Yes, The country is pained
The expectation of people that the first ‘Mann Ki Baath’ of this year would be in support of the country’s farmers has been dashed. Instead, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried unsuccessfully to mobilize the country against the farmers agitation by his statement that the “nation is pained by the way the National Flag was humiliated on Republic Day.”
There is no doubt that the people of the country have been anguished about what transpired in Red Fort on Republic Day but not for the ‘humiliation of the National Flag’. The Prime Minister has also not clarified how the ‘National Flag’ was humiliated in Red Fort. Other than the fact that one group of miscreants entered Red Fort and hoisted two flags, no other incident occurred there. The group did not in any way harm the building.
But the Prime Minister’s words reflect the intense pain that this incident triggered in him. Though such an incident should not have occurred, the failure of the police was mainly responsible for the incident. Therefore, if the National Flag was humiliated, the government should take responsibility for the act. Farmer leaders have already clarified that farmers were not responsible for this incident. It has also been revealed that the person who took the leadership of the group that hoisted the flag in Red Fort had campaigned for the BJP during the last elections. This incident now seems to be a conspiracy to send a wrong message to the country about the protestors.
Already, farmers have incurred substantial losses protesting for their rights. In this context, the conspiracy against the farmers on January 26th is something that pains the whole country. But this pain does not seem to have touched the Prime Minister.
It is surprising that the nation-wide rally that took place that day did not attract the attention of Modi who said that what happened in Red Fort caused anguish to the country. For the first time in the history of the country, a parallel farmer Republic Day celebration that was an alternative to the official celebration took place.
In a historical move, a large number of farmers, such numbers not seen earlier, participated in the rally with their tractors. Who are these people, where are they from, why did they come, what are their difficulties, aren’t they part of the country? Such questions did not seem to arise as Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ did not answer any of these questions.
In the last two months of protests, more than 60 farmers have died due to rains, cold, and ill-health. Three died due to suicide. But still, the farmers have been peacefully and democratically protesting for the last two months. The country has been in deep anguish seeing what the farmers of the country are experiencing. It was the Prime Minister’s duty to respond to their pain. Following the Red Fort incident, a group threw stones at the farmers who were peacefully protesting reacting. This group was projected as ‘angry locals.’ But according to ‘Alt News’, this group of stone pelters was in fact led by BJP workers. Having unleashed his own party workers against farmers, the Prime Minister’s words that the country is pained is simply inhuman and insensitive.
What is National Flag? Does the Prime Minister think it is a motley collection of three colours? By embracing three colours, the National Flag conveys several messages. The green colour in the flag represents the country’s farmers, agriculture, and prosperity. Today, the representatives of the green colour in the National Flag are protesting in Delhi’s borders and the police are wielding lathis against them. Miscreants are attacking them with stones. These are all covert attacks against the National Flag.
After India gained independence, the farmers salvaged the country from the scarcity of food. When hands were extended towards foreign shores for wheat and rice, farmers of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh made the country self-reliant through what is now called as Green Revolution. The fact that these farmers have come to the streets demanding justice is actually a humiliation to the National Flag. If Modi were to say the country was in pain because of all of these reasons, we could have endorsed it.
But, the controversial farm laws have been passed to protect the interests of two industrialists Adani and Ambani at the cost of the farmers is also a humiliation to the country. Republic Day is not just an exhibition or viewing of lifeless tableaus on Raj Path. Republic Day is rendered meaningful if the Constitutional rights that are accorded to the people of the country are not in danger. When a large group of farmers are on streets protesting, there is no meaning in the celebrations that take place in Rajpath. Such a celebration would render the Republic Day a farce.
By stating that ‘the humiliation of the National Flag has pained the country’, the Prime Minister is indirectly inciting his supporters against the protesting farmers. When the entire country is in protest in Delhi, what does Narendra Modi term as a ‘country’? Does he regard the media houses and TV channels that have become the slaves of the government as the entire country, and address them? The Prime Minister should first give up the belief that he can derail the farmer protest by issuing inciting statements and getting protests organized against the farmers Only by regarding the people gathered in Delhi borders as country men and making an honest attempt to understand their pain can the present conflict end logically.
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Texas halts H-1B visas at state universities, agencies; to affect Indians
Houston (US) (PTI): Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies and public universities to immediately halt new H-1B visa petitions, tightening hiring rules at taxpayer-funded institutions, a step likely to impact Indian professionals.
The freeze will remain in effect through May 2027.
The directive issued on Tuesday said that the state agencies and public universities must stop filing new petitions unless they receive written approval from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The governor's order, in a red state that is home to thousands of H-1B visa holders, comes as the Trump administration has initiated steps to reshape the visa programme.
“In light of recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa programme, and amid the federal government’s ongoing review of that programme to ensure American jobs are going to American workers, I am directing all state agencies to immediately freeze new H-1B visa petitions as outlined in this letter,” Abbot said.
Institutions must also report on H-1B usage, including numbers, job roles, countries of origin, and visa expiry dates, the letter said.
US President Donald Trump on September 19 last year signed a proclamation ‘Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’ that restricted the entry into the US of those workers whose H-1B petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 1,00,000.
The H1-B visa fee of USD 1,00,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, i.e. all new H-1B visa petitions submitted after September 21, including those for the FY2026 lottery.
Indians make up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with China in the second spot. The major fields include technology, engineering, medicine, and research.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with 5,505 approved H-1B visas in 2025, after Amazon (10,044 workers on H-1B visas), according to the USCIS. Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
Texas public universities employ hundreds of foreign faculty and researchers, many from India, across engineering, healthcare, and technology fields.
Date from Open Doors -- a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US -- for 2022-2023 showed 2,70,000 students from India embarked on graduate and undergraduate degrees in US universities, accounting for 25 per cent of the international student population in the US and 1.5 per cent of the total student population.
Indian students infuse roughly USD 10 billion annually into universities and related businesses across the country through tuition and other expenses – while also creating around 93,000 jobs, according to the Open Doors data.
Analysts warn the freeze could slow recruitment of highly skilled professionals, affecting academic research and innovation.
Supporters say the directive protects local jobs, while critics caution it could weaken Texas’ competitiveness in higher education and research.
The order comes amid broader debate in the US over skilled immigration and state-level interventions in federal programmes.
H-1B visas allow US companies to hire technically-skilled professionals that are not easily available in America. Initially granted for three years, these can be extended for another three years.
In September 2025, Trump had also signed an executive order ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for those committed to supporting the United States; with individuals who can pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, to get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card.
