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Hindustan Times
30-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Old horizons and India's new heritage diplomacy
While hosting Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto at this year's Republic Day, Prime Minister Modi announced that India will help conserve yet unrestored parts of the Prambanan temple complex in Java. This is an example of India's heritage diplomacy, a soft power tool centred around archaeology and conservation initiatives abroad. In the last decade alone, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has invested in at least 20 heritage projects across eleven countries, including 14 managed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). In the last decade alone, the MEA has invested in at least 20 heritage projects across eleven countries, including 14 managed by the ASI. (PTI) There are several reasons why India invests in such heritage projects abroad. As part of bilateral cultural, scientific and development partnerships, they promote a country's international image and help catalyse tourism and economic ties. Yet the most important driver for conservation or restoration initiatives abroad is often found domestically, as people seek validation for narratives that revive their States' past grandeur and civilisational identity. MEA and ASI have started catering to a growing domestic demand for evidence of India's past glory and regional influence. When ASI excavates to search for Bharat abroad, it helps restore a sense of self at home. For example, in 2020, when a 1,100-year-old Shiva lingam was found in Vietnam, external affairs minister S Jaishankar cast the discovery as 'reaffirming a civilisational connect'. Our recent study of India's heritage diplomacy projects since 2014 indicates that they typically follow one of two models after receiving MEA funding. In the first model, ASI leads implementation, often alongside local government organisations. Especially across South and Southeast Asia, ASI has been conserving Ta Prohm temple complex, Asram Maha Rosei temple, Preah Vihear temple complex, and Wat Raja Bo pagoda in Cambodia, Vat Phou temple complex in Lao PDR, and My Son sanctuary in Vietnam. Indian conservation has also been at work at the Hukuru Miskiy (Friday Mosque) in Maldives, the Ananda temple and Bagan pagodas in Myanmar, and the Thiruketeeswaram temple in Sri Lanka. In the last decade, the ASI also surveyed at Pashupatinath temple in Nepal, Ancient Termiz in Uzbekistan, and Dong Duong monastery and Nhan tower in Vietnam. In the second model, implementation occurs through MEA grant assistance and is managed by host governments, sometimes with Indian or international NGO partners. Since 2014, MEA has funded initiatives in five countries. In Afghanistan, it funded the restoration of Stor palace by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). In Bolivia, it funded the illumination of the Tiwanaku archaeological site. In Maldives, MEA funded the renovation of a pre-Islamic heritage museum at the Maabadhige archaeological site and the conservation of Dhiyamigili Ganduvaru palace by the government and private contractors. And in Mali, it contributed cash for the revival of the World Heritage Site at Timbuktu. Finally, in Nepal, it funded the construction of a dharmashala and sanitation facilities at Pashupatinath temple by the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT). After the 2015 earthquake, MEA also funded the conservation and renovation of 28 cultural heritage sites in Nepal by the government, of which 12 were overseen by a partner NGO, the Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (Intach). With more interest at home in such investments abroad, three challenges stand out. First, both the MEA and the ASI will require more capacity to plan, implement, and sustain these projects. One positive step was the creation, in 2020, of an MEA division within the Development Partnership Administration (DPA) exclusively tasked with heritage, conservation, and restoration projects abroad. Another significant challenge will be allocating sufficient funds under the meagre MEA budget to ensure appropriate technical expertise and resources to start new projects that benefit local communities. Here, ASI could deepen engagement with Indian NGOs that have an excellent track record in heritage conservation and international research collaborations. Finally, the private sector plays a vital yet underrated role to ensure that India's excavations abroad are valued through a creative economy. There is a large market waiting to be explored by India's cultural entrepreneurs, whether by enabling new tourism circuits or by skilling and reviving local arts and crafts connected to India. India has the potential to play a role in global heritage diplomacy. This is not just about excavating abroad to cater to popular ideas and ambitions at home. China's Global Civilization Initiative shows how history and archaeology are being leveraged for international influence, including at multilateral bodies such as Unesco. New Delhi will have to invest more resources to play this game better. Constantino Xavier is a New Delhi-based foreign policy researcher and Aleksandr Kuzmenchuk a former Fulbright-Nehru scholar at Ashoka University. The views expressed are personal.


Time of India
22-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Unusual quietness in transfer market over ISL suspense
ISL champions Mohun Bagan are generally busy during the transfer window making big signings but the Kolkata giants are yet to make a signing Panaji: In recent times, Mohun Bagan Super Giant have often proved the busiest during the transfer windows, picking up any big player who's ready to move. This season, the champions have been unusually quiet. Their rivals, East Bengal, in contrast, have been busy, signing two foreign players -- Mohammed Rashid (Palestine) and Miguel Ferreira (Brazil) – besides snatching India striker Edmund Lalrindika for a transfer fee of Rs 1 crore from Inter Kashi. They have now made a bid for India left-back Jay Gupta with a transfer fee upwards of Rs 1.5 crore. This season, East Bengal is the exception to the lull that is currently existing in the transfer market. Most other clubs, as evident by Bagan's inactivity, have paused their signings owing to the uncertainty over this edition of the Indian Super League (ISL). ISL clubs have also delayed start to their pre-season training, which was expected to kick off between July 15 and July 22. This stalemate arises given that FSDL, the body that runs the league, have told club owners that the league will not kick off unless there is clarity over the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its marketing partners. Bagan's only move so far has been for Kiyan Nassiri, who left the club last season and moved to Chennaiyin FC. The Kolkata giants now want him back in a move which will cost the club Rs 30 lakh, a modest transfer fee going by their record moves in the past. Clubs like FC Goa have identified new foreign players but have not completed the signings. Several extensions have also been kept on hold. It's a similar story at Kerala Blasters, Chennaiyin, Odisha and Hyderabad, while Bengaluru and Mumbai City have adopted a cautious approach. 'We are still a couple of weeks away from our slated start to the pre-season, so we will keep ourselves prepared in the best way possible to try and react to whatever developments that may arise in the next couple of weeks,' said FC Goa CEO Ravi Puskur. 'We are weighing up the current scenario and assessing the best way forward.' This season's ISL was expected to kick off on Sept 14, as per the calendar approved by the AIFF League Committee last month. However, there is now growing suspense over the future of the league itself. Unlike other clubs, Goa find themselves in a difficult situation as they have a competitive fixture early in the season. Having qualified for continental championships after winning the Super Cup last season, Goa have a preliminary round AFC Champions League Two clash against Al Seeb FC on Aug 13 at home. A win against the Oman champions will take them to the AFC Champions League Two while a loss will consign them to the third-tier AFC Challenge League. 'We are in a unique situation where we have a competitive fixture which extends beyond the Indian football ecosystem and there is an expectation from AFC that we will participate in that,' said Puskur.


Time of India
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Ashique Kuruniyan returns to Bengaluru FC on four-year contract
Before joining Mohun Bagan in 2022, Ashique Kuruniyan had made 39 league appearances in total at Bengaluru FC Panaji: Mohun Bagan Super Giant winger Ashique Kuruniyan has returned to Bengaluru FC on a four-year deal, three years after he had left the club to move to the Kolkata giants. A free player after the end of his contract at Bagan, Ashique had other clubs chasing him for his signature, but found Bengaluru as the best option since he wanted to be closer to home. The club's decision to hand him a four-year contract also made the decision easier. 'Everything fell in place with the Bengaluru deal,' a source who has tracked the development told TOI on Sunday. 'Ashique has a young kid and wanted to be closer to his family (in Kerala). Bengaluru also did well to convince him about their project.' An explosive winger, the 27-year-old has been hampered by injuries and has not really lived up to the promise at Bagan. In the last two editions of the Indian Super League (ISL), which they won, the winger made 18 appearances each but could not open his goal account for the club. Before joining Bagan in 2022, Ashique made 39 league appearances in total at Bengaluru, scoring two goals and providing one assist. 'Ashique still has plenty to offer,' said another official. 'He can play in multiple positions, has plenty of pace, can work his way past defenders too. He just needs to get the finishing right. He will find it easy to adjust at Bengaluru since he's someone who has been here in the past.' Ashique was sidelined for several months due to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury sustained during India's King's Cup match against Iraq in Thailand in 2023. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like She Found THIS Chat on Her Husband's Phone and Vanished Overnight medalmerit Learn More Undo He needed surgery and it took him a while to get back on the field and regain sharpness. A regular with the national team since being handpicked by Stephen Constantine in 2018, Ashique also represented the country when Igor Stimac was in charge and was a first-choice forward for Manolo Marquez against Hong Kong in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 final round qualifier last week.


Al Jazeera
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Girl, 6, among group arrested for assassination of Myanmar general
Security forces in Myanmar have arrested a six-year-old girl, along with 15 other people suspected of involvement in the assassination of a retired army officer last month, state-run media report. The 16 suspects – 13 males and three females – were arrested in four different regions of the country late last month, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said on Friday. Those arrested include Lin Latt Shwe, the six-year-old daughter of the alleged assassin, Myo Ko Ko, who was reported to have at least three other aliases. The newspaper report said the child and her parents were arrested in the central city of Bagan. A little-known armed group calling itself the Golden Valley Warriors claimed responsibility for killing retired Brigadier General Cho Tun Aung, 68, who was shot outside his home in Yangon, the country's commercial capital, on May 22. Other detainees include the owner of a private hospital, which is alleged to have provided treatment to the assassin, who, according to the newspaper report, suffered a gunshot wound during the attack. Independent news outlet The Irrawaddy said the Golden Valley Warriors have denied that the 16 people detained were part of their operation. The junta has arrested 16 people including a 6-year-old girl on suspicion of involvement in the assassination of retired Brig-Gen Cho Tun Aung in Yangon on May 22. Golden Valley Warriors claimed responsibility and said the 16 are not related to them. #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar — The Irrawaddy (Eng) (@IrrawaddyNews) June 6, 2025The killing of Cho Tun Aung, who was a former ambassador to Cambodia, is the latest attack against figures linked to the ruling military who launched a takeover of the country in 2021 after deposing the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Since the coup and the outbreak of the civil war in Myanmar, targeted assassinations have been carried out against high-ranking active and retired military officers, as well as senior civil servants, local officials, business associates of the ruling generals and suspected informers. Soon after carrying out the assassination, the Golden Valley Warriors said in a statement posted on Facebook that Cho Tun Aung had been teaching internal security and counterterrorism at Myanmar's National Defence College and was, by his actions, complicit in atrocities committed by the military in the ongoing civil war.


CTV News
06-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
6-year-old girl among 16 suspects arrested in Myanmar over alleged links to assassination
BANGKOK — Security forces in military-ruled Myanmar have arrested a six-year-old girl along with 15 other people suspected of involvement in the assassination of a retired high-ranking army officer, state-run media reported on Friday. Former Brig. Gen. Cho Tun Aung, 68, was shot outside his home in Mayangon township, in Yangon, the country's biggest city, on May 22. A militant group calling itself the Golden Valley Warriors claimed responsibility for the attack. The killing of Cho Tun Aung, who was a former ambassador to Cambodia, was the latest attack against figures linked to the ruling military since Myanmar was plunged into civil war after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. The 16 suspects -- 13 males and three females -- were arrested in four different regions between May 23-29, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said. The newspaper said Cho Tun Aung was shot dead while walking with his grandchild. Those arrested include Lin Latt Shwe, the six-year-old daughter of the alleged assassin, Myo Ko Ko, who was reported to have at least three other aliases. The newspaper report said the child and her parents were arrested in the central city of Bagan. Others detained include the owner of a private hospital which is alleged to have provided treatment to the gunman, who according to the newspaper report said he suffered a gunshot wound during the attack. The Golden Valley Warriors said in a statement posted on Facebook soon after the killing that Cho Tun Aung had been teaching internal security and counterterrorism at Myanmar's National Defense College and that as such he was complicit in what the group said was atrocities committed during the civil war. The targets of assassinations are often high-ranking active or retired military officers, but senior civil servants and local officials have also been attacked, in addition to business associates of the ruling generals and those believed to be informers or collaborators with the army. The ruling military has been accused of human rights violation on a far greater scale, including the bombings of villages causing multiple civilian deaths.