Monthly Archives: May 2022

Hyderabad: Ship with ‘Rs 51 lakh’ sank 100 yrs ago & spurred cash printing

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HYDERABAD / BRITISH INDIA :

ss egypt: Nizam Currency Sank With Ss Egypt, Sparked Printing Revolution In India | Hyderabad News - Times of India
The Hyderabad currency comprised 40,000 pieces of 100 Halli  Sikka (HS), 1,00,000 pieces of 10 HS, and 25,000 pieces of of 5 HS, totalling 1,65,000 pieces

After the ocean liner, SS Egypt , sank in the Celtic Sea on May 20, 1922, the events that unfolded over the next 17 years forced the Nizam VII, Mir Osman Ali Khan, to shift the printing of Hyderabad currency from England to Nashik.

ss egypt: Nizam Currency Sank With Ss Egypt, Sparked Printing Revolution In India | Hyderabad News - Times of India

On this day (May 19) 100 years ago, SS Egypt owned by The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, England, left Tilbury docks in London for Bombay (Mumbai). It had 44 passengers and 294 crew members, besides a large shipment of gold and silver and 1. 6 lakh pieces of Hyderabad currency, which had a face value of Rs 51,25,000.


The next day (on May 20, 1922), the ship collided with a French cargo ship and sank off Ushant in France. The Hyderabad currency shipped by Waterlow and Sons to the princely state of Hyderabad too went down into the sea. The treasure was salvaged a decade later in 1932, only to trigger a prolonged legal tussle.


“The Hyderabad currency comprised 40,000 pieces of Rs 100 Halli Sikka (HS), 1,00,000 pieces of Rs 10 HS, and 25,000 pieces of Rs 5 HS, totalling 1,65,000 pieces. The face value was Rs 51,25,000,” eminent numismatist and heritage expert . Amarbir Singh told TOI, adding that since the currency notes were unsigned, they did not legally carry value.


“In those days, the finance member’s signature was over-printed in Hyderabad after the notes arrived from England. Hence, the currency that sank with SS Egypt was valueless. For this reason, they were insured for their printed value of £2,000,” Amarbir said.


Stating that few of the notes salvaged had made their way to Hyderabad, resulting in a spate of legal fights, Amarbir said the issue was closed 17 years after the notes were printed which entailed seven years of negotiation and litigation.

“The government of Hyderabad decided it would be safer to print currency in India. The outbreak of World War II shortly after proved it was indeed a wise decision,” Amarbir said, explaining how the princely state changed location of currency printing from England to India.

The Hyderabad government requested Waterlow to destroy the notes and ordered a replacement stock from the printers, with the same series repeated, but in a slightly different type of font used in the serial number to indicate the difference. These were received and duly circulated, and the matter was regarded as closed, he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad> News> City News> Hyderabad News / by Syed Akbar, TNN / May 19th, 2022

This Kerala nutritionist is commited for balanced diet among children

Agriculture (since June 07th, 2021), Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Inventions, Innovations (wef. Nov 30th, 2021), Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , ,

KERALA :

By directly procuring ingredients such as wheat, raggi, millets and almonds needed for products directly from farmers, Shamila ensures a profit for them as well.

Shamila with her husband Muhammed Shahabaz
Shamila with her husband Muhammed Shahabaz

Ernakulam : : 

With adulterated food posing a serious hazard, staying healthy now depends as much on trustworthy sources as on a balanced diet. Worried parents face a difficult time trying to get their children to eat nutritious food.

Doctor-turned-entrepreneur Shamila Shahabaz, 30, is aiming to make life easier for such parents. ‘Mama Papa Zay’, Shamila’s venture, aims to provide a variety of fully homemade and preservative-free products for children, right from eight months old. By procuring ingredients like wheat, ragi, millets and almonds directly from the farmers, the venture is earning profits for them as well. 

“The idea struck me when I became a mother,” said Shamila, who is also a certified child nutritionist.

“People, generally, don’t have the habit of reading labels and ingredients before buying a product. This should change. You will stop buying so many products just by reading the ingredients list such as added sugar, artificial flavours and preservatives. It shocked me too and I wondered what to feed my baby. When I started sharing my recipes on social media after my pregnancy, people asked me whether I could make the products myself on a larger scale. Now we are getting orders from all over the world.” 

Local farmers are benefiting greatly from Shamila’s initiative. “Kannankaya is the key ingredient used to make banana powder. We have a few local farmers cultivating it, and we directly deal with them. Shops charge Rs 35-40 per kg for the fruit. We pay Rs 20-25 directly to the farmers, who thus get a better deal than selling their produce in the market. Millets, ragi, nuts and other ingredients are similarly sourced from farmers in Salem and Mysuru,” said Mohammed Shahabaz, Shamila’s husband.

“We are playing a small part in trying to transform our society’s health as a whole, by cultivating healthy food habits. This is just a small step, we hope to be known as a trustworthy source of nutritional food for children. Young mothers should never find themselves in the quandary I was in, to identify unadulterated baby food,” said Shamila.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Anuja Susan Varghese, Express News Service / May 22nd, 2022

The future of the Ajmer dargah

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Ajmer, RAJASTHAN :

A view of the dargah of Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer

Ajmer’s dargah of Moinuddin Chishti is undergoing massive restoration work

The dargah of Moinuddin Chishti, fondly remembered as Khwaja Garib Nawaz, or the benefactor of the poor, in Ajmer, will, in two years’ time see a restoration and an incorporation of modern facilities. Considered a holy place of hope, where people from different denominations believe their prayers will be answered, the dargah was built in the 13th century. The tomb was constructed in wood, later covered with a stone canopy. In 1579, Akbar reconstructed the sanctum sanctorum and built the dome. It was renovated in later years by Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Jahanara.

The project, a part of the CSR wing of Hindustan Zinc Limited, is headed by architect Surbhi Gupta, a heritage management consultant. At present, the dargah that was organically built with various materials, ranging from brick and marble to sandstone, is seeing restoration and redevelopment of the interiors of the Mehfil Khana, widening of gates, structural consolidation, facade work in the courtyards, cleaning of stone surfaces, and new terracing in lime concrete.

“There is no single language of design or material as the dargah was never planned systematically,” says Surbhi, working on one of the most important pilgrimage sites of South Asia with members of her studio Rasika that specialises in heritage management.

The square structure of the royal darbar (Mehfil Khana),was built in 1888 AD. She says it “has been painted over as a part of living tradition. The idea is to bring out its character as a space meant for performances. The architectural character needs to be revived to bring back the original identity of the structure. The patterned ceiling will be designed on the lines of Kashmiri Khatambandh (a woodwork ceiling with a carved geometric pattern), and Mughal stone inlay flooring,” says Surbhi.

Work is also going on at the famous Shahjahani Gate, built by the Mughal emperor Shahjahan to mark the expansion of the dargah complex beyond the Buland Darwaza.

The project — under the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan — also revolves around sanitation, cleanliness, and waste management within the dargah’s periphery. The work entails providing clean drinking water for pilgrims, building toilets, and kiosk management.

“Every day, seven tonnes of rose petals are wasted. For the flower-waste disposal, a compost waste converter has been installed.” As the Khwaja was known far and wide for his large-heartedness and hospitality, the dargah distributes degh ka khana (food from a cauldron) comprising rice, almonds, cashew nuts, raisins and ghee. “The food is prepared in two big deghs , which were made during Mughal emperor Akbar’s reign. A retort packaging machine (sterile packaging of plastic and foil) has been installed to increase the shelf life of food from three hours to three months.”

Feeding into the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, Surbhi says that her team is working on the revival of wudu (Islamic ritual purification) points so that pilgrims can wash their hands, face and feet before offering namaz. Right now, the overflow leads to a cesspool of water. “We are also building newer ones that are aesthetic as well as functional,” says Surbhi, who from her days in college at CEPT, Ahmedabad, has been interested in heritage structures.

She chose Chunnamal ki haveli in Old Delhi, as a research project. “On the ground floor were shops, first and second floors were residential spaces. It had five chowks (internal courtyards). And it was built as an organic edifice over many decades during the 18th century,” she says.

Meanwhile, she hopes to look at the parts around the dargah. “The approach street is famous for food, craft and gota work done on the chadar laid at the dargah by devotees. We have proposed a facilitating centre that includes a large shopping space, kiosk, and toilets inside the complex,” she says.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> History & Culture / by Madhur Tankha / Septemeber 03rd, 2019

How U.P. police tried to keep Azam Khan in jail till the last minute

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UTTAR PRADESH :

Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan is greeted by supporters after his release from jail in Sitapur on May 20, 2022. | Photo Credit: PTI

Supreme Court had invoked Article 142 to grant him interim bail 

The Uttar Pradesh police’s efforts to keep Samajwadi Party stalwart Mohd Azam Khan in custody were interrupted as the SP leader walked out of the Sitapur Jail on Friday after more than two years in custody.

While invoking its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India to grant him the relief, the Supreme Court had outlined the circumstances under which Khan was implicated in the 88th FIR against him.

To begin with, the court noted that even though this FIR was registered in March 2020 and a charge sheet filed, the U.P. police did not consider implicating Khan in the said case until the Supreme Court started hearing his case this year.

Moreover, the court also noted that while opposing interim bail to Khan in this case, the police had alleged that he had threatened the investigating officer of the case. However, it also pointed out the “sheer coincidence” in the timing of this threat, which was registered by the police as a General Diary entry at 3:04 a.m. on May 17, only hours before the top court was to hear the matter.

Noting that Khan was implicated in this case 1 year and 7 months after a charge sheet had been filed, the court said, “It is not as if that the allegations which are now sought to be made against the petitioner (Khan) could not have been made at that point of time.”

When Khan had approached the Supreme Court earlier this year, there were 87 criminal cases pending against him, of which he had secured bail in 84. As the top court started hearing his plea regarding the delay in bail being granted in the remaining three cases, he was further granted bail in two of them, leaving just one more case for him to get relief in as of the beginning of May.

It was at this point that the U.P. police acted to implicate Khan in the 88th case, where he was not an accused or suspect till May 5, when the police first requested to summon him in the case. As the Supreme Court was told on May 6 that the Allahabad High Court would soon deliver its judgement in the last remaining case, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Rampur) on the same day passed an order remanding Khan in custody in the 88th case.

While hearing Khan’s case last week, the Supreme Court had also noted a pattern in the police action against him, orally pointing out that the 9-time SP MLA was being arrested in a fresh case every time he was granted bail in a previous one to prolong his incarceration.

Khan, once among the most powerful ministers in the SP-led U.P. government, faced a barrage of FIRs soon after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2017, the first of which came on allegations of forging his son’s birth documents. The bulk of the FIRs (81 out of a total 88) then came in 2019, immediately before and after the Lok Sabha elections that year, all in quick succession.

As per the most recent election filing in 2022, charges have been framed against Khan in just 14 of the 88 cases.

Therefore, considering that he had been granted bail in 87 cases and the circumstances under which he was implicated in the 88th case, the Supreme Court invoked its power under Article 142 for the second time in two days to grant interim bail to him.

The top court had just a day before invoked the same powers to free Rajiv Gandhi-assassination convict A.G. Perarivalan.

Article 142 gives the Supreme Court sweeping powers to pass any such orders or decrees as it may deem fit in the interest of ensuring that “complete justice” is done in any cause or matter pending before it.

These powers are rarely invoked by the court and it has done so notably in its Ayodhya-Ram Janmabhoomi land dispute judgement in 2019, in 1989 while asking Union Carbide to pay $470 million in compensation to Bhopal gas tragedy victims, and in 2016 while banning the sale of liquor within 500 metres of state and national highways in a bid to curb driving accidents.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Other States / by Abhinay Lakshman / New Delhi – May 20th, 2022

Prof. Nilofer Khan assumes charge as Vice-Chancellor of Kashmir University

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JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Professor (Retired) Nilofar Khan, who was yesterday appointed as new Vice Chancellor of the University of Kashmir, assumed charge of the office of VC on Friday.

Professor (Retired) Nilofar Khan, who was yesterday appointed as new Vice Chancellor of the University of Kashmir, assumed charge of the office of VC on Friday. 

According to official sources, Khan assumed the charge of the office of Vice Chancellor this morning and was welcomed by the officials on her arrival at the varsity.   

However, since morning a number of people have made a beeline to the office of VC, congratulating her on becoming the head of the valley’s premier institution.  

Prof. Nilofer Khan was appointed as the first female Vice chancellor of Kashmir University by Lieutenant Governor, J&K, Manoj Sinha, who is also the Chancellor of the varsity, by exercising power vested in him under section 12 of Kashmir and Jammu Universities Act 1969.

source: http://www.risingkashmir.com / Rising Kashmir / Home / by RK Online Desk / May 20th, 2022

“I believe in intuition while cooking”, Zohra Seemee

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NEW DELHI :

Zohra Seemee(L), her recipe book “Zaykah India Ka”

The month of Ramazan has entered its last leg and thus it is possible that the items on the Iftaar table at dusk must be getting mundane. Here, Awaz-the Voice spoke with Zohra Seeme, author of “Zaykah India ka” and founder of NGO Social Pride Welfare Society about how to pep up the Iftar platter for the family.

 “I learnt cooking after I got married..”, was Zohra Seeme’s reply to how and when she learnt how to cook. Zohra said as shewas distributing ration on behalf of Mahila Panchayat (an NGO she collaborates with) to the needy when Awaz the Voice reached her for a tete-a-tete.

Here’s her top dishes that can be tried this Ramazan:

Potato-Chicken Patty: potatoes boiled and mashed properly are used as a base that are then filled with minced meat of either chicken or mutton. Minced meat or keema that is prepared by roasting it with bare minimum spices and a dash of onions till cooked properly. 

Chane ki dal ke pakodas with Keema (Gram flour fitters filled with minced meat): preparing the gram flour dough by kneading it with a bit luke warm water, add salt to taste, take small portion, roll it flat, fill it with minced meat (as done with potato chicken patty) and just deep fry it or bake it (whatever suits you best). 

Zohra says, “I was the youngest at my place, thus I never touched a thing, but after I got married, my partner ate less but rich food, thus my journey of preparing food started..” “I don’t particularly follow any book, I believe in intuition rather..”, she replies when asked about her mantra behind the delicious recipes.

She adds, “I make up mind as and when I enter the kitchen, I try to think of flavours in my mind and when they click, I try to lay them on the dining table..”

A complete iftar table as laid out by Zohra Seemee

Asked about some oil-less, health conscious recipes she says, “ well, there’s Ghugni (a local name for chana dal soaked overnight and prepared with a dash of lemon, salt, black pepper, and finely chopped onions, tomatoes..”

A healthy potpourri can be prepared by taking sprouts of your choice(soak black gram, green lentils, yellow gram overnight), and just add lemon, salt, black pepper and salad of your choice.

When asked about an all time favourite recipe of her kids she says, “I prepare chicken roast, that is one recipe that is loved by all..”

Here’s the recipe: boil the preferred choice of meat with salt, garlic, ginger and water. Separate the water from the meat when tender. Add a pinch of fine flour (maida), edible food colour and either pan fry or deep fry the same. When done it is served with preferred salad dressing.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Women / by Shaista Fatima, New Delhi / April 24th, 2022

MDMK fields ‘Nizam Maama’ in Palayamkottai

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Tirunelveli, TAMIL NADU :

People Welfare Front’s candidate for Palayamkottai K.M.A. Nizam of MDMK. — Photo: A. Shaikmohideen; Fatima Babu, MDMK candidate for Thoothukudi.

A social worker for Thoothukudi and a retired teacher for Nagercoil

The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, a constituent of Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam – People’s Welfare Front, has fielded party’s Tirunelveli city district secretary K.M.A. Nizam, popularly known among the Palayamkottai residents as ‘Nizam Maama.’

Though he has not contested any election in the past, Mr. Nizam, a Grade I contractor, has held various positions in the party and is quite popular among the residents of Palayamkottai, thanks to his ‘helping tendency,’ especially to the needy.

When over 3,000 government employees and the teachers laid siege to the Collectorate recently as part of their Statewide indefinite strike, Mr. Nizam provided them lunch – both vegetarian and non-vegetarian, tea and dinner for two days.

Whenever he is approached for providing lunch for the participants of conferences, seminars in colleges here, he would oblige gleefully, saying that those who teach the younger generation should not be allowed to run from pillar to post for their professional needs.

Mr. Nizam will take on DMK’s T.P.M. Mohideen Khan and AIADMK’s A. Thamizh Magan Hussein.

The MDMK has nominated former MLA T. Sadan Thirumalaikumar, a doctor, at Sankarankovil (reserved) segment. He was elected to the Assembly from neighbouring Vasudevanallur (reserved) constituency in 2006 and had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha polls at Tenkasi (1991 and 2014), Assembly polls at Rajapalayam (1996) and Assembly by-poll in Sankarankovil (2012).

Nagercoil

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has fielded a retired teacher, Rani Selwyn, in Nagercoil constituency.

Ms. Rani is the State deputy secretary of the party’s women’s wing. She unsuccessfully contested for the post of Nagercoil Municipal Chairperson in 1986 and 1996.

The party has fielded 68-year old Sampath Chandra, chairman of the Kanyakumari District Central Cooperative Bank, in Colachel constituency.

Tuticorin

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a strong ally of DMDK –PWF, has fielded Fathima Babu (64), former Associate Professor of English, St. Mary’s College, in Thoothukudi. Ms. Babu is a familiar face in Thoothukudi. She is a social worker and an environmental activist. Thoothukudi Mayoral election during 2011 saw Ms. Babu as one of key contenders.

She has held various responsibilities such as Executive Committee Member of Thoothukudi Town Beautification, Senate member of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, and State Convener of Fishermen Movements of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. This candidate was conferred with ‘Greenpeace International Award’ in recognition of her efforts to protect the planet’s environment. Thoothukudi district administration honoured her at the Republic Day celebration in 2011 for outstanding social service.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Tamil Nadu / by Madurai Bureau / Tirunelveli / April 17th, 2016

Meet Mohammed Shamim, The Delhi Gravedigger Dealing With The Dead During COVID-19

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NEW DELHI :

As the number of COVID victims rose in Delhi, more and more bodies needed a final resting place.

And that’s probably why Cemetery Supervisor Mohammed Shamim at ITO cemetery had no choice but to turn families away and risk his life to bury those who died of COVID-19. “I am fighting corona daily. I have not taken a single day off since the lockdown and come to the cemetery every day. I don’t even go to my home and sleep here only as no other person is ready to come here,” Shamim said.

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Gravedigger Mohammed Shamim brings a rope to use for burial of a coronavirus victim at a graveyard in Delhi. The death toll from coronavirus in Delhi has reached a reported 176.

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Shamim instructs relatives of a coronavirus victim before burial at a graveyard. As of May 20, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India stand at 1,07,819. 

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“I’ve been burying the dead for the last two decades. But until now, I’ve never been scared for my own life,” he said to AFP.

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Shamim sanitises his gloves before the burial of a COVID-19 victim. He always keeps a santiser bottle with him.

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He uses his mobile phone after a burial.

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Shamim rests in his room after the burial of a COVID-19 victim. He has moved his four daughters to his parents’ house to prevent the risk of them catching the disease.

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Mohammed Shamim prepares a rope to use it to lower a body into a grave.

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Here, he’s seen directing an ambulance carrying the victims of COVID-19.

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He talks to the relatives and asks them to put on protective suits, gloves, and masks for the burial ceremony.

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“People just refuse to come help with the burial. What can you do? I have to step in,” he said, describing “heartbreaking” scenes, like when only a wife and a small child came to the funeral of one man.

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Shamim receives a rope to use for the burial of a coronavirus victim at a graveyard. “I always felt safest around the dead and most vulnerable in the outside world. Now I find it difficult to sleep at night,” he said.

Inputs From AFP

source: http://www.indiatimes.com / India Times / Home> Trending> Social
Relevance / by Bhupinder Singh / Inputs fr9om AFP / July 21st, 2020

Jamiat Offers Legal Assistance to Karoli Riot Victims

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RAJASTHAN / NEW DELHI :

The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind taking stock of the devastation in the aftermath communal violence  in Karoli.

After visiting the riot-hit area, a delegation of the JUH held the district administration responsible for the riots saying if not for inept handling of the situation, the riots would not have taken place.

New Delhi :

A delegation of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH) visited Karoli, Rajasthan, to take stock of the situation there in the aftermath of the devastating communal violence that took place there last month. During the visit the delegation met the victims of the riots and assured them legal assistance.

The delegation, on the direction of President of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Maulana Mahmood A Madani, assessed the on-going rehabilitation activities in the riot-hit area. During the riots, miscreants had burnt down 77 shops of which 67 belonged to Muslims. What’s shocking is that a large number of people belonging to the victim community have been arrested for the violence so far.

The delegation headed by Maulana Hakeemuddin Qasmi, JUH general secretary met with the district superintendent of police (SP) and district magistrate (DM) over the issue. During the visit, Maulana Hakeemuddin Qasmi noted that apart from tearing apart social fabric of the country such kind of riots adds to the woes of common man at a time when the country’s economy is going through a rough patch.

The delegation headed by Maulana Hakeemuddin Qasmi met with the district superintendent of police (SP) and district magistrate (DM) during their visit to Karoli.

He said, “No country is built in the air but it constitutes its people, houses, shops, cities and towns, trees, roads, and vehicles, harming any of them amounts to harming the nation.”

The JUH held the district administration responsible for the riots. It said if not for inept handling of the situation, the riots would not have taken place.

Maulana Hakeemuddin Qasmi asked the SP how the rally with DJ blaring hate-filled songs and slogans was allowed to pass through a sensitive area while it was banned for 20 years. The government and the administration should always be vigilant about the sensitive areas so that sectarian elements do not vitiate the atmosphere by holding such rallies.

The delegation noted that the riots were the handiwork of some vested interests who wanted to create a rift between the two communities for political gain. It demanded action against the communal outfit which engineered the riots. It said action against individuals won’t serve any purpose.

The delegation included Maulana Hakeemuddin Qasmi, Maulana Ghayyur Ahmad Qasmi, Senior Organizer of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Maulana Noman, Vice-President of Jamiat Ulama-i-Rajasthan, Maulana Muhammad Younus, Maulana Anis, JUH district president Karoli, Mufti Islam, Hafiz Luqmanan, Maulana Mahboob, Hafiz Babuddin, Mufti Islam, Hafiz Liaqat, Haji Abdul Hai among others.

source: http://www.clarionindia.net / Clarion India / Home> Big Story> India / May 18th, 2022

U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibet Uzra Zeya to visit India and Nepal

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Bihar,INDIA / North Carolina / Washington, U.S.A. :

U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan issues Uzra Zeya. File | Photo Credit: AFP

U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan issues Uzra Zeya will travel to India and Nepal this week to deepen cooperation on human rights and democratic governance goals with the two nations, the State Department has announced.

Ms. Zeya, the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights and an India-American, is expected to visit Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh during her visit to India.

Dharamsala is home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-exile.

“Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights and U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues Uzra Ms. Zeya will travel May 17–22 to India and Nepal to deepen cooperation on human rights and democratic governance goals, and to advance humanitarian priorities,” the State Department said on May 16.

“She will also discuss partnering with India and Nepal during this Year of Action for the Summit for Democracy. The delegation will include U.S.AID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia Anjali Kaur,” it added.

It will be the first high-level contact between the U.S. and the Tibetan leadership after Joe Biden became President in January last year.

In New Delhi, people familiar with the development said last month that Ms. Zeya will hold talks with the Dalai Lama and other senior leaders of the Tibetan Government in exile in Dharamsala, signalling the Biden administration’s commitment to the Tibetan cause.

Last month, Tibetan exile leader Penpa Tsering paid a visit to Washington D.C. and met Ms. Zeya. Tsering — the elected head of Tibet’s India-based exile Government the Central Tibetan Administration — had also met House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other congressional leaders.

China considers the 14th Dalai Lama as a political exile who has attempted to split Tibet from China under the guise of religion.

According to the people cited above, key issues relating to the Tibetan cause are likely to figure in the talks.

As the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan issues, Ms. Zeya has been coordinating the Biden administration’s policies, programmes and projects relating to the Tibetan cause.

Ms. Zeya was sworn-in as the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights by Secretary of State Antony Blinken on July 14 last year.

On December 20, she was concurrently appointed as the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan issues.

The U.S. has been consistently supporting the Tibetan cause notwithstanding China’s strong objection.

In 2020, the U.S. came out with legislation reaffirming the absolute right of Tibetan people to choose a successor to the Dalai Lama and the preservation of Tibet’s environment.

After the U.S. Congress passed the legislation, China had accused Washington of meddling in its internal affairs.

China has been insisting that the selection of the next Dalai Lama has to be decided within Chinese territory and that it has to have a say in the matter.

The issue of a successor to the 14th Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile in Dharamsala since 1959, gained traction as he turned 86 in July last year.

Mr. Blinken had met a representative of the Dalai Lama during his visit to New Delhi last year.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> International / by PTI / Washington, May 17th, 2022