"The country where 30 farmers die each day "Trump and Modi are the mainstream faces of the global far right "Indian protesters set fire to train stations over new law opening citizenship to some migrants "India anyone? Is Modi’s India Safe for Muslims? Hindu nationalism is on the rise in the country with the world’s second-largest Muslim population."""[/i]"
Murali Krishnan in New Delhi 12/21/2023 December 21, 2023
With national elections due next year, India is set to unveil regulations to control the spread of deepfakes on social media. But will the legislation be enough?
The proliferation of online deepfake videos has surged by 550%
[...]
Insert substitute video: How Deepfakes Pose a Threat to Elections DW Shift 12:31 Starts in U.S.A.
[...]
How do deepfakes work?
Cybercriminals use facial mapping technologies to create an accurate facial symmetry dataset. They use AI to swap the face of a person onto the face of another person. As well as this, voice matching technology is used to accurately copy the user's voice.
Apprehensive of AI-generated deepfakes and misinformation, the government last month issued an advisory to all social media platforms reminding them of the legal obligations that require them to promptly identify and take down misinformation.
Experts have pointed out that India lacks specific laws to address deepfakes and AI-related crimes, but provisions under several pieces of legislation under the IT Act could offer both civil and criminal relief.
Others have pointed out that though deepfakes have challenged the legal system across the world, a practical solution is available.
[...]
Pranesh Prakash, a law and policy consultant, told DW that although there's moral panic about deepfakes that is disconnected from the actual harm posed by the technology, it was necessary to approach the problem by clearly identifying harms and identifying gaps in the existing law.
"The IT minister has said that regulations will be passed urgently, but it is unclear what precise problem he's seeking to solve nor what legal provision he's proposing to use for the proposed action," said Prakash, who is also a co-founder of the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society nonprofit.
"Clearly, engaging in fraud by using deepfakes is a problem, but we already have laws that cover fraud and impersonation for fraud. The government needs to clarify what lacunae exist in the law that they are seeking to address," he said.
"Multi-stakeholders must be involved to work toward eliminating this problem including tech companies, society and the government as there is a lacuna in the law," Anushka Jain, research associate at Digital Futures Lab, told DW.
Challenges posed by misinformation and deepfakes
Cyber law expert Pavan Duggal said with no dedicated law on AI, identifying the originator of deepfakes and the first transmitter of deepfakes is a big challenge.
Indian Envoy Meets With Putin, Bypassing Western Pressure
"The country where 30 farmers die each day "Trump and Modi are the mainstream faces of the global far right "Indian protesters set fire to train stations over new law opening citizenship to some migrants "India anyone? Is Modi’s India Safe for Muslims? Hindu nationalism is on the rise in the country with the world’s second-largest Muslim population.""""
India’s foreign minister is on a five-day diplomatic trip to Moscow to reinforce economic and defense ties, though some strains in the countries’ relationship are showing.
A photograph released by Russian state media of President Vladimir V. Putin and Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, meeting with the Indian foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in Moscow on Wednesday. Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik
By Sameer Yasir Reporting from New Delhi Dec. 27, 2023
President Vladimir V. Putin on Wednesday met with the Indian foreign minister at the Kremlin, highlighting Russia’s attempts to break through its isolation from the West by pivoting to an increasingly powerful Asian nation.
Russia has long been the most important military supplier for India, and as international sanctions in response to the war began constricting Russian oil sales, India rapidly expanded its purchases to become one of the chief buyers of discounted Russian petroleum. In doing so, India has frustrated American efforts to isolate Russia since the Ukraine war began in 2022, providing a much-needed financial boost to Moscow’s coffers.
“Everything is in your hands,” Mr. Putin said, “and I can say that we are successful because of your direct support.”
Mr. Putin added that he intended to discuss the situation with the war in Ukraine and invited India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, to visit Russia.
The Indian foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, said that he had brought a written letter to Mr. Putin from Mr. Modi in which the Indian leader conveyed his thoughts on the state of Russia-India relations.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr. Jaishankar conducted a separate meeting with his Russian counterpart. He said that his discussions would include “the state of multilateralism and the building of a multipolar world order.”
“We will focus on bilateral cooperation in different spheres, adjusting it to changing circumstances and demands,” Mr. Jaishankar said, according to a Russian video broadcast. “We will discuss the international strategic situation, conflicts and tensions where they are.”
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said on Wednesday that his country’s relationship with India goes beyond bilateral ties. The two nations are interested in “building an international political and economic system that would be open and fair for everyone,” he said in televised remarks ahead of the meeting.
President Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India during a state dinner at the White House in June. Doug Mills/The New York Times
While President Biden generally has emphasized common ground with India, the Indian government’s crackdown on human rights is a clear point of friction in the relationship. Protesters demonstrated against Mr. Modi’s efforts to stifle dissent during the state dinner.
Their relationship is driven by Mr. Modi’s desire to assert his country as an economic superpower and Mr. Biden’s need for a powerful ally to serve as a counterbalance to Russia and China.
After meeting with Mr. Jaishankar for over an hour, Mr. Lavrov praised India’s “responsible approach” to global issues, which he said extended to its position on Ukraine. He said the two men had spoken about the war but did not elaborate, noting that it was one of several issues, including arms production and nuclear energy cooperation, that were discussed.
New Delhi is heavily reliant on Russia for the largest part of its arms imports and Moscow has helped India to build nuclear and space capabilities from scratch.
A career diplomat, Mr. Jaishankar has portrayed the close relationship between the countries as one of the few constants in a rapidly changing world. His book about how India must carefully chart a multilateral diplomatic path ..
[Insert: Excerpts outed -- A changing world favours a realpolitik metamorphosis in Indian diplomacy [...]The three principles shaping the ‘new’ Indian diplomacy Three principles shape the Jaishankar doctrine: avoid alliances, exploit conflicts inherent in the multipolar world, and accept the contradictions that result. Nationalism trumps alliances First, reject all alliances in the name of national interest. Jaishankar refuses to tie his hands by becoming part of alliances and instead advocates “plurilateralism” (p. 35): “If India drove the revived Quad arrangement, it also took membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. A longstanding trilateral with Russia and China now coexists with one involving the US and Japan” (p. 14). [...] Exploiting power rivalries by playing the China balancing card Second, if the rise of nationalism has a disadvantage, coming as it does at the expense of multilateralism and respect for its norms (p. 32), it also has an advantage in allowing India to play the great powers against each other to keep the upper hand and exploit their rivalries. [...]Accepting contradictions Third, anticipating smartly the questions of his readers who might wonder about the proliferation of ideas and the multiplicity of tactics that do not naturally go hand in hand, Jaishankar tells them that he accepts the contradictions that may result from his plurilateralism. [...]Between BRICS and Indo-Pacific: The paradoxes of the relationship with China It is not only in relation to India’s relations with its Western partners that India must face up to its contradictions. The challenge arises also with regard to China. In Jaishankar’s worldview, China could undeniably pose a threat to India in the future, but in the present moment it is more a model that India must imitate in order to follow in its footsteps on the road to power: “There is much that India can learn from China. [...]Dismantling Western dominance must occur by attacking the architecture of the international system: [...]These attacks on the United Nations system put into perspective New Delhi’s taste for multilateralism. According to Jaishankar, India can count on many supporters to counter the Western agenda at the international level. [...]Conclusion Jaishankar’s book is very revealing...] https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/southasiasource/christophe-jaffrelot-reviews-the-india-way-strategies-for-an-uncertain-world-by-dr-s-jaishankar/ .. is seen as a definitive take on the country’s foreign policy under Mr. Modi.
“Typically, defense, nuclear and space are collaborations you only do with countries with whom you have a high degree of trust,” Mr. Jaishankar had told members of the Indian diaspora in Moscow on Tuesday.
But the relationship shows signs of strain. Indian officials are increasingly worried that Russia’s pariah status will drive Moscow ever closer to China. On another potential competitive front, all three countries are more forcefully portraying themselves .. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/22/world/europe/brics-summit.html .. as providing leadership and a model for developing nations around the world.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Sergey V. Lavrov during a news conference on Wednesday. Pool photo by Alexander Nemenov
In a reflection of how India is trying to walk the line between Western pressure and its relationship with Russia, this is the second year in a row that Mr. Modi has skipped his traditional in-person summit meeting with Mr. Putin. At the same time, India has refused to support resolutions at the United Nations that condemned Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Happymon Jacob, who teaches Indian foreign policy at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, said that apart from India’s increased purchases of Russian oil, the relationship had been less close since the Ukraine invasion.
Still, he said, India will remain reliant on Russia to some degree, particularly in the energy and defense sectors.
“Russia is the only country that has provided India with nuclear reactors — notwithstanding the fact that India signed a nuclear deal in 2008 with the United States,” he said.
Russia, in its own right, has been trying to use its relationship with India to balance its increasing trade dependence on China. Last May, Mr. Putin signed .. http://www.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/71144 .. an agreement with his Iranian counterpart, President Ebrahim Raisi, to build a railway that would link Moscow with India through an Iranian port on the Persian Gulf.
During Mr. Jaishankar’s visit on Tuesday, India and Russia agreed to the construction of future power-generating units of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in southern India, which is being built with assistance from Russia. Construction on the plant began in March 2002. It is expected to start operating at full capacity in 2027.
"The country where 30 farmers die each day "Trump and Modi are the mainstream faces of the global far right "Indian protesters set fire to train stations over new law opening citizenship to some migrants "India anyone? Is Modi’s India Safe for Muslims?"
From Europe to India, agricultural workers have taken to the streets.
By Chloe Hadavas, a senior editor at Foreign Policy.
A farmer dumps waste to block a highway near Vesoul, France, on Jan. 25. Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images
March 3, 2024, 10:00 AM
From Europe to India, farmers have taken to the streets in recent months to protest agricultural policies. First, demonstrations erupted across Europe, with farmers forming blockades, dumping manure in cities, and egging government buildings. Now, thousands of farmers have marched toward New Delhi in scenes that recall .. https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/02/21/india-farmers-protest-modi-elections-bjp/ .. the mass protests of 2020-21.
Although the reasons for agricultural workers’ discontent differ from country to country, the ongoing unrest comes as the world’s farmers are “increasingly feeling under political attack,” Christopher Barrett, an agricultural economist, recently told .. https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/02/20/europe-farmers-protests-climate-eu-green-deal/ .. FP’s Christina Lu.
Farmers demonstrate in Nantes, France, on May 24, 1968.AFP via Getty Images
Why farmer protests in France are different, according to Robert Zaretsky.
French farmers drive their tractors on the A71 highway in protest over new regulations and declining incomes, near Bourges, France, on Jan. 24.Guillame Souvant/AFP via Getty Images
FP’s Christina Lu explains how the unrest exposes the trade-offs that governments must confront on climate policy.
Tractors of protesting farmers line a street in front of Brandenburg Gate on the first day of a week of protests in Berlin on Jan. 8. Sean Gallup/Getty Images
A nationwide protest against a move to repeal agricultural subsidies has earned public sympathy—but doesn’t deserve it, Paul Hockenos writes.
Farmers take part in a tractor rally as they continue to demonstrate against the central government’s recent agricultural reforms in New Delhi on Jan. 26, 2021. Money Sharma/AFP/Getty Images
Farmers are protesting against more than Modi’s agricultural laws. They’ll keep going until he understands that, Kabir Agarwal writes.
Farmers gather with their tractors near the headquarters of the National Institute for Health and Environment to protest nitrogen policy rules in Bilthoven, Netherlands, on Oct. 16, 2019. ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/ANP/AFP via Getty Images
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