MIC at crossroads - unity, not legacy, is the future
The community it once championed has grown disillusioned, its youth have largely disengaged, and its influence in national politics has waned dramatically.
New Indian-based parties have mushroomed in recent years, each claiming to serve the Indian cause.
Yet, rather than strengthening the community, this fragmentation has diluted its political power and weakened its ability to influence national policy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Indian lawmakers to review aviation safety weeks after Air India crash
NEW DELHI: A panel of Indian lawmakers will review safety in the country's civil aviation sector and has invited several industry and government officials to answer questions on July 9, with topics set to include Air India's recent plane crash. The upper house of India's parliament has asked airport operators, air traffic controllers and airlines including Air India and IndiGo to take part in a comprehensive review of passenger safety, according to a memo drafted for the meeting and seen by Reuters. The gathering comes after the June 12 Air India disaster that killed 260 people, including 241 on board, when a Boeing 787-8 jet crashed within a minute of take-off from India's Ahmedabad. Investigators are still probing what caused the world's worst aviation accident in a decade. Though the memo did not mention the crash, R K Chaudhary, a lawmaker on the panel, told Reuters that it planned to discuss the matter internally and during the meeting. "If we will not raise questions on it, they (airlines) will not become vigilant about these issues," he said. The Indian government has said data from the front recorder of the crashed plane was accessed by a team led by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, with the US National Transportation Safety Board. Air India has been getting warning notices for compliance lapses in recent days. India's aviation watchdog last month warned the airline over "repeated and serious violations" related to pilot duty scheduling. It has also warned Air India for breaching safety rules after three of its Airbus planes flew despite being overdue checks on escape slides. - Reuters
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
India and Pakistan exchange lists of prisoners
NEW DELHI: (Bernama) India and Pakistan on Tuesday (July 1) exchanged the lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen in each other's custody. Pakistan handed over a list of 246 Indian or believed-to-be-Indian prisoners, including 193 fishermen, to an Indian diplomatic representative in Islamabad and India gave a list of 463 Pakistani or believed-to-be-Pakistani prisoners, including 81 fishermen, to a Pakistani diplomat in New Delhi. The two countries exchange such lists on the first day of January and July as per a 2008 bilateral agreement on consular access to prisoners. India has called for an early release and repatriation of civilian prisoners, fishermen along with their boats, and missing Indian defence personnel from Pakistan's custody, according to an Indian Ministry of External Affairs. Pakistan has similarly sought an immediate release and repatriation of all Pakistani prisoners and fishermen who have completed their sentence and whose national status is confirmed, its Foreign Ministry said. - Bernama
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
More investors flocking to 'stable' Europe
PETER Roessner is feeling both sides of United States President Donald Trump's trade war. While tariff risks mean the chief executive officer of Luxembourg-based hydrogen firm H2Apex can no longer rely on US suppliers for its more than €200 million project in Lubmin, Germany, investor interest in European projects is rising. "Investors in the hydrogen sector are now focusing more on the European market due to the absolute uncertainty and planning insecurity in the US," he said, adding that this included both local and US players. "The framework conditions in Europe are not ideal, but they are stable." Roessner's comments are indicative of a trend that has taken hold in recent months: Investors and companies are increasingly turning to Europe, drawn by an infrastructure- and defence-led spending push that offers stability at a time when Trump's erratic tariff policies have made the US market a less safe bet, according to more than a dozen interviews with executives and fund managers. The shift has also been fuelled by Trump's tendency to make sweeping tariff threats and announcements that are then often delayed or changed, and to draw up executive orders that have tested the limits of his presidential power. "The US is coming from a very capital market-friendly and stable environment. Now, there is political intervention and also an attempt to expand power," said Christoph Witzke, who heads the CIO office at Deka, one of Germany's largest investment funds. "This creates uncertainty that some kind of intervention ... could come at any time," he said, adding that Europe had become the centre of attention in the most recent investor conferences as a result. With a July 9 deadline for a trade deal less than two weeks away — and Trump saying he will impose 50 per cent tariffs on all European Union goods without a deal — investors have started shifting their money. Data from LSEG's Lipper Funds show that more than US$100 billion has flowed into European equity funds so far this year — up threefold from the same period last year — while outflows from the US more than doubled to nearly US$87 billion. "All that is an indication that at least market forces, investors, those who move real money around, actually see value and have confidence in Europe," said European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde earlier this month. This shift in focus was also illustrated by the weak market debut of Holcim's North American spin-off Amrize late last month, which was announced to much fanfare in early 2024 at a time when the lure of US valuations also got some of its rivals excited. In contrast, the share price of Holcim itself, now squarely focused on Europe, Latin America and North Africa, soared 15 per cent. Siemens Energy, which makes more than a fifth of its sales in the US, has noted a shift in sentiment, said finance chief Maria Ferraro, on the back of a recent US roadshow and an 84 per cent rise in the group's share price year-to-date. Apart from the improved market view, more investments are also crucial in efforts to revive the EU's economy and narrow its competitiveness gap compared with other regions, most notably China and the US. Closely watched foreign direct investment flows into Germany, the bloc's largest economy, more than doubled to €46 billion in the first four months of 2025, according to the most recent data from the Bundesbank, marking the highest level since 2022. It also shows that German companies even pulled money out of the US in three of the first four months of the year, with their balance of foreign direct investments in April at a negative €2.38 billion. Negative balances emerge when companies either divest more than they invest in a foreign country or decide against extending credit lines to local counterparts. But the picture is not all rosy, with several investors pointing out that Europe is now under pressure to act faster, create better regulation and make good on its spending pledges. "This sentiment can quickly turn again. This should be both a warning and an incentive to use the momentum now and consistently implement the planned agenda," said Stefan Wintels, head of German state-backed lender KfW.
