“The enemies of India have seen the fire and fury of our forces,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during his surprise visit to Leh, Ladakh, to interact with the Army, Air Force and ITBP personnel stationed at Nimu. “The age of expansionism is over; we are now in an age of development and open competition,” the PM said. “History is rife with examples of countries that had adopted an expansionist attitude and threatened world peace but were eventually either destroyed or had to beat an ignominious retreat,” he added. Modi also visited the soldiers injured during the clash with Chinese troops at the Galwan Valley on June 15 at the military hospital. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew on Friday into the northern border region where Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a stand-off, and said the military stood ready to defend his country. His comments prompted Beijing to call for restraint at the tense border area in the northern Himalayan region of Ladakh. Modi, making his first trip to the Ladakh region since the Indian army lost 20 soldiers in a clash with Chinese soldiers last month, said his country’s commitment to peace should not be seen as a sign of weakness. “Today India is becoming stronger, be it in naval might, air power, space power and the strength of our army. Modernization of weapons and upgradation of infrastructure has enhanced our defense capabilities multifold,” he said in a speech to soldiers near Leh, the regional capital. India says Chinese troops have intruded across the Line of Actual Control, or the ceasefire line separating the two armies in the high altitude Ladakh region, and the clash on June 15 occurred because Chinese troops sought to erect defenses on India‘s side of the de facto border. China says the whole of the Galwan valley where the clash occurred is its territory and that it was frontline Indian troops that had breached the border, which is not demarcated. China’s foreign ministry said on Friday the two countries were holding talks to reduce tensions. Spokesman Zhao Lijian, responding to a question about Modi’s visit to the border region, said both sides were in communications through diplomatic and military channels to ease the situation. “In these circumstances, neither side should take actions that might complicate the border situation,” he said at a daily news briefing in Beijing. 
The most serious crisis on the India-China border in years has erupted while Beijing is embroiled in disputes over the South China Sea, Taiwan and its tightening grip over Hong Kong, which have all fanned fears of an expansionist policy. In a separate development, India‘s power ministry stipulated that Indian companies will need government permission to import power supply equipment and components from China, amid rising military tensions between the two countries. In Beijing, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said “artificially setting up barriers” for trade “not only violates WTO rules, but also hurts India’s interests”. He was responding to a question on union minister Nitin Gadkari’s statement about blocking Chinese firms from highway projects. “China will take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights of Chinese businesses,” he added. He said the two countries should work to meet the “consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and uphold overall bilateral relations”. “India should avoid a strategic miscalculation with regard to China.” Chinese embassy in India, in a tweet, said the accusation of “expansionism” is “groundless”. “China has demarcated boundary with 12 of its 14 neighboring countries through peaceful negotiations, turning land borders into bonds of friendly cooperation. It’s groundless to view China as ‘expansionist’, exaggerate and fabricate its disputes with neighbors,” the tweet said. A sign of China’s expansionist agenda is clear as the Chinese spokesperson criticized Japan (on Senkaku islands), the Philippines (Paracel Islands), Australia (on an APSI report on China) and the United States at the same press briefing. China also conflicts with Vietnam, Singapore, Taiwan, Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia in the South China Sea.
Tag: Choreographer
Choreographer Who Made Bollywood Sparkle, Saroj Khan Is No More
‘Masterji’ to the stars, Legendary Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan died of a cardiac arrest at the age of 71 on Friday, July 3rd, 2020. Admitted to Mumbai’s Guru Nanak Hospital since June 17 after she complained of trouble in breathing, she tested negative for Covid-19. Her funeral took place on Friday morning in Malad.
Fondly called ‘Masterji’ by stars whom she choreographed, Saroj directed over 2,000 songs in her long and storied career. Born as Nirmala Nagpal, she started her career as a child artiste and graduated to a backup dancer in the ’50s, working with choreographer B Sohanlal. She rose from the ranks, and was the first woman to become chief choreographer, before it was a thing, in Bollywood.
Saroj Khan was born in that place, the 1st of 6 kids. She recalled dancing with shadows there as a toddler, fascinated even then by what would grow to be her contacting. To complement the family’s profits, her father managed to get her operate in Mumbai’s booming movie sector as a little one actress at the age of three, below the title Saroj.
She experienced little roles in a amount of movies in advance of starting to be a qualifications dancer at the age of 10, showing up in the basic “Howrah Bridge,” starring the actress Madhubala.
On the eve of the Diwali vacation, Ms. Khan labored up the braveness to check with the matinee star Shashi Kapoor for enable. “I had just finished one song with him, I was the group dancer,” she mentioned. “I went to him and told him, tomorrow is Diwali and I have nothing at home. I will get paid only after a week. He said, ‘I have 200 rupees right now, please take it.’ I’ll never forget it, that money helped me so much.”
Khan never ever formally experienced as a dancer. Most classical dancers devote several years learning below a instructor in advance of they at any time conduct in general public, but with a household to enable help, that was not an choice for Ms. Khan.
Although nonetheless a younger woman, she turned an assistant to the choreographer B. Sohanlal, doing work with him on some of the most important movies of the . He taught her the basic principles of kathak, a classical Indian dance.
“When he started teaching me, I realized that I can’t keep a posture, I don’t know how to do this,” she recalled in the documentary. “He made me work very hard, I had to remain in the same posture for hours at a , but he turned me into a good dancer.”
Her first break as an independent choreographer came with Geeta Mera Naam (1974) and she would taste fame with the song Hawa Hawai from Mr. India (1987). Her collaboration with Sridevi on other projects like Chandni (think Nau Nau Choodiyan) and Nagina (Main Teri Dushman) further boosted her profile.
But it was her collaboration with Madhuri Dixit that transformed the careers of both the artistes, beginning with Ek Do Teen (Tezaab), and then Tamma Tamma Loge (Thanedaar), Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai (Khalnayak) and Dhak Dhak Karne Laga (Beta).
Saroj was also the one who gave Shah Rukh Khan his iconic open arms pose, in Baazigar. Other standout choreographies included Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast (Mohra), Nimbooda (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam) and Radha Kaise Na Jale (Lagaan). Her last film was Kalank (2019), where she choreographed Tabaah Ho Gaye, picturised on Madhuri. She also won National Awards for choreographing Dola Re Dola (Devdas), all the songs of Tamil film Sringaram, and Yeh Ishq Haaye (Jab We Met). Saroj was also the very first recipient of the Filmfare Award for Best Choreography, when the category was introduced in 1989. With 8 wins, she holds the record of most awards in this category. Bollywood stars have mourned the death of the legendary Khan. Shekar Kapoor tweeted: “She defined a generation of heroines. Certainly #MrIndia would not have been same film without #SarojKhan. You had to see her dance as she rehearsed with SriDevi. She was messmerizing. And what energy! You could shoot all night, yet she smiled and danced constantly fresh.” Madhuri Dixit said, “I’m devastated by the loss of my friend and guru, Saroj Khan. Will always be grateful for her work in helping me reach my full potential in dance. The world has lost an amazingly talented person. I will miss you. My sincere condolences to the family. #RIPSarojji.” Akshay Kumar tweeted: “Woke up to the sad news that legendary choreographer #SarojKhan ji is no more. She made dance look easy almost like anybody can dance, a huge loss for the industry. May her soul rest in peace.”