Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun a state visit to Tashkent, where he is holding talks with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev before heading to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan.
This is his fourth visit to Uzbekistan. Narendra Modi landed in Tashkent on Saturday, August 29, where he was greeted by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Speaking on the X network, the Indian Prime Minister thanked his counterpart for the "special gesture" made upon his arrival, emphasizing that this trip reflects the "depth and growing dynamism" of bilateral relations between the two countries.
The two leaders dined together on Saturday evening. Formal talks are scheduled for Sunday at the presidential palace, focusing on trade, investment, digital connectivity, defense, and energy. Modi spoke of a shared vision summarized by the slogans "Viksit Bharat" (Developed India) and "Yangi Uzbekistan" (New Uzbekistan), the respective political formulas of the two governments.
Following his visit to Uzbekistan, Modi will travel to Kyrgyzstan for the 26th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). He is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This deployment comes amid a tense situation for India: at least 320 Indian nationals remained missing Friday evening in the floods that struck the border between Nepal and Tibet. A glacial collapse on Wednesday triggered a torrent of rocks, ice, and mud, killing more than 600 people in Nepal and the Chinese region of Tibet, with over 2,000 still missing. Among the Indians, 84 have been rescued, including 21 from Tamil Nadu who have already returned to India, and 63 working on the Trishuli-I hydroelectric dam construction site in Nepal. Some 400 others are safe in China, where the Indian embassy in Beijing is coordinating their evacuation. New Delhi dispatched a third rescue flight Friday evening, accompanied by an eleven-person medical and rescue team.
On the legal front, Kolkata police filed a formal complaint Saturday against former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly violating a Kolkata Magistrates' Court order. The order had authorized a rally by the youth wing of her Trinamool Congress party on Cathedral Road, provided that one lane of traffic remained open. According to the police, this condition was not met and the permitted duration was exceeded. Law enforcement also claims that activists "forced barriers and jostled police officers." Banerjee, who led West Bengal for 15 years, was ousted from power earlier this year by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.
Meanwhile, officials from the Indian National Congress have accused Penguin India of withdrawing Sonia Gandhi's memoir under political pressure. The book, titled "Belonging: A Journey of Love," is scheduled for release on November 10 in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House. Congress leader Ashok Gehlot claimed on X that passages concerning Modi, the RSS, and China's occupation of Indian territory were the reason for the withdrawal. Penguin India denied this, stating that the cancellation stemmed from a disagreement over editorial recommendations and that the publisher remained "willing and willing" to publish the book.
Finally, Mohan Bhagwat, leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Hindu nationalist organization from which Modi's BJP emerged, was scheduled to speak on Saturday to some 5,000 people at the Infosys Theater in Madison Square Garden, New York. The event, dubbed the "Universal Oneness Celebration," sparked protests, condemnation from the city's mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and calls for sanctions from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which described the RSS as an organization whose subgroups have "perpetrated attacks against religious minorities." The Indian Ministry of External Affairs rejected these statements, deeming the commission biased and lacking credibility.
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