India has a problem with racism. It suffers from it. And it practises it. For the second time in less than three months Indian officialdom is scrambling and occasionally backsliding on attempts to explain away the latest attack on Africans – a murderous assault on a 29-year-old Congolese French language-teacher in Delhi. Masonda Ketanda Olivier died.
Something similar happened a few months before. In February, there was a mob attack on a Tanzanian student in Bangalore. The young woman was stripped and paraded in front of onlookers. She subsequently accused India of “ingrained racism” as did her country’s envoy. That time, the Indian government created a Police-African Students Community platform, for regular “interaction … so that similar incidents do not occur again”.
They did, and this time, Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj herself tweeted that a “sensitisation programme” would be launched to prevent “such incidents against foreign nationals [that] embarrass the country”.
She didn’t provide details and it’s worth noting that she didn’t use the “r” word either, but there we have it. India is embarrassed by the focus on its racism. It would rather the problem just went away. Except that it can’t because it’s real.
Many Indians do behave in a racist and occasionally a violently racist fashion to people darker-skinned than them. There are insulting names for Africans, African-Americans and Caribbeans, all of whom may be jokily referred to as “bandar” (monkey) by grinning urchins and yokels. And there is the now-derogatory term “habshi”, a corruption passed down through the ages of the word “Abyssinian”. Back in the 1990s, a black BBC reporter on assignment in India described the monkey taunts that accompanied his passage through a small town. He was alternately appalled and amused but didn’t come to any harm. That was before the age of social media, when racist excesses didn’t easily become an “embarrassment” on the international newsfeed.
Not so the killing of the Congolese teacher. And the next assault, within days, on a handful of Africans – including a student, a priest and his wife and baby – in a village close to the capital Delhi. They were not isolated incidents. There have been several across the country and some Indian newspapers have detailed the perpetrators’ lack of remorse and their criticisms of Africans’ perceived drunkenness and depravity.
Last week, it got to the point that African diplomats spoke out. They took the unusual step of seeking postponement of the Indian government’s big-ticket Africa Day event. Eventually, most of them turned up but not without issuing a rebuke. They said they were considering asking their governments “not to send new students to India, unless and until their safety can be guaranteed”.
India's reputation
The implications are enormous – in terms of PR, politics and trade. India wants to build new relationships with African countries in an attempt to influence a whole generation and have more sway on the continent than China. Prime minister Narendra Modi has instituted extra partnerships to bring Africans to India to study or to train. In the past three years, 25,000 Africans have studied in India.
The new controversy could not have come at a worse time. Mr Modi is soon to travel to Africa. In October, his government hosted the India-Africa Forum, which was attended by all 54 African countries and seen as a success. Everything seemed to be going well in India’s bid to secure African good wishes as it still lobbies for status as a UN Security Council permanent member.
The holloness
And yet, it’s hard to see a real partnership emerging when, as Nigeria’s acting high commissioner Sola Enikanolaiye put it, notions of brotherhood and solidarity “ring hollow”. The unstated reference is to the hollowness of India’s professed warmth towards Africans and the solid reality of its racism.
It has often been noted that Sonia Gandhi would have been less acceptable as an Indian daughter-in-law had she been from Uganda, not Italy. That was true back then, nearly 50 years ago when the young Sonia Manio married Rajiv Gandhi, and it remains the case today. This is largely because many Indians like the “fair and lovely” template and are prone to thinking of blackness as ugly and a sign of backwardness.
It’s noteworthy that Mahatma Gandhi, product of an age of racial hierarchy, displayed this attitude throughout his time in South Africa. According to a recent book by two South African academics, the Mahatma regarded black people in much the way Winston Churchill regarded him. Churchill called the leader of the Indian freedom movement a “half-naked fakir”. Gandhi, according to authors Ashwin Desai and Goolam Vahed, said black Africans lived a life of “indolence and nakedness”.
Deep roots
But racism towards Africans also has deeper, more disturbing roots. In India, darker people are associated with the lower castes and Africans in India suffer from society’s long-held prejudices.
This does not mean India can do little about the seemingly racist strand within its DNA. Racism is taught, it is learnt behaviour towards persons with dissimilar physical characteristics, American writer Alex Haley once said. For India to unlearn it, the propensity to be racist must first be identified by the right name. And then fought hard. There must be severe punishment for racist violence and societal disdain for covert (or overt) racism.
It won’t be easy and will take a long time. But that may be better than seeing racism as a mere embarrassment.
Rashmee Roshan Lall is a writer on world affairs
On Twitter: @rashmeerl
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Manchester City transfers:
OUTS
Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Willy Caballero and Jesus Navas (all released)
INS
Ederson (Benfica) £34.7m, Bernardo Silva (Monaco) £43m
ON THEIR WAY OUT?
Joe Hart, Eliaquim Mangala, Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony, Fabian Delph, Nolito and Kelechi Iheanacho
ON THEIR WAY IN?
Dani Alves (Juventus), Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)
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Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
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Mini John Cooper Works Clubman and Mini John Cooper Works Countryman
Engine: two-litre 4-cylinder turbo
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Under-21 European Championship Final
Germany 1 Spain 0
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
The Lowdown
Us
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseqph, Evan Alex and Elisabeth Moss
Rating: 4/5
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.