Tuesday, 29 November 2022

Catholic priests organise attack to sabotage Kerala's Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited

Catholic priests organised an attack on a Kerala police station to sabotage the Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited. 40 policemen were injured and several police vehicles damaged. The police have said their department incurred a loss of Rs.85 lakh in the attack.

The FIR drawn up by the Vizhinjam police shows Latin Archbishop Fr Thomas J Netto himself as the first accused. The Auxiliary Bishop, Fr Christudas Rajappan, is the second accused and the convenor of the agitation Fr Eugene Pereira is the third.



Do you know - Vizhinjam port is super critical for India? 


Vizhinjam port was selected as the most cost-effective choice for a trans-shipment terminal in India  


• 20-meter natural depth for big ships.

• Requires minimum dredging due to natural sea currents.

• Is on the southern tip of India, and can act as a midpoint of east & west trade.


In India it takes 30 years, yes 30 years, for a development project of national significance to take shape, after going through all the hurdles created by various vested interests.

The foundation stone of the Rs 7,525 crore port, being built under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model with Adani Ports Private Limited at Vizhinjam near Thiruvananthapuram, was finally laid by then Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in December 2015. It has since missed its completion deadline.

The port is to have 30 berths, and will be able to handle giant “megamax” container ships. The Adani Group has said the ultramodern port, located close to major international shipping routes, will boost India’s economy. Its location is also of strategic importance, the project’s supporters have claimed. The port is expected to compete with Colombo, Singapore, and Dubai for a share of trans-shipment traffic.

What is a transshipment terminal? 

Goods and containers are shipped to an intermediate destination, and then they go to the final destination. These terminals often combine small shipments into larger shipments or divide large loads into smaller ones.



Currently, India does not have a trans-shipment port. 

85% of India’s cargo is handled at below ports, and India pays a fee to these countries for every shipment. 


• Colombo SriLanka (China owned) 

• Singapore 

• Klang Malaysia 

• Dubai 


How will a trans-shipment hub benefit India? 


  • Availability of a 20m contour within one nautical mile from the coast; 

  • Minimal littoral drift along the coast

  • Forex savings

  • Foreign direct investment

  • Increased economic activity at other Indian Ports

  • Development of logistics infrastructure & value-added services 

  • Proximity to international shipping routes.

  • Warehousing

  • Crew change facility

  • Ship repair, etc

  • Links to national/regional Highways, 

  • Rail network


While the fishermen’s protests are being supported by the Latin Catholic Church, a local people’s action committee is demanding speedy completion of the project. This committee has the backing of various Hindu community outfits like the Nair Service Society, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, as well as the Vaikunda Swami Dharma Pracharana, which has a considerable presence among the Nadar community, in southern Kerala. Usual political opponents BJP and CPI(M) have made common cause over the port project, criticising the protesters.


This is not the first time that development projects have been stalled by a foreign hand. 


In 2011, similar protests were fuelled by USA & Scandinavian NGOs connected to church against the ₹14,000 crore Kudankulam Nuclear plant, which India was building with help from Russia.


Sterlite Copper plant in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district became a victim of foreign-funded protests too and was forced to shut down in May 2018. The Sterlite plant met 40 percent of India's copper demand, and now copper is imported from China.


There are countless examples where foreign-funded NGOs have fuelled protests against developmental projects in India. 


They use the church and environmental NGOs to funnel funds and keep the agitation simmering. Environmental NGOs will suddenly appear giving their ‘expert’ opinions every day on various local TV channels about how everything will destroy the environment and kill all the people.


There are regional parties like DMK who back these ‘Poralis’ and NGOs for their own benefit. The DMK opposed the 8 Lane Salem Chennai expressway which would cut the travel distance by over 60kms and bring down travel time by half, when they were in opposition. Now, after coming to power, they are OK with it, mostly because they can make money out of it. Another crucial project cutting down interstate freight traffic was stalled in the process for 5 years.


Ironically, the communists who are known to oppose every developmental project in the country are now compelled to support the Vizhinjam International Seaport project since they are the ruling party in Kerala. They issued a statement in support of the project blaming agitators all over the country!


"There were severe objections to various development projects like the Kudankulam power project, the development of national highways and the laying of the GAIL pipeline. But with strong and determined actions the government had implemented all these projects," the statement said.


It said the government had done all it could to allay the concerns of the local people. "But certain vested interests are standing in the way," the CPM Secretariat said.


The church is an agent used by foreign powers to stall India’s growth and to ensure that India remains a ‘developing country’ forever, ensuring their superiority and also to ensure that Indians look up to them. It is about time SECULAR Hindus understood this loud and clear. They have successfully ensured that Indians became self-loathing of their own culture, languages & heritage.


2000 years back, King Karikala Cholan of the Chola dynasty had the foresight to build a dam to divert the waters of the Kaveri across the fertile delta region for irrigation via canals. 


The Dam is almost ½ a Km long and is still in excellent condition. The area irrigated by the dam when it was built was 69,000 acres. Early in the 20th century, the irrigated area had gone up to a million acres.



In an analysis of how the Dam remained in continuous operation till now, it was concluded that “the old anicuts worked so well because they sophisticatedly reshaped water currents and sedimentation processes, rather than trying to control all natural elements by force”


Of course, Karikala Cholan did not have to deal with the church or some of the current day politicians and ‘Poralis’ and even if he had to, he would have dealt with them the way they should be dealt with.


https://twitter.com/pratheesh_Hind/status/1596927434980749312?s=20&t=9GPBuiuzu9ZZdUpMGRkF2Q

Saturday, 9 July 2022

My Friend, Abe San: PM Modi pens emotional tribute to late Shinzo Abe

 

My Friend, Abe San: PM Modi pens emotional tribute to late Shinzo Abe

Shinzo Abe - an outstanding leader of Japan, a towering global statesman, and a great champion of India-Japan friendship - is not among us anymore. Japan and the world have lost a great visionary. And, I have lost a dear friend.

I first met him in 2007, during my visit to Japan as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Right from that first meeting, our friendship went beyond the trappings of office and the shackles of official protocol.

Our visit to Toji temple in Kyoto, our train journey on the Shinkansen, our visit to the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, the Ganga Aarati in Kashi, the elaborate tea ceremony in Tokyo, the list of our memorable interactions is indeed long.

And, I will always cherish the singular honour of having been invited to his family home in Yamanashi prefecture, nestled among the foothills of Mt. Fuji.

Even when he was not the Prime Minister of Japan between 2007 and 2012, and more recently after 2020, our personal bond remained as strong as ever.

Every meeting with Abe San was intellectually stimulating. He was always full of new ideas and invaluable insights on governance, economy, culture, foreign policy, and various other subjects.

His counsel inspired me in my economic choices for Gujarat. And, his support was instrumental in building Gujarat’s vibrant partnership with Japan.

Later on, it was my privilege to work with him to bring about an unprecedented transformation of the strategic partnership between India and Japan. From a largely narrow, bilateral economic relationship, Abe San helped turn it into a broad, comprehensive one, which not only covered every field of national endeavour, but became pivotal for our two countries’ and the region’s security. For him, this was one of the most consequential relationships for the people of our two countries and the world. He was resolute in pursuing the civil nuclear agreement with India – a most difficult one for his country – and decisive in offering the most generous terms for the High Speed Rail in India. As in most important milestones in independent India’s journey, he ensured that Japan is there side by side as New India accelerates its growth.

His contribution to India-Japan relations was richly recognised by the conferment upon him of the prestigious Padma Vibhushan in 2021.

Abe San had a deep insight into the complex and multiple transitions taking place in the world, the vision to be ahead of his time to see its impact on politics, society, economy and international relations, the wisdom to know the choices that were to be made, the capacity to make clear and bold decisions even in the face of conventions and the rare ability to carry his people and the world with him. His far-reaching policies - Abenomics - reinvigorated the Japanese economy and re-ignited the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship of his people.

Among his greatest gifts to us and his most enduring legacy, and one for which the world will always be indebted, is his foresight in recognising the changing tides and gathering storm of our time and his leadership in responding to it. Long before others, he, in his seminal speech to the Indian Parliament in 2007, laid the ground for the emergence of the Indo Pacific region as a contemporary political, strategic and economic reality - a region that will also shape the world in this century.

And, he led from the front in building a framework and architecture for its stable and secure, peaceful and prosperous future, based on values that he deeply cherished – respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, adherence to international law and rules, peaceful conduct of international relations in a spirit of equality and shared prosperity through deeper economic engagement.

The Quad, the ASEAN-led forums, the Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative, the India-Japan Development Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, including Africa and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure all benefited from his contributions. Quietly and without fanfare, and overcoming hesitation at home and scepticism abroad, he transformed Japan’s strategic engagement, including in defence, connectivity, infrastructure and sustainability, across the Indo Pacific region. For that, the region is more optimistic about its destiny and the world more confident about its future.

During my Japan visit in May this year, I had the opportunity to meet Abe San, who had just taken over as the Chair of the Japan-India Association. He was his usual self - energetic, captivating, charismatic and very witty. He had innovative ideas on how to further strengthen the India-Japan friendship. When I said goodbye to him that day, little did I imagine that it would be our final meeting.

I will always be indebted for his warmth and wisdom, grace and generosity, friendship and guidance, and I will miss him dearly.

We in India mourn his passing as one of our own, just as he embraced us with an open heart. He died doing what he loved the most – inspiring his people. His life may have been cut short tragically, but his legacy will endure forever.

I extend heart-felt condolences on behalf of the people of India and on my own behalf to the people of Japan, especially to Mrs. Akie Abe and his family. Om Shanti.