Editorials

The Aadhaar Bill, allowing private bodies to use Aadhaar as a means to authenticate identity, poses huge dangers On Friday, the Lok Sabha, without any attendant discussion, passed the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018. On any reasonable reading it ought to be plainly apparent that the Bill flagrantly …

The Rajasthan Chief Minister on his appointment and equation with Sachin Pilot, his government’s agenda, and the Congress party’s strategy for 2019 Ashok Gehlot became Chief Minister of Rajasthan for the third time after the Congress narrowly won the Rajasthan Assembly election in December. In a freewheeling interview, he speaks …

East Africa is not willing to be turned into a refugee camp for British citizens of Asian origin, Mr. Tom Mboya, the Kenya Minister for Economic Planning and Development, said here [Nairobi] yesterday [January 6]. Speaking as the Secretary of the Kenya delegation to the Commonwealth conference, Mr. Mboya stated, …

As a journalist in Delhi, I have spent at least a couple of days every month at Jantar Mantar, the premier protest venue since the early 1990s. On some days mega rallies take place under the gaze of dozens of cameras. But even after the crowds have left, the space …

The tardy response of the Centre and the State of Meghalaya to the plight of at least 15 workers trapped in a rat-hole coal mine since mid-December has exposed the extraordinary indifference in government to labour welfare and the law. Two workers have been found dead in a second mine …

Dark clouds hung over the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday, holding off India’s bid to win the Test series against Australia in greater style. Yet, the final 2-1 result is historic, with India for the first time defeating Australia in Australia in a Test series. Having flourished at Adelaide and …

Chief of the Army Staff General Bipin Rawat’s argument that Pakistan must “develop as a secular state” to have any dialogue with India can be interpreted to convey two contradictory messages. The first is that India has no intention of engaging with Pakistan since there is no possibility of Pakistan …

Over the last few years, battles over symbols — for long an Indian pre-occupation — have reached a crescendo and show no signs of abating. Perhaps no historical figure has been mined as thoroughly as M.K. Gandhi (although B.R. Ambedkar today comes a close second). No government would dare dislodge …

In December, the French company Électricité de France (EDF) submitted a “techno-commercial proposal” to the Indian government for the Jaitapur nuclear power project in Maharashtra. The idea of importing six nuclear European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs) was initiated by the United Progressive Alliance government more than a decade ago, but the …

In October last year, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in a public address stated that Pakistanis should stop worrying, “ Ghabrain nahin , hausla rakhain (do not worry, have fortitude).” But after five months of waiting for the government to deliver on its numerous promises, perhaps it is now time …

Chinese and American officials began talks on Monday aimed at ending a bruising trade battle between the world’s two biggest economies, as Beijing complained over the sighting of a U.S. warship in what it said were Chinese waters. It was unclear if the ruckus over the warship might disrupt the …

The Kerala Government has decided to constitute two new districts and to integrate the taluks and the community development blocks as units of administration, said the Governor, Mr. V. Viswanathan in his address to the Assembly to-day [January 3, Trivandrum]. The decisions were aimed at improving administrative efficiency and giving …

The Food Stuff Commissioner for India has issued the following note [in Calcutta]: The Government of India have been in communication with His Majesty’s Government with a view to arranging for the sale to India of Australian wheat, considerable quantities of which are expected to be shortly on passage to …

In facilitating the entry of two women, albeit in stealth and under the cover of darkness, the Kerala government has displayed some resolve in breaking the illegal blockade imposed by some devotees on permitting females in the 10-50 age group into the Sabarimala temple. This is the first time women …

China joined a select group of countries with successful missions to the moon, when its spacecraft, Chang’e-4, successfully made a landing at ‘10.26 on January 3’, according to the China National Space Administration. It landed at a spot on the moon’s far side, the Von Kármán crater, which is untouched …

The Congress has formed the government in Madhya Pradesh with the help of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party. In the new Assembly, there are only two Muslim MLAs, both from the Congress. From 1952 to 2018, on average, only 1% and 2.3% of Muslims were elected and …

In an essay published in the Washington University Law Review (1979), Martin R. Gardner posed a significant question whether an “illicit legislative motivation” could be “a sufficient condition for unconstitutionality”. He explored this “muddled area” in the context of religious motivation under the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution and …

The New Year is always looked forward to with hope, whatever the conditions might have been the previous year; 2018 has been a mixed bag, both globally and domestically.Globally, the growth rate in 2018 was high, particularly in the United States. But strong signs of a trade war emerged, dimming …

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma has been visibly declining since mid-2017. The point that is open for debate is whether or not he can reverse the slide by playing the several cards he is adept at playing. Paradoxically, the onset of the fade-out of Mr. Modi’s charisma coincided with the …

A 14-year-old boy in the U.S. who was allegedly driving an SUV that caused a fatal car accident has been arrested on a murder charge.The Texas Harris County Sheriff’s Office says the SUV was filled with teens who were throwing eggs at other cars on Tuesday afternoon when another driver …