Indian Ambassador to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, was prevented from entering a Gurudwara in Scotland.
Reports say a group of radical Sikh activists prevented the Indian High Commissioner from entering the Gurudwara, claiming that Indian officials are not welcome in any Gurudwara in the UK due to recent tensions and targeting of British Sikhs.
Doraiswami, who is on an official trip to Scotland, was stopped outside the Glasgow Gurudwara on Albert Drive, where he reportedly had a meeting with members of the Gurudwara committee.
Jaishankar flags off 'permissive Canadian attitude'; says Khalistanis given "operating space because of compulsions of Canadian politics"
"They (anti-India and Khalistani groups) have been given operating space because of compulsions of Canadian politics,' External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said at the Hudson Institute in Washington DC.
“I don’t think for most Americans, Canada doesn’t look different. For us it certainly is a country where organised crime from India is mixed with trafficking, violence, terrorism….it is a very toxic combination of issues and people who have found operating base there. So a lot of our tensions with Canada well preceded what Truedau said."
“You have to appreciate that this this has been an issue of great friction for many years with Canada going back to the 80s. Then it became dormant. But in the last two years it has come back very much into play due to a very permissive Canadian attitude to terrorists, extremists and people who openly advocate violence. They have been given operating space because of compulsions of Canadian politics.
“India’s security related issues with Canada have preceded its PM Trudeau’s allegation. Our response to him both in private and public is what he was alleging is not consistent with our policy. And, that if his government had anything relevant and specific, we are open to looking at it. That is where this conversation is at this point of time,” the Minister said during interaction with the US think-tank.
Jaishankar is currently in the last leg of his US visit. Earlier, he was in New York for the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Speaking on changing world architecture, Dr Jaishankar said, "I make this very important distinction. Where India is concerned, India is non-Western. India is not anti-Western”.
“The world as we live it today is largely a Western construct. Now, if you look at the world architecture there's been obviously enormous change in the last 80 years… nothing illustrates it more than the G20 itself. So, the list of the G20 will tell you the easiest way of actually getting a sense of the changes in the world.”
During the interaction at the Hudson Institute, the EAM told the mederator "You said that India and the United States have never worked together before...That is a very thoughtful observation because dealing with each other is not the same as working with each other.
In the past we have always dealt with each other, sometimes not entirely happily, but working with each other is really uncharted territory.”
“It is a territory which we have both entered in the last few years. It has required both of us, to overcome what my Prime Minister called the hesitations of history when he spoke to Congress a few years ago. So how do we create that ability and the convergences and hopefully the comfort to work together? I think that would be very crucial to the future of the Pacific order," he said.
On India being described as a 'reformist' rather than as a 'revisionist power', the Minister said, “… it's very clear today that we are serious about climate action. If you are looking to sustain, to ensure that Sustainable Development Goals are well-resourced, then somewhere we have to find the financial muscle for that.”
On whether India had set sights on a changed world order, the External Affairs Minister said, “We do believe today United Nations where the most populous country is not in the Security Council, when the fifth largest economy is not there, when a continent of 50 plus countries is not there, that United Nations obviously lacks credibility and toward large degree effectiveness as well.
"So when we approach the world, it's not with a sort of pull down the pillars kind of approach.”
It may be mentioned that at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meet in New York as well, Dr Jaishankar called on the United Nations to make reforms to stay relevant in the modern world and said that the issue cannot remain "indefinite" and "unchallenged".
Keeping up with the spirit of his speech at UNGA, Dr Jaishankar said, "In our deliberations, we often advocate promotion of a rules-based order. From time to time, respect for the UN Charter is also involved.
But for all the talk, it is still a few nations, which shape the agenda and seek to define the norms. This can't go on indefinitely nor will it go unchallenged.
"A fair, equitable and democratic order will surely emerge once we all put our minds to it. And for a start, that means ensuring that rule-makers do not subjugate rule-takers."
Dr Jaishankar will also be addressing the 4th World Culture Festival, which is being organised by the Art of Living Foundation of spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
 |
| Blogger |
India and the US are geostrategic aligned in the way they see the world. The national security systems of both countries have moved from being suspicious of each to being most enthusiastic about working together, India is non-West but isn’t anti-West, and there is convergence on the Indo-Pacific, Dr Jaishankar said.
Alluding perhaps to shared anxieties about China, the External Affairs Minister said, “We both want to see a certain stability, a certain set of rules, a certain distribution of power which is advantageous to both of us. And our interests are not clashing in that respect. At the biggest picture level, there is a powerful case for India and the US to work together.”
He then pointed out that within both systems, the national security side historically had “the greatest suspicion or reservations” about each other in the past but were today the “most enthusiastic about working together”, at a time when both NSAs, Jake Sullivan and Ajit Doval, have shepherded the initiative on critical and emerging technologies, a key framework to deepen ties on defence, space, semiconductors, telecom, quantum, artificial intelligence, among other domains.
Jaishankar rejects 'minority discrimination' charge against Modi Govt
He asserted that the Modi government, irrespective of religion, caste and creed, has been delivering social welfare schemes.
He staunchly underscored that in every society in the world, at some point, there's been some discrimination on some basis but asserted India does not disseminate social schemes on the basis of the above criteria.
"I defy you to show me discrimination. In fact, the more digital we have become, the more faceless the governance has become. Actually, it's become fairer," he said.
He said that the world should embrace the fact that the structure of the Indian government has to look after every aspect of public life-- from food, education, healthcare and finance.
"What is the test really of fair and good governance or of the balance of a society? It would be whether in terms of the amenities, the benefits, the access, the rights, you discriminate or not and in every society in the world, at some point, there's been some discrimination on some basis.
"If you look at India today, it's a society today where there is a tremendous change taking place, the biggest change happening today in India is the creation of a social welfare system in a society which has less than $3,000 per capita income. Nobody has done that in the world before," he said.
"Now, when you look at the benefits of that, you look at housing, you look at health, you look at food, you look at finance, you look at educational access, health access. I defy you to show me discrimination. In fact, the more digital we have become, the more faceless the governance has become. Actually, it's become fairer," he added.
ends
No comments:
Post a Comment