Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon
aims to alert you to the threats and opportunities that China and India present. China and India require serious attention; case of ‘hidden dragon and crouching tiger’.
Without this attention, governments, businesses and, indeed, individuals may find themselves at a great disadvantage sooner rather than later.
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NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s ruling party was projected to lose a key state election on Tuesday, the vote count showed, in its first electoral test since deadly anti-government protests erupted nearly two months ago.
The Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a bigger majority in a general election in May, but it has lost a string of state elections since then.
The protests, in which at least 25 people have been killed, erupted across the country in mid-December, after the BJP passed a new citizenship law critics say violates India’s secular constitution and discriminates against minority Muslims.
In counting for state polls held in India’s capital New Delhi, data from India’s Election Commission showed the liberal Aam Aadmi Party, led by the city’s chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, leading 57 out of 70 seats.
The BJP ran a campaign accusing protesters of supporting India’s arch-rival Pakistan and was projected to win 13 seats, up from three in 2015 but far below its own expectations. The party’s local chief Manoj Tiwari had predicted it would win a majority.
AAP activists in distinctive white boat-shaped caps danced outside party headquarters in New Delhi as the result became clear, TV channels showed.
Neelanjan Sircar, an assistant professor at Ashoka University near New Delhi, said that local issues, including delivery of basic services like education and health, appeared to sway voters towards the AAP, even as the BJP ran a polarising campaign on the back of Modi’s image.
“Modi is a larger than life character at the national level, which obviously gives the BJP a huge advantage in national politics,” Sircar said.
“But it doesn’t translate to state level politics, where the BJP often doesn’t have a charismatic face.”
Bespectacled former bureaucrat Kejriwal, 51, formed AAP in 2012 amid an anti-corruption movement that swept India.
The party won a stunning victory in 2015 state elections in the capital, wiping out the BJP and Congress, the party that has ruled India for half its post-independence history.
The Congress – the main opposition at national level – was projected to win no seats in Delhi on Tuesday, data showed, reflecting the deep decline in its fortunes.
HONG KONG (Reuters) – China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers in shorts and t-shirts made a surprising appearance in some Hong Kong streets on Saturday, briefly helping residents clean up debris after anti-government protests blocked roads, witnesses said.
The presence of PLA troops on the streets, even to help clean up roads near their base, could stoke further controversy over the Chinese-ruled territory’s autonomous status.
Hong Kong has been rocked by more than five months of demonstrations by protesters angry at perceived Communist Party meddling in the former British colony, which was guaranteed its freedoms when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Beijing denies interfering and has blamed the unrest on foreign influences.
Clashes between protesters and police have become increasingly violent. China has warned that any attempt at independence for Hong Kong will be crushed, but troops have remained inside their base.
RELATED COVERAGE
China’s PLA soldiers seen helping clean up streets after Hong Kong protests – RTHK
Saturday’s clean up followed some of the worst violence seen this year, after a police operation against protesters at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on Tuesday.
The authorities have since largely stayed away from at least five university campuses that had been barricaded by thousands of students and activists who stockpiled petrol bombs, catapults, bows and arrows and other weapons.
Many protesters appeared to have left the campuses by late Saturday, though some remained behind to man makeshift barricades. Hong Kong’s Cross-Harbour Tunnel was still blocked by protesters occupying Polytechnic University.
Earlier, hundreds of pro-China demonstrators gathered by the city’s legislature and police headquarters, waving Chinese and Hong Kong flags. Some held up posters reading “Police we stand with you”, while others chanted “Support the police”.
Pro-China protests have so far attracted much smaller numbers than those angry at Beijing.
RARE TROOP PRESENCE
By late afternoon, the PLA soldiers had left the streets outside Baptist University, beside their barracks in leafy Kowloon Tong.
Chinese troops have appeared on local streets only once since the 1997 handover, to help with cleanup operations after a typhoon in late 2018. It was not immediately clear how many were involved on Saturday.
Calls to the PLA Hong Kong garrison office and a media liaison officer went unanswered.
Demosistō, a pro-democracy organisation, said Saturday’s cleanup operation could set a “grave precedent” if the city’s government invites the military to deal with internal problems.
In August, Beijing moved thousands of troops across the border into Hong Kong in what state news agency Xinhua described as a routine “rotation”.
Foreign envoys and security analysts estimate up to 12,000 troops are now based across Hong Kong — more than double the usual garrison number.
Standing beside a black flag with the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our Times,” James Wong, 23, was among a handful of protesters still manning a bridge at Baptist University.
“We didn’t want to confront the people and the PLA troops directly,” he told Reuters. “We are not directly against the PLA, but rather the government. But the PLA should not leave their base because this is Hong Kong territory.”
Wong said even after the campus fortifications have been dismantled “Hong Kong will keep resisting until the government responds to our demands”.
Hundreds of residents moved in to help clear barricaded roads near several universities.
Clashes on Saturday saw at least one petrol bomb thrown before anti-government protesters at the campuses retreated. No soldiers appeared to have been involved in the confrontations.
“We just want our lives to continue,” said one resident who was helping clear streets near HKU. “There are many elderly who need to go the hospital and children who need to go to school. I am very sad to see what is happening in my community.”
PRO-POLICE DEMONSTRATION
Saturday’s rally to denounce the anti-government violence drew a mix of young and elderly.
“From the bottom of our hearts, we believe it is the correct thing to support the police in fighting the rioters for Hong Kong citizens,” said a 49-year-old housewife surnamed Kong.
“A lot of people keep silent, afraid of the rioters. It’s time for all the people who are silent to step up and say that’s enough.”
A 70-year-old street cleaner died on Thursday after being hit on the head by one of several bricks police said had been thrown by “masked rioters”. On Monday, police blamed a “rioter” for dousing a man in petrol and setting him on fire. The victim is in critical condition.
On the same day, police shot a protester in the abdomen. He was in a stable condition.
Many pro-police protesters laid white flowers outside the government office to pay their respects to the cleaner. Others applauded and cheered the police, some bowing and giving thumbs up as they walked past riot police on duty.
Authorities said on Saturday that a highway blocked by anti-government protesters on Friday had reopened after being cleared of debris and petrol bombs.
Train services suspended earlier in the week were gradually resuming, metro operator MTR Corp (0066.HK) said.
Image copyright AFPImage caption The dispute turned to violence in 1992 when a Hindu mob destroyed a mosque at the site
The Ayodhya dispute, which stretches back more than a century, is one of India’s thorniest court cases and goes to the heart of its identity politics.
Hindus believe that Ayodhya, a city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, is the birthplace of one of their most revered deities, Lord Ram.
But Muslims say they have worshipped there for generations.
A court case pertaining to the ownership of the land has been dragging on in the Supreme Court for years, but a verdict is expected next month.
The court concluded its final hearing into the case on Wednesday.
What is the row actually about?
At the centre of the row is a 16th Century mosque that was demolished by Hindu mobs in 1992, sparking riots that killed nearly 2,000 people.
Many Hindus believe that the Babri Masjid was actually constructed on the ruins of a Hindu temple that was demolished by Muslim invaders.
Muslims say they offered prayers at the mosque until December 1949 when some Hindus placed an idol of Ram in the mosque and began to worship the idols.
Over the decades since, the two religious groups have gone to court many times over who should control the site.
Since then, there have been calls to build a temple on the spot where the mosque once stood.
The case currently being heard by five judges in the top court is to determine who the land in question belongs to.
A verdict is expected between 4 and 15 November.
Hinduism is India’s majority religion and is thought to be more than 4,000 years old. India’s first Islamic dynasty was established in the early 13th Century.
Who is fighting the case?
The long and complicated property dispute has been dragging in various courts for more than a century.
This particular case is being fought between three main parties – two Hindu groups and the Muslim Waqf Board, which is responsible for the maintenance of Islamic properties in India.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGES
The Hindu litigants are the Hindu Mahasabha, a right-wing political party, and the Nirmohi Akhara, which is a sect of Hindu monks.
They filed a title dispute in the Allahabad High Court in 2002, a decade after the mosque was demolished.
A verdict in that case was pronounced in September 2010 – it determined that the 2.77 acres of the disputed land would be divided equally into three parts.
The court ruled that the site should be split, with the Muslim community getting control of a third, Hindus another third and the Nirmohi Akhara sect the remainder. Control of the main disputed section, where the mosque once stood, was given to Hindus.
The judgement also made three key observations.
It affirmed the disputed spot was the birthplace of Lord Ram, that the Babri Masjid was built after the demolition of a Hindu temple and that it was not built in accordance with the tenets of Islam.
The Supreme Court suspended this ruling in 2011 after both Hindu and Muslim groups appealed against it.
What are the other important legal developments?
In 1994 the Supreme Court, which was ruling on a related case, remarked that the concept of a mosque was “not integral to Islam”. This has bolstered the case made by Hindus who want control of the entire site.
In April 2018, senior lawyer Rajeev Dhavan filed a plea before the top court, asking judges to reconsider this observation.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Hindu activists are demanding the construction of the Ram Temple
Have religious tensions eased in India in recent years?
Ever since the Narendra Modi-led Hindu nationalist BJP first came to power in 2014, India has seen deepening social and religious divisions.
The call for the construction of a Hindu temple in Ayodhya has grown particularly loud, and has mostly come from MPs, ministers and leaders from the BJP since it took office.
Restrictions on the sale and slaughter of cows – considered a holy animal by the majority Hindus – have led to vigilante killings of a number of people, most of them Muslims who were transporting cattle.
An uninhibited display of muscular Hindu nationalism in other areas has also contributed to religious tension.
Most recently, the country’s home minister Amit Shah said he would remove “illegal migrants” – understood to be Muslim – from the country through a government scheme that was used recently in the north-eastern state of Assam.
Image copyright EPAImage caption China is getting dressed up for its big birthday party
One week from now, the People’s Republic of China will mark its 70th anniversary with celebrations on a scale not seen in China in decades.
Beijing is pulling out all stops and 1 October will be flush with fireworks, fanfare and a huge military parade.
To ensure it goes smoothly, authorities have been ramping up security in the capital – and online – for weeks.
But with yet more protests expected in Hong Kong, the territory might just rain on China’s parade.
What is it all about?
The birth of modern China was declared on 1 October 1949, after the communists under Mao Zedong won the civil war that followed World War Two.
Image copyright EPAImage caption Exhibitions are highlighting the achievements of the Communist Party
The date is marked every year, but celebrations for this 70th anniversary are expected to eclipse previous events.
It’s the first big anniversary since China has emerged as a global power. While 10 years ago China was a superpower in the making, it is now the world’s second largest economy, almost eye-to-eye with the United States.
What to expect?
The main celebrations will take place in the capital, Beijing, where there will be a grand military parade with “advanced weapons” on display, followed by a “mass pageant”.
President Xi Jinping – considered the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao – will address the Chinese people. His speech is expected to celebrate China’s rapid growth and which will be closely watched for any indication of the country’s direction in the coming years.
The president will also hand out honours for contributions to the country and in the evening there will be a grand gala and fireworks show.
All official Chinese celebrations are carefully choreographed and the success of this one is particularly important to the government.
The Dos and Don’ts
The parade – open to invited guests only – will take place around Tiananmen Square in central Beijing. The surrounding area will be practically under lockdown, and in fact has been so several times already.
During rehearsals leading up to the big day, hotels near Tiananmen Square told guests that for several hours each day, no-one would be able to leave the hotel or return to it should they be out, leading to much travel chaos and rebookings.
Many shops and restaurants in the centre are also closed or have shortened hours and some subway stations are temporarily shut.
Image copyright EPAImage caption Security is tight ensure the party goes to plan
Trains to Beijing are running numerous safety checks on their passengers and vehicles going into the city are also being tightly watched.
On the big day itself, areas around Tiananmen Square will be blocked and guarded. Local residents will need to identify themselves if they want to pass.
To ensure the sun will shine brightly on the celebration in notoriously polluted Beijing, several coal plants and construction sites in and around the city have been ordered to stop work for the duration.
There’s also a ban on any low-flying aerial vehicles in place. That means anything from light aircraft to drones, balloons and even racing pigeons.
Censorship galore
Across much of the city centre, there are national flags set up at every door. Voluntary inspectors are monitoring the streets and locals have told the BBC they’re being questioned after having even brief conversations with foreigners
One person said she was asked by an inspector: “Who were those foreigners? Why were they here?”
The tight control naturally extends online as well. Popular social media platform Weibo said it was deleting content that “distorts” or “insults” the country’s history ahead of the anniversary.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Every house and every shop is sporting a national flag
Chinese journalists are always expected to toe the party line anyway, but starting in October they will have to pass an extra test to prove they are versed particularly in Xi Jinping’s teachings, officially called Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, which has been written into the constitution.
Whether or not they pass the exam will then determine whether they’ll be accredited as journalists.
“The fundamental point with this ‘training’ and indoctrination process isn’t so much about the content,” David Bandurski of China Media Watch told the BBC.
“It is about reinforcing the message and understanding among journalists that they work, first and foremost, for the Chinese Communist Party, and serve its agenda.”
So not only will the events be choreographed – the domestic coverage of them will also be tightly guarded.
What about Hong Kong?
Despite Beijing’s determination to let its achievements shine on 1 October, there’s a good chance Hong Kong will pull focus.
Anti-Beijing protests always take place in Hong Kong on China’s National Day, but this time, the activists know that the world is watching.
Anti-government protests have rocked the city for months and the situation shows no sign of dying down.
Clashes between police and activists have been becoming increasingly violent, with police using tear gas and activists storming parliament.
Image copyright AFPImage caption The protests have often escalated into violent clashes
That means two things for 1 October: official celebrations in the territory are being toned down to avoid clashes – the annual fireworks display has been cancelled – while at the same time, activists are planning to step up their protests.
On Sunday 29 September, a “Global Anti Totalitarianism March” is scheduled to take place at various locations around the world in support of Hong Kong.
On 1 October itself, a march in central Hong Kong is planned with everyone asked to wear black.
If the past weeks’ demonstrations are anything to go by, the smiles and celebrations in Beijing will be competing for media space with pictures of tear gas and angry young protesters in Hong Kong.
US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanged warm words of friendship in Texas at a rare mass rally for a foreign leader.
Around 50,000 people gathered for what Mr Trump called a “profoundly historic event” on Sunday in Houston.
The “Howdy, Modi!” event was billed as one of the largest ever receptions of a foreign leader in the US.
Mr Modi, however, may face a frostier reception at the UN General Assembly.
He is likely to face criticism over tensions in Indian-administered Kashmir, which he stripped of its special status last month, promising to restore the region to its “past glory”.
The region has been in lockdown for more than a month with thousands of activists, politicians and business leaders detained.
Trade talks and the UN General Assembly are on the Indian prime minister’s agenda during his week-long visit to the United States.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has been the most vocal international leader to oppose India’s Kashmir move, is also in the US for the UN conference. Like Mr Modi, he will have a one-on-one meeting with Mr Trump on the sidelines of the summit.
A 90-minute show, featuring 400 performers, warmed up the crowd before Mr Modi and Mr Trump shared the stage.
“I’m so thrilled to be here in Texas with one of America’s greatest, most devoted and most loyal friends, Prime Minister Modi of India,” Mr Trump told the crowd.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Narendra Modi and Donald Trump leave the stage holding hands at Houston’s NRG Stadium
In his speech, Mr Modi said India has a “true friend” in the White House, describing Mr Trump as “warm, friendly, accessible, energetic and full of wit”.
“From CEO to commander-in-chief, from boardrooms to the Oval Office, from studios to the global stage… he has left a lasting impact everywhere,” Mr Modi said.
Personal-touch diplomacy played to perfection
Brajesh Upadhyay, BBC News, Houston
This was exactly the kind of crowd size and energy President Trump loves at his rallies.
Only here the chants were for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Trump was the superstar invited to the party. But the crowd did not disappoint him either and greeted him with chants of “USA!”, most heard at Trump rallies.
The personal-touch diplomacy with Mr Modi’s trademark bear hugs was played to perfection.
This rally has been called a win-win for both the leaders. For President Trump, it was a chance to court Indian-Americans for the 2020 presidential election race where Texas could emerge as a battleground state. For Mr Modi, a PR triumph and picture with the president of the United States may help him shrug off the criticism over his recent strong-arm policies at home.
Houston’s NRG Stadium, where the event was hosted, was the first stop for Mr Modi, whose Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a landslide victory in this year’s Indian elections.
Greeted by a standing ovation, Mr Trump used his speech to heap praise on Mr Modi, who he said was doing a “truly exceptional job for India” and its people.
Mr Trump also paid tribute to the Indian-American community, telling them “we are truly proud to have you as Americans”.
The US has a population of about 4 million Indians who are seen as an increasingly important vote bank in the country.
Apart from Mr Trump, organisers also invited Democrats to the event – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was among those who spoke.
The 2010 US census shows that Texas is home to the fourth-largest Indian-American population in the country after California, New York and New Jersey.
Analysis of voting patterns shows the community tends overwhelmingly to support the Democrat party.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption The event, dubbed “Howdy, Modi!”, was attended by an estimated 50,000 people
No stranger to nationalist rhetoric himself, Mr Trump compared security at the US-Mexico border to the tensions between India and Pakistan in the tinderbox Kashmir region.
“Both India and US also understand that to keep our communities safe, we must protect our borders,” Trump said.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Donald Trump described Narendra Modi as one of America’s most “loyal friends”
In India, the rally was closely watched, with most mainstream media outlets running live news updates of what was transpiring on stage.
The event had been making headlines for days before as well.
On Twitter, many people shared instant analysis and opinions of what was taking place on the stage with the sentiment being overwhelmingly positive. Many praised Mr Modi for what they saw as his statesmanship and diplomatic acumen with a lot of praise coming in for the US president as well.
Image copyright AFPImage caption Meet Hong and Kong?
Two newborn panda cubs at Berlin Zoo have been unexpectedly caught up in Hong Kong’s political unrest, after German newspapers started a campaign to name them “Hong” and “Kong”.
One of Berlin’s leading papers, Der Tagesspiegel, asked its readers to come up with name suggestions.
Top of the poll: “Hong” and “Kong”.
One reader wrote in to say they should be named “in solidarity with a city fighting for survival”.
Other suggested names included “Joshua Wong Chi-fung” and “Agnes Chow Ting” – after two prominent Hong Kong democracy activists.
Loaning pandas to zoos around the world is part of China’s soft diplomacy, aimed at winning hearts and minds abroad.
As the cubs will have to be returned to China in two to four years, the paper suggested that naming them after the activists might even be a sneaky way of keeping them in Germany.
The poll is in no way binding or even related to the zoo – but it was soon picked up by Germany’s leading tabloid, Bild, which issued a passionate call “to politicise” the naming of the little pandas.
“Bild is choosing to call the panda cubs Hong and Kong because it’s China’s brutal politics that lies behind these panda babies,” the paper wrote on Thursday.
“Bild is demanding of the German government that it reacts in a political way to the birth of these small bears.”
As German Chancellor Angela Merkel is currently on a visit to China, Bild said she could even relay the news to President Xi Jinping in person.
Image copyright EPAImage caption Mother panda Meng Meng has been on loan to Germany since 2017
Hong Kong activists had already called on Ms Merkel to raise their cause during her talks in Beijing.
In an earlier interview with Bild, activist Joshua Wong had suggested the zoo should name the animals “Freedom” and “Democracy”.
The German media’s foray into panda PR came as Hong Kong’s government launched a series of full-page adverts in international newspapers, designed to reassure investors that the city is still open for business.
The ads, which will run in leading papers around the world, say the government is determined to achieve a “peaceful, rational and reasonable resolution” to present political tensions.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption This journey is documented in undated Hindu sacred texts known as the Puranas written a few thousand years ago
One of India’s biggest religious festivals, the Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra, gets under way on Thursday. The festival is unique in that three Hindu gods are taken out of their temples in a colourful procession to meet their devotees. The BBC’s Priyanka Pathak explains the legend behind the festival and its significance.
The biggest of these processions takes place in Puri in the eastern state of Orissa, while the other takes place in the western state of Gujarat.
Believed to be the oldest Rath Yatra or chariot procession in the world, this festival marks the annual ceremonial procession of Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra and younger sister Subhadra, from their home temple to another temple, located in what is believed to be their aunt’s home.
This journey is documented in undated Hindu sacred texts known as the Puranas which are believed to have been written a few thousand years ago.
What makes it so interesting?
This is the only festival in the world where deities are taken out of temples to travel to devotees, and it is also the largest chariot procession in the world.
Millions of people come to watch as a “king” sweeps the road with a golden mop and three massive 18-wheeled chariots bearing the sibling deities make their way through massive crowds. Their chariots, which are mini architectural marvels, are constructed over 42 days from over 4,000 pieces of wood by the only family that has the hereditary rights to make them.
Image copyright AFP
Legend says it always rains on the day of the procession. For a whole week before, the temple doors are shut and no one is allowed inside, because it is believed that the sibling deities have a fever after bathing in the sun with 108 pitchers of water. The breaking of their fever calls for a change of scene, which is why they go to their aunt’s home for a few days.
The size, pomp and splendour of this procession has even contributed a word to the English dictionary: Juggernaut.
What is the legend of the sibling deities?
Unlike the ornate, carefully crafted metal idols everywhere else, these three deities are fashioned from wood, cloth and resin. They are malformed with large heads and no arms: reminders of the legend of an impatient King.
The legend begins in different ways.
One speaks of an arrogant Indrayumna, King of Puri in the east, who tried to steal the Hindu god Krishna’s heart. It had been immersed in the legendary Dwarka sea after his cremation and had reappeared to the tribes people of the place as an idol. When Indrayumna tried to claim its possession, the idol disappeared. The repentant king sought absolution from Krishna by sanctifying him in another form.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Unlike the ornate, carefully crafted metal idols everywhere else, these three deities are fashioned from wood, cloth and resin
Another speaks of how Krishna’s grief-stuck siblings – his elder brother Balabhadra and younger sister Subhadra- rushed into the Dwarka sea carrying his half-cremated body. At the same moment, King Indrayumna dreamed that Krishna’s body had floated back up on his shores as a log.
The two legends merge here: Indrayumna decided to build a temple to house the log. His next task was to find someone to craft the idols from it. Legends say that Vishwakarma, God’s own architect, arrived as an old carpenter. He agreed to carve the idols, but on the condition that he was not to be disturbed. However, when he did not emerge from his workshop for weeks, going without food, water or rest, a worried and impatient King threw the door open.
At the time the images were only half-finished, but the carpenter disappeared. Still, believing the idols to be made from the very body of God, the King sanctified them and and placed them in the temple.
When the deities disintegrate, they are remade in the same half-done image with new wood every 12 years. They were last remade in 2015.
Why are there two rath yatras and how are they connected?
Dwarka in Gujarat – where Krishna’s half-cremated body is believed to have been immersed into the ocean – is located on the west coast of India and Puri in Orissa- where it is said to have re-emerged as a log – is located in the east.
About 500 hundred years ago, a travelling Hindu saint and temple priest of a Hanuman temple in Gujarat, Shree Sarangdasji, arrived in Puri to offer prayers at the historic Jagannathan temple.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGES
While sleeping at the temple guest house, it is believed that he received visionary instruction from Lord Jagannathan to go back to Ahmedabad in Gujarat and install three idols of Jagannathan, Balbhadra and Subhadra there. Carrying out the instructions received in his dream, he founded the Ahmedabad Jagannathan Temple.
By doing so, he sanctified the two locations – one where Krishna’s mortal remains began their journey from the west, to their transformation as Puri’s Lord Jagannathan in the east.
About 142 years ago, one of the founder’s disciples, Shree Narsinhdasji Maharaj, began the Ahmedabad Rath Yatra. The deities on chariots, pulled by elephants and humans, replicate their own journey in Puri, completing a set of rituals that sanctify the two places where Krishna’s mortal remains are believed to have come to rest.
What happens to the chariots and elephants after the journey?
At the end of the festival, the chariots are dismantled and their wood is used as fuel in the temple kitchens – believed to be the largest in the world that cook 56 things every day and feed anywhere between 2,000 to nearly 200,000 people.
The elephants are returned to the lands managed by the temple trusts to roam free – until the procession the following year.
This year’s festival was, however, marred by controversy over the elephants.
Following the death of some of the temple elephants in Gujarat, there was massive outcry over plans to replace them with elephants from the north-eastern state of Assam.
The four elephants would have had to make a perilous train journey of more than 3,100km (1,926 miles) in heatwave conditions to participate in the festival.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Aarey forest is in Mumbai city
The Aarey forest, a verdant strip that lies at the heart of India’s bustling Mumbai city, is often referred to as its last green lung. But now, locals say, it’s under threat from encroachment. BBC Marathi’s Janhavee Moole reports.
As a child, Stalin Dayanand used to picnic in the Aarey forest.
“It was the only place where you could go and play, climb trees or just sit and eat under the shade of a tree and be close to nature,” says Stalin, who prefers to go by his first name.
Now the 54-year-old is the director of an NGO that works to protect forests and wetlands. He is fighting for Aarey.
On 6 June, the government cleared 40 hectares (99 acres) of the 1,300 hectare forest to build a zoo, complete with a night safari.
Another slice of it is being claimed by Mumbai’s new metro rail which is currently under construction. Thousands of trees will have to be felled to construct a new multi-level parking unit for the metro.
Media caption What happens if you ban plastic?
Stalin has petitioned India’s Supreme Court challenging the construction, but the case is still pending.
Locals and environmental activists like him are up in arms because they fear the government will eventually clear the way for private builders to encroach on the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, which lies to the north of Aarey. Spread over 104 sq km (40 sq miles), this protected area makes Mumbai one of the rare cities to have a jungle within its boundaries.
Their concern is partly fuelled by the fact that this is prime location in a city where land is scarce and real estate prices are among the most expensive in the world.
But officials dismiss these fears as unfounded and point out that the construction for the metro only requires 30 hectares of the 1,300 hectares that make up the Aarey forest.
“This is the most suitable land due to its size, shape and location,” says Ashwini Bhide, managing director of the Mumbai metro rail corporation.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Plans to fell trees in the forest have led to protests
She adds that the city badly needs a “mass rapid transport system”. India’s financial hub is congested and infamous for its crawling traffic jams and its local train system heavily overburdened.
Officials say that the metro will eventually carry around 1.7 million passengers every day and bring down the number of vehicles on the road by up to 650,000. The city’s current colonial-era railway system, which is effectively its lifeline, ferries some 7.5 million people between Mumbai’s suburbs and its heart on a daily basis.
But they have been up against the city’s residents, including activists and conservationists, ever since news emerged in 2014 that trees would be cut to make way for the metro.
What makes the issue complicated is that the Aarey forest is the site of competing claims.
It’s locally known as the Aarey “milk colony” because most of the land was given to the department of dairy development in 1951. But they are allowed to grow cattle fodder only on a fraction of the land. The rest of it is densely forested and dotted with lakes, and the Mithi river flows through it.
Aarey is also home to tribal communities who live in settlements known as “padas”.
“We are not getting basic facilities here, and now metro authorities want to take away the jungle which belongs to us too,” says Asha Bhoye, who belongs to the Konkani tribe and lives in one of the 29 padas. Plans to relocate some of the tribal communities have also met with resistance and led to protests.
Stalin alleges that instead of declaring the Aarey forest a protected area, the state government has used the opportunity to parcel away pieces of it first to the dairy development department and now to other projects.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Tribals who live in Aarey demand that it be declared a protected area
“Aarey Forest is part of the same forest as Sanjay Gandhi National Park and we are fighting for the national park itself. In the name of public good, the land is being opened up for developers. It’s a systematic effort to destroy the forest.”
Activists fear that after the parking units are built, other projects will be permitted, further threatening the area’s ecology and wildlife, which includes leopards.
So locals have joined the fight enthusiastically, even leading hikes into the forest to raise awareness. “We bring people here, make them familiar with the forest – there are many species of spiders like trapdoor spiders, the site [of the parking unit] is a leopard site,” says Yash Marwa, a screenwriter who is among those campaigning for the forest.
“Mumbai needs to be liveable”, he adds. “We need to talk about good quality of air and life before talking about infrastructure and development.”
Stalin agrees, saying that “air quality and temperature seem to be last among people’s priorities.”
But he is determined to not give up.
“If I couldn’t do something for my city I’d consider I’ve failed myself.”
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionCardinal Oswald Gracias told the BBC it pained him to hear accusations that he had neglected victims of alleged abuse
One of the Catholic Church’s most senior cardinals has admitted that he could have better handled sexual abuse allegations that were brought to him.
Oswald Gracias, the Archbishop of Mumbai is one of four men organising a major Vatican conference on child abuse this week.
We found two separate cases where the cardinal, who is tipped by some to possibly become the next Pope, is claimed to have failed to respond quickly or offer support to the victims.
Victims and those who supported them allege that Cardinal Gracias did not take allegations of abuse seriously when they were reported to him.
India’s Catholics say there is a culture of fear and silence in the Catholic Church about sexual abuse by priests. Those who have dared to speak out say it has been an ordeal.
A woman’s life changed when her son returned from Mass at the church and told her that the parish priest had raped him.
“I could not understand what should I do?” she said. She did not know this yet, but this event would put her on a collision course with the Catholic Church in India.
Media captionWhy is India’s Catholic church silent about sexual abuse?
The man she reached out to for help was and remains one of the most senior representatives of the Church.
It was nearly 72 hours after the alleged rape that the family briefly met Cardinal Gracias, then president of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India and Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.
The issue of sexual abuse within the Church is being called the Vatican’s biggest crisis in modern times, and the integrity of the Catholic Church is said to ride on the outcome of this conference.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionPope Francis with Cardinal Oswald Gracias (fourth from left)
Over the past year, the Catholic Church has been reeling under multiple allegations of sexual abuse around the world.
But while abuse claims have made headlines in North and South America, Europe and Australia, very little is known about the problems in Asian countries. In countries such as India there is a social stigma about reporting abuse.
Among Christians, who are a minority of nearly 28 million people, a culture of fear and silence makes it impossible to gauge the true scale of the problem.
Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago – a colleague of Cardinal Gracias on the four-member organising committee – has promised that decisive action in Rome and in dioceses worldwide will follow after the meeting so as to safeguard children and bring justice to the victims.
Cardinal Gracias will open the second day of the summit with a conversation about accountability in the Church.
Media captionBrigitte, a survivor of child sex abuse by a chaplain, explains why she is ready to speak now
This vital role given to him during this crucial conference has made some in India unhappy.
They say his track record in protecting children and women from abusers is questionable. Those we have spoken to who have taken cases to him say they received little support from him.
The mother of the abused boy said: “I told the cardinal about what the priest had done to my child, that my child was in a lot of pain. So he prayed for us and told us he had to go to Rome…my heart was hurt in that moment.
“As a mother, I had gone to him with great expectations that he would think about my son, give me justice, but he said he had no time, he only cared about going to Rome.”
The family say they requested medical help but were offered none.
The cardinal told us it pained him to hear this, and that he was not aware that the boy needed medical help – and if he had been asked, he would have immediately offered it.
The cardinal admits he left for Rome that night without alerting the authorities.
By failing to call the police, Cardinal Gracias may have violated India’s Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO).
The provisions of this law state that if the head of any company or institution fails to report the commission of an offence in respect of a subordinate under his control, they shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, and with a fine.
The cardinal told us he had telephoned his bishop the next day, who told him the family had subsequently informed the police themselves.
Asked if he regretted not calling the police personally at the time, he said: “You know I’m being honest, I’m not 100% sure… but I must reflect on that. I admit whether immediately, the police should have got involved, sure.”
He says he was under a duty to evaluate the credibility of accusations by speaking to the accused man.
Emerging from that meeting, the family decided to go to a doctor.
“He took one look at my boy and said that something has happened to him. This is a police case. Either you report it or I will… so we went to the police that night,” the mother said.
A police medical examination found that the child had been sexually assaulted.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionIndia is home to about 19 million Catholics
A current priest who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity said this was not the first time allegations about this priest had been brought to the cardinal’s attention.
“I met him some years before this [alleged] incident,” the priest told us.
“There were strong rumours about [the accused priest] in the diocese, and like these are about abuse that is taking place. And yet he seems to be moving from one place to another, one parish to another. The cardinal told me directly that he is not aware directly of all these things.”
The cardinal says he cannot recall the conversation. He says he did not recollect any “cloud of suspicion” over the man.
‘A lonely battle’
As part of our investigation, we wanted to see if there were other allegations of the cardinal being slow to act.
We found an instance dating back almost a decade, brought to his attention just a couple of years after becoming archbishop of Mumbai.
Image captionCatholic activist Virginia Saldanha says three legal notices were sent to the cardinal, threatening court action unless took action about the claims of abuse
In March 2009, a woman approached him with accusations of sexual abuse by another priest who conducted retreats.
She says that he took no action against the priest so she reached out to a group of female Catholic activists, who say they forced the cardinal to act.
Under pressure, he finally set up an enquiry committee in December 2011. Six months after the enquiry, there was still no action and the accused priest continued working in his parish.
“We had to send the cardinal three legal notices to act, threaten to take the matter to the courts if he did not act,” said Virginia Saldanha, a devout Catholic who has worked on the women’s desk of multiple Church-affiliated positions for over two decades.
When the cardinal replied, he said: “The priest is not listening to me.”
Image captionThe family says they have been ostracised from the church and isolated within their communities since reporting the sexual assault
During the time, Saldanha said she had to leave the church because “I could not bear to see that man giving Mass in the church. I did not feel like going there.”
The priest was eventually removed from his parish, but the reasons for his departure were never made public.
The punishment, decided by the cardinal personally in October 2011, was a “guided retreat and therapeutic counselling”.
When we pressed him about the speed of process and punishment, the cardinal said it was a “complicated case”.
After a stay in the seminary, the accused priest was briefly given a parish again and still conducts retreats.
Meanwhile, the family of the allegedly raped minor feel abandoned by the institution that they had built their lives around.
“It has been a lonely battle,” the mother concedes. They say they have been ostracised from the church and isolated within their communities.
“After complaining to the police, when we would go into church, people would refuse to talk to us, to sit next to us during Mass. If I went to sit next to someone… they would get up and leave,” she said.
The hostility she encountered eventually “made us leave the church. But it got so difficult for us that we eventually had to change our home as well. We left it all behind”.
Church members say that it is this hostility that makes it harder for victims and their families to speak up.
Caught between an apparently unsupportive clergy and hostile social network, many find their voices faltering.
BEIJING (Reuters) – The wives of four of China’s most prominent rights lawyers and activists shaved their heads on Monday in protest over what they called the “persecution” of their husbands by the government.
Liu Ermin, wive of a prominent Chinese rights lawyer, has her head shaved in protest over the government’s treatment of her husband in Beijing, China, December 17, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Since taking office in 2012, Chinese President Xi Jinping has overseen a crackdown on dissent, with hundreds of rights lawyers and activists being detained, arrested and jailed.
Four wives of lawyers detained during a July 2015 sweep known as the 709 crackdown gathered in the central park of a sleepy Beijing apartment complex and cut off their hair in front of neighbours and a small group of invited foreign journalists.
The women took turns shaving each other’s heads, placing the hair in see-through plastic boxes alongside pictures of them with their husbands, before heading to China’s Supreme People’s Court to petition over their husbands’ treatment.
Li Wenzu, who says she has been unable to visit her husband, rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang, since he went missing in the 2015 crackdown, told reporters that the act was to protest against the way her husband’s case was being handled.
Li said judges in Wang’s trial had unlawfully delayed proceedings and prevented her from appointing a lawyer of her choosing.
Wang is being held in Tianjin on suspicion of subverting state power, but both Li and seven lawyers she has appointed to try and represent Wang have been unable to visit him, she said.
“We can go hairless, but you cannot be lawless,” they announced at the end of the ceremony, a pun in Chinese, as the words for “hair” and “law” sound similar.
Requests for comment faxed to China’s Supreme People’s Court and the Tianjin Number 2 Intermediate People’s Court, where Wang’s case is set to be heard at an unknown date, went unanswered.
Li, Wang and other family members of rights lawyers and activists who have been detained or jailed have in recent years taken up their loved ones’ causes and attempting to keep pressuring the government into allowing their release.
The authorities have responded using “soft” detention measures, such as house arrest, to keep family members from getting their message out, rights activists have said.
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