The price of premium or higher-grade petrol on Friday was increased by Rs 2 per litre amid a spike in global oil prices amid the conflict in West Asia, PTI reported.

The prices of regular petrol and diesel, however, did not change.

In Delhi, the price of 95-octane petrol, a premium-grade fuel, increased from Rs 99.8 per litre to Rs 101.8. A litre of normal petrol in the national capital remained at Rs 94.7, while the same grade diesel was priced at Rs 87.6 a litre.

Normal petrol typically has an octane rating of 91-92, which is suitable for standard engines and offers adequate performance for everyday driving. An octane rating is a measure of fuel stability.

Meanwhile, the rate of bulk diesel sold to industrial users in the country was also hiked by about Rs 22 a litre, according to the news agency. Bulk diesel prices were hiked from Rs 87.6 per litre to Rs 109.5 in the national capital.

Earlier on Friday, Sujata Sharma, joint secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, told reporters that there is no increase in prices of normal petrol and diesel.

“Some increase is reported in the premium category which hardly makes up for 2%-4% of the entire petrol [sold in the country],” Sharma said. “There is no increase in price for the common man.”

She added that such decisions on pricing were taken by oil companies independently as petrol pricing was deregulated in 2010 and diesel in 2014, PTI reported. “Government does not regulate petrol and diesel prices,” she added.

The conflict in West Asia began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran. Tehran has retaliated by launching missiles and drones at targets in the Gulf, including US bases, ships and major cities in the region.

Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

Amid the conflict, Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterbody connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, for most international commercial vessels. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

India imports 88% of its crude oil needs and about half of its natural gas requirement, PTI reported. This mostly comes through the Strait of Hormuz.

On Friday, the price of benchmark Brent crude also slid to $105 a barrel, after spiking to $119 a day earlier. The price was $78 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict started.

The convenience for consumers created by the gig economy has an unforeseen byproduct: it is taking an immense toll on the wellbeing of platform workers.

Gig workers face a heightened vulnerability to road accidents, chronic body aches from long hours and working through erratic weather conditions, from extreme heat to heavy rainfall.

Though platforms claim to provide health insurance for gig workers, these benefits are often subject to performance and earnings, say news reports, worker unions and researchers.

However, gig workers could benefit from the Code on Social Security, 2020, which came into effect from November. It extends recognition to gig and platform workers and seeks to extend benefits such as retirement savings, and state-run health, life and disability insurance to them.

It brings gig workers under the Employees’ State Insurance Scheme, which could provide a comprehensive social safety net, beyond traditional medical expense coverage.

However, for all the benefits such a scheme offers, including gig workers in its purview poses challenges. An expansion would also have to account for gig workers’ volatile incomes and long working hours with no fixed timings.

Physical stress, protection gap

A study published in 2020 of 173 gig workers in Chennai found that between April and June the previous year, 32.36% food delivery workers had met with road accidents.

Similarly, a survey of 166 gig workers in Hyderabad, carried out in June 2024, found that more than half the workers experienced heat exhaustion and 30% reported heatstroke symptoms while working. The research was carried out by HeatWatch, which both authors are associated with, and the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union.

Workers have said insurance is often linked to opaque performance ratings. Rest of World interviewed 40 Swiggy riders and found that insurance access was tied to weekly performance rankings, with 65% calling the system unfair and several others saying that claims were fully or partially denied.

A 2024 report by Fairwork, notes that “workers in different categories are prioritised differently for grievance redressal, loss of pay, and insurance schemes”. Similarly, government social security schemes have been tied to standard employment relationships, which leaves gig workers with weak protection even when laws begin to recognise them.

For instance, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, which provides cashless hospitalisation coverage up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care, helps if a gig worker is admitted to a hospital but not otherwise.

The Employees’ State Insurance scheme, which has been operating since 1952, could fill such gaps. It is India’s only work-linked social health insurance scheme that provides medical benefits and monetary support for lost wages due to health problems.

The scheme acknowledges the health and economic risks of working in low-paying industries and combines medical care for a worker and their family with cash benefits to cover for loss of wages due to sickness, maternity, injury and the like.

The scheme also offers a safety net in case of extreme heat. In July 2024, the Ministry of Labour and Employment announced that those insured are “eligible for sickness benefit due to heatwave if it necessitates abstention from work”. But more needs to be done.

Floating income, many platforms

The government thinktank Niti Aayog estimates the number of gig workers to increase from 1 crore to 2.35 crore by 2029-’30. By these estimates, including even one crore gig workers under the ambit of the Employees’ State Insurance Scheme will raise the current insured person population by 26%: to 5.01 crore from the current 4.01 crore.

Can the Employee State Insurance Corporation absorb a new insured population without diluting real access? That depends on two linked issues: design and capacity.

The Corporation’s dashboard shows that it has 165 hospitals and 1,574 dispensaries. Where ESIC facilities are unavailable, the insured person can access cashless care through over 1,000 empanelled hospitals. These figures reflect the scheme’s institutional capacity, but underutilisation needs to be addressed before expanding coverage to gig workers pan-India.

The first constraint is the gap between sanctioned and operational capacity. Bed occupancy data can conceal the fact that sanctioned beds are not always commissioned or operational. In Delhi, as of March 2024, 2,100 beds were sanctioned, but only 1,530 were commissioned, creating a shortfall of 570 beds, shows official data.

Second, vacant posts limit service delivery. Under the scheme, Delhi has 32 dispensaries with 312 doctor posts sanctioned, but there are only 177 doctors, creating a vacancy of 135 posts – around 43% – which is roughly four doctor posts per dispensary on average.

There must be a targeted strengthening of the system to be able to cover a large, floating population of gig and platform workers.

Eligibility for the Employees’ State Insurance Scheme is tied to a wage ceiling of Rs 21,000 per month. But gig and platform worker incomes are volatile. Even among “consistent” drivers, around 15% experience month-to-month swings of 20% in earnings per hour, says a research paper by analytics and data nonprofit IDinsight.

The Employee State Insurance Scheme is also funded with the employer contributing 3.25% of the worker’s wages and the employee contributing 0.75%. However, the latest draft rules do not yet clarify if insurance will be through the corporation or a separate insurance product financed by platform contributions.

Then there is also the fact that workers operate with multiple platforms. The draft rules require aggregators to upload worker details but the coverage is tied to a worker’s Aadhaar-linked registration or unique ID on a central portal, so access continues when workers switch or use multiple platforms.

Workers are eligible for benefits if they complete 90 days with one aggregator, or 120 days across multiple aggregators in the last financial year. However, this should not become a stringent requirement.

Four priorities

First, the ESIC should publish district-wise “functional readiness” indicators so expansion to more workers is linked to actual service capacity. A dashboard could report on commissioned beds versus sanctioned beds, specialist posts filled versus vacant, outpatient department hours, and indicate downtime or stock-outs for dispensaries/diagnostics.

Second, since the OPD and dispensary timings are supposed to be 9 am-4 pm on all working days except Sunday, it is a struggle for gig workers with long, irregular working hours, to access healthcare. The Corporation should create a network of extended-hours access points in districts with high gig-worker capacity through dispensaries that are open early mornings, late evenings and on weekends.

Third, design constraints will have to be addressed before extending coverage to gig workers. The rules should allow enrollment from the first day itself into a worker-linked digital account that can automatically receive payments from platform companies based on verification.

Finally, the corporation must invest in dedicated infrastructure, equipment, and practical training for medical staff for rising heatstroke and other heat-related illnesses. It should implement forward-looking protection that anticipates emerging risks.

Ananya Tiwary is a Project Associate at HeatWatch, leading research on heat resilience among women gig/platform workers in Delhi. She works at the intersection of climate risk, labour, and social protection.

Apekshita Varshney is a journalist, development sector professional, and founder of Heatwatch, a nonprofit focused on expanding awareness and action around the impact of extreme heat and heatwaves on marginalised populations in India.

In 2022, as the number of Covid-19 cases began falling and travel opened up again, 30-year-old Irshit Ali’s life changed. There was a sudden surge of tourists in his hometown of Ladakh, where he worked ferrying tourists in his van. This was good for business.

His monthly income went up from around Rs 20,000 in 2022 to Rs 1.5 lakh in 2023. This encouraged Ali to expand his business. He secured a bank loan to purchase two more vehicles. For the next two years, he saw a steady rise in tourists coming to Ladakh.

However, 2025 brought Ali, and Ladakh’s entire tourism sector, to the brink of a crisis.

A series of events from April 2025 severely impacted the tourism economy of India’s newest union territory, those in the industry report. After a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir that month, there was a slight decline in foreign tourists visiting Ladakh. Then, during the brief armed conflict between India and Pakistan that followed, and even after it, tourist activities completely stopped.

Later in August, after record-breaking rainfall, roads were closed and the region was cut off for a few weeks, discouraging tourists from travelling to Ladakh.

In September, a protest in Leh demanding full statehood for Ladakh and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution turned violent, again keeping tourists away from the cold desert region.

According to Rigzin Lachik, the President of All Ladakh Hotel and Guest House Association, business in Ladakh dropped significantly in 2025 and due to the cancellation of bookings in hotels and guest houses, many hotel owners earned much less than expected.

A difficult year

“Tourism growth in Ladakh has been very positive since 2010. However, this growth has stalled since 2018. Last year was particularly difficult, not only for the tourism industry but for everyone in Ladakh. First, the Pahalgam terror attack, then the heavy rains in Ladakh and neighbouring states, and then the September 24 incident – all these factors impacted the tourism sector,” said Lachik.

Talking about the brief conflict in April, Lachik said, “During Operation Sindoor, the airport was completely closed, and people who wanted to come couldn’t. During that time, 80% of our bookings were cancelled, and we had to refund people in full. So, there were very few tourists in May. We started to recover a little in June, but recovery could not be sustained.”

Data from the Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport in Ladakh reveals that the airport was completely closed from May 7 to May 13 due to Operation Sindoor, launched by the Indian Armed Forces. No aircrafts operated on August 25, 26 and 27 due to rain.

In September, following the protests, four people died and over 50 sustained injuries in police firing. A week-long curfew was imposed in Leh after the incident.

According to the data from the Tourism Department, the month of June saw the highest decline in tourist numbers. Ladakh typically sees over 100,000 visitors during this month each year. In 2024, 153,711 tourists visited Ladakh; in 2025, the number stood at 75,089 – almost half.

“No business can plan properly when there are frequent disruptions,” said Arnab Ghosh, the general manager of El Castillo Hotel. “There were a lot of disruptions during the main summer season. By the time we could decide on staffing, capacity, whether to stock or not, or how much to stock, the main season was over,” he said. According to Ghosh, his earnings dropped by about 30-40% last year.

“There were 30 to 45 days when our hotel didn’t have a single guest, meaning zero occupancy! Any businessperson in Ladakh anyway expects only 100 to 120 days of good revenue during the tourist season. About half of those days had zero occupancy,” he added.

Debt repayment

“I’ve been in this field since 2010, when I used to drive an Echo van. I bought a new Scorpio N in November 2022,” said Dorje Gyalson, a taxi driver in Leh about his vehicle upgrade. “After COVID, business went well in 2022, and our expectations increased accordingly. Those who have purchased new vehicles are 70%-80% on loans. These people are now having trouble paying their loan instalments. Everyone’s monthly instalments are over Rs 20,000,” he continued. “Because of the extreme weather conditions here, we can work only for six months. We use these funds to pay instalments and sustain ourselves in the next six months,” added Gyalson.

Over the past few years, Ladakh’s tourism infrastructure has expanded, with people obtaining loans from various banks to expand their businesses. However, with the drop in tourist numbers, they find it challenging to repay those loans. Consequently, various organisations requested temporary relief on their loan and interest payments.

The Finance Department, responding to this demand, issued a notification to bankers declaring Ladakh a disaster-affected area. Following this declaration, banks in Ladakh can offer borrowers flexibility in instalments and repayment periods under the provisions of Chapter Seven of the Reserve Bank of India’s Master Direction.

Trade and competition

According to data from the Tourism Department, 3,35,872 tourists visited Ladakh in 2025, a decrease of only about 10% from the previous year. But why did many businesses struggle despite only a small decline in visitor numbers?

This may be due to the increase in the number of hotels and guest houses in recent years, says Ladakh’s Tourism Secretary, Sanjit Rodrigues. In the last three years, the number of hotels and guest houses in Leh city alone has increased by approximately 30%. The number of taxis has also increased significantly, he says.

“The peak business months witnessed some disruptions in 2025. However, that is not the only reason behind the drop in earnings of people. Our analysis shows that in the last few years, the number of hotels, guest houses, taxis, tourism related business establishments have increased rapidly, but the number of tourists have not increased in that proportion,” Rodrigues said.

He also noted that there is a need for a scientific study on the carrying capacity of Ladakh, especially in Leh town. Results of overtourism within the town could prove detrimental in the long term both for the industry and ecology.

Those involved in this sector say that it would be inaccurate to assume that the sudden surge in tourist arrivals in Ladakh in 2022 and 2023 was normal and make income predictions based on that. During these years, due to COVID-related restrictions preventing domestic tourists from traveling abroad, the number of tourists in Ladakh exceeded five lakhs. However, in 2024, the number dropped to around 2,50,000.

According to official data, Leh had 149 hotels and 386 guest houses in 2011. In 2015, the number of hotels increased to 213 and guest houses to 433. According to 2022 data, Leh had 291 hotels and 807 guest houses. In Kargil, there were 17 hotels and 82 guest houses in 2015, which increased to 40 and 100, respectively in 2022.

While the most recent data on the number of hotels and guest houses is unavailable, a 2021 report prepared by The Energy and Resources Institute for NITI Aayog, estimated that Ladakh would have 489 hotels, 1,061 guest houses and 73 homestays by 2025. This represents a 108% increase in hotels and a 206% increase in guest houses compared to the 2015 data.

Also, there were 3,646 taxis in Ladakh in 2022, but according to Stanzin Loldan, the vice-president of Ladakh Taxi Union, currently there are more than 5,500 taxis in Leh alone.

Bigger challenges

The rise of hotels, taxis and other means of transport, coupled with the increased tourist flow, has boosted Ladakh’s tourism and economy. However, this has also led to an increasing consumption of natural resources in the UT.

According to a report by the Indian Institute of Sustainable Development, between 2001 and 2011, the built up area in Ladakh increased from 168 hectares to 294 hectares. Also, the introduction of exotic plant species for urbanisation, aesthetics, and commercial purposes has harmed the biodiversity of Leh city.

The Ministry of Tourism’s vision document for the development of tourism in Ladakh also highlights the cultural and environmental challenges posed by increased tourism. The document states that excessive tourism in Ladakh could threaten socio-cultural heritage, overuse limited resources, and lead to other negative impacts.

The replacement of traditional and eco-friendly buildings with non-eco-friendly ones, the growing problem of dry waste, increasing air pollution, depletion of water resources and the loss of biodiversity, are listed as major challenges to tackle.

This article was first published on Mongabay.

The Indian embassy in Riyadh said that an Indian citizen died in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday amid the conflict in West Asia. The cause of the death was unclear.

With this, six Indians have been killed in the conflict so far.

The Directorate General of Shipping said on March 2 that three Indian seafarers had been killed and one injured as a result of the conflict, which began on February 28 after the US and Israel bombed Iran. Two Indians were killed in a drone attack in Oman’s Sohar province on March 13. Read on.

The Uttarakhand High Court refused to quash a first information report filed against gym owner Deepak Kumar, or “Mohammad Deepak”, who opposed the harassment of an Muslim shopkeeper by alleged Bajrang Dal members. Justice Rakesh Thapliyal also restrained him from commenting on social media about the cases filed in connection with the incident.

Thapliyal said that the gym owner could affect the investigation against him by making statements or posting videos on social media. The judge criticised him for regularly posting on social media platforms about the incident and giving “sermons”.

The incident took place on January 26 when alleged Bajrang Dal members had arrived at the shop of an elderly Muslim man named Vakeel Ahmed in the Pauri Garhwal district, objecting to him using the word “Baba” in the name of his establishment. Kumar and another person, Vijay Rawat, rebuked the mob for its actions. Read on.

The Delhi High Court quashed lookout circulars issued by the Central Bureau of Investigation against former NDTV promoters Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy. The notices had been issued against them by the central agency in connection with first information reports filed in 2017 and 2019.

A lookout circular is used by the law enforcement authorities to check whether a person leaving the country is wanted by the police.

In October 2024, the investigating agency had closed the corruption and fraud case against Prannoy and Radhika Roy. The counsel for the Roys had said in May that the couple had answered the summons issued to them in 2019 and had cooperated in the case. Read on.

Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq claimed that he had been detained at his home and was not being allowed to offer congregational prayers at Srinagar’s Jamia masjid. Farooq alleged that he had been “put under arbitrary house arrest – never conveyed in writing” for the third consecutive Friday during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan.

The detention to prevent him from delivering the Friday sermon at the mosque had been “enforced by placing police vehicles and large contingents in front of my gate…,” the Hurriyat Conference leader alleged on social media. The action conveyed the “panic of the rulers”, he added.

Farooq had been previously placed under house arrest in September too. This came after an inauguration plaque bearing the Ashoka emblem inside the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar was damaged on September 5, allegedly by protesters who claimed that it went against Islamic principles. Read on.

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The Uttarakhand High Court on Friday restrained gym owner Deepak Kumar, who opposed the harassment of an elderly Muslim shopkeeper by alleged Bajrang Dal members, from commenting on social media about the cases filed against him, Bar and Bench reported.

Declining to quash the first information report against Kumar on charges of rioting and intentional insult to provoke breach of peace, Justice Rakesh Thapliyal said that the gym owner might affect the investigation by making statements or posting videos on social media, Live Law reported. The judge also criticised him for regularly posting on social media platforms about the incident and giving “sermons”.

Kumar, in his petition, had also sought police protection and requested a departmental inquiry against police officers who allegedly failed to act against hate crimes. However, the court had on Thursday accused him of “sensationalising” the matter, and questioned how he could seek protection while being accused in a police case.

The incident took place on January 26 when alleged Bajrang Dal members had come to the shop of an elderly Muslim man named Vakeel Ahmed in the Pauri Garhwal district, objecting to him using the word “Baba” in the name of his establishment.

Kumar and another person, Vijay Rawat, objected to the mob’s actions, after which the two Hindu men were asked not to intervene.

The FIR against Kumar and Rawat was filed in late January based on a complaint by two persons who are members of the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The FIR invoked charges of rioting, causing hurt, and intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal members, in their complaint, claimed that Kumar and Rawat stole their watches and money, and hurled casteist abuses at them.

Subsequently, a group of about 40 persons gathered near Kumar’s gym and shouted slogans against him. The protesters also blocked a national highway.

Kumar had filed a complaint against the persons who had gathered in front of his gym, The Indian Express reported. However, the police had filed the case based on the complaint of an officer against unidentified persons in connection with the protests.

On Friday, the court took note of the claim made by the state government that Kumar had not been cooperating with the investigation and had instead been “busy” on social media, Bar and Bench reported.

Thapliyal directed Kumar to cooperate with the investigation and not “indulge unnecessarily on social media platforms so that investigation is not affected”.

Refusing to allow Kumar’s petition, it instead recorded the state police’s assurance that it will follow the guidelines on safeguards to be adhered to while investigating an offence that carries a prison term of up to seven years. It directed the police to go ahead with the investigation.

Earlier during the hearing on Friday, the court noted that when such incidents happen, the police have to first maintain law and order. The judge once again asked Kumar not to sensationalise the matter, adding that he was stopping the gym owner from making any statement on social media.

However, Kumar’s counsel told the court that speaking on social media is not a crime, and asked whether his client had said anything unconstitutional, according to Bar and Bench.

The court on Friday also dismissed Kumar’s request for protection. It also described Kumar’s request for a departmental inquiry against the police officers as “wholly unwarranted” at this stage of the case.

The incident

In a video of the January 26 incident that was later widely shared on social media, Kumar is seen asking the group why other shops are allowed to use the word “Baba” but Ahmed’s shop is not. He is also heard saying that the shop is more than 30 years old and asking whether its name should now be changed.

When asked his name, Kumar replied, “My name is Mohammad Deepak.”

“I intended to convey that I was an Indian and that everyone is equal before the law,” Kumar later explained.

Kumar subsequently posted a video on social media, in which he said: “I am neither a Hindu, neither a Muslim, neither a Sikh, nor a Christian. First and foremost, I am a human being. Because after I die, I have to answer to God and to humanity, not to any religion.”

He added that no one, whether a Hindu or a Muslim, should be targeted for their religion.

What if Rs 66 is all that you earned after working hard all day? And not just one day, but every day, for years. Will you be able to survive?

This is the question that midday meal workers in Chhattisgarh asked the government as they staged a protest in the state capital, demanding an increase in their daily wages from Rs 66 to at least Rs 350.

The government argued that midday meal workers are paid Rs 66 a day, which comes to a monthly Rs 2,000, because the work requires only two hours of their labour.

But is this the case? We travelled to the ground to find out.

Watch our report from Chhattisgarh.

Also read: Why Chhattisgarh’s midday meal workers have not given up their fight for better pay

An Indian citizen died in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday amid the conflict in West Asia, the Indian embassy in Riyadh said on Friday.

In a social media post, the embassy expressed its condolences about the person’s death in the capital Riyadh. It added that it was in touch with the person’s family and with the local authorities.

The cause of the death was unclear.

The Embassy of India expresses its deepest condolences on the tragic demise of an Indian national in Riyadh due to recent events on March 18th.

The Embassy is in touch with the family and local authorities. We remain committed to extending all possible assistance in this…

— India in Saudi Arabia (@IndianEmbRiyadh) March 20, 2026

With this, six Indians have been killed in the conflict so far.

On March 14, the Union government said that five Indians had been killed and one was missing, ANI reported.

The Indian diplomatic missions in Oman, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates are in touch with the authorities regarding the missing Indian and for early repatriation of the bodies of those who had died, the news agency had quoted Additional Secretary (Gulf) Aseem Mahajan as saying.

On March 2, the Directorate General of Shipping said that three Indian seafarers were killed and one was injured amid the conflict. It did not, however, provide details of the incidents that led to their deaths.

Two Indians were killed in a drone attack in Oman’s Sohar province on March 13.

Follow top updates on the conflict in West Asia here.

More Indians cross into Armenia, Azerbaijan

The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said that 913 more Indians had crossed into Armenia and Azerbaijan from Iran through land routes with the embassies’ assistance.

Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the number of Indian crossing into Iran’s neighbouring countries had increased yesterday.

Additionally, 284 pilgrims who had been stranded in the region have returned to India, he added.

The conflict in West Asia began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran. Tehran has retaliated by launching missiles and drones at targets in the Gulf, including US bases, ships and major cities in the region.

Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

The Delhi High Court on Friday quashed lookout circulars issued by the Central Bureau of Investigation against former NDTV promoters Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, Live Law reported.

A lookout circular is used by the law enforcement authorities to check whether a person leaving the country is wanted by the police.

The circulars had been issued against the Roys on behalf of the CBI in connection with two first information reports filed in June 2017 and August 2019, Bar and Bench reported.

In May, the court had verbally observed that it would be futile to retain the lookout circulars, Live Law reported. The counsel for the Roys had said that the couple had answered the summons issued to them in 2019 and had cooperated in the case.

In October 2024, the investigating agency had closed the corruption and fraud case against Prannoy and Radhika Roy. It said that there was no criminal wrongdoing in a Rs 375-crore loan extended by ICICI Bank to their company RRPR Holdings Private Limited.

The closure report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation had reportedly said that the loan, alleged in 2017 to have violated banking regulations, was in fact a normal business transaction.

A Delhi court took note of the closure report in November 2024 and accepted it in January 2025.

Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday alleged that he has been detained at his home and was not being allowed to offer congregational prayers at Srinagar’s Jamia masjid.

On social media, Farooq alleged that he had been “put under arbitrary house arrest – never conveyed in writing” for the third consecutive Friday during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan.

The detention to prevent him from delivering the Friday sermon at the mosque had been “enforced by placing police vehicles and large contingents in front of my gate and the entire area, choking gully points and lanes with concertina wires, disallowing traffic movement”, the Hurriyat Conference leader alleged.

Farooq shared pictures purportedly showing a large contingent of security forces and police vehicles outside his residence in Nigeen.

For the third consecutive Friday in Ramzan I have been put under arbitrary house arrest-never conveyed in writing, but enforced by placing police vehicles and large contingents in front of my gate and the entire area, chocking gully points and lanes with concertina wires,… pic.twitter.com/90m78aSmBC

— Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (@MirwaizKashmir) March 20, 2026

The action taken against him conveyed the “panic of the rulers”, the chief cleric said.

“…the centrality of Jama Masjid for the Muslims of the region has unfortunately always been a thorn in their side, as are Muslim institutions and identity which they want to undermine,” he stated. “But such measures cannot erase identity nor weaken faith. These attempts will fail.”

On September 12 too, Farooq had alleged that he had been placed under house arrest and stopped from leading congregational prayers at the Jamia mosque.

This came a week after an inauguration plaque bearing the Ashoka emblem inside the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar was damaged on September 5, allegedly by protesters who claimed that it went against Islamic principles.

In July, Farooq had claimed that he was placed under house arrest to stop him from referring to Kashmir Martyrs’ Day in his sermon. The day, observed on July 13, commemorates 22 persons shot dead by the Dogra ruler’s forces in 1931.

The day was struck off the list of public holidays after Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated in 2019.

In March 2025, the chief cleric had said that he was detained at home ahead of Eid.

The Union government on Friday told the Supreme Court that it has set up a committee that includes former Supreme Court judges to review a chapter about “corruption in the judiciary” in a textbook published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training, Live Law reported.

The committee comprises former Supreme Court judges Indu Malhotra and Aniruddha Bose, and former Attorney General KK Venugopal. Bose is the director of the National Judicial Academy.

The chapter was part of a Class 8 social science textbook. The textbook was withdrawn after the court took suo motu cognisance of the matter and banned its publication and re-printing. The educational body had on March 10 apologised for the chapter.

The chapter had listed “corruption at various levels of the judiciary” among the challenges that the judicial system faces, according to The Indian Express. It was part of a textbook titled “Exploring Society: India and Beyond”.

After Solicitor General Tushar Mehta made the submission about the committee on Friday, the bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and VM Pancholi disposed of the suo motu case, Bar and Bench reported.

The court had on March 11 said that the affidavit of the NCERT director was “disturbing” as it said that the chapter in question had been rewritten.

The Supreme Court had directed the government to create a panel of experts, preferably including a former judge, an academician and a renowned legal practitioner, to review the rewritten chapter.

The court had asked the Union government to revisit the composition of the National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee, which had approved the chapter.

On March 11, the court had directed the Centre and state governments to ensure that the three persons who were involved in drafting the banned chapter are not associated with other curriculum projects. The governments and universities were ordered not to assign the three persons “any responsibility which involves public funds”.

Canadian Police Commissioner Mike Duheme told CTV News on Thursday that there are no longer clandestine activities or transnational repression taking place in the country linked to the Indian government.

“In the files that we have that involve transnational repression, we’re not seeing any connection right now with any foreign entity, based on the criminal information, the investigations that we have presently,” Duheme told the news channel.

His comments came after he was asked whether transnational repression by agents allegedly linked to the Indian government was still a concern. The full interview is scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday.

The comments came amid a thaw in diplomatic relations between India and Canada.

Ties between the two countries had deteriorated sharply in 2023 after Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister at the time, told his country’s Parliament that intelligence agencies were actively pursuing “credible allegations” tying agents of the Indian government to the murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.

Nijjar was a supporter of Khalistan, an independent Sikh nation sought by some groups. He was the head of the Khalistan Tiger Force, which is designated a terrorist outfit in India.

New Delhi has rejected Canada’s allegations.

Four Indian citizens are facing trial in Canada in connection with Nijjar’s killing. They face charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

On Thursday, the chief of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told the news channel that he was making the statement “based on the totality of the files that we have on foreign interference or transnational repression...”

“...what we have in our holdings is we have people that are intimidating people, harassing people, but connecting the dots to a foreign entity, regardless of the country, we don’t have that,” Duheme was quoted as having said when asked whether there was a threat to public safety.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs has not yet commented on the matter.

On March 1, a spokesperson for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service told The National Post that the agency’s assessment had not changed. India remained one of the main perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage against Canada, the spokesperson said.

This contradicted a statement by a senior government official. On February 25, Canadian news organisations quoted an unidentified senior official as saying that Ottawa believes India is no longer linked to alleged violent crimes in the country.

Ottawa had previously accused India of foreign interference.

In January 2025, a Canadian inquiry commission accused India of interfering in the country’s electoral process by clandestinely providing financial support to political leaders and engaging in disinformation.

The Indian external affairs ministry had rejected the inquiry panel’s report, and had alleged that it was Canada that was consistently interfering in India’s internal affairs.

In March 2025, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service claimed that India, among other countries, could try to interfere in the Canadian general election in April 2025. In July, a report by the country’s Security Intelligence Service accused India of being a perpetrator of foreign interference and espionage.

On February 8, India and Canada said that they had agreed on a work plan to guide cooperation on national security and law enforcement.

The Chhattisgarh Assembly on Thursday passed a bill introducing stricter penalties, including life imprisonment and fines up to Rs 25 lakh, for forced and fraudulent religious conversions.

The 2026 Freedom of Religion Bill will replace a 1968 law enacted in undivided Madhya Pradesh, from which Chhattisgarh was carved out in 2000.

The Opposition boycotted the proceedings, calling for further scrutiny of the draft legislation.

After the Assembly cleared the bill, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai told reporters that the law would stop religious conversions “carried out by taking advantage of people’s poverty, and lack of education and knowledge”, The Hindu reported.

The 1968 law had become inadequate in effectively controlling “the use of force, greed and fraudulent practices” for conversions, Deo Sai was quoted as saying.

The new law

The new legislation bars persons from converting anyone “by the use or practice of glorification, misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement”.

Under the law, a person who wants to convert will have to submit a declaration to the district magistrate or an authorised official, The Indian Express reported.

Within a week, the authorities will publish the details of the proposed conversion on a website and in the offices of the tehsildar, gram panchayat and the local police station.

The law empowers the authorities to verify the authenticity of conversions, investigate complaints and summon records. Objections against the proposed conversions can be filed within a month, after which the authorities will conduct an inquiry, The Indian Express reported.

The legislation broadens the definition of “allurement” to include monetary benefits, gifts, employment, free education or medical facilities, promises of better lifestyle and marriage.

Conversions solely for the purpose of marriage or marriage done for conversions will be treated as invalid under the new law unless a due legal process has been followed, The Hindu reported.

It says that “coercion” includes psychological pressure, physical force or threats, including social boycott, the newspaper reported.

The law provides for the authorities to maintain a record of proposed religious conversions on its website and the setting up of special courts to hear matters pertaining to the Act.

For mass conversions, a person may be jailed for a minimum of 10 years, and possibly life imprisonment, and be fined Rs 25 lakh or more.

In cases involving minors, women, persons with mental illness, or members of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, the minimum fine will be Rs 10 lakh.

However, converting to “ancestral religion” will not be treated as a conversion under the Act, The Indian Express reported.

With this, Chhattisgarh joined several states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party to enact similar legislations in recent years.

The Maharashtra legislature passed a similar anti-conversion bill amid concerns expressed by the Opposition that provisions of the legislation could be misused by the authorities and socio-political groups.

The Delhi High Court on Friday directed digital news outlet Newslaundry to take down allegedly disparaging videos and posts about the TV Today Group and its channels Aaj Tak and India Today, reported Bar and Bench.

A division bench comprising Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla held that some of the statements made by Newslaundry were disparaging. If the statements are not removed, they would cause serious and irreparable harm to TV Today, the bench added, according to Live Law.

In October 2021, the TV Today Group filed a Rs 2 crore defamation and copyright infringement suit, accusing Newslaundry of “uploading infringing, defamatory, commercially disparaging material on their own website”.

In July 2022, a single-judge bench of the High Court held that on a prima facie basis, the case appeared to be in favour of the TV Today group.

Both Newslaundry and TV Today had filed appeals against the July 2022 order.

Newslaundry had contended in its plea that the single-judge order did not appreciate that its content falls within the realm of “fair criticism” and “satire” and was not meant to defame TV Today.

In its original plea, the TV Today group had sought an order to have 34 articles on the Newslaundry website and 65 videos on the portal’s YouTube channel removed.

The media conglomerate had also asked the High Court to restrain Newslaundry and its journalists from “writing, tweeting or publishing” anything defamatory about its channels, anchors and management.

The Indian rupee fell to a record low on Friday, breaching the 93-mark against the United States dollar amid the conflict in West Asia.

In early trade, the Indian currency fell 19 paise to an intra-day low of 93.08 against the US dollar, reported PTI.

The rupee had opened at 92.92 in the interbank foreign exchange market. It had slumped 49 paise to close at a record low of 92.89 against the US dollar on Wednesday amid concerns about the rising global fuel prices.

The domestic foreign exchange market was closed on Thursday on account of the Gudi Padwa festival.

Foreign institutional investors have also accelerated selling in Indian equities amid the conflict. This has added pressure on the currency. The rupee weakens as global funds pull money out of the Indian market.

Global oil prices have also been rising since the conflict in West Asia broke out.

As of 12.10 pm, the price of benchmark Brent crude was $103 per barrel. The crude oil price had spiked to $119 on Thursday. The price was $78 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict started.

Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterbody connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, for most international commercial vessels since the conflict began. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

The global natural gas prices had jumped by nearly 3.5% on Thursday.

The jump in the oil and gas prices followed attacks on Iran’s energy facilities associated with its South Pars gas field, the world’s largest gas reserve that it shares with Qatar. In retaliation, Iran struck several oil and gas facilities in Gulf countries, escalating tensions in the region.

Qatar said that the attacks on its energy installations would reduce its export capacity of liquefied natural gas by 17%. They would take three to five years to repair, minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi stated, adding that Qatar will be “compelled to declare force majeure for up to five years on some long-term LNG contracts”.

India was the largest importer of Qatari LNG after China in 2025. The supply disruption caused by the conflict had already triggered concerns and panic in India and globally.

In February, a video of a mother shouting at security guards at a park in Delhi went viral on social media.

The mother, Mona Mishra, got into an argument with the guards after they allegedly stopped her five-year-old daughter from playing on a swing at the city’s Sunder Nursery. In the video, the guard can be seen saying that the child’s “brain is not fine” and that therefore she could not get on the ride. The parents said that they were then even asked to leave the park because it was not for “children with special needs” – the child had cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that affects muscle coordination.

Park authorities later told a news outlet that they had not obstructed the family from spending time at the park, and that, in fact, staff had stopped the child from getting on a risky ride.

This was not the first such instance in recent times, in which a child with an intellectual disability, or who is perceived to have one, encountered an obstruction when it came to accessing a public space.

In 2022, staff of an airline reportedly prevented a child with special needs from boarding a flight from the airport in Ranchi, Jharkhand. The airline claimed that the staff had done so because the child was in a “state of panic”. The airport issued an apology soon after and offered the child an electric wheelchair as compensation.

The next year, a 15-year-old autistic child was prevented from boarding a flight at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru by staff of a Sri Lankan airline, who allegedly claimed that the child “would be a threat” to the flight staff.

The Court of Chief Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities took suo motu cognisance of the matter, and found that the airline had acted in violation of “global civil aviation requirements”. In 2024, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the airline responsible for the 2022 incident in Ranchi.

Since then, some airports have taken some measures to create more welcoming environments for neurodivergent individuals. Most significantly, in 2025, the Bengaluru’s airport opened India’s first sensory room for neurodivergent passengers. These spaces are designed keeping in mind that these individuals often get overwhelmed when a space is too noisy or busy. They typically need spaces that offer soundproof rooms, dim or warm lighting, appropriate temperature and ventilation.

In the Mumbai and Delhi airports, meanwhile, the airport administrations have introduced therapy dogs that passengers can spend time with to help themselves stay calm.

In other cities, such as Kolkata and Bengaluru, parents said local authorities had set up parks that were designed to be inclusive of children with special needs. These parks have features such as ramps, wheelchair-accessible swings, tactile flooring, pale paints on the walls and quiet zones to help ensure children do not feel overwhelmed.

But, they noted, such measures were few and far between. For the vast majority of families with children who have special needs, public spaces, as well as public transport, remain difficult to access.

According to the 2011 census, India has around 2.68 crore people with disabilities, which include both physical and intellectual disabilities. Of them, around 78 lakh are children. Though the government has not published any data specific to intellectual disabilities, activists said that such individuals are likely to be significantly undercounted because many families lack access to proper medical care and diagnosis.

Across India, these children and their families encounter a range of hostile treatment when they seek to access public spaces – from stares to taunts, and even being obstructed from entering certain facilities.

Broadly, obstructing disabled people from public spaces is violative of Indian law. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 states that people with disabilities have the right to public facilities and services. The statute covers a wide range of such facilities and services including those pertaining to “housing, educational and vocational trainings”, as well as “shopping or marketing”, “religious, cultural, leisure or recreational”, and “medical, health and rehabilitation”.

The act also states that those who contravene the law can be punished with a fine. This also includes anyone who “intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a person with disability in any place within public view”.

But Dr Shakeeb Ahmed Khan, who works with children with special needs, and also has a son with an intellectual disability, explained that while he sympathised deeply with parents in such situations, to tackle the problem, it would be of limited efficacy to assign all blame to staffers on the ground, such as the guard in the Sunder Nursery video. “We don’t know what he has been told by the higher ups,” he said. “Sometimes people just don’t know how to handle such situations and don’t know the appropriate vocabulary to use. We have to take a top down approach and hold the people on top accountable.”

Scroll spoke to 11 parents of children with intellectual disabilities in cities like Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru to understand their experience of the problem, and how they attempted to navigate it.

“A child needs to be a part of mainstream society,” said Shilpi Sharma, a psychologist and a special needs educator based in Hyderabad. “But people are uncomfortable with seeing children with special needs in parks and buses.”

Among the biggest challenges families with children with intellectual disabilities face in navigating public spaces and facilities is the hostile attitudes of those they encounter. Many said that they avoided public transport and only used private vehicles to travel in their cities.

R Chitra, a resident of Chennai who is her 10-year-old niece’s sole caregiver, said, “Only I know what I have to go through every time we take the bus.”

Chitra took on the responsibility of caring for the child after the child’s mother died of cancer around seven years ago. In the days that followed, Chitra and her family noticed that the child was not speaking – at first, they assumed that she was still in shock from her mother’s death, but doctors they consulted later informed them that that the child was neurodivergent.

Today, the time that Chitra spends dropping her niece to school and bringing her back home in a bus is usually racked with tension.

Ambulance noises, traffic stops and snarls and noisy passengers often upset the child, causing her to panic and hyperventilate. But it was not these that caused Chitra the most anxiety, but the reactions of the fellow passengers, who often stared, made comments and frowned at them. “What really hurts me is the way people scowl when she makes some noise or feels disturbed,” Chitra said.

She added, “She is a wonderful child, very attached to me. I make sure to carry homemade murukku, so she can eat on the bus on the way back home. That helps keep her calm.”

As a result of the negative experiences they have had, Chitra sometimes chooses to drop the child to school in an auto, though the fare of Rs 250 is a considerable financial burden. “It depends on whether I have that amount of money in my hands,” she said.

Chitra explained that she faces similar problems in other spaces too, such as a temple that she regularly visits with the child.

The temple complex is a somewhat chaotic place, she noted, with many dogs, filled with loud sounds, such as of temple bells. These stimuli sometimes alarm her niece, in response to which she instinctively reaches out to hold on to someone near her, even if they are a stranger. Apart from being surprised, Chitra has noticed that people tend to overreact when they see that the child is autistic. “The person will react as if they have been attacked and pull away from her,” she said.

In one instance, in response to the temple bell, the child “held the hand of someone when we were standing near the altar, and that person shouted and pushed her”, she said. “She said that she got scared that the child might do something to her.”

Such incidents left Chitra deeply saddened. “How can full grown adults be scared of a little child? What harm can she possibly cause them?” she said. “She’s reaching out for help, and these people make faces at us. I wish people were not so insensitive.”

Other parents, too, spoke of similar experiences.

G Soujanya, a resident of the neighbouring state of Telangana, and the mother of a neurodivergent boy, said she encountered such discrimination in some supermarkets, and that staff would sometimes instruct her to avoid visiting during their busy hours. “Other customers stare at him and pass comments, and the staff will tell us to come when the shop is free,” she said.

She recounted that her family was even made to feel uncomfortable in an ecological park, where children can interact with animals. “People kept on prying, asking questions and they were impolite,” she said.

Amrita M, a resident of Bengaluru, who has a 15-year-old autistic son, recounted that in some instances, adults would take for granted that they were allowed to scold her son. “People have just started to yell at him without first speaking to me,” she said. “This once happened at an event to launch a play area for children. When I complained to the organiser, they did not know how to respond to me.”

In response to these challenges, some parents rule out taking their children to certain spaces, or spending any significant length of time in them.

“I don’t think my aunt and uncle even thought that they could take her to the park,” said Yogita Dakshina, who grew up in a joint family in Chennai with a cousin who has autism, developmental delay and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Vidya CA, a parent in Bengaluru, who has a child with a rare disease who also has an intellectual disability, said she has never stayed long in a park with her child for fear of being asked to leave. “I don’t want to have any awkwardness with anyone,” she said. “Even malls are not for us.”

Amrita noted that in parks, “the equipment is sometimes unsafe for our children”.

Dakshina explained that her family encountered hurdles even when the family visited her mother’s hometown, Kolkata, and tried to use public transport. “People will complain to the TTE” – the travelling ticket examiner – “about her and we would not know what to do,” she recounted.

On one occasion, the problem took on an even more sinister dimension – after they had completed a trip, she said, her family concluded that her cousin may have been “touched inappropriately”.

She said that the child struggled to communicate what had happened. “The vocabulary and ability to regulate through this was not something she had,” she explained. She recounted that “Initially, it was a lot of her lashing out and telling us a man pinched her on her arms and may have touched her near her chest.”

The family realised that she had indeed been pinched “because we saw the mark, but she could not tell us exactly what happened”, Dakshina said. She added, “We assumed that could have happened from putting together whatever she was able to say.”

Denying children with special needs access to certain spaces has the egregious effect of limiting their growth and learning, and also has adverse implications for their healthcare, parents explained.

Soujanya was dismayed when her son was denied the opportunity to take classes at a swimming pool close to their house. “My husband took my son there to get him admitted to the swimming classes,” she said. “But they took one look at my son and said that they won’t be able to teach him.”

Her husband tried to convince the swimming coach that his son was capable of understanding directions, and that he himself would be present throughout the classes to help tackle any problems. But the trainer did not budge.

“I’m used to people being judgemental and not understanding our circumstances,” Soujanya said. “But I was still shocked that they just denied him straight away.”

In another part of the city, another parent, Sreepooja B, who said her son has “mild to moderate autism”, recounted a similar experience with a swimming centre, as well as a skating facility. “I found a skating class near my house and took my son to get him admitted there,” she said. “But the trainer said he would need special training and refused.”

She added that her son understands directions. “He is verbal, but most people don’t even want to give him a chance, they just decide that they cannot train him,” she said.

In this instance, cost also proved to be a hurdle for the parents. “They said he needed one-on-one training. But that would cost us Rs 8,000-10,000, when the regular classes only cost Rs 1,500,” Sreepooja said. “That is obviously not something we can afford.”

Other parents echoed this concern. Amrita noted that parents of children with special needs faced considerable pressure to enroll their wards in “private gyms, private art classes, private pools”. But, she added, “It depends on how much the parent can afford. I can only send him to as many as I can afford.”

It was not merely a problem of cost, Sreepooja explained, but also the denial of opportunities for her son to socialise. “Just getting him a personal trainer defeats the purpose of a class,” she said.

Some parents face obstacles in accessing therapeutic treatments also. “When I took him for hydrotherapy too, they said they cannot accommodate him with the other kids and gave us slots that were not feasible for us,” said Vidya CA, the parent from Bengaluru.

Sharma, the psychologist, who is also a parent to a neurodivergent child, explained that children with intellectual disabilities were also denied access to schools, though they are mandated by the Right to Education Act, 2009, to admit students with special needs as well. “Schools are also public spaces, and students with special needs are consistently denied admission,” she said. She added that parents are often told “that they have filled their quota, or that they don’t have the facilities to cater to their needs”.

Khan recounted a hurtful experience at his son’s school. “They told me to drop my son a little later and pick him up later, after the other children have left,” he said.

They did this “because they felt other parents would not like it”, he said. He added that the school said other parents “don’t want a child with neurodiversity to be with their kid”.

Parents said that even hospitals are often hostile spaces to children with disabilities. This is particularly distressing to families since the children frequently have to visit medical facilities for tests and check-ups. Most hospitals do not have any accommodations for children with special needs, parents explained, forcing them to often wait hours to meet consultants, or do tests. “I wish they would have a separate setup for our children,” Vidya said.

She added, “Waiting time is one of our biggest struggles as parents. I don’t know why hospitals cannot have a separate queue or a space for children with special needs.”

Khan observed that doctors often had an unsympathetic attitude towards the families, and “will just say make the child cooperate, without understanding what the child is going through”.

Rajani Reddy, a parent based in Hyderabad, recounted once visiting a hospital along with her son to get a brain scan and a CT scan. “He had been a bit irritable, so we wanted to check if he had any health issues and decided to do the tests,” she said. “After the scans were completed, we were waiting for the reports. During that time, the security and the supervisor staff came and told me to keep my son quiet.”

Reddy tried to calm her son down, but was not entirely successful. “After some time, they came again and asked us to wait somewhere else, and said there were seats outside,” she said. “It was such a bitter experience, but it wasn’t our first.”

Khan noted that children and families from marginalised communities were particularly vulnerable. “Intersectionality in this issue is a very crucial aspect,” he said. “When parents of children with developmental difficulties are worried about access to education and health in India, we have additional worries if they will be safe considering their identity too.”

A 2023 working paper by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy focused on how to secure “inclusive urban spaces for persons with autism spectrum disorder”.

The paper stressed the importance of inclusive design policies. For instance, it highlighted the need for providing “more ‘sensory sensitive’ urban spaces as well as calm spaces or quiet rooms in areas that have high sensorial load”.

Some parents who have had the opportunity to travel abroad have observed the implementation of such efforts in public spaces in other countries.

Sreepooja, whose family lived briefly in the United States, said that she came across several instances of such measures. “There would be discounts on therapies, and for certain activities, they would have a separate slot for kids with special needs,” she said. “They would also have sensory spaces, cinema theatres would have special shows.”

When Amrita visited Singapore to see her sister, she took her son to parks there.

“My son has sensory issues and gets very easily overwhelmed,” she said. “But the park we visited was an inclusive park, where both neurodivergent and neurotypical children were playing together.”

She added, “He was able to play alongside other children too. That made us so happy.”

She noted that she felt sure of the child’s safety in the park. “The stark difference was there were no broken rods, adequate space, sandpits, swings, I didn’t have to worry about him getting hurt,” she said. “The other thing was sensory play. Some parks had installations that produced sounds. The main thing was that the parks were spacious and not overcrowded, which is what overwhelms a neurodiverse child.”

Some parents try to educate others about the measures that would be needed to make public spaces safer for their children, but say that few are interested in the problem. “I have written to my residential community asking them for the opportunity to hold a session, to explain to them what autism is and what children need, and why it is important for spaces to be inclusive,” Sreepooja said. “But nobody was interested in my proposal.”x`

But parents also noted that a few promising efforts in India towards addressing the problem.

In one prominent initiative, in 2019, the retail chain Big Bazaar designated the opening hour of every Tuesday as “autism quiet hour” across certain stores. During this hour, the store dimmed its lights, avoided making any announcements and reduced trolley movement. It also assigned sensitised staff to work during these hours, and set up play areas, as well as suitable seating arrangements.

Authorities in Kolkata, meanwhile, had “taken efforts to establish an inclusive park”, Khan said. The park, named Ananda Mela, is described as an “inclusive sensory park”, with accessible play equipment, including some that encourage sensory play, and safety features such as seatbelts.

Amrita said she was particularly glad to hear of the sensory room in the Bengaluru airport and was eager to try it out with her son. “It would help our children if more such spaces opened up,” she said.

Vidya noted that Cubbon Park in Bengaluru “also has a space devoted to cater to the needs of children with special needs”. She added, “There are some efforts taken here and there that we must appreciate.”

But, she added, significant progress on this front “seems a very long way off”.

The Supreme Court has dismissed a public interest litigation alleging violations of international wildlife trade norms in the import of animals by Vantara, the wildlife rescue centre run by Reliance Foundation in Gujarat’s Jamnagar, Live Law reported on Thursday.

A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and NV Anjaria noted that similar concerns had already been examined and rejected in September after a court-appointed inquiry found no foul play.

It quashed the petition filed by the Karanartham Viramah Foundation under Article 32 of the Constitution, which allows individuals to directly approach the court for the enforcement of fundamental rights.

The petition had relied on a document of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora to allege irregularities in wildlife imports by two trusts linked to Vantara: the Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre and the Radha Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust, Live Law reported.

In November, a document published by the convention raised concerns about animal transfers to Vantara, stating that India did not conduct “due diligence” while issuing import permits in several cases. It had flagged transfers involving species such as a mountain gorilla from Haiti, chimpanzees from Congo and an orangutan.

However, at a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora meeting in Uzbekistan, this recommendation was later reversed. Several countries, including India, the United States, Japan and Brazil, said the measure was premature, with some stating there was no evidence of illegal imports into India, Reuters reported.

In the recent plea, the petitioner had sought disclosure of import and export licences and permits issued under the convention on international trade and the constitution of an independent body to verify compliance with its norms.

It also sought initiation of proceedings under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, framing of a standard operating procedure for verification of permits and a temporary ban on further imports of certain species by private facilities.

The court observed that the matter had already been examined in September by a special investigation team constituted to look into the acquisition of animals by Vantara.

The team was constituted by the court in August to look into whether the centre complied with the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act and zoo rules, and statutes governing the acquisition of animals from India and abroad, particularly elephants.

The action had come while the court was hearing two petitions filed following the controversy about shifting an ailing elephant from a temple in Kolhapur to Vantara in July. The investigating team, headed by retired Justice J Chelameswar, submitted the report to the court in September. According to the report, the team was satisfied with the compliance and regulatory measures followed by Vantara.

Referring to these findings, the bench said that once imports are made with valid statutory permissions, they cannot later be treated as illegal merely because objections are raised.

“More importantly, disturbing the settled environment, custody and air of living animals, including rescued animals after lawful import, may itself result in cruelty”, Live Law quoted the court as saying.

More than seven years after two men were arrested and imprisoned under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, a Delhi court on Thursday acquitted them, noting that the prosecution had failed to prove its charges, reported Live Law.

Additional Sessions Judge Amit Bansal of Patiala House Courts also observed that there was a “great deal of doubt” about the Delhi Police recovering arms and ammunition from the accused, Jamsheed Zahoor Paul and Parvaiz Rashid.

Paul and Rashid were arrested under sections of the anti-terror law pertaining to conspiracy and being a member of a terrorist organisation. They were also charged with illegal possession of firearms or ammunition.

The first information report named two more persons: Asif Nazir Dar and Adil Wani. While Dar died in 2018 before being arrested, Wani remains absconding, reported The Hindu.

The prosecution had claimed that the police received intelligence input about certain persons from Jammu and Kashmir pledging allegiance to the terrorist group Islamic State and procuring weapons from Uttar Pradesh.

Acting on this information, the police arrested Paul and Rashid near Jama Masjid in Delhi on September 6, 2018. They allegedly recovered a pistol and five live cartridges from each of the men.

The police also alleged that the men were in contact with other suspected Islamic State operatives and had received funds to procure weapons.

During the trial, the prosecution examined 23 witnesses, including police personnel and forensic experts. Paul and Rashid denied all charges.

Acquitting the two men, the court questioned how the FIR number could be present on documents related to the seizure of the arms.

This indicated that either the FIR was registered before the alleged recovery or the “number of the said FIR was inserted in these documents after its registration and in both situations it seriously reflects upon the veracity of the prosecution version and creates a great deal of doubt”, Live Law quoted the court as saying.

Bansal also questioned why no person present when the pistol and cartridges were recovered had joined the trial as a witness.

This “raises a strong doubt on the prosecution version”, he added.

The court also noted that mobile phones were recovered from the two men on September 7, 2018, and were kept unsealed for nearly two months before being sent for forensic analysis, reported The Hindu.

“It raises a strong doubt of tampering with the said mobile phones,” the court was quoted as saying by Live Law. “In the said circumstances, no reliance whatsoever can be placed on the alleged data.”

The prosecution had also failed to prove that Paul and Rashid were members of the Islamic State, said the court, adding that they are “thus liable to be acquitted”.

The 13th century Persian poet Saadi Shirazi writes of human beings as “members of a whole”, of one essence and soul, and calls for sympathising with human pain:

If one member is afflicted with pain,
Other members uneasy will remain.
If you’ve no sympathy for human pain,
The name of human you cannot retain!

As imperialist bombs terrorise Iran’s already subjugated population, it is necessary for the foreign response to express its deep empathy with the people’s pain, and the tragic quagmires that wars can potentially produce. But it is equally important to empathise with the Iranian liberation struggle, without reducing it to one merely instigated by imperialism or subjecting it to the imperatives of global anti-imperialist resistance.

The American-Israeli war on Iran is already having devastating consequences. With nearly 2,000 dead, the progressive foreign response has, rightly, criticised the illegality of the war.

Yet, according to Iranian feminist and democracy activists, the progressive foreign response in the past has often privileged geopolitics and anti-American imperialism. This has come at the expense of a focus on the internal dictatorship and struggle for democracy in Iran. Some prominent global Left parties and groups, leaders and intellectuals have taken such a position. It is one which has grossly underemphasised Iranian suffering under a despotic Islamic clericalism.

Instead, what is needed is a reckoning with the catastrophic consequences of imperialism and religious despotism, both in their interconnections as well as in their separateness, and without equating the two.

The litany of Western, imperialist crimes in the world is too long to be recounted quickly. The irony of American imperialism seeking to bring democracy to Iran cannot be lost on anyone as it was an Anglo-American-sponsored coup that scotched the birth pangs of democracy by overthrowing the Iranian government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953. His crime was that he asserted sovereignty over Iranian oil. Since the installation of a pliant monarch Mohammad Reza Pahlavi after that, Iran has not experienced democracy.

This Western scuttling of democratic and working-class aspirations, backed by big American oil companies, was not restricted to Iran. It extended to Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Political theorist and historian Timothy Mitchell argues, in his seminal work Carbon Democracy, how the production and distribution of a fossil fuel like coal was vulnerable to worker disruption and led to mass demands for democracy in the West.

Contrarily, the development of cheap and abundant oil and the way it was produced and distributed, which was less amenable to worker control, led in the opposite direction in West Asia. Mitchell shows that the cycle of humongous Western oil imports, flow of dollars to West Asian producers, military threats to oil production, and the procuring of American weapons using petrodollars to counter these threats led to Western democracy being dependent on, and propping up, an undemocratic West Asia.

Western imperialism has produced staggering human costs. According to research from The Lancet Global Health, from 1970 to 2021, excess deaths caused by Western sanctions on countries of the Global South totalled a shocking 38 million lives – not including casualties from imperial wars. Half of this toll are children and the elderly.

As America and Israel – which has been charged with the Gaza Genocide – want to eliminate the “evil” Iranian regime, it is critical to reckon with the history of “the democratic West”, which, through its intentional economic policies, has arguably caused more civilian deaths than the widely known killings by the Nazi and communist dictatorships of Adolf Hitler (11 million), Joseph Stalin (six to nine million), and Mao Xedong (three million) through state repression.

Despite this history, it is unfair to ask Iranians to feel better about their suffering in a comparative sense as Western imperialism killed people in the millions while their theocratic dictatorship killed people only in the thousands. Western sanctions have significantly worsened Iranian lives and deprived them of vital economic, political, cultural, and scientific exchanges with the world. Yet, despotism is not a result of sanctions or imperialism.

As scholar Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi argues, Iran is characterised by multiple domestic contradictions: from extreme gender control to crises of Persian and Shi’i-dominated nation-state, of “religious democracy”, and, crucially – ignored in foreign narratives – of an Islamic Republic which is now in sync with an authoritarian capitalism.

Some of these features are hardly unique to Iran. But it is the violent enforcement of a religious order, which included arrests, torture and executions, that has scotched freedom, especially of women.

Women did attain total literacy and the share of women student enrollment in public universities rose to nearly 60% under the regime. But laws enforced male guardianship, discrimination in criminal and inheritance laws, reduction of the marriage age from 18 to nine, mandatory veiling and dress codes, and curbs on mixed-sex socialising. This, in combination with the absence of mobility because of abysmal labour participation and high educated unemployment of women, led to waves of protests.

The spectacular 2022 protests, for instance, following the death of a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, Jina Mahsa Amini, in security custody following a hijab law violation. The protests with the slogan “woman, life, freedom” reached 160 cities and towns.

As political scientist Shadi Mokhtari argues, these protests drew from the discourse of human rights but were not instigated by Western imperialism. They were also not contesting Islam, but the state that was justifying oppression in the name of Islam.

The January 2026 protests, on the other hand, were sparked by a financial crisis. Just as the 2019 protests which were led by the working classes and the poor that were brutally suppressed with hundreds killed. If imperialist sanctions contributed to the economic crisis, it was also exacerbated by the systematic adoption of capitalist policies in favour of the elite classes in recent decades, ironically, by a regime that sought to liberate the poor through the Revolution. Crucially, the regime took draconian measures against communists and working-class organisations, including the killing of activists.

Gender and class discrimination and state violence is compounded in the case of Iran’s large ethnic and religious minorities such as Azeris, Kurds, and Sunni Baluchs, who also face state-imposed cultural discrimination.

The foreign progressive response falters when it sees the Iranian state only as a resistor to American imperialism, and not also as an oppressor of its people. Take, for instance, the uncritical celebration of assassinated Iranian leaders as well-educated philosophers. It also falters when it demands that Iranian people should conform to neat plans and theories of global anti-imperialism and wait for liberation, ignoring that nearly half a century has already passed, in which brave resistance without legitimate avenues has exacted heavy costs.

People themselves are ideologically complex, like in any other diverse society. Unsurprisingly, there are Iranians who still support the regime, those who align with monarchism, and those who seek American imperialism’s help in seeking to liberate Iran.

Anthropologist Shahram Khosravi had contended after the January 2026 protests, in which thousands were killed, that it is the defeated revolution and the condition called estisal, or helplessness, that forces people to turn to even inexplicable solutions like war as a deliverer of freedom.

But when the war actually begins, these solutions change. Reports indicate that some of those who initially cheered the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and the intimation of freedom, are now afraid: of bombs falling on them, their children being killed and of their nation breaking apart.

In a poll conducted after the war began amongst Iranian-Americans, there was an even split on the US decision to start a war but 62% favoured diplomatic resolution going forward.

As history shows, imperialism is not interested in liberation or democracy. Donald Trump brazenly refused to accept that American strikes killed 165 Iranian children. A democratic Iran would be a disaster for American imperialism. Western imperialism is also perfectly fine with Islamic fundamentalism as long as it is servile: Mitchell coined the term “McJihad”, in which McDonalds and Jihad are not always opposites. He points to the history of the Saudi Arabian state, which is the “linchpin of the US empire in the Middle East and of the global oil system.”

The war produces deep pathos, not just from the tragic devastations, but also from the realisation that it reflects the failure of progressive international solidarity, for five decades, with those Iranians who simultaneously fought imperialism as well as religious despotism. A news report comment from an Iranian woman echoes the fears that many have about the war: “What if we are left with ruins and the same mullahs and the same government?”

To that we can add: What if there is renewed Western imperial domination?

Nissim Mannathukkaren is a professor at Dalhousie University, Canada. His X handle is @nmannathukkaren.

The Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday told gym owner Deepak Kumar, who opposed the harassment of an elderly Muslim shopkeeper by alleged Bajrang Dal members, that he was attempting to sensationalise the matter by seeking police protection as part of his petition, Bar and Bench reported.

Justice Rakesh Thapliyal made the oral observation while hearing a petition moved by Kumar challenging the case against him, seeking protection and requesting a departmental inquiry against police officers who allegedly failed to act against hate crimes.

On January 26, alleged Bajrang Dal members had arrived at the shop of an elderly Muslim man named Vakeel Ahmed in the Pauri Garhwal district, objecting to him using the word “Baba” in the name of his establishment.

Kumar and another person, Vijay Rawat, objected to the mob’s actions, after which the two Hindu men were asked not to intervene.

The first information report against Kumar and Rawat was filed in late January.

The FIR had been registered based on a complaint by two persons who are members of the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The outfits are a group of Hindutva organisations led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Subsequently, a group of about 40 persons gathered near Kumar’s gym and shouted slogans against him. The protesters also blocked a national highway.

Kumar had filed a complaint against the persons who had gathered in front of his gym, The Indian Express reported. However, the police had filed the case based on the complaint of an officer against unidentified persons in connection with the protests.

Kumar and Rawat have contended that the FIR filed against them is partisan.

During the hearing on Thursday, the court asked how Kumar can seek protection against threats in the petition essentially filed for quashing the FIR, Bar and Bench reported.

“This is complete abuse of process,” the legal news portal quoted Thapliyal as saying. “The person who is an accused is praying for protection? They [police] are competent. Trust them. You are a suspected accused.”

The judge also questioned him for seeking a departmental inquiry against “erring” police officers.

“What type of prayer is this?” Bar and Bench quoted the court as saying. “Can you pray for this? This is a pressure tactic. I will dismiss with exemplary costs on the petitioner. When you file petition, you should keep in your mind who are you and what is your status in the petition.”

He added that Kumar was trying to “sensationalise the issue” by seeking such forms of relief, Live Law reported.

The gym owner was “burden(ing)” the police by filing the petition, the judge added.

Advocate Navnish Negi, representing Kumar, said that the gym owner was trying to de-escalate the situation when the incident took place in January.

In response, Thapliyal asked the advocate to not focus on “the story” but on the reliefs sought.

The judge also noted that only the request for quashing the FIR can be considered.

Taking note of Kumar’s request for adequate police protection, the judge said that the administration is competent and under legal obligation to maintain law and order, Bar and Bench reported.

The court subsequently listed the matter for Friday.

After the incident, Kumar had subsequently posted a video on Instagram, in which he said: “I am neither a Hindu, neither a Muslim, neither a Sikh, nor a Christian. First and foremost, I am a human being. Because after I die, I have to answer to God and to humanity, not to any religion.”

He added that no one, whether a Hindu or a Muslim, should be targeted for their religion.

The filing of the FIR against Kumar and Rawat sparked criticism from several social media users, who said that Kumar was being targeted merely for speaking up for humanity and opposing the intimidation of a Muslim citizen.

Several accounts on social media platform X, some of whom are viewed as being critical of the Union government, have been withheld in India since Wednesday.

On their profiles, the platform said that they had been withheld in the country in response to a legal demand.

There was no official statement from the government on why the accounts had been blocked.

The handles include parody accounts @DrNimoYadav, @Nehr_who, @indian_armada, and popular profiles such as @mrjethwani_ and @Doc_RGM. The account of journalist and activist Sandeep Singh was also withheld.

Hartosh Singh Bal, the editor of The Caravan, said that a March 14 tweet by the magazine that promoted a 2022 article had also been blocked.

The tweet had also featured the cover of the April 2002 issue of the India Today magazine, which had Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat at the time, on it. The headline on that cover read “Hero of Hatred”.

Bal said that X had received a blocking order from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under Section 69A of Information Technology Act.

Under Section 69A of the Act, an authorised personnel in the Union government, not below the rank of a joint secretary, can send content removal orders to social media platforms. The provision allows the Union government to issue content-blocking orders to online intermediaries if the content is deemed a threat to national security, sovereignty or public order.

The Congress said that the withholding of the accounts was unacceptable.

Advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation said on Thursday that it was concerned by reports of social media accounts and posts being withheld in India, “including satire and criticism of the government”.

“Recent reporting shows users receiving generic ‘withheld in India’ notices or emails under Section 69A from social media platforms, with little or no explanation, while independent reporting has documented takedowns affecting speech that appears political, satirical or critical rather than clearly unlawful,” the foundation said.

The foundation said that the platforms “must also do more than send boilerplate messages”.

“They should provide meaningful notice, preserve records for challenge and publish granular transparency reporting given online censorship also impacts the public right to receive information,” it added.

Prateek Waghre, the head of programs at Tech Global Institute, said on Thursday that there seemed to be a “fresh mini-wave of restrictions/suspensions”.

“Seems to be more account-level restrictions rather than tweets,” he said on social media.

A list compiled by policy researcher Pranesh Prakash showed that at least 316 X accounts in India were blocked as of Thursday because of legal demands.

Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this article incorrectly attributed the list of blocked X accounts to Prateek Waghre instead of Pranesh Prakash.

Several accounts on social media platform X, some of whom are viewed as being critical of the Union government, have been withheld in India since Wednesday. The platform said that they had been withheld in the country in response to a legal demand.

There is no official explanation for why the accounts had been blocked.

The Congress said that the withholding of the accounts was unacceptable. Advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation said on Thursday that it was concerned by reports of several accounts and posts being withheld. Read on.

Gas prices in Europe jumped by 35% amid concerns about supplies. The concerns were triggered after Iran struck energy facilities across the Gulf, including Qatar’s main liquefied natural gas complex, in retaliation to an attack on its refinery on Wednesday.

Qatar said that the Ras Laffan industrial complex, home to the world’s largest liquefied natural gas facility, suffered extensive damage. The Iranian strikes also hit the Habshan gas facility and the Bab oil field in the United Arab Emirates.

On Thursday, the foreign ministers of 12 Arab and Islamic countries said that the attacks by Iran cannot be justified under any pretext. They called on Iran to immediately end its attacks. Read on.

Ukraine’s embassy in New Delhi said that the arrests of six Ukrainians in India under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act may have been “orchestrated and politically motivated”.

The six were among seven foreign citizens arrested by the National Investigation Agency on charges of conspiring to carry out terrorist activities against India. The seventh person is a United States citizen. They were arrested last week from Delhi, Kolkata and Lucknow while trying to leave India.

Kyiv rejects insinuations that it was possibly involved in supporting terrorist activities, the embassy said. Read on.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of creating riot-like conditions in Delhi, referring to the communal tensions in the Uttam Nagar area. The Opposition leader urged the residents of the national capital not to fall for provocations.

On March 4, a man named Tarun Bhutolia died after being severely injured in a clash during Holi celebrations. The clash began when a water balloon accidentally thrown by an 11-year-old girl from the third floor of a building fell on a Muslim woman standing below.

The killing had sparked tensions in the area. Muslim residents have expressed concern about calls for violence during Eid on Saturday.

On a petition seeking urgent intervention to prevent communal violence, the Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the police and the administration to take measures to ensure that the situation “does not take any ugly turn”. Read on.

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Ukraine’s embassy in Delhi on Thursday expressed concern about the arrest of six Ukrainians in the country under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, claiming that the circumstances in the case suggest that it may be “orchestrated and politically motivated”.

On Monday, ThePrint reported that the National Investigation Agency had arrested seven foreign citizens on charges of conspiring to carry out terrorist activities against India. While six of them were Ukrainians, one was from the United States, The Indian Express reported.

All seven were arrested last week under the anti-terror law. They were reportedly arrested in Delhi, Kolkata and Lucknow while trying to leave India.

The persons accused in the matter had entered India on valid visas, but had allegedly travelled to Mizoram without the mandatory restricted area permit, The Indian Express quoted an unidentified official as saying. They allegedly crossed into Myanmar and “reportedly met ethnic groups hostile to India”.

In Mizoram, the persons had received deliveries of drones from Europe, ThePrint quoted unidentified officials as having alleged.

The accused persons were produced before a magistrate on Saturday, who remanded them to three days’ custody. On Monday, the custody was extended by 11 days till March 27.

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the six Ukrainians had been provided with legal aid and a defence counsel for the court proceedings, The Hindu reported.

However, it added that “no established facts” proving their involvement in any illegal activity in India or Myanmar had been presented so far. The ministry had also suggested that the presence of the persons in a restricted zone in the North East may have been an “unintentional violation” .

In its statement on Thursday, the Ukrainian embassy said that it had taken into account publicly available information in the case, “including media reports indicating that the initiation of this proceeding was prompted by information provided by the Russian side…”

The embassy expressed “serious concern regarding the presence of circumstances that point to a possible orchestrated and politically motivated nature of this case, as evidenced, in particular, by the facts known at this stage”.

Kyiv rejects insinuations regarding the possible involvement of the Ukrainian government in supporting terrorist activities, the statement said.

“Ukraine is a state that faces the consequences of Russian terror on a daily basis and, for this very reason, takes a principled and uncompromising stance in combating terrorism in all its forms,” the embassy added.

The arrests came amid Russia’s war on Ukraine that began in February 2022. It is the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

The embassy also said that any allegation relating to terrorism “must be considered exclusively on the basis of verified facts, transparent procedures and full intergovernmental cooperation”. It further noted the need to ensure objectivity, transparency and impartiality in the investigation.

“We also emphasise that Ukraine has no interest in any activity that could pose a threat to the security of India,” the statement said. “On the contrary, Ukraine consistently advocates for strengthening security, trust and cooperation with India as an influential and friendly state.”

It added: “Instead, it is Russia, as an aggressor state, that seeks under every circumstance to drive a wedge between friendly countries – Ukraine and India.”

The statement added that attempts to use the matter to discredit Kyiv or to introduce distrust into the Ukraine-India relations appear to be a “deliberate effort” to harm the bilateral partnership.

Ukraine said that it expects that the Indian authorities “will ensure the legality, transparency and openness of the process, as well as the proper observance of the rights of the detained Ukrainian citizens, in accordance with the norms and principles of international law”.

Later on Thursday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the arrests were a legal matter and the issue is under investigation. “Ukraine has requested consular access,” he said, adding that it will be looked into.

Two days after a fire at a hospital killed 12 patients in Odisha’s Cuttack, the state government on Wednesday suspended four officials for alleged negligence in carrying out their work, reported The Indian Express.

The officials were suspended on the basis of the findings of an inter-departmental fact-finding committee headed by development commissioner DK Singh.

The disciplinary action was taken even as investigations are ongoing to ascertain the lapses that led to the fire, reported The Hindu.

The fire broke out at about 3 am on Monday in the trauma care intensive care unit of the Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. SCB Medical College and Hospital is the largest government healthcare facility in Odisha.

While the exact cause of the fire has not been confirmed, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had said it may have been triggered by a short circuit.

The officials suspended on Wednesday are Deputy Fire Officer Prakash Kumar Jena, Assistant Fire Officer of Cuttack Circle Sanjeeb Behera, Station Officer of SCB Medical College Abhinab Prusty and Ranjan Kumar Biswal, the assistant executive engineer of the general electrical division, SCB division, according to The Indian Express.

The action came against the backdrop of the Opposition Biju Janata Dal and Congress demanding the resignation of Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling.

The Odisha government has also ordered a judicial inquiry into the blaze.

Majhi had on Monday announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 25 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to the families of each of those who died.

The chief minister had told reporters that around 23 patients were admitted to the trauma intensive care unit and an adjacent intensive care unit at the time of the fire.

Many of them were on a ventilator and oxygen support, making it difficult to shift them quickly after the blaze began.

India on Thursday called on countries in West Asia to avoid targeting energy and civilian infrastructure amid the conflict in the region.

The Ministry of External Affairs said that the recent attacks against energy installations across the region were “deeply disturbing and only serve to further destabilise an already uncertain energy scenario” for the whole world.

“Such attacks are unacceptable and need to cease,” the ministry added, without naming any country.

Here are more top updates from the conflict in West Asia:

• Qatar on Thursday reported “extensive damage” after Iran struck the Ras Laffan industrial complex, home to the world’s largest liquefied natural gas facility. The facility supplied 19% of global liquefied natural gas exports in 2025, according to Bloomberg.
• Iran also struck several oil and gas facilities in other Gulf countries, escalating tensions in the region. The strikes by Iran came hours after attack on its energy facilities associated with its South Pars gas field, the world’s largest gas reserve that it shares with Qatar.
• Amid the uncertainty about energy supply, global natural gas prices jumped more than 5% on Thursday. India was the largest importer of Qatari LNG after China in 2025. The supply disruption caused by the conflict had already triggered concerns and panic in India and globally.
• The price of benchmark Brent crude jumped more than 4% on Thursday to reach $111 per barrel. The price was $78 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict started. Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterbody connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, for most international commercial vessels. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.
• United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Israel had “violently lashed out at a major [energy] facility” associated with the South Pars gas field in Iran “out of anger for what has taken place” in West Asia. Trump claimed that the US, which is attacking Iran alongside Israel, “knew nothing about this particular attack”.
• The US president said that Qatar was not involved in the attack on the Iranian facility. “Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack” and had unjustifiably attacked a portion of a Qatari gas facility.
• Trump claimed that “no more attacks will be made by Israel” on the “important and valuable South Pars field” unless Iran “unwisely decides” to strike Qatar. In this case, Trump said, the US will “blow up the entirety” of the South Pars gas field. He said that he does not want to authorise “this level of violence and destruction because of the long term implications that it will have on the future of Iran”.

🇶🇦 Qatar’s Ministry of Interior confirms it is still “dealing with a fire in the Ras Laffan Industrial Area.”

It’s the world’s largest hub for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and export. https://t.co/1BxMJhZyQ5 pic.twitter.com/TTwYsdYpqA

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) March 19, 2026

• Declaring a “new stage of war”, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that further attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure would trigger additional retaliation, the Financial Times reported. Iranian strikes reportedly targeted energy infrastructure in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, including sites in Abu Dhabi.
• Iran also issued evacuation warnings for key Gulf energy infrastructure, including Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail petrochemical complex, the United Arab Emirates’ Al Hosn gas field, and Qatar’s Mesaieed petrochemical complex and Mesaieed Holding Company, besides the Ras Laffan refinery, Reuters quoted Iranian state media as saying.
• Qatar condemned the Ras Laffan strike as a “flagrant breach” of its sovereignty and expelled Iranian military attachés, ordering them to leave within 24 hours. State-owned QatarEnergy said that there had been no casualties in the attack on Ras Laffan.
• The United Arab Emirates condemned the Iranian “terrorist attack” on the Habshan gas facility and Bab oil field, warning the strikes violate international law and pose a direct threat to regional and global energy security.
• The authorities in Abu Dhabi announced that gas operations at Habshan facilities and the Bab field have been temporarily halted after incidents of debris from intercepted missiles. The media office’s statement added that there were no injuries reported.
• Saudi Arabia said that it intercepted ballistic missiles targeting Riyadh and key energy installations, warning Iran that its “patience is not unlimited”, the Financial Times reported.

The US and Israel launched an attack on the Iranian government on February 28, claiming that Tehran’s action posed an existential threat to Israel. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Iran has retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region, and targeting major cities in Gulf countries and some ships.

Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

Since the start of the conflict, Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz for most international commercial vessels. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

The International Energy Agency has said that the fighting has caused the “largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market”.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of creating riot-like conditions in Delhi, referring to the communal tensions in the Uttam Nagar area.

Gandhi said on social media that the people of Uttam Nagar had paid a heavy price for the violence. “On one side, a young man, Tarun, lost his life, and on the other, an entire family is facing persecution,” he said.

A man named Tarun Bhutolia died after being severely injured in a clash during Holi celebrations on March 4. The clash began when a water balloon accidentally thrown by an 11-year-old girl from the third floor of a building fell on a Muslim woman standing below.

The incident had led to an argument between the two neighbouring families from different religious communities.

The 26-year-old’s killing had sparked tensions in the area. Several vehicles were damaged and some were set on fire during protests by residents, following which police and paramilitary personnel were deployed.

Muslim residents of the area have also expressed concern about calls for violence during Eid on Saturday.

On Thursday, Gandhi said that the people residing in Uttam Nagar do not want any more bloodshed.

“Only the BJP and its ecosystem want bloodshed,” the Congress leader said, alleging that the Hindutva party wanted to seize every opportunity to capitalise on the situation.

The BJP wants the country “to remain entangled in Hindu-Muslim strife” so that the public cannot ask why Prime Minister Narendra Modi “is being forced to hand over the country’s defence, energy security, food security and strategic sovereignty” to the United States, Gandhi alleged.

“…and that’s why, in broad daylight, riot-like conditions are once again being created in the nation’s capital,” he added.

Gandhi urged the residents of Delhi not to fall for any provocation.

On Wednesday, Congress MP Mohammad Jawaid said that he had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging that Muslims in Uttam Nagar have been facing open threats and hateful slogans ahead of Eid.

The MP from Bihar’s Kishanganj also claimed that there had been a perception of a selective police response, which he said was emboldening those “seeking to disturb communal harmony”.

Jawaid said that “what is unfolding is not an isolated law-and-order issue, but a pattern of targeted hostility that raises serious questions about the state’s ability and willingness to protect all citizens equally”.

A public interest litigation has also been filed before the Delhi High Court seeking urgent intervention to prevent communal violence and curb alleged hate speech incidents in Uttam Nagar ahead of Eid.

On Thursday, the court directed the police and civil administration of the area to take all the required action permissible under the law to “ensure situation does not take any ugly turn and an atmosphere is created conducive to peaceful Eid”, Live Law reported.

The court said that the situation as described in the petition required the authorities to be constantly vigilant and called for members of different sections of society to “conduct themselves in manner which may promote peace and harmony”.

Watch: How a clash between two families on Holi in Delhi became a larger flashpoint

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee allegedly obstructing searches being conducted by the Enforcement Directorate at the premises of political consultancy I-PAC is “not a happy situation”, The Indian Express reported.

Describing the incident as an “unusual happening”, a bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and NV Anjaria said that a central agency cannot be left without a remedy when its functioning is interrupted.

The Supreme Court asked if there can be no legal remedy to stop such situations from repeating.

The bench made the remarks while hearing a petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate against Banerjee and several West Bengal Police officers for allegedly obstructing the searches on January 8.

The central agency had conducted searches on January 8 at the political consultancy’s office in Kolkata’s Salt Lake area, the home of its head Pratik Jain and the office of a trader in the city’s Posta neighbourhood as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering.

The Indian Political Action Committee has managed the Trinamool Congress’ election campaigns, including in the 2021 Assembly elections.

Banerjee had arrived at Jain’s home around noon while the search was underway and stayed for about 20 to 25 minutes. She then came out with a file and claimed that the central agency’s officials were “taking away” party documents ahead of the Assembly polls.

The elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The results will be announced on May 4.

After the raids, the Trinamool Congress and I-PAC had moved the Calcutta High Court, challenging the legality of the searches. The central agency also approached the High Court, alleging “illegal interference” in its work.

The Enforcement Directorate’s petition in the Supreme Court was filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, which grants individuals the right to move the top court for enforcement of their fundamental rights.

At the hearing on Wednesday, advocates Shyam Divan, appearing for the state government, and Kapil Sibal, representing Banerjee, told the bench that the Enforcement Directorate had no power to file a writ petition under Article 32.

Divan argued that the central agency is not a juristic entity and has no fundamental rights, the Hindustan Times reported. Allowing such petitions would open the door to inter-departmental or disputes between the Centre and the states outside the constitutional framework envisaged under Article 131, he added.

Article 131 of the Constitution grants the Supreme Court exclusive jurisdiction over legal disputes between the Centre and states, or among states.

The bench, however, asked: “You may argue that this petition is not maintainable either under Article 32 or under Article 226 before the High Courts. But who will then decide if someday, some other chief minister in the future may barge into some other office? It is not a very happy situation.”

Article 226 empowers High Courts to issue writs to any person or the government.

The Supreme Court also noted the need to avoid a legal vacuum. “In our constitutional set-up, there cannot be a vacuum or a void preventing that a matter cannot be decided or resolved,” the Hindustan Times quoted the bench as saying.

During the hearing, Sibal said that it is not a fundamental right to investigate. The advocate added that the Enforcement Directorate cannot invoke Article 32 in the absence of a violation of fundamental rights.

However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the central agency, argued that the matter goes beyond technical questions of maintainability. It concerns whether a central agency can be prevented from performing its statutory duties by a constitutional functionary, he added.

If the functioning of an agency is obstructed by the head of a state, the court cannot be rendered powerless to examine the legality of such conduct, Mehta said.

The bench indicated that the question of maintainability and the merits may be considered together, the Hindustan Times reported.

It further rejected the state government’s request to decide maintainability as a preliminary issue. “You cannot dictate what the court should do,” the newspaper quoted the bench as telling the counsel for the state government.

The matter was listed for further hearing next week.

Previous hearings

In February, the Enforcement Directorate told the Supreme Court that it was difficult to determine whether the material taken by Banerjee when she allegedly obstructed its searches at I-PAC’s premises only belonged to the Trinamool Congress.

The central agency made the remarks in a rejoinder affidavit filed in its petition in the Supreme Court.

During a hearing on February 18, the Enforcement Directorate also told the Supreme Court that it was being “terrorised”, after the West Bengal government argued that the central agency had been “weaponised”.

On January 15, the bench stayed the first information reports registered by the West Bengal Police against Enforcement Directorate officials in connection with the searches.

Issuing notice to Banerjee and the West Bengal Police officers on the petition filed by the central agency, the Supreme Court also said that the alleged interference of the state government in the searches was a “serious issue” that needed to be examined.

The Enforcement Directorate has sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation against Banerjee and the state police officers for carrying away electronic devices and material considered as evidence in the matter.

The Bharatiya Janata Party in Assam released its list of candidates on Thursday for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

The party has fielded Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma from the Jalukbari seat, which he has represented since 2001. Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi, who joined the BJP on Wednesday, will contest from the Dispur Assembly constituency.

Sarma has won the Jalukbari seat in all Assembly polls since 2001.

Pradyut Bordoloi, who was a Congress MP from the state’s Nagaon constituency, had quit the party on Tuesday.

A day later, his son Prateek Bordoloi, who had been fielded by the Congress from the Margherita constituency for the elections, withdrew his candidacy, The Indian Express reported.

In a letter to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Prateek Bordoloi said that his decision was taken to avoid any “confusion” regarding his “commitment”. He added that he would continue to remain a member of the party.

The Assembly elections in Assam will take place in a single phase on April 9. The votes will be counted on May 9. The state has 126 Assembly seats.

The BJP is contesting the polls in an alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front.

Under the seat-sharing agreement, the BJP will contest 89 seats, the Asom Gana Parishad will fight on 26, and the Bodoland People’s Front will contest 11, according to The Times of India.

In the list released on Thursday, the name of the candidate from Sissiborgaon constituency has been withheld.

সমাগত বিধানসভা নিৰ্বাচন-২০২৬ৰ বাবে ভাৰতীয় জনতা পাৰ্টিৰ পৰা মনোনীত আটাকেইগৰাকী সন্মানীয় প্ৰাৰ্থীলৈ অভিনন্দন আৰু শুভেচ্ছা জ্ঞাপন কৰিছোঁ। pic.twitter.com/93wawBGuCn

— BJP Assam Pradesh (@BJP4Assam) March 19, 2026

The party has fielded former Assam Congress chief Bhupen Kumar Borah from the Bihpura seat.

Borah quit the Congress and joined the BJP in February. He was the president of the Congress’ Assam unit between 2021 and 2025.

Several other key BJP leaders in Assam, including Pijush Hazarika, Rupali Langthasa, and Prasanta Phukan, also feature on the party’s first list of candidates.

While Hazarika will contest from Jagiroad, Langthasa will fight the Haflong seat and Phukan from Dibrugarh.

With the announcement of the elections, the Model Code of Conduct came into force in the state on Sunday.

The code is a set of guidelines issued by the poll panel that political parties, candidates and the government must follow during an election. It sets guardrails for speeches, campaigning, meetings, processions, election manifestos and other aspects of the polls.

The Karnataka Assembly on Wednesday tabled a bill that seeks to curb caste-based discrimination and protect inter-caste couples amid concerns over caste killings and ostracism, The New Indian Express reported.

The 2026 Freedom of Choice in Marriage and Prevention and Prohibition of Crimes in the Name of Honour and Tradition Bill proposes minimum five years of imprisonment for anyone killing a person or a couple in the name of “honour”.

Those causing grievous injury will face at least three years’ imprisonment with a fine of up to Rs 3 lakh, while causing simple hurt will invoke minimum of two years’ imprisonment with a fine of up to Rs 2 lakh, according to the draft legislation.

All offences under the bill are cognisable and non-bailable.

The bill aims to ensure freedom of choice in marriage, prevent caste-based crimes, safeguard human rights, promote the dignity of inter-caste unions, and establish “Eva Nammava Vedikes”, or a district-level body, to solemnise and support inter-caste marriages.

Each Eva Nammava Vedike will comprise a retired judge, a police officer, a revenue officer and a sub-registrar, the newspaper reported.

In consultation with the High Court, the government may also designate certain district courts as special fast-track courts to try cases under the proposed Act.

The draft legislation allows couples to declare their relationship to designated nodal officers, both verbally or in writing, following which the police are required to ensure their protection, The Indian Express reported.

The bill notes that while offences such as murder, assault and criminal intimidation are already punishable under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the laws do not adequately address “brutal forms of violence” linked to preserving “caste honour”, the newspaper reported.

These include symbolic death rituals for living persons, denial of lawful inheritance, ostracism, poisoning and other covert attempts to harm couples, according to The New Indian Express.

Under the bill, all persons have the right to autonomy over their life choices, including whom to marry. It states that family consent is not required once two adults agree to marry, PTI reported.

The bill, also called “Eva Nammava” meaning “he/she is ours”, is drawn from the philosophy of 12th-century social reformer Basavanna, The Indian Express reported.

The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed Tamil magazine Nakkheeran to remove allegedly defamatory content about preacher Jaggi Vasudev’s Isha Foundation, Bar and Bench reported.

Justice Subramonium Prasad passed the interim order, rejecting an application by the magazine that sought the rejection of Isha Foundation’s plea.

The Isha Foundation contended that Nakkheeran published content accusing it of misconduct and suggesting that some persons were being held at its premises against their will.

The foundation argued that the articles were published despite the fact that the Supreme Court in October 2024 closed proceedings in a habeas corpus plea. The petition had been filed by a man who alleged that his two daughters were being held captive inside the foundation’s centre in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore.

A habeas corpus is a petition through which courts can order the authorities to bring a person before it to verify if they have been detained.

The Supreme Court had observed at the time that the two women were adults and had been living at the foundation of their own free will. The purpose of the father’s petition had been fulfilled after the women said that they wanted to live at the centre, the court had held.

It had, however, said that the closure of the habeas corpus plea does not prevent the police from proceeding with other investigations against the foundation.

The Isha foundation had moved the Delhi High Court seeking Rs 3 crore in damages from the magazine and its editor for publishing the allegedly defamatory content.

Google was also made a party in the suit because the content was visible on the company’s search engine and the allegedly defamatory videos had been posted on its platform YouTube, Bar and Bench reported.

An explosion in an electric car being charged outside a house in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore on Wednesday triggered a fire that killed eight members of a family, including two children, and injured four others, The Hindu reported.

The incident took place in Tilak Nagar’s Brajeshwari Annex Colony around 4 am, the newspaper quoted the police as saying. Twelve persons were asleep in the house at the time, police added.

Indore Zone 3 Deputy Commissioner Kumar Prateek said the fire began with a suspected short circuit in the car and quickly spread to the house’s wiring and a sports bike. The blaze intensified after two of several liquefied petroleum gas cylinders stored inside the house exploded.

“The rescue teams had a tough time getting in as the doors fitted with electronic locks got jammed due to a malfunction,” the newspaper quoted Prateek as saying.

The authorities said that the deaths were caused primarily by smoke inhalation, The Times of India reported.

#WATCH | Madhya Pradesh | Fire broke out in a house in the Brijeshwari Annexe residential locality in Indore. Six people have lost their lives in the incident. Rescue operations are underway. pic.twitter.com/gWw4yQyM3g

— ANI (@ANI) March 18, 2026

The 2.5-hour rescue operation involved personnel from the police, fire department and the State Disaster Emergency Response Force.

The deceased have been identified as Tanmay (7), Rashi Sethia (12), Simran Pugalia (30), Tinu (35), Suman Sethia (60), Vijay Sethia (65), Chhotu Sethia (22) and house owner Manoj Pugalia (65).

Six of those who died were from Bihar’s Kishanganj district and had come to Indore to visit relatives, The Hindu reported.

State Urban Development and Housing Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said that an expert committee will conduct an investigation and develop a standard operating procedure for electric vehicle charging to prevent similar incidents, The Times of India reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

The stock market crashed on Thursday amid concerns surrounding the conflict in West Asia and surging oil prices.

The benchmark Sensex index fell more than 1,700 points, or 2.2%, and was trading just under the 75,000-mark at 12.10 pm. The Nifty had also fallen 2.2%, or by more than 520 points, to about 23,250 points.

Stock markets had begun to slide on March 2 after the conflict in West Asia began. However, the market had risen significantly between Monday and Wednesday.

The India VIX index, which measures volatility in the market, spiked 14% on Thursday.

Major Asian stock indices fell on Thursday. As of 12.15 pm Indian time, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index had sunk 2% and Shanghai’s composite index 1.6%. While Japan’s Nikkei had tanked 3.3%, South Korea’s Kospi fell 2.5%.

Rupee at record low

The Indian rupee slumped to a record low of 92.6 against the United States dollar at closing on Wednesday amid concerns about the rising global fuel prices.

The Indian currency indicated a further fall to 93 against the US dollar in the non-deliverable forwards market on Thursday. The domestic foreign exchange market was closed on Thursday on account of the Gudi Padwa festival.

Global oil prices have been rising since the conflict in West Asia broke out.

As of 12.20 pm Indian time, the price of benchmark Brent crude jumped nearly 6% to reach $113 per barrel. The price was $78 per barrel on February 27, a day before the conflict started.

Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterbody connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, for most international commercial vessels. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

The global natural gas prices had jumped by nearly 3.5% on Thursday.

India was the largest importer of Qatari LNG after China in 2025. The supply disruption caused by the conflict had already triggered concerns and panic in India and globally.

The jump in oil prices on Thursday followed attacks on Iran’s energy facilities associated with its South Pars gas field, the world’s largest gas reserve that it shares with Qatar. In retaliation, Iran struck several oil and gas facilities in Gulf countries, escalating tensions in the region.

Qatar on Thursday reported “extensive damage” after Iran struck the Ras Laffan industrial complex, home to the world’s largest liquefied natural gas facility. The complex supplied 19% of global liquefied natural gas exports in 2025.

Also read:

• Top updates: World’s largest LNG hub in Qatar hit as Iran retaliates for strike on gas field

• From weddings to funerals, Iran war has hit life in India

The Gujarat government introduced the 2026 Gujarat Uniform Civil Code Bill in the state Assembly on Wednesday, The Indian Express reported.

If passed, Gujarat would become the second Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state to move towards implementing a common personal law framework, after Uttarakhand enacted a Uniform Civil Code in 2025.

On Wednesday, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi tabled the bill, which proposes a common legal framework governing marriage, divorce, succession, live-in relationships and related matters for all residents, irrespective of religion, the Hindustan Times reported.

The Uniform Civil Code refers to a common set of laws governing marriage, divorce, succession and adoption for all citizens. Currently, such personal affairs of different religious and tribal groups are based on community-specific laws, largely derived from religious scripture.

The Gujarat bill is based on recommendations of a committee chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, whose report was submitted to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday.

Patel said that the report was based on “detailed study, public consultations and visits across districts”, and claimed that the recommendations prioritise equal rights and the protection of women.

“The geographical and cultural diversity of Gujarat has also been kept in mind,” he added.

The proposed legislation will extend to the entire state and apply to residents living elsewhere in India or abroad, but will not apply to members of Scheduled Tribes or groups whose customary rights are protected under the Constitution, Hindustan Times reported.

Article 44 of the Constitution says that the state should “endeavour to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India”. However, the provision is part of Directive Principles of State Policy and is thus not legally binding.

Introducing a common personal law has long been on the BJP’s agenda and several states governed by the Hindutva party have been taking steps towards implementing it.

In January 2025, BJP-ruled Uttarakhand became the first state to implement the Uniform Civil Code after independence. A common civil code has been in place in Goa since the Portuguese Civil Code was adopted in 1867.

In its campaign for the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand, the BJP had mainly targeted Muslim personal law, arguing that it discriminated against women as it allows Muslim men to practice polygamy, inherit a greater share of property, initiate divorce and deny alimony.

Legal experts have said that Uttarakhand’s Uniform Civil Code is drawn primarily from Hindu personal law and could lead to the erasure of the personal law practices of minority communities.

Provisions of the bill

The 2026 Gujarat Uniform Civil Code Bill lays down uniform conditions for valid marriages, including a minimum age of 21 for men and 18 for women, valid consent and a prohibition on bigamy, The Indian Express reported.

It allows marriages to follow religious or customary ceremonies, but mandates registration, with penalties for non-registration or false declarations. It prohibits the dissolution of marriages outside court procedures and requires all divorce decrees to be registered.

The bill lists grounds for divorce such as cruelty, desertion, conversion of religion and mental illness. It also recognises the rights of women to maintenance, custody of children and alimony.

It makes registration of live-in relationships mandatory for couples in Gujarat, while keeping it optional for residents living outside the state, Hindustan Times reported. The registrar has been directed to ensure neither partner is a minor, married or within prohibited degrees of relationship. Children from such relationships will be recognised as legitimate, and a deserted partner may claim maintenance.

Failure to register a live-in relationship within a month could attract up to three months’ imprisonment or a fine of Rs 10,000, while registration obtained through force or fraud could lead to a five-year prison term.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States said on Wednesday that it had launched a search for an Indian national who allegedly defrauded several persons of large sums of money between 2017 and 2021.

The law enforcement agency stated that Kalpeshkumar Rasikbhai Patel, also known as Kenny Patel, was “believed to be residing in or travelling between Illinois and Pennsylvania”. He worked as a fuel station attendant, cashier and store worker.

Patel was “wanted for his alleged participation in a nationwide scheme to defraud multiple victims into transmitting large sums of money, usually in the form of cash and prepaid debit cards, to addresses” in the US, added the agency.

Kalpeshkumar Rasikbhai Patel, also known as Kenny Patel, is #wanted by the #FBI for his alleged participation in a nationwide scheme to defraud multiple victims into transmitting large sums of money, usually in the form of cash and prepaid debit cards, to addresses throughout the… pic.twitter.com/txx9YtRKaz

— FBI (@FBI) March 18, 2026

The FBI added that several victims were contacted on phone calls and deceived into believing that their personal information was linked to criminal activities.

“They were convinced to send funds, usually in the form of cash and prepaid debit cards, to addresses throughout the United States,” stated the agency.

An arrest warrant was issued against Patel on June 22, 2023, in the US District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky, London, Kentucky. This had come after he was charged with mail and wire fraud conspiracy.

“Patel is considered a fugitive from justice, and any information regarding his whereabouts should be treated as significant and actionable,” said the FBI.

The Karnataka High Court has granted bail to a 25-year-old woman from West Bengal who had been arrested in January for shouting “Jai Bangla” during a demolition drive in Bengaluru.

On March 11, Justice S Rachaiah noted that Sarbanu Khatun was “instigated” to shout “Jai Bharath Mata Ki Jai”. Khatun shouted “Jai Bharath Mata Ki Jai” thrice after saying “Jai Bangla” once, he added.

The court also took into account that the woman had two minor children to take care of.

“…it is appropriate to grant her bail by imposing suitable conditions that would take care of the apprehension of the prosecution,” the judge said in his order.

Advocate Rashif Nayarmoole, appearing for Khatun, said that the incident had taken place during a demolition drive to remove unauthorised houses on a plot of land in Anekal Taluk.

Khatun is a resident of West Bengal’s Nandigram and works as a domestic worker in Bengaluru.

A video of her, along with others, shouting slogans during the drive was circulated widely on social media. Subsequently, a complaint was filed against the woman and a first information report was registered at the Hebbagodi police station on January 11.

The case was filed under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections pertaining to promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, etc, and making false statements with the intent to commit mischief.

Section 152 pertaining to acts that endanger the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India was also invoked. Critics have described this section as a “reincarnation” of the repealed sedition law under the erstwhile Indian Penal Code.

Khatun was arrested in the matter on January 12.

An additional sessions and district judge at Anekal had earlier rejected Khatun’s application for bail, after which she moved the High Court.

In the High Court, the counsel for the state government submitted that an Indian national should not have shouted “Jai Bangla”, which hurt the sentiments of Indians.

However, Nayarmoole submitted that the woman had no intention to hurt the sentiments of Indians. “When she was provoked to say ‘Jai Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, in order to avoid further conflict, she might have uttered such slogan,” the High Court order quoted the advocate as submitting.

The advocate also argued that no action was taken against those who provoked her to shout the slogans. Nayarmoole added that the police registered a suo motu case based only on a social media video without conducting a preliminary inquiry.

Granting the woman bail, the judge directed Khatun to execute a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh, along with a local surety to the same amount.

India’s environment ministry notified the new solid waste management rules of 2026 on January 27, superseding the 2016 rules. The new rules signal a shift towards a more systematic compliance architecture, with a clearer outline of duties for waste generators, a revised definition of Bulk Waste Generators, and higher landfill user fees for mixed waste to encourage segregation.

Well-intentioned as the new rules are, experts caution against gaps in implementation that have dogged solid waste management in India for decades.

Illustrating this are the towering landfills in New Delhi – Bhalaswa, Ghazipur and Okhla – symbols of the city’s historical failure to segregate waste at source. Delhi leads all Indian cities, generating approximately 600 grams of waste per person per day.

Nearly 64% of the collected waste is processed, according to the Central Pollution Control Bureau, while the remaining 36% or 4,241 tonnes, find its way to unsanitary landfills, or dumpsites everyday.

These landfills and dumpsites are silent contributors to air pollution through the year as well as to greenhouse gas emissions and heat stress during the summers. Biomass and waste burning are the second largest contributors to particulate matter emissions in Delhi, contributing 23% to PM10 and 24% to PM2.5, according to one source apportionment study.

When biodegradable waste accumulates and is left to rot, it produces methane, which has a warming potential 80 times greater than that of carbon dioxide, over a 20-year-period, and is the second-largest contributor to global warming. According to another study, higher temperature zones within the Ghazipur landfill are widening and reaching the surface, which is unsuitable.

“There are not many provisions in the new rules that directly address air pollution or heat stress, despite the clear link between waste burning, emissions and air quality,” says Shrotik Bose, Research Associate, Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

What the new rules say

The new rules, which come into effect on April 1, mandate four-way segregation of waste, marking a shift away from the three-way segregation system, which divided waste into dry, wet, and domestic hazardous waste. Now, waste must be segregated into dry, wet, sanitary and special care waste, which includes medicines, paint cans, bulbs, and mercury thermometers, among others.

Extended Bulk Waste Generator Responsibility is also introduced, to put a stricter focus on generators who produce more than 100 kg of waste or occupy more than 20,000 square meters of area, or consume more than 40,000 litres of water per day. Bulk waste generators make up 30% of total solid waste generation and must either treat wet waste on-site, or send it to an appropriate facility and obtain an Extended Bulk Waste Generator Responsibility certificate as proof instead.

Restrictions on landfills are strengthened, with only non-recyclable, non-energy recoverable waste and inert material being allowed and higher landfill fees prescribed for local bodies sending unsegregated waste to sanitary landfills.

Further, the rules mandate mapping and assessment of all legacy waste dumpsites and provide for time-bound biomining and bioremediation. These are microorganism-based technologies – the former extracts metals from the waste and the latter helps break down toxic contaminants.

“I think the 2026 rules have addressed several gaps from the 2016 framework. The move to four-way segregation is a step up – it shows higher ambition, and that’s always good to have. Overall, there is greater clarity now about who is responsible for what. The document has absorbed many lessons from the past decade. But ultimately, the real test will be implementation.” says Lakshmi P, Head of Impact, Cleanhub, an environmental technology company focused on plastic waste collection.

A centralised online portal is being developed to track all stages of solid waste management, including waste generation, collection, transportation, processing at Material Recovery Facilities, and disposal. Urban local bodies are central to these operations.

According to Bose, whether the new framework and portal will improve the functioning of ULBs is unclear. “The real challenge lies in rewriting old agreements with waste processing facilities, registering them on the portal, and managing compliance at that scale,” he says.

Waste-to-energy plants

The new rules encourage circularity by restricting landfill dumping, but they still reinforce waste-to-energy plants as a permissible processing pathway for waste, despite longstanding concerns of their contribution to air pollution. An inspection by the Central Pollution Control Board in response to the National Green Tribunal found the Okhla waste-to-energy incinerator releasing dioxins and furans, highly toxic carcinogens at levels almost 900% above permissible limits.

“In India, waste really has calorific value only after proper segregation. But once you segregate, the recycling industry is strong enough to absorb most of that material. The truly non-recyclable fraction is actually very small – maybe 5% to 10% by weight. At the same time, Extended Producer Responsibility and better product design are supposed to reduce non-recyclable plastics. So waste-to-energy, EPR, and recycling all end up attacking the same waste.” says Lakshmi.

She adds, “WtE plants need to run for many years to become economically viable, which creates pressure to keep feeding them waste – often mixed waste. These plants operate at relatively low temperatures, meaning toxins such as dioxins and heavy metals are not effectively broken down. When located within or near cities, this can pose significant environmental and public health risks.”

“It’s a common misconception that technology can fix this,” says Dr Ruby Makhija, an opthamologist and founder of the Why Waste Wednesdays Foundation that has been working to scale a zero waste to landfills model across Delhi-NCR. “No matter how advanced or expensive the machinery, it will fail if waste is not segregated at source. Nearly 70% of effective waste management depends on segregation, but this is not treated as an investment priority.”

The new rules require waste-to-energy and cement plants to increase their Refuse Derived Fuel sources from 5% to 15% over a period of six years. RDF has been defined in the new rules as “Fuel produced by shredding and dehydrating municipal solid waste with high calorific value, primarily consisting of non-recyclable plastic, paper and textiles.”

Health and waste management

Despite mandates on paper, thousands of tonnes of mixed waste continue to reach landfills in Delhi due to weak enforcement, waiver of fines, and limited Resident Welfare Association budgets.

“In cities like Indore which have succeeded in mainstreaming segregation, it’s because the state itself was involved in going door to door and creating awareness. Non profits are treated like partners. With the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, NGOs are not seen as partners but as dispensable actors.” said Bharati Chaturvedi, founder and director of the Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group, a Delhi-based advocacy group working on circularity and waste.

According to Makhija, closing the environmental and health gap in waste management requires less reliance on technological fixes and more on restoring accountability in the system. “If a person is being asked to segregate waste at home and they do it properly, there must be assurance that the system beyond them is already in place. What happens too often is that if residents segregate, when the collector arrives and mixes everything again, all that effort goes to waste. That completely erodes trust. At the same time, Urban Local Bodies collect user fees for waste management – but how many residents actually pay them?”

The consequences of mounting mixed waste is tangible. An accidental fire in Bhalaswa landfill in 2022 led concentrations of PM2.5 to increase by 45%-55%, while PM 10 rose by 40%-50% in the vicinity. Toxic nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and sulphur dioxide levels rose between 25 and 100% too, illustrating how waste burning can trigger abrupt localised air pollution that rivals some of the city’s worst smog events.

Until segregation and decentralised processing are backed by both institutional enforcement and individual responsibility, the fight against toxic air and rising heat will remain incomplete, says Makhija. “Waste does not disappear once it leaves the doorstep; it returns through the air people breathe, the water they drink, and the food grown in contaminated soil,” she says.

This article was first published on Mongabay.

The Union government directed airlines to allocate a minimum of 60% of the seats on every flight without selection charges to ensure fair access. Airlines are also required to seat passengers travelling on the same Passenger Name Record together “preferably in adjacent seats”, according to the orders issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Additionally, airlines have been instructed to make the process of transporting sports equipment and musical instruments more transparent and passenger-friendly. They were further told to publish clear policies on the carriage of pets. Read on.

A day after quitting the Congress in the run-up to Assam Assembly elections, Pradyut Bordoloi joined the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Bordoloi is one of the Congress’ three Lok Sabha MPs from Assam.

He stated that he made the decision as he had felt humiliated on certain matters. The Congress described his resignation as “very unfortunate”.

Before he resigned, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had invited Bordoloi to join the BJP, though he claimed that there had been no direct communication between them. Read on.

Israel claimed that it killed Iran’s Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib in an airstrike in Tehran. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has authorised the country’s military to “[eliminate] any senior Iranian figure…without the need for additional approval”.

Oil prices fell by more than $2 per barrel after the Iraqi government and the Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq reached an agreement to resume oil exports through Turkey’s Ceyhan port.

Later in the day, Iranian officials said that a part of the refineries in Asaluyeh, linked to the South Pars gas field, was “hit by a projectile” fired by the Israeli-United States forces.

Earlier, the US said that it dropped several 5,000-pound, or 2,250 kg, bombs on Iranian missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz. Read on.

The Iran war is starting to hit India’s small manufacturers, write Vaishnavi Rathore and Johanna Deeksha.

The Allahabad High Court said the state must ensure that security is provided to persons facing threats for congregating to hold prayers at private properties in Uttar Pradesh. The bench added that Article 25 of the Constitution protects the right to congregate for worship for every religious group.

However, the provision does not accord protection to the incitement of one faith by another in the garb of prayer, it added. The court also said that congregating for prayer is a facet of the Abrahamic faiths. Read on.

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Uttarakhand resident Deepak Kumar has moved the High Court challenging the case against him and requesting a departmental inquiry against police officers who allegedly failed to act against hate crimes, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

Kumar and another person booked in the matter, Vijay Rawat, contended that the first information report filed against them is partisan.

The case against Kumar and Rawat was filed in late January. The two Hindu men had opposed the harassment of an elderly Muslim shopkeeper by alleged Bajrang Dal members in the Pauri Garhwal district.

A mob had on January 26 arrived at the shop of Vakeel Ahmed, objecting to him using the word “Baba” in the name of his shop. Kumar, a gym owner, and Rawat objected to the mob’s actions, after which they were asked not to intervene.

The FIR had been registered based on a complaint by two persons who are members of the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The outfits are a group of Hindutva organisations led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Subsequently, a group of about 40 persons gathered near Kumar’s gym and shouted slogans against him. The protesters also blocked a national highway.

Kumar had filed a complaint against the persons who had gathered in front of his gym, allegedly making hate speech, The Indian Express reported. However, the police had filed the case based on the complaint of an officer against unidentified persons in connection with the protests.

In the petition filed on March 13, Kumar stated that the police had failed to take action in the matter despite evidence that included videos of the incident and details of the persons, the newspaper reported.

The plea urged the court to direct the police to take immediate and effective action against the perpetrators of hate crimes and hate speech.

In a video of the incident that was later widely shared on social media, Kumar is seen questioning the group on why other shops are allowed to use the word “Baba” but Ahmed’s shop is not. He is also heard saying that the shop is more than 30 years old and asking whether its name should now be changed.

When asked his name, Kumar replied, “My name is Mohammad Deepak.”

“I intended to convey that I was an Indian and that everyone is equal before the law,” Kumar told the newspaper.

Kumar subsequently posted a video on Instagram, in which he said: “I am neither a Hindu, neither a Muslim, neither a Sikh, nor a Christian. First and foremost, I am a human being. Because after I die, I have to answer to God and to humanity, not to any religion.”

He added that no one, whether a Hindu or a Muslim, should be targeted for their religion.

The filing of the FIR against Kumar and Rawat sparked criticism from several social media users, who said that Kumar was being targeted merely for speaking up for humanity and opposing the intimidation of a Muslim citizen.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that Kumar was fighting for the Constitution and humanity.

The Allahabad High Court on Monday said that the state must ensure that security is provided to persons facing threats for congregating to hold prayers at private properties in Uttar Pradesh, Bar and Bench reported.

A bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Siddharth Nandan added that Article 25 of the Constitution, which guarantees the fundamental right to freedom of religion, protects the right to congregate for worship for every religious group, Live Law reported.

However, the provision does not accord protection to the incitement of one faith by another in the garb of prayer, it added.

The bench added that there can be no impediment or embargo on prayers or religious functions being conducted within the private premises of a person, irrespective of their faith.

The court made the observations in a case pertaining to the decision of the administration in Uttar Pradesh to restrict the number of persons offering namaz during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan at a mosque in Sambhal district.

A petition had been filed in the court by a person alleging that he was being prevented from conducting prayers during Ramzan at a plot where he claimed the mosque existed.

On February 27, the bench rejected the administration’s decision to restrict the number of persons praying at the site. It had added that the officials should either resign or seek a transfer if they are unable to enforce the rule of law.

While disposing of the petition on Monday, the bench said: “Any objection taken by any person (individual or group) against prayers being conducted in a private space, should be taken cognisance of by the state and if need be, protection be accorded to the place of worship and the worshipers”.

The court also said that the explanation of Article 25 by the court “is not to be construed as giving any special status to the adherents of the Islamic faith in India”, Bar and Bench reported.

The bench noted that it had only laid down that Article 25 ensured every religion in India an “equal and immutable right” to profess, practice and propagate their faith equally across the board without any “ifs and buts”. This is subject only to public order, morality and health, the bench added.

However, the law prohibits actions and speech having the propensity to vitiate public order by pitting one religious denomination against the other, the court said, adding that this would be beyond the scope of protection under Article 25 and will expose the person to the full rigours of the criminal law.

The court also said that congregating for prayer is a facet of the Abrahamic faiths, the legal news portal reported.

Article 25 is religion and faith neutral, adding that the freedom of conscience protects and enables equally an atheist to profess, practice and propagate that there is no God on the anvil of logic, reason and science, Bar and Bench reported the court as having said.

The court directed that its order be sent to the Uttar Pradesh police chief and additional chief secretary (home) for it to be circulated to the authorities in the state, the legal news portal reported.

Also read: Allahabad HC orders protection for Muslim man stopped from offering namaz on private property

Congress MP Mohammad Jawaid on Wednesday said that he has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging that Muslims in Delhi’s Uttam Nagar have been facing open threats and hateful slogans ahead of Eid amid tensions in the area.

Jawaid also claimed that there had been a perception of a selective police response, which he said was emboldening those “seeking to disturb communal harmony”.

The letter comes days after a man named Tarun Bhutolia died after being severely injured in a clash during Holi celebrations on March 4 that began when a water balloon accidentally thrown by an 11-year-old girl from the third floor of a building fell on a Muslim woman standing below.

The incident had led to an argument between the two neighbouring families from different religious communities.

The 26-year-old’s killing had sparked tensions in the area. Several vehicles were damaged and some were set on fire during protests by residents, following which police and paramilitary personnel were deployed.

Muslim residents of the area have also flagged calls for violence during Eid on Saturday.

In his letter to the home minister on Wednesday, Jawaid said that members of the Muslim community in Uttam Nagar were facing “open threats, intimidation and a systematic attempt to create fear in their daily lives”.

A call for slaughter of Muslims on Eid in Uttam Nagar, Delhi and inaction by @DelhiPolice is highly alarming.

Have written and handed over the letter to Union Home Minister @AmitShah ji to take action and direct @DelhiPolice to take action in this urgent matter.

The letter has… pic.twitter.com/5J9NjxmrJ1

— Dr Md Jawaid (@DrMdJawaid1) March 18, 2026

The MP from Bihar’s Kishanganj Lok Sabha seat said that “what is unfolding is not an isolated law-and-order issue, but a pattern of targeted hostility that raises serious questions about the state’s ability and willingness to protect all citizens equally”.

He added: “Public threats, inflammatory slogans and the circulation of hate-filled content have created an atmosphere where a section of Indian citizens feel unsafe in the national capital itself.”

The Congress MP urged Shah to take cognisance of the situation and ensure accountability for any lapse in maintaining law and order. He also sought directions to the Delhi Police to “act firmly and impartially against those spreading hate, issuing threats or attempting to communalise the situation”.

Jawaid further sought “visible and effective” protection for vulnerable residents to restore confidence on the ground. “Initiate an independent review of police action to address concerns of bias or inaction,” he added.

The letter noted that silence or delay of the state in such moments sends a dangerous message that intimidation can replace law, and fear can override rights. “This must not be allowed in a constitutional democracy,” Jawaid added.

Sharing the letter on social media, the Congress MP added that the letter had been signed by several legislators from Opposition parties, including from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Samajwadi Party.

Adjournment motion

Earlier on Wednesday, Jawaid also said that he had moved an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha to discuss the “alarming situation in Uttam Nagar and the recent arrests linked to an iftar gathering on the banks of the Ganga”.

The Congress MP was referring to the arrest of 14 Muslims in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus after they organised an iftar party on a boat in the river Ganga and ate chicken biryani.

They were arrested after a video showing them holding the party on the boat on Monday was widely shared on social media.

A police complaint was filed by Rajat Jaiswal, the chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s youth wing in the city, who alleged that the incident had hurt religious sentiments of the Hindus. In his complaint, Jaiswal alleged that the persons had thrown meat leftovers into the Ganga, which holds religious significance for Hindus.

Noting that Iftar is a peaceful and integral religious practice during Ramzan, Jawaid in his letter to the secretary general of the Lok Sabha said that criminalising such a gathering reflects a “clear misuse of law and indicates a pattern of targeting minorities under the guise of enforcement”.

The Himachal Pradesh government on Wednesday issued an advisory directing government employees not to make statements on social media about official policies, and not to disseminate official information without authorisation, The Indian Express reported.

The state government also told employees to wear formal attire, saying that a dignified dress code helps maintain a positive image of public service.

A communication by Sanjay Gupta, the officiating chief secretary of the state Department of Personnel, was quoted by The Indian Express as saying that government employees should be advised “not to express opinion on government policies/schemes etc through personal social media accounts or to make political or religious statements in any public forum, vlogs and other social media platforms etc”.

The communication stated that participating in official debates and posting content that could be construed as critical of official policies is strictly prohibited. The letter warned of disciplinary action for violations.

The Department of Personnel also said that male employees have been advised to wear formal clothing such as shirts and trousers, along with appropriate footwear, The Indian Express reported. It added that casual clothing, such as jeans and sandals, was discouraged, especially during official duties and court appearances.

Female employees have been asked to wear sarees, suits or other formal clothing that reflects professionalism and modesty, The Indian Express quoted the communication as saying.

India on Tuesday denied holding negotiations with Iran about releasing three vessels New Delhi had seized in February in return for the safe passage of ​Indian ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

The denial by the Ministry of External Affairs came during an inter-ministerial press briefing on the conflict in West Asia.

Quoting unidentified officials, Reuters reported on Monday that Iran had asked India to release three fuel tankers that had been seized. India had in February seized the United States-sanctioned ships linked to Iran near Indian waters.

The Indian authorities had reportedly alleged that the vessels were involved in illegal mid-sea ship-to-ship transfer of fuel and had concealed their identity.

The news agency had also reported on Monday that Iran has sought a supply of medical equipment and some medicines.

Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal described the report as ​baseless.

“There has been no discussion of this nature,” he told reporters, adding that the three seized ships are not Iranian-owned and that the vessels were not tankers.

The three ships are currently docked off the coast of Mumbai, Reuters reported.

Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz for most international commercial vessels. About 20% of the global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

On Monday and Tuesday, two Indian-flagged vessels carrying liquefied petroleum gas reached India after crossing the Strait of Hormuz on Friday night and Saturday morning.

They were among the 24 Indian-flagged vessels stranded in the Gulf after the conflict broke out in the region on February 28.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Financial Times on Sunday that India’s talks with Iran have “yielded some results” in allowing Indian ships to pass through the strategic waterway. However, he added that there is no “blanket arrangement” with Tehran on the matter.

The movement of each Indian ship through the strait is being handled individually, Jaishankar had said.

The Union government on Wednesday directed airlines to allocate a minimum of 60% seats on every flight without seat selection charges to ensure fair access.

The orders issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation through the Directorate General of Civil Aviation also require that passengers travelling on the same Passenger Name Record be seated together “preferably in adjacent seats”.

Additionally, airlines have been instructed to make the process of transporting sports equipment and musical instruments more transparent and passenger-friendly, while adhering to safety and operational requirements, and to publish clear policies on the carriage of pets.

The ministry also mandated strict adherence to the passenger rights framework, particularly in cases of delays, cancellations and denied boarding.

It further ordered the “prominent display of passenger rights across airline websites, mobile applications, booking platforms, and airport counters” and to communicate the same in regional languages to widen awareness and accessibility.

The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has quashed another preventive detention under the Public Safety Act, ruling that there was “no application of mind” by the Bandipora senior superintendent of police and the district magistrate in detaining the petitioner, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday.

It said that there was instead “a unity of mind that the petitioner needs to be detained on one false pretext or another”.

The Public Safety Act is a preventive detention law that allows persons to be taken into custody to prevent them from acting against “the security of the state or the maintenance of the public order” in the Union Territory.

Justice Rahul Bharti directed that Ehtsham ul Haq Dar be released from custody if he is not required in any other case, the newspaper reported. Dar had been detained under the Public Safety Act on May 6, following an order by the Bandipora district magistrate, and was held in Kishtwar jail.

The Public Safety Act Advisory Board, in an order dated June 2, found sufficient cause for his detention. The government had extended his detention until November 5.

Bharti noted that there was no record of any further extension of the petitioner’s detention. He added that the grounds for preventive detention were based on “vague and conjectured assumptions without any…factual content”, except a criminal case relating to a first information report, the newspaper reported.

The judge observed that the authorities had acted “unmindful of the constitutional obligation of resorting to preventive detention with due caution and circumspection”, The Indian Express reported.

Bharti added that according to the dossier Dar was allegedly involved in “anti-national activities” as an overground worker of a banned terrorist organisation.

He also noted that the police dossier and the grounds of detention were “exact replicas” of each other.

Bharti said that by “literally lifting the print and text of the dossier, the district magistrate, Bandipora, purportedly formulated the so-called grounds of detention more as a mouthpiece of the senior superintendent of police, Bandipora, and passed the detention order”.

“A fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India is not so fragile and weak-footed that by purported reference to any casual exercise at the end of the authorities under the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, the said fundamental right of the petitioner can be uprooted,” The Indian Express quoted the judge as observing.

Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the right to life and personal liberty.

Last week, Bharti had also ordered the release of another detainee, Mudasir Ahmad Bhat, from Udhampur district jail, holding that his preventive detention was inconsistent with constitutional safeguards governing such powers.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari are set to contest against each other again in the 2026 state Assembly elections, this time from the Bhabanipur constituency.

The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday announced its candidates for 291 of the state’s 294 seats, fielding Banerjee from the south Kolkata constituency, which she has represented since 2011, except for a short interval in 2021.

Banerjee, after losing Nandigram to the BJP leader in a close contest in 2021, had returned to the Assembly by winning a bypoll from Bhabanipur. Adhikari, once a close associate of Banerjee, had quit the TMC in 2020 and joined the BJP. He is the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

The BJP leader will also contest elections from Nandigram. The TMC has filed Pabitra Kar, a former aide of Adhikari, from the seat, PTI reported. He was a former BJP leader who rejoined the TMC ahead of the polls.

In the list released on Tuesday, the ruling party also dropped around one-third of its sitting legislators, denying tickets to about 74 MLAs. It has retained around 135 MLAs and shifted 15 to different constituencies. The changes are aimed at countering anti-incumbency after three consecutive terms in power, The New Indian Express reported.

The TMC has left three seats in the Darjeeling hills to its ally, the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha, The Hindu reported.

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday released its first list of 152 candidates.

The West Bengal election will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29 in the state. The results will be announced on May 4.

In West Bengal, the Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress has been in power since 2011. The main Opposition in the state over the years has shifted from the Left parties to the BJP.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the BJP won 77 seats in the 294-member House, while the Trinamool secured 215. The Left-Congress alliance and its partners, despite a vote share of about 10%, won just one seat.

SIR process underway

The elections were announced even as a special intensive revision of electoral rolls is underway in West Bengal, with several voters “under adjudication”.

On February 28, the Election Commission published the final electoral roll for West Bengal, indicating the exclusion of more than 61 lakh voters.

About 60 lakh “doubtful and pending” cases remain “under adjudication” based on their objections to their exclusions from the draft rolls published in December.

The names of those approved by judicial officers will be added to the rolls through a supplementary list.

On February 20, the Supreme Court ordered that judicial officers of the rank of district judge or additional district judge be appointed to help complete the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls in the state amid a tussle between the Trinamool Congress government and the Election Commission.

Four days later, the court allowed judges from Odisha and Jharkhand to also be deployed to decide on the claims and objections raised during the process.

Also read: As polls knock, why is Bengal’s SIR in a state of chaos with no end in sight?

Zubeen Nath was supposed to come home in February for Bihu, to celebrate his wife’s birthday.

Instead, the phone rang at his neighbour’s home in Assam’s Chirang district on the afternoon of February 13.

When his mother answered, she was told that the 26-year-old had died in an accident at the tile construction factory in Bengaluru that employed him. “Someone told her that our son fell into a machine and died immediately,” his father Ananta Nath told Scroll.

Incredulous, his father called his son’s number and an Assamese contractor picked up. “He told me that my son was lying under a machine, applying grease on it, but nobody had noticed him,” Ananta said. “Someone turned on the machine and he got trapped. His body was split into two.”

The next day, Nath’s body was brought home with the help of a contractor.

Zubeen Nath had been working at the company for about five years. He is survived by his parents, his 20-year-old wife and a one-year-old son.

Nath’s father said the owner of the Bangalore company gave the family Rs 50,000 to perform his last rites. “But we have not got any help from the state government,” he added. “The local MLA and government officials visited and only gave us assurances.”

Unlike the death of singer Zubeen Garg in September, which plunged Assam into deep grief, Zubeen Nath’s demise went unnoticed.

He is not alone. Altogether 162 workers from Assam, who migrated outside for work, died between September and February 2, according to a statement by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who admitted the situation was “concerning”.

He said that the mortal remains of the 162 workers were brought back to the state under the Assam government’s Shraddhanjali scheme. No other state government in India has introduced such a scheme, Sarma said.

In the last six months, migrant workers from Assam have lost their lives in accidents across the country – three of them died in a fire in a Goa nightclub, eight died in Meghalaya’s illegal rat-hole mines, nine workers were killed in an accident at a construction site in Chennai, and four were found dead in a rented room in Bengaluru.

Scroll spoke to families of eight migrant workers who died in this period. All of them said they had no other options but to migrate as jobs had dried up in the rural economy. Several belonged to tribal communities or were tea garden workers, some of the most marginalised groups in the state.

Scroll emailed the chief minister’s office, asking for details of the 162 dead workers, the reasons behind their deaths and their age profiles. The story will be updated if there is a response.

In the Assembly, Opposition MLA Akhil Gogoi said the deaths of workers was an indictment of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government.

“People of the state are being forced to go outside to work as security guards or daily wagers in Chennai or Bangalore because there is no work in Assam,” Gogoi said. “They don’t have any job security. There should be a right to work in the state.”

But Gogoi’s intervention was a rare one. The deaths of migrant workers has got little attention from Assam’s political parties, even while the state is headed for an Assembly election.

Manoranjan Pegu, a trade union activist and political commentator from the Mising community, one of Assam’s largest tribal groups, said the identity of the dead explains the lack of any political backlash. “Who are these migrants? Mostly tribals, working-class Hindus or Miya Muslims from rural villages,” Pegu said. “This cannot be spun into an identity issue or an Assamese versus non-Assamese problem. So, it is not favorable for electoral benefits.”

‘Almost every family has a boy working outside’

In Bengaluru, Zubeen Nath earned Rs 30,000-Rs 35,000 a month, breaking stones at the tiles factory. “The salary was regular even though the work was tiring and hard,” his father said.

A college dropout, he had returned to Assam from Bengaluru during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. But had to go back because there was no work in Barpather, a village near the Manas National Park, close to the border with Bhutan.

Like him, about 150 youths from the village went back to the cities in search of work. “In our village, almost every family has a boy who works outside,” Anant Nath said.

The reasons for the exodus are many. While farming is the main occupation, crops are increasingly under stress from elephant attacks, Anant Nath said.

“My home is close to the Manas forest. So, there has been an increase in elephant raids,” Anant said. “Almost every day, the elephants break homes, kill people and destroy standing crops.”

Erratic monsoons and depleting groundwater reserves have also increased the challenges for farmers. “The 80-feet deep well does not have water now,” Nath said. “We are buying water or bringing it from others. The fields are dry. The farm yield is not enough and not self-sustaining. That’s why people are leaving.”

‘Breakdown of agriculture’

Experts Scroll spoke to said that the outmigration of youth is driven by the absence of opportunity at home. Sociologist Chandan Kumar Sharma pointed out that most migrant workers from Assam are being absorbed into the informal workforce in metropolises, where jobs have no security.

“This indeed speaks of the breakdown of agriculture and meaningful rural livelihoods for the youths in the state,” Sharma, who teaches at Tezpur University, told Scroll.

The government’s own figures speak of the scale of the migration. According to a 2020 report prepared in the backdrop of Covid pandemic by the Assam government’s think-tank, State Innovation and Transformation Aayog or SITA, 25 lakh workers from the state work outside the state in low-end jobs.

“For the last many years we have seen outmigration from Assam since agriculture could not provide financial gains except subsistence,” the report by the think tank on the state’s agriculture and allied sectors said.

The absence of opportunity has led Assam’s workers to take on unimaginable risks.

“My relatives are not alone to sign up for life-threatening jobs,” Iqbal Ahmed, a resident of Katigorah area of Cachar district, told Scroll.

Ahmed’s three cousins died in a blast in a set of illegal rat-hole coal mines in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district on February 5. “If you work the whole day in Katogorah, you may get Rs 200 or Rs 300, while working in the mines fetches you Rs 1,000-Rs 1,200 a day,” he said.

About 25-30 migrant workers from Katigorah had died in Meghalaya’s illegal mines in recent years, he claimed.

Ahmed added: “If you want to survive, you can’t think of death.”

9 migrant workers from Assam have reportedly succumbed to death after falling down at a construction site at Minjur, Thiruvallur district, today while carrying out construction works for extension of North Chennai Thermal Power Station.

4 of the victims are from Karbi Anglong…

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) September 30, 2025

‘It is destiny’

Several of those forced to do hazardous work outside the state come from tribal communities.

Take Paban Sorong. The 34-year-old man from the Dimasa tribe worked in Delhi as a security guard before moving to Chennai as a construction worker.

Last September, he was among nine tribal migrant workers from Assam’s Karbi Anglong and Hojai districts, who died at a construction site in a special economic zone near Chennai.

The men were at a height of more than 20 feet when the iron scaffolding installed for the construction of an arch collapsed.

Sorong’s father Nabin Sorong said his son earned Rs 20,000 at the construction site. He explained that his son had to take risks because they can no longer depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.

Sorong’s family was luckier than others. They received Rs 17 lakh as compensation – Rs 10 lakh from the Tamil Nadu government, Rs 2 lakh from Centre, and Rs 5 lakh from Assam government. The family received compensation as they died while working on a power plant being built by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, a public sector undertaking.

Sorong was resigned to his son’s fate. “It was destiny. We can’t blame anyone,” he said.

The exodus of tea garden workers

Among those forced to take desperate measures are Assam’s tea garden workers. Last year, the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha, the largest and most influential trade union of the plantation sector, raised an alarm, flagging a sharp rise in outmigration of workers.

A clear reason is the abysmal wages that they earn – tea workers in the Brahmaputra Valley earn Rs 250 per day, while those in the Barak Valley are paid Rs 228 per day.

“It was hard to survive with this little money,” said Bidya Chatriya, whose brother Dhiren worked in the Gelapukhuri tea estate in Tinsukia district.

A few months ago, Dhiren and other tea garden workers moved to Arunachal Pradesh to work on construction sites. “They were promised a daily wage between Rs 500 and Rs 700, depending on the working hours,” Bidya said.

In December, Dhiren was among 21 tea labourers killed after a truck they were being transported in met with an accident in Anjaw district in the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh on the night of December 8. Senior superintendent of police, Tinsukia, Mayank Kumar Jha, said the labourers were being transported illegally without proper documentation or safety measures. Two people were arrested on charges of human trafficking.

Questions on Assam development

The large exodus of migrant workers puts a question mark on the BJP’s development claims, observers and ordinary residents said.

In the Assembly, Raijor Dal MLA Gogoi too questioned the BJP’s record of development. “It has only made flyovers in the name of development,” he said.

Tapan Sarma, the general secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, criticised the Assam chief minister for launching a scheme to bring bodies home. “Has the government figured out why they needed to go so far in the first place? What has it done for the safety and economic security of the workers at home?” Sarma said.

Bishnu Jyoti, a tribal resident of Lakhimpur, agreed. “The BJP government talks day and night about development,” he said. “But this development exists only in speeches and advertisements. Otherwise young boys from tribal villages would not have to travel thousands of kilometers to work as security guards, delivery boys, construction workers, and restaurant workers,” he said.

Jyoti added: “Many of them live in unsafe conditions. Some of them never return home alive.” He was referring to four Mising young men from Lakhimpur, who were found dead in a rented room on the outskirts of Bengaluru in January.

Sarma, the senior trade union leader, admitted that Opposition parties too have failed to speak up for the working class. “Assam has 91 lakh workers – both from organised and unorganised sectors – which is more than 30% of the state’s total population,” Sarma said. “But we have failed to highlight their issues.”

Jyoti said the government’s welfare and cash-transfer schemes have not changed the lives of people in rural Assam. “People cannot live on small benefits and temporary schemes,” he said. “They need permanent jobs and stable incomes. But instead of jobs, the government spreads hate and fear.”

I don’t write about myself. Not in public, and rarely, if ever, in private. The proposed amendment to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, presented by Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Virendra Kumar in Lok Sabha on March 13 forces my hand, and yet, I find a thrilling freedom in finally coming out and staking a claim to who I am.

I hope that talking about it will throw more light on why self-determination is a long process that requires patience, not more erasure, and also light the way for others who find their way to transgender identities as adults.

The bill solidifies an argument that was made in the run-up to the passing of the Act in 2019 that transgender people could only belong to traditional transgender groups: hijras, kinnars, jogtas, aravanis and others. While the Act as it was passed aligned itself with the Supreme Court’s NALSA judgement of 2014 and allowed for trans people to identify themselves, the definition proposed by Bill No 79 of 2026 would have trans women outside those traditional groups, trans men, non-binary people, and people of other gender identities not be included in the protections of the act.

The bill explicitly aims to delete the separate category for intersex people in the 2019 Act, and to list them under the trans umbrella. This erases the separate and unique struggle intersex people have had for decades for their own concerns – including, for instance, the fight against forced gender realignment surgeries done at young ages to attempt to fit them into the binary.

Collapsing the two identities perpetuates stereotypes about both trans and intersex communities. The basic demand of trans groups for horizontal reservation seems more distant, though it will be ever more urgent as oppressed caste trans individuals lead the fight for simply being represented fairly. The bill drives a wedge into cross-community solidarity and divides us so that we do not organise and assert ourselves or live our lives to their fullest potentials.

𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓: Social and Justice Minister Dr Virendra Kumar today introduced the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha today. The Bill aims to amend the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.… pic.twitter.com/4F9tFXVNP8

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) March 13, 2026

I have known since I was a child that I was different, that I was not quite a girl, yet nowhere like a boy, either. My puberty was different – too much, too skewed towards an indefinite, in-between gendered appearance. It did not soften me and at times, it stole my childhood. For years, I balanced anger at myself and fear of the world, always aware that I was not enough of any gender and that I would never fit in. Even amid that rage and confusion, I made choices that affirmed my existence outside the binary of gender. The way I dressed, talked, and moved in the world spoke to how neither gender had a hold on me.

When I became a reporter, I learned to lean into my assigned gender. I played the “young woman who doesn’t know anything” when lulling sources, often cis men, into lowering their guard. I learned to smile and give assurances that I was one of them when speaking to cis women, who in turn embraced me because of my perceived likeness. I was aware, all the time, that I was playing a part. I could have even tried to deceive myself had I not repeatedly asserted in private my confusion at what being a woman even meant, the irritation at being called “sister” by feminist colleagues, the knowledge that the dresses I had begun to wear made me feel awkward and out of place.

In 2015, I wrote to a friend about how I did not feel like a man or a woman, but that I did not know what that made me. That year, when Facebook allowed users to choose their own pronouns, I chose “they/them” hardly knowing what it meant, only knowing that there was a relief in not showing my assigned gender to people. In 2018, I told my therapist jokingly that I had never received the gender memo.

I was electrified when I heard the term non-binary. I had flirted with genderqueer and gender non-conforming, but neither encapsulated my alienation from gender. Finally, here was a term that was political. It saw the gendered binary that I had so long regarded as inevitable, and promised an existence beyond it. It took me years after that to embrace it. I used “they/them” pronouns on anonymous online forums for a year before I started to tell people that I was non-binary, only because I wanted to be certain that I was not taking up space, that I was not falling into a yearning for being seen as queer, without actually being it. I stopped myself from expressing myself in public for years.

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill 2026 must be referred to the Standing Committee on Social Justice & Empowerment so that legal experts and, most importantly, members of the trans community can be heard before Parliament proceeds further.#NoGoingBack pic.twitter.com/GB6O42LWPE

— Pink List India (@PinkListIndia) March 15, 2026

It has been four years since I came out and many of the changes that I have made have been low-key. I cut my hair, started to wear shirts, started to surround myself with people like myself. I began to assert that my pronouns are indeed “they/them”. In a moment of anger, I updated them on my website, as this essay too, written in anger, appears on my website, marking a coming out of several stages. I also made myself smaller. I withdrew from people who knew me, afraid that they would judge me. Being in public became that much harder when, as an experiment in finding freedom, I began to grow a beard. It was matched by the euphoria of being seen as someone different – neither woman nor man – someone who could pass seamlessly through security queues meant for men and for women.

The proposed amendments disparagingly state that the Act is not meant for the protection of people who identify their own gender. The bill says that it “shall not include, nor shall ever have been so included, persons with different sexual orientations and self-perceived sexual identities”.

Disturbingly, it aims to criminalise people who support and affirm trans people, threatening them with imprisonment and fines. I have the privilege of caste and class to return to my small life in the closet. There are so many people for whom this is not the case. But silence has corroded me. Speaking up is not a choice. It is necessary if I am to survive.

I am a journalist. I am non-binary. I am transgender. The years of suppression have led me to a deep alienation from my body. I do not know if any intervention, medical or otherwise, will surmount this. It has taken me decades to get to this acceptance. I had hoped that I might yet have more time.

The Transgender Persons Amendment Act introduced in the Lok Sabha today is absolutely unconstitutional. GoI is excluding from protection persons with self-identified gender and entrenching the authority of "medical experts" in direct violation of NALSA. This Bill must not pass. pic.twitter.com/AYOYy1crNk

— muski 🌈 (@muskanmt13) March 13, 2026

Now, the government might insert itself as an intermediary for any step that I might want to take, adding itself to the double takes and rejection that I already experience in plenty in the world around me. I have been dismissed by relatives and former friends. Colleagues in the profession scoff at and dismiss gender identities that are not binary. I see the changes in how people I speak to for work respond to me, their suspicion and distrust, where, as someone who once presented as a cis woman, I had once found openness. I know that I have to learn how to report again, while being true to myself.

These concerns pale in front of the reality that even basic self-identification might no longer be recognised if this bill is passed. The scope of prosecution for violence against the community will be shrunk. Layers upon layers of bureaucracy will be added to very personal journeys of medical and legal transition. The violent anti-trans rhetoric of the United Kingdom and the United States will be replicated in India.

My heart breaks for the people further along in their journeys who face the crumbling of their painstakingly built lives. My heart breaks for those who are considering joining in but must now weigh the innate drive to live authentically against the fear of the state.

But trans people are nothing if not stubborn and resilient. How much courage does it take to take on a world that tells you that you are wrong, that your entire conception of your self is immoral and not even worthy of being thought of? In or out of the closet, trans people are more vulnerable to self-harm and suicide, and yet, so many of us fight to survive, wherever we are. We have survived before and we will survive now.

No more lies, no more hiding. I am here and I will not go back. I stand in solidarity and in protest with my transgender, non-binary, and intersex siblings. I demand that this short-sighted, and dehumanising bill be withdrawn in its entirety.

Mridula Chari is an award-winning, independent, non-binary reporter based in Mumbai. This article was first published on their website.

Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk on Tuesday called for a “win-win” dialogue with the Centre after his detention under the National Security Act was revoked.

He said that the Centre has extended its hand to build trust for meaningful dialogue with the residents of the Union Territory.

Addressing a press conference after his release from jail, Wangchuk referred to his release as the first “win”. He added: “The government extending hands to build trust and facilitate meaningful dialogue is a great thing. That way Ladakh and our cause will also win.”

Wangchuk said that a “third win” is that the Union government will “come out looking better, and our image in the world will be a little better”.

These were the activist’s first public remarks after he was released from detention on March 4 after five-and-a-half months.

Wangchuk had been detained on September 26, two days after protesters demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution clashed with security personnel, injuring several of them. Four persons were killed in police firing.

The Sixth Schedule guarantees certain protections for land and a nominal autonomy for citizens in designated tribal areas.

The revocation of Wangchuk’s detention came in the backdrop of the Supreme Court hearing a petition filed by his wife, Gitanjali Angmo, challenging the government’s action.

On Tuesday, Wangchuk said that he hoped the court will record and publish a judgement in the matter, so that his case can be used as a precedent in other cases under the National Security Act.

On participating in future protests, he said: “I have always maintained that I did not want to go on hunger strikes. I did it out of compulsion.”

“Now the government has offered constructive dialogue,” Wangchuk said, adding that he is hoping for “meaningful and effective talks with the government that will lead to something good”.

The activist said that the demand for Ladakh to have safeguards under the Sixth Schedule will remain. He said that he will remain flexible during the talks, but not at the cost of it being a “lose-lose” for Ladakhis.

Angmo, who was also present at the press conference, added that the negotiations ahead must be done in such a way that “everyone feels that they have a bigger piece of the cake”.

Speaking about his next step, Wangchuk said that he would travel to Ladakh and consult with leaders of the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, civil society coalitions that have been leading the movement seeking constitutional safeguards for Ladakh, PTI reported.

The National Investigation Agency has arrested seven foreign citizens on charges of conspiring to carry out terrorist activities against India, ThePrint reported on Monday.

While six of them are Ukrainians, one is from the United States, The Indian Express reported. They were arrested last week under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

They were reportedly arrested in Delhi, Kolkata and Lucknow while trying to leave India.

The persons accused in the matter had entered India on valid visas, but had travelled to Mizoram without the mandatory restricted area permit, The Indian Express quoted an unidentified official as saying. They allegedly crossed into Myanmar and “reportedly met ethnic groups hostile to India”.

In Mizoram, the persons had received deliveries of drones from Europe, ThePrint quoted unidentified officials as having alleged.

The accused persons were produced before a magistrate on Saturday, who remanded them to three days’ custody. The custody period was on Monday extended by 11 days till March 27, according to The Indian Express.

Ukraine has lodged an official protest with India against the arrests of its citizens, and has demanded that they be released immediately, the newspaper reported.

The Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine described the allegations as unfounded and said: “…As of now, there are no established facts proving the involvement of the said Ukrainian citizens in unlawful activities on the territory of India or Myanmar.”

Grasslands around the world are quietly changing under pressure from overgrazing, cropland expansion, climate change and biological invasions. In India’s Thar Desert, these pressures are reshaping which species survive and how they share space.

A new ecological study finds that two invasive forces, fast-spreading mesquite trees and free-ranging dogs linked to human settlements, are changing how native mesocarnivores (medium-sized carnivores) move, hunt and coexist in this landscape.

“Wildlife communities of the Thar Desert remain relatively understudied even as the landscape undergoes rapid ecological change,” says Chetan Misher, a wildlife ecologist at the Wildlife Conservation Trust and the study’s corresponding author.

“Mesquite has become the dominant woody plant, altering habitat structure, while free-ranging dogs function as apex or dominant predators in many areas. Together, these invasives are reshaping native communities through habitat modification, changes in predation, competition and interference, with cascading effects across the ecosystem,”

Changing landscape

The Thar spans about 446,000 square kilometres across western India and southern Pakistan, covering over 200,000 sq km across parts of western Rajasthan and the Kachchh region of Gujarat.

To capture ecological variation across this landscape, researchers focused on two contrasting sites for the study: the mesquite-dominated Banni grasslands of Gujarat and the more fragmented, agriculture-influenced grasslands around Bikaner in Rajasthan.

Both regions support similar wildlife, including desert and jungle cats, desert and Indian foxes, golden jackals, along with a wider range of desert-adapted small mammals, birds and reptiles. The researchers conducted field surveys using motion-triggered infrared camera traps to record wildlife presence and activity.

The study also used high-resolution satellite imagery to map land cover, including open vegetation, invasive woodland, agriculture, water bodies and built-up areas. These habitat layers were linked to each camera location across multiple spatial scales. Using occupancy modelling, the study estimated where carnivores were likely to occur while accounting for missed detections and environmental influences. The study also use temporal activity analysis to examine when species were active and how much their daily routines overlapped.

Winners and losers in an invaded desert

The study results showed that Indian foxes avoided areas used by desert foxes or dogs. But they were often found where golden jackals were present, in contrast to a study from Maharashtra where Indian foxes avoid jackals.

Jungle cats also frequently appeared alongside jackals. Desert foxes and dogs were recorded more often in Bikaner, whereas jackals and jungle cats were more common in mesquite-dominated Banni. Indian foxes were not detected in Bikaner, while desert cat detections were similar in both regions.

Desert foxes strongly preferred open native vegetation and avoided mesquite woodland and farmland. They were also frequently found close to human settlements, likely because villages in Bikaner lie near the remaining grassland patches they depend on.

Golden jackals, as habitat generalists that can thrive in diverse environmental conditions, used a wide range of environments and persisted even where the mesquite expanded. Indian foxes, the smallest canid in the study, avoided desert foxes and dogs and disappeared from Bikaner altogether, suggesting possible competitive exclusion where predator and dog pressures are high. The overlap with jackal territory was surprising, with one explanation being size-structured competition.

“In the Thar, the desert fox, being intermediate in size, may experience more direct competition with jackals, while the smaller Indian fox could overlap spatially with jackals to avoid stronger competitive pressure from desert foxes,” says Misher.

The study did not detect the Indian fox in Bikaner. This absence, despite earlier reports of it being present, raises concern. Misher states that this may suggest local decline or displacement, potentially linked to high dog abundance and activity in the region, but cautioned that the evidence is not yet conclusive and requires further investigation.

Among wild cats, jungle cats appeared to benefit from invasive woodland, showing higher occupancy in mesquite-dominated areas, while the elusive desert cat showed weak habitat associations, likely reflecting low detection rates. Overall, spreading mesquite seems to favour adaptable species while placing grassland specialists at risk.

These vegetation changes are likely to ripple through the prey base that sustains desert carnivores. “Invasive species can alter both herbivore and carnivore communities,” says Abi T Vanak, director of the Centre for Policy Design and senior fellow at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), who was also involved in the study.

“For example, mesquite can alter grasslands and convert them into woody-dominated states, and thus favour generalist species. Species (of rodents) such as Rattus are more commonly found in mesquite thickets compared to open grassland specialists such as Millardia. Habitat structure driven by invasive species, and the associated differences in predation risk, microclimate and food availability, can alter the community of herbivores and carnivores at a site.”

Dogs reshape behaviour

If mesquite alters habitat, dogs alter behaviour. Supported by human food and shelter, free-ranging dogs are dominant predators. Native carnivores respond by avoiding them spatially or by shifting activity patterns.

Desert foxes, for example, remained largely nocturnal, but in dog-dominated areas, the study found, their activity shifted further away from peak dog movement, reducing the likelihood of encounters. Yet the relationship is not purely one of avoidance. Occupancy models revealed an unexpected positive spatial association but a strong temporal avoidance between desert fox presence and dog occurrence. Simply put, they tend to use the same areas, but at different times of day.

The findings point to a clear conservation message: landscape structure determines survival. Managing the spread of mesquite in key grassland refuges, alongside targeted control of free-ranging dogs in ecologically sensitive areas, will be critical to reducing predation pressure, disease risk and habitat loss for specialist predators. Maintaining mosaics of open grassland with low woody cover may allow both specialists and generalists to coexist.

This article was first published on Mongabay.

Israel claimed that it killed Iranian security chief Ali Larijani in an airstrike. Tel Aviv also claimed that the commander of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force was killed in a separate strike.

Iran has not yet commented on the claim.

The Israeli defence ministry’s statement came more than two weeks after the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28. Tehran has retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region, and targeting major cities in Gulf countries and some ships.

Meanwhile, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it was speaking with Iran and other countries to safely bring back Indian ships from the Strait of Hormuz. Read on.

Janata Dal (United) leader and former Rajya Sabha MP KC Tyagi announced that he was quitting the party. This came a day after JD(U) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was elected to the Rajya Sabha from the state.

Kumar is expected to step down after his election to the Upper House.

Tyagi said that his membership with the JD(U) had ended and that he would not be renewing it. “Our relation with Nitish ji is forever,” he said. “It is just that I am searching for new political ground in Uttar Pradesh under the banner of another political party.”

The former MP had been serving as a political adviser in the JD(U) after he was removed as its national spokesperson in September 2024. The JD(U) has previously distanced itself from several statements made by Tyagi, including his recent demand for a Bharat Ratna for Kumar. Read on.

Fourteen Muslims were arrested in Varanasi for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus after they organised an iftar party on a boat in the river Ganga and ate chicken biryani.

The complainant, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader named Rajat Jaiswal, alleged that they threw meat leftovers in the river, which holds religious significance for Hindus.

The men were arrested after a video showing them holding the party on the boat on Monday was widely shared on social media. They were booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to defiling a place of worship, deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings and promoting enmity between groups. Read on.

The Lok Sabha revoked the suspension of eight Opposition MPs through a voice vote. They had been suspended in February for the remainder of the Budget Session after they allegedly tore up papers and threw them at the speaker’s chair.

The MPs are Congress’ Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, Prashant Padole and Dean Kuriakose, and S Venkatesan from the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

They had been suspended against the backdrop of multiple adjournments in the House amid protests by the Opposition after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was prevented from quoting an excerpt of an unpublished memoir of former Indian Army chief MM Naravane. Read on.

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