1. Court permits Hindu prayers in Gyanvapi mosque’s basement

 The Varanasi District Court on Wednesday allowed Hindu prayers to be offered inside the Vyas Ka Tekhana (sealed basement area) of the Gyanvapi mosque complex. The court directed the district administration to make arrangements to start the puja within seven days.

The Anjuman Intezamia Committee of Gyanvapi Masjid will challenge the order in the Allahabad High Court, according to the committee’s counsel Merajuddin Siddiqui.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board(AIMPLB), which is advising the committee, called the court’s decision “totally unacceptable”, drawing parallels to the opening of the locks at the Babri Masjid in 1986.

“It seems after establishment of Ram Mandir at the site of the Babri Masjid, many other mosques are being targeted, no matter how old they might be,” Board spokesperson S.Q.R. Ilyas told The Hindu.

The order permitting prayers came on the last working day of judge Ajay Krishna Vishwesha, who has been hearing multiple pleas related to worship rights in the mosque.In this particular case, a September 2023 application filed by Shailendra Kumar Pathak, priest of the Acharya Ved Vyas Peeth temple, had sought worship of the visible and invisible deities in the basement of the mosque.

According to the petitioner, Hindu priests appointed by the Vyas family had performed daily rituals in the temple at this spot within the complex before 1993, till it was stopped on the orders of the State government. However, an Anjuman Intezamia committee member, who did not wish to be named, contested the claim. “There has never been any puja conducted there. It is a baseless contention,” he said.

“District Magistrate, Varanasi is directed to get puja, raga-bhog performed of idols located in the southern cellar of Gyanvapi Mosque. This would be done through a priest nominated by Kashi Vishwanath Trust Board and plaintiff. Make proper arrangements of iron fencing etc. in 7 days for the same,” reads the court order, of which a copy is available with The Hindu. On January 24, this court had ordered the Varanasi district administration to take over the possession of the southern cellar within the Gyanvapi mosque complex.The next date of hearing in the matter is February 8, when the defendants, including the Anjuman Intejamia Masajid Committee that manages the Gyanvapi mosque, can file their objections.

‘Not given a chance’

The AIMPLB said that the mosque committee was approaching the High Court with its appeal. “The case is likely to be listed tomorrow. The Muslim side was not given the chance to present its viewpoint by the district court. The judge gave the verdict on his last day in service,” Mr. Ilyas said.

Reacting to the court’s order allowing Hindus to worship in the basement of the Gyanvapi mosque, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s international working president Alok Kumar said that the judgement was significant and has brought happiness for the Hindu community. Mr. Kumar also expressed his hope that this order would be a precursor to an expeditious decision on the main suit as well.

In another important order pertaining to the Gyanvapi mosque, the Allahabad High Court has issued a notice to the mosque committee on a revision application filed to challenge the Varanasi district judge’s order refusing to direct the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a scientific survey of the wazukhana area of mosque.

The ASI has already conducted a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi complex in 2023, in accordance with the Varanasi district judge’s order, to determine whether the mosque was constructed over the pre-existing structure of a Hindu temple.

2. Congress launches Jai Jawan scheme to aid youth

The Congress on Wednesday launched a three-phase Jai Jawan campaign to provide “justice” to 1,50,000 youth who were selected for the armed forces but were not inducted after the launch of the Agnipath scheme.

Former party chief Rahul Gandhi launched the campaign and promised affected youth that he would raise this “injustice” at every forum. Around 1.5 lakh candidates selected for the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy between 2019 and 2022 were allegedly denied entry after the Agnipath scheme began.

There will be three phases in the Jai Jawan campaign — mass contact between February 1 and 28, then satyagraha at martyrs’ memorials across the country from Marc h 5 to 10 and the final phase will be padyatra between March 17 and 20.

3. India is fastest-growing major economy: Murmu

The vision for a developed India is not limited to economic prosperity alone, says President;  she says centuries-old aspiration to construct the Ram Temple was a reality now

President Droupadi Murmu, in her maiden address at the new Parliament building to the joint session of the two Houses on Wednesday, said that for her government, the vision of a developed India was not limited to economic prosperity, and equal importance was being given to social, cultural, and strategic strengths.

“Without them, the development and economic prosperity would not be permanent. The decisions of the last decade have also been taken with this objective in mind. Many more steps are being taken keeping this goal in mind,” she said.

Amid thumping of desks by BJP members, she said the centuries-old aspiration to construct the Ram Temple was a reality now.

Ms. Murmu was welcomed to the Lok Sabha chamber, where the joint session was convened, by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi.

She said there came junctures in the history of civilisations which shaped the future for the coming centuries. “There have been many such defining moments in the history of India also. This year, on January 22, the country witnessed a similar epochal moment. After waiting for centuries, Ram Lalla has now been enshrined in his grand temple in Ayodhya,” the President said. Highlighting her government’s role in promoting heritage tourism, she said that during the five days of consecration ceremonies, 13 lakh devotees have visited Ayodhya.

On the subject of the economy, she said that amid serious global crises, India emerged as the fastest-growing major economy, consistently maintaining a growth rate of over 7.5% for two consecutive quarters. She said the Centre had ensured macro-economic stability. “We have seen India transform from ‘fragile five’ to a ‘top five’ economy. India’s exports have increased from about $450 billion to more than $775 billion. FDI flows have doubled,” she said adding that sales of Khadi and Village Industries products had increased by more than four times and the number of people filing income tax returns had increased from about 3.25 crore to about 8.25 crore. “Today, we have forex reserves in excess of $600 billion,” she said.

The President said that the Centre was laying stress on making farming more profitable.

“Under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, farmers have received over ₹2.8 lakh crore so far. Over the past 10 years, there has been a threefold increase in easy loans for farmers from banks. Under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, farmers paid a premium of ₹30,000 crore. In return, they have received a claim of ₹1.5 lakh crore,” she said.

4. Iran to ‘decisively respond’ to any U.S. strikes on nation

Iran threatened on Wednesday to “decisively respond” to any United States attack on the Islamic Republic following President Joe Biden’s linking of Tehran to the killing of three U.S. soldiers at a military base in Jordan.

The U.S. has signalled it is preparing for retaliatory strikes in West Asia in the wake of the Sunday drone attack that also injured at least 40 troops at Tower 22, a secretive base in northeastern Jordan that’s been crucial to the American presence in neighbouring Syria.

However, concerns remain that any additional American strikes could further inflame a region already roiled by Israel’s ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea.

The Iranian warnings first came from Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations in New York. He gave a briefing to Iranian presspersons late on Tuesday, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

“The Islamic Republic would decisively respond to any attack on the county, its interests and nationals under any pretexts,” IRNA quoted Mr. Iravani as saying. He described any possible Iranian retaliation as a “strong response,” without elaborating.

The Iranian mission to the UN did not respond to requests for comment or elaboration on Wednesday on Mr. Iravani’s remarks.

Mr. Iravani also denied that Iran and the U.S. had exchanged any messages over the last few days, either through intermediaries or directly.

5. Maldives turns to Sri Lanka for medical evacuation support

The Maldives has sought Sri Lanka’s assistance in medical evacuation services — mainly to transport patients to Colombo in air ambulances — amid a persisting strain with India.

Maldivian Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen met his Sri Lankan counterpart Nimal Siripala de Silva in Colombo on Tuesday, and said on social media platform ‘X’, that Sri Lanka has agreed to help the Maldives with medical evacuation. “We have specifically agreed upon creating a framework for immediate approval process between the Maldives and Sri Lanka on urgent requirements, specifically on med-evac flights,” Mr. Ameen said in his post.

“They [Maldives] will use their air ambulances, this is to help keep this channel open and easy for any emergency medical treatment that Maldivians might need in Sri Lanka,” Mr. de Silva told The Hindu on Wednesday morning. Sri Lanka and India are among the Maldives’s closest neighbours, and Maldivians have always had close ties in Colombo, a city they frequent.

The development comes amid President Mohamed Muizzu’s apparent efforts to expand and diversify the island nation’s partnerships in medical evacuation. In December, he announced setting up an air ambulance service beginning March 2024, and said it could help patients travel as far as Thailand. The need for prompt medical evacuation came into sharp focus earlier in January, when a Maldivian teenager died, reportedly owing to a delay in evacuation for emergency treatment.

Mr. Muizzu’s efforts also assume significance at a time when Male and New Delhi grapple with strained ties, following controversial remarks made by Maldivian Ministers targeting India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and a “Boycott Maldives” social media campaign in India.

India’s two naval choppers and a Dornier aircraft stationed in the Maldives have been involved in more than 600 medical evacuations — often from the atolls to capital Male —, search and rescue operations in the last five years, according to official sources in Male. Mr. Muizzu has set a March 15 deadline for New Delhi to withdraw its nearly 80 soldiers stationed in the country. New Delhi has said they were posted there chiefly to operate and maintain the helicopters and the aircraft.