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Despite eventual visa backflip by authorities, ABC’s south-Asia correspondent Avani Dias left after being made to ‘feel so uncomfortable’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe south-Asia correspondent for Australia’s national broadcaster, Avani Dias, has been forced out of India after her reporting fell foul of the Indian government, in a...

Opposition says prime minister targeting Muslim minority with ‘hate speech’ and violating election rulesIndia’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has been accused of hate speech during a campaign rally where he called Muslims “infiltrators” who had “many children” and claimed they would take people’s hard-earned money.The opposition accused Modi of “blatantly targeting” India’s 200 million Muslim minority with comments made while addressing voters at a...

Experts say Indian PM is hoping to be ‘bigger than Gandhi’ as he aims to win a third term in officeAs the distant rumble of a helicopter drew closer, cheers erupted from the gathered crowds in anticipation. By the time India’s prime minister finally stepped on to the stage, bowing deeply while immaculately dressed in a white kurta and peach waistcoat and with a...

First phase in world’s largest democratic exercise begins, with 969 million people eligible to vote over six-week periodVoting has begun in India’s mammoth general election, as Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party hopes to increase its parliamentary majority amid allegations that the country’s democracy has been undermined since it came to power 10 years ago.India’s elections are the largest democratic exercise in the world, with...

Defence minister’s comments after Guardian report are first time India has acknowledged any assassinations on foreign soilIndia’s defence minister has appeared to confirm that the government carried out extrajudicial killings in neighbouring Pakistan, after a Guardian report on the alleged assassinations.Intelligence officials from India and Pakistan who spoke to the Guardian had alleged that India’s foreign intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (Raw), had...

Parties unite at New Dehli rally to accuse PM of ‘tax terrorism’ and rigging the vote, after arrest of prominent leaderIndian opposition parties united on Sunday to protest against the arrest of a prominent leader weeks before a national election, accusing the prime minister, Narendra Modi, and his party of rigging the vote and harassing them with large tax demands.“Narendra Modi is trying match-fixing...

US called for fair legal process for opposition figure Arvind Kejriwal amid claims that challengers to Narendra Modi are being targeted ahead of national electionsIndia has summoned a top US diplomat after Washington warned it to ensure a “fair, transparent and timely legal process” for a senior opposition leader jailed just weeks ahead of parliamentary elections.The US state department had said it was “closely...

Modi favourite to win third term in largest democratic exercise in history held across six weeks India is to hold a national election in April it has been announced, in what will be the world’s largest election with nearly a billion people eligible to vote.Many consider Modi’s re-election a foregone conclusion, owing to both the premier’s robust popularity a decade after taking office and...

Party of Indian prime minister was by far biggest beneficiary of electoral bonds, which were struck down as unconstitutionalIndia’s election commission has published details of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of political donations, exposing how much prime minister Narendra Modi’s party benefited from a controversial financing scheme.According to the data that was released, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) received more than 60bn rupees...

Citizenship amendment act grants Indian nationality to refugees who are Hindu, Christian, Parsi, Jain or Buddhist, but not MuslimThe Indian government has enacted a divisive citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims, just weeks before prime minister Narendra Modi heads into a general election.The law, known as the citizenship amendment act (CAA), was one of the most controversial pieces of legislation proposed by...

Thousands of police mobilised for Srinagar rally seen as Modi’s campaign event for elections India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has made his first visit to Kashmir since the government revoked the region’s autonomy in 2019, claiming the state was finally “breathing freely” despite allegations of systematic repression.Thousands of police and paramilitary officers were mobilised before Modi’s first rally there for more than five years,...

On his 4,000-mile march across the country, congressman tells voters to wake up to the vast gulf between them and the richHis voice hoarse from all the speeches he had made during his 4,000-mile march across the breadth of India, Rahul Gandhi urged people at a rally in Uttar Pradesh state to think hard.Specifically, to think hard about caste. “Are there any of you...

Junior minister accuses tech firm of violating country’s IT laws with ‘downright malicious’ answersA response from Google’s AI platform suggesting that some experts believe the policies of the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, polices to be “fascist” has provoked a confrontation between the company and the government.The journalist Arnab Ray last week put the question as to whether Modi was a fascist to Google’s...

Narendra Modi hails controversial opening as fulfilment of ‘dream that many have cherished for years’More than three decades after a mob of militant Hindu radicals razed a mosque to the ground in the Indian town of Ayodhya, the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has inaugurated the new Hindu temple that will stand in its place.For some, the inauguration marks a hugely significant religious moment....

Maldivian envoy summoned and flights suspended after insults about Indian PM’s visit to Lakshadweep islandsA row has erupted between India and the Maldives after the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, visited the Indian islands of Lakshadweep to promote tourism.The visit was perceived by some in the Maldives as an attempt to draw tourists away from the archipelago in the Indian Ocean, whose economy is...