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The latest episode of Statecraft covers the ongoing legal battle over the Bharat Hindu Samaj Temple in Peterborough, UK. The city council's decision to sell the decades-old temple complex to an Islamic organisation has sparked a debate over vote bank politics and the marginalisation of Britain's Hindu community.
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00:07can china become the world's favorite country without changing itself and when the west speaks
00:13of human rights why do those values seem negotiable when china is involved tonight two
00:20stories that expose the growing gap between principles and political reality one looks at
00:25how america's unpredictability and europe's economic interests have helped boost china's
00:30global image the other takes us to britain where a decades-old hindu temple faces demolition after
00:36being sold for redevelopment into a mosque raising difficult questions about vote bank politics and
00:43equal treatment our value is giving way to profits abroad and politics at home hello and welcome
00:49you're watching statecraft with me geeta mohan all this and more but first up the headlines
00:55the hearing on the peterborough ram temple case at the royal court of justice in london is over
01:00the dispute centers on the peterborough city council's decision to sell the land which had a building
01:05that housed the temple iran has asked yemen's houthis to be ready to close the red sea oil route if
01:11the
01:11united states strikes iranian power infrastructure according to reports sources said the idea has been
01:17discussed within the islamic republic's leadership and the message has been conveyed to the houthis
01:23at least eight people were killed after pakistani rangers opened fire on protesters in pakistan
01:28occupied kashmir a day before planned mass march to muzharabad on the 15th of july rare protests erupted
01:35in ukraine over the dismissal of defense minister mikhailo fedorov vladimir zelensky's reshuffle has fueled
01:41public anger over the exclusion of fedorov a 35 year old tech expert who has aimed to reshape
01:47kiev's outmanned army into a more efficient fighting force to take on russia fedorov however
01:53has declined an offer from zelensky to serve as an advisor the iran u.s conflict has intensified with
02:00iran's military warning that all infrastructure in the region will be crushed under steel blows
02:07if the u.s attacked the country's civilian sites this fresh warning comes as u.s launched a new wave
02:13of strikes with explosions reportedly heard in kesham island bandir abbas and jabahar iran has carried
02:20out retaliatory strikes on kuwait bahrain and jordan bahrain said it has thwarted the attacks by iran
02:26targeting civilians iranian drone strikes targeted communication systems and fuel tanks at the al-azrah
02:33u.s air base in jordan iran also said the united states must comply with the mou and accept iranian
02:41rules governing the strait of hormuz iran's parliament speaker galiba and lead negotiator
02:46said the country's military has complete freedom to take action against u.s aggression galiba also
02:53said that the u.s is trying to use force to undermine iran's arrangements for the strait of hormuz
02:59now in yet another message to washington amid threats to trump's life a billboard has been
03:05installed with a graphic depicting u.s president trump's body lying in a coffin the billboard was
03:11installed at tehran's ingalab square at the center of the square is also newly installed statue
03:18showing late supreme leader ayatollah khamenei's clenched fist after president trump's threats to bomb
03:25iran's civilian infrastructure if no deal happens by next week the final exams of graduating high
03:30school students in the iranian provinces of hormuzgan basher uzistan and sistan and balochistan
03:37have been rescheduled pakistan meanwhile has also been pushing both sides to sit across the table
03:44and resume talks the american strikes have hit an iranian army barrack killing at least seven troops and
03:51wounding hundreds of people across the country the attacks have intensified with trump threatening
03:57iranian power plants and bridges as the next target with the u.s naval blockade in effect u.s central
04:03command released footage showing a strike on an unladen oil tanker attempting to sail toward an iranian
04:11port in the arabian sea the vessel has been identified as belma according to the u.s central command this
04:17commercial vessel ignored multiple warnings as it attempted to violate the u.s blockade a u.s aircraft
04:23disabled the vessel after firing hellfire missiles into the ship's smokestack the ship is no longer
04:29transiting to iran eyewitness footage showed a drone being intercepted mid-air over air bill in iraq the
04:37video was shared on the same day when an explosive laden drone was shot down by air defenses over the
04:43city
04:44the drone fell near the u.s consulate in the city amid escalation the u.s president has called the
04:50release of a u.s citizen held in iran as a gesture of goodwill trump in a post on truth
04:56social said an
04:57american who was wrongfully detained under the biden administration in the year 2024 had been allowed to
05:04leave iran human rights attorney jared gessner identified the american as diana karari iran has however
05:11neither confirmed nor denied that karari has been released according to new york times karari 53
05:17is a resident of california and during her visit to her relatives to the city of shiraz in december
05:232024 she was detained and her passport was seized uh we're gonna hit him very hard tonight
05:31we're gonna hit him very hard tomorrow night we're gonna hit him very hard the night after and then
05:36next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the uh power plants next week comes
05:44the bridges we're gonna knock out all their power plants we're gonna knock out all their bridges
05:49unless they get to the table and negotiate
05:54since the beginning we have said commitment in return for commitment meaning we fulfill our commitments
06:01as long as the other side honors theirs the other side violated and we too refrained from fulfilling ours
06:09wherever necessary as we continue it is the same path it doesn't matter if we say it exists or doesn't
06:16exist an agreement is not a strange thing it's just a collection of reciprocal commitments
06:22my colleague pranapadhyaya had a conversation with peterborough city council roger and tunes who
06:32explains why he opposed the council's decision to sell a hindu temple property listen in
06:39councillor roger and tunes is joining me live from peterborough so welcome to india today
06:44good morning thank you for having me this morning my first question to you what what prompted the city
06:51council to sail the the land of temple for united kingdom's islamic mission and its interests and for a mosque
06:59um it is a fairly long story the there have been negotiations between uh the uh bhs uh the temple
07:08and the council for a decade those intensified up until september of this year of 2025 however the council then
07:17decided to go to tender uh which is called best and final offer and therefore that open tender was
07:24effectively a commercial bid uh which is what is being challenged the due process is being challenged
07:30in court under what is called a judicial review uh in the higher court in london
07:36also roger you oppose this decision and you understand the communal sensitivities around this case
07:42uh what were your argument in the city council my argument is is very simple and it's based on the
07:49law uh in england uh under section one two three of the local government act there is no requirement to
07:56go to tender on this property it's a community asset it is a consecrated temple the only temple within 35
08:04miles uh the council were perfectly at liberty to negotiate with the phs for the sale uh evaluation could
08:13independently be given by the royal institute of charter surveyors and the council could use that as the
08:19guideline and i believe in my honest opinion that is what the council should have done uh after the election
08:25of the new uh council
08:26or council cabinet there uh is it divided on the religious lines i can't comment on that um the
08:35challenges on technical lines the judicial review is about due process about the rule of law and obviously
08:42the court has looked at the case considered there is a case to answer otherwise we wouldn't be in court
08:48so that is where we are this is now the fifth day the fifth and final day and the judge
08:54we hope will
08:55come to a decision soon you're also uh you know uh you were also there at the royal court of
09:00justice uh
09:01to to witness uh the case proceedings and i'm uh and we told that you know you're also likely to
09:07join
09:07that proceedings today as well uh what were the arguments from the either sides the arguments at
09:14the moment are are very technical and very dry uh they will be summing up today uh the thrust is
09:22effectively that the council should have negotiated and what was the rationale and the basis of
09:29decision to go from a negotiated position to this tender and then the technical reasons uh and
09:36evaluation of the tender so those are the points that are being put forward at the moment can one of
09:41britain's oldest hindu temples be replaced by a mosque that is the question britain's high court is faced
09:49with at the center of the controversy is the 40 year old bharat hindu samaj temple in peterborough
09:54a temple that has served thousands of hindus for decades a temple that devotees say is their only place
10:01of worship for miles but the local council has sold the complex to an islamic organization that plans to
10:08turn it into a mosque and an islamic center the temple trust calls the decision unlawful and discriminatory
10:15the council says it simply accepted the highest bid but this battle is about far more than one
10:22building it has opened a wider debate over political influence vote bank politics and whether britain's
10:28hindu community is being pushed to the margins so why has this temple become the center of a national
10:33controversy and what does it reveal about the changing face of british politics now the high court
10:39heard the final arguments in the legal battle over the bharat hindu samaj temple complex in peterborough
10:45the city council decided to sell the site to the united kingdom islamic mission or ukim which plans
10:52to redevelop it into a mosque and an islamic center the temple trust has challenged the decision arguing
10:58that the sale was unlawful discriminatory and carried out without proper consultation trustees say the temple
11:06serves more than 18 000 devotees and is the only hindu temple within a 50 to 60 kilometer radius the
11:14case
11:14is not simply about one building it has become a test of whether britain's institutions treat minority
11:21communities equally temple trustees say they were never properly consulted before the council moved
11:27ahead with the sale they argue that the hindu community was marginalized despite depending on the site for
11:34worship festivals and community activities the council however insists it accepted the highest financial offer
11:41and acted within the law peterborough city council says selling the property is part of efforts to
11:48reduce its debt burden and that it explored alternative premises for the hindu community but critics argue
11:54the council was under no legal obligation to invite competitive bids and should have negotiated directly
12:00with the temple trust the high court's verdict is expected after thursday's hearing my colleague prana
12:07padia has been speaking to various stakeholders this is what they had to say for the past 14 years uh
12:14you know the uh
12:15the team has been trying uh elderlies have been trying to talk to the city council the local peterborough city
12:21council
12:21to buy and acquire uh the land and have a safe space uh you know for all the hindus in
12:29the city um but but the
12:31negotiations have never been fruitful uh every time there has been um uh uh some sort of an uh
12:41i'm sorry every time there have been some sort of uh an agreement uh the goalpost always changed
12:48from peterborough council and that has never uh been fruitful this controversy also comes at a time when
12:55britain's political landscape is changing rapidly demographics are translating into electoral
13:01influence and organized voting blocs are increasingly becoming king makers and closely fought constituencies
13:08according to the 2021 census muslims account for around 6.5 percent of britain's population pakistanis
13:15and bangladeshis together make up around 3.8 percent while indians account for about 3.1 percent in the
13:232024 general election organized muslim voting patterns helped smaller parties and independent
13:30candidates emerge as serious challenges in dozens of labor held seats senior labor figures now face
13:36growing political pressure in constituencies with large pakistani and bangladeshi populations
13:43in british politics pakistani and bangladeshi voters are increasingly voting in blocks and influencing
13:51british politics and british politics and elections uh in the last parliamentary elections uh in the last
13:57parliamentary elections four pakistani origin people won as independent campaigning on gaza
14:00in the council elections in march uh hundreds of pakistani and bangladeshi uh origin
14:08councilors got elected and in north of england pakistani origin uh area uh oldham for instance which
14:18which which has 25 percent people of uh pakistani origin uh there they formed a separate group
14:25and they won 10 council seats in tower hamlets in london a bangladeshi guy won election as mayor for the
14:34third time and this constituency is 40 percent bangladeshi it used to be until four decades until
14:40few decades ago it used to be predominantly white so they are influencing elections they are campaigning on
14:46kashmir issue they are campaigning on gaza issue they are campaigning on other foreign issues which is
14:53not liked by people in this country unlike the pakistani and bangladeshi communities britain's indian
15:01community has remained far less politically organized while indian origin groups have campaigned on issues
15:07such as kashmir and the farmers protests they've generally not voted as a unified electoral block that
15:14difference is increasingly shaping political calculations inside westminster many indian origin
15:21mps are cautious about speaking on insensitive issues because of changing electoral dynamics in their own
15:27constituencies political parties continue to court hindu and sikh voters but analysts say pakistani and
15:34bangladeshi vote blocks have become far more influential in determining outcomes in several key seats
15:42meanwhile britain is also confronted with another issue linked to sections of the pakistani community
15:48we've been reporting on it the release of convicted grooming gang ringleader shabir ahmad and pakistan's
15:54refusal to take him back has intensified public anger turning a criminal case into a diplomatic and a
16:02political flashpoint shabir ahmad the ringleader of a pakistani grooming gang convicted of 30 child rape
16:08offenses was released after serving part of a sentence britain's home secretary has announced plans to
16:14change the law to enable his deportation but pakistan has refused to accept him the case has reignited
16:21anger over the grooming gang scandal and fuel demands for tougher action against countries that refuse to
16:28take back the nationals you see there's no end to the menace that we see now that is uh confronted
16:34by uk
16:35home authorities now as britain confronts the fallout of the grooming gang scandal the growing influence
16:41of organized vote bank politics and accusations of unequal treatment the spotlight now returns to
16:47peterborough the high court's ruling on the fate of the bharat hindu samaj temple will decide far more
16:53than the future of one place of worship for many british hindus today's verdict will also be seen
16:59as a test of whether their community's voice carries equal weight in modern britain an indian
17:06origin muslim man from hyderabad is battling for life after he was allegedly stabbed 15 times in a
17:12suspected religious hate attack inside a shopping mall in utah in the united states of america police
17:19say the suspect targeted the victim after asking if he was muslim and allegedly told investigators he
17:26intended to kill muslims the accused has been arrested while the indian consulate in san francisco
17:31has assured all possible assistance to the victim and his family mashweta lala with this detailed report
17:43in an incident of religious hatred an indian origin muslim man was allegedly stabbed 15 times
17:50inside a shopping mall in utah in the u.s he was stabbed after being asked by a stranger whether
17:56he was a muslim
18:04according to the police the suspect targeted the victim because of his religion and intents to kill muslims
18:15the victim sayyad soheluddin a resident of hyderabad was stabbed inside valley fair mall in west valley city
18:22sayyad now hospitalized is in critical condition
18:28during the attack the bystander threw objects at the attacker and empowered him before the police arrived
18:39the attacker identified as peter michael larson has a history of violence and was reportedly asking
18:45people about their religion around the mall before the incident prosecutors argued that larson should
18:52remain in custody as he posed a substantial danger to the public
18:58in 2022 the attacker larson had set his yard on fire and threatened the firefighters he was released
19:06from jail in january last year the union consulate general of india and san francisco has reacted to
19:14the attack and expressed its profound sadness caused by the incident
19:21in a statement posted on x the consulate said it is in close contact with soheluddin's family and friends
19:28and is ready to provide all possible consular assistance
19:33are you from india hatred against indian origin people in the united states is not new america or india
19:40in may a couple became victim of racial and verbal abuse by a man questioned the indian
19:46origin couple about their nationality in india why do you have to come to america
19:52no we don't want you here you gotta go home the man asked them to go home and leave the
19:57united states
19:58with mahasweta lala bureau report india today
20:06china just became the world's favorite country and this is not me saying it a pew survey finds that
20:13more and more countries find china more trustworthy and favorable when compared to the us i guess
20:19we can thank current u.s president trump's tariff policies for that these tariff policies as well as
20:25his sharp rebukes of his european allies have pushed his friends and allies towards china for business
20:33but there's one thing we need to point out the hypocrisy of the west european nations are quick
20:37to talk about countries that commit human rights abuses and are known to even sanction them yet it
20:43seems like their sense of justice is dulled down when it comes to their own self-interest and when it
20:49comes to china and chinese human rights abuses if human rights matters so much why does outrage suddenly
20:56come with an economic discount especially when it comes to china there's also another interesting thing to
21:02note about the list and that is that among the top 10 countries that view china most favorably most are
21:09muslim nations or predominantly muslim did america first accidentally subsidized chinese soft power
21:16the answer is yes but not by writing beijing a check it happened by making america look unpredictable
21:23when washington slapped tariffs big trade fights and publicly scolded allies europe did not suddenly fall in
21:30love with china it simply started looking for another business partner that did not change the rules every
21:36other week in geopolitics you do not always have to become more attractive sometimes your rival just has
21:44to become less reliable that is exactly what this pew survey captures across 36 countries china enjoys
21:52more favorable ratings than the united states of america in most of them now confidence in xi jinping
21:59even beats confidence in donald trump in many places nobody's calling xi a global rockstar but compared to the
22:05chaos he looks predictable and predictability sells so is european foreign policy now dictated by corporate
22:13supply chains look at what happened european leaders lined up for trips to beijing not because they suddenly
22:20embraced china's political system they went because business has a vote too german manufacturers british
22:27investors spanish exporters irish technology firms they all need access to the chinese market when your
22:34factories exports and jobs depend on one of the world's biggest economies principles suddenly have
22:41to share the table with profits but that brings us to the uncomfortable part does the west's human
22:47rights compass top at the chinese border europe has sanctioned governments across the world over human
22:53rights abuses travel bans asset freezes financial restrictions it has repeatedly spoken the language of
23:00values yet when it comes to china the tone changes now the country faces extensive criticism over xinjiang
23:08tibet hong kong censorship surveillance and the treatment of religious minorities everyone knows these
23:15issues exist yet business meetings continue investment talks continue and trade continues why because
23:22economic gravity bends political morality the bigger the economy the harder it becomes to isolate so how
23:29much economic gravity does it take to neutralize what they thought was human rights abuses when it comes to
23:34human rights diplomacy now apparently a lot china is simply too important to ignore that does not erase the
23:41criticism it simply lowers its volume values remain in the speech trade dominates the meeting now look at
23:48another striking detail from the survey among the countries that view china most favorably many are
23:54muslim majority nations why is beijing winning the approval of the global muslim majority the answer lies in which
24:02country comes third in china's favorability china has consistently backed palestinian statehood recognized
24:09palestine decades ago and repeatedly positioned itself as a supporter of the palestinian cause unlike the united
24:16states which is often seen as firmly aligned with israel beijing uses this contrast to present itself as
24:22the voice of the global south which brings us to the biggest contradiction of all china has faced a
24:28widespread international western criticism over its treatment of uighur muslims in xinjiang yet many
24:35muslim majority governments stay remarkably quiet and some have defended beijing's position why has
24:42transactional economics replaced the post-war democratic alliance or has unpredictability become the
24:48reason why everybody's looking to china that is the real story behind this pew survey china did not
24:55become more democratic suddenly it did not fix its so-called human rights record which the west has a
25:01problem with it did not suddenly become the world's moral leader what changed was the comparison america
25:09made itself look unpredictable europe chose economic insurance over absolute loyalty and beijing walked
25:16straight into that opening that's all in this edition of statecraft before we go the final whistle
25:22wasn't the end of england versus argentina at the world cup fifa tempers boiled over after argentina's
25:29dramatic world cup semi-final victory with players from both sides involved in a heated confrontation of
25:35course falkland did appear in the banners team england's jude bellingham appeared at the center of the clash
25:42as teammates rushed in to separate the two sides take a look at the visuals goodbye and take care
26:31of the
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