UAE president Al Nahyan arrives in India
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday received United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Delhi airport, signalling the importance India attached to his visit.
Al Nahyan will be in the national capital for less than two hours, according to his schedule released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
His visit to India comes amid a volatile situation in the Middle-East arising out of the sharp decline in Iran-US ties, simmering tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over Yemen and the unsettling political scenario in Gaza.
Al Nahyan and Modi will hold wide-ranging talks shortly.
People familiar with the UAE president's visit said trade and investment, defence industry cooperation and energy initiatives are expected to be on the agenda of his talks with the Indian leadership.
The situation in the Middle East is also likely to figure in the talks, they said.
It will be the UAE leader's third official visit to India since assuming the charge of the top office and the fifth to the country over the past decade.
There has been a significant upswing in bilateral trade and people-to-people ties after New Delhi and Abu Dhabi inked an ambitious comprehensive economic partnership agreement in 2022.
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Hindu Ekta Sammelanams in Kerala mask sangh outreach through temple gatherings
Kochi: Temple premises in several parts of Kerala have been increasingly organizing programs calling for Hindu unity as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh celebrates its centenary year with outreach events across the country.
The News Minute reported that one such programme held on February 28 near Edappally in Kochi began with traditional performances, including chenda melam and a Thiruvathira dance at the Anjumana Devi temple ground, and transitioned into a “Hindu Ekta Sammelanam”. Organisers were quoted as saying that the objective of the event was “to bring together members of different Hindu communities by transcending caste, regional and linguistic differences.”
The RSS is celebrating its centenary year by nationwide series of conferences. These began on October 2, 2025. Reports indicate that more than one lakh such meetings are planned across India in 2026, with over 1,000 events scheduled in Kerala between February and March.
At the Edappally programme representatives of the Hindu Aikya Vedi and other spiritual leaders expressed their thoughts. Hindu Aikya Vedi state president R V Babu said the events are organised to strengthen a sense of unity among Hindus and encourage people to move beyond caste divisions.
Participants at the gathering included members of various organisations such as the Nair Service Society, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam and representatives of other community groups. Some attendees said they viewed the events primarily as religious or cultural programmes organised around temples in their localities.
Criticizing the gatherings, leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said that temple premises are being used to advance a political agenda under the cover of religious and cultural programs. The party’s youth wing, the Democratic Youth Federation of India, has opposed some of the events at the local level, arguing that religious spaces should not become platforms for ideological mobilisation.
Some attendees clarified that they participated viewing the programmes as temple-based community events rather than political meetings. Others acknowledged that discussions during the sessions included references to electoral participation and broader social themes.
Similar objections were raised in Kozhikode district, where local CPI(M) workers opposed a gathering linked to a temple committee. He argued that religious spaces should not be used for political mobilization, when Kerala is expected to go to Assembly polls in 2026.
