. FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON WAS THE CHIEF GUEST AT THE 75TH REPUBLIC DAY CELEBRATION –
Major Highlights of India and France Relations-
- After India’s 1998 nuclear tests, France was the first country to initiate a Strategic Dialogue with India.
- The year 2023 marked 25 years of India-France Strategic Partnership.
- Trade relations have witnessed steady growth, with bilateral trade reaching $13.4 Bn in 2022-23.
- France is one of the largest investors in India with FDI inflow of US$ 659.77 million for FY 2022-23.
- P-75 Scorpene Deal 2005 was an agreement for building six Scorpène submarines under technology transfer at Mazagaon Docks Ltd. in India with French help.
- The procurement of Rafale jets as part of India’s air power is a testament to the deep defence ties.
- Joint defense exercises between the Air forces (Garuda series) and the Armies (Shakti), Navies (Varuna) are conducted regularly.
- There’s a rich history of cooperation in the field of space for over 50 years between ISRO and the French Space Agency, Centre National D’Etudes Spatiales (CNES).
- The International Solar Alliance was launched jointly by India and France.
- THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA (ASI) HANDED OVER ITS REPORT ON THE GYANVAPI MOSQUE COMPLEX TO THE HINDU AND MUSLIM SIDES –
- The Gyanvapi Mosque is located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is near the Kashi Vishwanath temple .
- The dispute first reached the courts in 1991, when a petition sought the removal of the mosque from the site and the transfer of possession of the land to the Hindu community.
- The petitioners, which included the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir Trust, claimed that Maharaja Vikramaditya had built the temple more than 2,000 years ago.
- Hindu litigants have claimed that the mosque was built by Mughal ruler Aurangzeb on the site of the original Kashi Vishwanath temple after its destruction in the 17th century.
- The Vishwa Hindu Parishad contends that the Places of Worship Act is not applicable to the Gyanvapi issue, as there was no change to the religious structure since 1947, and that Hindus have always been performing puja at the site.
- The survey began on August 4, 2023, concerning the dispute around the complex. The ASI report concluded that it can be said there existed a Hindu temple prior to the construction of the existing structure, that is the mosque.
What does the Places of Worship Act say-
- The law was enacted to freeze the status of all places of worship in the country as on August 15, 1947.
- The Act says that no person shall convert any place of worship of any religious denomination into one of a different denomination or section. It contains a declaration that a place of worship shall continue to be as it was on August 15, 1947.
- It prohibits any legal proceedings from being instituted regarding the character of a place of worship, and declares that all suits and appeals pending before any court or authority on the cut-off date regarding the conversion of the character of a place of worship shall abate.
- The 1991 Act will not apply in some cases. It will not apply to ancient and historical monuments and archaeological sites and remains that are covered by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
- It will also not apply to any suit that has been finally settled or disposed of, any dispute that has been settled by the parties before the 1991 Act came into force, or to the conversion of any place that took place by acquiescence.
- The Act specifically exempted from its purview the place of worship commonly referred to at the time as Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
- TURKEY FINALLY BACKS SWEDEN’S NATO BID –
- Sweden’s attempt to join NATO cleared a major hurdle recently after Turkey’s parliament supported its membership.
- This move came after Sweden tightened its anti-terror legislation and pledged closer cooperation with Turkey on security concerns.
- For a new country to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), all the existing members have to approve it. Turkey and Hungary had been opposing Sweden’s entry for almost the past two years.
- Sweden has not fought a war in two centuries, staying neutral through the two World Wars and the Cold War. However, this neutrality had to be abandoned after Russia invaded Ukraine.
- With public opinion increasingly in favour of joining NATO, both Sweden and Finland applied for membership in 2022. While Finland’s bid was cleared, Sweden ran into stiff opposition from Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
- Erdogan objected to Sweden’s accession, accusing Swedish officials of being too lenient on militant groups, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and being a mute spectator when Quran-burning protests were held in Sweden.
- Hungary’s grievances with Sweden include Stockholm’s negative remarks about the rule of law and state of democracy under Hungary’s Prime Minister Orban. Orban is also more friendly with Russia than other NATO nations.