New Delhi, July 15 : Bahrain Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa on Sunday lauded the role of the Indian expatriate community's role in his country's development.

"FM Shaikh Khalifa praised the contribution of Indian community settled in Bahrain towards the economic development of Bahrain," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted following the second High Joint Commission meeting led by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Shaikh Khalifa in Manama.

Bahrain is home to around 350,000 Indian nationals, the largest expatriate community in the Gulf Kingdom, and more than 3,000 Indian-owned or joint venture companies.

Bilateral trade between India and Bahrain stood at over $875 million as of February this year, according to figures provided by the External Affairs Ministry.

India's total capital investment into Bahrain between January 2003 and March 2018 has been estimated at $1.69 billion.

On Saturday, the first day of her two-day visit to Bahrain, Sushma Swaraj, along with Shaikh Khalifa, inaugurated the new Indian Embassy complex in Manama.

"The new developments that have taken place in the economic field in the two countries, will take economic relations to greater heights," Sushma Swaraj said in her address at the ceremony.

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Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.

AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.

“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.

He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.

“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.

According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.

In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.

AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.