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UK’s NHS defends first cousin marriages in the name of culture, despite risk of birth defects: Read how Islamic practices are now mainstream in Britain

Rukma Rathore
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UK’s NHS defends first cousin marriages in the name of culture, despite risk of birth defects: Read how Islamic practices are now mainstream in Britain

The United Kingdom hosts the largest Pakistani community in Europe with the population surpassing 1.6 million according to the 2021 Census. The figures have been rising swiftly over the years. However, it is not just the individuals that the Western nation is embracing, but also their problematic customs and even criminal elements, as highlighted by the shocking emergence of grooming gangs, which have mushroomed with impunity over multiple decades in Britain.

Nonetheless, the authorities and media have been resolute in their efforts to conceal these offenses under the pretense of “liberalism” to protect themselves from accusations of racism. Now, in line with their established approach, they have again tired to trivialize a crucial issue associated with a contentious practice within the British Pakistani community.

The National Health Service (Genomics Education Programme) in a bizarre attempt to justify “cousin marriage,” a common practice among Muslims, especially those of Pakistani descent, claimed that it presents various potential benefits. Financial advantages (resources, property, and inheritance can be pooled rather than split between homes) and greater extended family support networks were cited as positive outcomes.

Interestingly, the analysis acknowledged that inbreeding raises the likelihood of genetic condition. It also outlined a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) report which stated that more babies have been born with certain genetic conditions in Bradford than in other parts of the United Kingdom. The area has a large British Pakistani population and is a hub of cousin-marriage. The piece described how the genetic disease caused the loss of “several children, one after the other.”

Nonetheless, it was defended as an “oversimplification” of the problem and a “stigmatization of certain communities.” The argument was presented against the prohibition of cousin marriage in Britain. Endogamy was also held responsible for the issue. Afterward, the British Society for Genetic Medicine (BSGM) pronounced that invoking health as a reason to outlaw the practice is unjustified.

Backlash against the publication and demand for an apology

The publication has generated a backlash in the United Kingdom as the NHS has been asked to apologise for lauding the virtues of first-cousin marriage in spite of the higher risk of birth abnormalities. The practice has also been connected to the mistreatment of women and shown to raise the chance of genetic diseases in children born to such couples.

The director of the Pharos Foundation social science research department at Oxford and an authority on religious law, Dr Patrick Nash, condemned the guidance as “truly dismaying,” reported Daily Mail.

“Cousin marriage is incest, plain and simple, and needs to be banned with the utmost urgency – there is no ‘balance’ to be struck between this cultural lifestyle choice and the severe public health implications it incurs. This official article is deeply misleading and should be retracted with an apology so that the public is not misled by omission and half-truths,” he demanded.

“Our NHS should stop taking the knee to damaging and oppressive cultural practices. The Conservatives want to see an end to cousin marriage as a backdoor to immigration too, but Labour are deaf to these sensible demands,” voiced Tory MP Richard Holden while talking to Daily Mail.

He added, “Sir Keir Starmer should stop running scared of the misogynistic community controllers and their quislings who appear in the form of cultural relativist-obsessed sociology professors, and ban a practice the overwhelming majority, from every community in Britain, want to see ended for good.” Richard is supporting a bill in Parliament that would ban first cousins from marrying each other.

Importantly, the children of these unions are far more likely to suffer from ailments like sickle cell disease or cystic fibrosis, which costs the NHS billions of pounds. According to statistics, one in five children with congenital issues and those receiving treatment for the same in areas like Sheffield, Glasgow and Birmingham are of Pakistani heritage.

Reports reveal the detrimental impact of first cousin marriages on the lives of British Pakistani kids

Cousin marriage is under scrutiny in the UK and throughout Europe, especially by medical professionals who caution that the children born out of such wedlocks are more likely to suffer from a variety of health issues. The aforementioned BBC piece mentioned that Bradford’s alarming data has only made matters worse.

Researchers enrolled around 13,000 (13,500) infants in West Yorkshire city between 2007 and 2010 (2011), according to Born in Bradford study. They intensively monitoring the kids from childhood through adolescence and now into early adulthood. 37% of married couples of Pakistani descent were first cousins.

The study is one of the largest medical experiments of its kind and the most important investigations of the health effects of cousin marriage in the world. One in six of the children who were used a subjects had parents who were first cousins, primarily from the Pakistani community of the area.

The researchers unveiled that first cousin parentage can have more ramifications than previously believed based on data. A recessive condition, such as sickle cell disease or cystic fibrosis is the most apparent way which illustrated that a child of blood-related parents could be at higher risk for health problems.

The researcher Gregor Mendel established the standard theory of genetics, which suggested that a kid has a one in four chance of inheriting a recessive gene if both parents possess it. Additionally, the odds of both parents being carriers is higher when they are relatives. Compared to 3% of the general population, children of first cousins have a 6% probability of acquiring a recessive disease.

The children’s speech and language development, the frequency of their medical visits and their academic achievement were among the several data points examined by the researchers. They observed that a child of first cousins in Bradford had an 11% chance of receiving a speech and language diagnosis, even after adjusting for variables like poverty, compared to a 7% chance for children whose parents are unrelated.

Likewise, they concluded that the probabilities of a child of first cousins attaining a “good stage of development,” a government evaluation provided to all five-year-olds in England is 54%, as opposed to 64% for children of unrelated parents.

The children of first cousins require a third more primary care appointments than children of non-related parents, averaging four appointments each year. Consanguinity might have an impact on children without a diagnosable recessive disorder, according to the data, even after acounting for the children with the same issue.

Inbreeding, congenital abnormalities and more

Congenital abnormalities as pointed out earlier result in several problems including stillbirths and infant deaths. Details of 386 congenital abnormalities that were discovered (and confirmed) within the same time period were connected to data from 11,396 mothers who took part in the Born in Bradford research.

Consanguineous marriage came out as a significant risk factor for the defects even after accounting for deprivation, according to the findings. The rate for non-consanguineous couples (of all ethnic groups) was 2.5% whereas the rate for first cousins was 6.5%. This resulted in a multivariate risk ratio of 2.19 (confidence interval 1.67-2.85).

Furthermore, marriages between cousins and similar unions lead to significantly more devastating repercussions for the offsprings. One such outcome is Uner Tan syndrome (UTS) which causes the affected individuals to walk quadrupedally and frequently have severe learning impairments. It is reportedly an illustration of “reverse evolution.”

The shocking development came to light when certain members of the Turkish Ulas family were spotted walking on all fours. The BBC documentary from 2006 was the first to chronicle the same. Four sisters and one brother were born with the peculiar characteristic, while a sixth family member who possessed the trait passed away.

According to a Liverpool University study, the children had a smaller cerebellum and skeletons that resembled apes more than humans. Intrafamilial marriage and reproduction had been associated with the syndrome, revealing that it is an autosomal recessive illness.

British activist highlights the problem on social media and startling defence by British Pakistani couples

British activist Tommy Robinson also addressed the issue in a video in July. According to him, 33% of birth defects in the UK are caused by British Pakistanis who contribute about 3% of the population and 76% of Pakistanis in Bradford marry their first cousins. He tied the cultural norm to traditional Islamic customs and contended that this placed a heavy load on the UK healthcare system.

Meanwhile, British Pakistanis, as anticipated, came forth in strong support of intrafamilial marriage and reproduction. “That’s God’s will, nobody can say anything about that. Even if you marry outside the family, it could still happen,” a couple declared in a conversation with the BBC. “So many people have married outside the families and they may still have a child with a disability,” they alleged firmly, disregarding all evidence.

Another Muslim individual pointed out that first-cousin marriages are not uncommon in Pakistan or India (considering the massive Muslim population).

About 55% of British Pakistanis are married to their first cousins which makes up around 3% of all weddings in the country, based on a 2021 study. These unions are a popular practice in Birmingham which has a sizable British Pakistani population.

The land of first cousin marriages

There is no denying that cousin marriages and such relationships are a significant part of Islamic society. Data from this year showed that Pakistan stands out as the epicentre of inbreeding at 61.2%, trailed by Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Sudan. The prevalent practice within the Muslim community has continued to endure, despite the detrimental effects and the reservations or even taboos surrounding it.

Stats by World Population Review

The practice has led to an abnormally high amount of genetic problems in youngsters, according to a 2022 DW study. However, cousin marriages continue to be common in many areas across the nation even if people are aware of the adverse consequences.

According to a 2013 study titled “Key factors in understanding differences in rates of birth defects identified” which was published by the University of Leeds in collaboration with the University of Bradford, consanguineous marriages were found to be responsible for up to 77% of congenital disabilities in children.

Zafar Iqbal’s study, “Identifying Genes Responsible for Intellectual Disability in Consanguineous Families,” conveyed that Pakistan has a relatively high consanguinity rate (>60%). It also stated that first cousins make about 17% to 38% of consanguineous marriages in Pakistan. It is one of the primary causes of infant death in Pakistan. Furthermore, the likelihood of the infant developing a genetic abnormality or a long-term health issue is significant if the youngster survives.

The genetic mutation database of Pakistan is maintained by Pakistani establishments such as Kohat University of Science & Technology. It detects and monitors certain mutations and illnesses that are primarily brought on by inbreeding in Pakistani youngsters.

The data outlined that are more than 1,000 mutations in 130 distinct genetic illnesses that are present in various locations, such as Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA), Punjab, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, Balochistan, Sindh and Gilgit Baltistan.

Thalassaemia, an inherited blood condition that prevents red blood cells from taking oxygen, is the most prevalent genetic condition in Pakistani children.

Conclusion

The matter of cousin marriage has maintained a steady presence in the Pakistani Muslim community, including those who reside in foreign nations like Britain. Several media reports and studies have consistently underscored the problem present in the community.

A startlingly high percentage of cousin marriages in Pakistani communities in Britain result in children with genetic problems, warned The Telegraph in 2015.

According to an earlier 2008 estimate by the media oulet, 3% of births in the UK were attributed to the Pakistani minority. However, they were accountable for 30% of infants born with recessive genetic abnormalities because of the large incidence of cousin marriages. Likewise, 55% of Bradford’s Pakistani population was married to a first cousin.

However, just as the British administration and its media tried to downplay the exploitation of their minor girls by Pakistani Muslim grooming gangs, they are now repeating the same in relation to the issue of inbreeding among the community.

Clearly, evidence has never been of concern to them before and it does not hold any significance for them now. The most disturbing part is their willigness to consistently endanger the lives of children merely to uphold the twisted ideals of wokeism and liberalism in their nation. Notably, they do not even shy away from rejecting scientific facts for this reason.

PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi’s trophy heist in Asia Cup: How India clinched 9th title while Pakistan clinched global embarrassment

Jinit Jain
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PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi’s trophy heist in Asia Cup: How India clinched 9th title while Pakistan clinched global embarrassment

Some defeats sting, and then some defeats haunt. For Pakistan, the Asia Cup 2025 final in Dubai belongs firmly in the latter category. Not only did India register a clinical five-wicket win to secure their ninth Asia Cup title, but the loss was followed by one of the most bizarre spectacles in recent cricketing memory: Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and chief of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), allegedly storming off with the championship trophy and medals to his hotel room.

The man tasked with upholding the dignity of Asian cricket acted instead like a sulking child who couldn’t handle defeat. If the Asia Cup final will be remembered for India’s dominance on the field, it will also be remembered for Naqvi’s behaviour off it, behaviour that exposed not just his personal immaturity but also the rot in how Pakistan’s cricket establishment sees the game.

Bitter over Pakistan’s defeat, Naqvi robbed Team India of their rightful moment of glory by denying them the medals and trophy presentation. It was a textbook display of Pakistani pettiness, masking failure with hollow theatrics to fool their own people. Earlier, the same team had even refused to play against the UAE after Indian players declined a handshake in their first encounter. But once informed that skipping the match would cost them a $16 million penalty, the so-called ‘principled’ cricketers rushed out of their hotel and quietly turned up at the stadium.

For Naqvi though, it was an opportunity to parade h

The sulking kid of the ACC

Everyone knew Mohsin Naqvi in childhood. That one friend who, after losing a gully cricket match, would scoop up the bat and ball, stomp his feet, and head home declaring that the game was unfair. Except this time, Naqvi wasn’t a sulking pre-teen in a mohalla, but the chief of the very body organising the tournament.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia minced no words. The Indian team, he said, had consciously decided not to accept the trophy from Naqvi, who also happens to be Pakistan’s Interior Minister. “India cannot take the trophy from the person who is waging a war against our country,” Saikia remarked, drawing a clear line between diplomacy and sport. That decision, however, did not give Naqvi the right to pocket the silverware like a bitter loser.

Saikia went further, calling the act “unexpected, very childish in nature,” and announced that the BCCI would lodge a “very strong protest” at the ICC meeting in November. And rightly so, for if cricket administrators start acting like tantrum-throwing schoolboys, what credibility do the game’s institutions hold?

Operation Sindoor: From battlefield to playing field

The post-match drama could not overshadow India’s triumph. Prime Minister Narendra Modi summed it up with a single post on X: “Operation Sindoor on the games field. The outcome is the same — India wins! Congrats to our cricketers.”

The remark was as political as it was poetic. Earlier this year, India’s devastating Operation Sindoor airstrikes had left Pakistan’s terror camps and military infrastructure in ruins. Within hours, Pakistan’s airspace stood exposed, and a top general had no option but to dial New Delhi and beg for a ceasefire. In Dubai, on the cricket pitch, the symbolism was unmistakable: whether in war or in sport, India had once again left Pakistan defenceless and humiliated.

The Asia Cup final, then, was not just a cricket match. It was a continuation of a narrative of Indian supremacy in both hard power and soft power domains. Naqvi’s tantrum only underlined how deeply this narrative is cutting through Pakistan’s fragile psyche.

Supersoldiers in blue

On the field, India’s “supersoldiers” were led by Tilak Varma, who rose to the occasion with an unbeaten 69. His calm yet aggressive partnerships with Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube ensured that India never lost control of the chase. The winning runs were, of course, scored by the audacious Rinku Singh, who thwacked Rauf for a boundary over mid-wicket as India needed 1 off 3 balls.

This was not just about one inning, though. It was about the composure and maturity of a young Indian side that has adapted brilliantly under Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy. Since donning the captain’s armband, Suryakumar has guided India to 18 T20I victories, with just two defeats and two tied games. That’s not a record; that’s a rampage.

Sunday’s victory also marked India’s second T20I Asia Cup title and ninth overall, including the ODI editions. Across formats, India has made the Asia Cup its private backyard. And in Dubai, they did it in the most satisfying manner possible, by defeating Pakistan thrice in the same tournament.

Not just that, the Indian cricketers also took to the stage and celebrated their victory like they normally would, even though Naqvi whisked away the trophy they richly deserved. Hours later, several Indian cricketers posted pictures celebrating their win, complete with edited images of the missing trophy. Clearly, this Indian team knows how to savour victories instead of being weighed down by pettiness.

Leadership beyond cricket

And if anyone doubted the difference in leadership between India and Pakistan, Monday brought a reminder. Suryakumar Yadav, the victorious Indian captain, announced that he would donate his entire match fees from the Asia Cup to support the Armed Forces and the families of victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.

In a heartfelt message on X, he wrote: “I have decided to donate my match fees from this tournament to support our Armed Forces and the families of the victims who suffered from the Pahalgam terror attack. You always remain in my thoughts. Jai Hind.”

In one stroke, Suryakumar connected India’s cricketing triumph to the larger sacrifices made by the nation’s defenders. It was a moment of grace, humility, and patriotism, everything that Naqvi’s petulant act was not. Where one leader turned victory into service, the other turned defeat into national embarrassment. But this is what Pakistanis excel at — be it the cricketing field — or the battlefield during Operation Sindoor, when obvious military and defence failures, as validated by satellite imageries, were dressed up as victories for a nation that prefers to live in alternative universe and not in reality.

Dignity vs disgrace

There is a lesson here that goes beyond cricket. India, despite its well-earned grievances against Pakistan, participated in the Asia Cup because it was a multinational tournament. Saikia clarified that while India has boycotted bilateral series with Pakistan for over a decade, multinational commitments require its participation to protect the interests of other sports federations.

And once India stepped in, they didn’t just play, they dominated. Seven matches, seven wins, including a clean 3-0 sweep over Pakistan. If anyone needed proof that Indian cricket is leagues ahead of its arch-rival, the Asia Cup 2025 provided it in bold letters.

Yet, instead of applauding the champion team, the ACC chief chose to sulk, scoop up the trophy, and take it to his hotel room. In contrast, the Indian team chose dignity, letting their cricket speak, refusing to accept the trophy from Naqvi, and walking away with something far greater than medals: the respect of their fans and the pride of their nation.

Why BCCI’s protest matters

Some may argue that Naqvi’s trophy-snatching antics are trivial, mere optics. But symbolism matters in sport, and in politics. When the head of the ACC acts in such a partisan, disgraceful manner, it sets a dangerous precedent. If left unchecked, it erodes trust in cricket’s governing institutions, already fragile under the weight of corruption scandals and political interference.

By lodging a strong protest, the BCCI isn’t just defending its players or its pride. It is defending the principle that administrators must rise above politics and partisanship when they sit in positions of power. Cricket cannot afford to be reduced to petty tantrums, especially in a region where the sport carries the weight of history and emotion.

The real trophy

Let’s be clear: Mohsin Naqvi may have walked away with the physical trophy, but the real prize is not made of metal or gold plating. The real prize is victory, dominance, and history. And that, India claimed emphatically.

Naqvi’s suitcase may be heavier with a cup and a few medals, but it is also heavier with the shame of having made a fool of himself on the global stage. India, meanwhile, walks taller, undefeated in the tournament, dignified in conduct, and unstoppable in momentum.

In the end, this Asia Cup told two stories. One was of India’s relentless rise, a team of supersoldiers who translate dominance from battlefield to playing field, led by a captain who donates his earnings to honour martyrs. The other was of Pakistan’s decline, symbolised by a cricket administrator who thought he could thumb his nose at India by smuggling away a trophy.

Naqvi was visibly rattled by the Indian team’s refusal to accept the honours from his hands. For him, it was not just about a trophy ceremony; it was a carefully crafted opportunity to project normalisation of cricketing ties, and by extension, signal to the world that India’s Operation Sindoor had run its course. But as Modi has made clear, whether on the cricket pitch or the battlefield, the operation remains very much alive—and India continues to emerge victorious, no matter the arena.

As Pakistan flashes its rare earth minerals to Trump, Baloch rebels warn them against any adventures: Is the Trump-Pakistan bonhomie another castle in the air?

Anurag
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As Pakistan flashes its rare earth minerals to Trump, Baloch rebels warn them against any adventures: Is the Trump-Pakistan bonhomie another castle in the air?

On 25th September, images from Washington showed President of the United States, Donald Trump, meeting Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistani military chief Asim Munir. In the meeting, Munir presented a polished tray of so-called “rare earth minerals” to Trump as they hoped to impress the White House and secure American investment.

The photo opportunity was meant to showcase Pakistan as a potential supplier of critical minerals at a time when the world is competing fiercely for control over rare earths. However, behind the glimmering rocks, lie a darker story. Most of the minerals Pakistan claim it can supply, do not originate in Punjab province, the power base of Pakistan’s Army. These minerals come from the resource-rich but brutally oppressed land of Balochistan.

Soon after the photos were released, Baloch activists condemned the display as a theatrical attempt to sell stolen wealth. In fiery posts on social media, Baloch leaders accused Pakistan of looting their soil, presenting it as its own, and attempting to mortgage the region’s resources to the US just as it had done with China.

The global race for rare earths

Rare earth minerals have become the centre of global economic and strategic competition. There are 17 elements that are critical for everything from smartphones and renewable energy to advanced weapon systems. While the demand of these minerals is increasing several folds every day, the availability is extremely limited.

Currently, China controls the lion’s share of global production for rare earths making western countries anxious about their supply chain. It is in this context that Pakistan suddenly decided to showcase its supposed reserves to the US.

The pitch was clear. Invest in Pakistan’s mining sector and secure supplies of rare earth magnets, cobalt, and lithium. It is also telling that Trump’s recent term is littered with ambitious promises that have gone unfulfilled. He repeatedly vowed to “bring prices down on day one,” yet inflation remains high and costs for staples like eggs and groceries continue rising. He pledged sweeping economic revival and infrastructure boosts, but critics argue the actions have largely been symbolic or delayed. Against that backdrop, any mineral-investment assurances to Balochistan ought to be viewed with deep scepticism.

However, the truth is that these deposits over overwhelmingly lie under the mountains and deserts of Balochistan, not in other provinces under Pakistan. For decades, Islamabad has treated Balochistan as a colony. It has siphoned off its resources while leaving the local population in poverty.

The Baloch perspective – stolen wealth and blood on hands

Faiz M Baluch, a prominent Baloch activist, posted a scathing response on social media platform X where he wrote, “These thieves steal Balochistan’s resources and then pretend they own them. Don’t be fooled, Donald Trump, these military generals have blood on their hands. Stand with the victims, not the looters.”

Another well-known Baloch activists, Mir Yar Baloch, highlighted how the Pakistan Army has been forcibly extracting rare earths from Balochistan. He said, “These samples of ‘rare earth minerals’ are being presented to you by Pakistan’s corrupt military chief Asim Munir. They are stolen from Balochistan during illegal mining. The Pakistan army has, at gunpoint, been illegally extracting these minerals and is now trying to portray them as Pakistan’s.”

The activists compared Pakistan to a thief handing over stolen jewellery. They argued that if the US truly values human rights, it should build relations with the rightful owners, the Baloch people, rather than reward an occupying power that suppresses dissent through violence.

A history of looting Balochistan

This is not the first time Pakistan has attempted to sell resources from Balochistan to foreign powers. From natural gas fields in Sui to gold and copper deposits in Reko Diq, Islamabad has consistently signed deals with foreign corporations and governments without the consent of the local people.

Earlier, it came to light that Pakistan mortgaged Balochistan’s Gwadar port and resources to China and secretly offered rare earth magnets to the US as collateral for loans. Baloch activists described it as the “auctioning” of their homeland, with Islamabad treating Balochistan as a dispensable asset.

Furthermore, OpIndia reported a similar controversy when Trump claimed that Pakistan possessed massive oil reserves, discovered during “Operation Sindoor.” Activists again pointed out that these reserves were located in Balochistan and not in Pakistan’s heartland.

In August, in an exclusive interview with Baloch activist leaders, OpIndia reported their strong rejection of US overtures to Munir, emphasising that Balochistan is not just a “province” but a nation under illegal occupation. They warned Washington that courting Pakistan’s generals would only fuel further resentment among the Baloch people.

Why the US is interested now

The US is keen to diversify its rare earth supply chains away from China. Trump, during his campaign and early days in office, has repeatedly spoked about securing critical minerals as a matter of national security. Any presentation of minerals, however staged, naturally attracts attention in Washington.

Pakistan understood this desperation and since then trying to position itself as an alternative supplier. However, there are two glaring problems. First of all, there is serious lack of infrastructure and governance that are required to manage large-scale mining projects. Secondly, and more importantly, the minerals being showcased will be extracted from a territory whose people have never consented to their exploitation.

Balochistan will not allow its gold and minerals to be sold

The people of Balochistan have resisted Pakistan’s attempts to plunder their resources for decades. From student uprisings to armed insurgencies, the demand has been consistent, that is, recognition of Balochistan’s sovereignty and control over its natural wealth. Every time Islamabad signs a new contract with a foreign investor, it does so under the shadow of army guns and enforced disappearances.

Mir Yar Baloch put it bluntly in his message to Trump, “Would you prefer to accept, as a gift, a gold necklace stolen by a thief (Pakistan), or would you rather make friends with the legitimate owners (Baloch people) and lawfully earn thousands of gold necklaces?”

The analogy captures the sentiment in Balochistan. Accepting Pakistan’s minerals is akin to legitimising theft. And no amount of investment or aid can wash away the blood that stains these resources.

The beggar state’s showpiece diplomacy

For Islamabad, the mineral tray presented to Trump was not just a gift. It was a desperate plea for dollars. Pakistan’s economy remains on life support, dependent on IMF bailouts and foreign handouts. After exhausting China’s credit, it now seeks to convince Washington that it can offer something valuable in return.

But this “beggar’s diplomacy” is built on lies. The minerals are not Pakistan’s to give. They belong to Balochistan. Every dollar earned from their sale is money stolen from a land already ravaged by poverty, repression, and war.

What lies ahead

In the coming months, it will get clearer if the US buys into Pakistan’s narrative or recognises the legitimacy of Baloch grievances. Washington cannot afford to ignore the moral dimension, though it has a history of doing so. If Washington decides to side with Pakistani government, it will be an endorsement of occupation of Balochistan and suppression of its people.

At the same time, global attention on rare earths will only increase. As the world transitions to green energy and advanced defence systems, demand will skyrocket. That makes Balochistan’s resources even more valuable, and its struggle for justice even more urgent.

Conclusion

Baloch leaders have sent a clear message that the minerals being paraded in Washington are not Pakistan’s. They are the rightful property of the Baloch nation. Any deal struck with Islamabad is illegitimate and will not bring stability.

For the US and other global powers, the choice is stark. Do they enrich a military elite that thrives on occupation and bloodshed, or do they recognise the legitimate rights of a people who have endured decades of exploitation?

Democrat Congressman supports pro-Hamas Islamists, Trump ally-turned critic Laura Loomer calls him ‘self-hating Hindu who acts more like a Muslim’: Here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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Democrat Congressman supports pro-Hamas Islamists, Trump ally-turned critic Laura Loomer calls him ‘self-hating Hindu who acts more like a Muslim’: Here is what happened

Laura Loomer, an American right-wing activist and a known critic of Donald Trump, has lashed out at Democrat leader Ro Khanna and called him a “self-hating Hindu” who acts like a Muslim. Loomer highlighted how Khanna was resorting to appeasement politics at a time while jihadists are killing real Hindus.

While taking to X on Monday (29th September), Loomer shared a clip from the ArabCon event attended by pro-Palestine Islamists and their cheerleaders, wherein Ro Khanna could heard saying “Raise your hand if you are a pro-terror radical”.

The “America First” activist wrote, “Maybe a self hating Hindu. @RoKhanna acts more like a Muslim. Real Hindus are being slaughtered by jihadists. You never see Ro Khanna speak up for the Hindus who are being slaughtered by Islamists. Instead, he uses his seat in Congress to destroy Western Civilization and Islamify America. Real Hindus are anti-Islam. This video should be everywhere.”

Before this, Laura Loomer and Ro Khanna engaged in a war of words over the latter’s presence at the ArabCon event in Dearborn, Michigan. The Islamist political leaders and pro-Palestine activists here allegedly discussed how to consolidate political power in the US.

Loomer called out Ro Khanna, a sitting member of the Congress, for attending an event where the speakers were saying that they would “never condemn armed resistance” by Palestinian Islamic terror group, Hamas, against Israel.

“Happening now in Dearborn, Michigan. There is a conference taking place called ArabCon where Muslims are gathered to talk about how they can consolidate more political power in the US. Speakers and attendees are on video laughing over the October 7th HAMAS terrorist attacks and cheered when Professor Abdulhadi said he would “never condemn armed resistance,” she wrote.

Laura Loomer further questioned Ro Khanna about why he attended a pro-Jihad event. She urged Congress members to call on Ro Khanna to either apologise or resign.

“@RoKhanna spoke at this conference. Are you going to condemn this @RoKhanna? You are a sitting member of Congress. Why did you speak at a pro-jihad conference in Dearborn, Michigan where supporters of Islamic terror gathered to celebrate October 7th and promote HAMAS? Other speakers include @mehdirhasan @AbdulElSayed (current Democrat US Senate candidate in Michigan), @AnaKasparian, and Jihadi Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud who was recently caught on video telling Christians to leave Dearborn if they oppose Muslims naming streets after Hezbollah terrorists. Every single member of Congress should be calling on @RoKhanna to apologize or resign,” Loomer added.

However, Khanna said that he condemned the October 7 massacre and called for the release of hostages. He further questioned Loomer if she condemns Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s alleged killing of Gazan women and children.

“I have called the Hamas Oct 7 terrorist attacks horrific & called for the unconditional release of hostages. I vehemently disagree with anyone who excuses or minimizes that. Now do you condemn Netanyahu’s ongoing killing of women and children in Gaza @LauraLoomer?” Khanna retorted.

Hitting back at Ro Khanna, Laura Loomer said that she would not condemn PM Netanyahu for killing Islamic terrorists in Gaza. In fact, she suggested that Israel’s response to Hamas on 8th October 2023, was “too weak”. Loomer added that she would condemn Netanyahu only for not being forceful enough in his retaliation to the Hamas Jihadis after they slaughtered Israeli civilians.

She went on to advise Khanna against “gaslighting Americans into thinking that 95% of the people in Gaza didn’t vote for HAMAS.” Loomer also asserted that Ro Khanna’s career is dependent on placating Islamists.

Notably, Laura Loomer often criticises Islamists and raises issues revolving around Islamist design of taking over or dominating the United States. She, however, is no stranger to controversies. Following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement last year, that Sriram Krishnan would serve as Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, American journalist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer launched a series of online attacks against him. Loomer has also been accused of peddling several conspiracy theories.

Meanwhile, Ro Khanna has for long been pushing pro-Islamist narratives. Back in 2023, he visited India and met the Muslim ‘victims’ of anti-Hindu Nuh violence. He also met anti-Hindu riots accused Umar Khalid, Gandhi’s great-grandson Tushar Gandhi who is generally seen loitering around on Twitter spewing hate, and Kukis from Manipur; he did not meet Meities when he should have met both communities in the capacity of a foreign politician.

Khanna also has a knack for sermonising India about ‘human rights’ and ‘communalism’ etc. Ro Khanna has also been a part of the Pakistan Caucus and is a supporter of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, although he on a few occasions praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well.

Having said that, Laura Loomer has a history of making racist and xenophobic comments against Indians.

CJI Gavai’s mother attacks Dussehra as a festival ‘harming social consciousness’: Turns RSS Vijaydashami invite into a Hinduphobia rant, but son Rajendra insists ‘she will attend’

Shraddha Pandey
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CJI Gavai’s mother attacks Dussehra as a festival ‘harming social consciousness’: Turns RSS Vijaydashami invite into a Hinduphobia rant, but son Rajendra insists ‘she will attend’

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) recently invited Kamaltai Gavai, mother of the Chief Justice of India (CJI), B R Gavai, to an event organised to mark Vijayadashmi and centenary of the organisation in Maharashtra’s Amravati district. The program is scheduled for 5th October 2025. Kamaltai Gavai, however, has not only rejected the invite but also expressed her Hinduphobic opinions while asserting that she is an ‘Ambedkarite’.

Dismissing the media reports claiming that she would be attending the RSS Vijayadashami program, Kamaltai Gavai stated in a letter written in Marathi, that she is deeply rooted in Ambedkarite ideology, and is committed to the Indian Constitution. Thus, she would not attend the RSS-organised event “under any circumstances”. She further suggested that attending an event celebrating a Hindu festival would “harm social consciousness”.

“The news recently published about the RSS Vijayadashami program scheduled for October 5 at 6:30 PM at the Shrimati Narsamma Mahavidyalaya Ground in Amravati, Maharashtra, is utterly false. As the founding president of the Dada Saheb Gavai Charitable Trust, deeply rooted in Ambedkarite ideology, and with my family’s unwavering commitment to the Constitution of India, I will never attend or support the upcoming RSS program in Amravati under any circumstances. I assure you that I will not cause any harm to social consciousness in any way,” Gavai’s letter reads.

Kamaltai Gavai further stressed that while Vijayadashami holds significance in Hindu culture, for Buddhists like her, ‘Ashok Vijadashami’ or the commemoration of Maurya emperor Ashoka’s embrace of Buddhism and renunciation of violence following the Kalinga War. It, however, is crucial to mention that a section of historians and even archaeological evidence indicate that Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism predates the Kalinga War.

Kamaltai Gavai went to ‘condemn’ the media reports, calling them “RSS’s propaganda” even as most of the reports were simply about RSS inviting the CJI’s mother and not essentially about her agreeing to attend the event.

“I urge the people of Maharashtra and all of India to take note of this. While Vijayadashami holds significance in Hindu culture, for us, Dhammachakra Pravartan Din, also known as Ashok Vijayadashami, is of utmost importance. I strongly condemn the recently published news as misinformation and urge the public not to fall prey to such propaganda from a social perspective. I call upon my fellow Ambedkarites to take note of this and place their trust in me. Spreading this news without my consent or written approval is a conspiracy by the RSS. I do not accept this invitation,” the letter adds.

Kamaltai’s other son, Rajendra Gavai, claims he and his mother would attend RSS event

However, soon after Kamaltai’s response sparked a fresh controversy, her other son came forward to insist she would attend the RSS event. Republican Party leader and Kamaltai’s son, Dr. Rajendra Gavai, released a video stating that Kamaltai will indeed attend the RSS event and that he himself had also accepted the invitation.

Late former Governor R.S. Gavai had been the President of the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial Committee at Deekshabhoomi and had played a key role in its development. His son, Dr. Rajendra Gavai, is currently a member of the Memorial Committee.

Interestingly, Kamaltai Gavai’s initial response that she would never attend an RSS organised event or any such event celebrating the Hindu festival of Vijayadashami — was rationalised on the basis of her unwavering commitment to ‘Ambedkarite ideology’ and the Constitution of India — as if the Indian constitution prohibits Buddhists or ‘Ambedkarites’ from attending RSS events or celebrating Hindu festivals.

RS Gavai at an RSS event in 1981, alongside Bhayyaji Sahasrabuddhe, Balasaheb Deoras, and Babasaheb Pathade.

However, her late husband Ramkrishna Suryabhan Gavai also known as Dadasaheb Gavai, a senior leader of the Republican Party of India (RPI), attended the valedictory ceremony of the Sangh Shiksha Varg in Nagpur as the chief guest in the year 1981.

Notably, R S Gavai worked as a close associate of Babasaheb Ambedkar, and chairman of the Deekshabhoomi Smarak Samiti in Nagpur. In 1998, R S Gavai was elected to Lok Sabha from Amravati constituency as a Republican Party candidate. Later, Governor of Bihar, Sikkim, and Kerala between 2006 and 2011, when the Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre.

As the Governor of Kerala back in 2009, R S Gavai defied the recommendation of the Chief Minister Achuthanandan-led state cabinet and granted permission to the CBI to initiate prosecution proceedings against communist leader and now CM, Pinarayi Vijayan, in the SNC-Lavalin corruption case. The Congress-UDF was in opposition in Kerala at that time. Meanwhile, the Congress-led UPA government in Centre welcomed Governor Gavai’s decision.

In his own admission, CJI Bhushan Ramakrishna Gavai said that his father Dadasaheb Gavai was associated with the Congress party for more than 40 years. He had been a Member of Parliament, Member of Legislature, with support of the Congress. CJI Gavai’s brother, Rajendra Gavai, a Republican Party leader, is also associated with Congress.

While Kamltai Gavai’s letter has sparked a row, a few days back, CJI B R Gavai stirred national outrage with his remarks mocking the Hindu deity, Lord Vishnu, while hearing a plea. On 16th September 2025, a Supreme Court bench headed by CJI Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih heard the matter.

The petitioner, a devotee named Rakesh Dalal, argued that restoring the idol was not merely about archaeology but about faith, dignity, and the fundamental right of Hindus to worship their deities in wholeness. While dismissing the plea, CJI Gavai made unnecessary oral remarks against the Hindu faith by blending sarcasm and mockery.

“This is purely publicity interest litigation. Go and ask the deity itself to do something now. You say you are a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu. So go and pray now,” the CJI told the petitioner.

Kash Patel shakes hands with Asim Munir: Dear Hindus of India, wake up to the realities of the world, and stop expecting the impossible

Anurag
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Kash Patel shakes hands with Asim Munir: Dear Hindus of India, wake up to the realities of the world, and stop expecting the impossible

On 25th September, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) chief Kash Patel was also present during the meeting and a photograph of him shaking hands with Munir has gone viral on social media.

When the image of Patel, son of Indian origin, Hindu by heritage, was seen greeting Munir in the White House, it sent ripples through the Indian diaspora and people in India alike. Some saw it as a sign of betrayal, others saw hypocrisy. Yet others saw complicity. The moment became a mirror of the complexities of the situation not just for Patel but also for the expectations that Indians have of diaspora icons.

However, a more tempered reading is overdue. Instead of indicting Patel, perhaps it is time Indians should carry out a quiet reckoning. It is time to understand that our hopes for diaspora Hindus may be less about them, and more about us.

The optics, and why they matter

As the media has pointed out, Patel’s handshake with Munir did not go unnoticed. Many questions were raised over the “gesture”, especially given Munir’s recent remarks emphasising the religious divide between Hindus and Muslims and his endorsement of the Two-Nation Theory.

Netizens invoked Patel’s Hindu identity, his past invocation of “Jai Shree Krishna”, and the contrast between his roots and his public office, accusing him of abandoning an assumed moral duty. However, the image published by the White House was only a snapshot. It is political theatre, and one must understand that the person in the image shaking hands with Munir is bound by constraints, institutions and roles. The question here is: did Patel betray his identity, or was he simply enacting the chores of his office?

The burden of mythical expectations

Many times, we heap impossible expectations on diaspora figures. It is a common expectation that because they have ancestral roots, they must act as emissaries, defenders, or guardians of India’s interests. We expect Sundar Pichai to always favour Indian developers, Satya Nadella to tilt Microsoft toward India, Patel to reject any official engagement that telegraphed weakness against Pakistan.

Take Tulsi Gabbard for instance. Despite invoking Hindu imagery and chants in her political journey, she has always acted as an American politician, not as an envoy of India. Her duty is to her constituents and to the United States Congress where she served, not to India or Hindus globally. Expecting otherwise is to confuse cultural symbolism with political allegiance.

However, that is not the logic of civic office or corporate governance. It is the logic of myth that we carry around and expect to become a reality when we see members of the Indian diaspora in important office, just like Kash Patel.

Rishi Sunak, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, will further the interests of his country despite having ancestral roots in India. In the same way, Patel, in his capacity as FBI Director, will further US interests and not India’s. Sundar or Nadella will steer their companies toward profit, regulatory compliance, and global markets, not national mythology.

There is no betrayal in their actions. It is, in fact, how the real world runs. However, this is not to excuse every misstep or realpolitik compromise. It is to ask us to recalibrate, to stop demanding that every diaspora Hindu live a dual citizenship of identity and destiny.

Take another example of Asha Jadeja Motwani, an Indian-American venture capitalist and GOP megadonor. She has publicly advised India on Donald Trump’s mindset several times, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to engage and appease Trump to ease trade frictions, even demanded India should thank Trump for mediating ceasefire between India and Pakistan.

Source: X

While her mindset and language were problematic, her position was a clear indication that those who live in a foreign country and have established their lives there will obviously perform their duties for that country, and not for India. Her advice was just advice and not foreign policy. She cannot compel India to act. In the same way, expecting her, an American with Indian roots, to side with India is too much to ask for.

Duty, identity and institutional loyalty

In Indian philosophy, the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita speaks of svadharma, which means performing one’s duty without attachment to outcomes. Patel is bound by an oath to serve the US Constitution, which he did with his hand on the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita. He must serve American institutions, constrained by law, bureaucracy and security imperatives. If that duty leads to uncomfortable optics, the question is not betrayal, it is the mismatch between our expectations and institutional reality.

Patel could not have refused to shake hands with Munir, as that would have brought consequences for him. Undermining institutional norms is not something that the US government would have expected from its FBI Director.

On comparisons – Jews, Israel, and why the analogy misfires

There have been many conversations around diaspora loyalty that invoke the Jewish diaspora and Israel, a rhetorical shorthand which basically says, “See how Jews anywhere rally for Israel; why can’t Hindus rally for India?” But this analogy is tenuous, even misleading.

Israel is a modern state that exists as a homeland. It was established after centuries of displacement and persecution. The Jewish diaspora often sees Israel as an existential refuge, a national anchor. For many Jews, their identity and Israel’s destiny are inextricable.

In contrast, Hindus have lived continuously in India for millennia. Though migrations, invasions, conversions, and partition transformed histories, Hindus as a collective identity were never wholly expelled or exiled. Migration for economic or social reasons has been part of the Hindu story. Diaspora Hindus often carry cultural and spiritual ties, not necessarily political or national ones.

So, when we expect diaspora Hindus to act as if they were always representatives of India, we flatten a historically richer and more complex set of identities. We turn people into symbols, rather than persons with jurisdictional allegiance.

Realism, not cynicism

There is a need to recalibrate the lens we see through and approach it with realism, to avoid both blind cynicism and naïve faith. It is certainly a point of pride when a person of Indian heritage rises to become Director of the FBI, or when Sundar Pichai shapes how billions of people access information, when Rishi Sunak becomes Prime Minister of the UK, or when Satya Nadella drives the direction of global enterprise. These achievements deserve to be celebrated for what they are, rather than weighed down with contingent expectations about ancestral loyalties.

At the same time, it remains entirely valid to critique actions when they are harmful. If Patel misuses his authority, or if Nadella’s policies consistently disadvantage Indian interests, then criticism is both warranted and necessary. But such critique should rest on concrete grounds of governance and impact, not on genealogical or sentimental premises.

This also means recognising that India cannot outsource its aspirations to its diaspora. The myth of diaspora saviourhood loses its allure when India builds its own capacity at home. When power, influence, and infrastructure grow from within, it becomes clearer where India should put its expectations. Influence is always more durable when it is exported by design, not merely inherited from the success of individuals abroad.

Finally, there must be an acknowledgment of limits. The diaspora’s role is best understood as soft power, as connections, as cultural bridges across nations. It is not a substitute for diplomatic sinecure, nor should it be mistaken for foreign policy oversight. Their successes enrich the global Hindu and Indian identity, but their duty lies in the jurisdictions they serve.

Treat it as a wake-up call

It is time to lower a bit of the sentimental burden that we place on diaspora icons. They must be seen in their human roles and not as mythic emissaries. It is important to understand that their loyalties belong to the country and the office they are in, not with India, even if those duties sometimes diverge from our emotional geography.

Expecting Patel to be India’s champion is a burden any public servant would resist. Expecting Sundar or Nadella to always toe a nationalist line is a mismatch with how global institutions function. Let us be a little mindful and let them act according to their roles.

India’s future should not depend on diaspora believers. It depends on India’s strength, resilience, credibility, in diplomacy, in economy, in soft power, in moral character. When those foundations are strong, diaspora pride becomes an echo, not a burden.

It is time to wake up. Stop expecting the impossible. Let the diaspora serve their offices and let us serve the India we imagine with clarity, agency and less naïve hope.

As US shuts doors to H1-Bs, China rolls out K visa program to attract international STEM talent: All you need to know

Shraddha Pandey
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As US shuts doors to H1-Bs, China rolls out K visa program to attract international STEM talent: All you need to know

On 19th September 2025, US President Donald Trump, signed a proclamation titled Restriction on Entry of Certain Non-immigrant Workers. Under the new rule a US $1,00,000 payment on new H-1B visa petitions is to be submitted by aliens outside the US. Talent, however, always finds takers. While Trump chose to placate his MAGA support base, China has opened its doors for global STEM talent by introducing the K-Visa program.

In a recent press conference, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, stressed the significance of cross-border talent exchange in a “globalised world”. He emphasised that China intends to foster innovation and career opportunities for talented international professionals across various sectors.

“In a globalised world, cross-border flow of talents is instrumental in global technological and economic advancement. China welcomes talents from various sectors and fields across the world to come and find their footing in China for the progress of humanity and career success,” Guo Jiakun said.

What is the K visa program?

In August this year, China announced a new visa category aimed at attracting young professionals in the STEM  (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields and foreign professionals involved in education and research in STEM-related fields would qualify. This came after the approval by the State Council of an amendment to the country’s entry and exit regulations.

Notably, the new K visa rules will take effect on 1st October 2025.

Premier Li Qiang has signed a decree to implement the new policy. The K Visa will be introduced under China’s ordinary visa classifications.

Eligible young sci-tech professionals who meet the criteria laid out by the relevant Chinese authorities and provide the required documentation can access this visa. In comparison to China’s existing g 12 standard visa types, the K visa will provide more flexibility, including multiple entries, extended validity periods, and longer permitted stays.

K Visa holder in China will be allowed to partake in academic and cultural exchanges, scientific research, technology development, entrepreneurship, and related business activities.

Moreover, the K Visa applicants will not be required to be invited by a Chinese employer or institution. If the applicants fulfil the age, education, and work experience criteria, they can apply independently through a simplified process.

Be it Artificial Intelligence, quantum or bio-tech, China cannot solely rely on domestic talent and needs to attract top-tier international talent. Welcoming the K visa program, Yin Chengzhi, Associate Professor & Associate Dean, School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, said, “For universities like us, it will be much easier in the future to attract top tier, international faculty researchers and post doctoral fellows. It may also accelerate innovation in critical fields like AI, biotechnology for the research institutes, especially in the private sector. In the long term, it could enhance the research and development capabilities, foster the creation of new high growth industries and improve the competitiveness of China’s industries”.

Notably, before K visa this year, China had introduced an R visa in 2013, for high-level talent.

China is trying to benefit from Trump’s policies, by attracting talents that would have gone to the US

As Donald Trump is antagonising allies and partners just to mollify his MAGA support base and arm-twist these nations into agreeing to his terms, China is using Trump’s high-handedness to its benefit.

With K visa program, China not only seems to have intentions of promoting scientific exchanges but also foster soft diplomacy and position Beijing as an open hub amid global visa tightening. This could redirect talent flows from South Asia and beyond. Apparently, China wants to siphon high-skilled workers from countries like India, given 70% of H1-B visa holders in the US are highly-talented Indians. This, however, might trigger geopolitical tensions since this move will exacerbate talent shortages in tech sectors of ‘rival’ countries.

China, however, has its own set of issues like economic slowdown, high youth unemployment, and real estate crisis. It remains to be seen how successful the K visa program becomes in the coming times.

Home Minister Amit Shah rejects ceasefire offer from Maoists, asks them to surrender, says “bullets must be answered with bullets”

OpIndia Staff
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Home Minister Amit Shah rejects ceasefire offer from Maoists, asks them to surrender, says “bullets must be answered with bullets”

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday rejected the ceasefire offer of Maoists, and asked them to surrender instead by laying down their weapons. The home minister said that if the leftist extremists want to surrender and lay down arms, they are most welcome to do so and security forces would not fire a single bullet on them.

Shah made the comments while addressing the valedictory session of a seminar on ‘Naxal Mukt Bharat: Ending Red Terror Under Modi’s Leadership’ in Delhi. He was referring to a purported letter issued by the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) expressing readiness to give up arms. The letter asked the Central government to announce a one-month ceasefire and pause the ongoing anti-Naxal operations.

The home minister said, “Recently, to spread confusion, a letter was written stating that what has happened so far has been a mistake, that a ceasefire should be declared, and that we (Naxals) want to surrender. I want to say there will be no ceasefire. If you want to surrender, there is no need for a ceasefire. Lay down your arms, not a single bullet will be fired.”

He said that if the Naxals surrender, government is ready with a good rehabilitation policy for them. He said, “The government’s approach is that we make every effort to arrest Naxalites and get them to surrender. We also give them a chance. We have also introduced a good surrender policy. But when you take up arms and set out to kill innocent citizens of India, the security forces have no other option. Bullets must be answered with bullets.”

Shah further slammed leftist political parties and activists for supporting the Naxals. He said, “Why do they need to protect them…why don’t NGOs come forward to protect human rights of victim tribals? Have all the people who write these lengthy articles and advise us ever written an article for the tribal victims? Why are they not concerned about this?” 

Amit Shah reiterated the government’s goal of making India free of Naxalism by March 31, 2026. He said, “This country will be free of Naxalism by March 31, 2026. Many people believe that the Naxalite problem will end with the end of armed activities. But this is not the case. Why did the Naxalite problem arise, grow, and develop in this country? Who provided its ideological support? Until Indian society understands this theory, this idea of Naxalism, and the people in society who provided ideological support, legal support, and financial support, the fight against Naxalism will not end.”

He further stated, “We can make Naxalits surrender or our security forces can neutralise them, but on the ideological front, we have to make a lot of efforts. Regarding this, the discussion that took place here is relevant and important to me as well.”

A 73-year-old ‘granny’ deported by the US after three decades: asylum claims, overstaying alien and possible use of the ‘Khalistan card’

Anurag
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A 73-year-old ‘granny’ deported by the US after three decades: asylum claims, overstaying alien and possible use of the ‘Khalistan card’

On 23rd September, 73-year-old ‘granny’ Harjit Kaur landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi and then moved to Punjab after being deported from the United States. Kaur stayed in the US for 33 years. While mainstream media in India and the US painted her story as a tragedy, it is essential to understand the circumstances under which she was handcuffed and sent back to India after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on 8th September.

Harjit Kaur went to the US in the early 1990s with her two sons. In the US, she made an asylum claim to get citizenship. For almost a decade, she fought with the system in the US to get her application accepted but all the available legal remedies were exhausted by 2005 when a US court ordered her deportation. In 2012, another set of appeals was rejected, and she was bound to be sent back after illegally living in the US for around two decades.

It took US authorities another 13 years to deport Harjit Kaur, who is now 73. Her story must not be seen as some tragedy, but it is a classic case to examine how asylum processes are manipulated, immigrant burdens tolerated, and political narratives exploited.

The deportation unfolds

Harjit Kaur tried her level best to be a model resident of the United States to claim citizenship. She regularly went to the ICE office every six months to ensure she could continue to stay in the country. However, on 8th September, during what was supposed to be a routine check-in with US ICE in San Francisco, she was arrested, handcuffed and chained. She was transferred across multiple detention centres and ultimately deported to Delhi before returning to her native Punjab.

According to her statements given to the media, during the intervening days between her arrest and deportation, she endured indignities. She was forced to sleep on concrete floors without a bed cover or shower. She was denied access to medicines, served non-veg meals despite her religious conviction, and even given a plate of ice when asked for water. While her family bought a ticket for her to travel to India and requested the authorities to let her fly commercial, she was deported before the family could meet her and say goodbye.

In a reply to the question on Harjit Kaur, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that since January 2025, over 2,400 Indians have been deported or repatriated from the US. MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “In the last several months, since January 2025, so far, we’ve had 2,417 Indian nationals deported or repatriated from the United States. In the case of Harjeet Kaur, she also returned recently. We want to promote legal pathways of migration. At the same time, India stands against illegal migration. Whenever there is a person who does not possess a legal status in any country, and he or she is referred to us with documents if there are claims of being that he or she is an Indian national, we do the background check, we confirm the nationality, and then we are in a position to take them back. And this is what has been happening with deportations from the United States.”

The US authorities, for their part, do not appear to have disputed that Kaur’s removal was legally executed, as she had long since exhausted her appeals.

From unchecked asylum to indefinite limbo

Kaur arrived in the US in the early 1990s, alongside her two sons. She applied for asylum, implicitly invoking fears of persecution she claimed from India. Over the years, her pleas were dismissed repeatedly. In 2012, the final rejection came at the federal appeals court level. After that, she was under a deportation order but lacked a valid passport or travel documents. She remained in the US in a precarious, undocumented status.

Reports suggest that for over a decade, she religiously complied with ICE requirements that included reporting every six months, paying taxes, trying to obtain travel documents, never involving herself in criminal activities and more. Yet despite her cooperation, the machinery of the US immigration system allowed her stay to persist until the enforcement blitz under the Trump administration.

Her case illustrates how an asylum seeker, who lost her rights long ago, leveraged the ambiguity and inertia of the system to remain in the US for decades. The delay in executing her removal speaks louder than her final deportation.

The possibility of using the infamous ‘Khalistan card’ and asylum abuse

Her deportation raises a thorny question. To what extent have asylum frameworks been weaponised by those invoking the Khalistan narrative? In recent years, multiple cases have surfaced, specifically in Western countries, where Sikh migrants claiming persecution are denied refugee status. However, they manage to stay in the host country for years, and sometimes decades, undocumented before getting deported to India.

Consider the case of Pardeep Singh, whose asylum plea in Ontario was recently rejected by a court that explicitly called out the abuse of the “Khalistani card”. The court held that claims of persecution anchored solely in political or separatist narratives without independent corroboration cannot satisfy genuine refugee thresholds. Similarly, in Florida, authorities investigating a crash involving a Punjabi migrant named Harjinder Singh suggested that the individual may have entered using the so-called “Dunki” route and was attempting to leverage a Khalistan persecution narrative as a backdoor to settlement.

These cases, and many others, reflect a clear pattern. Many asylum claims, especially from people going to these countries from Punjab, rooted in generalisation and politically charged narratives, are used to bypass the legal immigration system and get access to citizenship.

The system is strained by such cases because it must parse genuine fear from opportunistic claims, a line that is inherently blurry when political, religious, or separatist identity is the fulcrum of one’s narrative.

In the case of Harjit Kaur, it has been clearly mentioned by US-based and Indian media houses that she claimed asylum in the US to get citizenship but failed. While the base of asylum, which is persecution from the parent country, has not been mentioned in any news report, it is safe to assume that she might have used the Khalistan card, claiming she supported the separatist narrative and ‘feared’ for her life if she came back to India.

Political reactions – empathy or oblivion?

The Indian political establishment has rushed to condemn Kaur’s deportation as inhumane, using emotive rhetoric about her being shackled, the indignities inflicted, and the lack of Indian governmental support abroad. Congress leaders castigated India’s foreign policy for alleged passivity, while regional voices in Punjab decried the humiliation of an elderly diaspora member.

Yet this outrage ignores the inconvenient truth. Kaur was undocumented, had no valid appeal left, and had lived in the US in violation of immigration orders for years. While the Indian government has traditionally extended a soft hand in such cases, the deeper betrayal lies with those who manipulate asylum frameworks by portraying India as unsafe, often invoking Khalistan or persecution narratives. In doing so, they malign their own country abroad, only to seek sympathy decades later when deportation finally arrives.

The US crackdown in context

Harjit Kaur is not an isolated case. Since Donald Trump assumed office for the second term as the President, the immigration enforcement push has seen thousands of long-residing Indians or Indian-origin persons deported or repatriated this year. There was de facto tolerance towards undocumented immigrants who kept a low profile for years, not anymore.

While being empathetic considering Harjit Kaur’s age is fine, the question remains, what exactly did she write in her asylum application? Did she claim she feared for her life because she supported the Khalistan movement? Another question arises, if she lacked proper travel documents, how did she enter the US in the first place? Why did they fail to secure the documents from the Indian government for over a decade?

Not to forget, hardcore terrorists like Hardeep Singh Nijjar had also sought asylum in the 1990s in Canada but failed for decades. It was only after his death that the Canadian government revealed they had granted him citizenship. The asylum mechanism is being misused in almost every country that is sympathetic towards the separatist narrative.

The moral and legal fault lines

Kaur’s ordeal raises moral, legal and political questions that go beyond her personal story. There is the moral dilemma of deporting elderly, non-criminal woman who has spent decades building her life around family in the US, only to be uprooted without notice. There is also the legal problem of how immigration systems allow such multi-decade limbos, where deportation orders remain pending and travel documents are indefinitely delayed.

Source: richmondside

Politically, the case underscores how asylum provisions, meant to protect the genuinely persecuted, are often manipulated by narratives of separatism or exaggerated claims of persecution abroad. At an institutional level, both the US and Indian governments tend to respond with symbolic outrage rather than addressing the deeper inconsistencies that allow such cases to fester. In that sense, Kaur’s journey exposes how legal loopholes and political posturing can sustain undocumented lives for decades, only to end in sudden deportation cloaked in emotion where no one dares to ask the real question, “What was in her asylum application?”.

Madhya Pradesh: Severed body parts of a cow found by locals in a river in Rewa, FIR lodged

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Severed body parts of a cow found by locals in a river in Rewa, FIR lodged

Tensions flared up in the Lakshman Bagh colony of the Bichhiya police station area in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, on Saturday (27th September) after locals found the severed body parts of a cow in a river, amid the festival of Navratri.

Angry locals placed the severed head of the cow on the road and protested. Members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) demanded stringent action against the culprits. Condemning the incident, VHP member Balkrishna Dwivedi said, “Our religious sentiments are hurt. The administration should not neglect such incidents. If the accused are not caught soon, we will protest”.

Police assured strict action

An FIR, accessed by OpIndia, was filed by the police on the same day against unnamed persons under sections 196(2), 299, and 365 of the BNS, section 11(1) of  the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and rule 6/9 of the Madhya Pradesh Govansh Vadh Pratishedh Rules, 2004. Police are looking for the culprits. Chief Superintendent of Police Rewa, Rajiv Pathak, took stock of the situation and assured the locals of swift and strict action.

Police are examining the CCTV footage to identify the culprits. SHO Bichhiya, Manidha Upadhyay, said that the police are looking for the culprits and that legal action will be taken against them. She appealed to the locals to cooperate with the police and maintain peace. Two suspects, Mohammad Ismail and a minor, have reportedly been detained by the police in connection with the incident.

Several such incidents have happened in the area in the past: Locals

Locals said that some suspicious people were seen roaming in the area at night. OpIndia spoke to a local named Vishal Singh, who said that this is not the first time that such an incident has taken place in the area. He said that many such incidents have happened in the area in the past and that complaints were filed regarding the same, but the incidents have not stopped.

Narrating the entire incident, Singh said that last night, the culprits slaughtered the cow at the bank of the river. When the locals noticed their activities, they informed others. However, by the time people arrived, the culprits had run away. Thereafter, they informed the police and started looking for the chopped body parts of the cow in the river. After searching, the severed head of the cow was recovered from the river and her skin found nearby.

Vishal Singh said that there is a gang of around 15-18 people who roam around in the area looking for cows to slaughter. He added that these people sell beef after slaughtering cows. Singh demanded strictest action against the culprits, who have become a menace in the area.

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