By calling for an all-party meeting on March 5 to discuss the delimitation exercise, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has sought to stir up a national debate. Delimitation, as an exercise, has not seen any increase in the legislative seats since 1973, having been frozen as per the 1971 Census for parity in population … Read more
Delimitation and the South Instead of indulging in what looks to be verbal/statistical jugglery and dismissing the genuine concerns flagged leaders in the southern States — about the possibility of their losing out to the northern States in the delimitation exercise — the Centre needs to do more. It would do well to give an … Read more
I had just finished my first year at medical school, and was visiting Phuphee for the summer holidays. The days were hot but a constant breeze made the heat tolerable, even pleasurable at times. One such hot, breezy afternoon, an elderly gentleman and his wife arrived. When it was hot, Phuphee usually made ice cream. … Read more
Concerns about the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme refuse to die down in Andhra Pradesh, with scientists and farmers saying water resources are depleting and emissions from factories are polluting the air, water, and soil. Buoyed by the encouraging results of the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme, which was introduced in India as a pilot … Read more
Recently, two First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in Indore for violating the District Magistrate’s prohibitory orders issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). These Sections correspond to Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 144 of the Code … Read more
In the cacophony of religious fervour for a holy dip at the Kumbh, amidst bustling railway stations, jostling crowds, and ceaseless proclamations by Indian Railways about the number of train services and the passengers ferried to Prayagraj, lies an inconvenient truth: the approach to passenger safety and convenience is at best tragically outdated, and at … Read more
The adage that ‘the wheels of justice grind slowly, but grind exceedingly fine’ may be true, but there are times when punishment for crimes comes so late that it is hardly recognisable as justice. The patience of a family’s long wait for justice may have been rewarded this week, when Congress leader Sajjan Kumar was … Read more
Even as State after State is splurging on cash transfers for women, the most vulnerable among them, pregnant women, continue to be deprived of their legal right to maternity benefits. Worse, whatever little used to be paid to them seems to be shrinking. The main responsibility for this lies with the central government. Under the … Read more
Barely a week after the remains of nine coal miners were recovered at the end of a 44-day operation, from a coal mine that had flooded in Assam in early January, a disaster of similar contours, this time in Nagarkurnool, Telangana, is in the making. A portion of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel, which … Read more
NEP, language row Apprehensions about the language issue in the New Education Policy must be sincerely addressed. India’s diverse cultural identities should not be marred by any of the hegemonic policies imposed by the Centre. We have already seen that it is this issue that has caused much strife in the past. The success of … Read more