The Indian army said the slain militant, who was killed after he opened fire, was found with "warlike stores." Meanwhile, the government has released new rules to manage the LPG shortage.
This roundup of the major headlines out of India on Sunday, March 15 is now closed. Thank zou for reading.
That’s a wrap for today’s India blog. I will return bright and early Tuesday to bring you all the important headlines from the country.
Meanwhile, enjoy your Sunday!
India is beginning to feel the economic shockwaves of the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Cooking gas supplies are tightening in New Delhi, with LPG shortages and rising prices affecting homes and restaurants. The government has invoked emergency measures to boost production as fears grow that supplies could run dangerously low.
The schedule for the assembly elections in the states of Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry has been released.
At a press briefing, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said polls will be held in 824 constituencies and about 17.4 crore (174 million) people will be expected to cast their votes.
That’s over 12% of India’s 1.4 billion population.
Here’s what we know from the Election Commssion of India’s (ECI) briefing:
Assam
Kerala
Puducherry
Tamil Nadu
West Bengal
The counting for the above elections will happen on May 4 and overall election will have to be concluded by May 6, the electoral body said.
Kumar said the ECI was taking About 30 new measures to enhance transperancy and ease of voting. This includes the contrversial revision of electoral roles, depositing mobiles outside poll booths, colored photographs of candidates on the voting machines and a cap on the number of voters per booth.
Laura Loomer, an American far-right activist and staunch supporter of US President Donald Trump, stirred strong reactions on Saturday when she visited India for a media conclave.
Loomer, who has often made derogatory remarks against Indians on social media, was invited to TV news channel India Today’s conclave in New Delhi as a speaker. The topic? “Death to Islamic Terrorism: The Trump Approach.”
The news of her visit to India has social media hounds dig up her past posts on the X platform, formerly Twitter, calling Indians “invaders” and accusing them of exploiting the “American Dream” which, according to her, was built by white Europeans, among other posts involving derogatory racial stereotypes.
At the event, Loomer said: “I should not have said some of the things I wrote in the other tweets,” but also stood by her opposition to the H-1B visa program, which has been used by many US tech companies employing Indian workers and which has been subject to controversial modifications by Trump’s administration.
Loomer was confronted by Indian veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai who said her comments “smacked of anti-Indianism, worse still Islamophobia, and even worse, racism, which has no place in today’s world.”
Later on social media, Loomer alleged Sardesai “attacked” her for speaking what she described as the “truth about Islam.”
She doubled down on the Islamophobic comments, accusing journalists of pandering to “Pakistani terrorists” and not doing enough to fight for “the survival of the majority Hindu population of India.”
Hindus make up nearly 80% of the population of India, which has also been home to substantial Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain populations for centuries.
In recent years, right-wing ultranationalist groups have been increasingly loud in their calls to declare India a Hindu nation and enshrine Hindu dominance in law.
Government critics have argued that the rhetoric has been a major driver of increased sectarian tensions and clashes.
Indian police arrested a Bangladeshi man for allegedly helping two fellow nationals enter India illegally, the AFP news agency reported.
The two Bangladeshi nationals he assisted are accused of murdering a popular student leader in Dhaka.
Sharif Osman Hadi, a vocal India critic who took part in Bangladesh’s 2024 mass uprising, was murdered by two masked men in December.
The two assailants were said to have fled to India’s eastern state of West Bengal, which neighbors Bangladesh, but were soon arrested by police there.
On Sunday, West Bengal’s Special Task Force Superintendent Indrajit Sarkar told AFP that the third Bangladeshi national had been arrested on suspicion of helping Hadi’s suspected killers enter the country through the porous border.
The man has been remanded in police custody for a week.
Hadi’s assassination not only set off violent protests in Bangladesh but also put a strain on diplomatic ties between Dhaka and New Delhi. Relations there remain frayed since former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the pro-democracy uprising to seek refuge in India.
The Indian embasy in the United Arab Emirates said that airlines were issuing revised and curtailed flight schedules on instruction from the UAE Civil Aviation Authorities.
“Limited flights will operate between Airports in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, RAK, Sharjah and Fujairah to different destinations in India,” India’s mission said in a statement on social media.
Indian airlines including IndiGo and Air India earlier announced cancellation of some flights for the day and advised people to check their flight status before leaving for the airport.
The Election Commission of India is set to announce the schedule for the next set of polls in four key states and one union territory.
India’s electoral body will make the announcement at a press conference at 4 pm local time (10:30 GMT).
Elections to the assemblies of Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Pudecherry are due this year with the first race likely to be the West Bengal Assembly elections.
Elections in the eastern state of West Bengal and the southern state of Tamil Nadu will remain at the forefront as both have undergone a controversial revision in the electoral list initiated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s central government.
Local governments in both states have protested the revision, alleging it is being misused to influence the upcoming elections.
West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala remain states where the Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has been vying for power — so far unsuccessfully.
Today’s conference will officially start the clock on the sure to be heated political races.
On a side note, the conference will be led by India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar who is embroiled in a controversy over alleged discrimination.
This week, India’s main block of opposition parties submitted a notice in parliament seeking his removal over “discriminatory conduct” and allegedly obstructing an “investigation into electoral fraud.”
This is the first time such a notice has been submitted in the Indian parliament.
On instructions from UAE authorities, Air India and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express has curtailed its flights to the United Arab Emirates for Sunday.
“All Air India Express flights planned for the day to and from Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah stand cancelled. Both airlines will now operate one round trip each on the Delhi–Dubai sector,” Air India said in a social media post.
The airlines had already curtail flights for the day citing limited slot availability but have now had to further reduce flights.
“These flights will be operated subject to slot availability and prevailing conditions at the time of operation,” the statement warned, suggesting fast-changing circumstances amid the US-Iran conflict.
“Guests booked on cancelled or temporarily suspended services may rebook to a future date at no additional charge or opt for a full refund,” the airline said adding that it remained committed to bringing stranded guests back to India as early as possible.
Millions of Indians live and work in the Gulf region, with thousands of them vying to return to the safety of India as drones and missiles threaten lives in the Middle East.
Earlier, India’s largest airline IndiGo has also notified of fewer flights to UAE, advising customers to check their flight status before leaving for the airport.
India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said it has barred consumers with piped natural gas connections in their homes from having domestic cooking gas cylinders under an amended supply order.
The order prohibits government oil companies from providing connections or refills of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) to those who have a piped gas connection, the ministry said in a statement.
The new rule comes amid a shortage of cooking gas in India fueled by Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the conflict with the United States and Israel.
Indian media is now reporting long queues outside LPG distribution centers.
India’s government previously used emergency powers to maximize LPG production and direct it to state-owned companies so that it can control distribution.
On Saturday, India’s foreign ministry confirmed that two Indian vessels — Shivalik and Nanda Devi — had crossed the Strait of Hormuz after a diplomatic breakthrough with Iran.
The ships are expected to reach the western state of Gujarat in a few days, the shipping ministry said in a briefing.
Meanwhile, in Delhi, the local government has capped the daily distribution of commercial LPG cylinders to roughly 20% of the city’s average consumption.
“Delhi typically records a daily sale of around 9,000 commercial LPG cylinders. Under the new system, approximately 1,800 cylinders per day will be distributed through a priority-based allocation mechanism,” the Department of Food, Supplies and Consumer Affairs said in a statement.
This is likely to hit the capital’s hotels, restaurants and local vendors who depend on the cylinders for their living.
Food stall owners in my local market in South Delhi complained that they were already having difficulty attain LPG cylinders and were having to pay exorbitant prices on the black market. Some considered temporarily shutting shops but were hopeful the situation would soon stabilize.
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A “Pakistani terrorist” was killed in an overnight military operation in Indian-administered Kashmir, the Indian army said, in the latest news from the heavily militarized region.
In a social media post, the Chinar Corps unit of the Indian army said it launched a joint overnight operation with regional poice based on intelligence regarding an infiltration attempt.
The Chinar Corps is a unit of the Indian army headquartered in Srinagar, the administrativfe center of Indian-administered Kashmir, and is responsible for security and anti-militant operations in the valley.
“Alert troops spotted suspicious movement of a terrorist in the thicket. The ambush was readjusted and the terrorist was challenged resulting in terrorist opening indiscriminate fire,” the army said. “In the contact a Pak terrorist was eliminated,” the unit said, using the shorthand for Pakistan.
“Warlike stores including an AK rifle, pistols and large quantity of ammunition have been recovered,” it said, adding that the operation was still underway.
Indian forces regularly report killing militants in Indian-administered Kashmir, often describing them as Pakistan-backed infiltratorscrossing the Line of Control, the de-facto border dividing the disputed region.
Pakistan denies allegations of supporting militancy in the region.
India has intensified its military and diplomatic campaign to clamp down on terrorism after last year’s attack in Pahalgam which killed 26 civilians.
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Good morning and welcome to DW’s India news blog!
This is Mahima Kapoor from the New Delhi studio and I will bring to you the biggest headlines and talking points from across the country.
Large parts of northern, central and eastern India woke up to light thunderstorms and rainfall, and even hail, due to a western disturbance.
It is a welcome respite from the first two weeks of March which were hotter than ussual for most of India. Perfect weather to enjoy tea and fritters on a Sunday!
Even though Indians have a brief interlude in the weather department, the cooking gas shortage continues to affect their daily lives. Meanwhile, the government’s social media handles are working overtime to reassure citizens that there is no need to panic.
Stick with us as we break everything down for you.
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