CHENNAI // Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the lynchings and other violence perpetrated by Hindu right-wingers across India in the name of protecting the cow, which is considered sacred in Hinduism.
Mr Modi, who remained silent over the past few months as the episodes of violence mounted, chose to “express sadness on some of the things going on,” during a speech in his native state of Gujarat on Thursday.
The prime minister’s remarks came a day after multiple Indian cities witnessed organised protests against the lynchings of Muslims and lower-caste Hindus by right-wing groups. Crowds collected in New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai, among others, holding placards reading: “Not in my name.”
On Tuesday, a mob of at least a hundred people in the state of Jharkhand beat up a Muslim dairy farmer and burned his house down, allegedly after discovering a dead cow outside the house. Police sources told newspapers that the cow had died of natural causes, and that its throat had been slit to give the impression that Usman Ansari, the farmer, had killed it.
Mr Modi, who was speaking at the centenary celebrations of Sabarmati Ashram, which was founded by Mahatma Gandhi in Ahmedabad, recalled Gandhi’s spirit. “We are a land of non-violence. We are the land of Mahatma Gandhi. Why do we forget that?”
“Killing people in the name of Gau Bhakti [cow worship] is not acceptable. This is not something Mahatma Gandhi would approve,” Mr Modi said. “No person in this nation has the right to take the law in his or her own hands.”
Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had, during its election campaign in 2014, promised to outlaw the slaughter of cows, for food or other purposes. In late May, the Indian environment ministry imposed a total ban on the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter in cattle markets.
Between 2010 and 2017, 51 per cent of the violence centered around cow-related issues has targeted Muslims, according to an analysis by IndiaSpend, a web site that uses public data in its journalism. Twenty-four of the 28 people killed in such violence have been Muslims.
Moreover, 97 per cent of this violence has occurred after Mr Modi came to power in 2014.
These numbers do not include the attack on Mr Ansari in Jharkhand, which occurred after the analysis was carried out.
Including the Jharkhand attack, 21 cow-vigilante attacks have been recorded in India this year.
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Need to know
When: October 17 until November 10
Cost: Entry is free but some events require prior registration
Where: Various locations including National Theatre (Abu Dhabi), Abu Dhabi Cultural Center, Zayed University Promenade, Beach Rotana (Abu Dhabi), Vox Cinemas at Yas Mall, Sharjah Youth Center
What: The Korea Festival will feature art exhibitions, a B-boy dance show, a mini K-pop concert, traditional dance and music performances, food tastings, a beauty seminar, and more.
For more information: www.koreafestivaluae.com
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
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Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
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Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
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Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
