NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Narendra Modi said “terrorism is on its last legs” in Kashmir while campaigning in the disputed territory on Saturday, a day after two soldiers were killed in a gunfight with suspected militants.
Indian-administered Kashmir has seen a rise in clashes between rebels and security forces ahead of the region’s first local assembly polls in a decade, which begin next week.
The Himalayan region in India has been without an elected local government since 2019, when Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government canceled the region’s semi-autonomy.
“The changes in the region in the last decade are nothing short of a dream,” Modi told thousands of supporters at the rally in Doda, part of Kashmir’s Hindu-majority southern region of Jammu.
“The stones that were picked up earlier to attack the police and the army are now being used to construct a new Jammu and Kashmir. This is a new era of progress, terrorism is on its last leg here,” he said.
Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claim that the government’s changes to the territory’s governance have brought a new era of peace to Kashmir and rapid economic growth.
The implementation of those changes in 2019 was accompanied by mass arrests and a months-long Internet and communications blackout to forestall protests.
Many Kashmiris are resentful of chafing restrictions on civil liberties that followed, and the BJP is only fielding candidates in a minority of seats concentrated in Hindu-majority areas.
Modi pledged at Saturday’s rally that his party would “build a secure and prosperous” Kashmir “that is free of terrorism and a haven for tourists.”
But this year’s local polls, which begin on Wednesday before results are announced next month, follow a spike in gunfights between security forces and rebels.
In the past two years, more than 50 soldiers were killed in clashes with rebels, mostly in the Jammu region.
The Indian army on Friday said that another two soldiers had died Friday during a firefight in the Kishtwar region, paying tribute to the “supreme sacrifice of the bravehearts” in a post on social media platform X.
Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between rivals India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947 and is claimed in full by both countries.
Rebels have fought Indian forces for decades, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan.
About 500,000 Indian troops are deployed in the region, battling a 35-year insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels since 1989.
India accuses Pakistan of backing the region’s militants and cross-border attacks inside its territory, claims Islamabad denies.
The nuclear-armed neighbors have fought several conflicts for control of the region since 1947.
India’s Modi campaigns in Kashmir polls after latest soldier deaths
https://arab.news/pfun8
India’s Modi campaigns in Kashmir polls after latest soldier deaths
- Indian-administered Kashmir has been without elected government since losing its special status in 2019
- Modi claims the change has ushered in a new era of peace and economic progress to the dispute region
In Bangladesh’s mangrove forest, villagers brave tigers to collect rare honey
- Honey is gathered from wild bee colonies deep in the Sundarbans
- Producers made a debut at the biggest food fair in Jeddah this month
DHAKA: When the harvest begins, Mizanur Rahman gathers a few hundred men and sets out into the mangrove forest along the Bay of Bengal, where for months they climb trees to collect by hand a wild natural honey whose unique properties are only starting to attract global attention.
The honey is collected from wild bee colonies deep within the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove reserve spanning parts of India and southwestern Bangladesh.
“Honey collection from this forest is mostly done in the Bangladesh part,” Rahman said. “All plants, trees, and the overall environment of this forest are natural. There is no human touch.”
Sundarban honey comes from an ecosystem where trees grow and bloom naturally, without the use of fertilizers or pesticides. Its collectors, known as mawalis, begin work in March for about three and a half months.
Rahman estimates there are about 4,000 mawalis in the local community. To enter the forest, they require special passes from the forest department.
“It’s a very risky job for the people who enter the forest,” he told Arab News. “It’s the only honey in the world where collectors risk their lives in the den of the mighty Bengal tiger to gather it. Sometimes, they also face the danger of poisonous snake bites.”
During the season, his team reaches up to 1,200 members who together manage to collect about 400 tons of honey.
“One hundred small boats start sailing together, each carrying eight to 10 people,” Rahman said. “Despite the dangers, it is a matter of pride to be part of these challenging tasks.”
Collected from a humid environment, Sundarban honey is thinner than other types. Its greenish-amber shade comes from the nectar of mangrove flowers, and the taste is less sweet than most commercial honeys, with a subtle citrus-like tanginess. The scent is mild.
Being raw and unprocessed, the honey retains more enzymes, antioxidants, and pollen.
“Some people can feel acidity similar to orange juice,” Rahman said. “It has a unique taste. If someone tastes this honey once, she or he will definitely love to taste it again and again.”
Well known locally in Bangladesh and parts of eastern India, where it has been harvested and consumed for generations, Sundarban honey is only starting to gain attention in organic and specialty food markets.
Earlier this month, it debuted at AgroFood Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s leading international exhibition for the agriculture, food, and agritech industries.
The organic honey from the Sundarbans received an encouraging reception, according to Mohammed Saleh Uddin Bhuyan, chief category officer at Ghorer Bazar, one of the companies participating in the expo.
“We have been receiving good responses from the local buyers,” he said. “Saudi Arabia is a very promising market for us.”
Bangladeshi authorities recognize the honey’s export potential but also the fact that production still needs to be standardized to enter global markets.
Mahmudul Hasan, director of Bangladesh’s Export Promotion Bureau, told Arab News that there are plans to promote the organic practices behind the honey during future food fairs in the Gulf region.
“There is huge export potential for our mangrove honey in the Gulf countries, as Arab consumers are fond of honey. They just need to be assured of the quality in the production process,” he said.
“Our mangrove honey is undoubtedly an organic product. It has unique value, but the world is not very aware of it yet.”
