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ISLAMABAD: Heavy security arrangements have been put in place across India&rsquo;s capital on Saturday ahead of the &ldquo;Cockroach Janta Party&#39;s&rdquo; second protest at Jantar Mantar, with police deploying extensive surveillance and crowd-control measures to maintain law and order, according to India media. India&#39;s &ldquo;Cockroach Janta Party&rdquo; (CJP) has held successful and <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/indias-cockroach-party-to-gather-in-amritsar-for-protest-over-education-policy-concerns" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">peaceful protests</a>&nbsp;in Lucknow, Delhi, Pune and Amritsar demanding the resignation of Education Minister <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/indias-cockroach-party-founder-arrives-in-lucknow-joins-protest-demanding-ministers-resignation" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dharmendra Pradhan</a>.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2068167961328635952&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=d6c6917c3ab2aa32ea524d0a7a20f556dd76cf50&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 801px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2068167961328635952">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>Paper leaks&nbsp;The CJP held its first major street protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, calling for Pradhan&#39;s resignation over major exam irregularities, including question paper leaks. The demonstration, led by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, is scheduled to begin at 1 pm after authorities granted permission for the gathering.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2067653739344015654&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=d6c6917c3ab2aa32ea524d0a7a20f556dd76cf50&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 801px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2067653739344015654">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>Supporters are expected to arrive from different parts of Delhi and neighboring states. The protest stems from the CJP&#39;s evolution from a satirical online campaign launched after remarks made by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant during a court hearing last month.&nbsp;Social media traction&nbsp;The movement has since grown into an organized protest platform with significant social media traction. Multiple layers of barricades were erected around Jantar Mantar in Delhi and adjoining roads, while vehicles were checked at key entry and exit points across the city. Senior police officers were assigned field duties and reserve forces remained on standby, according to Indian media. Security was tightened at major transport hubs, including the airport, railway stations, interstate bus terminals and border points. Traffic diversions were planned in parts of central Delhi, though metro services continued normally.

India

The ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ earlier held its first major street protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, calling for Pradhan's resignation over major exam irregularities, including question paper leaks.

India's Gen Z 'cockroaches' to gather in Delhi today against exam fraud

ISLAMABAD: The president of India&#39;s main opposition party said Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s government withheld fuel and commodity price increases until state assembly elections concluded, as back-to-back hikes in petrol and compressed natural gas prices make the lives of average Indians increasingly difficult. <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/opposition-leader-terms-modis-address-travesty-of-democracy-indian-constitution" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mallikarjun Kharge</a>, the President of the Indian National Congress party and Leader of the Opposition in the Indian parliament&#39;s upper house, said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had concealed the state of the economy from voters ahead of the polls.&nbsp; &quot;The Modi government kept everything hidden from the country until the elections, but once the elections were over, prices of everything increased,&quot; Kharge said in a post on X. State-run fuel retailers raised petrol and diesel prices by ₹3 per liter on Friday, citing surging global crude costs driven by the ongoing war in the Middle East. A second hike in compressed natural gas prices followed on Sunday, the second such increase in a single week, according to the Press Trust of India. &quot;If Modi had raised the prices of petrol, diesel, and other commodities before the elections, he would have suffered significant losses,&quot; Kharge said. &quot;The BJP government and Modi lack foresight.&quot; India imports over 80% of its crude oil, leaving it heavily exposed to supply disruptions in the Middle East. Wholesale inflation rose to 8.3%, a three-and-a-half-year high. It was driven by imported oil and metals costs. Meanwhile, retail inflation climbed to 3.4% in March, up from 3.2% in February, according to Consumer Price Index data. The Reserve Bank of India projected average retail inflation at 4.6% for the current fiscal year, above its 4% target. The IMF put the figure higher, forecasting consumer prices to rise 4.7% in 2026. Economic growth has slowed. The World Bank&#39;s April 2026 India Development Update cut its GDP growth forecast to 6.6% for FY27, down from an earlier projection of 7.2%, citing high energy prices and supply chain disruptions tied to the Middle East conflict. The IMF revised its own 2026 growth forecast to 6.5%. Cooking gas prices on the black market, the only source accessible to millions of domestic migrant workers without formal documentation, increased up to five times their pre-crisis levels, from ₹80 ($0.83) to ₹90 ($0.93) per kilogram to as high as ₹500 ($5.19), according to AFP. India has more than 450 million internal migrants, per government estimates, many of whom told AFP they were preparing to leave cities and return to their home states. &quot;Inflation is continuously rising due to the BJP government,&quot; Kharge said. &quot;The poor in the country are not even able to get the essential goods they deserve.&quot;

Mallikarjun Kharge, President of the Indian National Congress, criticized the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over rising fuel and commodity prices, saying increases were delayed until after elections and citing concerns about the economic 

Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge says the ruling party concealed economic pressures before state polls; 'once the elections were over, prices of everything increased.'

Indian opposition says Modi govt delayed fuel price hikes until after elections

ISLAMABAD: Last week, a state government in southern India quietly lifted a ban that had spent four years doing what its architects intended: keeping Muslim girls out of school. The ban was on the hijab. It was imposed in 2022 in Karnataka, a state of 67 million people, by the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP is India&#39;s governing Hindu nationalist party, in power nationally since 2014 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It lost Karnataka in 2023 state elections. The party that replaced it, the Indian National Congress, revoked the ban on May 13. Schools may now permit headscarves, Sikh turbans, and Hindu sacred threads alongside uniforms, as reported by The Hindu. The mechanics of the original ban reveal how deliberately it was constructed. In late 2021, Muslim women students at a government college were suddenly barred from classrooms for wearing headscarves. The practice had been accepted for years without incident, per the IIUM Law Journal. Groups of Hindu nationalist students then showed up in saffron-colored scarves. Saffron is the symbolic color of BJP-aligned nationalism in India. The government did not act against those students, it acted against the Muslim girls. The order it issued described the headscarf as a threat to &quot;equality and public order,&quot; as reported by Muslim News UK. Legal scholars writing in the International Journal of Law in Context called it what it was: indirect discrimination, dressed in the language of neutral policy. The girls paid the price. Many were turned away from national board examinations. Many lost full academic years. The People&#39;s Union for Civil Liberties, an Indian civil rights organization, documented the damage in detail. Then came February 10, 2022, and a moment that traveled around the world. A 19-year-old student named Muskan Khan arrived at her college to submit an assignment. A crowd of men in saffron scarves surrounded her. They followed her across campus, chanting political slogans. She did not run. She turned and chanted back, alone, until staff pulled her to safety, per the Times of India. CNN called her &quot;a symbol of resistance.&quot; Within days, fabricated social media posts were circulating that falsely linked her to the Taliban, according to fact-checkers at The Quint. The message to Muslim women was clear: visibility itself is a provocation. That message has been delivered consistently. Amnesty International documented the headscarf ban as one piece of a larger campaign against India&#39;s roughly 200 million Muslims under BJP governance, alongside the demolition of Muslim-owned homes, laws criminalizing marriages between Muslims and Hindus, and organized boycotts of Muslim market traders, per Amnesty&#39;s Human Rights Charter for India. United Nations human rights experts formally warned India in June 2022 that the ban violated its obligations under international law, per an OHCHR communication. India&#39;s Supreme Court took up the case and split without a resolution in October 2022, per MUNA Bulletin. The constitutional question remains open. The Congress party reversed the ban. It also banned saffron scarves from classrooms, calling them tools of intimidation rather than religious expression, per the Times of India. The BJP called this &ldquo;Muslim appeasement&rdquo;. A federal minister claimed, without evidence, that the decision would lead to &lsquo;Islamic law&rsquo; in Karnataka, as reported by Hindustan Times. Human Rights Watch had already described BJP policies of this kind as systematic discrimination against religious minorities, in a formal submission to the United Nations. The headscarf ban is over in Karnataka. The political infrastructure that built it remains intact nationally. For Muslim women in India, the battleground may have shifted, but it certainly has not disappeared.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and religious activists protest near the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh office in Kolkata on December 22, 2025  (AFP)

India's Hindu nationalist government has spent years using Muslim women's clothing, marriages, and livelihoods as instruments of political exclusion, drawing repeated condemnation from the United Nations and global rights organizations.

Indian Congress overturns discriminatory hijab ban imposed by Modi-led BJP previously

ISLAMABAD: India&#39;s government spent years designing a new legal order for labor. It passed four codes that replaced 29 laws, promised streamlined dispute resolution, and called it reform. The first four months of 2026 were the stress test: the codes failed it. The failure was not sudden. The Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Bill, passed in February, repealed the foundational labor laws of 1926, 1946, and 1947 with retrospective effect, as reported by PRS India.&nbsp; The government called this modernization. But the codes exclude establishments with fewer than 10 workers, leaving 93% of the workforce outside the scope of safety compliance, according to local media. The architecture was never built for the people it claimed to protect. The Panipat refinery strike in February made that visible. Contractual workers at one of South Asia&#39;s largest refineries, formally excluded from many of the codes&#39; provisions, reported 12-hour shifts without overtime pay, per Business and Human Rights Resource Centre. They refused to return without written assurances. These were not unionized workers operating within the dispute mechanisms created by the new codes. They were workers who had written out the codes. That distinction matters. The Feb. 12 general strike drew 300 million participants across 600 districts, according to The Hindu, with union leadership declaring demands and organizing geography. It was large but legible. The April violence was neither. When the channels break When the West Asia conflict pushed black-market LPG prices from ₹500 to nearly ₹2,000, according to Reuters, for workers earning ₹500 to ₹800 rupees per day, the calculus became simple and brutal. While legislative grievances are negotiable, the inability to feed a family is not. Haryana moved first. After sustained unrest in Manesar, the state ordered a 35% increase in the minimum wage, as reported by the Deccan Herald. The decision resolved Manesar and detonated Noida. Workers across the border in Uttar Pradesh, employed by the same multinational supply chains, demanded the same rate. The state offered 21%. On April 13 and 14, arson and vehicle torching spread across four sectors of Noida, with approximately 45,000 workers on the streets and no union leadership directing them. This is what the collapse of formal channels looks like in practice. The Labor Codes were designed to streamline collective bargaining and dispute resolution. The Noida workers had bypassed both entirely. The mechanism failed before it was tested. A state-by-state minimum wage in an economy bound by shared supply chains cannot diverge without consequences. Haryana discovered this within 72 hours of its own concession. The government has no national floor wage to fall back on. That absence is now a live emergency. The politics of exhaustion The political reach of the unrest is its most telling feature. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, an RSS affiliate and ideological ally of the ruling BJP, acknowledged the genuine concerns driving the protests. This is not the language of a party that believes the crisis belongs to the opposition. In Maharashtra, 1.7 million state government employees, teachers among them, began an indefinite strike on April 17 over a pension revision the government agreed to in 2024 but never formalized, as reported by The Hindu. The state invoked emergency legislation and classified the strike as misconduct. Treating a pension dispute as a law-and-order problem is the response of a government that has run out of political ones. The factories absorbed the damage in the only way available to them. Tata Motors raised commercial vehicle prices up to 1.5% and passenger models 0.5%, per the Economic Times. Audi India added 2% across its range. The human cost arrived on April 24. Two factory explosions, one at a Chhattisgarh thermal plant and one at a Tamil Nadu firecracker factory, killed 31 workers combined. The National Human Rights Commission issued notices to both state governments, as confirmed by the Press Information Bureau. For labor unions, the timing sealed the argument. The codes that were meant to protect workers had not. The channels that were meant to contain grievances had not. What remained was the street.

Workers protesting in the city of Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. (CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine)

From a record general strike in February to arson and street violence in April, India's industrial order has fractured under sweeping labor law reform and an energy crisis born from war.

Strikes and violence mark wave of unrest in India's 2026 economy

ISLAMABAD: India held state elections this week in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, two of its most politically consequential states. Both contests were shadowed by allegations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s federal government used its institutional power to tilt the outcome: through a televised address that opponents say broke campaign law, the mass deletion of voters from electoral rolls in West Bengal, and the forced removal of senior state officials by an election body critics say is no longer neutral. Five days before polls opened, Modi addressed the nation on Doordarshan and Sansad TV &ndash; &nbsp;India&#39;s state-owned broadcaster and parliament channel, both funded by the federal government. The address aired while the Model Code of Conduct was in effect. That code is a constitutionally recognized set of rules that bars incumbents from using government resources or platforms for political purposes once an election is called. Communist Party of India MP P. Sandosh Kumar filed a formal complaint with the Chief Election Commissioner, arguing the broadcast was &quot;political in nature&quot; and contained &quot;partisan assertions&quot; designed to sway voters, according to The Hindu. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called it an &quot;illegal campaign,&quot; as reported. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin warned that BJP campaign visits to his state were accompanied by the &quot;denial of funds&quot; for essential development, a reference to a persistent grievance among India&#39;s opposition-governed states that New Delhi withholds centrally allocated budgets as political leverage. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut separately stated the BJP was using government funds to bus specific voter groups to polling stations, according to The Hindu. Tamil Nadu: Fund denial, election coupons In Tamil Nadu, where the incumbent Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party faces a BJP-backed opposition alliance, the interference allegations ran alongside a separate financial scandal. The Madras High Court began hearing cases on April 16 against candidates from both major alliances over the alleged distribution of coupons worth between ₹8,000 ($84.86) and ₹10,000 ($106), redeemable at designated commercial outlets. Prosecutors say this method was designed to evade cash-seizure checks. By April 22, federal authorities had seized more than ₹1,000 crore (approximately $106 million) in cash, liquor, and inducements across both Tamil Nadu and West Bengal combined, according to The Hindu. West Bengal: Voter deletions In West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) &mdash; a regional party that has governed the state since 2011&ndash; faces its toughest election yet against Modi&#39;s BJP. The central controversy before votes were cast was the deletion of roughly 12% of the state&#39;s total registered voters from the electoral rolls. The Election Commission of India, the country&#39;s constitutionally &lsquo;independent&rsquo; elections body, carried out the revision. Of the voters removed, 34% were Muslim, according to the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore. This is well above the community&#39;s 27% share of the state&#39;s population. The TMC called the deletions a &quot;deliberate design&quot; to target its core supporters, per The Hindu. The BJP said the exercise was necessary to remove undocumented Bangladeshi migrants who had obtained fraudulent Indian identity documents through &quot;TMC-backed syndicates&quot;. India&#39;s Supreme Court ordered on April 17 that voters cleared by appellate tribunals before April 21 must be allowed to vote. Only 139 people were cleared in time for Phase I, as reported by local news outlets. Officials removed, forces deployed After the election was announced, the Election Commission transferred West Bengal&#39;s Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, Director General of Police, and Kolkata&#39;s top police officer along with 19 senior district police officers. This effectively removed the four most powerful state administrators from their positions. While the ECI has legal authority to transfer officials during elections, Banerjee called the moves &quot;political interference of the highest order&quot; and &quot;an assault on the Constitution,&quot; as reported by local media outlets, The West Bank CM stated the commission was &quot;campaigning for the BJP.&quot; Senior constitutional lawyer Kapil Sibal also said the commissioner&#39;s &quot;vocation&quot; appeared to be ensuring a BJP victory, as reported by The Hindu. On April 21, the TMC stated that federal paramilitary troops (deployed under ECI orders and operating outside state government control) used &quot;disproportionate criminal force&quot; against residents in Nandigram, the home constituency of BJP&#39;s state opposition leader. The ECI denied the claim. According to the Association for Democratic Reforms, 23% of West Bengal&#39;s candidates had declared criminal cases, and constituencies where multiple candidates carry criminal records rose 17% from the previous election. Tamil Nadu voted April 23. West Bengal&#39;s second phase is April 29. Results are due May 4.

Voters queue up to cast their votes outside a polling station during the West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections in Berhampore, Murshidabad district, on April 23, 2026. (AFP)

India’s elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal face allegations of interference, voter deletions and campaign violations, with government, parties and election officials trading accusations.

Modi broadcast, purged voter rolls shadow India's state elections

ISLAMABAD: India&rsquo;s main opposition party, Congress, while raising the issue of several deaths due to the consumption of contaminated water in the states of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, has criticized the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. &nbsp; Congress in a post on X shared the speech of Deputy Leader of Congress in Rajya Sabha, Pramod Tiwari, <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/delay-in-pipeline-tender-under-scanner-after-multiple-contamination-deaths-in-indian-city" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">on the issue</a> on Monday.&nbsp;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 720px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2018228080138145799&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=ba324b59a8e7e0620abcbfdbbac589621ad36140&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>In his speech, Tiwari raised the issue that in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, and Indore, Madhya Pradesh, several people have died due to drinking contaminated water. &ldquo;I would like to draw your attention to a serious issue, which is related to humanity and every person in India. Gandhinagar is in Gujarat. The minister is also from Gujarat.&rdquo; He said that he wanted to ask the minister what steps the government is taking to improve the quality of groundwater.&nbsp; &ldquo;Please inform the House about this&rdquo;, he said. &ldquo;Water is extremely essential for the life of all of us, but the government is feeding people poisonous water,&rdquo; Tiwari said. &ldquo;Corruption in this department is at its peak; the government should seriously consider this,&rdquo; he said&nbsp;32 dead in Indore&nbsp;Meanwhile, Indian media reported Indore&#39;s contaminated water tragedy has claimed yet another life quietly, painfully, and after weeks of suffering. Anita Kushwah, 65, who had been battling for survival for over a month, died on Sunday night, taking the official death count to 32, the report said.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari criticizes the BJP government over contaminated water in Gandhinagar and Indore, blaming corruption; the Indore tragedy has claimed 32 lives, highlighting urgent concerns about groundwater safety and government accountability.

Indian opposition accuses BJP government of 'poisonous water' crisis

ISLAMABAD: India&rsquo;s western state of Maharashtra is developing an artificial intelligence (AI) system to identify what authorities describe as <a href="http://UN%20watchdog%20questions%20India%20on%20discrimination%20of%20Bengali%20Muslims%20in%20Assam" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">&ldquo;illegal&rdquo; Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants</a>, a move that has raised questions over accuracy, profiling and civil liberties, according to Indian media reports.&nbsp;Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the tool is being developed in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and will be used by law enforcement agencies across the state.&nbsp;The chief minister publicly linked the project to a political pledge earlier this month while unveiling the ruling Mahayuti alliance&rsquo;s manifesto. &ldquo;We will free Mumbai of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas,&rdquo; Fadnavis said at the event, as reported by local media.&nbsp;According to Indian media, the proposed AI system is language-based and is designed to analyze speech patterns, tone and word usage to identify undocumented migrants. The approach has drawn scrutiny because people in India&rsquo;s West Bengal and neighboring Bangladesh share closely related languages, dialects and accents.&nbsp;The state government has not explained how the AI system will distinguish between Indian citizens and migrants from the Bengal region, nor has it outlined safeguards to prevent misidentification.&nbsp;The project, being developed by Maharashtra&rsquo;s information technology department, is estimated to cost ₹3 crore ($327,535) and remains in an experimental phase.&nbsp;Fadnavis said the system has been tested for about three months and currently has an accuracy rate of around 60 percent, a figure that suggests a high margin of error.&nbsp;Despite this, the government has indicated plans to expand its use, with Fadnavis stating that accuracy would improve over time.&nbsp;Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya has separately claimed that the Maharashtra government has &ldquo;cancelled&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bjp-leader-threatens-special-mission-to-deport-224000-bangladeshi-nationals" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">224,000 allegedly fake birth certificates</a>&nbsp;issued to Bangladeshi nationals.&rdquo;&nbsp;He also announced plans for a &ldquo;special campaign&rdquo; to identify and deport undocumented migrants after local body elections.&nbsp;Authorities have not publicly detailed how speech data for the AI system will be collected, or whether it will rely on mobile applications, direct interviews or other audio inputs. It also remains unclear whether the technology will analyze real-time conversations, recorded samples or passive listening.&nbsp;Fadnavis has further said that detention centers are being established to hold suspected undocumented migrants ahead of deportation, adding that land has already been allotted for the facilities.&nbsp;The lack of transparency surrounding the AI tool&rsquo;s methodology, combined with its limited accuracy rate and the government&rsquo;s hardline rhetoric, has intensified concerns over profiling and the potential targeting of linguistic and ethnic communities, though officials have not addressed these issues publicly.

Bangladesh

Maharashtra, in partnership with IIT Bombay, is developing a language-based AI tool to help police identify suspected "illegal" Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants.

India plans AI tool to target ‘illegal’ Bangladeshis and Rohingyas in Maharashtra

ISLAMABAD: Authorities in eastern India arrested two men in connection with a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/mob-targets-mosque-in-indian-capital-police-silence-draws-criticism" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">mob killing</a> while disputing family allegations that the attack was religiously motivated, a case that reflects broader tensions over religious identity and vigilante violence in the world&#39;s most populous &lsquo;democracy&rsquo;. Police in Jharkhand state arrested Munnilal Marandi and Anant Marandi on Jan. 10, three days after a mob of 20 to 25 people beat 45-year-old Pappu Ansari to death near the state&#39;s border with Bihar. Both suspects confessed and named additional accomplices, according to Godda district police. The arrests came as investigators maintain the attack stemmed from cattle theft suspicions, while Ansari&#39;s family and legal representatives insist it was a hate crime targeting Muslims. The divergent narratives reflect a pattern documented by the Centro for the Study of Organized Hate, a US rights monitoring group tracking mob violence cases. The organization&#39;s report shows authorities frequently attribute cattle-related killings to theft disputes while victims&#39; families cite religious targeting. Cattle trade and religious tensions Ansari, a Muslim cattle trader and transporter, was returning from a cattle market in Bihar when his vehicle was intercepted in Matihani village on the night of Jan. 7. His associates escaped, but Ansari was cornered and attacked with axes and sticks, local police said. Cows are considered sacred in Hinduism, practiced by roughly 80% of India&#39;s 1.4 billion people. Several states have enacted laws restricting cattle slaughter and trade in recent years. Critics say the legislation has emboldened vigilante groups that target&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bihar-mob-lynching-shows-growing-hatred-toward-muslims-indias-civil-rights-body" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Muslims</a>, who constitute about 14% of India&#39;s population and are traditionally involved in cattle trading and meat industries. <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 768px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2009906778327396794&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F3472%2F&sessionId=f500681ce23a07d0e2264fe9ef4f428d622f34cb&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>Godda Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar told reporters the mob acted on theft suspicions. The local Indian police claimed the victim had a criminal record and had been jailed previously. Ansari&#39;s family rejected the theft allegations. In statements to local journalists, they said attackers identified his religious identity before assaulting him. &quot;They took off his pants and tried to determine his religion,&quot; independent journalist Ashraf Hussain wrote on social media, citing family allegations. &quot;He was murdered because of his religious identity.&quot; <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 648px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2009916358281318862&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F3472%2F&sessionId=f500681ce23a07d0e2264fe9ef4f428d622f34cb&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>Political context The killing occurred in Jharkhand, a state of 38 million people governed by a coalition led by the regional Jharkhand Mukti Morcha party with the Indian National Congress. The coalition took power in 2024, opposing the hardliner Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s Bharatiya Janata Party, which governs nationally and in most northern states. Modi&#39;s BJP, which draws support from Hindu nationalist groups, has faced criticism from rights groups over rising communal tensions and insufficient response to mob violence targeting Muslims. Party leaders reject such claims. Representatives from the governing JMM condemned Ansari&#39;s killing. Party leader Rizwan Krantikari said those responsible would not be spared, according to Indian media reports. Kumar formed a Special Investigation Team led by Deputy Superintendent JPN Chaudhary to track remaining suspects. Police have not announced additional arrests. Documented pattern The Centre for the Study of Organised Hate documented a pattern of mob violence linked to cattle-related accusations in Jharkhand and northern India dating to 2015. The group cited Mohammad Akhlaq&#39;s 2015 killing in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, over beef storage rumors and Alimuddin Ansari&#39;s 2017 death in Ramgarh, Jharkhand, on cow smuggling suspicions. The organization documented three similar incidents in early 2025 before Ansari&#39;s death, including Mohammad Sharif, who died in March after being assaulted during Hindu Holi celebrations in Uttar Pradesh while observing the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The center said victims are predominantly Muslim men and that most attacks are carried out by Hindu vigilante groups. The report cited&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/taj-mahal-hindu-nationalist-revisionism-reshapes-indias-monuments-and-memory" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">inflammatory rhetoric from officials</a>, including remarks by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval at a January youth event where he urged young Indians to carry &quot;the fire of revenge&quot; over historical grievances. Social media users questioned the limited attention to Ansari&#39;s case. &quot;Why is everyone silent on the mob lynching and subsequent death of Pappu Ansari in Jharkhand?&quot; one user wrote on Jan. 10. Ansari is survived by his wife, four daughters and a son. The Special Investigation Team has not announced a timeline for completing its investigation.

Indian mob lynching of Muslim man. (Social activists staging protest against mob lynching, in Bhopal on July 07, 2017.)

Two men arrested in the Indian state of Jharkhand for mob lynching of Pappu Ansari, amid conflicting claims of theft and religious hate crime.

Mob lynching exposes India’s crisis amid denial of anti-Muslim violence

ISLAMABAD: The opposition in India has criticized the country&#39;s Election Commission for serving notices to prominent citizens, including Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and international cricketer Mohammed Shami, and termed it &ldquo;a deliberate BJP [ruling Bharatiya Janata Party] tactic.&rdquo; Indian National Congress (INC) national spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed, in a post on X on Tuesday, wrote: &ldquo;We have already seen that even prominent citizens like Amartya Sen, former Navy Admiral Arun Prakash, and cricketer Mohammed Shami are missing from the lists.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2011104016911266281&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=8ed77d2d00081bb47726d566733c5b6575426bfd&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 672px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>She said, &ldquo;If such well-known individuals can be excluded, imagine what will happen to ordinary citizens.&rdquo; &lsquo;Deliberate BJP tactic&rsquo;&ldquo;This is happening across Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, everywhere,&rdquo; the INC spokesperson asserted.&nbsp;&nbsp;She said, &ldquo;People who are away from home or unable to fill forms in time are being disenfranchised.&rdquo; &ldquo;This is a deliberate BJP tactic to exclude voters who do not support them.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;The Election Commission and ED have become two arms of the BJP,&rdquo; she said. &lsquo;Columns left blank&rsquo;&nbsp;As per the Election Commission&rsquo;s notification, such cases automatically call for a hearing, and the individuals were summoned along with several other similarly placed electors, Indian media had earlier reported &ldquo;The Enumeration Form clearly shows that the linkage columns have been left blank by the elector,&rdquo; the state CEO&rsquo;s office had said in a post on X.

Indian National Congress spokesperson says, ‘This is a deliberate BJP tactic to exclude voters who do not support them; the Election Commission and ED have become two arms of the BJP.’

India’s Congress terms voter registration notices to Amartya Sen, Shami ‘deliberate’ 

ISLAMABAD: India&rsquo;s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has once again blurred the line between politics and sport by branding Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan &ldquo;anti-national&rdquo; over his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise&rsquo;s decision to sign a Bangladeshi cricketer.&nbsp;The controversy erupted after the IPL 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi, where Khan&rsquo;s franchise secured Bangladeshi left-arm fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman for $1.02 million.&nbsp;BJP leaders and affiliates responded with public accusations and threats, drawing widespread criticism for injecting hyper-nationalist politics into a professional sporting league.&nbsp;Former BJP MLA Sangeet Som accused Khan of betraying India, declaring, &ldquo;If you earn money, it comes from this country. But you have betrayed the nation&hellip; there should not be any place for such traitors.&rdquo;&nbsp;Religious figure Jagadguru Rambhadracharya also joined the campaign, calling Shah Rukh Khan &ldquo;anti-national&rdquo; and questioning his character, alleging that his views had consistently been against the country.&nbsp;The rhetoric escalated further when BJP-affiliated figures issued direct threats. Abhishek Thakur, speaking in a video circulated on social media, said, &ldquo;We will beat Mustafizur Rahman and Shah Rukh Khan if they allow the former to play in IPL.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=e30%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2007093215787471269&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard&sessionId=bddc91dad91e30354161280cbf0fd80065d61fab&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 648px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2007093215787471269"></iframe></div></div>&nbsp;The incident exposed an increasingly hostile environment for foreign players, particularly from neighboring countries, amid India&rsquo;s domestic political discourse.&nbsp;Political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla echoed the hardline position, stating, &ldquo;I completely agree that no player from Bangladesh should play in the IPL.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=e30%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2006740198017871968&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard&sessionId=bddc91dad91e30354161280cbf0fd80065d61fab&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 648px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2006740198017871968"></iframe></div></div>&nbsp;In contrast, opposition leaders criticized the BJP&rsquo;s approach, warning that politicizing cricket undermines both sport and regional stability. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said cricket should not be used as a proxy for political disputes.&nbsp;&ldquo;Cricket should not be made to bear the burden for attacks on minorities in Bangladesh,&rdquo; Tharoor said.&nbsp;Congress leader Priyank Kharge also criticized the ruling party&rsquo;s campaign, cautioning that dragging sport into political hostility risks damaging India&rsquo;s relations with neighboring countries.&nbsp;The episode has revived broader criticism of India&rsquo;s repeated politicization of cricket, with observers noting that sporting bodies and tournaments have frequently been affected by political considerations, particularly in matters involving regional rivals and neighboring states.

Cricket

India’s BJP sparks controversy by branding Shah Rukh Khan anti-national for signing Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman, drawing criticism over politicizing cricket and issuing threats.

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