developers showing interest in property here, rates have gone up further, brining the city on a par with state capital Lucknow, to say the least,” says Lal Babu Pandey, an Ayodhya resident who worked only as a part-time property dealer earlier.
The interest in land is now so much that that it has turned into a full-time occupation for me and is enough to support my family, informs Pandey.
To find a land parcel within a radius of 5-10 km of the temple a buyer will have to spend at least Rs 2,000 per square foot while rates might go as high as Rs 18,000 per square foot. Prices for commercial plots start at Rs 4,000 per square foot, and can go up to Rs 20,000 per square foot. In some pockets, the rate for one biswa of land is now over Rs 60 lakh which used to be Rs 5 lakh till 2018.
Latest photos of Ayodhya Ram Mandir
Views of Ram Mandir Sinh Dwar; carvings on Nritya Mandap
