Macron urges new era of Anglo-French unity in address to UK parliament
The first such visit by an EU head of state since Brexit, Macron said in a wide-ranging speech that the two countries must renew their century-old alliance to face down an array of threats.
"As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, deeply committed to multilateralism, the United Kingdom and France must once again show the world that our alliance can make all the difference," he told British lawmakers, speaking in English.
"Clearly, we have to work together... to protect the international order as we fought (for) it after the Second World War," Macron added.
Touching on various thorny issues, from global conflicts to irregular cross-Channel migration, he insisted European countries will "never abandon Ukraine" in its war with Russia while demanding an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza.
Hours earlier, the French president and his wife Brigitte had received a warm, pomp-filled welcome from King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Windsor as the three-day visit got underway.
They had been greeted off the presidential plane at an air base northwest of London by heir-to-the-throne Prince William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales.
After a 41-gun salute sounded from Windsor's Home Park and a royal carriage procession through the town, which was decked out in French Tricolores and British Union flags, the group entered its castle for lunch.
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Scroll.in
an hour ago
- Scroll.in
Mulk Raj Anand and his imagination of global resistance against caste, colonialism, propaganda
In 1937, as India struggled to gain independence from the British, a more global battle was raging thousands of miles west in the war-torn city of Madrid. Of the many foreign nationals serving in the Spanish Civil War in different capacities was Mulk Raj Anand, who saw Spain's struggle as a key point to decide the fate of democracy in Europe. With the revolt of General Franco to overthrow the government, Anand's anti-fascist principles led him to defend the Spanish Republic. During the battle, Eric Arthur Blair, a friend of Anand, was shot in the neck by a sniper but miraculously survived, as mentioned in DJ Taylor's definitive biography, Orwell: The Life. Years later, their paths realigned during the Second World War to counter the Axis propaganda led by Subhash Chandra Bose. Prompting Indians to revolt against British rule, Bose presented a formidable challenge to the British government in India, writes Stanley Wolpert in A New History of India. Today we recognise Mulk Raj Anand as the author of groundbreaking classics like Untouchable and Coolie. His novels depicted disturbing realities, holding a mirror to the plight of the lowest orders in Indian society. Recounting a day in the life of a sweeper boy who dreamt of a dignified life like the Sahibs, Anand presented the world with a side of India nobody talked about. However, Bakha was not the only one on the receiving end of societal brutality. There was Orwell in Paris (Down and Out in Paris and London), Bigger Thomas in Chicago (Native Son), and several others carrying their own untold stories. Anand's life was about much more than writing novels. As a committed Marxist deeply involved in left-leaning politics, Anand was also a vocal advocate for the values he profoundly believed in, willing to raise his voice in their support. From the trenches of the war-torn city of Madrid amid exchanges of gunfire to the broadcasting studio of the BBC, his fight continued. Let's revisit Mulk Raj Anand's journey from the jails of Amritsar to joining the International Brigade in Madrid, shaping the political and literary landscape of global resistance in the 1900s. Anand's early radicalism An avid reader of Dickens, Shakespeare, and Gorky during childhood, Anand was drawn towards underground politics during his teen years. During the Non-Cooperation Movement launched by Gandhi, he joined a revolutionary rebel group in Amritsar that the British government recognised as a terrorist organisation. Deeply embedded in the revolution, Anand was arrested twice before completing his degree from the University of Punjab. Anand's father, a military clerk loyal to the British Indian Army, was not proud of his son's altercations with the government. As detailed in Saros Cowasjee's biography, Mulk Raj Anand: His Life and Work, his father's background in the British Army helped Anand secure a scholarship to pursue a PhD at University College, London. With high regard for the British model of democracy, Anand was shocked to find that the condition of the working class in London was no different from that in India. He concluded that the British government was organised and it functioned in the interest of a small minority that controlled the whole state. Driven by his rebellious nature, Anand ended up fighting for the rights of British coal workers during the strike of 1926. These events not only solidified Anand's anti-imperialist views but also prompted him to join a Marxist study circle for a better understanding of the struggles of the working class. It did not take Anand long to find the like-minded company of left-leaning intellectuals during his university years in London. 'He'd frequent the British Museum to meet eminent writers and artists,' recounts Irish poet Louis MacNeice in his unfinished autobiography, The Strings Are False. As Anand's network widened, he cultivated some valuable friendships that would shape his literary career. It was the friendship and mentorship of notable author EM Forster that opened doors for him into the established British literary scene. Soon, Anand became a familiar name in influential literary circles in London, most notably the Bloomsbury Group, founded by English writer Virginia Woolf and her siblings, artist Vanessa Bell and author Thoby Stephen. Although not a permanent member, Anand attended several of the literary meets held on Thursday evenings, mostly at 46 Gordon Square, Bloomsbury. Despite the intellectual exchanges and collaborations, Anand observed pro-colonial sentiments and a racist attitude that he perceived as 'ignorance of other 'cultures' and the club's 'disengagement' with both national and international politics.' Remarks like 'lesser breeds beyond the law' about Indians left him 'feeling anger and shame,' as he recounts in his memoir Conversations in Bloomsbury (1981). Untouchable and its global echo Although Anand had finished writing Untouchable in 1927, his first published work was an essay, 'Persian Painting' (1930). The printed edition of Untouchable did not see the light of day until 1935, after rejections from 19 publishers. Books on Mughals, mysticism, and the extravagant lives of Nawabs fascinated publishers more, not the disturbing reality of outcasts, which many considered 'dirt.' At last, a moving preface by EM Forster encouraged Lawrence and Wishart, a small left-wing publisher, to take a chance on Untouchable. Upon publication, the novel successfully found a reader base in left-liberal circles, especially among Marxists and anti-fascists. The disturbing horrors of societal brutality against outcastes linked Untouchable with broader, parallel struggles unfolding across the globe, from the industrial underbelly of Britain to the Jim Crow South. Richard Wright, an African-American writer, uncovered systematic racism in the US, robbing Black communities of dignified life with Native Son (1940). Like Bakha, Wright introduced the world to Bigger Thomas, a young African-American boy from Chicago who was crushed and criminalised by structural violence. Although Anand and Wright never met, through Bakha and Bigger Thomas, they powerfully held up a mirror to societal brutality. Orwell, Anand, and the BBC In the 1940s, when the Second World War was at its peak, Anand was offered the position of Talks Assistant at the BBC's Indian Service in London. Citing political turmoil in India, Anand politely declined the offer, which was then passed on to George Orwell. His desire to serve his country, his wife's ill health, and financial setbacks led him to accept the job. As the new Talks Assistant, Orwell wrote a letter to Anand to convince him to write and broadcast for the BBC. Anand readily agreed. Together, tasked with encouraging anti-imperialist sentiments in India, they worked on several radio talk series. In New Weapons of War, Anand explained the meanings of war-related phrases such as 'Pluto-Democracy,' 'Propaganda,' and 'New Order,' terms commonly spoken yet poorly understood. According to Abha Sharma Rodrigues' doctoral thesis, George Orwell, The BBC, and India: A Critical Study, despite several ideological differences, the early life experiences of Anand and Orwell bore striking similarities. Not only did the zeal of reform motivate them to write, but they also went to great lengths to experience the pain of the lowest orders of society. While Anand spent time at Sabarmati Ashram, living with the untouchables and performing the tasks of a sweeper, Orwell resigned from the Indian Imperial Police and chose to live in slums, working menial jobs like a dishwasher in restaurants. As Anand uncovered casteism in Untouchable, Orwell exposed classism in Down and Out in Paris and London (1933), laying bare the grim realities of poverty and exclusion in Europe's capitals. Often criticised as hypocritical and ironic, it remains debatable whether the BBC's wartime efforts to encourage anti-imperialist sentiments in India were successful. However, Orwell and Anand's experiments with language resulted in innovative broadcasts like New Weapons of War. Due to rising differences with the organisation, Orwell left the BBC in 1943, while Anand overlapped his tenure and continued to freelance as a scriptwriter and broadcaster until the end of the war. With India inching closer to freedom, he returned home and founded MARG (Modern Architectural Research Group) magazine in 1946. Drawing together the threads of his remarkable life, Anand emerges not just as a writer but as a fearless combatant whose participation in the global politics of resistance will always be remembered. From the prison cell in Amritsar to the trenches of war-torn Madrid, and from debates in Bloomsbury to broadcasting radio talks at the BBC, Anand's journey was not limited to writing. It was about proactively utilising every platform to challenge power and expose violence against the lowest orders of society, be it outcasts in India or coal miners in London. As we enter the age of renewed censorship and systemic oppression, the legacy of Anand reminds us that literature is not merely a mirror; it can be a weapon. You just have to wield it with some empathy forged in conviction and finally aim squarely at the architecture of injustice.
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
For India to be a real player in the AI race, Parliament must step up
As the US and China drive a new era of AI competition, and the EU asserts leadership on AI regulation, India has articulated its ambition to lead in technology and shape global AI governance. With its democratic legitimacy and digital capacity, India is positioned to represent the Global South in AI forums. However, without a comprehensive, politically grounded national strategy, it risks falling behind in technological capability and managing the attendant strategic and social transformations. The IndiaAI Mission, approved last year with a budget of over Rs 10,000 crore, is a welcome step. But it is a mission without a mandate. Housed as a division of a Section 8 company under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, it is led by a bureaucrat. Operating without a Cabinet-endorsed national strategy, it lacks both the political heft to drive whole-of-government coordination or signal the long-term political commitment required to align public and private action. The US, China, the UK and the EU anchor their AI efforts in formal, Cabinet-endorsed national strategies with clear roadmaps and timelines. This governance gap is critical because India faces structural deficits that impede its AI ecosystem, which cannot be overcome through incremental approaches. The Indian R&D base remains relatively shallow. Our universities are underrepresented in global AI rankings; the pipeline of AI-specialised PhDs is limited; collaboration between academia and industry is weak. India continues to lose top-tier AI talent to global hubs. In the private sector, India's IT industry remains oriented toward services. Research investments are modest relative to international companies, and to the extent that the Indian IT industry has engaged with AI, it has been largely in deployment — downstream of frontier innovation. India lacks AI-first national champions and the deep-tech industrial ecosystem seen in global leaders. Venture capital majors are frank: They see India as a consumer market, not a deep-tech innovator. Funding remains skewed towards consumer tech, not foundational research. Bridging these deficits will require a coordinated transformation, guided by a national strategy, anchored in political consensus and designed to provide long-term policy stability. That consensus is what India's current approach lacks. Parliament's role goes beyond regulation; it is the primary forum for signalling bipartisan political consensus .Yet, Parliament has remained extraneous to shaping national AI governance. Less than 1 per cent of questions are on AI and there is no dedicated institutional mechanism for oversight. In other leading democracies, legislative processes have built bipartisan support for AI strategies, ensured transparency, and aligned governance with public values. Without parliamentary anchoring, India's AI governance risks remaining fragmented and vulnerable to administrative shifts. The consequences of this democratic deficit are evident. Important debates around strategic autonomy, use of public data, energy demands and national security implications have received short shrift in the largely technocratic policy discussions. This absence also undermines India's international credibility. While India's leadership of the Global Partnership on AI signals global ambition, other democracies will look at whether its domestic governance aligns with its aspirations abroad. The path forward is clear. India needs a Cabinet-endorsed National AI Strategy — presented to Parliament — that sets out a vision, an actionable roadmap, and mechanisms for democratic accountability. This strategy must establish an empowered coordinating authority with a whole-of-government mandate; align R&D, industrial policy, and security strategy, and create frameworks for public engagement and parliamentary oversight. AI is not just another technology. It is a general-purpose transformation that will reshape national security, economic structures and the social contract itself. Managing that transformation requires policy stability and legitimacy — built through broad-based national deliberation. India's strengths are undeniable: A young population, a competitive digital economy, and the world's largest democracy. These assets position India to chart an AI trajectory that combines innovation with inclusion. But that future will not emerge by default. The window for action is closing. As global AI governance frameworks take shape and capabilities advance rapidly, India must move beyond piecemeal initiatives toward a comprehensive strategy. AI governance must be treated as a national strategic priority — grounded in democratic consensus — if India is to shape an AI future aligned with its national interests and global leadership aspirations. Gupta is executive director of Future of India Foundation. This article draws from the Foundation's report, 'Governing AI in India: Why Strategy Must Precede Mission'
Hans India
3 hours ago
- Hans India
Why single out Hindi while accepting English & Urdu, asks AP Dy CM Pawan Kalyan
Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan questioned adopting double standards towards Hindi while accepting English, Urdu, and Persian. On Friday, he addressed as the chief guest at a national meet 'Dakshin Samvad' organized under the aegis of the Department of Official Languages marking the Golden Jubilee Celebrations, attended by Union Minister for Coal and Mines, G Kishan Reddy, and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, senior offials of the DOL, and scholars of Hindi language from the Southern States. The AP Deputy Chief Minister has said that blind opposition to Hindi is not rational. He pointed out, 'We learn German, Japanese, and other foreign languages for employment opportunities. Similarly, we seize opportunities in the Information Technology sector by learning English. Particularly in times when language is no longer a barrier to education, employment, or business, blind opposition to Hindi could hinder the progress of future generations.' He questioned, 'When we can speak English comfortably, why do we hesitate and fear speaking Hindi?' Taking another dig at the opposition to Hindi raised in certain quarters of South India, he noted that 31 percent of South Indian movies are being dubbed into Hindi, which generates significant revenue. 'People want Hindi for business and to gain popularity on social media, but politics arises when it comes to learning the language.' He recalled that the former President of India, Abdul Kalam, was a Tamil but had a great appreciation for Hindi. He emphasized that language should unite people rather than create divisions. 'The world is working to create divisions, while we are trying to find a language that brings everyone together.' Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said that under the leadership of PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, a golden period is going on for Indian languages. In the last decade, the National Department has done various works to increase the activity of other Indian languages including Hindi.
