Sachin Chavan

🇮🇳

[Giorgia Meloni @GiorgiaMeloni]

https://t.co/Kc38mpSKEw

[Erik Solheim @ErikSolheim]

In defense of Indian 🇮🇳 democracy!

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi most successful visit to Norway a minor incident happened. A Norwegian journalist demanded that the prime minister starts holding press conferences. She claimed that Indian democracy is in bad shape.

May be its time to pause? May be its time to be a bit curious to the world’s largest democracy?

Two weeks ago five Indian states and territories held elections. The turn out in the battlefield state of West Bengal was 94%. In the last local election in Norway it was 62%, in many European local elections turn out is below 50%. Can voting in massive numbers be a signal Indians trust their democratic process?

In the same election BJP won big in Assam and West Bengal. It lost even bigger in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Can this diversity be a signal that Indian democracy is reflecting the will of the people?

The journalist referred to a democracy ranking putting India at 157 in the world, behind many dictatorships and deeply troubled states. When a ranking is so obviously contrary to common sense, why not ask critical questions to those making the ranking rather than demand that leaders shall comment on nonsense? I recommend Salvatore Babones book “Dharma democracy”. The book debunks convincingly the flawed methodology of these rankings.

It was referred to a ranking claiming it’s very dangerous to be a journalist in India. Reality is that it is more dangerous to be journalist in the US and far more dangerous in the vast majority of other nations in the world.

Let’s be real. India is not perfect. Of course there are incidents. India has a population the size of North America, South America and Europe combined. But India is much more peaceful than Europe or the Americas. That’s remarkable - given the ethnic, language and religious diversity of India and the many development challenges.

Unless we consider democracy a form of government only suited for some very small, peaceful and homogeneous Western European nations, may be we should commend Indian democracy?

India is the only major former UK colony which became and has remained a democracy. Its sometimes claimed that the Brits taught India democracy. If that was the case why isn’t Myanmar or Pakistan or the Gulf kingdoms democracies??? Reality is that Indian democracy is both homegrown and extraordinary successful.

[Indian Air Force @IAF_MCC]

#OperationSindoor
Justice delivered with precision.
Unyielding in resolve, decisive in action — Operation Sindoor stands etched in the nation’s memory forever.
India remembers.
India responds.

#operation #Sindoor #operationsindoor #IAF

@PMOIndia
@rajnathsingh
@DefenceMinIndia
@SpokespersonMoD
@HQ_IDS_India
@adgpi
@CareerinIAF
@Indiannavy

[Indian Air Force @IAF_MCC]

Operation Sindoor
Justice served.
Precise in action, eternal in memory—Operation Sindoor continues.
India forgets nothing-India forgives nothing.

#operation #Sindoor #operationsindoor #IAF

@PMOIndia
@rajnathsingh
@DefenceMinIndia
@SpokespersonMoD
@HQ_IDS_India
@adgpi
@CareerinIAF
@Indiannavy

[Anish Moonka @anishmoonka]

Asha Bhosle was cast out by her own family at 16. She’d eloped with her elder sister Lata Mangeshkar’s secretary, a man twice her age. The marriage turned abusive. She walked out with two children and a third on the way, returning to a family that barely wanted her back.

To survive, she took every recording job the top singers rejected. In Indian cinema, actors don’t sing their own songs. Singers record in a studio, and the actors lip-sync on camera. In the 1950s, the big films went to established voices. Bhosle got the leftovers: B-grade soundtracks, cabaret numbers, songs for the villain’s girlfriend. Between 1948 and 1957, she recorded more songs than any other singer in the country, but almost none of them mattered.

Her break came from composer O.P. Nayyar, who gave her the lead songs in Naya Daur (1957). For the first time, she was the voice of the heroine. By the mid-1960s, she’d partnered with a young composer named R.D. Burman. Their first major collaboration nearly didn��t happen. When Bhosle heard the westernized dance number “Aaja Aaja” for Teesri Manzil (1966), she told Burman she couldn’t sing it. He offered to rewrite the music. She refused, rehearsed for ten days, and delivered one of the decade’s biggest hits. That professional partnership became a marriage in 1980. Burman died in 1994.

In 1981, composer Khayyam asked her to sing two notes lower than usual for the film Umrao Jaan. The ghazals (traditional Urdu love songs) she recorded won her India’s National Film Award and shattered the idea that she could only do pop. At 62, she recorded the Rangeela soundtrack with A.R. Rahman. At 79, she made her debut as a film actress.

Guinness World Records certified her in 2011 as the most recorded artist in music history. She put out over 11,000 songs in more than 20 languages across eight decades, and no other recording artist on Earth has come close.

Her voice crossed borders in ways almost no Indian artist had before. Cornershop wrote “Brimful of Asha” about her in 1997, and a Fatboy Slim remix sent it to No. 1 in the UK. The Black Eyed Peas sampled her vocals. The Kronos Quartet, a classical string ensemble, recorded an album of R.D. Burman compositions with her and earned a Grammy nomination. Earlier this year, at 92, she appeared on a Gorillaz track.

She outlived the people closest to her. Her daughter Varsha died in 2012 at 56. Her son Hemant died of cancer in 2015. Her sister Lata, the most famous singer in Indian history, died in 2022, also at 92. After Varsha’s death, Bhosle told reporters the pain would stay with her until her last breath, but added: “You should always laugh with others but cry alone.”

Asha Bhosle died today in Mumbai at 92. She recorded her first song at 10, her last collaboration at 92, and spent the 82 years in between proving that the woman they once threw out could outlast every voice that came before or after her.

[Narendra Modi @narendramodi]

Merci beaucoup, mon ami !
À l’occasion de la fête sacrée de Holi, je vous adresse, à vous et au peuple de France, mes vœux sincères de bonheur et de prospérité.

[Liverpool FC @LFC]

Happy Holi to everyone celebrating today! #RedTogether

[Sann @san_x_m]

It was 3 pm at Swargadwar cremation ground in Puri.

Sabyasachi, 35 years old, who was a Vice President in a big software company in America, came straight from the airport to the cremation ground. His father, Pradipta Mishra, 75 years old, had passed away the previous night.

Sabyasachi was holding an expensive laptop bag and wearing Ray Ban glasses. He looked very busy and kept checking his watch again and again.

Tarun from Moksha Event Management, a funeral service company, was standing there. He had arranged everything. The wood was ready, the priest had been called, and Pradipta Mishra’s body was bathed and prepared.

Sabyasachi arrived. He looked at his father’s face. Two drops of tears fell from his eyes.

He asked Tarun, “Mr Tarun, is everything ready? I have to catch a return flight at 6 pm. I have an important meeting tomorrow. Please finish this quickly.”

Tarun was shocked but quietly nodded.

The rituals were completed. Sabyasachi lit the funeral fire. Smoke rose into the sky.

Then he took Tarun aside and took out his checkbook. He said, “Tarun, thank you. You arranged everything well. What is your bill? Fifty thousand or one lakh? Tell me the amount, I will write the cheque now. I cannot come again. Please also take care of the ashes.”

Tarun smiled strangely and said, “Sir, there is no need to pay. Your bill has already been paid.”

Sabyasachi was confused. “Already paid? Who paid? Did my uncle pay?”

Tarun replied, “No sir. Five years ago, your father came to our office. He was very sick and could hardly walk. He asked us, what is your package? Will you manage everything so that my son does not face any problem?”

“We explained everything to him. That same day he deposited fifty thousand rupees in advance. He also gave me this letter. He told me, when my son comes, give him this letter. And if he does not come, you perform my last rites.”

Tarun gave the letter to Sabyasachi.

With shaking hands, Sabyasachi opened it. In his father’s weak handwriting, it was written:

“Dear Sabyasachi,

My son, I know you are very busy. In America you may not even get time to breathe. I know when you hear about my death, you will be worried. Will I get leave? Will I get a ticket? What about my meeting? These questions will trouble you.

Son, your time and career are very important. I raised you so that you can win the world. Do not suffer loss for the body of an old man.

That is why I have arranged everything for my death in advance. I have already paid this organization. They will manage everything. If you come, good. If you do not come, I will not be angry.

I have only one request.

When you were small and I dropped you at school, I never left your hand.

Today when you light my funeral fire, may your hand not shake. Return soon. Your wife will be waiting.

Yours,
Baba”

After reading the letter, the checkbook fell from Sabyasachi’s hand into the mud.

In that cremation ground, where the sound of burning wood was heard, Sabyasachi’s pride and career also turned into ashes.

He fell on his knees.

“Baba, forgive me, Baba.”

He held Tarun’s feet and cried, “Tarun, I do not want to go back to America. I want to stay with my father. I earned crores of rupees, but in the end I became a beggar. My father was thinking about my meeting even at the time of his death, and I was paying for his last rites?”

That day Sabyasachi did not catch his flight. He sat the whole night in front of the burning pyre.

Because in the end he understood:

Prepaid can be for a SIM card. But a father’s love is never prepaid. A father’s love is endless, and no money in the world can repay it.

Lesson: No matter how big you become in the world, no matter how much money you earn, when the parents who once changed your clothes need you at the end of their life, do not turn your face away.

Any company can perform the funeral. But tears cannot be bought from outside.

Those tears should come only from blood relations.

[Megh Updates 🚨™ @MeghUpdates]

The statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Pangong Lake, Ladakh, installed by the Indian Army in December 2024 has gone viral on social media sending goosebumps on the Jayanti of the great hindu warrior king.

[John Spencer @SpencerGuard]

Evidence of India's precision strikes on/near Kirana Hills, reported to be one of the core Pakistan nuclear program sites, was a direct strategic message to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor that India could hit what it wanted, when it wanted. Escalation ladder dominance. Deterrence (will and capability). Great conversation between Tim Cooper @ShivAroor @ndtv

[Italy Cricket @ItalyCricket]

Yes we know, it’s just the start, Italy’s win over Nepal but imagine this, T20 World Cup 2032 or 2034 in Rome, Milan.
Cricket under the Colosseum skies. Opera before anthems.
Imagine the final:
Italy vs Australia or India vs Italy. In Rome.
Under floodlights? 🇮🇹✨ 😍

[INSIGHT UK @INSIGHTUK2]

Bindi on the ice rink! Georgian figure skater Anastasiia Gubanova brought stunning Hindu vibes to the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics.

Rocking a radiant red costume, traditional bindi, intricate jewelry, and performing to Indian music - she blended athletic grace with cultural elegance on the world stage.

The bindi worn on the forehead between the eyebrows, symbolizing the ajna chakra (third eye) for wisdom, intuition, and often marital status is a core element of Hindu traditions.

A beautiful fusion of sport and heritage that lit up Milan! 🔥🙏

Are you mesmerized? Let us know in the comments.

#FigureSkating #MilanoCortina2026 #Olympics #IndianVibes #BindiOnIce #AnastasiiaGubanova

[INSVikramaditya @IN_Vikramaditya]

Behold the nature’s beauty…!!!

#SynergySunday  #NationalService  #IndianNavy

@indiannavy

@IndiannavyMedia

@IN_WNC

@IN_WesternFleet

[Jyoti Gokhale Pendse 🇮🇳 @priority_n]

He was just 4 months baby when lost his Father. Malu Aai worked as daily wager to feed her kids. He joined #IndianArmy after he passed 12th to lend helping hand to his mother but destiny had different plans for him.

Join me in paying Homage to
SEPOY SAGAR DHANGAR
5 MARATHA LI
on his Balidan Diwas today.

24yrs young Sep Sagar hailing from #Chalisgaon was Immortalized at Manipur #OnThisDay Jan 31, 2021 while serving the Nation leaving behind his #VeerParivaar .

#KnowYourHeroes

[Iceland Cricket @icelandcricket]

Dear @ICC,

It is with a heavy heart that we now announce our unavailability to replace Pakistan in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Regardless of whether they now withdraw, the short timescales ensure it is impossible for our squad to prepare in the professional manner necessary to compete effectively in this global cricketing spectacle. We are not like Scotland and able to turn up on a whim, with no kit sponsor.

Our players are from all walks of life and cannot simply drop their occupations to fly halfway around the world to experience temperatures only normally felt in Finnish saunas. Our captain, a professional baker, needs to attend to his oven, our ship captain needs to steer his vessel, and our bankers need to go bankrupt (again). This is the harsh reality of cricket at the amateur level of the game.

This news will be extremely disappointing to our fans. Despite being the most peaceful nation on Earth, we maintain an army of online followers, and are the world's 14th most followed national board on X. We were ready to give the Dutch the biggest shock they have experienced since William of Orange lost the Battle of Landen in 1693. And the Americans were looking forward to taking on Greenland, or so their orange-dyed leader thought.

Our loss is likely Uganda's gain. We wish them well. Their kits cannot be missed unless you have epilepsy, in which case they are probably best avoided.

The future is always ice, until it isn't.

Yours sincerely,

Icelandic Cricket Association

[Ursula von der Leyen @vonderleyen]

Long live India.

Long live the friendship between Europe and India.

🇪🇺🇮🇳

[Emmanuel Macron @EmmanuelMacron]

What a wonderful memory of the #RepublicDay we shared together in 2024! 🇮🇳🇫🇷

My dear friend @NarendraModi, dear Indian friends, my very best wishes on this great day of celebration. See you in February to continue building together!

[Jyoti Gokhale Pendse 🇮🇳 @priority_n]

Both his parents served the Nation with Pride, their only child earned Glorious death at the age of 21,in just 4months of service.

Homage to
2/LIEUTENANT RAJEEV SANDHU
7 ASSAM
MAHAVIR CHAKRA

on his Balidan Diwas.
He was immortalized in #SriLanka fighting #LTTE on Jul 19, 1988.

[John Spencer @SpencerGuard]

https://t.co/if5YGg6VbV

[JAVED IQBAL SHAH @JAVED0909]

All said & done Narendra bhai, I can't remember a regime where lesser, ordinary mortals like these ever walked to be honored in the hallowed precincts of power in Delhi. To one like me it is the deprived existence of the less privileged, duly acknowledged.

As President Droupadi Murmu presents Padma Shri in the field of Art to Smt Bhimavva an internationally acclaimed puppet artist from Moranahalli village, Koppal in Karnataka. She belongs to a nomadic tribe who has performed leather puppetry for 7 decades.