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S Jaishankar dials Iran's foreign minister, discuss regional tensions, peace efforts

S Jaishankar dials Iran's foreign minister, discuss regional tensions, peace efforts

India Today5 hours ago

External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar held a telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Friday. According to the statement issued by Iran's Foreign Affairs Ministry, the discussion focused on strengthening bilateral ties and the unfolding situation in West Asia following recent acts of aggression by the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran.The statement also added that Araghchi briefed Jaishankar on Iran's position, condemning the violations of international law and the assault on Iran's territorial integrity. He urged the global community to hold the aggressors accountable for their actions.advertisementDuring the phone call, Jaishankar welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire and expressed hope that it would help de-escalate regional tensions. He also acknowledged Iran's ongoing efforts to strengthen diplomatic engagement and thanked Tehran for its support in consular cooperation between the two nations.
Jaishankar also thanked Araghchi for Tehran's assistance in evacuation of several hundred Indians from Iran. "Spoke to FM @araghchi of Iran this afternoon. Appreciate his sharing Iran's perspective and thinking in the current complex situation," Jaishankar said in a social media post.Meanwhile, a day before the call, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a weekly briefing informed that India, so far, has evacuated 3,426 Indian nationals from Iran and 818 Indian nationals from Israel in Operation Sindhu."We launched Operation Sindhu on the 18th of June. We have around 10,000 people from the Indian community in Iran, around 40,000 people in Israel who are Indian nationals."advertisementIran's nuclear program suffered major setbacks due to coordinated bombings by Israel and the United States starting June 13, with a particularly large strike early Sunday involving US bunker-buster bombs targeting uranium enrichment and facilities.Following the strikes, both nations exchanged multiple missile barrages, resulting in the deaths of hundreds and injuring thousands of civilians. The attacks reportedly caused significant damage and delayed Iran's nuclear ambitions. US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel early Tuesday.- EndsTune InTrending Reel
IN THIS STORY#Iran

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Maharashtra withdraws 3-language policy order amid Hindi 'imposition' backlash
Maharashtra withdraws 3-language policy order amid Hindi 'imposition' backlash

India Today

time22 minutes ago

  • India Today

Maharashtra withdraws 3-language policy order amid Hindi 'imposition' backlash

Facing backlash, the Maharashtra government on Sunday cancelled its amended government resolution (GR) on the three-language policy and announced the formation of a new committee to review and implement the policy Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the decision was taken during the state cabinet meeting amid widespread opposition to the government's decision to introduce Hindi as a third language in primary schools."In cabinet today, we have decided that on the three-language policy and how it should be implemented, a committee under Dr Narendra Jadhav will be formed. The three-language policy will be implemented after the report of this committee," Fadnavis told reporters.'Therefore, we are cancelling both GRs on the three-language policy. This committee will consult stakeholders. For us, the centre point is Marathi,' he added.A controversy erupted after the Mahayuti government issued a GR in April stating that Hindi would be the default third language from Classes 1 to 5 in Marathi and English-medium schools. The move was part of the phased rollout of the Centre's National Education Policy 2020 at the primary school was an immediate outcry from political, social and cultural groups. Fadnavis bowed to the pressure and said that Hindi would not, after all, be mandatory and students could opt for any other regional language. Earlier this month, a modified order said that Hindi would "generally" be taught as the third language to amended order, however, came with a rider: if at least 20 students in a class wanted to opt for another Indian language instead of Hindi, the school would make arrangements to appoint a teacher or offer the subject criticism continued, with opposition parties and literary activists accusing the state government of promoting Hindi at the cost of regional languages. The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) spearheaded protests against the policy and appealed to Marathi-speaking people to come out on the streets and voice their opposition.- Ends advertisement

RSS Leader Hosabale's Call to Omit ‘Socialist', ‘Secular' from Preamble is an Attack on Constitution Itself
RSS Leader Hosabale's Call to Omit ‘Socialist', ‘Secular' from Preamble is an Attack on Constitution Itself

The Wire

time24 minutes ago

  • The Wire

RSS Leader Hosabale's Call to Omit ‘Socialist', ‘Secular' from Preamble is an Attack on Constitution Itself

The statement by Dattatreya Hosabale, the general secretary of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), that a decision must be made to remove the words "socialist" and "secular" from the preamble of the constitution after a debate constitutes an attack on the Indian constitution – something which RSS and BJP find difficult to accept. They have expressed their intent, from time to time, to review it or change in toto. However, Hosabale advanced an absurd argument that it was during the Emergency period of 1975-1977, that the two words were added to the original preamble and that the Constitution drafted by Ambedkar on November 26, 1949, never contained those words. Vice president Jagdeep Dhankar and Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Jitender Singh have also joined the call for removal of the two words from the preamble. Clearly, such a concerted move expresses their intent to assail the constitution which BJP and RSS has recurrently done. What BJP's constitution says Article II of the BJP's 2012 Constitution, dealing with its objective, states: 'The Party shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established and to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.' So, it is rather strange that the RSS and BJP leaders, who accept the above provision, are demanding the removal of the words 'secular' and 'socialist' from the constitution. Supreme Court's validation of the words 'secular' and 'socialist' On the eve of the 75th anniversary of the constitution on November 25, 2024, the Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar dismissed a batch of petitions challenging the inclusion of the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the preamble and held that the addition of these terms could not be invalidated merely on the ground that the preamble in the original form did not contain them at the time of the adoption of the constitution. The apex court upheld the constitutional validity of the insertions of those words after a prolonged and detailed hearing based on arguments of the petitioners who challenged such insertions and the written and oral counters filed against them. Therefore, Hosabale's call for debate to decide the fate of the two words in the preamble is a call to reject the Supreme Court's judgement. 'Secular' mentioned in fundamental rights Notably, part of Hosabale's argument that the word 'secular' was not there in Ambedkar's constitution is also false. His argument collapses when seen in the context of one of the fundamental rights enshrined in Article 25, dealing with the freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion. In this very article, the word 'secular' is mentioned under clause (2)(a). If he has no trouble with the word 'secular' in the chapter on fundamental rights and he only wants a debate on the word 'secular' enshrined in the preamble, he should also turn to Union home minister Amit Shah who displayed his intense love for the word 'secularism' in the preamble during the Lok Sabha election campaign in 2024. Shah had faced country-wide concerns arising out of strident claims of some BJP MP candidates contesting the elections that the constitution would be changed if the party won 400-plus seats. The concerns around this gained huge traction and Shah could sense that BJP would confront massive electoral loss for such a boastful claim. Amit Shah's new found love for the word 'secular' The entire BJP leadership and cadre was banking on the firm articulations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the consecration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, that ' Ram is Rashtra ' (Lord Ram is the State) and ' Dev is Desh ' (A Hindu deity is the country) for winning 400 plus Lok Sabha seats. Those articulations were certainly contrary to the constitutional vision of India and Indian State, which is deeply rooted in secularism, held by the Supreme Court as the basic structure of the constitution. Amit Shah was shaken by the mood of the electorate shaped by the opposition parties that by securing a huge majority in the parliament, the BJP would alter the entire constitution. So, he denied the removal of the word on more than one occasion in his election campaign speeches. He desperately tried to negate the campaign that BJP would change the constitution and categorically said that the word 'secular' in the preamble would not even be touched. So, what prompted Dattatreya Hosabale to generate a debate on the words 'secular' and 'socialist' in the preamble to create a public opinion for their eventual deletion? The only possible answer can be found in RSS and BJP's visceral hatred for the Constitution itself. Indira Gandhi's farsighted vision Insertions of the two words in the preamble of the constitution during the Emergency of 1975 testified to the vision of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to protect the constitution itself from those forces who were mobilised by RSS against her under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan. Harish Khare in his article, 'The Emergency's True Legacy: How JP's Naivety Empowered the RSS', writes, 'Thanks to JP, the RSS, the very organisation that created the eco-system for Nathuram Godse to fire those fatal shots at the Mahatma, has worked its way to a 'respectable' place in our national imagination. Not just respect, it now has clout, patronage and veto power in our national affairs.' Intent of Constituent Assembly on secularism All members in the Constituent Assembly worked for establishing the Indian State anchored in secularism. Two exemplary statements to that effect are quoted here to flag the legislative intent of the assembly. RSS and BJP, while vainly appropriating Sardar Patel as their icon, should be mindful of his sensible words uttered in the Constituent Assembly on October 14, 1949: "I made it clear that this Constitution of India, of free India, of a secular State will not hereafter be disfigured by any provision on a communal basis." Another eminent member of the Assembly, T.J.M. Wilson outlined the importance of the secular state on November 23, 1949, and flagged the escalating dangers to it. "The greatest achievement, however, of our Constitution," he said, "is its secular character, and the secular State that emerges therefrom". He added, "We have achieved this secular character of the State and we have provided for it in the Constitution." He cautioned, "But the clouds are gathering and are threatening to darken the secular character of the State and obliterate it". "I only pray and trust," he affirmed, "that the progressive forces of this country, under the guidance and leadership of our great and beloved Prime Minister(Jawaharlal Nehru) will clear away those clouds and shall not allow our country to pass once again through that destruction and misery which most of the nations of Europe and Asia had to pass before they could accomplish this great achievement of a secular State." That legacy of the Constituent Assembly and Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi constitute a categorical imperative to save the constitution and secularism. S.N. Sahu served as Officer on Special Duty to President of India K.R. Narayanan.

Maharashtra scraps resolution to make Hindi as third language
Maharashtra scraps resolution to make Hindi as third language

The Hindu

time29 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

Maharashtra scraps resolution to make Hindi as third language

After rounds of protests and pressure by academics, educationists, activists, opposition parties, Maharashtra government scraps both the government resolution (GRs), which had brought in Hindi as the third language. After scrapping these orders, the government has now formed a committee to be headed by Dr Narendra Jadhav. It will study the three-language policy for primary education after talking with all the stakeholders, said CM Devendra Fadnavis. The government will accept the committee's report once it is submitted. The Maharashtra government had issued an order stating that Hindi will be taught as a third language to students in Marathi and English medium schools in the State from Classes 1 to 5. An amended government order issued on Tuesday (June 17, 2025) said Hindi will 'generally' be the third language , instead of being mandatory, but gave an option to opt out if 20 students per grade in a school express the desire to study any Indian language other than Hindi. A fresh stir erupted on Wednesday (June 18, 2025), after the order which drew criticism from the Opposition, with them labelling the government a 'backstabber' and its decisions as contradictory. Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray were set to join forces to Oppose the 'imposition' of Hindi in primary schools under the three-language formula. Following parallel announcements earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the two parties - Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) - would now jointly hold a rally on July 5 in Mumbai.

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