NEWS & VIEWS|||SARASIJ|||23RD MARCH2026

 

NEWS & VIEWS|||SARASIJ|||23RD MARCH2026

MONDAY| VOL—V/2026/MARCH

OPINIONATED, FOR FREE CIRCULATION.

“अकर्तव्यं न कर्तव्यं प्राणैः कण्ठगतैरपि ।

कर्तव्यमेव कर्तव्यं प्राणैः कण्ठगतैरपि” ॥

*Meaning* : Whatever is not right to be done, must never be done even on pain of death; and what is right to do, must be done even if one should die for the same.

*भावार्थ* : जो कार्य निषिद्ध है, उसे प्राण कण्ठगत (मृत्यु संकट उपस्थित होने की स्थिति) पर भी नहीं करना चाहिये। जो कर्तव्य है, उसे अपने प्राण की परवाह न करते हुये भी अवश्य करना चाहिये.

 

23 March : Martyrs' Day has a historical significance as it marks the day in 1931 when Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru, and Sukhdev Thapar were hanged to death during the struggle for India's independence. They also sacrificed their lives for the welfare of our nation. They are the source of inspiration for the youth of India. At such a young age, they came forward, and for independence, they fought with bravery. So, we pay homage to these three revolutionaries.

 

INDIA: (GOI, SWARAJYA, VISHWAMITRA, HINDU POST, INDIA TODAY).

PM Modi speaks to Iran President; calls for ‘freedom of navigation’ in the Gulf.

India has so far evacuated around 882 Indian businessmen, students and pilgrims from Iran through neighbouring Armenia and Azerbaijan, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on March 20.

PM Modi chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation in the petroleum, crude oil, gas, power, and fertilizer sectors amid the evolving West Asia situation. The meeting held in New Delhi focused on ensuring uninterrupted supply, stable logistics, and efficient distribution across the country.

The government has reassured that there is no shortage of essential fuels across the country, with oil refineries operating at high capacity and adequate stocks of petrol and diesel available.

The filing of nomination papers for assembly elections in Assam, Keralam and Puducherry will end today. Polling in the two states and the Union Territory will be held in a single phase on 9th of next month.

Tamil Nadu, voting will take place in a single phase on 23rd of April. In West Bengal, voting will be conducted in two phases on 23rd and 29th of April. The notification for Tamil Nadu and for the first phase of Assembly polls in West Bengal will be issued on 30th of this month. Notification for the second phase of polling in West Bengal will be issued on 2nd of April. Counting of votes for all four states and the Union Territory will be held on the 4th of May.

Bihar state celebrated its 114th Foundation Day yesterday. On this day in 1912, Bihar was carved out of Bengal and granted the status of a separate state. The theme of this day is “Unnat Bihar, Ujjwal Bihar” (Progressive Bihar, Bright Bihar).

Union Minister of Jal Shakti said, tap water connections have reached over 15 crore rural households, leading to improved health, enhanced living standards, and greater dignity for women.

New data shared in Parliament this week reveal high level of contamination in drinking water samples in Haryana and Punjab over the past five years. Records from the Ministry of Jal Shakti show that Haryana tested 3,35,334 water samples during this period, of which 20,334 were found bacteriologically contaminated and 5,691 chemically contaminated.

Hospital merger to boost MBBS, PG seats, and specialized training: Rekha Gupta.

A vessel carrying around 96,000 metric tonnes of crude oil from Russia reaches Mangaluru in Karnataka

IRAN WAR: 22/03/2026 [Al-Jazeera, NYT, Times of Israel]

Trump has said he will “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if it fails to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.

Iranian missile strikes force evacuation of 2,700 Israelis, including 1,000 from Arad and Dimona. Israel’s Ministry of Welfare and Social Security has said it is assisting more than 2,700 people forced to evacuate their homes due to Iranian strikes, Israeli media reports say.

Israel pounds Tehran after Iranian missile attacks wound  dozens in the Israeli cities of Dimona and Arad. Iran says the strikes were in respond to an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility.

Israeli defense minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that the military has been instructed to destroy additional bridges over the Litani river in south Lebanon that are allegedly being used by Hezbollah.

Saudi Arabia has declared several Iranian embassy staff, including its military attaché, as persona non grata, ordering them to leave the country within 24 hours, as Tehran’s attacks on the Gulf continue.

Iran vows ‘irreversible’ damage on regional energy infrastructure if Iranian power plants attacked  dozens in the Israeli cities of Dimona and Arad. Iran says the strikes were in respond to an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has warned that attacks on the country’s power plants would “immediately” be met with retaliatory strikes on energy and oil infrastructure across the region.

“Critical infrastructure and energy and oil infrastructure throughout the region will be considered legitimate targets and irreversibly destroyed, and oil prices will rise for a long time,” Ghalibaf said on X.

His comments come after US President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to attack Iran’s power plants if freedom of navigation is not fully restored at the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.

Strait of Hormuz: The United Nations’ maritime organization said it will start negotiating with countries to establish a humanitarian corridor to free around 20,000 seafarers stranded in the Persian Gulf. The UN did not give a timeframe for when talks would begin, or whether Iran –– which has a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz –– would cooperate. Meanwhile, Bahrain joined EU nations, Japan and Canada in expressing readiness to support efforts to reopen the strait, becoming the first regional country to do so. The United Kingdom has also sent military planners to work with the US to come up with a “viable collective plan” to reopen the vital waterway.

The US Central Command says earlier this month it destroyed an Iranian military facility where close-, short- and medium-range ballistic missiles were being built.

In a post on X, it identified the site as the Kuh-e Barjamali Ballistic Missile Assembly Facility and attached before-and-after satellite photos of the complex. The facility is located in the Barjamali Hills, southeast of Tehran. 

Already Iran attacked de-salination plant, Hospital. Trump threatens power plant. Iran people are in want of food, water. Some Co-lateral damage in civilian infrastructure is expected in such a war—but they shouldn’t be target. From the first day Iran violated this.

WORLD: (REUTER, AP, AFP, BLOOMBERG, CNN, WP)

Israeli settlers smash cars and set fires in attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, against Palestinian attack.

The violence came as Israel’s government presses ahead with new settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Pakistan has been ranked number one on the Global Terrorism Index for the first time, following a 6 per cent increase in terrorism-related fatalities last year. According to the Global Terrorism Index 2026, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), deaths from terrorism in Pakistan are now at its highest level since 2013, with the country recording 1,139 terrorism deaths and 1,045 incidents in 2025, highlighting a deteriorating security landscape.

Slovenians vote in tight race between liberals and populist right. At stake is Slovenia’s domestic and foreign agenda, where the outgoing ⁠government had focused on social and health reforms but delivered mixed results.

Russia claims control of border village in Ukraine's Sumy region. The Russian army has been trying to establish a "buffer zone" in the Sumy region for months, making small, localized breakthroughs across the border.

Cuba begins to restore power after third nationwide collapse in month. Some 72,000 customers in the capital, among them five hospitals, had electricity again early on March 22 according to a report from the state-run Electric Union and the Ministry of Energy and Mines.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose early Friday to more than $110 a barrel. Goldman Sachs has warned that energy prices will stay elevated and that a barrel of oil may cost more than $100 all the way through 2027.

Al-Aqsa closed: The Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem remained closed on Friday – the first time since 1967 that the place of worship has been shut during Eid.

MISHAPS:

In Bangladesh, at least 12 people were killed and several others injured after a train collided with a passenger bus at a railway level crossing in Comilla.

TERROISM, CRIME & PUNISHMENT:

Unidentified gunmen assassinated Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Bilal Arif Salafi inside the terror group's fortified Markaz Taiba headquarters in Muridke, Pakistan, mere moments after Eid ul-Fitr prayers concluded on Saturday.

WILD LIFE:

 Mexico reports 64% increase in area occupied by monarch Butterflies. The Mexican forest area occupied by overwintering monarch butterflies has seen an increase this season, with colonies covering around 7.24 acres, up from about 4.4 acres last year. Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Alicia Barcena attributed the increase to local conservation efforts and favorable weather.

KAMPALA, March 18 (Reuters) - For the first time in more than 40 years, Rhinos are back in Uganda's Kidepo Valley National Park after poachers there slaughtered them all ​for their prized horns and meat.

Two southern white rhinos rumbled out ‌of transport crates on Tuesday becoming the first of eight animals set to repopulate the park where the last rhino was killed in ​1983.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY:

NASA rover detects some of the oldest evidence of water flowing on Mars. Using ground-penetrating radar, NASA's Perseverance rover has detected underground remains of an ancient river delta on Mars in some of the oldest evidence yet obtained showing how water once ​flowed on the surface of Earth's planetary neighbour.

CLIMATE:

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds over Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathwada and Uttarakhand during the next two days.

GAMES & SPORTS: -

In Squash, top seed and defending champion Anahat Singh won the Women’s Singles title, while Abhay Singh clinched the Men’s Singles at the Indian Open in Mumbai.

DAS KAPITAL:

Foreign investors have withdrawn 88,180 crore rupees from Indian equities up to the third week of March. Escalating geopolitical tensions, rising crude oil prices, and hawkish commentary from the Federal Reserve have weighed on investor sentiment.

Indian Share Market: -

Will open today. Likely to be BEARISH.

BULLIONS:

*GOLD* : ₹ 15,200/ 01gm (24 krt)

*SILVER* : ₹ 245,000/KG

Currency Exchange Rates:

*Euro* : ₹107/-*USD*  ₹ 92/-  *China¥* : ₹ 13/-

 

THE END.

 

 Image Acknowledgement: HT