International News
‘Don’t Think PM Modi Has Handled China Well…’: Rahul Gandhi Attacks BJP Over Border Standoff

Washington DC [US], September 11/ Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi came out heavily against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre over the border standoff with China and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not handled the situation well.
The Congress leader was speaking at an interaction with media at the National Press Club in Washington DC on Tuesday (local time).
“We’ve got Chinese troops occupying land the size of Delhi in Ladakh, and I think that’s a disaster. The media doesn’t like to write about it. How would America react if a neighbour occupied 4,000 square kilometers of its territory? Would any president be able to get away with saying he’s handled that well? So, I don’t think Mr Modi has handled China well at all. I see no reason why Chinese troops should be sitting in our territory,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Notably, in 2020, the Indian and Chinese troops clashed at Galwan, the same year the pandemic started.
Since May 2020, when the Chinese troops tried to aggressively change the status quo on LAC in eastern Ladakh, both sides have been deployed in forward positions near Patrolling Point 15, which emerged as a friction point in the wake of the Galwan clash.
Over 50,000 Indian soldiers have been stationed since 2020 at forward posts along the LAC, with advanced weapons to prevent any attempts to change the status quo unilaterally on the LAC.
Terming the Chinese vision of production as “non-democratic”, the Raebareli MP stressed on the idea of US and India placing a production vision in a democratic and free society.
“We don’t want to do it like the Chinese are doing it. We don’t want to do it in an environment which is non-democratic, which is not liberal. So the real question for the 21st century, the Chinese have placed a production vision on the table. It’s a non-democratic production vision. Can the United States and India answer that by placing a vision for production in a democratic free society? And I think that’s where a lot of answers lie,” he said.
Rahul, also opened on his new role and responsibilities as the Leader of Opposition, and said there is an ideological war taking place between the INDIA bloc and the BJP-RSS. He further vowed that the Opposition wants to ‘defend’ India’s institutions and provide a broader vision for the country.
“It’s an extension of what I did earlier. There’s an ideological war taking place in India between the Congress and our partners and the BJP and the RSS. They are two completely different visions of India. We believe in a plural vision, a vision where everybody has a right to thrive… an India where you’re not persecuted because of what religion you believe in or what community you come from or which language you speak, versus a much harsher, centralizing vision. So that’s the landscape. And then we fight on that landscape,” the Congress leader further said.
“[We want to] defend India’s institutions, defend the weaker sections in India, defend the lower caste, tribals, minorities, poor people. After the yatra, I try to become the voice of as many people as I can. So for that…you have to go deeper, deep into the agricultural world, the conflicts that are taking place there, into the financial system, into the tax system. So you have to, in a sense, go deep into it, talk to people and then get, understand deeply what they’re saying and then transmit it and at a broader level, provide a vision, INDIA alliance vision for the country, which is obviously going to be fundamentally different than the centralizing, monopolized vision that the BJP is presenting,” he added.
The Congress leader further said that at one time the West used to be the producer of the world, but slowly China took over the responsibility.
He said that not manufacturing enough means, not enough employment can be generated. Rahul further added that there is a huge opportunity for both India and the US to regain the ability to produce.
I am more interested in the act of production: Rahul
“Here in the United States that the West, America, Europe, and India, the West used to be the producer of the world. If you wanted to buy a car, in the 60s, you bought an American car, washing machine, refrigerator…You guys were at the forefront of that. And then somewhere along the line, America decided, India decided, and the West decided that we’re just going to stop. And we handed the whole thing to the Chinese. Now for a country like India, to simply say that we’re going to ignore manufacturing, and only run a services-based economy, it means you cannot give employment to people,” Rahul Gandhi “I am more interested in the act of production- also called manufacturing. Look at what most American, Indian and European countries do. They organize consumption. Uber organizes consumption. Organizing consumption is easy. Organizing production is a completely different ballgame, much more complicated. You have to deal with things when you organize production that you simply don’t have to deal with when you organize production. So to me, there’s a huge opportunity for India and the United States to regain that ability to produce,” he further added.
Speaking on the unemployment situation, the LoP in Lok Sabha said he wants to support small and medium-small businesses and promote a decentralised production system.
“We have a government in Karnataka and Telangana. Each area in India has its own specialty of production. If you go to pretty much any district, Ballari in Karnataka has a very deep textile industry which has been destroyed. So we are looking at these pockets of excellence and then trying to bring modern technology, financial support to build them. So the vision would be more of a decentralized production system. Unlike China, which is huge factories, we would be thinking about smaller and small medium businesses and embedding modern technology into that. We’re testing some of these ideas in Karnataka and Telangana,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi is on a three-day visit to the United States. During this, he has interacted with Indian diaspora besides students and faculty at universities and also met US lawmakers.
This is Rahul Gandhi first visit to the US after he became Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
International News
India sends humanitarian aid to Afghan refugees as Pak continues mass deportations

Kabul, May 20: As Pakistan intensifies its mass deportation of Afghan refugees, India has stepped in with humanitarian aid for thousands of affected families, reinforcing its long-standing commitment to supporting the Afghan people in times of crisis.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation announced that the Government of India has delivered essential food aid to around 5,000 Afghan families who were recently expelled from Pakistan. The aid package, consisting of 11 different food items, was distributed through the Kabul office of the Directorate of Refugees to families deemed most in need.
India’s assistance was formally acknowledged in a public message from Maulvi Abdul Kabir, the Taliban-appointed Minister for Refugees and Repatriation. The message, delivered by Zakirullah Zakir, head of the Prime Minister’s Office’s Coordination Department, was read during an official aid distribution ceremony in Kabul.
Abdul Kabir expressed gratitude to both the Government and people of India for their continued support and called on other countries and humanitarian organisations to step up their aid for displaced Afghans. “India’s help has come at a time when our people are facing extreme hardship,” he said.
“We welcome all returnees and assure them of their safety and dignity under the general amnesty declared in the country,” he added.
Kalim al-Rahman Fani, Deputy Minister of Finance and Administration, also acknowledged that returnees face numerous challenges, despite the Islamic Emirate’s efforts to provide housing and services. He noted that 58 new townships are being planned across 31 provinces to accommodate the influx.
Since April, Pakistan has expelled hundreds of thousands of Afghan migrants, citing national security concerns and ties between the Taliban and India, allegations that remain unproven and have not been addressed by the Taliban.
Amid these regional tensions, India’s quiet but consistent humanitarian outreach stands in contrast to Islamabad’s crackdown, drawing attention to New Delhi’s people-centric approach to diplomacy in the region.
India has long maintained that its assistance to Afghanistan is driven by humanitarian concerns and a desire to ensure regional stability. This latest initiative signals New Delhi’s continued engagement with the Afghan people, even in the absence of formal diplomatic ties with the Taliban administration.
International News
Trump says he is ‘not frustrated’ with Netanyahu over war in Gaza

Washington, May 17: US President Donald Trump has said that he is not frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the war against Hamas in Gaza persists.
“No, look, he’s got a tough situation. You have to remember, there was October 7 that everyone forgets. It was one of the most violent days in the history of the world, not the Middle East, the world, when you look at the tapes,” Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview from Abu Dhabi.
“That problem should have never happened.”
Trump did not stop in Israel during his first official foreign trip to the Middle East, where he travelled to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Baier asked Trump if he thinks Netanyahu believes a potential nuclear deal with Iran is bad for the region, as the administration engages in negotiations.
“Bibi, he’s an angry man, and he should be because of October 7, and he’s been hurt badly by that, but in another way, he’s been sort of helped because I think he’s fought hard and bravely,” Trump responded.
Trump, who has repeatedly said that Gaza should be taken over by the US and developed, reiterated that the region should become a “freedom zone”.
“Gaza is a nasty place. It’s been that way for years. I think it should become a free zone, you know, freedom, I call it a freedom zone,” the US President said.
“They have Hamas. Everybody is being killed all over the place. I mean, you ever see, you talk about crime stats? It’s a nasty place.”
President Trump signalled on Friday that he wants the US to help take care of the situation in Gaza after a further wave of intense Israeli airstrikes overnight, saying “a lot of people are starving” and that he expected “a lot of good things” in the next month.
“I think a lot of good things are going to happen over the next month, and we’re going to see, we have to help also out the Palestinians,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday as he returned to the US after his Middle East trip.
When asked by a reporter whether he supported Israeli plans to expand the war in Gaza, the President responded: “You know, a lot of people are starving on Gaza, so we have to look at both sides.”
“But we’ll, we’re going to do a good job,” he added.
Earlier on Friday, speaking in the United Arab Emirates on the last leg of his visit to three Gulf nations, Trump said: “We’re looking at Gaza, and we got to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving. A lot of people. There’s a lot of bad things going on.”
The Israeli military intensified operations across Gaza on Thursday, killing more than 100 people and pledging to continue bombings as Trump suggested establishing a “freedom zone” in the enclave.
Many of the casualties were in Jabalya in northern Gaza and in Khan Younis in the south, according to Gaza Civil Defence.
On Thursday, the US President reiterated his desire to take over the Gaza Strip, telling a business roundtable in Qatar that the US would “make it a freedom zone”.
Asked if the three countries he visited in the Middle East would be part of the solution, Trump said: “I spoke to all three of them, they would absolutely be. I mean, they’re really rich and really, really, really, even more than rich, they’re good people, and they would help. And so, money is not even the problem. You got to get countries to say, yes, take them.”
International News
India hosts UN panel on Lord Buddha’s teachings to mark International Day of Vesak

New York, May 16: The Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in New York commemorated the International Day of Vesak on Friday with a distinguished panel discussion titled ‘Teachings of Gautama Buddha – a Path to Internal and Global Peace.’
The event drew participation from high-level diplomats, scholars, and spiritual leaders, reaffirming the enduring relevance of Lord Buddha’s teachings in addressing contemporary global challenges.
Announcing the event on its official social media handle, the Mission tweeted on Friday: “IndiaUNNewYork organised a Panel Discussion on ‘Teachings of Gautama Buddha – a Path to Internal and Global Peace’ to commemorate the International Day of Vesak.”
The panel featured Permanent Representatives and senior diplomats from a host of Buddhist-majority nations including Vietnam, Lao PDR, Thailand, Bhutan, Mongolia, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Russia. Their presence underscored the shared spiritual and cultural heritage that unites these countries and the global resonance of Buddhist values.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, opened the session with remarks emphasising the universal appeal of the Buddha’s message.
“Lord Buddha’s message of compassion, non-violence and his wisdom offer a path to inner and global peace, in a world beset with crisis and suffering,” he stated, drawing attention to the urgent need for spiritual grounding in modern geopolitics.
Prof. Abhay Kumar Singh, Interim Vice-Chancellor of Nalanda University, an institution with deep historical ties to Buddhism, highlighted Lord Buddha’s timeless teachings of peace and compassion. Meanwhile, Professor Santosh Kumar Raut provided insights into how Buddhist philosophy could help humanity navigate the pressing challenges of the 21st century.
Vesak, the most sacred day for millions of Buddhists worldwide, marks the birth, enlightenment, and passing of Gautama Buddha, all of which occurred on the full moon day in the month of May.
The UN General Assembly, through Resolution 54/115 in 1999, officially recognised the International Day of Vesak to honour Buddhism’s profound contribution to global spirituality and peace.
The event served as a reminder that the path shown by the Buddha over 2,500 years ago continues to illuminate the journey towards personal transformation and collective harmony, ideals that resonate more than ever in the present era.
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