“Antiwar” Trump wants the US to ethnically cleanse Gaza. https://jacobin.com/2025/02/trump-netanyahu-meeting-gaza   Two years ago, J. D. Vance wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal endorsing Donald Trump on the grounds that Trump was antiwar. In that op-ed, Vance brought up the Abraham Accords between Israel, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates in a way that suggested that, by brokering that deal, Trump had brought peace to the Middle East.  in Feb 25,  The United States, Trump said, should “take over” Gaza. “We’ll own it.” Its entire population of around two million Palestinians would leave. The United States would raze all the destroyed buildings, “level it out,” and rebuild the territory from scratch as the “Riviera of the Middle East.” 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/miss-the-trump-foreign-policy-jd-vance-11675699749 

https://thedispatch.com/article/how-j-d-vance-became-the-veepstakes-favorite/ In 2022, Vance won the Ohio GOP Senate nomination by securing the decisive endorsement of Donald Trump, and two years later the 39-year-old senator is the odds-on favorite to be selected as Trump’s running mate. 

 After multiple Indian deportees claimed that they were handcuffed and had their legs chained during the long flight, the United States embassy maintained that it was enforcing immigration laws against “inadmissible and removable aliens,” while the Chief of the US Border Patrol shared photos of shackled Indians boarding the plane. https://thewire.in/diplomacy/us-border-chief-posts-video-of-shackled-indians-boarding-plane-opp-calls-it-black-day-for-india 

The treatment of Indian citizens onboard the US military plane sparked an outcry from the opposition.

On Wednesday afternoon, 104 Indians arrested for entering the United States were deported to India on a US military plane after a gruelling 40-hour flight. On arrival at Amritsar air force base, they were grilled by security personnel, before they were allowed to return to their homes late in the night.

06/02/2025

‘Never Thought She’d Be Sent Back in a Month’: Families Grapple With Deportation of Kin From US

by Kusum Arora

 Families of deported Indian migrants revealed that the US primarily targeted those who had entered the country recently, many through illegal routes. https://thewire.in/diplomacy/families-grapple-with-deportation-of-kin-from-us 

Among them is 20-year-old Ajaydeep from Mahal village in the Amritsar cantonment, who went to the US via a ‘dunki’ route just 15 days ago. His grandfather confirmed that Ajaydeep had spoken to his mother before being deported. His mother, present at the airport exit gate, declined to speak to the media.

Another case is that of Harwinder Singh from Tahli village in Hoshiarpur district, who had illegally entered the US a month ago. At his home, villagers gathered to console his wife and brother, who disclosed that they had paid Rs 42 lakh to a travel agent to facilitate his journey.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I risked everything for America—confinement, torture: Robin Handa returns to Haryana

https://theprint.in/ground-reports/i-risked-everything-for-america-confinement-torture-robin-handa-returns-to-haryana/2481990/ 

“The hands and feet of children and women were tied in chains. The Punjabis were forced to remove their turbans on the plane, and wore them only after landing in India,” he said. Handa was part of the first batch of 104 illegal immigrants that the United States deported to India on 5 February. A bitter and humiliating end to their American dream.

Handa’s father Manjeet Singh paid Rs 45 lakh to send his son to America via the ‘dunki’ route – portrayed in Shah Rukh Khan’s 2023 film of the same name. The endeavour cost him a chunk of his land. While agents promised to send his son to the US in just a month, it took seven months for Robin to reach there.

Robin took a flight from Mumbai to Ghana on 24 July, from where he travelled by road to reach Brazil. He told ThePrint about crossing “the Amazon jungles, seas and rivers” before moving on to Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and finally the US border.

He recalled his days in the Amazon rainforests, where he survived with little to no supplies. “There were 30 people in our group whom our agent was helping to cross the border. These people were from India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Agents used to beat them and did not even give them food,” he remembered.

by Krishan Murari

Taken from  Sukla Senhttps://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10235974746934175&id=1387786704&rdid=03Or7Lmct2VGEfqF#

How the "the poor lady, the President"  (for the video clip: <https://youtube.com/shorts/i3SD0MBsKvE>) is converted into "the poor thing":

Even the search engine, yield this

Congress' Elite Arrogance: Sonia Gandhi's 'Poor Lady' Jibe at President Murmu Sparks Outrage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EE_j7fa0UM One India's intepretation..

In the age of AI, you must always "cherchez la prompt" Note how the leading question after the comment "false promises" "Boring" Rahul said "no comment"  to a "prompt"  I wonder what that prompt was because after that Sonai said.. no, the poor Lady,  I wonder what made her go there. The question is muted.. says Print  video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M1jzo1pPts Congress leader Sonia Gandhi Friday said President Droupadi Murmu was “getting tired by the end” of her speech in Parliament on the first day of the Budget Session 2025. 'She [Murmu] could hardly speak, poor thing,' she said while interacting her son Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra outside the Pariament

Times reported it thus  " A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson called Sonia's remarks "in poor taste, unfortunate and entirely avoidable". It's rare for President's office to comment on political matters. Sonia made the remark to her children, Rahul and Priyanka, soon after Murmu's inaugural address to the session. "The poor lady, the President, was getting very tired by the end... she could hardly speak, poor thing," Sonia was heard saying in a video that immediately started doing the rounds on social media, triggering a furore, with BJP leaders lashing out at her for "insulting" the first tribal President. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/poor-thing-got-tired-speaking-sonia-gandhi-remark-on-president-murmu-triggers-a-storm/amp_articleshow/117804609.cms 
(SS) And it's just not the TOI. Everybody joined that chorus! ..
Piggybacking on that, at least one complaint has been filed before a Muzaffarnagar court in Bihar: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bihar-lawyer-moves-court-seeks-fir-against-sonia-gandhi-for-poor-thing-remark-on-president-murmu-101738487550584-amp.html  The complaint also named Gandhi's children – Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. "Sonia Gandhi has insulted President Murmu by making the ‘poor thing’ remark. It's a disrespect to the highest constitutional authority in the country.  A case should be registered against them under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita," Ojha told reporters after filing the complaint before the CJM court in Muzaffarpur.
BJP tribal MPs have initiated a privilege motion in the Rajya Sabha: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/tribal-bjp-mps-file-complaint-against-sonia-gandhi-with-rs-chairperson-over-comments-on-murmu/articleshow/117894963.cms

No wonder that Narendra Modi - is in the lead:   https://news.abplive.com/news/india/insult-to-adivasis-and-poor-pm-modi-slams-sonia-gandhi-s-poor-thing-remark-on-president-murmu-1748179/amp  
One purpose is of course to deflect attention from the human made multiple tragedies at the Mahakumbh.   (Ref.: <https://www.reuters.com/.../casualties-feared-stampede.../>, <https://www.deccanherald.com/.../maha-kumbh-stampede...> and <https://frontline.thehindu.com/.../article69159063.ece>.

Circa 1900: Rudyard Kipling wrote Kim, placing the eponymous hero at the centre of the Great Game of espionage between the British Empire and Russia in the 19th century. The book is set after the Second Anglo-Afghan War, which ended in 1881, but before the Third, likely in the period 1893–98. Kim, short for Kimball O’Hara, is an impoverished Irish orphan who lives on the streets of Lahore and works for Mahbub Ali, a Pashtun horse trader. He later befriends an aged Tibetan lama, accompanies him on his journey along the Grand Trunk Road, learns about the Great Game, and is eventually recruited by Mahbub Ali, who works for the British Secret Service in their quest to extend influence in both Afghanistan and Tibet.

https://theprint.in/opinion/deep-state-india-convenient-boogeyman-modern-politics/2477768/ 

Whether or not the Great Game—the expression used by British imperialists to describe the perceived expansion of Russian influence in Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Tibet—actually existed, the fact remains that surveys were undertaken, expeditions mounted, spymasters recruited, and novels written, even as soldiers lost their lives. Taking a cue from Viceroy George Curzon, all pro-establishment papers—from the Civil and Military Gazette of Lahore to The Pioneer of Lucknow, The Statesman of Calcutta (now Kolkata), and The Times of India of Bombay (now Mumbai)—concurred that Tsarist Russia posed a real threat to the jewel in Britain’s crown. A hundred and twenty years later, historians remain sceptical of Curzon’s assertions.

Is the hue and cry about the Deep State similar to the Great Game? Whether or not it exists, whether it operates in all countries, and whether the ‘deep state’ of one country is connected with others through the dark web or entrenched corporate interests remains unclear, as the discourse is more ideological than empirical. Sometimes, those who claim to be part of the deep state ascribe to themselves a larger-than-life role in state affairs—for example, AS Dulat and Asad Durrani in their 2018 book The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace. Their claim to be arbiters of one of the most tense and difficult relationships in the region has been widely critiqued by reviewers.

What is the Deep State?

The term first gained wide currency in the context of Türkiye as derin devlet, which literally translates to “deep state” in English. In Türkiye, it refers to a non-elected military elite dominating elected governments, especially when they attempt to dismantle the secular foundations of the Republic, established by Mustafa Kemal Pasha after the abolition of the caliphate in 1923. In Pakistan, “deep state” refers to a government controlled by powerful military leaders, as documented by Stephen Cohen in The Idea of Pakistan and Ishtiaq Ahmed in Pakistan: The Garrison State. Elected governments in Pakistan have rarely exercised real control over defense and foreign policy.

In the US, Democrats and Republicans accuse each other of controlling the ‘deep state.’ Democrats claim the pro-Republican arms lobby and military-industrial complex constitute the deep state, while Republicans argue that Ivy League universities promote ‘wokeism’ and diversity, equity, and inclusion narratives that, according to Donald Trump, undermine America’s greatness. Trump has accused the deep state within the Democratic regime of election interference, citing the Freedom Medal awarded to George Soros as evidence. However, skeptics argue that if the deep state were so powerful, how could Daksh Patel dismantle it simply by firing ‘interns and associates’ whose tenure is co-terminus with that of President Biden? Ultimately, the deep state serves as a convenient scapegoat for anything that goes wrong or for political parties losing popular support.

If Republicans and Democrats are battling it out in Washington, India faces a similar scenario, with Left liberals and Right nationalists accusing each other of leveraging the ‘deep state’ to gain or retain power. Publications like The Caravan and Organiser Weekly lead these respective narratives. Left liberals claim the RSS is India’s deep state, while Right nationalists accuse the Ford Foundation and George Soros’ Open Society Foundations of attempting to discredit the democratically elected Modi government. Left liberals find support in the speeches of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, while Right nationalists, led by Vice President Dhankhar, minister Kiren Rijiju, and BJP spokespersons like Sambit Patra, vehemently counter these claims.

Who constitutes India’s Deep State?

In a pre-budget article for The Indian Express, economist Surjit Bhalla, a former member of the PM’s Economic Advisory Council, alleged that India’s deep state comprises “major industrialists, senior IAS babus, and their friendly influencers in the media”, slowing down economic growth. This claim was firmly repudiated, point by point, by Vivek Kaul in Newslaundry, who questioned the logic behind such allegations. Kaul argued that neither the IAS, corporates, nor the media benefit from economic deceleration. Instead, he pointed out that the real cause of economic slowdown is the compulsion of all political parties—BJP, Congress, and AAP—to allocate budgetary resources to freebies rather than long-term investments in social and physical infrastructure, which are crucial for sustained economic growth.

Journalist Josy Joseph, in his book The Silent Coup: A History of India’s Deep State, argues that the deep state is actually led by the IPS. He claims that in the name of combating terrorism in Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and the Northeast, as well as ‘Left-wing extremism’ (LWE) in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Andhra Pradesh, the triumvirate of the NIA, CBI, and ED have consolidated unchecked power, with neither the legislature nor the judiciary exercising adequate oversight. He documents human rights violations of individuals caught in the crosshairs of state action.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Coll offers another perspective, alleging that India’s deep state mainly comprises serving and retired IFS officials. However, if the IAS, IPS, and IFS were truly dominant, why would they have allowed the creation of the Department of Military Affairs under the Chief of Defence Staff, effectively relegating the Defence Secretary (an IAS officer) to a largely ceremonial role?

A completely contrarian view is presented by Sandhya Ravishankar, news editor at NDTV Profit. She argues that global NGOs and foreign funding agencies have attempted to damage India’s international reputation by supporting anti-CAA protests and farmers’ agitations against the farm laws. Quoting the French publication Mediapart, she alleges that the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) received $47 million from the US Deep State to produce investigative reports targeting governments opposed by Washington—a charge firmly denied by the US Embassy in New Delhi.

by Sanjeev Chopra

04/02/2025

No steps to be taken by Centre, states to reduce forest cover: Supreme Court  https://www.deccanherald.com/india/no-steps-to-be-taken-by-centre-states-to-reduce-forest-cover-supreme-court-3386678 A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran was hearing a batch of petitions against the amendments to the 2023 forest conservation law. "We will not permit anything which leads to reduction of forest area. We further order that until further...

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/no-steps-to-be-taken-by-centre-states-to-reduce-forest-cover-supreme-court-3386678

Zakia Jafri Leaves Behind a Legacy of Resilience and Quiet Dignity https://thewire.in/rights/zakia-jafri-leaves-behind-a-legacy-of-resilience-and-quiet-dignity Teesta Setalvad Eighty-six years, the day before yesterday, when she left us, Zakia appa was 63 in 2002, no age to hear the cries she did, no age to witness what her eyes could not turn away from. .. 

Though there had been nothing peaceful about Jafri’spassing. The utterly stoic and adamant refusal of the Jafris to let go of their belief in the India that Ahsan sahab lived and died for, is special and rare.

Zakia appa and the Jafris turned their back on any bitterness born out of the realisation that even their neighbours had joined the mob on February 28. This is what made Zakia appa stand out with her children, as the stellar human rights defender she was...  in tribute to Zakia appa, the day before yesterday, “You graced the courts, our homes and hearts. You did so with unwavering fortitude. Theirs is the loss who could not recognise the scale and magnitude of the loss for just what it was.”

 प्रयागराज के मुस्लिमों ने ऐसा करके, RSS- BJP की सारी नफरतों का जवाब दिया https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFfe08VWxDA  
प्रयागराज में मुसलमानों ने इतिहास रच दिया बीजेपी और आरएसएस की नफ़रत ही तमाम बातें मुश्किल बन गयी वहाँ कुंभ के श्रद्धालुओं को इस प्रकार से ख़िदमत की यह बात की उसने इतिहास रच दिया 

Rashid Zaheer .. whether it is the effort of RSS or Bharatiya Janata Party, they are accused of spreading hatred, the Muslims of Allahabad and Prayagraj replied to it .. ... Kavish Aziz wrote that the Muslims of Allahabad are working on the ground to serve the dead bodies of the devotees who have come to the Maha Kumbh. Some have opened their houses for them to stay and some are distributing food items.

The workers are saying that the doctor said that do not tell any journalist how many people were killed, even the figures of your deaths are being hidden from you, friends and Kumar

 the day before yesterday, when there is a disaster in Kashmir, the Sikh community there goes, this is our DNA, our strength, you keep spreading hatred, but these people will keep showering love, so this Allahabad The Muslim community, which you hate every day, and you were trying to present this great deed as if you have brought Ramrajya, you piled up corpses there, but the people there picked out the people from the corpses and helped them, and the family members who were there, treated their wounds, gave them food and water. This is called humanity.

 मुसलमानों ने दिखाया मोदी की नफरत की राजनीति को आईना, जो किया देखते रह गए मोदी भक्त! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3asmA5qBbf4  मोदी ने संसद में क्यों नहीं देने दी महाकुंभ में मृतात्माओं को श्रद्धांजलि! (youtube transcirption -  Narendra Modi does not love anyone be it the devotees of Hindus or Sanatanis.  ... Rahul Gandhi spoke the truth Rahul Gandhi said that people have been shot ,Modi put a bandage on it means it is a bullet like wound and he is putting a bandage on it,.  He is not treating it by removing the bullet and doing an operation

every promise is false every model is false whether it is Delhi model or Gujarat model so I will start with Gujarat model You must remember the Gujarat riots of 2002. At that time, Ehsan Jafri, who was an MP from the Congress party, was burnt to death in his house in Gulbarga Society. He protested against the atrocities on the minorities and went out to fight, but was killed. It is natural that people are killed. You can understand that this was a crime and this crime was committed during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and during that government, even though Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the central government, Atal Bihari Vajpayee went to Gujarat and said that it was his duty and Narendra Modi said that he was doing his duty, and his duty was that people were being killed one by one and more than 1000 Muslims were killed. Congress fought alone. There was no one else in the country who could fight this. Congress fought and it went to the Supreme Court. A commission was formed by the order of the Supreme Court, but Narendra Modi played a game in the commission. The person who was the choice of Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and was the CBI director was made in-charge. The result is in front of you that he was bound to get a clean chit. He did not only produce all the documentary evidence on record, Ehsan Jafri's wife Zakia Jafri kept fighting against that injustice. Congress lawyers kept fighting and he was also sent to jail. CBI interrogated Narendra Modi for many days. It was his problem that is why P Chidambaram was forcibly sent to jail because P Chidambaram was the home minister at that time and he had Narendra Modi questioned. Narendra Modi took revenge for that. Anyway, the government was changed. You took your votes here and there and went here and there and you were fooled. RSS had created all these dramas so that Narendra Modi could be saved by changing the government because the number of seats had reduced to four. The evidence had reached the court. Narendra Modi was getting trapped. The CD against him had reached the court. In which he told how they had exploited that girl also and what not. Anyway, you changed the government, when the government changed, the evidence changed, everyone was acquitted by the courts and Zakia Jafri left this world fighting for justice. 69 year old Zakia Jafri died. Why? Because justice cannot be done in this country. Justice cannot be done in the governments of RSS. Arvind Kejriwal went to contest Gujarat elections but he did not say a single word, not a single comment on Bilkis Bano, the injustice that happened. He did not say a single word on Ehsan Jafri sahab. He did not express condolences for the Muslim brothers killed in Gujarat riots. Riots took place in Delhi in 2020. He remained sitting in his house. 36 Muslims were killed by selecting them. He did not speak..... He became the Hindu Hriday Samrat, he is doing for Hindus, he is the protector of Hindus and what not. And when hundreds of Hindus were dying on Mauni Amavasya in Maha Kumbh, they were crying, their families were being crushed, many were getting injured, everything was happening, at that time Narendra Modi's drama was going on, Adityanath's election campaign was going on and the work of spreading poison against Muslims was going on. On the other hand, the Muslim brothers of Allahabad, for those Hindus who are happy when bulldozers run on their land,  opened their houses, opened their bedrooms, opened their mosques, opened their schools, opened their markets and said come and stay comfortably.  they gave them food, blankets, beds, water, whatever is necessary, people gave their bathrooms to use in their houses, but when the Parliament In the session of the Congress party moved a motion. A letter was sent by Rahul Gandhi that there should be a discussion on the people who died there. Why did this incident happen and how did it happen and what is the truth in it. I am saying that it is being hidden because the figures given by the government should be told but the reality that is coming out is that the number of people who died, as told by the saints and other eyewitnesses, is very big. In hundreds. And according to the information that is registered in the police stations there, more than 100 people are missing, still missing. That means, you can understand that the number of people who died can be any number. So this is the truth. There is no need to discuss it

 Gandhian Politics in Contemporary India  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeZAY7nb0qA  Prof Anand Kumar. Aug 18, 2022
Professor Anand Kumar will speak on how to make sense of the relevance of Gandhian politics in contemporary India. His talk will help contextualize Gandhi and his politics, especially his commitment towards an ethical life and society based on the ideals of truth and nonviolence, and his vision of Swaraj (freedom); Swadeshi (indigenous development); and Sarvoday (well-being of all through participatory democracy) — to be realized through a judicious combination of character-building, constructive program,
non-cooperation, and Satyagraha. Professor Kumar charts the evolution of Gandhian politics and the bewildering diversity among his followers in the early post-Gandhi period (1948 – 1979), and traces the multiple struggles faced — and strategies adopted — by Gandhian organisations and leaders as India moved into the era of Globalization and Hindu majoritarianism. He maintains that followers of Gandhian ideals face unprecedented challenges in contemporary India, in their continuing pursuit of nation-building, communal harmony, and a balanced coexistence of nature and humanity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDScaYXMTBk Conversation with Anand Kumar | Story of a Free Thinker, Troublemaker, Socialist Sociologist

Read more …