New Delhi. India backs Bangladesh’s quest for justice for atrocities by Pakistan in 1971. India on Friday strongly backed Bangladesh’s quest for justice for atrocities by the Pakistani military, including the killing of millions of Bangladeshis and mass sexual violence against women, during the country’s liberation war in 1971 in the face of Islamabad’s non-commital response to Dhaka’s recent highlighting of these crimes.. The external affairs ministry outlined India’s position on the issue three days after Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman described Operation Searchlight – the Pakistani military’s brutal crackdown on the nationalist movement in the erstwhile East Pakistan – as “one of the most heinous genocides in history”.. External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal referred to the “terrible atrocities” perpetrated by Pakistan during Operation Searchlight while backing Bangladesh’s desire for justice. “The genocide involved systematic and targeted killing of millions of innocent Bangladeshi people and mass sexual violence against women. It also forced millions of Bangladeshi people out of their country – they came to India as refugees,” he told a weekly media briefing.. “These atrocities, needless to say, shook the conscience of the world at large. Pakistan however, remains in denial to this very day of its crimes. We support Bangladesh in its desire for justice,” Jaiswal said.. As Bangladesh observed “Genocide Day” on March 25 to pay tribute to those killed in 1971, Rahman issued a message that said the genocide perpetrated on that day was a “pre-planned massacre”. March 25, 1971, “remains one of the most disgraceful and brutal days” as Pakistani occupation forces indiscriminately opened fire on teachers, intellectuals and civilians at various places, including Dhaka University and Rajarbāgh Police Lines.. Rahman said the resistance against the genocide by the 8th East Bengal Regiment in Chattogram on the night of March 25, 1971, led to the nine-month liberation war.. Bangladesh has long sought an apology from Pakistan for the killings and sexual violence by Pakistani forces in 1971, though Islamabad has routinely spurned such requests.. When Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson was asked about Rahman’s message, he replied that Islamabad considers the events of 1971 to be “complex and open to differing interpretations”. The spokesperson also called for constructive engagement based on objectivity, mutual respect and a shared commitment to historical accuracy and made no reference to an apology.. India’s victory over Pakistan, along with the surrender of more than 90,000 Pakistani soldiers, on December 16, 1971 led to the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent nation.. Jaiswal responded to another question on Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s reported criticism of Pakistani Shias who are sympathetic towards Iran by saying that Islamabad has an 

 Billionaire Elon Musk had joined the phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Donald Trump to dicuss the West Asia conflict, New York Times reported on Friday.. PM Modi held a phone call with Trump earlier this week. (AFP). PM Modi held a phone call with Trump earlier this week, wherein the Prime Minister asserted India’s backing for restoration of peace in West Asia at the earliest and ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open and secure for the global community.. The US President dialled PM Modi to discuss the situation in the Gulf region amid growing concerns about food and fuel security, the Prime Minister stated.. According to the NYT report, Musk’s participation in the phone call between the two leaders on Tuesday (March 24), which is unusual for a private citizen during a crisis, could also signal a thaw in relations between the entrepreneur and US President Trump.. Musk, who was a part of the Trump administration earlier, had a falling out with the US President which led to him leaving the US government role. Neither India nor US mentioned the inclusion of Musk during the phone call. HT could not independently verified the information.. The conversation between Trump and Modi was the first between the two leaders since Israel and the US’s military strikes on Iran on February 28 triggered a conflict that has entered its fourth week. India had reached out to Iran, Israel, all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the US, to find ways to end the hostilities following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.. “India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world,” PM Modi said on X after his call with the US President.. Musk has mostly been silent on the conflict in West Asia on X, the social media platform he owns. He responded to a post that questioned why so many countries relied on the Strait of Hormuz as part of their global supply chains, saying “We got lazy.” 

 The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday suspended the Inspector-in-Charge (IC) of Basanti police station in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas, a day after clashes between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) left several people injured.. Basanti police inspector-in-charge suspended by Election Commission following TMC-BJP clash that injured workers and police ahead of West Bengal assembly elections. (Representative photo/IStock). The poll panel directed the state chief secretary to suspend Paul and initiate departmental proceedings against him. “It has been observed that inspector Avijit Paul, IC of Basanti police station, failed to make adequate police arrangements in spite of having prior information regarding public programs of two political parties. Further, the CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) has been made available for the last few days. Despite this, he didn’t requisition CAPF for maintenance of law and order. This reflects serious negligence and dereliction of duty on his part,” the EC said in its letter to the state’s chief secretary.. Prabir Ghosh, an inspector of the state police’s enforcement branch, was posted in Paul’s place.. According to police, at least a dozen TMC and BJP workers and seven policemen were injured on Thursday, after supporters of both parties attacked each other with sticks and brickbats around 1 pm in the Basanti Bazar area, where BJP candidate Bikash Sardar was campaigning with his followers.. The Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), a Left Front partner, won the Basanti constituency in all previous elections from 1977 to 2011, when TMC came to power. TMC wrested the seat in 2016 and won again in 2021.. The ECI also announced the schedule for the two-phase polls for West Bengal’s 294 seats in April. 

 The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday suspended the Inspector-in-Charge (IC) of Basanti police station in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas, a day after clashes between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) left several people injured.. Basanti police inspector-in-charge suspended by Election Commission following TMC-BJP clash that injured workers and police ahead of West Bengal assembly elections. (Representative photo/IStock). The poll panel directed the state chief secretary to suspend Paul and initiate departmental proceedings against him. “It has been observed that inspector Avijit Paul, IC of Basanti police station, failed to make adequate police arrangements in spite of having prior information regarding public programs of two political parties. Further, the CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) has been made available for the last few days. Despite this, he didn’t requisition CAPF for maintenance of law and order. This reflects serious negligence and dereliction of duty on his part,” the EC said in its letter to the state’s chief secretary.. Prabir Ghosh, an inspector of the state police’s enforcement branch, was posted in Paul’s place.. According to police, at least a dozen TMC and BJP workers and seven policemen were injured on Thursday, after supporters of both parties attacked each other with sticks and brickbats around 1 pm in the Basanti Bazar area, where BJP candidate Bikash Sardar was campaigning with his followers.. The Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), a Left Front partner, won the Basanti constituency in all previous elections from 1977 to 2011, when TMC came to power. TMC wrested the seat in 2016 and won again in 2021.. The ECI also announced the schedule for the two-phase polls for West Bengal’s 294 seats in April. 

 The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Friday announced a hybrid assessment method for Class 12 students in West Asia.. Class 12 students in West Asia to get results via CBSE’s hybrid method after exams are cancelled amid regional disruptions.. This comes after the students sat for select papers between February 17 and 28, following which the CBSE on March 15 cancelled the remaining Class 12 board examinations, including papers earlier postponed in several West Asian countries amid the ongoing Iran–US–Israel conflict.. Schools have been directed to upload the marks on the CBSE portal between April 6 and April 13. “Once uploaded, the same will not be changed,” CBSE exam controller Sanyam Bhardwaj said in a notification, adding that this is to ensure timely declaration of results along with other Class 12 students.. The board will declare results of nearly 23,000 Class 12 students in over 200 CBSE-affiliated schools across seven West Asian countries using a formula-based evaluation that combines actual exam performance with school-based assessment.. Explaining the methodology for board exam results, CBSE in a notification dated March 27 said that “in subjects where examinations have been conducted, actual performance in the examination may be taken into account for declaration of results.” For the remaining subjects, marks will be derived from school assessments, including the “best of the three marks obtained in quarterly, half-yearly and pre-board examinations.”. For subjects with theory components of 80 or 70 marks, the board said schools will upload the “best of three” scores from periodic tests, while for subjects with 60, 50 or 30 marks, “performance in the final pre-board examination” will be considered.. It added that internal assessment and practical components, described as “a yearlong exercise,” will remain unchanged, as the marks have already been submitted by schools.. For subjects with lower theory weightage—60, 50 or 30 marks—the board said the final pre-board examination scores will be used. In cases where a student was absent, earlier pre-board scores may be considered.. The board clarified that internal assessment and practical components, described as “a yearlong exercise,” will remain unchanged, as “performance of the students have already been uploaded by the schools.”. Students who were able to appear in all their registered subjects will have their results declared based entirely on their written examination performance, CBSE said. Those who shifted centres to other countries, including India, will also be assessed on the basis of their actual exam scores.. The CBSE said the approach has been designed to ensure “valid, reliable, fair, and unbiased results” in view of the prevailing situation that led to the disruption of exams across the region and that the “decision of the Competent Authority of the Board shall be final and bounding,” indicating that no changes wi