印度北方邦发生的一桩轮奸底层种姓少女致死案件，在印度造成紧张。警方在没有获得受害人亲属同意的情况下就焚烧了死者的遗体。
（2020年10月2日）发自班加罗尔报道，印度底层种姓的一名19岁少女9月29日周二在北方邦遭四名男子轮奸后遇害。因此引发的危机与日俱增。尽管警方逮捕了肇事者，但家属表示，遇害少女的尸体在没有获得其家属同意的情况下就已被焚烧。印度全国为此愤慨。北方邦（Uttar Pradesh）ˎ 新德里还有拉吉斯坦邦（Rajasthan）周三都爆发了示威。北方邦则严密封锁了案发地区，并严禁集会。
Acclaimed Odisha artist Manas Kumar Sahoo paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and made a sand sculpture of the Father of the Nation on the Marive Drive beach in Puri.
His sand art features a sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi with a message of world peace. He made a 10 feet sculpture of Gandhiji and inscribed beside it, “Let’s Pray For World Peace”.
To make the sculpture, Manas used five tones of sand and took nearly five hours to finish it.
See his sand art here:
Pakistan’s rejection of Jayant Khobragade as India’s new chargé d’affaires in Islamabad citing his seniority for the post as a reason for rejection is in keeping with the bitter antagonism between India and Pakistan that has intensified in the last few years. It has reached almost a dead-end since the scrapping of Kashmir’s special status last August.
Islamabad’s official explanation is that Khobragade having already served as ambassador earlier was not eligible for the post which is normally slated for diplomats at a lower rung. The Foreign office spokesman said it was India’s way of subverting the downgrading of diplomatic ties announced by Pakistan after article 370 was abolished by New Delhi. The spokesman said it must be made clear that ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours were linked to the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.
It is part of the diplomatic norm to send the name of senior diplomats for the host country’s approval. In normal times not much fuss is made over this. But when India-Pakistan ties are strained diplomats become easy targets. Khobragade rejection is mainly to needle India and convey to ordinary Pakistani citizens that Prime Minister Imran Khan is not lowering his guard against India at every little turn.
In 2003, when India-Pakistan was going through another bad patch, Pakistan’s acting high commissioner in Delhi, Jalil Abbas Jilani was forced to leave the country over allegations of funding Kashmiri separatists. Jilani said then that the charge was a crude attempt at harassing Pakistan, high commission officials. He was declared “persona non grata” but when relations improved he returned to India at the head of a Pakistan delegation for talks, as the Vajpayee government began re-engaging with Islamabad.
But unlike in the past, chances of an India-Pakistan rapprochement soon appear dim. Kashmir has always been a major stumbling block and now after India’s latest move on August 5, 2019, it has become a Gordian knot.
And Pakistan does not let an opportunity go by without dragging in Kashmir. Even in the case of rejecting Khobragade the foreign office spokesman statement contained these lines on Kashmir. “A just and lasting solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is critical for durable peace and stability in South Asia. Accordingly, India is once again reminded of its international obligations with regard to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. India must listen to the voices of the Kashmiri people and the world community.”
In a way, Kashmir has helped Prime Minister Imran Khan to galvanise the public behind him. At a time when his government was fumbling with little to show as achievement, New Delhi’s decision on Kashmir helped to bolster his image as a crusader for the rights of Kashmiris. He did not leave a stone unturned in projecting Indian atrocities in the valley. Unfortunately, Khan got little traction from the international community. A few countries supported him on the abolition of special status for Kashmir, which Delhi said was its internal issue. But there was criticism from several international quarters on the lockdown and the communication embargo imposed on Kashmiris.