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CNN —A graphic video emerged on social media Wednesday from Manipur amidst ongoing ethnic violence in the northeastern Indian state. The video, which is going viral on social media, depicts an incident from May 4, according to the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) showing two women being forced to walk naked through a crowd of fully clothed men. The distressing video, that has been seen by CNN, shows the terrified victims surrounded by a mob of men, many brandishing long canes or sticks as weapons. Among other things, tribal status would enable the Meitei to buy land and provide more opportunities for government jobs. “After taking a Suo-moto cognisance of the incident immediately after the video surfaced, the Manipur Police swung to action and made the first arrest this morning.

Persons: Narendra Modi, ” Modi, Biju Boro, ”, Mallikarjun Kharge, Modi, –, Biren Singh Organizations: CNN, Indigenous Tribal, ’, Indian, ”, Getty, Modi Govt, BJP, State, Manipur Police, Twitter Locations: Manipur, Indian, Guwahati, reconvening, Phainom, Kangpokpi district, Imphal, Kuki, India’s, Modi, India, Thoubal District

☆ Indian opposition parties form alliance called "INDIA" for 2024 elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] India's main opposition Congress party’s leader Rahul Gandhi holds a news conference, after he was disqualified as a lawmaker by India's parliament on Friday, at party’s headquarter in New Delhi, India, March 25, 2023. REUTERS/ Anushree Fadnavis/file photoNEW DELHI, July 18 (Reuters) - More than two dozen Indian opposition parties said on Tuesday that they had joined hands to form an alliance called "INDIA" to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in parliamentary elections next year. The decision was announced at the end of a two-day meeting of 26 parties in the southern city of Bengaluru. Mallikarjun Kharge, president of the main opposition Congress party, said INDIA stood for "Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance". Reporting by YP Rajesh; editing by Tanvi MehtaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Rahul Gandhi, Anushree, Narendra Modi's, Mallikarjun Kharge, YP Rajesh, Tanvi Mehta Organizations: REUTERS, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, INDIA, Developmental, YP, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Bengaluru, Mallikarjun

☆ India’s Modi sparks political storm with pitch for common civil code
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Currently, India's Hindus, Muslims, Christians and large tribal populations follow their own personal laws and customs, alongside an optional secular code, for marriage, divorce, adoption and inheritance. The Law Commission, a government-appointed advisory body, has sought public opinion by Friday on creating a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The BJP says the common code is necessary to ensure gender justice, equality through uniform application of personal laws, and to foster national unity and integration. The comments were his most forceful in favour of the common code and set off a political storm. "Majoritarian morality must not supersede personal laws, religious freedom, and minority rights in the name of a code which remains an enigma," it said.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Sanjay Kumar, India's, playbook, Sushil Modi, Zakia Soman, YP Rajesh, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: BJP, DELHI, Indian, Bharatiya Janata Party, Commission, New Delhi’s, UCC, Muslim Women's Movement, YP, Thomson Locations: Egypt, India, Karnataka

CNN —Authorities in India’s central Madhya Pradesh state have demolished a man’s home after a video that appeared to show him urinating on a member of a tribal community went viral on social media this week. While the incident captured in the video allegedly occurred a year ago, the man, identified by police as Pravesh Shukla, was arrested and charged Tuesday for the obscene act. A political flashpointIn a Twitter post Friday, the Madhya Pradesh government said the victim would receive 500,000 rupees ($6,000) in compensation and 150,000 rupees ($1,800) to help him build a house. The announcement came a day after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited the victim to apologize for what happened to him. “Ever since I saw the video of [this] incident, my heart is deeply disturbed and filled with pain,” Chouhan tweeted Thursday.

Persons: Pravesh Shukla, “, ”, Priya Singh, Narendra Modi’s, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, ” Chouhan, Chouhan, Shukla, Rahul Gandhi, Kamal Nath, ” Nath Organizations: CNN, Authorities, Police, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, United States Agency for International Development, USAID, “ Locations: India’s, Madhya Pradesh, Sidhi District, Uttar Pradesh, India, Sidhi district, ”

☆ Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi visits restive Manipur after vehicle is initially stopped
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The embattled leader of India’s main opposition Congress party visited crisis-hit Manipur and met with its displaced residents on Thursday, after his convoy was initially stopped by police near the state capital. Rahul Gandhi’s visit comes as the northeastern state grapples with ongoing ethnic violence in which more than 100 people have been killed and tens of thousands more driven from their homes. Modi has yet to comment publicly on the situation and has not visited Manipur since the violence erupted in May. Manipur needs healing, and only together we can bring harmony.”Indian army soldiers patrol the streets of Manipur on June 7, 2023. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra also claimed that Gandhi is using Manipur as a pawn for his own political gain.

Persons: India’s, Rahul Gandhi’s, Narendra Modi, Modi, Gandhi, “, ”, Sambit Patra, ” Patra, Rahul Gandhi, ” Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Christian Organizations: CNN, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Facebook, Indian Army, Reuters Locations: Manipur, Imphal, Myanmar, Kuki

☆ Rahul Gandhi's convoy stopped by Indian police in Manipur, teargas fired
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Supporters of Rahul Gandhi, a senior leader of India's main opposition Congress party, speak with him after his convoy, heading to Churachandpur, was stopped by the police in Bishnupur district, Manipur, India, June 29, 2023. REUTERS/StringerGUWAHATI, India, June 29 (Reuters) - Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was stopped by local police on Thursday and teargas fired near his convoy when the 53-year old scion of the Congress party was on his way to visit the violence-hit northeastern Manipur state. Teargas shells were then fired to disperse a crowd that had started gathering in the area. "There is a possibility of a grenade attack along the highway through which Rahul Gandhi is moving. Gandhi's convoy returned to Imphal and he reached Churachandpur by helicopter, Meghachandra Singh, Manipur state Congress president, said.

Persons: Rahul Gandhi, India's, Stringer, teargas, Gandhi, Heisnam Balram Singh, we've, Meghachandra, Narendra Modi's, Zarir Hussain, Sudipto Ganguly, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Churachandpur, Bishnupur district, Manipur, India, Stringer GUWAHATI, Myanmar, Bishnupur, Imphal, Meghachandra Singh, Kuki

☆ Exclusive: Islamists wield hidden hand in Sudan conflict, military sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Yet the three military sources and an intelligence source said thousands of Islamists were battling alongside the army. Reuters spoke to 10 sources for this article, including military and intelligence sources and several Islamists. The army accused the RSF of promoting Islamists and former regime loyalists in their top ranks, a charge the RSF denied. Nowadays, former NISS officers also help the military by collecting intelligence on its enemies in the latest conflict. The NISS was replaced by the General Intelligence Service (GIS) after Bashir was toppled, and stripped of its armed "operations" unit, according to a constitutional agreement.

Persons: General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Umit, Bashir, Omar al, Osama bin Laden, Mohammed al, Fadl, Ali Karti, Abdel Fattah Burhan, Burhan, Reuters Graphics BASHIR, Hemedti, Bashir loyalists, Michael Georgy, Aidan Lewis, William Maclean Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, REUTERS, Army, DUBAI, West, Reuters, Sudanese, National Intelligence and Security Service, National, Party, United Arab Emirates, General Intelligence Service, Reuters Graphics, Central Reserve Police, Publicly, Thomson Locations: Aprag, Khartoum, Sudan, Darfur, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahri

☆ India's opposition parties unite for 2024 national elections, BJP says not worried
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Their campaign got a shot in the arm in May when Congress trounced BJP in a key state election, exceeding expectations and gaining fresh momentum ahead of more state elections due this year and national elections in April-May 2024. Gandhi said the fight against BJP was an "ideological battle" and opposition parties were united in it. India's opposition parties have formed alliances to challenge governments - led by both Congress and BJP - in the past and win elections but have a mixed record of sticking together and running governments smoothly. BJP leaders said they were not worried as there was little hope for such alliances. "I want to tell leaders of the opposition, join as many hands as you want but opposition unity is not possible.

Persons: Narendra Modi's, Rahul Gandhi, Modi, Nitish Kumar, Kumar, Gandhi, Amit Shah Organizations: Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Congress, Aadmi Party, AAP, Modi, ji’s, YP Rajesh, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Patna, Bihar, Punjab, Delhi

It's an accepted fact," Gandhi, who belongs to the opposition Congress party, said in remarks at The National Press Club in a visit to Washington. China and India have been uneasy neighbors for decades following a war on their disputed Himalayan frontier in the early 1960s. In May, Modi said peace on India's border with China is essential for normal relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Separately, Gandhi blamed Modi for India's religious polarization, saying his Hindu nationalist party was not inclusive. They don't embrace everybody, and they divide society," Gandhi said.

Persons: Rahul Gandhi, Narendra Modi's, It's, Gandhi, Modi, Simon Lewis, Kanishka Singh, Jamie Freed Organizations: National Press Club, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, 161st, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing, Washington, India, Arunachal Pradesh, Tibet

☆ India's economy likely gained pace in March quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, May 31 (Reuters) - India is set to release data on Wednesday that is expected to show the economy grew by 5% in the January-March quarter from a year earlier, accelerating from 4.4% in the previous quarter due to steady urban demand and government spending. Some private economists reckoned growth in the year to March 31 could turn out around 6.8%. During the March quarter, high frequency indicators showed that a rise in urban incomes had boosted sales of expensive cars, Apple mobile phones, and air travel. The performance looks less impressive considering that the economy was still working through the tail-end of the pandemic during the previous year. Modi must call for a national election by early 2024, and there a several more state polls due before then.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Manoj Kumar, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Reserve Bank of India, Reuters, Apple, Bharatiya Janata Party, Monitoring, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India, Karnataka, Mumbai

☆ India's top female wrestlers detained in New Delhi as Modi inaugurates new Parliament
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

According to Malik, one of India’s most celebrated female wrestlers, some protesters were peacefully marching to Parliament when scuffles broke out with police. Indian wrestlers Sangeeta Phogat and Vinesh Phogat struggle as they are detained by the police while attempting to march to India's new parliament in New Delhi on May 28, 2023. Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik is detained by the police while attempting to march to India's new parliament in New Delhi on May 28, 2023. Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat is detained by the police while attempting to march to India's new parliament in New Delhi on May 28, 2023. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses at the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament House, in New Delhi on Sunday, May 28, 2023.

☆ What does India's BJP losing Karnataka elections mean for Modi?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lost its only stronghold in the country’s south after voters in Karnataka state rejected the Hindu-nationalist policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party in crucial local elections last week. The opposition Congress party won 135 seats in the state’s legislative assembly, versus 66 for the BJP, giving Modi’s opponents a boost as they prepare to challenge India’s populist leader in next year’s general election. “Were they to lose some or all of the remaining state elections this year, including three big states in the (central and northern) Hindi belt, that may be further indication of waning support,” he said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to the crowd during campaigning for state elections in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on May 7. “A lot would depend on how Congress Party does in upcoming state assembly elections,” Verma said.

☆ US imposes election-related visa restrictions on Nigerians
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters —The United States has imposed entry restrictions on more Nigerians for undermining the democratic process during the African nation’s 2023 election cycle, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday. The action is the latest in a series of visa restrictions imposed on Nigerian individuals in recent years. Nigeria’s election tribunal this month was to begin hearing opposition petitions challenging president-elect Bola Tinubu’s victory in the disputed February presidential vote, court records showed. Tinubu, from the ruling All Progressives Congress party, defeated his closest rivals Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party and the Labour Party’s Peter Obi, who have alleged fraud and have launched a court challenge. Atiku and Obi want the tribunal to invalidate Tinubu’s victory, arguing that the vote was fraught with irregularities, among other criticisms.

☆ U.S. imposes election-related visa restrictions on Nigerians
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) - The United States has imposed entry restrictions on more Nigerians for undermining the democratic process during the African nation's 2023 election cycle, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday. "These individuals have been involved in intimidation of voters through threats and physical violence, the manipulation of vote results, and other activity that undermines Nigeria’s democratic process," Blinken said in a statement. The action is the latest in a series of visa restrictions imposed on Nigerian individuals in recent years. Nigeria's election tribunal this month was to begin hearing opposition petitions challenging president-elect Bola Tinubu's victory in the disputed February presidential vote, court records showed. Atiku and Obi want the tribunal to invalidate Tinubu's victory, arguing that the vote was fraught with irregularities, among other criticisms.

☆ Analysis: India's opposition Congress gains key foothold with state election win
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

At the same time, they cautioned that Congress' victory on Saturday in Karnataka state, home to the booming tech hub of Bengaluru, was largely due to local factors. The party has won just one state election since December 2018, crumbling under the onslaught of the BJP's Hindu nationalism, the government's generous social spending, Modi's popularity, and its own leadership vacuum. "This is an amazing beginning," said Rajeev Gowda, the head of research at Congress and a former federal lawmaker. "We need to adapt these learnings to every election-going state in 2023 and more importantly to parliamentary elections next year," he said. Asked by the India Today-Axis poll how they would vote if the Karnataka election had been a national election instead, 10% of the respondents shifted to Modi, enough to overturn the result.

☆ India's opposition Congress gains key foothold with state election win
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

☆ India's opposition Congress scores big win in Karnataka state election, defeats BJP
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Supporters of India's main opposition Congress party celebrate after the initial poll results in Karnataka elections at the party headquarters, in New Delhi, India, May 13, 2023. REUTERS/Adnan AbidiNEW DELHI, May 13 (Reuters) - India’s main opposition Congress party registered an emphatic win in elections in the southern state of Karnataka on Saturday, defeating the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a big boost to its prospects ahead of national elections due next year. Congress won 135 seats against 66 for the BJP in the 224-member legislature, the Election Commission website showed at the end of counting. In contrast, the BJP won 15 states or federal territories either on its own or in alliance with regional parties. "(The) Congress party stood with the poor in Karnataka, we fought on the issues of the poor," Gandhi told reporters.

☆ Why has India's Manipur state exploded in ethnic violence?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

People are evacuated by the Indian army to a temporary shelter as they flee ethnic violence that has hit the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, near Imphal on May 7, 2023. Manipur, a lush, hilly state which borders Myanmar, has long history of civil conflict since modern India’s creation. The divide between the Meiteis and the other ethnic groups is cut sharply across political and geographic lines. People wait at a temporary shelter in a military camp, after being evacuated by the Indian army, as they flee ethnic violence that has hit the northeastern Indian state of Manipur on May 7, 2023. Modi, who is in the southern Indian state of Karnataka to campaign for state elections, is yet to speak publicly about the unrest, sparking widespread anger among Manipur’s residents.

At about 8.30 a.m. shooting started at the Soba military camp in the south of Khartoum, according to three eyewitnesses and an advisor within Dagalo's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Burhan's air force was studying where the RSF was gathered, using coordinates provided by the army, two military sources told Reuters, describing plans that have not previously been reported. The RSF, meanwhile, had been locating more and more gunmen at Soba and other camps across Khartoum, the same military sources said. The army also established a small committee of senior generals to prepare for a possible conflict with the RSF, the same sources said. Both the army and the RSF were quick to blame the other publicly for sparking the violence and attempting a power grab.

CNN —A once powerful member of the former Sudanese government wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity has been freed from prison in the capital Khartoum. Prisoners of Kober prison were released by authorities after inmates protested the lack of food and water by burning two cars inside the prison grounds, two Sudanese police sources told CNN. Unconfirmed reports claimed the former President al-Bashir was among the prisoners released from Kober prison. Sudan’s then-President, Omar al-Bashir, was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity by the ICC, including genocide, related to the Darfur conflict in 2009. He was ousted in a military coup in April 2019 following a lengthy popular uprising and jailed in Khartoum.

☆ India's Rahul Gandhi appeals after court denies stay of defamation conviction
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, April 25 (Reuters) - Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday appealed to the High Court in the western state of Gujarat seeking a stay of conviction in a defamation case, challenging a lower court's ruling against his plea, his lawyer said. The 52-year old scion of India's Congress party was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. His petition seeking a stay of conviction was rejected last week. Gandhi also lost his parliamentary seat following the conviction since lawmakers sentenced to jail terms of two years or more are automatically disqualified and barred from running for election. Two more defamation cases have also been filed against Gandhi elsewhere in India relating to the same comment.

The extrajudicial killing has sparked widespread concern about the state of law and order in Uttar Pradesh as well as fears of retaliation. A decade later, he was elected as a member of Uttar Pradesh’s legislative assembly where he served five times, from 1989 to 2004. Police in Uttar Pradesh have killed more than 180 suspected criminals during encounters over past six years, according to Reuters. “The shoot out that happened is unacceptable.”CNN reached out to Uttar Pradesh police for comment on the situation but did not receive a response prior to publication. A political flashpointFollowing the incident, the Uttar Pradesh state government announced it will form two three-member Special Task Forces (SIT) to investigate the killing of Atiq and his brother.

☆ How Much Power Should the Courts Have?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Emily Bazelon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Many of the new constitutions gave the high courts clear authority to safeguard the rights of minorities and the democratic system. Some of the courts vigorously wielded this power to set aside majoritarian decisions that appeared to undermine democracy over the longer run. “If courts abdicate their responsibility to protect democracy, they’re not doing their job,” says Dixon, a law professor at the University of South Wales in Australia. In the 1980s, as Israel’s Jewish population became more religious and traditional, secular Israeli law professors drafted provisions for a constitution, consulting with their American peers and Aharon Barak, an Israeli Supreme Court justice. “Over the last 20 years, the Israeli Supreme Court, while issuing valuable rulings on the rights of women, L.G.B.T.Q.

☆ Indian journalists warn of new assault on press freedom
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The Editors Guild of India, a nonprofit organization representing more than 200 journalists, said in a statement on Friday that it was “deeply disturbed” by the new rules, saying they had “deeply adverse implications” for press freedom in India. If these companies failed to take down the offending content, Chandrasekhar said, they would lose the automatic legal protection they currently enjoy against complaints about third-party content on their platforms. “The dangers of misinformation, the impact of patently false information in a democracy like ours, is never to be underestimated,” Chandrasekhar said. Concern has been brewing in recent months over the Indian government’s increasingly restrictive stance towards the media. In February, Indian tax authorities searched the BBC’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai, accusing the British broadcaster of tax evasion.

☆ India's Gandhi to appeal against defamation conviction on "multiple grounds"
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Sumit Khanna | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SURAT, India, April 3 (Reuters) - Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi will on Monday lodge an appeal against his conviction for defamation, his lawyer said, hoping to overturn a judgement that resulted in his expulsion from parliament a year before a general election is due. Gandhi, the scion of a dynasty that has given India three prime ministers, was granted bail and a two-year jail sentence was suspended for 30 days allowing him to appeal in a higher court. "Gandhi will challenge the conviction order on multiple grounds," his lawyer, Kirit Panwala, told Reuters in Surat city in the western state of Gujarat where the appeal will be heard. He said the appeal would also highlight what he called procedural lapses in the trial. Writing by Rupam Jain in New Delhi; Editing by YP Rajesh, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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