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From Ministers to MPs to MLAs and top officials, VIPs enter the Kashi Vishwanath Temple every hour, every day. It’s not every day, however, that Gate No 4, an enormous entrance to one of the country’s most prominent religious sites, is thrown open.
On Thursday morning it did, as a group of 336 visitors from Tamil Nadu made their way into the temple complex, the parade of sorts marked by a shower of rose petals as it proceeded to the newly constructed Kashi Vishwanath Corridor.
Soon, they were met by the temple priest and its only Tamil trustee, K Venkat Ramana. “It is PM Modi who made it possible for the majestic Ram Temple to be built at Ayodhya after 500 years,” Ramana told them, amid chants of Jai Sri Ram, Har Har Mahadev and Bharat Mata ki Jai. “But at the same time, he ensures development of (other) temple towns also. He is the true revivalist of Sanatan culture.”
Future fights against foreign militants, says J&K DGP Swain (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 3, Internal Security)
Citing the “increasing number of foreign terrorists and the decline in number of local terrorists”, the Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police R R Swain said their fight ahead is going to be more against foreign terrorists.
Of the 76 terrorists killed in 48 anti-terror operations in the Union Territory in the current year, 56 are foreigners, the DGP pointed out, at a media interaction here.
There are only 31 identified local terrorists in the UT – including four in Jammu province’s Kishtwar district and remaining 27 in Kashmir Valley, adding that this is the all-time low figure as compared to past several years.
A total of 373 terrorist associates were arrested during the year 2023 against 291 in 2022, he said.
Two terrorist groups– Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party led by Shabir Shah and the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim League – have been banned this year under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, apart from Jamaat-e-Islami, which was already declared unlawful, he added.
Opinion
Princesestan to Article 370: Our tryst with Balkanisation (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
On the eve of Independence, Jawaharlal Nehru delivered his “Tryst with Destiny” speech. In what is considered among the greatest speeches of the 20th century, he said, “long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially.”
In the run-up to independence, a handful of powerful princes devised a plan to remain independent, led by the chancellor of the chamber of princes.
The Nawab of Bhopal was operating under the direct patronage of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Lord Archibald Percival Wavell and the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to create a third dominion called Princesestan, along with India and Pakistan.
It was planned that the 565 princely states would stay outside the ambit of the two free states and retain paramountcy under the aegis of the departing British.
The success of such a plan would have made the newly independent nation unstable and vulnerable. But Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and Lord Mountbatten battled the rulers of the princely states and foiled the British plan to balkanise India.
World
Biden admin bypasses US House again, clears $147 mn weapons sale to Israel (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
For the second time this month the Biden administration is bypassing Congress to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel as Israel continues to prosecute its war against Hamas in Gaza under increasing international criticism.
The State Department said Friday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had told Congress that he had made a second emergency determination covering a $147.5 million sale for equipment, including fuses, charges and primers, that is needed to make the 155 mm shells that Israel has already purchased function.
Given the urgency of Israel’s defensive needs, the secretary notified Congress that he had exercised his delegated authority to determine an emergency existed necessitating the immediate approval of the transfer.
The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to ensure Israel is able to defend itself against the threats it faces.
After Northern lights, tourists visit Iceland to see rivers of lava (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 1, Geography)
As the glowing river of lava from a volcano that erupted last week in Iceland ebbed, not everyone was happy.
Hazel Lane, a 49-year-old dental practice manager in London, had booked a ticket to Reykjavik as soon as she saw footage of the eruption on television, hoping to witness spectacular lava flows beneath molten red skies.
Lane had already visited Iceland the previous month, but it was too soon. Although authorities had by that time evacuated the nearly 4,000 inhabitants of the nearby town of Grindavik, weeks passed before the volcano – which lies about 40 km (25 miles) southwest of Reykjavik – erupted on Dec. 18.
Lane will probably not have to wait long before the next eruption. Iceland, which is roughly the size of the U.S. state of Kentucky and has fewer than 400,000 residents, boasts more than 30 active volcanoes.
Economy
India’s forex reserves rise to $620 billion (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The forex reserves continued to rise for the third consecutive week, adding $4.471 billion more in the week ending December 22, taking the total to $620.441 billion, according to the weekly data released by the Reserve Bank on Friday.
In the previous reporting week, the kitty had swollen by $9.112 billion to $615.971 billion, making the quantum of increase one of the highest in a week. In the week before, the overall reserves had risen by $2.816 billion to $606.859 billion. .
In October 2021, the forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion. At over $620 billion, the reserves are just $25 billion off the peak.
The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year.
This takes the year-to-date addition of forex reserves to $57.634 billion, according to the central bank data.
For the week ended December 22, the foreign currency assets, which are the single largest component of the reserves, increased by $4.898 billion to $549.747 billion, according to the Reserve Bank data.
In the year so far, the monetary authority has added $51.257 billion to the foreign currency assets.