Olivia
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Swaminathan Sabhanayagam
@thambu1970
Joined January 2016
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131 Followers
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Vande Bharat Trains🚄
2019: First Vande Bharat train started.
2023: Around 35 Vande Bharat trains in service.
2025: About 164 Vande Bharat trains running across India.
Now: Still around 164 trains, with new services like sleeper trains being introduced.
2030: Target of around 800 Vande Bharat trains.
Vande Bharat Sleeper trains are among the Lowest-Priced High-Speed Services GLOBALLY
India generates the vast majority of global cricket revenue, often estimated at 70–85%, largely through massive payments from Indian broadcasters for ICC event rights (over US$3 billion for the 2024–27 cycle alone). As a result, India receives the largest share of ICC revenue, at 38.5%.
Matches featuring the Indian team generate the highest television rights fees, no matter where they are played. If Sir Ian Botham has an issue with this, he could suggest reducing tours by Indian teams. Let’s see how long other cricket boards survive on just sponsors and gate money.
The IPL has made many overseas players, especially from England and Australia, extremely wealthy, earning sums they could never dream of in their home countries. The BCCI also treats foreign teams and commentators very well, offering five-star hospitality.
By contrast, when Indian teams visited England in the past, the ECB often put them up in modest inns with minimal facilities. The Indians didn’t complain.
Remember Ewan Chatfield, the New Zealand fast bowler who nearly died after being hit by a ball? During India’s 1990s tour of New Zealand, the Indian commentators were shocked to hear that Chatfield was earning a living delivering letters, while teenage Sachin Tendulkar was already on a million-dollar contract. Many New Zealanders wondered why their own board couldn’t look after its players better.
Putting aside past ego clashes between the BCCI and ICC, the truth today is simple: the ICC is financially strong because of the broadcasting deals driven by Indian cricket. The ICC isn’t complaining.
If Botham and David Lloyd want the ECB to get a bigger share, they should focus on generating more revenue from non-India matches. Let’s see how much they earn. Other cricket boards actively want Indian teams to tour because they bring in the money and also because of the presence of Indian diaspora at matches. If the English can’t see that reality, it’s their loss.
Distribution breakdown (approximate, per year):
• BCCI (India): 38.5% (~US$230M)
• England (ECB): ~6.9% (~US$41M)
• Australia (CA): ~6.25% (~US$37–38M)
• Pakistan (PCB): ~5.75% (~US$34–35M)
• Other full members: Lower single digits each
• All associate members combined: ~11% (~US$67M).
@ImPC_45 Bapu Nadkarni
Dr K S Rajanna is a 64-year-old social worker, Paralympic champion, n entrepreneur from Bengaluru who was conferred with the Padma Shri award in 2024 by President Droupadi Murmu... Despite losing his arms n legs to polio as a child, he has dedicated his life to the welfare of the differently-abled community.. If you think life is challenging then look at him for inspiration 🙌🏼
@BabajiSutar3 Dennis Lillee
Another Burnol Moment for Piddis!
Padma Shri for R.V.S. Mani!
The officer who unmasked truth behind the term 'Hindu Terror' coined by CONgress.
Swargiya Tukaram Omble & RVS Mani, Hindus in Bharat owe both of them a lot.
Most of you would be unaware of the deeds of the most educated successful PM of India whom history would treat kindly.
Do you know ????
The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation was officially established on June 21, 1991, exactly one month after former PM Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991.
The Permanent trustees of the foundation are Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Sam Pitroda, Manmohan Singh, and P Chidambaram.
But WONDER OF WONDERS !!!
In the 1991 Union Budget, then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, representing the Congress government, announced a ₹100 CRORE allocation for the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY OF THE NATION that a private, non-governmental organization founded by the Gandhi Dynasty was allocated 100 crore from the tax payers money of the Indians.
For all those who weep today that Modi is after all developing India from their tax payers money........
Just a gentle reminder for you.
US just learnt hard lesson AGAIN.
US tried hard to pressure Modi Sarkar not to implement FCRA Amendments. Rubio went to Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata. Amb Gor rushed to meet HM .@AmitShah very next day of G-7 Summit.
Modi Sarkar said STFU. No compromise on Religious Affairs & Internal Security of Bharat.
Bharat has amended FCRA rules OVERNIGHT to tighten foreign funding of NGOs.
- Foreign-funded NGOs can no longer use categories like "religious education", "preservation of faith traditions", or "indigenous belief systems" for Conversion/Attempted Conversion activities.
- Fresh restrictions on foreign nationals as key functionaries.
- Ultimate Donors must now be disclosed (money laundering through shell identities screwed).
- Social media accounts will be Scrutinised (such accounts were used to incite Manipur vi0£ence)
- Mandatory field verification of fund use.
- Dormant NGOs to lose licences.
US opposing FCRA Amendments is understandable, but why's CONgress opposing?
Anyway! Who cares! Modi Sarkar has done what Bharat needs desperately.
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY SAVAGE
Since yesterday likes of @Jairam_Ramesh and ilk have been waxing eloquent about the qualities of Hassan Suhrawardy.
Here is what Hassan Suhrawardy really was.
1. Hassan Suhrawardy gave up his knighthood in August 1946 BECAUSE Muslim League directed him to do so ( as a form of protest against Britishers). So Hassan Suhrawardy was an active believer in the politics of Jinnah which among other things advocated mass killings of Hindus to enable the creation of Pakistan.
2. Hassan Suhrawardy’s own nephew presided over the Hindu massacre on Direct Action Day on 16th August 1946. There is NOT ONE, even a perfunctory condemnation of the mass killings by the ‘great’ Hassan Suhrawardy.
Hasan was part of the same family that actively planned, orchestrated and carried out genocide against Hindus. And yet, Hassan Suhrawardy continued to stand by his nephew - the butcher of Bengal - and Muslim League, not exhibiting any of the qualities that Congress is falsely attributing him to.
3. So entire Congress party and its cheerleaders are now standing in unison to celebrate a Muslim League politician who even after Direct Action Day DID NOT give up his Muslim League affiliation but rather actively implemented its directives.
4. Congress undoubtedly is the new Muslim League, and its entire politics under @RahulGandhi is now a mirror of Jinnah and Suhrawardy clan.
While we often praise Indira Gandhi for the 1971 war, we should certainly read the statement made in the Pakistani parliament by Asif Ali Zardari—the husband of Benazir Bhutto.
This was a time when over 90,000 Pakistani soldiers were in Indian custody, and the Pakistan Army had surrendered. The Indian Army had integrated the Tharparkar district of Sindh into India—declaring it a new district of Gujarat—and the Tricolour had been hoisted over the parliament building in Muzaffarabad.
When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto arrived to sign the Simla Agreement with Indira Gandhi, he brought his daughter, Benazir Bhutto, along with him.
Indira Gandhi placed a condition before Zulfikar Ali Bhutto: if he wanted his 93,000 soldiers back, he would have to hand over Kashmir to India. Bhutto refused, telling her that he would not give up Kashmir, nor would he sign any such agreement; he told her to keep the 93,000 soldiers herself.
Indira Gandhi had never imagined that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was an even shrewder player than she was. He knew how to turn a military defeat at the border into a victory at the negotiating table.
Indira Gandhi found herself in a very tight spot.
Both Pupul Jayakar and Kuldip Nayar have written in their books that Indira Gandhi missed a crucial opportunity; neither she nor her advisors possessed the diplomatic acumen required to handle such a situation.
Under the Geneva Convention, if a country captures prisoners of war, it is obligated to fully uphold their dignity. That evening at the hotel, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said to his daughter, Benazir Bhutto, "India's back has been broken in this war; we fought with great valor. We have dealt a severe blow to India's economy. India was already burdened by Bangladeshi refugees; how will it now sustain 93,000 Pakistani soldiers? And if India wants to settle these 93,000 Pakistani soldiers there, let it do so—what use would we have for such cowardly soldiers anyway? I have reduced Indira Gandhi to a pathetic state."
And in the end, Indira Gandhi was reduced to a meek, cowering figure.
Indira Gandhi handed over Kashmir to Pakistan, returned the 93,000 soldiers, and abandoned 56 of her own soldiers to die in Pakistani prisons. Furthermore, eight months later—driven by a desire for the Nobel Prize—she returned the Tharparkar district (which had been incorporated into the Indian state of Gujarat) to Pakistan, even though 98% of Tharparkar's population at the time was Hindu.
In the book he wrote after retiring, the Army Chief at the time of the Shimla Agreement stated, "We won this war on the battlefield, but politicians defeated India at the negotiating table—and that politician was Indira Gandhi."
This is the truth about the so-called 'Iron Lady'...
Today is June 19
Rahul Gandhi's birthday
This is how NDTV used to cover this day during UPA years
Back then, this was not called godi media
This was called speaking truth to power
Btw, was Ravish Kumar working at NDTV back then?
The Silent Cold War: Why the Modi-Trump G7 Handshake Matters More Than You Think
Most people saw a handshake at the G7 Summit.
The real story is what happened during the 16 months before that handshake.
For nearly a year and a half, Prime Minister Modi and President Trump did not meet face-to-face. Then suddenly, at the G7 Summit hosted by France, they were standing a few feet apart again.
There were smiles.
There were photographs.
There was a handshake.
But there was also a message.
A message that many people missed.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Most people think India and America are becoming closer every year.
The reality is more complicated.
India and America are partners.
But they are also negotiating a new balance of power.
And that negotiation has quietly turned into a cold war of trade, influence, technology and geopolitics.
Not a cold war with tanks.
A cold war with tariffs.
Not a cold war with missiles.
A cold war with influence.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
16 Months Earlier...
The story did not start at the G7.
The story started after Operation Sindoor.
Many in Washington expected India to become more flexible on several issues.
→ Trade.
→ Regional security.
→ Strategic alignment.
→ Relations with Russia.
But New Delhi had a different plan.
India continued buying Russian oil.
India continued engaging BRICS.
India continued participating in QUAD.
India continued following its own interests.
This was the first signal that something had changed.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Trump's Problem: Modi Doesn't Negotiate Like Others
Trump's style is well known.
Apply pressure first.
Get the deal later.
It worked with businesses.
It worked with allies.
It worked with smaller countries.
But India was different.
When tariff pressure increased, India did not rush.
When trade talks slowed, India did not panic.
When pressure mounted, India did not fold.
Instead, New Delhi kept negotiating at its own pace.
That frustrated Washington.
Because India was sending a message:
"We can wait."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Trade Deal That Refuses To Happen
Think about this carefully.
If America had all the leverage, the trade deal would already be signed.
If India desperately needed America, the trade deal would already be signed.
Yet months later, negotiations continue.
Why?
Because India believes time is working in its favor.
Today every major power wants access to India.
→ America wants the Indian market.
→ Europe wants the Indian market.
→ Japan wants the Indian market.
→ Global companies want the Indian market.
India knows this.
And for the first time in decades, India is negotiating from confidence instead of urgency.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Macron Factor
Many people ignored another interesting detail at the G7.
French President Macron stood between Modi and Trump during the summit's most photographed moments.
That image symbolized something larger.
France has quietly become one of India's most important strategic partners.
→ Rafale fighter jets.
→ Submarines.
→ Space cooperation.
→ Indo-Pacific cooperation.
→ Technology partnerships.
The message was simple.
India is no longer dependent on any single power.
Not America.
Not Russia.
Not Europe.
India now has options.
And countries with options negotiate differently.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Why America Needs India More Than Before
Most discussions focus on what India needs from America.
Few discuss what America needs from India.
Look at the world today.
→ China is America's biggest challenge.
→ Supply chains are leaving China.
→ Russia and China are growing closer.
→ The Indo-Pacific has become the center of global competition.
America needs strong partners in Asia.
But India is not willing to become another treaty ally.
India wants partnership.
Not dependency.
That is where the friction begins.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Bangladesh Front
Most Indians don't pay attention to Bangladesh.
They should.
Bangladesh is not just another neighboring country.
It is directly linked to India's national security.
→ It borders India's Northeast.
→ It sits close to the Siliguri Corridor.
→ It influences stability across Eastern India.
→ Any instability there affects India immediately.
This is why developments in Bangladesh are watched so closely in New Delhi.
From India's perspective, Bangladesh is not foreign policy.
It is national security.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Why West Bengal Suddenly Became Important
This is where the story becomes even more interesting.
As Bangladesh became more important, attention also shifted toward Eastern India.
The visit of senior American officials such as Marco Rubio and increased diplomatic focus on the region raised questions among strategic observers.
Why so much interest in Eastern India?
Why now?
Why West Bengal?
Because West Bengal sits at the center of multiple strategic fault lines.
→ Bangladesh.
→ The Bay of Bengal.
→ The Northeast.
→ Regional connectivity corridors.
→ Maritime trade routes.
When geopolitical competition increases, these regions become more important.
And that is exactly what is happening.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The FCRA Battle
Most people think FCRA is just another NGO law.
The real debate is much bigger.
Supporters of stricter FCRA enforcement argue that the issue is not funding.
The issue is influence.
Their argument looks like this:
Foreign Funding
→ Organizations
→ Narratives
→ Influence
→ Political Pressure
→ Strategic Leverage
This is why the debate has become so intense.
Recent controversies involving foreign-funded organizations, conversion networks and investigations into funding patterns have only made the issue more politically sensitive.
For supporters, FCRA is a sovereignty law.
For critics, it is excessive regulation.
But both sides understand one thing.
The battle is really about influence.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
QUAD Without Alignment
This may be the most important point in the entire story.
India is in QUAD.
India is not in NATO.
That single fact explains everything.
India works with America.
India works with Japan.
India works with Australia.
India works with Europe.
India works with Russia.
India works with BRICS.
India refuses to join any camp permanently.
That is India's strategy.
And it frustrates every major power that wants India to pick a side.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Rise of a Different India
Most people still look at India through a 1990s lens.
That India no longer exists.
Today's India is:
→ One of the world's largest economies.
→ A nuclear power.
→ A space power.
→ A digital powerhouse.
→ A defense exporter.
→ One of the largest consumer markets on Earth.
The conversation has changed.
The question is no longer:
"Can India become a major power?"
The question is:
"How powerful will India become?"
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The Real Cold War
This is not a military cold war.
No tanks are moving.
No missiles are flying.
No armies are mobilizing.
Instead, the battle is happening through:
→ Trade deals.
→ Tariffs.
→ Technology.
→ Supply chains.
→ Foreign funding.
→ Information networks.
→ Regional influence.
Washington wants greater alignment.
New Delhi wants greater autonomy.
That is the real cold war.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Final Takeaway
Trump arrived at the G7 expecting negotiations.
Modi arrived at the G7 representing a country that increasingly believes it can choose its own path.
That is why the handshake mattered.
Not because two leaders met after 16 months.
But because it revealed a new reality.
The old India asked for a seat at the table.
The new India is becoming a power that others must negotiate with.
And that changes everything.
जूते में दाल बंट रही है
भाजपा कॉंग्रेस को उसके स्टाइल में ही जवाब दे रही है!
बस उसी जूते का उपयोग कर रहे हैं जिस जूते से कभी कांग्रेस ने अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी जी की सरकार को मारा था, आज नरेंद्र मोदी जी और अमित शाह जी उसी जूते से कांग्रेस को दाल परोस रहे हैं।
इसे ही कहते हैं'मीयां की जूती मीयां के सर।'
आज कांग्रेसी नेताओं को सुनेंगे तो यह कहेंगे
👉🏿 बीजेपी में नैतिकता नहीं है।
👉🏿 बीजेपी विधायक खरीद रही है।
👉🏿 बीजेपी सांसद खरीद रही है।
👉🏿 बीजेपी सरकार गिरा रही है।ब्ला ब्ला प्याँ प्याँ
अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी जी के साथ इन सोनिया गांधी जी और उसके सलाहकार अहमद पटेल जी ने जो कुछ किया था पत्रकार स्वप्नदास गुप्ता के अनुसारः-
''अटल जी के आंखों में आंसू आ गए थे और वहां मौजूद कई लोगों ने अटल जी को रोते देखा था।''
16 अप्रैल 1999 को अटल जी के सरकार का बहुमत परीक्षण होने वाला था अटल जी आश्वस्त थे कि वह बहुमत साबित कर देंगे।
कांग्रेस ने इतना गंदा खेल खेला की एनडीए में शामिल अकाली दल के सांसद इंद्रकुमार गुजराल को तोड़ा और गुजराल ने ह्विप का उल्लंघन करके अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी जी के खिलाफ वोट डाला।
इसके अलावा उस वक्त फारुख अब्दुल्ला की पार्टी नेशनल कांफ्रेंस जो NDA में शामिल थी।
उस नेशनल कांफ्रेंस के सैफुद्दीन सोज को अहमद पटेल ने कुरान की कसम देकर अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी जी के सरकार के खिलाफ वोट देने को कहा था।
यह सब तो ठीक था ।
उससे भी बढ़कर नीचता देखकर उस वक्त सब चौंक गए कि जब 15 फरवरी को ही उड़ीसा के मुख्यमंत्री का शपथ ले चुके गिरधर गोमांग सदन में आ गये थे।
नैतिकता के अनुसार जब वह मुख्यमंत्री पद का शपथ ले लिए तब उन्हें संसद से इस्तीफा दे देना चाहिए था। लेकिन फरवरी में वह मुख्यमंत्री बने और अप्रैल तक उन्होंने सांसद पद से इस्तीफा नहीं दिया।
यह तो अटल बिहारी बाजपेयी जी की महानता थी कि उन्होंने सदन में खड़े होकर कहा थाः
''मैं सोनिया गांधी और गिरधर गोमांग के विवेक पर छोड़ता हूं कि क्या वह जो कर रहे हैं वह नैतिक रूप से ठीक है और मुझे विश्वास है कि अपनी अंतरात्मा की आवाज मानते हुए गिरधर गोमांग सदन की वोटिंग में हिस्सा नहीं लेंगे क्योंकि वह एक मुख्यमंत्री बने हैं।''
लेकिन उसके बावजूद भी भारत के लोकतंत्र की हत्या करते हुए सोनिया गांधी ने गिरधर गोमांग से वोट दिलवाया था और मात्र एक वोट से अटल जी की सरकार गिर गयी थी। बाद में लॉबी में सारे पत्रकार थे और अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी जी की आंखें आंसुओं से भरी हुई थी
क्योंकि अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी जी को विश्वास था की सोनिया गांधी और गिरधर गोमांग देश के लोकतंत्र का सम्मान करेंगे।
एक जमाना था जब बीजेपी में नैतिकता उदारवादी बहुत चलती थी और जिसका फायदा इन कांग्रेसियों ने उठाया।
अब नरेन्द्र मोदी और अमित शाह कांग्रेस को एक-एक वोट के लिए एक-एक सरकार के लिए तरसा दे रहे हैं।
जब भी कोई कांग्रेस की सरकार गिरती है तो कसम से दिल को बड़ा सुकून मिलता है।
I told you this three weeks ago.
Nobody believed it.
Now read what happened.
May 23, 2026.
Marco Rubio skipped New Delhi.
Flew straight to Kolkata.
Walked into the Missionaries of Charity headquarters.
I said it was a message.
Not a prayer.
The message was for India.
Do not touch our assets.
Washington heard India's FCRA Amendment Bill.
The bill that said: if a foreign-funded NGO loses its licence, India takes the assets.
Schools.
Hospitals.
Hostels.
Children's homes.
Permanently.
That bill shook something loose.
The fight is on.
It will get murkier.
It will get uglier.
Strap your belt.
This is not a policy dispute.
This is a civilizational fight.
And India is ready.
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