Envoy: India Willing to Invest in Iran’s Chabahar Development

TEHRAN (FNA)- India is willing to make huge investments in economic and infrastructural projects of Iran’s Southeastern port city of Chabahar following the recent agreement between Tehran and six world powers, Iranian Ambassador to New Delhi Gholamreza Ansari announced on Sunday.”Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has proposed a multi-billion-dollar investment in Iran’s infrastructural projects, including development of Chabahar strategic port, which has been welcomed by the Indian side,” Ansari said.

In May, Iranian Road and Urban Development Minister Abbas Akhoundi announced that Tehran and New Delhi have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to pave the ground for India’s 195-mln-dollar investment in Iran to develop Chabahar.

via Farsnews.

Police State Alert: India Cracks Down on a Bitcoin Trader. Bitcoin Seen as Threat to Central Bank?

On Thursday, ED raided the premises of Mahim Gupta in Bopal area of the city who provides trading platform through his website -‑ buysellbit.co.in. During the preliminary investigation, the ED found that it is in clear violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) rules of the country as central bank does not provide permission to indulge in such transactions.

“We have found that through the website 400 persons have recorded 1,000 transactions that amount to a few crores of rupees. We are gathering the data of the transactions, name of the people who have transacted in the virtual currency from Gupta’s server that is hired in the US. At present, we believe that this is a violation of foreign exchange regulations of the country. If we are able to establish money laundering aspect then he can be arrested,” said a top ED official.

As per sources, a separate raid was also conducted in Satellite area of the city, however, the person the investigation agency was looking for could not be found. “When we reached his office, he was not there. We have sealed the premises,” the official added.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-first-time-in-the-country-ed-raids-a-bitcoin-seller-in-ahmedabad-1941187

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India’s Central Bank Says Bitcoins Have No Value Backing Them – Kinda Like Paper Currency

English: Total Bitcoin supply over time. Starting in 2009, the Bitcoin supply is created at a rate of approximately 50 bitcoins every 10 minutes. Every 210,000 generations (about every four years), the creation rate is cut in half (i.e. 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25, etc.) and tends to zero, such that there will never be more than 21 million total coins created. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

India‘s largest bitcoin exchange service has suspended its operations, just when the most valuable currency in the world had begun to gain widespread recognition in the country. The central bank cautioned against the risks of using virtual currency.

The Reserve Bank of India has warned users, holders and traders  of virtual currencies, including bitcoins, about “potential  financial, legal, customer protection and security related  risks” they are exposing themselves to.

“There is no underlying or backing of any asset for virtual  currencies. As such, their value seems to be a matter of  speculation,” the central bank contended in a statement, adding that the   “huge volatility in the value of virtual currencies“ has  been noted, however.

The Reserve Bank of India emphasized that virtual currencies were  not authorized by any central bank or monetary authority,  thus posing serious risks to their users.  

“There have been several media reports of the usage of  virtual currencies, including bitcoins, for illicit and illegal  activities in several jurisdictions. The absence of information  of counterparties in such peer-to-peer anonymous/ pseudonymous  systems could subject the users to unintentional breaches of  anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism  (AML/CFT) laws,” it stated.

http://rt.com/news/bitcoin-india-exchange-halt-911/

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U.S. vs India, Round 2: Are American Values Truly Reflected in Foreign Policy?

…[D]iplomacy  operates on the principal of reciprocity and I’m afraid the  Americans have not shown the basic courtesies to our diplomat in  New York. And we have every right to retaliate with appropriate  measures of our own. This has not been savory at all. It’s been  rather nasty and we would have never wanted this in the first  place, but the US State Department has always applied double  standards. Think about the Raymond Davies case involving a US CIA  contractor undercover as a diplomat in Pakistan who killed two  citizens. President Obama came out at the time and put a lot of  pressure on Pakistan to save their so-called diplomat who was  actually a spy – and a killer to boot – and said “you know  there’s a broader principle at stake. This is diplomatic  immunity.” We use the same logic with this case. It was a far  smaller offense, it was a much less grave crime, it was a  domestic dispute between our diplomat and her domestic helper.  But they escalated it to a point where you know she was strip  searched and humiliated, so we have every right. US diplomats  often get away with a lot in many foreign postings and we have  been extending these courtesies because in diplomacy, you need to  do it in order for the relations to go ahead. But unfortunately  the Americans seem to have thought that India is a banana  republic and doesn’t have the spine to hit back. So we have taken  measures, but we hope that the Americans will see sense. US  Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed regrets, but that is  actually insufficient because we have been demanding a firmer  apology. But nonetheless, I think they will see sense because  reciprocity means if you do bad you will also get bad. If You  give respect, you get respect…the Indians are sending a  clear message that we want to be with the US as equals; not as  superordinate and subordinate. The world has changed and it needs  to adjust its lenses; [the US] cannot have double standards

—Sreeram Chaulia, Dean of Jindal School of International Affairs

http://rt.com/op-edge/india-us-diplomatic-row-806/

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India Really Mad at U.S. – Popular Protests in Streets of Southern India

English: Map of the world showing the location of India and the United States of America. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Protesters have taken to the streets in southern Indian city of Chennai, demanding an apology from the US over the arrest and mistreatment of an Indian diplomat in New York.

The march on the streets of Chennai was organized by student organizations.

The protesters called for an apology from the US government over the arrest of an Indian diplomat, urging New Delhi to be stricter on the issue.

The aftershocks of a diplomatic row between the United States and India are still felt.

Two weeks ago, New York police arrested and strip-searched Devyani Khobragade, a member of India’s diplomatic mission. She has been accused of visa fraud and making false statements about her housekeeper.

Her maltreatment caused anger in India and sparked a series of reprisals, including the removal of protective barricades outside the US Embassy in New Delhi.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/12/21/341202/indians-slam-us-over-diplomat-arrest/

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India Cover Up: Tens of Thousands Massacred in the 1940s

English: The partition of India (1947) Français : La partition des Indes (1947) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: The family of Motilal Nehru, who is seated in the centre. Standing (L to R) Jawaharlal Nehru (Panditji), Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Krishna Hutheesingh, Indira Gandhi and Ranjit Pandit; Seated: Swaroop Rani, Motilal Nehru and Kamala Nehru (circa 1927) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When India was partitioned in 1947, about 500,000 people died in communal rioting, mainly along the borders with Pakistan. But a year later another massacre occurred in central India, which until now has remained clouded in secrecy.

In September and October 1948, soon after independence from the British Empire, tens of thousands of people were brutally slaughtered in central India.

Some were lined up and shot by Indian Army soldiers. Yet a government-commissioned report into what happened was never published and few in India know about the massacre. Critics have accused successive Indian governments of continuing a cover-up.

The massacres took place a year after the violence of partition in what was then Hyderabad state, in the heart of India. It was one of 500 princely states that had enjoyed autonomy under British colonial rule.

When independence came in 1947 nearly all of these states agreed to become part of India.

…

Determined to get to the bottom of what was happening, an alarmed Nehru commissioned a small mixed-faith team to go to Hyderabad to investigate.

It was led by a Hindu congressman, Pandit Sunderlal. But the resulting report that bore his name was never published.

But now, historian Sunil Purushotham from the University of Cambridge has obtained a copy of the report as part of his research in this field.

Pandit Sunderlal’s team concluded that between 27,000 and 40,000 died.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24159594