Kanwar Yatra diktat in UP: Religious sensitivity or religious profiling? Experts debate
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India Today
37 minutes ago
- India Today
Is ULFA still a thorn in India's side?
On July 13, the separatist group United Liberation Front of Asom's (ULFA) Independent faction issued a press statement alleging a wave of drone attacks on four of their bases inside Myanmar at dawn that day. It claimed the strikes killed three of their top commanders, including Lieutenant General Nayan Medhi alias Nayan Asom. 19 have allegedly been killed and 19 more injured. The Paresh Baruah-led insurgent group blamed India for the strikes, but the Indian military has denied getting into claims and counter-claims, it is highly unusual for a rebel group like the ULFA-I to admit reverses because it affects the morale of its ranks. The more important question one needs to address, however, is how important or relevant the ULFA-I is anymore. Does it constitute a major threat to Indian security forces in the northeast?To answer this question, one needs to remember that a faction of the ULFA had already signed an agreement with the Centre and the Assam state government in December 2023. This was the pro-talks faction led by Arabinda Rajkhowa, and included most top leaders who had been handed over to India by Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina took over as Prime Minister in January 2009. The Bangladesh crackdown left the ULFA with only bases in the deep hilly jungles of Myanmar's Sagaing region - bases in Bhutan had been earlier demolished in 2003 by the Royal Army in Operation All Clear, which the Indian Army Myanmar Army has occasionally responded to Indian pressure and nabbed some rebels. But it has never launched any major crackdown by the security forces in Bhutan or Bangladesh. This is partly because it's busy fighting many powerful insurgencies within the country, and partly because groups such as the ULFA are located in remote, hilly, somewhat inaccessible, jungle an Indian government that is committed to putting an end to insurgencies, be it in Kashmir, Maoist-affected areas, or the northeast, the denial of the Myanmar borderlands as a base is a high priority. It is in this context that the ULFA's Independent faction becomes Naga rebel factions like the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) are trying to negotiate a final settlement with India — they have been going on since 1997. Only the NSCN's Khaplang faction remains hostile. But it's made up mostly of Burmese Nagas and focuses on controlling areas in the Naga Self-Administered Zone in Myanmar. The ULFA-Independent is based in those areas, along with some Meitei rebel groups of Manipur, with support from pitch for complete settlementThe Assam government under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has already offered an olive branch to Paresh Baruah, even as he's made an agreement with the pro-talks faction. His approach and that of the Centre — where he has considerable influence — has been to bring all rebel factions into a fruitful dialogue. This approach brought all rebel factions of the Bodo tribe to the table and led to a comprehensive settlement in 2020. The ULFA-I is the only remaining major group in Assam left behind in the may argue that the group's strength has depleted a lot due to desertions and arrests, and a drop in recruitment. The surrender of its deputy commander-in-chief, Drishti Rajkhowa, in November 2020 was a severe blow; as was the recent arrest of another top commander, Rupam ULFA's appeal amongst Assamese youth is nowhere near what it was in the 1990s. Repeated splits in the organisation and loss of bases in Bhutan and Bangladesh have made it weaker than thus believe this is the right time to strike blows and redouble efforts to bring the ULFA-I to the table. This is consistent with the Centre's approach against the Maoist rebels in central India. The offer for talks made to Paresh Baruah remains valid, but since there is no ceasefire in place. Indian forces can strike whenever and wherever feasible. Strikes that lead to the loss of senior activists hurt a rebel faction, which already faces a dearth of experienced commanders, and may be a factor in initiating force or a renewed threat?The ULFA-I's effective fighting strength may not be in the thousands anymore, but the group cannot be taken lightly for two reasons: One, while it may lack the ability to attack security forces through ambushes like the Naga or Meitei rebel group, it is capable of sabotage operations, having launched attacks on oil storage depots and gas pipelines before. Since Assam has many critical infrastructure facilities like oil refineries in place, this threat cannot be taken with the regime change in neighbouring Bangladesh leading to the ouster of the India-friendly regime of Sheikh Hasina, the possibility of Paresh Baruah returning to revamp ULFA-I bases in the country cannot be ruled out. He has contacts in the Bangladesh intelligence community, anti-Indian political parties, and Pakistan's ISI, whose agents became active after Hasina's some in Indian security architecture may feel this is the right time to neutralise the ULFA-I, either by bringing Paresh Baruah to the table or by engineering large-scale desertions by demoralising the rank and Assembly polls are due in March-April next year. Any achievement on the insurgency front — starting talks or engineering large-scale surrenders — will help boost the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in what is the pivotal state of India's northeast.(Subir Bhaumik is a former BBC and Reuters correspondent and author who has worked in Bangladesh as a senior editor with Ends(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)Must Watch
India Today
38 minutes ago
- India Today
How Trump's Bill is neither big nor beautiful for Indians in US
On America's 250th Independence Day on July 4, President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) into law, marking a seismic shift in the US' immigration laws, especially its healthcare policy. For over 2 million Indian immigrants in the US, this legislation threatens to curb access to critical healthcare just immigrants, this policy overhaul is also affecting millions of Americans, and is projected to strip health insurance from 17 million US few days before the megabill was signed into law Donald Trump had said, "We're cutting $1.7 trillion in this bill, and you're not gonna feel any of it. Your Medicaid is left alone. The only people losing Medicaid will be illegals and freeloaders. That's how it should be."But it's not just the illegal immigrants who are facing the brunt of Trump's bill. For the second-largest immigrant community in the US – Indians – the bill is neither big nor beautiful. It may even alter the way Indians view the American BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL MAY AFFECT FRESH GRADUATES Of the 2 million Indian immigrants (as per MEA's March 2025 data), over 4.2 lakh are Indian students, as per a US government immigrants on student visas in the US are not eligible for federal healthcare schemes such as Medicaid, and most rely on university-sponsored health insurance during their studies, a critical gap arises during the transition from student life to they graduate, their university coverage ends, leaving many without any health insurance while they search for jobs or begin Optional Practical Training (OPT).This transition period, which can vary from weeks to several months, often leaves graduates vulnerable to unexpected medical expenses. Since private insurance in the US is expensive, a source who studied at Rutgers University in New Jersey told India Today Digital that many go without coverage entirely during this only after securing employment that they gain access to employer-sponsored health schemes, which is often given after a three-month waiting period, the New Jersey-based source there was one way students on F1 visas could purchase plans through the ACA Marketplace (Obamacare) if they are lawfully present in the US, though do not qualify for its safety net will not be available after the Big Beautiful Bill is fully enforced by REFUGEES, LOW-INCOME GROUPS WILL HAVE NO SAFETY NET IN USA significant number of immigrants, particularly refugees and low-income groups directly depend on federal healthcare from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) suggest that asylum claims by Indian nationals increased from 6,000 in 2020 to 51,000 in 2023, an eightfold increase. For asylum seekers, reliance on Medicaid or emergency healthcare programmes is often their only the latest law may reduce the number of undocumented immigrants, these restrictions may reshape perceptions of the US as a land of interestingly, Indian immigrants in the US have a seemingly decent record when it comes to health to a November 2024 report by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), Indians in the US had higher health insurance coverage rates compared to both the broader immigrant population and native-born Americans. The data revealed that in 2023, 4% of Indian immigrants were uninsured – a figure lower than the uninsured rates for the US-born population (6%) and the overall foreign-born population (18%).advertisementHowever, given that there are over 2 million Indian immigrants in the US, even a small percentage facing a lapse in coverage translates to tens of thousands left without a healthcare safety net. Estimates suggest that more than 80,000 Indians may fall into this vulnerable category. When fresh graduates – many of whom temporarily lose coverage after university – are added to this number, the figure would temporarily US has long grappled with some of the world's highest healthcare costs, where a single hospital stay can bankrupt families. Routine medical procedures carry price tags that would be unthinkable in other developed access to healthcare and maintaining health insurance is a necessity in there is still time before the full impact hits as the implementation of these policy changes is phased out, with some provisions, such as Medicaid work requirements, and Affordable Care Act subsidy restrictions, starting in January SUBSIDIES TO TAX CREDITS: WHAT THOUSANDS OF INDIANS WILL LOOSEUnder existing laws, legal immigrants, including Green Card holders, refugees, survivors of domestic violence, and those on work or student visas, have several ways to access healthcare Card holders (permanent residents), refugees, survivors of domestic violence, and professionals (such as H-1B visa holders) or students (F-1 visa) can enrol in health insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace, commonly known as ACA platform allows individuals, families, and small businesses to compare and purchase health insurance policies.A key benefit of the ACA marketplace is the availability of premium tax credits (PTCs), which are federal subsidies designed to reduce monthly insurance costs for eligible enrollees. These credits make health coverage more affordable by lowering premium payments for qualified immigrants qualify for Medicaid also – the joint state-federal programme that provides health coverage to low-income individuals. Eligibility for Medicaid varies by immigrants aged 65 or older, or those with disabilities, become eligible for Medicare, the federal health insurance programme for seniors and certain disabled individuals. Medicare provides comprehensive coverage, though some beneficiaries may need to pay premiums for certain parts of the from this, many Indian immigrants, particularly H-1B professionals, rely on employer-sponsored insurance, which covers about half of all non-citizen immigrants, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a San Francisco-based non-profit Indian students on F-1 visas typically pay between $1,500 and $2,500 annually for mandatory university health plans, as reported by the Institute of International DOES ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL CHANGE?The OBBB severely alters the existing provisions by narrowing eligibility for federal healthcare to Politico, the bill restricts healthcare access primarily to Green Card holders, Cuban and Haitian immigrants, and select Pacific Island major changes stand Medicaid will impose an 80-hour monthly work, volunteer, or schooling requirement starting in 2027, along with biannual eligibility checks that could disrupt coverage for vulnerable the bill bars non-citizens, including visa holders, from receiving ACA subsidies, forcing many to shoulder higher insurance families, including elderly parents and refugees, are also at risk of losing Medicaid coverage if they cannot meet the new work on H-1B visas who lack employer insurance, reportedly common among gig workers or contractors, may lose ACA subsidies, making coverage already paying steep premiums for university plans, could face even fewer to India Today Digital, Suhas Pratap, an H-1B visa holder and a senior cloud architect at a major tech firm in New Jersey said, "My wife and I pay nearly $27,000 annually in taxes. Yet this bill would classify us as undeserving of the same safety nets our taxes help fund. Tech companies lobby for more H-1B visas, yet lawmakers want to deny us basic healthcare protections. My premium would jump from $450 to over $1,200 monthly without subsidies."advertisementThe Washington Post said the verification process itself creates hurdles: "The way it works right now, consumers can go to and buy a subsidised plan But under the GOP changes, subsidies would be withheld until the state verifies eligibility."This delay could also leave many without coverage during emergency or critical full implementation of the healthcare laws looming less than two years away, they will certainly test whether the US remains a land of opportunity for millions of Indians who contribute billions to the American economy.- EndsTune In
New Indian Express
42 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Influential Sunni cleric Kanthapuram cleric steps in to save Indian nurse facing execution in Yemen
KOZHIKODE: Influential Sunni Muslim cleric Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar has stepped in and is making "all possible efforts" to save an Indian nurse facing execution in Yemen, as her scheduled execution draws near, informed sources said here on Monday. They said the 94-year-old Musliyar, who is officially known as Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad and holds the title of Grand Mufti of India, has held talks with religious authorities in Yemen, who are in contact with the family of Talal Abdo Mahdi, the Yemeni national she allegedly killed in 2017. Nimisha Priya, the nurse from Kerala, is facing execution on July 16 for the murder of Mahdi, her Yemeni business partner. Sources said negotiations regarding blood money have taken place, and the details were conveyed to the concerned parties in Kerala. However, there has been no official communication regarding the status of the negotiations. Under Shariah law, as applied in Yemen, blood money is a legally recognised financial compensation paid to the family of a person who has been killed. It is a legally sanctioned alternative to capital punishment in Islamic jurisprudence. Meanwhile, sources said that an office has been opened at Musliyar's headquarters here to facilitate the negotiations. Nimisha Priya, hailing from Palakkad district, was sentenced to death in 2020, and her final appeal was rejected in 2023. She is currently imprisoned in a jail in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. Earlier in the day, the Centre informed the Supreme Court that the government could do "nothing much" in the case of the nurse facing execution on July 16. Attorney General R Venkataramani informed a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that the government was doing "utmost possible". "The Government of India is trying its best," Venkataramani said, "and has also engaged with some sheikhs who are very influential people there.
