For years, August 15 in Bangladesh commemorated one event above all others: the assassination of the country’s founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and most of his family in 1975. It was observed as a day of state mourning.

It rarely evoked the day British rule over the subcontinent ended in 1947 and Bengal was bifurcated. That older date was treated as an event belonging only to India and Pakistan (which attained independence one day earlier).

Bangladesh, after all, was a nation born only in 1971, the “east wing” of Pakistan that achieved its independence after a bloody Liberation War.

But now, two years after the July uprising that brought down Sheikh Hasina’s government and turned her father Sheikh Mujib into a taboo subject, that quiet estrangement from 1947 shows signs of ending.

However, the reasons for this deserve as much scrutiny as the shift itself.

An awkward question

Bangladesh’s reluctance to dwell on Partition was never simply a matter of forgetting. It reflected a deeper discomfort about where 1947 belonged in a national story built overwhelmingly around 1971.

To examine the creation of Pakistan honestly is to ask whether the Two-Nation Theory – the idea that the subcontinent’s Hindus and Muslims constituted separate nations – was sound in the first place.

That question sits awkwardly in a country whose independence was ultimately fought in the name of Bengali nationalism rather than religious nationalism.

Under successive governments led by the Awami League, which had been founded by Mujib, that discomfort hardened into a state-enforced version of a “correct history”: a sanctioned narrative anchored to 1971 that left little institutional room for 1947 or for the people displaced by it.

The July uprising loosened that narrative discipline. But what has rushed into the space it left behind is not primarily a reckoning with the human cost of Partition. Instead, 1947 is increasingly being revived as a way of reasserting Bengali Muslim political identity and creating distance from India.

Since Hasina’s fall, Dhaka has presided over a rapid thaw in the relationship with Islamabad, a trajectory that Tarique Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party government has continued ever since it won power in the February election.

During the period under an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, direct flights between Dhaka and Karachi resumed after a 14-year gap. Foreign Office talks restarted for the first time since 2010 and Pakistan’s foreign minister made his country’s first high-level visit to Dhaka in more than a decade.

Commentary in sections of the Pakistani press has gone further, framing Hasina’s fall as a belated vindication of those who, in 1971, stood by the old Two-Nation logic.

Whatever one makes of such claims, they help explain why 1947 has become politically usable again in Bangladesh: not as a tragedy to be confronted, but as a precedent – evidence that distance from India carries its own legitimacy.

However, what this revival consistently leaves out is what actually happened to people in 1947 and in the decades that followed.

Punjab violence

Partition in Bengal was never the single, compressed catastrophe that Punjab experienced, with trains carrying corpses crossing the new border within months.

Historian Joya Chatterji described Bengal’s experience as a “long partition”: a process of displacement that began with the Great Calcutta Killing of August 1946, when three days of rioting left, by some estimates, between 4,000 and 10,000 people dead; continued through the violence in Noakhali that year; and then returned in fresh waves in 1950, 1964 and 1971.

Over this drawn-out period, an estimated four million to six million people crossed from East Bengal into India, while roughly 1.5 million moved in the opposite direction.

Because Bengal’s Partition in 1947 was not a single dramatic rupture, it never acquired the same cultural canon as Punjab’s did through writers such as Saadat Hasan Manto, Khushwant Singh and Bhisham Sahni.

This is not to say that Bengal did not produce its own literature of loss: Ritwik Ghatak’s films about displaced Bengalis and Jyotirmoyee Devi’s fiction on the particular suffering of refugee women are among the most powerful examples.

Bangladesh also produced an important body of writing on the upheavals surrounding Partition, including Hasan Azizul Huq’s Agunpakhi, Akhtaruzzaman Elias’s Khwabnama, Abu Zafar Shamsuddin’s Padma Meghna Jamuna and Selina Hossain’s Gayatri Sandhya.

Yet much of this work remained confined to Bengali readers on both sides of the border rather than becoming part of the subcontinent’s shared vocabulary of Partition.

That imbalance remains visible even in popular culture this year.

The Bollywood film Main Vaapas Aaunga has helped bring Partition back into India’s popular conversation in June, while Batwara 1947, released this week, has returned to the subject again.

But both films centre on the Partition of Punjab rather than Bengal. Even as 1947 re-enters the cultural mainstream around the subcontinent and becomes part of popular conversation in Bangladesh too, the Bengali experience of Partition remains largely a peripheral story.

Even in West Bengal, refugees who rebuilt their lives in camps and squatter colonies became, for generations, more valuable to political parties as a loyal constituency than as citizens whose particular losses deserved to be named and mourned on their own terms.

Political raw material

Bangladesh’s renewed interest in 1947 risks repeating that pattern in reverse.

Partition could once again become political raw material – this time for arguments about foreign policy, religious identity and the country’s relationship with India – rather than a history of human beings whose descendants are still living with its consequences.

There is an uncomfortable present-day echo worth considering.

Since August 2024, rights groups in Bangladesh have documented hundreds of incidents of violence against Hindus and other minorities, including dozens of deaths and widespread damage to temples. Much of this has been explained by officials as having political, personal and other reasons rather than being communal violence.

None of this is equivalent to 1947, and collapsing the two moments into one would do a disservice to both. But it is a reminder that no country can claim to be reconsidering Partition in good faith while remaining indifferent to the safety of the very community that Partition displaced in the first place.

If 1947 is finally to enter Bangladesh’s historical imagination, it should enter in the way it has always deserved to: as a history of ordinary people, ordinary homes and ordinary losses – not merely as a convenient argument about which South Asian country to trust.

Jannatul Naym Pieal is a Dhaka-based writer, researcher and journalist. His email address is jn.pieal@gmail.com.

The Census 2027 will ask respondents if they belong to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, and will also include an open-ended question for other communities about the caste that they belong to.

This will be the first time in independent India that caste will be enumerated across communities. Until now, Census exercises only recorded the population of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Among the 40 questions notified on Friday are also those seeking information on the place where respondents received their Covid-19 vaccination, the total number of bank accounts they hold and digital literacy. The form also seeks information on Aadhaar numbers, mobile numbers, passport numbers and voter IDs.

The population enumeration phase of the census will take place from September 1 to September 30 in Ladakh and snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, according to a gazette notification issued earlier this month. The online self-enumeration window for the second phase will be open from August 17 to August 31.

It will be conducted in other parts of the country in February 2027.

Scroll had reported on July 20 that during a trial for the second phase of the census, the government tested an open column to collect caste details from respondents other than those belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Instead of a fixed list or boxes to tick, the form had a blank space for respondents to write down their caste.

The pre-test for the second phase of Census 2027 was conducted from July 1 to July 20 in 16 states and Union Territories.

The last decennial census exercise was held in 2011. In 2020, India was set to begin the first phase of the exercise – in which housing data is collected – but it had to be delayed as the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

India had last conducted an exercise to count the population of all caste groups in 1931.

The Opposition had been demanding a nationwide caste census. The proponents of such an exercise argue that it will help identify the true population of the country’s Other Backward Classes and other castes, in turn paving the way for policies such as expanded quotas in jobs and education.

Written by Anamika Pathak. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava and Neerad Pandharipande.

An Independence Day event at Delhi’s Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, where Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Zoya Hasan was invited as the chief guest, was cancelled on Friday after members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad allegedly gathered outside the school to protest, The Print reported.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad is part of a group of Hindutva organisations led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Hasan was scheduled to speak on “Pluralism” at the event, which was to begin at 10 am. The event was not publicly announced, but the invitation was shared with parents.

Hasan, professor emerita at Jawaharlal Nehru University, confirmed to The Print that the event had been cancelled. The news outlet quoted sources as saying that the cancellation was due to “security concerns” for the professor and the school.

The school is yet to comment on the matter.

On Friday, the Delhi Police also deployed several personnel at the school after receiving a call about the law and order situation there, The Print reported.

“We were informed that, considering the threat to Professor Hasan’s well-being and safety, the school was cancelling the event,” the news outlet quoted an unidentified police officer as saying. “It was not cancelled at the behest of the Delhi Police. We only sent personnel to ensure that there was no law-and-order escalation.”

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

The National Human Rights Commission on Friday said that it had issued notice to the Union government following reports that 19 Central Reserve Police Force personnel died allegedly by suicide between January and May 22, PTI reported.

The rights panel said that the reported figures raise concern about the well-being and safety of the paramilitary force personnel.

Taking suo moto cognisance of an August 11 news report, the panel noted that 59 personnel reportedly died by suicide in 2025, the highest number recorded by the force in the last five years.

The commission has issued notices to the Union Home Secretary and the force’s director general, seeking a detailed report within two weeks.

According to the media report, 281 Central Reserve Police Force personnel died by suicide in the last five years, of whom 216 were on duty. The force recorded 57 suicides in 2021, 43 in 2022, 57 in 2023 and 46 in 2024, the rights panel noted.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

As August 1947 drew near, MK Vellodi was faced with a peculiar problem. The seasoned civil servant from Madras had taken over as the acting High Commissioner of British India to the UK only a few months before, in April. He had been tasked with overseeing the Independence Day celebrations at the historic India House, British India’s diplomatic mission in London, on August 15.

But, as he explained in a telegram to the Ministry of External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations in New Delhi on July 22, he had still not received proper instructions from the government of India about the event. He needed them sent well in time so that he could make the necessary arrangements.

Vellodi also complained that the mission had no national flag to hoist, so he would need details of the colours and dimensions of the tricolour.

The lack of such details isn’t surprising. Lord Mountbatten, the British viceroy, had announced only on June 3 that the colonial power would leave India on August 15, instead of the earlier scheduled date of June 30, 1948. He also declared that British India would be divided into India and Pakistan.

In July, he appointed a Partition Council to decide upon the division of financial assets, communication services, armed and civilian personnel, and institutions between the two dominions. In his personal reports to London during this time, Mountbatten expressed satisfaction in the progress that the Council was making in New Delhi and Karachi.

But there were many loose ends. For instance, Vellodi was concerned about the future of India House – which, until August 15, was to serve as the foreign mission for all of British India, which meant both India and Pakistan. He wanted to confirm whether the building would remain the High Commission of India on August 15 and the Pakistani authorities would be accommodated elsewhere.

“Clear orders and press publicity should be given to this decision so that no embarrassment and disorder is caused here on August 15th by Pakistan supporters insisting on hoisting the Pakistani flag on India House,” he wrote. “Pakistan demonstration at India House would be most unfortunate and should obviously be avoided.”

Vellodi concluded on a pacificatory note, suggesting that both the Indian and the Pakistani flags should be hoisted together on August 15.

New Delhi’s response to these concerns was rather unhelpful. Vellodi was told that the matter of the future of the India House had still not been decided by the Partition Council, the administrative body headed by Britain’s viceroy Louis Mountbatten to coordinate the division of the subcontinent.

As it turns out, both India and Pakistan had staked their claim to consular buildings. The Partition Secretariat gave an indication that the matter could only be settled through arbitration.

The matter of the flag was soon settled. On July 22, the day Vellodi sent his telegram, the Constituent Assembly, which had been assembled to draft India’s Constitution, approved the tricolour with a charkha as the national flag of India. But Vellodi was still worried. He told New Delhi on July 30 that invitations could not be sent to guests without resolving the debate about the ownership of India House.

Besides, the Constituent Assembly had not fixed on a national anthem. So Vellodi asked if a patriotic song such as Jhanda Uncha Rahe Humara could be played while hoisting the flag.

New Delhi responded only on August 6, saying that in India, the flag would be hoisted without accompanying music. But it gave Vellodi the liberty of choosing any popular song to perform alongside the ceremony, provided it was not confused as the national song.

The same day, Girija Shankar Bajpai, the secretary general of the Ministry of External Affairs, also responded to Vellodi, confirming that since the Indian High Commissioner was already occupying the India House, the building would be retained as the mission of the Indian dominion after August 15. Hence, only the Indian flag along with the Union Jack could be flown from there.

Notwithstanding these assurances from New Delhi, Vellodi was not satisfied. Local representatives of the Muslim League had already approached him to demand the right to hoist the Pakistani flag at the India House on August 14, just as it was scheduled to be in Pakistan. Already irritated with the persistent lobbyists for the Indian princely states in London demanding independence for their own territories, the High Commissioner was losing his patience. To his relief, the Muslim League representatives did not mind the Indian flag being hoisted alongside the Pakistani one on August 15.

But Bajpai did not budge. He replied unambiguously on August 8, “Although legal transfer of power to India and Pakistan will take place at midnight of 14th August, factual partition between India and Pakistan has already taken place. Inability of the Partition Council to determine division of assets, including property like India House, does not affect occupation of India House which is and will continue to be representative of India.”

Flying the Pakistani flag alongside the Indian flag and the Union Jack, Bajpai maintained, would “detract from the impressiveness of the ceremony”. As a compromise, he suggested that the Pakistani flag could fly with the Indian flag on India House on August 16 or any other day deemed suitable by the Pakistani authorities. The Indian mission could loan them the building’s reception rooms for that purpose.

But the Pakistani authorities were already gearing up for their celebrations at India House on August 15. They had appointed a noted Muslim League politician, HI Rahimtoola, as the first High Commissioner of Pakistan to the UK, and were negotiating to acquire Clarence House as their future High Commission.

That was not to be. On August 15, the Indian flag was hoisted at India House, while the Pakistan flag was raised at the nearby Lancaster House, which was loaned to them by the UK government for a day. The records do not reveal what actually transpired in the week between August 8 and August 15 to untangle the complicated knot.

However, it could be speculated that since Rahimtoola was reported to be an old friend of Vellodi, amicable personal relations might have saved both the countries from an international embarrassment.

The Indian Independence Day celebrations at the India House on the morning of August 15, 1947, were joyous. Dignitaries filled the ceremonial hall, as a huge portrait of Mahatma Gandhi looked over them. They included the High Commissioner of Pakistan, and the Ambassadors for China, Brazil, and Turkey, along with the dean of the diplomatic corps of the UK and representatives of the British government.

Following an address by Vellodi, messages from the British king, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and officials of the British government were read out. Due to the restricted entry, many Indians had to satisfy themselves by standing outside.

Held immediately after, the Pakistani celebrations were not as elaborately organised, possibly because they had a very short time to make the arrangements. But Rahimtoola was in a jubilant mood, as were the guests.

The celebrations by each country underscored the importance of friendship over political tussles. Rahimtoola attended India’s celebrations while Vellodi attended Pakistan’s. The show of unity between freshly-minted diasporic Indians and Pakistanis in the capital of the imperium was possibly due to their distance from the heated communal atmosphere in the subcontinent.

But the weeks leading up to August 15, 1947, in London highlight the strength of dialogue and negotiation, even through times of conflict and confusion.

Ananyo Chakraborty is a doctoral scholar of History at the Australian National University, working on an Environmental History of the Partition of India.

Chief Justice Surya Kant on Friday criticised the Bar Council of India for directing state bar councils not to enrol students from the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research graduating in 2026 as advocates, calling the now-revoked action “absolutely uncalled for”, Bar and Bench reported.

Kant said: “It’s a dialogue between students and me. Who are they to raise an issue?”

On Thursday, the council had directed state councils to defer the enrolment of the graduating batch of NALSAR students as advocates, objecting to the campaign of some students against the institute inviting Kant to their convocation.

It withdrew the decision a few hours later, but said it had sought an inquiry report from the university identifying those who were “principally instrumental” in opposing Kant’s participation in the convocation.

Later in the night, the council closed all proceedings against the students, saying it was satisfied that the 2026 batch had no role in any “disturbance or movement”.

The matter was mentioned on Friday before a bench comprising Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana after Advocate K Parameshwar challenged the council’s action.

Kant said that he had been actively involved in student activities in his student days, adding that “even if they are wrong, they have a right to protest”.

The court recorded that the circular had been withdrawn and directed that no punitive action be taken against students or faculty of NALSAR or any other national law university.

It also issued notice to the Bar Council, directing it to file a response within two weeks.

Kant also said the students should enrol as advocates and join the Supreme Court Bar, adding that they could be empanelled for legal aid cases. “This will be the befitting answer to all those who caused impediment in their professional career,” he said.

NALSAR has extended an invitation to the CJI for the upcoming convocation despite students urging the university to reconsider the decision, citing Kant’s response to a petition alleging that police had used excessive force against protesters in Delhi on July 20.

Kant had reportedly told the lawyer not to “waste our time” and said the bench was not interested in watching video evidence of the alleged police action.

In a communication addressed to state bar councils and NALSAR Vice-Chancellor Srikrishna Deva Rao, Bar Council Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra had asked the university to submit a factual report within three days about the persons involved in mobilising the “organised campaign” against the CJI’s participation.

Political campaign Cockroach Janta Party had described the directive as “grossly disproportionate” and warned of protests by law students and advocates if it was not taken back.

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, had warned of a protest outside the Bar Council’s office and Mishra’s official residence by law students, advocates, senior lawyers, and “well-meaning young cockroaches”, if the order was not withdrawn.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

Also read: What the Bar Council’s bid to curb NALSAR students says about university autonomy

Two Naga persons were killed in firing by suspected militants in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district on Friday, Ukhrul Times reported.

A group of men armed with “sophisticated weapons” attacked Langka Naga village at around 8 am, an unidentified police officer told PTI.

The officer said that a man identified as W Chawang died at the scene after suffering gunshot wounds to the head, while three others were injured.

The second person who died has been identified as Kawidinang Abonmai, India Today NE reported.

Residents said that an armed group from the Naga village also opened fire at the suspected attackers following the incident, PTI reported.

The Liangmai Naga Council-Manipur condemned the attack and alleged that militants from the Kuki National Front (P) were behind it.

The council announced an immediate total shutdown of Liangmai Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur until further notice.

It said shops, officers institutions and non-essential activities would remain closed, while medical, fire and other emergency services would be exempted.

It also appealed to residents to remain calm and urged the authorities to ensure public safety and bring those responsible to justice.

The developments came amid tensions between Kukis and Nagas in Ukhrul that had erupted on February 7 after an alleged assault involving members of the Tangkhul Naga and the Kuki-Zo communities escalated into clashes. At least 25 persons from the two communities have been killed since tensions erupted.

Ethnic clashes had first broken out in Manipur in May 2023 between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities. At least 260 persons have been killed and more than 59,000 persons displaced since then in the conflict.

Biren Singh had stepped down as the chief minister in February 2025 amid allegations from Kuki-Zomi-Hmar groups that his response to the violence had been partisan and that he had stoked majoritarianism.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

Also read:

• Naga-Kuki strife began with a drunken brawl. But five months later, Manipur fault lines run deeper
• How ambush of church leaders on a forested road escalated Naga-Kuki conflict across Manipur hills

Two Naga persons were killed in firing by suspected militants in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district. A group of men armed with “sophisticated weapons” attacked Langka Naga village at around 8 am, an unidentified police officer said.

Residents said an armed group from the Naga village opened fire at the suspected attackers after the incident.

The Liangmai Naga Council-Manipur alleged that militants from the Kuki National Front (P) were behind the attack and announced an immediate shutdown across areas inhabited by Liangmai Nagas. Read on.

The Supreme Court quashed criminal proceedings against comedian Samay Raina and four others in connection with purportedly insensitive remarks about persons with disabilities on the comedy show India’s Got Latent. The court praised their efforts to conduct awareness programmes and raise funds for persons with disabilities.

“Once there are genuine efforts, positive results are bound to be there,” the bench said. “They are very bright youngsters. If they have started working in a positive direction, there will be positive output.”

The other respondents are comedians Vipul Goyal, Sonali Thakkar and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar, along with Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, owner of the comedy venue The Habitat. Read on.

The Census 2027 will ask respondents if they belong to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, and will also include an open-ended question for other communities about the caste that they belong to. This will be the first time in independent India that caste will be enumerated across communities. Until now, Census exercises only recorded the population of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

This will be the first time in independent India that caste will be enumerated across communities. Until now, Census exercises only recorded the population of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

India had last conducted an exercise to count the population of all caste groups in 1931. The last decennial census exercise was held in 2011. Read on.

The Supreme Court quashed a criminal complaint against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for remarks he allegedly made about Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar in November 2022. The bench noted that in the Uttar Pradesh government’s affidavit, there was “no disclosure of sanction [for prosecution] having been granted”.

The complaint was filed by lawyer Nripendra Pandey, who alleged that the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha had said during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in November 2022 that Savarkar was a British servant who received a pension from the colonial authorities.

In April 2025, the Supreme Court stayed the criminal defamation proceedings against the Congress leader. However, it criticised him for saying that Savarkar had collaborated with the British. Read on.

Several locations in Delhi, including the High Court and Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport, received bomb threats on the eve of Independence Day. However, officials said that no suspicious objects were found at the sites.

The Delhi High Court received a threatening email with the subject line “Bomb Blast Delhi High Court @ 2:11PM”. The email warned of a blast at the High Court premises at 2.11 pm on Saturday, followed by explosions at district courts in the national capital at 3.11 pm.

Threats were also received at Jamnagar House, the Jhandewalan Flatted Factory Complex, the district magistrate’s office in Saket and the sub-divisional magistrate’s office in Delhi Cantonment, the fire department said. Read on.

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Such a lovely piece, beautifully explaining the shared legacy and current challenges (“A letter from Lahore for Abhijeet Dipke: We watch with wonder and longing”). The Cockroach Janata Party here in India and Gen Z across South Asia have given me hope that we can come together, despite our bitter history, for a brighter future. I wish our boundaries would not stop us from learning and sharing with love, and in legal ways. – Manish

***

I was overwhelmed by the letter written by Ehtesham Hassan. My heart fills with joy and hope when I see these young people dream of a larger space for themselves, defeating the border lines that pierced our hearts and had sown the seeds of hatred. I wish these lines too were imaginary. My good wishes to the young people. – Anshumitra Kayal

***

I was active during my student days, particularly during the Emergency when our government deprived us of our human rights. India’s Gen Z has rallied and made sure they were heard by the ruling party of the country about certain shortcomings. Several opportunists and anti-social elements have infiltrated and tried to exploit the movement. I agree with your write-up. You said what many were longing to say. May your tribe increase for the betterment of the future generations of your country. – Ramesh Shetty

***

This is a heart-warming letter written from across the border. Imagine if there were no borders and only a unified greater India with united souls, no communal unrest and a utopian world. – Kalpana Dube

CJP coverage

In fact, one needs to be a nationalist only in times of a just war (“Ramachandra Guha: Sangh calls them ‘deshdrohis’ but ‘cockroach’ protestors are true nationalists”). At all other times, being a critic of the government is patriotism. – Subbarao Prabhala

***

Well said and so true (“Delhi unrest: Police conduct can never be equated with that of a protesting crowd”). But the sad part is that most of our ruling politicians may not even understand the scope and depth of this writing. It is an unfortunate situation for our country. It is thanks to social media that the world at large is able to see what kind of governance we have – a mockery of “democracy”. – Shalan Dere

Will donate to Scroll once I get a job

I have been reading articles on Scroll’s app for a month now. I thought of taking up a membership but I cannot afford it so I am here to apologise. Once I get a job, I’ll donate a lot more to Scroll for your excellent journalism. – Roshan Mandvi

Scroll’s ‘hatred propaganda’

For seven decades, accountability was largely ignored (“‘Now Modi should go’: Jantar Mantar erupted in celebration after Pradhan’s resignation”). Scroll is perpetuating a biased system that marginalises non-Muslim and non-Christian perspectives.

The fundamental driver of this breakdown is a societal obsession with securing individual and familial success, detached from merit or ethics. Ultimately, the blame lies less with the government and more with individual choices, rapid population growth, and unchecked illegal immigration. – Prakash Singh

***

I think Scroll follows the ideology of hatred propaganda in Bharat (“‘People’s sympathy is now with the youth’: BJP workers worry about crackdown on protests”). We saw videos of journalists and women police personnel being attacked. People stand with Modi and the BJP to keep away that agenda of divide and rule. – Uday Shetty

***

This entire article was written without providing a shred of evidence of liberal scepticism (“Cockroach Janta Party protest: How liberal scepticism induces paralysis in oppositional politics”) . Putting random words in quotes does not become proof that these words were actually said. – Subhasis Ghosh

Digital India causing suffering

We are now citizens of “digital India” and it is supposed to be making our lives easier and it has (“In MP village, Adivasi farmers’ land goes missing from digital records”). But the land owner Adivasis of Khargone have all their land papers but they are not the owners of the land, according to the government records.

This is a challenge that is causing immense suffering. While private websites open easily, government websites are difficult to reach. Even people working in government sectors are not digitally well versed. If gaps like this are not filled or acknowledged such farmers are bound to suffer without any reason. No one will think about them in “digital India”. – Chitra Srivastava

The Supreme Court on Friday quashed a criminal complaint against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for remarks he allegedly made about Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar in November 2022, reported Bar and Bench.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu noted that in the Uttar Pradesh government’s affidavit, there was “no disclosure of sanction [for prosecution] having been granted”.

The complaint was filed by lawyer Nripendra Pandey, who alleged that the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha had said during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in November 2022 that Savarkar was a British servant who received a pension from colonial authorities.

In June 2023, an additional chief judicial magistrate dismissed Pandey’s complaint, which led to him challenging the order before the sessions court. The sessions court allowed the plea and remanded it back to the Lucknow magistrate court.

The sessions court summoned Rahul Gandhi in December 2024. The Congress leader had challenged the order before the High Court, which refused to set aside the summons on April 4, 2025.

Gandhi had filed an appeal before the Supreme Court against this.

On Wednesday, the court held that without the prosecution sanction from the Uttar Pradesh government, “the complaint and orders passed by the magistrate stand quashed”, reported Live Law.

In April 2025, the Supreme Court stayed the criminal defamation proceedings against the Congress leader. However, it criticised him for saying that Savarkar had collaborated with the British.

The bench had said that Gandhi’s comments about Savarkar were irresponsible. The court verbally warned the Lok Sabha MP that it would initiate suo motu action if he made similar statements again.

Gandhi is also facing a defamation case in Maharashtra for his remarks about Savarkar during an event in London in March 2023. The case is based on a complaint by the Hindutva ideologue’s grand-nephew Satyaki Savarkar.

Satyaki Savarkar has alleged that Gandhi had made the remarks “fully knowing the said allegations to be untrue, with the specific objective of harming the reputation and to defame the surname Savarkar”.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

The Supreme Court on Friday quashed criminal proceedings against comedian Samay Raina and four others in connection with allegedly insensitive remarks about persons with disabilities on the comedy show India’s Got Latent, Live Law reported.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana passed the order after noting that Raina and the other respondents had complied with directions to conduct awareness programmes and raise funds for persons with disabilities.

The other respondents are comedians Vipul Goyal, Sonali Thakkar and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar, along with Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, owner of the comedy venue The Habitat.

The court praised their efforts to organise programmes for persons with disabilities.

“Once there are genuine efforts, positive results are bound to be there,” the Hindustan Times quoted the bench as saying. “They are very bright youngsters. If they have started working in a positive direction, there will be positive output.”

The respondents had organised a chess tournament for persons with disabilities from March 14 to 16, Live Law reported.

They had also proposed four additional fundraising shows. The court noted that logistical difficulties prevented specific arrangements to invite persons with disabilities to those events, but the respondents expressed their willingness to involve people with spinal muscular atrophy and provide financial support.

The court also noted that constructive discussions had taken place between the respondents and Cure Foundation, the petitioner organisation.

The NGO had initially brought the matter to light through an intervention application filed in another case related to sexually explicit remarks made by YouTuber and podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia during an episode of the show India’s Got Latent in February 2025. The show was hosted by Raina.

In August 2025, the Supreme Court had directed Raina and the other comedians to make an unconditional apology and undertake measures to make amends. The court later imposed a cost of Rs 3 lakh on the respondents for failing to comply with their earlier undertakings.

The petition concerning Raina and the four other respondents has now been closed.

However, a separate petition by Allahabadia seeking relief in the matter remains pending before the Supreme Court, the Hindustan Times reported.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

Clashes erupted between protesters and police personnel in Haryana’s Ambala on Thursday, leaving six officers and several demonstrators injured, The Indian Express reported.

The Sikh protesters were demanding action against Gursimran Singh Mand, national president of the International Anti-Khalistani Terrorist Front, alleging that he attempted to run over several persons with his car on August 7, the newspaper reported.

The police were trying to restore traffic on the Delhi-Amritsar National Highway, which was blocked by the protesters, The Indian Express quoted a statement by the Haryana Police as saying. A Deputy Superintendent of Police-rank officer was also injured, the statement added.

The police resorted to lathi-charge and tear gas after the protest “turned violent and led to stone pelting” on the highway, The Hindu quoted Haryana Director General of Police Ajay Singhal as saying. He, however, said that the police have accepted the protesters’ demand.

Ambala Superintendent of Police Ajit Singh Shekhawat said that a first information report will be registered against persons accused of attacking the policemen after identifying them, The Indian Express reported.

On August 7, Mand was allegedly assaulted by a mob following a confrontation with a group of youths after he attempted to drive his car through a route crowded with devotees heading towards Gurdwara Panjokhra Sahib.

Mand was said to have suffered minor injuries in the incident, while two security personnel protecting him were also injured. Mand is under central paramilitary protection.

The police subsequently arrested two persons in connection with the alleged attack. While the police said that an FIR was registered against Mand under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the protesters have demanded the release of the persons accused of attacking him.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Madras High Court ruling striking down a Tamil Nadu government order granting government jobs on compassionate grounds to the family members of the persons who died in the Karur stampede, Live Law reported.

The stampede took place on September 27 at Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief Vijay’s rally in Karur district when he was addressing supporters from his campaign vehicle. Forty-one persons had died in the stampede.

Vijay went on to become the chief minister of Tamil Nadu on May 10 after his party became the single-largest party in the Assembly elections.

A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran passed the interim order on Friday while issuing notice on a petition filed by the state and others challenging the High Court’s judgement.

The lawyers appearing for the state submitted that the government was within its powers to grant compassionate appointments as a policy decision, the legal news outlet reported.

“A stampede took place. An unfortunate incident happened,” Bar and Bench quoted the court as saying. “The government has decided to compensate them. Should the government not give employment?” it added.

On July 27, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court had held that the appointments of the family members of the victims of the stampede violated constitutional provisions pertaining to the right to equality and the right to equal opportunity in matters of public employment.

The bench observed that many people were waiting for compassionate appointments in government departments.

The court also observed that allowing compassionate appointments in the stampede case could open the floodgates for claims in other cases, such as firework explosions and road accidents. The court said that even if the loss of lives in other incidents is caused due to state inaction, the victims’ families are typically given only ex gratia compensation and not government jobs.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

Multiple locations in Delhi, including the High Court and Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport, received bomb threats on Friday, a day ahead of Independence Day, The Hindu reported.

The Delhi High Court received a threatening email with the subject line “Bomb Blast Delhi High Court @ 2:11PM”. The email warned of a blast at the High Court premises at 2.11 pm on Saturday, followed by explosions at district courts in the national capital at 3.11pm, the newspaper reported.

Threats were also received at Jamnagar House, the Jhandewalan Flatted Factory Complex, the district magistrate’s office in Saket and the sub-divisional magistrate’s office in Delhi Cantonment, ANI quoted the Delhi Fire Services as saying.

Police, bomb disposal teams, fire department personnel, dog squads and other security agencies carried out searches at the sites, The Indian Express reported.

Officials said nothing suspicious had been found so far.

The threats come as security arrangements have been tightened across Delhi ahead of Independence Day on August 15.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

A former student of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences has sought anticipatory bail from the Bombay High Court in a case alleging that he shouted slogans in support of jailed activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam at an event in October, Bar and Bench reported on Thursday.

On August 7, a Mumbai court denied anticipatory bail to Kamakhya Das and his fellow student, Abhirup Paul, in the case. Paul was arrested by the Mumbai Police hours later.

In his petition, Das submitted that no person present at the event had shouted slogans in support of Khalid and Imam. He described the complaint as based on “untrue events and allegations” and “completely unreliable”, the legal news outlet reported.

Khalid and Imam have been in jail for more than five years under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for their alleged role in a conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots. The trial in the case has not yet begun, and their petitions for regular bail have been repeatedly rejected.

Das and Paul had also been booked for possessing downloaded books and other material that the prosecution alleged reflected Maoist ideology.

Das’s petition said that possessing such literature “is not a criminal offence” and that downloading it did not make him its author or establish that he was affiliated with a banned organisation or subscribed to its ideology.

The petition also said that the grave allegations and charges made out against the applicant such as that of unlawful assembly and promoting enmity between groups on religious grounds were not supported by facts. It also rejected the allegation that he had participated in the gathering to implement his “alleged ideology of Maoism on other students of the institute” as “complete bogus”.

Justice Prafulla Khubalkar has listed the matter for hearing on Saturday.

The case

In October, some students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences gathered on campus to light candles and display posters of former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba commemorating his death anniversary.

Saibaba, who had more than 90% disability and used a wheelchair, spent over seven years in jail on accusations of having links with Maoists. In March 2024, he was acquitted by the Bombay High Court and released. Seven months later, in October 2024, he died of post-operative complications in Hyderabad.

After the event, the police registered a case against the students who attended it based on a complaint filed by the institute’s administration. The first information report invoked charges including causing prejudice to the nation, promoting enmity between groups and participating in an unlawful assembly.

Seven other students booked in connection with the event were granted anticipatory bail on August 7. While granting them bail, the court said that paying homage to Saibaba was not unlawful. However, it said allegations that the students had shouted slogans in support of Khalid and Imam, along with material recovered from their electronic devices, weighed against granting them anticipatory bail.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

Seven workers were killed and 14 others were injured on Thursday after water and debris entered a tunnel being constructed at a hydroelectric project site in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, reported The Hindu.

Twenty-two workers had been trapped inside the tunnel of the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation-owned Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project. Of these, 21 have been pulled out. Information about the remaining one worker is not yet available, reported the newspaper.

The tunnel was being constructed by the Hindustan Construction Company.

The incident was reported around 7.05 pm, The Hindu quoted the State Disaster Response Force as saying. Soon after, teams from the Indian Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, National Disaster Response Force and SDRF started a rescue operation at the spot. The police and the Central Industrial Security Force were also involved.

Additional teams would be deployed if needed, PTI quoted Vinod Kumar Suman, secretary of the Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Department, as saying.

Chamoli has been receiving heavy rainfall over the past several days.

On Monday, a bridge in the Niti Valley was swept away amid strong river currents due to rising water levels.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

Two persons were arrested on Thursday in connection with the death of a 24-year-old Muslim truck driver who succumbed to his injuries four days after he was allegedly assaulted by a group of kanwariyas in Hapur district in Uttar Pradesh on July 31, The Hindu reported.

The police had registered a first information report against seven persons, including four kanwariyas, after Azeem Ali died.

Five persons, identified as Lokesh, Shivam, Ankit, Farman and Manish, along with two unidentified persons, were booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to murder, rioting and voluntarily causing hurt.

Lokesh and Shivam were arrested on Thursday, The Hindu quoted Hapur Police as saying.

Ali was assaulted in Garhmukhteshwar town after the truck he was driving collided with an auto rickshaw hired by the kanwariyas. The collision allegedly injured the auto rickshaw driver, Farman, who was standing near the vehicle.

A purported video of the incident has been shared widely on social media, showing Ali being assaulted by a group of men in the presence of a police officer.

Ali was initially taken to hospital in Meerut and later shifted to Delhi as his condition worsened. He reportedly went into a coma and died at a Delhi hospital on August 4.

His father, Mohd Intezar, had filed a complaint with the police alleging that Farman and his associates assaulted his son, leaving him seriously injured.

On the other hand, Farman’s father filed a counter-complaint alleging that his son was hit by Ali’s truck.

Based on the complaint, the police have registered a separate case against Ali on charges of attempted murder.

According to the second FIR, Farman suffered serious injuries and was undergoing treatment.

During the Kanwar Yatra, devotees, known as kanwariyas, walk hundreds of kilometres to collect water from the Ganga near Haridwar and carry it back to their home states to offer at temples. The yatra began on July 30 and will end on August 11.

Edited by Sneha.

Also read: Kanwar Yatra’s deafening noise goes unheard by the state

The Comptroller and Auditor General has flagged that the forest cover increased by only 0.03 million hectares against a target of 1.4 million hectares in the last 10 years under the Green India Mission, reported The Times of India on Thursday. This is a shortfall of 97.5% from the target.

Launched in February 2014, the Green India Mission is an initiative under the National Action Plan on Climate Change to protect, restore, and enhance the forest cover of India.

The audit report tabled in Parliament on Wednesday said that the shortfall in implementing the mission was due to poor financial planning and non-alignment with existing state and central schemes, reported Hindustan Times.

There was also a lack of monitoring of the interventions made under the mission, according to The Times of India.

The report covered interventions made under the mission in 16 states and Union territories for which financial targets between the financial years 2015-’16 and 2024-’25 were approved by the Ministry of Environment.

It pointed out that improvement of forest cover quality was seen in only 0.1 million hectares, as compared to a target of 1.4 million hectares. This marked a shortfall of 91.8%.

Only Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh conducted assessments of carbon sequestration between 2015 and 2025, the Hindustan Times quoted the report as saying. This was due to poor financial management of the mission, it added.

Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide from the air and storing it safely away. This is done to keep carbon out of the atmosphere and reduce warming of the planet. Trees, soil and the ocean do this naturally.

The auditor further said that areas with low or moderate vulnerability to climate were selected for implementing the mission instead of those more susceptible to climate change, violating a key criterion of the programme.

“The lack of convergence led to non-attainment in securing Rs 10,600 crore in proposed funding support,” the Hindustan Times quoted the report as saying.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

The Bar Council of India on Thursday night dropped all proceedings against students of the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research graduating in 2026 who had opposed the participation of Chief Justice Surya Kant in the university’s convocation.

Earlier in the day, the council had announced that students from the graduating batch would not be enrolled as advocates for the campaign against the chief justice. It withdrew the decision a few hours later.

However, the council said that it had sought an inquiry report from the university identifying those who were “principally instrumental” in opposing Kant’s participation in the convocation.

On Thursday night, Bar Council Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra said that all proceedings against the students would be closed “after considering the representations and reactions of senior advocates, learned members of the Bar, law students and public-spirited citizens, and being satisfied that the 2026 batch of NALSAR, Hyderabad, had no role in any disturbance or movement”.

The council’s earlier directives had drawn criticism from the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign, which described them as “grossly disproportionate”. It warned of protests by law students and advocates if the directives were not withdrawn.

After considering the representations and reactions of Senior Advocates, learned members of the Bar, law students and public spirited citizens, and being satisfied that the 2026 batch of NALSAR, Hyderabad, had no role in any disturbance or movement, the Bar Council of India has…

— Manan Kumar Mishra (@MishraManan01) August 13, 2026

Students’ objection to Kant

Last month, a group of students urged the university to reconsider its invitation to the chief justice to be the chief guest for their convocation, citing Kant’s response to a petition alleging that police had used excessive force against protesters in Delhi on July 20.

On July 22, a bench headed by the chief justice refused to urgently hear a petition about police excesses against protesters. “Don’t waste our time and don’t waste your time,” Kant had reportedly told the petitioners.

When the lawyer for the petitioners said that he could present video evidence of the police excesses, the chief justice had said the bench was “not interested” in watching them.

Referring to the remarks, the students had told the university authorities that they did not think it was appropriate to receive their degrees from a dignitary whose recent public conduct appeared dismissive of serious allegations of police brutality against protesting citizens.

Bar council directive to university

In a communication addressed to state bar councils and NALSAR Vice-Chancellor Srikrishna Deva Rao, Mishra had asked the university to submit a factual report within three days about the persons involved in mobilising the “organised campaign” against the chief justice’s participation.

The council chairman also asked the vice-chancellor to include in the report a complete copy of the “representation, petition, memorandum or other communication submitted to the university by the students. He said that the full list of the signatories to the representations should be submitted.

The BCI further told the university to identify those who were involved in initiating the “campaign” through press, social media or mobilising any “call for boycott, obstruction, disruption or organised non-participation in the convocation” or any other programme connected with Kant.

Written by Sneha. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

Also read: What the Bar Council’s bid to curb NALSAR students says about university autonomy

The Rajasthan Cabinet on Thursday approved a bill on Uniform Civil Code to ban polygamy and make the registration of marriages and divorces mandatory within 60 days, The Hindu reported.

The bill, approved ahead of the imposition of the model code of conduct for the upcoming panchayat and local body elections, will be introduced in the Assembly during its monsoon session beginning on August 20

Rajasthan is the fifth Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state to move towards implementing a common personal law framework.

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

The Rajasthan bill has proposed provisions to establish equal property rights for sons and daughters across religions, irrespective of their personal laws, reported The Hindu.

The bill also proposes mandatory registration or written intimation of the beginning and end of live-in relationships.

The Uniform Civil Code would not apply to Scheduled Tribes and communities whose customary rights are protected under the Constitution, the newspaper quoted minister Jogaram Patel as saying.

The bill is based on the recommendations of a high-level committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai to draft the legislative framework for the Uniform Civil Code.

Desai also headed committees that drafted Uniform Civil Codes for Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Gujarat. In July, the Maharashtra government also constituted a committee headed by her to prepare a draft Uniform Civil Code for the state.

BJP and UCC

Introducing a common personal law has for long been on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s agenda and several states ruled by the party have been making advances towards implementing it.

In January 2025, BJP-ruled Uttarakhand became the first state to implement the Uniform Civil Code after independence. The Gujarat Assembly cleared a similar legislation in March amid protests by the Opposition. A common civil code has been in place in Goa since the Portuguese Civil Code was adopted in 1867.

The Assam Assembly on May 27 passed the Uniform Civil Code bill seeking to ban polygamy and make the registration of live-in relationships compulsory. The Opposition had demanded that the bill be sent to a select committee for scrutiny.

Edited by Sneha.

Also read: ‘Women’s rights’ are a convenient cover for UCC’s intrusive provisions

Suryodaya Kumhar’s medical diagnosis came about through a stroke of luck. The six-year-old, who lives in Dhatkidi village in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, periodically suffered from severe joint and muscle pain, and extreme fatigue. His parents had taken him to numerous doctors, but they had not been able to provide a clear diagnosis or treatment.

His eldest sister Soni, who is 16 years old, had also shown the same symptoms for years. She was often confined to her bed, and missed out on a few months of school every year. “I love to study, so I still manage to do well,” Soni said. “But will such episodes continue for the rest of my life?”

The Kumhars’ village is in the middle of a jungle, around 5 km from the town of Goilkera. Sunil Kumhar, the father, works as a mason and earns between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,000 a month. “We are poor people but we love our children,” he said. “We have taken loans and spent lakhs on their treatment, but nothing seems to help.”

The children’s mother, Hiramani Kumharin, echoed this despair.

“We’ve taken them to multiple doctors and clinics in Goilkera, and across the state border to Rourkela in Odisha, but to no permanent avail,” she said. “They have grown tired of seeing doctors. Suryo refuses to take any more medicines.”

In early June, the family visited an Aadhaar enrollment camp in Goilkera, the town neighbouring their village, to apply for an Aadhaar number for Suryodaya. As they stood in queue, workers at the camp noticed that he looked quite unwell. They suggested that the family take him to a health camp being held next door.

“He had a sallow face and frail body,” said Dr Jayshree Pardiha, the medical officer in-charge at Goilkera’s community health centre, who met the family at the camp. “He looked so small for his age. I thought he would be three or four years old, but he’s actually six years old.”

Pardiha suspected sickle cell anemia, and conducted a “rapid test” on Suryodaya, which indicated that he had the disease. After this, the entire family was tested. While the father and Soni also tested positive for the sickle cell trait, the mother and the second daughter did not. “For someone to have sickle cell anemia, both their parents have to be carriers of the trait,” said Pardiha. “But rapid test kits aren’t the most reliable, so we will have to send their blood samples for an electrophoresis test to Chaibasa to confirm the diagnosis.”

As it turned out, the process of diagnosis had already been delayed because of an oversight. On June 14 when I visited the Kumhar family at their home, they brought out the medical files of the two children. Upon inspection, I noticed that Suryodaya had tested positive for the sickle cell trait last July at a private clinic in Rourkela. But the doctor had not informed the family of the diagnosis, or explained the disease to them. While the Kumhars are fluent in Hindi and Odiya, their knowledge of English is limited, so they could not understand the report.

Such failures and challenges of diagnosis and treatment of sickle cell anemia persist despite the fact that on paper, India has been working towards tackling the disease. Crucially, 10 years ago, the government expanded the range of disabilities recognised under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act to include disability caused by sickle cell anemia, as well as thalassemia and hemophilia.

Sickle cell anemia and thalassemia are haemoglobinopathies – among the most common genetic disorders in the world, in which the blood’s haemoglobin is affected.

India has a high burden of these diseases. According to the Indian Institute for Integrative Medicine, approximately 5 lakh children are born with sickle cell anemia worldwide every year, of which nearly 50% are born in India. India also has more children with the most severe form of thalassemia, known as thalassemia major, than any other country in the world – between 1 lakh and 1.5 lakh children as per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As part of its efforts to tackle sickle cell anemia, the government launched the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission in July 2023. It aims to eliminate the disease by 2047 through measures such as conducting awareness programmes and large scale screening drives, and reinforcing diagnostic services at laboratories.

Thalassemia has no such comparable programme, but is included in the National Health Mission’s 2016 guidelines for the prevention and management of haemoglobinopathies. These guidelines recommend population screening, genetic counselling for at-risk couples and community education to combat stigma and misinformation.

But after travelling through Jharkhand’s East and West Singhbhum districts, Scroll found that stories like the Kumhars’ are not uncommon. The lack of knowledge about haemoglobinopathies, and poor healthcare infrastructure and support systems to tackle them, have meant that patients and their families are often left to fend for themselves.

The testing at a government health camp may finally help the Kumhar children obtain proper treatment. This would involve various processes, including the prevention of infections through pneumococcal immunisation and administering prophylactic penicillin, as well as blood transfusions.

But such an opportunity evades hundreds, perhaps thousands of Indians living in the interior regions of rural India. “We don’t receive enough funds for testing diseases like sickle cell anemia,” said Pardiha. “It is given secondary priority when compared to other diseases.”

This story is part of Common Ground, our in-depth and investigative reporting project. Sign up here to get the stories in your inbox soon after they are published.

In 2009, Shekhar was born to Bablu Lohra and his wife, who are from the Lohra Adivasi community and live in Jamshedpur. From infancy, he fell sick frequently. He was eventually diagnosed with sickle cell anemia and started obtaining regular blood transfusions. A year later, the Lohras had another child Suman, who was also diagnosed with the disease.

Though Shekhar had already been diagnosed, nobody informed the Lohras that this meant that both of them were carriers of the trait, and that their future children had a high chance of inheriting the disease. According to the National Health Mission’s guidelines, in couples where both the partners carry a mutated gene, there is a “25% risk in each pregnancy of giving birth to a child with disease state” and a “50% chance in each pregnancy to give birth to a ‘carrier’ child”.

“Nobody told us about these risks. I also have a brother whose daughter has SCA, we often advise each other about how to take care of our children – what works and what doesn’t,” said Bablu.

He added, “We have also had conversations with our extended family to get tested before initiating any marriages.” In 2014, the Lohras had a third child who did not inherit the disease.

The family also struggled with medical expenses. This was despite the fact that National Health Mission guidelines state that budgetary support is “required from both the State and Central governments to facilitate prevention and treatment of patients with thalassemia and sickle cell disease”.

Indeed, doctors Scroll spoke to noted that medicines for sickle cell anemia, such as hydroxyurea and deferasirox, are available for free in specific government hospitals. But the Lohras, a working-class family whose income is between Rs 12,000 and Rs 13,000 a month, said these medicines were often unavailable at Jamshedpur’s Sadar Hospital. “Even if they are available they only give us a week’s worth of medicine,” said Suman. “So, we mostly end up buying the medicines, which come up to Rs 2,500 a month.”

The family’s costs have also spiraled because of complications the siblings face as a result of the disease. When Shekhar was six, he developed gallstones and required surgery. Hospitals in Jamshedpur told the Lohras that they lacked the necessary facilities, and so Shekhar had to be rushed to a facility in Kolkata.

About two years ago, Suman had developed septic arthritis in her left arm, which left her unable to raise it. She was rushed to a private hospital where she had to undergo a surgery.

Both operations cost the Lohras lakhs of rupees, which they raised by taking loans. “I have had to leave multiple jobs in the past because I was running around for the children,” said Bablu, who works as a daily wage labourer. His wife also does occasional shifts of similar work to supplement their income.

In January, the siblings received their government-issued Unique Disability ID cards, under which they are eligible for Rs 1,000 per month as a disability pension. “But we have not received any money so far,” said Bablu. “Even Rs 1,000 goes a long way. I could buy better food – fresh fruits and vegetables – for my children with that money.”

They also still struggle with a lack of information. As I was about to leave the Lohras’ house, Bablu had questions for me. “Does sickle cell anemia occur because of living in dirty and polluted places?” he said. “And is it mostly tribal communities where it’s prevalent?”

I assured Bablu that sickle cell anemia was a genetic disorder and that scientists surmise that the sickle cell trait developed as an evolutionary response to combat malaria.

The question about the prevalence among tribal communities reflected a particularly serious and widespread confusion. While even the health ministry has repeatedly stated that sickle cell anemia is more common amongst tribal populations, doctors note that there is no large-scale study to prove this.

“We should let go of the bias that sickle cell anemia is particularly prevalent in tribal populations,” said Dr Akash Satpathy, a public health doctor with the Tata Steel Foundation’s sickle cell anemia programme, run in collaboration with the National Health Mission. He pointed out that the National Health Mission mandates screening the entire population up to 40 years.

“Consequently, we have come across people belonging to OBC communities who have the disease,” he said. “As screening expands, we may get a more complete picture of its prevalence across different populations.”

Over our conversations, Dr Jayshree Pardiha revealed that she, too, was a carrier of the sickle cell trait. She explained that though carriers of the trait have traditionally been asymptomatic, she had faced some health troubles.

“I only have the SCA trait, but I undergo several difficulties like joint pain, sleeplessness, low immunity and fatigue. My case is probably exceptional,” she said. But she then added that her sister, who also has the sickle cell trait, suddenly developed pain last year, after which her leg swelled and turned black. “We have had several tests done, but we haven’t been able to figure out what’s wrong,” she said.

Internationally, research suggests that carriers of the sickle cell trait have a higher risk of blood clotting and developing exertional rhabdomyolysis, a condition where skeletal muscle breaks down.

Both Pardiha and Sathpaty agreed that more research needed to be conducted about the experiences of sickle cell trait carriers. “Sickle cell anemia is not understood homogeneously within the medical healthcare system,” said Sathpaty.

On June 22, I met Stella and Shipra Minz in Jamshedpur – the mother and daughter are both carriers of the sickle cell trait, and described similar experiences.

In 2010, Stella, then working as ground staff for an airline company in Kolkata, developed severe diarrhoea at work and had to be rushed to the hospital. While doing routine tests, her haemoglobin level was found to be significantly low. Acting on instinct, she said, her doctor decided to test her for sickle cell anemia – it turned out that she carried the trait. Following this, Shipra also got tested and learnt that she, too, had the trait.

Mother and daughter now connect many health troubles they have to the diagnosis. For instance, Stella cannot tolerate extreme heat or cold – research has found that extremes of temperature can cause pain for those with the disease. In summers, both Stella and Shipra are prone to dehydration and heat exhaustion, both symptoms of sickle cell anemia. “During summers, I develop breathing issues and I sweat excessively,” Stella said. “I have been advised to drink plenty of fluids and get adequate rest. It was difficult to follow this when my job required me to stand on my feet and run around all day, but I manage better now when I’m retired.”

Her daughter, on the other hand, still develops pain in hot weather. “I get a tingling feeling all over and my hands and legs swell up,” said Shipra. Around three days before I met them, both Stella and Shipra had to be administered saline at a private clinic. “It has been very hot in Jamshedpur and we had been taking precautions by not going out in the heat and drinking coconut water and ORS,” Shipra said. “And yet we still got dehydrated and had to get saline.”

In rural areas, the large majority of people with hemoglobinopathies simply lack the resources to take care of themselves.

Further, in a low-income state like Jharkhand, proper medical treatment for diseases like thalassemia and sickle cell anemia are hard to come by. Several patients and parents noted that they had not come across a single haematologist in the state.

On June 16, I met 18-year-old Amrita Karwa at the Sadar Hospital in Chaibasa, along with her mother Abouni Karwa. This was their third day at the hospital and they were waiting to see a doctor before they returned home. Amrita had been diagnosed with sickle cell anemia as a child, and had been receiving treatment for several years.

Three years ago, on a hot day in March, Amrita was on her way to a school in her neighbourhood to write her Class 8 board exams, when she fainted. “I was nervous about the exam and I hadn’t had food or water properly,” she recounted. “I remember I started sweating a lot and felt dizzy.”

Two of her friends rushed her to the hospital. She spent a few days at the hospital and then required rest for several weeks before she felt better. But Amrita dropped out of school after that.

“My teachers tried to encourage me to appear again, but I am too scared that something like that will happen again,” she said.

The Karwa family lives in a small one-bedroom-and-kitchen house in a basti in Chaibasa. Amrita’s father passed away a decade ago, as a result of complications arising from alcoholism. Since then, her mother has raised her five children singlehandedly, while working as a domestic worker. “The two eldest daughters have been of support since they grew up and got married, but we still struggle a lot,” Abouni said. “I earn only Rs 800-Rs 1000 in a week, and I’m getting along in years.”

It was a sweltering 37 degrees Celsius when I visited the Karwa family at their home. Amrita sat on a bed in front of a large cooler. “Every year, it keeps getting hotter and hotter. My daughter keeps complaining about the heat, so I bought this second-hand cooler from my employers,” Abouni said. “I owe them Rs 5,000 for this, which they will cut from my salary.”

In order to keep well, Amrita requires blood transfusions almost every month. But getting blood has been especially difficult this year. “There was no blood available from February to May,” Amrita said. “It is only from this month that blood was available again, and then, too, I had to wait two days to get a second unit of blood.”

The low supply is linked to a crisis that unfolded last year. In late October, five children with thalassemia in Jharkhand tested positive for HIV – the infection was traced to blood transfusions at the blood bank at Chaibasa’s Sadar Hospital.

A probe revealed that the blood bank was operating without a license, and led to its temporary closure. Thus transfusion services were shut down for a while, and blood from donation drives was being processed by blood banks in Jamshedpur. “We had to go to Jamshedpur to get blood,” Abouni said. “My son would have to take someone to donate blood. At times, we have also had to pay money to people to get them to donate and receive blood.”

These struggles came at the end of an already tragic year for the family – in January last year, they lost their third daughter, Madhu, who was 21 years old, and also had thalassemia. They recounted that Madhu was the stronger of the two sisters.

“She was strong and healthy, the brightest of us all,” Amrita said. “She used to motivate me to take care of myself, and gave me hope about life.”

The family noted that Madhu had appeared healthy over the years and only required a blood transfusion once in six months. However, in January last year she complained of severe chest pain and was rushed to the hospital. The family alleged that they reached the hospital in the late morning, but that no doctor came to see Madhu for hours – she died in the early evening.

The family still does not understand what happened. “The doctor said her body didn’t accept the blood transfusion properly,” Abouni said, tearing up. “I already lost one daughter, I can’t afford to lose another.”

Our conversation also indicated that in some respects, Amrita might not be receiving the appropriate advice from the doctors she had met. Satpathy explained that when thalassemia and sickle cell anemia patients obtain frequent blood transfusions, they are at increased risk of developing excess iron in their blood, which can lead to liver damage and cardiac complications. To remove this excess, they require iron chelation therapy. But Satpathy noted that in workshops with frontline workers such as ASHA workers and auxiliary nurse midwives, when he asked what they would prescribe to someone with sickle cell anemia, their responses were indicative of a general lack of awareness. “Often, the first thing that comes out of their mouth is to give patients iron pills,” he said. “And then we have to tell them they should absolutely not do that.”

Amrita said she had not heard of iron chelation therapy. But, she added, she was taking iron and folic acid pills daily as a doctor had advised to. She did not have a prescription for the pills.

The struggles of poorer patients was underlined by contrast, when I met Basanti Biruly, who is from a better off family in another part of Chaibasa town.

Basanti, the only child of a ration dealer and a school teacher, was diagnosed with thalassemia major as a child – but, she said, her parents never let her feel that she was disabled.

I met Basanti at around noon on June 17. Though it was hot, she came out in the sun to show me the way to her house. “I don’t really have issues with the heat,” she said. “It is during winter when I feel more sensitive to the cold.”

Basanti said that with the right kind of support and resources, thalassemia patients could live a healthy life.

“I have always had a lot of support from my parents,” she said. “I make sure to eat a healthy diet. I maintain a stable haemoglobin level and take medicines to balance my iron levels.”

Basanti’s sound management of her health was apparent from her glowing skin and cheerful disposition.

Basanti noted that it was difficult to find good doctors in Jharkhand, but that through the NGO Anurag Foundation, which works with thalassemia patients, she had received access to haematologists from Kolkata. “They fly them down regularly for health check-ups and advice,” she said. “I have been going there as a child, and seen older people with thalassemia live full lives.”

Basanti was also the only patient in Chaibasa I met who had successfully managed to obtain a disability identity card, and also received a disability pension. She is currently in her second year of an undergraduate programme in economics, and hopes to be a teacher someday. “I want to be a role model for people with thalassemia and show them that we too can live good lives,” she said.

This story was supported by the International Foundation for Disability Inclusion’s (IFDI) Journalism Fellowship on Disability Inclusion.

The Bar Council of India on Thursday withdrew an order directing state bar councils to defer the enrolment of any student of the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research graduating in 2026 who opposed the participation of Chief Justice Surya Kant at the university’s convocation.

However, the council has said that an inquiry into those who were “principally instrumental” in a campaign against the chief justice’s participation would continue.

Political campaign Cockroach Janta Party had described the directive as “grossly disproportionate” and had warned of protests by law students and advocates if it was not taken back.

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, asked, “What if all legal cockroaches come together?”

Condemning the order, CJP Spokesperson Saurav Das said that students cannot be “collectively penalised for expressing dissent over a ceremonial invitation”.

Das had warned of a protest outside Bar Council’s office and Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra’s official residence by law students, advocates, senior lawyers, and “well-meaning young cockroaches”, if the order was not withdrawn.

NALSAR has extended an invitation to the CJI for the upcoming convocation despite students urging the university to reconsider the decision, citing Kant’s response to a petition alleging that police had used excessive force against protesters in Delhi on July 20.

In a communication addressed to state bar councils and NALSAR Vice-Chancellor Srikrishna Deva Rao, Mishra has asked the university to submit a factual report within three days about the persons involved in mobilising the “organised campaign” against the CJI’s participation.

Mishra has asked the vice-chancellor to include in the report a complete copy of the “representation, petition, memorandum or other communication submitted to the university by the students. He has also asked for the full list of the signatories to the representations.

The BCI has further asked the university to separately identify those who were involved in initiating the “campaign” through press, social media or mobilising any “call for boycott, obstruction, disruption or organised non-participation in the convocation” or any other programme connected with the CJI.

“As per some reliable sources, there exists groupism and dirty politics among some of the academic staff”, the circular read. It further alleged that the staff have played very “active role in misleading, instigating and misguiding the students”.

“The teachers, instead of involving themselves in their teaching job, are doing nasty politics in the campus,” it added. Bar Council of India, being the regulator of Legal Education cannot be a mute spectator of such a serious situation.”

On July 22, a bench headed by the chief justice refused to urgently hear a petition about police excesses against protesters. “Don’t waste our time and don’t waste your time,” Kant had reportedly told the petitioners.

When the lawyer for the petitioners said that he could present video evidence of the police excesses, the chief justice had said the bench was “not interested” in watching them.

Referring to the remarks, the students had told the university authorities that it did not sit right to receive their degrees from a dignitary whose recent public conduct appeared dismissive of serious allegations of police brutality against protesting citizens.

Written by Anamika Pathak. Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has asked ride-hailing platforms to remove prompts from their mobile applications that encourage customers to tip the driver at the time of booking, the Deccan Herald reported on Thursday.

The ministry said that such prompts violate the 2025 Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, which state that passengers have the option to give drivers a tip only after the trip is completed.

Several vehicle aggregator platforms prompt users to tip drivers before booking a ride. These prompts include options such as “Advance Tip” and “Choose an Add-on”, with some suggesting that tipping could help secure a ride faster or increase the chances of a driver accepting the booking.

#JustIn | Ministry of Road Transport and Highways directs ride aggregators to remove pre-ride tipping prompts

👉Tipping option to be visible only after journey completion

👉No ‘Advance Tip’ prompts or similar features before ride completion

👉Aggregators cannot suggest that… pic.twitter.com/AhsJEYJkhe

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) August 13, 2026

The platforms must not display any feature, message, payment option or other interface element before the ride ends if it could directly or indirectly suggest that paying extra may result in faster ride confirmation, greater chances of driver acceptance, quicker allocation, shorter waiting times or better service, the Deccan Herald quoted the ministry as saying.

The 2025 guidelines prohibit any tipping feature or mechanism that is “misleading, manipulative, or otherwise in violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019”, the ministry noted.

The rules also state that the driver must receive the full tip amount, with aggregators not allowed to deduct any portion of it.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

Sugarcane cultivation across parts of India’s Deccan Plateau is becoming more productive. But, it is also becoming more vulnerable to climate variability, a new long-term study finds.

Sugarcane has long shaped India’s rural economy. It powers sugar mills, supports ethanol and bioenergy production, and sustains millions of farmers. But the crop is also at the centre of mounting concerns over water use, particularly in semi-arid regions facing recurrent droughts and groundwater stress.

The study analysed 22 years of sugarcane production trends across five districts in Maharashtra and Karnataka to understand how cultivation, yields and production patterns have changed under varying climatic conditions.

“We noticed that sugarcane cultivation in Maharashtra and Karnataka was increasingly being affected by climatic variability, even though it remains one of the most important economic activities across the Deccan Plateau,” says Krishna Kumar from the Department of Applied Science and Humanities at MIT-ADT University, Pune, and one of the study’s researchers.

Across climate zones

Sugarcane production trends in India have been studied extensively at national and state levels, but long-term district-level analyses incorporating weather variability remain limited.

“The main concern was to pin down how climate variability impacts agricultural production in water-limited sugarcane systems,” adds Kumar. “This kind of insight matters a lot for creating climate resilient agricultural policies and planning better infrastructure.”

For the study, researchers analysed sugarcane production trends between 1999 and 2021 in Ahmednagar, Solapur and Nashik in Maharashtra, and Bellary and Dharwad in Karnataka. The five districts span distinct agro-climatic zones across the Deccan Plateau.

Bellary and Solapur lie in relatively dry regions, receiving less than 780 millimetres and around 500 mm of annual rainfall, respectively. Ahmednagar and Nashik fall across scarcity and plains zones that receive roughly 500 mm to 1,200 mm of rainfall annually. Dharwad lies in a transition zone with comparatively higher rainfall ranging from 620 mm to 1,300 mm annually.

“Sugarcane performance in semi-arid regions is highly location-specific, says Kumar. “State averages often mask major differences between districts.”

The study tracked three indicators: cultivation area, total production and yield per hectare. Researchers used crop data from the Directorate of Economics and Statistics and meteorological records from the India Meteorological Department and then applied statistical methods to identify long-term trends in sugarcane production.

To understand changes over time, the researchers also divided the analysis into three phases –1999-2006, 2007-2013 and 2014-2020.

Yield gains linked more to productivity

Solapur emerged as the largest sugarcane-producing district among the five studied, with an average cultivation area of about 117 thousand hectares and average production of 10 million tonnes. Bellary recorded the highest average yield of sugarcane at almost 90 tonnes per hectare, while Dharwad had the lowest average yield at about 69 tonnes per hectare.

Some districts showed clear signs of long-term productivity gains. Ahmednagar recorded a statistically significant annual yield increase of around 1.12 tonnes per hectare, while Nashik saw a similar annual increase of around 1.08 tonnes per hectare.

“The yield gains seen in Ahmednagar and Nashik seem to be driven by a mix of factors,” says Kumar, adding that the trends may reflect improvements in irrigation, water management and farming practices over time.

Across districts, average yields were generally higher during the later study periods than during 1999-2006. In Ahmednagar, average sugarcane yield increased from 69 tonnes per hectare during 1999-2006 to 87 tonnes per hectare during 2014-2020. Nashik saw an even sharper increase, rising from around 69 tonnes per hectare to 89 tonnes per hectare over the same periods.

Bellary maintained consistently high yields through much of the study period, though researchers did not find a statistically significant upward trend there. Dharwad, meanwhile, showed more unstable patterns, with yields dipping during the middle phase before partially recovering later.

The researchers found that yield was generally more stable than cultivation area or total production. Area under sugarcane fluctuated more sharply across several districts, which the researchers suggest may reflect changing water availability and irrigation conditions. “In several districts, production growth happened mainly because yields improved, rather than because more land was brought under cultivation,” says Kumar.

The study suggests that improved crop traits, fertiliser use and field management practices may have contributed to these gains.

Climate variability

The study also highlighted differences in how districts performed under climate stress. “Solapur comes out as the most stable in terms of yields,” says Kumar. Bellary, meanwhile, maintained the highest mean yields despite being located in a drier zone.

Extreme weather years continued to influence sugarcane production across multiple districts, with sharp swings between drought-affected and favourable years. Ahmednagar recorded its lowest yield in 2003-2004 at 47 tonnes per hectare. In contrast, its highest yield came in 2020-2021 at 108 tonnes per hectare.

The researchers found that years with lower rainfall deficits and fewer heat stress days were generally associated with stronger yields, while drought conditions and prolonged high temperatures coincided with poorer crop performance.

Researchers compared crop performance with weather indicators. “The drought index, moisture adequacy index, and heat stress days are strongly related to sugarcane yields in the study districts,” says Kumar.

Ahmednagar recorded mean drought index values near -0.79 along with around 89 heat stress days per crop year. Solapur showed even greater heat stress exposure, with roughly 127 heat stress days annually.

The researchers say the findings point to moderate to high vulnerability under future climate change, particularly in water-limited regions. “Warming temperatures are projected to push up crop water requirements and also increase the chance of yield losses under water limited conditions,” says Kumar.

Priyanka Singh, an independent expert and senior scientific officer (chemistry) at the UP Council of Sugarcane Research, says the findings broadly align with trends already being observed across major sugarcane-growing regions in India. “There is increasing evidence that prolonged dry spells, erratic monsoon distribution, higher temperature episodes and water stress are affecting cane productivity.”

According to Singh, the findings should not be interpreted as suggesting that sugarcane cultivation cannot continue in these regions. Instead, many areas are already shifting toward drip irrigation, fertigation, improved water scheduling and stress-tolerant crop varieties.

“The broader national trend is not simply declining sugarcane productivity due to climate change, but increasing variability and increasing dependence on efficient management,” she says, adding that the study’s climate analysis should be interpreted carefully because meteorological records were limited for some districts. Bellary and Dharwad, for instance, had relatively few long-term meteorological records available for analysis.

Despite these limitations, researchers say the findings can help guide water management and agricultural planning in water-scarce regions. “The evidence supports that climate-smart agriculture practices, efficient irrigation systems, and drought contingency measures will matter more and more,” says Kumar.

This article was first published on Mongabay.

The Jharkhand Police on Thursday registered a first information report against 300 unidentified persons for violating orders barring public gatherings and damaging government property during the student protesters’ march to the Jharkhand Assembly on Monday, PTI quoted an unidentified officer as saying.

The march was organised as part of an agitation against alleged irregularities in competitive examinations conducted for state government jobs.

Ranchi Superintendent of Police Paras Rana told PTI that the FIR has been registered “for disrupting the peaceful march”.

The unidentified persons have also been booked for attacking police personnel during the march.

The police are trying to identify the individuals through video footage, PTI quoted Hatia Sub-Divisional Police Officer Neeraj Kumar as saying.

The protests in Jharkhand began on July 25, inspired by the agitation across the country against alleged mismanagement of national competitive examinations. The protesters have been holding a sit-in at Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium.

On Monday, thousands of students marched towards the Assembly as part of their protest. Several protesters were injured after police lathi-charged them and fired tear gas. Despite the police action, protesters breached several barricades and reached the Assembly premises. The House had already been adjourned for the day.

Youth protests

The protesters have demanded the cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission Combined Preliminary Test held on April 19.

They have also sought an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate into alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission.

On Sunday, the Jharkhand government agreed to cancel three examinations, including the Jharkhand Public Service Commission Combined Civil Services.

However, students have continued their protest, demanding that the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission-Combined Graduate Level examination also be cancelled and that the CBI look into all state public commission tests.

The government has refused to cancel the graduate-level examination, saying that it was conducted under the monitoring of the Supreme Court and the Jharkhand High Court. It has instead proposed a high-level judicial inquiry headed by a retired judge to investigate allegations related to the examination.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal was attacked in a gurdwara in Maharashtra’s Nanded district, allegedly by a man dressed as a Nihang Sikh. The former Punjab deputy chief minister suffered injuries to his arm and shoulder, and was taken to a hospital.

The motive for the attack is not clear. The attack took place in Nanded’s Gurdwara Mata Sahib.

A spokesperson for the Shiromani Akali Dal said that Badal is “perfectly fine” and out of danger.

This is the second attack Badal has faced. On December 4, 2024, former militant Narain Singh Chaura had opened fire at the Akali Dal chief at the Golden Temple in Amritsar but missed. Read on.

An Uttar Pradesh court approved the prosecution’s request to withdraw a case related to the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots against 25 Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and persons associated with Hindutva groups. They were facing trial for allegedly violating orders prohibiting public gatherings and for inciting communal tensions.

The court on Wednesday allowed the case to be dropped against state minister Kapil Dev Agarwal, former Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan, former state minister Suresh Rana, ex-BJP MPs Bhartendu Singh and Sohanvir Singh, and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Sadhvi Prachi, among others.

Communal violence had erupted in Muzaffarnagar in September 2013 after BJP leaders, including Suresh Rana, former party MLA Sangeet Som and former MP Bharatendra Singh, allegedly made inflammatory speeches.

At least 60 persons were killed and thousands of Muslim families were displaced in riots that followed. Read on.

The Jharkhand Police has registered a first information report against 300 unidentified persons for violating orders prohibiting public gatherings and damaging government property during the student protesters’ march to the state Assembly on Monday. The march was organised as part of an agitation against the alleged irregularities in competitive examinations conducted for state government jobs.

Ranchi Superintendent of Police Paras Rana said that the FIR has been registered “for disrupting the peaceful march”.

The unidentified persons have also been booked for attacking police personnel. The police are trying to identify the individuals responsible for the violence through video footage. Read on.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday alleged in Parliament that persons associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party had performed a ritual to “purify” the ground in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani where he addressed a rally on August 8. Kharge, the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, demanded that those who had performed the ritual should be arrested.

The purification ritual was performed by a group called the Shri Ram Sena. The Congress’ Uttarakhand unit had alleged that the group is associated with the BJP. However, the Hindutva party has denied association with the group.

Union minister JP Nadda said that the BJP “does not subscribe to such activities” and the incident would be investigated. Read on.

A clash erupted between protesters from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, during which the Arunachal Pradesh Police fired in the air to control the mob on their side. The confrontation occurred in Assam’s Dhemaji district, a day after a student organisation of the state’s Mising community, along with other local groups, launched an economic blockade against Arunachal Pradesh.

The blockade was imposed in response to firing allegedly by “miscreants” from Arunachal Pradesh that injured 12 persons from Assam on Monday.

The clash on Monday had erupted after a dispute about alleged land encroachment by people from Arunachal Pradesh in Assam, police had said. Read on.

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Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal was on Thursday attacked inside a gurdwara in Maharashtra’s Nanded district allegedly by a Nihang Sikh man, PTI reported.

He reportedly suffered injuries to his arm and shoulder, but is in a stable condition.

A video released by the news agency showed the former Punjab deputy chief minister being taken to a hospital.

VIDEO | Maharashtra: Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal has been taken to a hospital after he was reportedly attacked inside a Gurudwara in Nanded. More details awaited.

(Source: Third Party)

(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/d8jp61yd2p) pic.twitter.com/RvZkrc0nNv

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 13, 2026

The attack took place at Nanded’s Gurdwara Mata Sahib allegedly by a group of Nihang Sikhs, The Indian Express reported.

One person has been arrested for the attack, PTI quoted the office of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as saying. Fadnavis has ordered an inquiry into the motive behind the assault on Badal, the chief minister’s office said.

Shiromani Akali Dal spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kaler said that Badal was out of danger and “perfectly fine”.

In a video statement released on social media, Kaler said, “On Thursday, Sukhbir Singh Badal paid obeisance at Takht Sri Hazur Sahib. As he was leaving the shrine, a person dressed in Nihang attire attacked him.”

He added that Badal has sustained minor injuries on his arm.

“The incident happened in Maharashtra and the police there are investigating the case,” Kaler said.

This was the second attack on Badal. On December 4, 2024, former militant Narain Singh Chaura had opened fire at the Akali Dal chief at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The bullet missed Badal and Chaura was immediately overpowered by the police.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

A clash erupted between protesters from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday, during which the Arunachal Pradesh Police fired in the air to control the mob on their side, PTI reported.

The confrontation occurred in Dhemaji district of Assam, a day after a student organisation of the state’s Mising community, along with other local groups, launched an indefinite economic blockade against Arunachal Pradesh.

The blockade was imposed in response to the firing allegedly carried out by “miscreants” from Arunachal Pradesh that injured 12 persons from Assam on Monday, PTI quoted unidentified police officials as saying.

The clash on Monday had erupted after a dispute in connection with alleged land encroachment by people from Arunachal Pradesh in Assam, police had said.

“When the blockade was going on, some people from Arunachal Pradesh indulged in stone pelting on protesters from Assam”, PTI quoted an unidentified Assam government official as saying. Some persons also sustained injuries, leading to the scuffle, the official said.

The Arunachal Pradesh Police then fired three rounds in the air to control the mob, the official added.

All vehicles coming from and going to Arunachal Pradesh, except emergency and school transportation, are being stopped at entry points as part of the economic blockade launched by student organisation Takam Mising Porin Kebang and other groups, the news agency reported.

The groups are demanding that the long-pending Assam-Arunachal Pradesh boundary dispute be settled at the earliest, action be taken against those responsible for the firing on Monday, and an end to the alleged encroachment of Assam’s land.

Assam and Arunachal Pradesh share an 804.1-km border with 1,200 points of dispute. The two states have set up 12 regional committees to address the border disputes.

On July 15, 2022, the chief ministers of both states had signed the Namsai Declaration, paving the way for steps to settle differences over 123 villages claimed by Arunachal Pradesh. They subsequently signed a memorandum of understanding on the dispute on April 20, 2023.

CMs call for peace

The chief ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Pema Khandu, on Thursday called for the resolution of the ongoing dispute through dialogue.

In a social media post, Sarma said that most border differences with Arunachal Pradesh had been settled in recent years through dialogue and friendship. He added that only 52 villages remained under dispute and said the two governments would continue talks in the same spirit to reach a complete resolution.

Khandu said that both the states share a “deep bond of history, friendship and brotherhood”.

“Let us not allow differences to overshadow the strong bonds that unite our people,” he added.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday alleged in the Rajya Sabha that persons associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party had performed a ritual to “purify” the ground in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani where he addressed a rally on August 8.

Kharge, the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said that he had never sought any help or protection because he belonged to a Scheduled Caste community.

“But you treat me as untouchable, perform purification and insult me,” he added. “Is this what should be done in a democracy? How are you protecting the Constitution?”

He demanded that those who had performed the ritual should be arrested.

मैं इस बात को राजनीतिक मुद्दा नहीं बनाना चाहता।

मैंने कभी किसी से यह नहीं कहा कि मैं दलित हूँ, मेरी रक्षा करो और न ही किसी के सामने गिड़गिड़ाया। मुझ में लड़ने की शक्ति है और मैं लड़ता हूँ।

लेकिन हल्द्वानी में स्टेज का शुद्धिकरण कर मुझे Untouchability का एहसास कराया गया और मेरा… pic.twitter.com/dSdbjiaV0H

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) August 13, 2026

Responding to him, Union minister JP Nadda said that the BJP “does not subscribe to such activities”.

“This is sad, not just for the Congress, but for all of us,” said Nadda. “We will investigate this. I condemn this.”

The former national president of the BJP added: “It is a matter of great regret for all of us that your sentiments were hurt.”

The purification ritual in Haldwani was performed by a group named Shri Ram Sena, reported The Hindu. The Congress’ Uttarakhand unit had alleged that the group is associated with the BJP.

However, the Hindutva party has denied association with the group and claimed that slogans shouted at Kharge’s rally had offended those who believed in Sanatan Dharma, reported the newspaper.

Sanatana Dharma is a term some people use as a synonym for Hinduism.

On Tuesday, the Congress’ Uttarakhand unit chief Ganesh Godiyal said that the “purification” of the ground from which Kharge spoke, “by individuals associated with the BJP, is extremely hurtful and reprehensible”.

“This incident reflects caste-based discrimination and a narrow-minded mentality,” Godiyal said in a video posted on social media. “The Congress believes in humanity, equality and brotherhood, whereas such events promote hatred and division in society.”

हल्द्वानी में कांग्रेस की रैली में माननीय राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष श्री मल्लिकार्जुन खड़गे जी ने जिस मंच से जनता को संबोधित किया, उसी मंच का भाजपा से जुड़े लोगों द्वारा ‘शुद्धिकरण’ किया जाना बेहद आहत करने वाला और निंदनीय है। यह घटना जातिगत भेदभाव और संकीर्ण मानसिकता को दर्शाती है।… pic.twitter.com/bAWZyKVTHI

— Ganesh Godiyal (@UKGaneshGodiyal) August 12, 2026

He urged the police to take cognisance of the matter and ensure action against the persons found guilty.

“There is no place for discrimination and untouchability in modern democratic India,” said Godiyal.

On the other hand, BJP leader Khajan Das claimed that the Congress was “resorting to caste-based politics and attempts to divide the Sanatan community”, reported The Print.

Sharing the news report on social media, Congress leader KC Venugopal said that the incident was “shocking” and “shows the BJP’s anti-Dalit character”.

Venugopal said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should apologise for it as the purification ritual was an “outcome of the BJP’s culture of insults that stems right from the top, down to their cadres”.

This is a shocking act that shows the BJP’s anti-Dalit character, for which PM Modi must apologise.

This is an outcome of the BJP’s culture of insults that stems right from the top, down to their cadres.

Hon’ble INC President Sh. Mallikarjun @kharge ji is a leader who has… https://t.co/KKkTGgML56

— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) August 13, 2026

Written by Sneha. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a writ petition filed by Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP AA Rahim challenging the police’s use of facial recognition technology and other biometric surveillance measures at protest sites, Live Law reported.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant tagged the petition with other pleas concerning the youth protests in Delhi.

The protests had taken place against the alleged mismanagement of several competitive examinations, including the undergraduate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for admissions to medical courses.

The agitation, which culminated in the resignation of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Dharmendra Pradhan as the Union education minister, was led by the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign.

The protests had escalated on July 20, after the police forcibly took activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a three-week hunger strike, to hospital.

The demonstrators’ march to Parliament was met with a police crackdown. Dozens were injured as the police used lathis, tear gas shells and pellet guns against the demonstrators. The police action intensified the agitation, which spread to other parts of the country.

On Thursday, advocate Menaka Guruswamy, appearing for Rahim, said that the petition was related to the Delhi Police’s use of digital tools to surveil protesters at Jantar Mantar.

She submitted that the police had used the services of two private entities, Aditya Infotech Limited and Dimension NXG Private Limited, Live Law reported.

The lawyer added that the data was being processed and stored in violation of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act.

“One maps your face, and the other is a vehicle…” the legal news outlet quoted Guruswamy as submitting before the court. “And that data is all taken without permission. These private entities host the data in violation of the DPDP Act.”

The bench agreed to consider the matter.

The petition has alleged that the Delhi Police carried out biometric surveillance at the protest site without a clear legal basis. It argued that neither the Delhi Police standing orders governing protests nor 2022 Criminal Procedure Identification Act authorises the biometric surveillance of people at a civilian assembly.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

A special MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday approved the prosecution’s request to withdraw a case related to the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots against 25 Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and persons associated with Hindutva groups, PTI reported.

Communal violence had erupted in Muzaffarnagar in September 2013 after BJP leaders, including Suresh Rana, former party MLA Sangeet Som and former MP Bharatendra Singh, allegedly made inflammatory speeches.

At least 60 persons were killed and thousands of Muslim families were displaced in the riots that followed. There were also several reports of sexual assault and abuse in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts.

Among the accused persons facing charges in the present case were state minister Kapil Dev Agarwal, former Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan and former state minister Suresh Rana. Others include former Uttar Pradesh minister Ashok Kataria, ex-BJP MPs Bhartendu Singh and Sohanvir Singh, former BJP MLAs Ashok Kansal and Umesh Malik, Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Sadhvi Prachi and Narsinghanand of Dasna Shiv Temple.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad is part of a group of Hindutva organisations led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The accused persons were facing trial for allegedly violating prohibitory orders, obstructing public servants in the discharge of their duties and inciting communal tension through speeches at a mahapanchayat held at Nagla Mador in the district on July 31, 2013, PTI quoted prosecution officer Rahul Singh as saying.

The prosecution moved the application following the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to withdraw the case.

In February, a court in Uttar Pradesh acquitted 37 individuals in connection with the killing of eight persons during the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, citing a lack of evidence.

Edited by Sneha.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday directed the police to arrest those who make derogatory remarks about Subhas Chandra Bose, who is known by the honorific Netaji, reported PTI.

This came two days after Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nagendranath Roy, popularly known as Ananta Maharaj, described Bose as a “war criminal” and questioned his role in India’s freedom struggle.

On Tuesday, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee held a rally in Kolkata against Roy’s remarks and criticised the Hindutva party for not taking action against him, reported The Times of India.

On Wednesday, Adhikari said that he has asked the police to take “stringent action against those making derogatory remarks about Netaji on social media”, PTI reported.

When asked if action would be taken against Roy, the chief minister said he would not “name anyone, but the law is equal for MLAs, MPs, leaders of any party, government officials or police officers”.

Roy had made adverse remarks about Bose in March as well, questioning whether he had the “capabilities” to create the Azad Hind Fauj, an armed force formed by Indian nationalists during World War 2.

In July, three leaders of the All India Forward Bloc filed a police complaint against Roy, alleging that the remarks not only demeaned Bose, but also undermined the legacy of India’s freedom movement, reported The Telegraph.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

On the evening of July 19, Sahida Fakir headed to a market near her home in Navi Mumbai to buy food for dinner, leaving her 10-year-old son at home. She has not returned home since.

A few hours later, her husband Jumman Fakir got a call from the Mumbai police’s Chembur crime branch. Sahida had been detained on “suspicion of being an illegal immigrant”.

Fakir rushed to the police station.

Sahida told him that the police personnel had forcibly dragged her to a building where persons suspected to be “illegal immigrants” were reportedly being detained. “They took away the food she bought, her phone and Aadhaar card,” Fakir said. “She was detained because she was a Bengali.”

For four days, Fakir visited the police station with his wife’s identity documents, including her birth certificate. “The police said that was not enough. They asked for the birth certificates of Sahida’s parents,” Fakir said. “But in their time, no one got birth certificates.”

On the fifth day, July 23, he was told that Sahida was “not there”. “They told me she had been sent to Bangladesh,” he told Scroll. “I told them you have made a great mistake. She is an Indian. Where will she go? How will she fend for herself?”

A few days later, Sahida called him from Bangladesh. A family in Satkhira district has given her shelter, he said.

Scroll emailed the Mumbai police commissioner and the Navi Mumbai police commissioner, asking about the grounds on which Sahida was detained. Fakir said he was not given any documents relating to his wife’s arrest and detention.

They did not respond to our queries. They forwarded the mail to the joint police commissioner (law and order), Manoj Kumar Sharma, who later forwarded the mail to the additional police commissioner (east region). The story will be updated if they respond.

On July 23, before Fakir was informed about Sahida’s forcible deportation, a human rights organisation wrote to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, flagging the “illegal arrest, arbitrary detention, denial of constitutional safeguards, and unlawful” branding of Sahida as a “Bangladeshi”.

“Executive authorities have no jurisdiction to declare an individual as a foreign national merely on suspicion or profiling,” said Kirity Roy, secretary of Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha. “Sahida’s illegal detention, without giving her reasons for her arrest, without producing her before a magistrate, and despite overwhelming documentary evidence establishing her Indian citizenship, demonstrates a disturbing pattern of arbitrary action against vulnerable citizens.”

“She has all the documents,” said Fakir, who is still in Mumbai. “She is an Indian. But she was branded as Bangladeshi and sent to Bangladesh. I am unable to accept that. Why did they do it? I will fight it legally.”

Since last year, the police in several states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party have accused Indian citizens of being Bangladeshis and thrown them across the border, without giving them time or opportunity to prove their citizenship – in violation of the Centre’s own rules.

Another woman from Bengal, Sunali Khatun, and her eight-year-old son Sabir, and her husband had been picked up from Delhi and “pushed” into Bangladesh, despite the fact that the family had land records in Bengal, going back five generations. Sunali, who was pregnant at the time of her deportation, and her son Sabir were brought back by Indian authorities following the direction of the Supreme Court.

‘She grew up before our eyes’

On August 5, residents of Gobindapur in North 24 Parganas, the ancestral village of Sahida’s father and grandfather, wrote a letter to the district magistrate, urging him to immediately bring Sahida back from Bangladesh. “Sahida Fakir is a permanent resident of our very own village…,” they wrote. “Not only her, but we have known her entire family for generations.”

According to the memorandum from the residents of Gobindapur village, Sahida’s grandfather Badshah Gazi was a “permanent resident” of the village.

His son, Aminuddin Gazi, married a woman from the neighbouring village, Swarupdaha, and moved there. In 1988, Sahida was born in that village, which is separated from Bangladesh by a river.

A few years later, she was married into a family from Gobindapur. “In front of all our eyes, she has grown up, gotten married, and taken up domestic life,” the letter to the district magistrate said.

Around 20 years ago, Sahida moved from a village in Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district to Mumbai with her husband in search of a livelihood.

Both found work – Sahida as a domestic worker and Fakir as a car cleaner. They have two sons, the eldest is 22 years old.

Fakir said he submitted several documents to the police attesting to her identity, which Scroll has seen.

This includes her voter identity card issued in 2008, a birth certificate issued by the competent statutory authority which declares that she was born in Swarupdaha village in 1988, a school certificate, and documents that declare her as an owner of a plot of land in Gobindapur village. “I had given her land and she now has land titles,” her husband said.

Fakir also submitted his father-in-law’s death certificate.

“But they ignored all the documents and branded her as a Bangladeshi without any notice, investigation or a court order,” Jumman said.

Sahida’s parents were included in the 2002 voter list, a copy of which Scroll has seen. However, in the recent special intensive revision of electoral rolls, Sahida was marked as “under adjudication”. An appeal against her exclusion is pending before the tribunal hearing similar challenges.

‘The police have to be held accountable’

On July 27, Jumman Fakir got a call from Bangladesh and was able to speak to Sahida.

“A Bangladeshi family at Sonabaria area in Satkhira district gave her refuge,” he said.

But, as the Bangladeshi authorities became aware of her presence from reports in the local media, the pressure on the family has grown.

“For the last 10 days, the Bangladeshi police and officials of the Border Guard Bangladesh have been guarding their home,” Fakir said. “They are in touch with me and kept calling me to take her back. They said there is pressure from the top.”

The village in which Sahida found shelter is across the border from Swarupdaha, where she was born.

Fakir said he could have brought her back from Bangladesh with the help of residents on either side of the border. “She is just across the river. But we will bring her legally. The police have to be held accountable for why they sent my wife to Bangladesh illegally.”

Defending the Assam government’s proposal to reduce the eco-sensitive zone around Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve to 1 km from 10 km, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday the decision was in accordance with Supreme Court guidelines.

On August 8, Sarma had said the eco-sensitive zone around the UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is home to the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses, was 10 km “by default”. The Assam government would send a proposal to the Union government within two months to reduce the limit to 1 km to allow development activities in the area, including the construction of a stadium, he had added.

In June 2022, the Supreme Court ordered that eco-sensitive zones of at least 1 km should be declared around protected forests, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

However, in April 2023, the court modified the order after states and the Union government argued that uniformly applying the 1-km requirement was not feasible and it had to be “protected area-specific”.

Here's the real facts regarding the Eco sensitive zone around @kaziranga_ pic.twitter.com/Gu1yxcfwaG

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 12, 2026

On Wednesday, Sarma said that the top court “itself had stated that the eco-sensitive zone would be of 1 km”, reported Hindustan Times.

“But till the state government doesn't notify the ESZ, the limit of that zone would be 10 km,” he added. “Once the state notifies the ESZ properly, it will come down to 1 km, which is what the apex court had specified.”

He claimed that if the state government was to maintain the 10 km limit around Kaziranga, “then towns like Kaliabar, Doboka, Jakhalabandha, Bokakhat would not remain”.

“There’s no wildlife sanctuary in the world which has an ESZ of 10 km surrounding it,” the Bharatiya Janata Party leader added.

He said that he was being criticised by some persons who did not understand the matter and advised them to examine the Supreme Court order, The Hindu reported.

In its 2023 order, the Supreme Court said that strict compliance with its earlier order could lead to increased human-animal conflict and hamper the day-to-day activities of people living around protected areas. However, it prohibited mining within 1 km of protected areas.

The Assam government proposal to reduce the eco-sensitive zone has drawn criticism from environmentalists and conservationists, who have raised concerns about its impact on wildlife movement around Kaziranga.

Animals, including rhinos, elephants and deer, leave the park during annual floods in search of higher ground, while several identified wildlife corridors connecting Kaziranga to the Karbi Anglong Hills extend beyond the proposed 1-km zone, they have argued. They have also warned that a smaller buffer could increase human-wildlife conflict.

Written by Tanya Shrivastava. Edited by Sneha.

The Kerala High Court has set aside a Union government order refusing to renew the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act registration of two non-profits on the grounds that they had funded protests against the Adani port project in Vizhinjam, reported Bar and Bench on Wednesday.

Registration under the Act is mandatory for non-profit organisations to receive foreign funds.

Even if the organisations – Kerala Social Service Forum and Save a Family Plan India – had provided financial support to protesters, it could not be treated as the use of foreign funds for an undesirable purpose, said Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas in his order on Tuesday.

In 2022, a group of fisherfolk staged protests against the Rs 7,500-crore project led by billionaire Gautam Adani’s ports business. They alleged that the project would cause coastal erosion and damage their livelihoods.

The protest turned violent on November 26, 2022, after demonstrators prevented the Adani Group from resuming construction at the project site, where work had been suspended for four months. The construction at the port site subsequently resumed on the directions of the Kerala High Court.

Kerala Social Service Forum and Save a Family Plan India had been registered to receive foreign funds since 1985, reported Bar and Bench.

The Union government refused to renew their registrations after 2021, claiming that the organisations had diverted their funds to provide financial support to the protesters against the Vizhinjam project.

The organisations moved the High Court against the Union government’s decision.

On Tuesday, the court held that the government’s “distaste for protests or dissents” could not be grounds for holding that the constitutionally protected right to protest was against “public interest”.

“Thus, even if it is assumed that some financial support was provided to the protestors, it cannot be treated as diversion of foreign contribution for an undesirable purpose or against public interest, tantamount to violation of any provision in the FCRA,” the judge was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench.

The court also said that the government had not provided reasons for rejecting the organisations’ application to renew their FCRA registration. This was “essential” in a democratic country, it added.

“An order without reason is an action born of whim and not of law,” the judge said.

He held that the Union government’s decision was arbitrary and illegal, and set it aside.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will have to examine whether the rebellion by Shiv Sena MLAs in 2022 can be viewed as the party having split, reported Live Law.

The court was hearing a petition by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena challenging the Election Commission’s move to recognise the Eknath Shinde faction as the official party and allot it the bow and arrow symbol.

Appearing for the Uddhav Sena, advocate Kapil Sibal told a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant that the Election Commission should not have concluded that the Shiv Sena had split because of a division in its legislative party.

“Perhaps the commission’s reasoning requires review,” the bench was quoted as saying by Live Law. “But it will be very difficult to ignore the fact that a group, which is actually maybe born in the legislative polls, did not have a resonance in the [primary organisation].”

It added: “First we see whether there is a split right? The split can originate in the legislative party, but its crack can percolate in the primary organisation.”

The Shiv Sena had split in June 2022 after then-Chief Minister Eknath Shinde claimed the support of 39 out of the Shiv Sena’s 55 MLAs, in addition to 10 independent MLAs, and rebelled against Thackeray’s Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition. The Shiv Sena, the then-united Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress were allies in the government.

Shinde went on to dislodge the Thackeray-led Maharashtra government, becoming chief minister with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

In 2023, the Election Commission of India handed over the official name and election symbol – the bow and arrow – of the Shiv Sena to the Shinde faction.

The poll panel had said that 40 MLAs backing Shinde got nearly 76% of the votes polled in favour of the 55 Shiv Sena candidates who had won their seats in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls. On the other hand, the Uddhav Thackeray faction’s 15 MLAs got 23.5% of the votes polled.

On Wednesday, Sibal cited the Supreme Court’s 2023 Constitution Bench judgment, which ruled that a legislative majority alone cannot determine the real party.

Replying to this, Bagchi said that the judgement “never says that a split in the legislature party, if it gets reflected in the organisation and the primary membership”, needs to be ignored, reported Live Law.

Raising broader constitutional concerns, Sibal said that allowing the legislative wing of a party to be “sold” to a ruling party, resulting in an elected government being removed, makes “mockery of justice”.

“We cannot see democracy being withered away like this,” he was quoted as saying.

In January 2024, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar also held that the group of MLAs headed by Shinde constituted the real Shiv Sena when rival factions of the political party emerged in June 2022.

The Uddhav Sena has since had a new election symbol – the mashal, or torch.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2026, which received the assent of the president on Tuesday, makes it a crime to insult or stop the singing of Vande Mataram.

It asks a much more critical question: in a democracy, should loyalty to the nation be determined by adherence to constitutional principles or should it be judged by performing actions legally deemed to be patriotic?

On Tuesday, the government announced that Vande Mataram will be sung at the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort on August 15.

The new law amends the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act of 1971 by offering legal protection to Vande Mataram. The song, written in 1875, has long been an inspiration for Indians. No one has suggested that Vande Mataram does not deserve respect. But should respect for Vande Mataram be legislated?

In January 1950, the Constituent Assembly that had been appointed to frame India’s Constitution resolved to adopt Jana Gana Mana as the national anthem while recognising Vande Mataram as the National Song in view of its historic role in the freedom movement.

The Assembly consciously distinguished between the National Anthem and the National Song.

Assembly members acknowledged that while Vande Mataram is important for nationalism, parts of the song contain religious imagery that some communities could find it difficult to relate to. Rather than demanding uniformity, the assembly chose flexibility.

The new law seems likely to disrupt that balance with criminal penalties for the National Song similar to that for other national symbols.

During the Constituent Assembly debates, chairperson BR Ambedkar had anticipated the situation that India is now facing. “Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment,” he observed. “It has to be cultivated.”

He implied that authorising punishment for the absence of such morality is not an ideal way to create it. Instead, it grows through education and reasoning on the public level. Laws can make people follow them, but this does not create a true belief in the Constitution.

For the last 10 years, public discussion has increasingly focused on displaying patriotism and how that is evidence of constitutional loyalty. This was demonstrated, for instance, when the Supreme Court in 2016 ordered cinemas to play the National Anthem before movies started. (Two years later, it made this optional.)

There has been a shift from the responsibility of the authorities to protect people’s rights to the state demanding that citizens overtly display their patriotism.

Here, India is not alone. According to Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt in How Democracies Die, and Tom Ginsburg and Aziz Huq in How to Save a Constitutional Democracy, democratic degeneration is a gradual process that uses law to enlarge executive power and to shrink the space available for dissent. Symbolic nationalism is often deployed as a tool of enforcing democratic conformity in many parts of the world.

On paper, the Indian Supreme Court has ruled to protect against national symbols being deployed as a tool of coercion. The court’s decision in Bijoe Emmanuel v State of Kerala (1986) demonstrated the value of the principle of freedom of conscience. The case involved students belonging to the Jehovah’s Witness religious group who had been expelled from school for declining to sing the National Anthem, but standing respectfully as it was being sung.

They contended that their faith permitted them to worship only Jehovah and did not allow the symbolic praise of any other entity.

The court determined that love for one’s country cannot be measured by forced actions. Its ruling emphasised that that loyalty to the Constitution is, in fact, the ultimate dissent.

The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Act, 2026, raises concerns not just about its objectives but also about how it has been drafted.

The amendment criminalises a person who “intentionally prevents” the singing of Vande Mataram or “causes disturbance” to an assembly engaged in such singing, but does not define what constitutes such prevention or disturbance. This leaves it unclear about whether liability extends only to physical disruption or could also encompass non-participation, protest, speech or other forms of expression. Would a person’s silent refusal to sing Vande Mataram amount to intentionally preventing it being sung? Would peaceful protest during its rendition constitute a disturbance?

Celebrate our eternal values of pride & unity in diversity by joining the #HarGharTiranga movement from 9-17 August. Hoist at home & pay tribute to the spirit of Vande Mataram. Don't forget to upload your selfie with Tiranga on https://t.co/vnkm0KyFSG #HGT2026 @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/bgBpfJj5eJ

— Ministry of WCD (@MinistryWCD) August 12, 2026

In the case of Shreya Singhal vs Union of India, the Supreme Court in 2015 struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act for, among other reasons, vagueness and being overly broad, holding that unclear criminal standards can confer excessive discretion on enforcement authorities and have a chilling effect on protected speech.

A similar concern arises here: without a clear statutory threshold for what constitutes “intentionally prevent[ing]” or “caus[ing] disturbance” to the singing of Vande Mataram, the law leaves citizens and enforcement authorities uncertain about the boundaries of criminal liability.

The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 reflects legislative restraint. Parliament recognised that protecting national honour need not come at the expense of legitimate democratic expression.

Its Statement of Objects and Reasons expressly clarifies that it is not intended to prohibit “honest and bona fide criticism” of national symbols. This law even allows people to change the Constitution and National Flag as long as those changes are made through legal means.

The new law contains no equivalent safeguard. In the absence of such limiting language, the breadth of the offence is left largely to executive interpretation.

Vande Mataram should certainly be honoured, but should criminal law be used to enforce that honour? In a constitutional democracy, the primary loyalty is to the Constitution with its values of liberty, equality, fraternity and justice. When a commitment to national symbols is made under the threat of a penal sanction, it is most likely to be a compelled gesture of civic conformity.

A constitutional democracy does not derive its strength from prescribing how citizens must express their allegiance to the nation, but from protecting their freedom to do so, or not, within constitutional limits. The Constitution is worthy of allegiance because it protects all of its citizens, even those whose expressions of patriotism are less than enthusiastic.

Samanvi Narang is Assistant Professor of Law at Jindal Global Law School, OP Jindal Global University.

The Maharashtra government’s Marathi language requirement for taxi and auto drivers will also apply to those working with Ola, Uber and Rapido, The Indian Express quoted Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik as saying on Wednesday.

On April 14, the state government made it mandatory for all licensed taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers to have a basic knowledge of Marathi from May 1. However, on April 29, it deferred the implementation of the decision until August 15.

Sarnaik had said in July that licences of taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers who fail to clear a Marathi language test will be cancelled from August 16.

His statement on Wednesday follows amendments to the 1989 Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rules, which make working knowledge of Marathi a requirement for authorisations related to commercial passenger transport, including permits and permit renewals, reported The Indian Express.

“These amendments eliminate ambiguities in the rules and underscore the importance of practical Marathi for drivers engaged in passenger transport,” Sarnaik was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

In 2025, several attacks were reported in Maharashtra on persons for not speaking or allegedly insulting Marathi.

When the Marathi test was announced in April, officials told The Hindu that drivers would be assessed on their ability to read signboards or documents, write a simple sentence and hold a basic conversation in the language.

Edited by Sneha.

The Rajasthan High Court on Monday initiated suo moto proceedings about the structural condition of its Jodhpur building, which was inaugurated in December 2019, reported Bar and Bench.

The action came after an assessment by the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay found that the 21-metre-high central dome of the building was at risk “of imminent collapse and may fall at any moment”.

The building was constructed at a cost of Rs 316 crore, reported The Times of India. Its foundation stone was laid on April 20, 2007, the construction began in 2011 and the structural work was completed by the end of 2013.

However, structural problems had emerged “within a span of few years”, said a division bench of Justices Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Praveer Bhatnagar on Monday.

Pointing out that the dome posed a serious threat to those working in the court, the bench said that it was “gravely concerned”.

It noted that a portion of the dome had collapsed in April 2023 and further incidents of false ceiling and plaster falling in courtrooms were reported in 2024 and 2025.

There were also problems with water seepage and in the drainage system, the reinforcement steel had corroded, and there were cracks in structural elements, the bench pointed out. It added that the fire-safety arrangements were also inadequate.

IIT report on building

In 2023, an IIT Jodhpur expert committee had found that the steel reinforcement of the building had corroded severely, the concrete had deteriorated and there were deficiencies in waterproofing, reported Bar and Bench.

The panel had recommended that the structure should be audited by a third-party.

A subsequent audit estimated the cost of structural repairs and retrofitting at about Rs 57.6 crore.

The latest assessment by IIT Bombay found active reinforcement corrosion, carbonation and chloride contamination in parts of the building. It also found that around 40% of the inspected areas were vulnerable to concrete chipping of the surface, according to the court record.

As an immediate safety measure, the dome has been cordoned off and movement beneath it restricted, Bar and Bench reported.

On Monday, the court ordered 24-hour monitoring of the dome and other critical structural components by engineers.

It also directed the authorities to prepare a safety and evacuation plan within 48 hours, conduct mock drills within 72 hours and establish a 24-hour control room on the premises.

The Rajasthan government and other agencies have been directed to file detailed affidavits by August 24 about the building’s condition and a time-bound plan for strengthening, rebuilding or replacing the dome.

Edited by Sneha.

India and Pakistan fought an intense four-day war in May 2025. But while the media narrative was dominated by fighter jets, drones and missiles, the most consequential contest unfolded in orbit a few hundred kilometres up.

That short war was, arguably, the first between two nuclear-armed states to be shaped decisively by the use of satellites. Few analysts acknowledged this – and the silence matters. South Asia is now sliding into a new kind of arms race with no rules to restrain it.

The opening night on May 6 carried a lesson that should unsettle far larger air forces than those of the two countries involved. Pakistan, with a smaller military, fought a tightly networked battle that fused ground radar, airborne early warning, data links and satellite navigation into a single kill chain, planning and executing attacks. Pakistan’s strategy has been developed by an air force whose leadership had drilled that doctrine for years.

Pakistani officials claimed that one of their Chinese-built J-10C fighters downed an Indian Rafale with a PL-15 missile at more than 200kms. This was a kill made from beyond visual range – something with little precedent in combat. India disputes the account, but its own chief of defence staff later conceded that the air force lost aircraft that day.

India regrouped and struck back hard over the following days. But the opening exchange was decided less by numbers, or by any single aircraft’s specifications, than by how well each side fused its radar, early warning, data links and missiles into one system, and by the training of the crews flying it.

Sitting over all this was space-based technology. Modern strikes run on satellites: satellite imagery to find targets, navigation to guide weapons and links to hold it together. Both sides drew on them and both used them to reach beyond their borders.

Despite the strength of India’s defence manufacturing industry, Delhi fell back on imagery bought from US commercial satellite firm Maxar Technologies to assess the damage its strikes had caused. Pakistan leaned on Chinese systems. According to India’s own deputy army chief, Beijing fed Pakistan live inputs on Indian deployments – and researchers have describe how a BeiDou-enabled satellite network (the Chinese equivalent of GPS) reportedly supplied targeting data during the fighting.

This is where the familiar story about Pakistan’s dependence on China needs correcting. Reliance on a great power patron is not peculiar to Pakistan – most countries start out developing their space programme this way. India launched its first satellite on a Soviet rocket in 1975 and built its heavy-lift capability around Russian cryogenic engines, the high-efficiency rocket motors that burn super-cooled liquid fuel to launch heavy satellites, acquired in 1991.

China itself began with Soviet missile designs. Pakistan’s turn to China, after years of relying on a US system it feared could be switched off in a crisis, is a rational decision of the same kind India once made when it sourced most of its weapons and its first satellite launch from Moscow rather than the west.

Borrowed capability still comes with a cost. Commercial and allied space assets are becoming a strategic equaliser in South Asia, giving a smaller state capabilities it could not achieve on its own. The risk is that this hands a third power a seat inside a bilateral nuclear rivalry and ties a regional quarrel to the wider contest between Washington, Moscow and Beijing.

India has chosen to respond with sheer volume, fast-tracking a home-grown programme worth US$3.2 billion for 52 dedicated military satellites to watch Pakistan, China and the Indian Ocean, plus a new space doctrine and counterspace arsenal. It has already demonstrated its ability to destroy a satellite in orbit in its 2019 Mission Shakti test. Pakistan is likely to respond by deepening its partnership with China.

Split-second decisions

The deeper hazard is not a battle in orbit but the way these systems compress the timing with which operational decisions are made. When commanders can watch an adversary almost in real time and believe a target can be struck within minutes, the pull to move first, before the target slips away, becomes hard to resist.

As I have written on the doctrine of limited air wars, nuclear neighbours rarely escalate deliberately. They tend to stumble into conflict under time pressure. Satellites do not make these states reckless. They reduce the margin for miscalculation.

And there is no rule book. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty bans weapons of mass destruction in orbit, but is silent on the conventional, electronic and cyber tools that actually shaped this war. Fresh norms have stalled. India has abstained from recent United Nations resolutions on responsible behaviour in space, wary of a rule-making process it sees as led by the established western space powers and shaped without India’s full say.

Meanwhile, Pakistan urges a restraint it cannot yet enforce. Nothing in the space domain resembles even the imperfect hotlines and arms-control treaties that disciplined the cold war rivalry between Washington and Moscow.

For years, the debate about war in space has focused on the US, China and Russia. Yet it may be here, between two states partitioned in 1947 that have fought four wars since, that the world first sees what space-enabled conflict between nuclear powers really looks like.

Having spent 17 years in the Pakistan Air Force before turning to research, I think the May war is not so much a story about Pakistan’s reliance on China than as two nuclear rivals racing the same space-enabled technology ahead of any restraint. The tools are advancing fast. The guardrails are not.

Muhammad Waqas Haider is PhD candidate in International Relations, Lancaster University.

This article was first published on The Conversation.

The Lok Sabha referred the 2026 Foreign Contribution Regulation Amendment Bill to a 31-member joint parliamentary committee for detailed examination. This followed protests by Opposition parties, which said that the bill grants “sweeping and disproportionate powers” to the executive without adequate constitutional safeguards.

A key provision of the amendment bill allows the Union government to take control of an organisation’s foreign funds and assets if its FCRA registration lapses or is cancelled.

Introduced in Parliament in March, the bill has also drawn criticism from churches and civil society groups, who said that the legislation will adversely affect religious minorities. Read on.

How India’s crackdown on NGO funds has crushed key grassroots services and ended livelihoods, reported Kunal Purohit

A Lok Sabha inquiry committee has found that “unexplained bundles of Rs 500” were recovered from the Delhi residence of former High Court judge Yashwant Varma in March 2025. In a report tabled in Parliament, the panel also said that Varma had given misleading explanations about the cash.

His responses were “evasive and unsatisfactory”, said the panel, constituted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on August 12, 2025. It also said that the cash was neither secured nor preserved and later disappeared, which remains “unexplained”. Read on.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of compromising India’s interests after a United States federal judge dismissed criminal charges against billionaire Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani in a securities fraud case. There was “much more to this than meets the eye”, said Gandhi, alleging that a “compromised PM was forced to sell India’s interest”.

The charges, filed in 2024, accused the Adanis of agreeing to bribe Indian government officials to secure approval for a solar energy project and of making misleading statements about anti-corruption practices while raising funds from investors. Gautam Adani has denied wrongdoing. Read on.

The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research in Hyderabad has invited Chief Justice Surya Kant to be the chief guest at its upcoming convocation. The invitation was extended despite students asking the university to reconsider the decision, objecting to Kant’s remarks on a petition alleging that the police had used excessive force against protesters in Delhi.

The chief justice had reportedly told the petitioners: “Don’t waste our time and don’t waste your time”. The remarks were inconsistent with the university’s stated commitment to constitutional rights, access to justice and engagement with grievances, the students have said.

The university is awaiting a response from Kant, said the vice-chancellor. Read on.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a resolution opposing the proposed delimitation exercise and urged the Centre to retain the number of Lok Sabha seats at 543. The move was backed by the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

Chief Minister Vijay said women’s reservation should be implemented in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections using the existing 543 seats. DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin supported the resolution and said delimitation “should not be carried out for the next 25 years”. Read on.

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An inquiry committee formed by the Lok Sabha has found that “unexplained bundles of Rs 500” were recovered from the Delhi residence of former High Court judge Yashwant Varma and that he had given misleading explanations about it, reported Live Law on Wednesday.

In its report tabled in Parliament, the three-member committee said that all the charges framed against Varma are proved.

The unaccounted cash had been recovered at Varma’s official residence in Delhi when emergency services responded to a fire there on March 14, 2025. He was a judge at the Delhi High Court at that time.

The judge said that he was in Bhopal at the time of the incident and claimed that the cash did not belong to him or his family.

The controversy prompted his transfer to the Allahabad High Court.

The panel noted in its report on Wednesday that Varma failed to provide a satisfactory explanation about the “presence, source or ownership” of the cash, reported Live Law.

The cash was neither secured nor preserved and later disappeared, the panel was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. This disappearance remains unexplained, it added.

The committee further noted that the explanations given by Varma were “evasive and unsatisfactory when tested against the evidence of independent official witnesses”.

Referring to Varma’s written reply to Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya on March 22, 2025, the panel said that the former judge “did not exhibit the candour, transparency and institutional responsibility expected in the circumstances”.

Varma had claimed that the accusations against him were part of a conspiracy to frame and malign him.

He resigned from his post in April, more than two months after Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the process to impeach the judge was underway.

The three-member committee had been formed by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on August 12, 2025. It was headed by Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar and comprised former Bombay High Court Chief Justice Shree Chandrasekhar and advocate BV Acharya.

While Birla had stated in the House that the panel would submit its report at the earliest, the investigation was delayed since Varma challenged the legality of the inquiry committee in the Supreme Court.

On January 16, the Supreme Court rejected his petition.

Days after the cash was recovered, the Supreme Court had also set up a three-member committee to look into the allegations.

On March 22, 2025, the court released a report, including a video and three photographs, showing bundles of notes that were allegedly recovered from the judge’s home.

As Varma had at the time declined to voluntarily retire or resign, Sanjiv Khanna, the chief justice of India at the time, sent the final inquiry committee report on the incident to the president and the prime minister.

The committee, in its report, had concluded that there was “sufficient substance” in the charges against Varma. The report dated May 3, 2025, held that the judge’s misconduct was “serious enough to call for initiation of proceedings for removal”.

Edited by Sneha.

The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research in Hyderabad has invited Chief Justice Surya Kant to be the chief guest at the upcoming convocation, the university’s vice-chancellor told The Indian Express.

The invitation was extended despite students urging the university to reconsider the decision, citing Kant’s response to a petition alleging that police had used excessive force against protesters in Delhi on July 20.

On July 22, a bench headed by the chief justice refused to urgently hear the petition. “Don’t waste our time and don’t waste your time,” Kant had reportedly told the petitioners.

When the lawyer for the petitioners said that he could present video evidence of the police excesses, the chief justice had said the bench was “not interested” in watching them.

Referring to the remarks, the students had told the university authorities that it did not sit right to receive their degrees from a dignitary whose recent public conduct appeared dismissive of serious allegations of police brutality against protesting citizens.

On Wednesday, the university’s vice-chancellor was quoted as saying by The Indian Express that they were awaiting a response from Kant to their invite.

While the date of the convocation is yet to be decided, it is usually held in August or September, added the vice-chancellor.

The incumbent chief justice has been delivering the convocation address at the university for several years.

Students’ representation to university

On July 23, 70 students from the outgoing batch of NALSAR sent a representation to the university authorities, The Indian Express reported. Over the next two days, about 380 more students from batches that will graduate over the next five years supported the demand to reconsider inviting Kant.

They had said that the convocation should reflect the university’s values, including “a commitment to constitutional rights, access to justice, and reasoned engagement with grievances”.

The police action on July 20 had come during protests against the alleged mismanagement of several competitive examinations. The agitation, which culminated in the resignation of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Dharmendra Pradhan as the Union education minister, was led by the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign.

The Cockroach Janta Party was launched in response to reports of remarks by Kant comparing some unemployed youngsters to “cockroaches”. The chief justice had claimed that he had been misquoted by sections of the media and that it was baseless to say that he criticised young people in general.

Edited by Sneha.

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday referred the 2026 Foreign Contribution Regulation Amendment Bill to a joint parliamentary committee for detailed examination.

Registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act is mandatory for a non-profit organisation to receive foreign funds.

Among the key provisions under the amendment bill is one that allows the Union government to take control of an organisation’s foreign funds and assets if its FCRA registration lapses or is cancelled.

The bill was introduced in Parliament in March during the Budget Session.

The proposed legislation was sent for wider consultation in the wake of protests by Opposition parties, who said that the bill grants “sweeping and disproportionate powers” to the executive without adequate constitutional safeguards.

A collective of churches in Mizoram’s Aizawl also held a large-scale protest on Tuesday against the amendment bill, reported PTI. The protesters said that the legislation will adversely affect religious minorities, churches and non-governmental organisations, and could undermine constitutional safeguards.

On Wednesday, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Opposition should raise their concerns before the committee.

The motion to refer the bill was moved by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai.

Although the supplementary list of business stated that Union Home Minister Amit Shah would move the motion in Lok Sabha, he was absent from the House.

The proposed committee to examine the bill will have 31 members, including 21 from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. The speaker will name the Lok Sabha MPs, while the Rajya Sabha members will be nominated by the chairman of the Upper House.

The committee will be required to submit its report to the Lok Sabha by the last day of the first week of the Winter Session of Parliament.

The proposed changes

Under the proposed framework, foreign funds and assets will provisionally vest in a government-appointed “designated authority”. If the organisation fails to regain registration, this control would become permanent. The authority would then be empowered to use, transfer or dispose of these assets for “public purposes”.

The provision applies to all institutions, not just churches. The proposed amendment specifies that the religious character of the place of worship would be preserved.

Opposition MPs have opposed the proposed law, describing it as “dangerous” and “draconian”. Civil society groups have also criticised the bill, saying that the changes would expand state control over NGOs.

Between 2016-’17 and 2021-’22, more than 6,600 NGOs lost their FCRA licences, the government had told Parliament in December 2022. In 2023, it informed Parliament that 13,520 registered non-profit organisations had received more than Rs 55,700 crore in foreign contributions between 2019-’20 and 2021-’22.

On August 5, US Congressman Riley Moore criticised India’s proposed FCRA amendments, calling them a “clear attack against Christians” and alleging that they would allow the government to take control of churches and religious charities. He warned that the changes could hurt relations between Washington and New Delhi.

The Ministry of External Affairs rejected the concern on Friday, with spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal saying that “legislative matters concerning India are our internal affairs” and that decisions on such matters are taken by Parliament. He also noted that several countries, including the US, regulate the flow of foreign funds.

Written by Sara Varghese. Edited by Sneha.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution against the proposed delimitation exercise, reported ANI.

The process of fixing the boundaries of electoral constituencies is called delimitation.

Backed by the Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam-led state government also urged the Union government to permanently retain the number of Lok Sabha seats at 543.

During a three-day special session of Parliament in April, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government introduced the 2026 Constitution 131st Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha to amend the 2023 Women’s Reservation Act and redraw the boundaries of electoral constituencies.

The bill, one of the three draft legislations that were introduced, required a two-thirds majority of votes in Parliament to pass. The ruling National Democratic Alliance does not have a two-thirds majority of MPs in any House. Therefore, it required the support of Opposition parties to pass the amendment.

The consideration of the bill was rejected by the Lok Sabha with 298 MPs voting in its favour and 230 against.

Before the Monsoon Session of Parliament began on July 20, Union minister Ramdas Athawale was quoted as saying by PTI that the delimitation bill would be passed in the House.

However, amid a deadlock in Parliament about the police using excessive force against youth protesters in Delhi, the bill has not been listed. The Monsoon Session of Parliament will conclude on Thursday.

On Wednesday, while introducing the resolution in Tamil Nadu Assembly, Chief Minister Vijay said that the 33% reservation for women should be implemented in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections based on the current 543 seats, reported ANI.

Women’s reservation should not be viewed as a concession, but as a matter of social justice and equal representation, he added.

Extending support for the resolution, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Udhayanidhi Stalin said that delimitation “should not be carried out for the next 25 years”.

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam opposed the TVK’s move.

AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said that the Vijay government had brought the resolution “for political reasons and to create unnecessary excitement over the issue”.

“There is nothing wrong with delimiting Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies based on population and geographical area in the interest of administrative convenience,” ANI quoted Palaniswami as saying.

However, he urged the Union government to ensure that the exercise does not disadvantage Tamil Nadu or reduce the state’s representation in Parliament below the existing 7.18% share.

The AIADMK is a member of the NDA.

Edited by Sneha.

Six persons were killed and four others injured in a landslide triggered by heavy rain in Mumbai’s Kurla area on Wednesday, The Hindu reported.

The landslide occurred around 3.48 am at Gaushiya Chawl in Kurla’s Chirag Nagar. A portion of soil and debris from the hillside collapsed onto two to three houses, The New Indian Express quoted an unidentified municipal official as saying.

VIDEO | Mumbai, Maharashtra: Rescue workers retrieve a body from landslide site at Gaushiya Chawl in Ghatkopar's Chirag Nagar; efforts underway to look for survivors.

(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/JfY5kI1P2g

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 12, 2026

Those who were killed in the landslide were identified as Mohammad Samir Ansari (14), Sahil Husen Abdul Kazi (19) Aban Arif Shaikh (2), Manat Arif Shaikh (4), Marjina Arif Shaikh (27). A middle aged man remains unidentified.

Four injured persons, Sohel Ansari (18), Mohammad Ansari (14), Naimuddhin Eqbal Khan (28) and Sajid Ansari (16), were admitted to the civic-run Bhabha Hospital in Kurla, where their condition was reported to be stable, The New Indian Express reported.

Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawade announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the families of those killed and Rs 50,000 for each person injured in the incident.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said that it regularly warned residents in areas vulnerable to landslides and rockfalls to evacuate unsafe locations and issued notices as part of its pre-monsoon safety measures, The Hindu reported.

Two killed in Vile Parle fire

A two-year-old child and a woman were killed, while six others were injured, after a fire broke out on the 11th floor of a 12-storey building in Mumbai’s Vile Parle West on Tuesday night, ANI reported.

Abir (2) and Ankita (23) were declared dead at a hospital. Of the six injured, two have been discharged and the remaining four are also in a stable condition, ANI quoted the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation as saying.

Fifteen persons who were trapped on the terrace due to the fire were also rescued, the news agency reported.

#WATCH | Maharashtra | Visuals from the spot after a fire broke out on the 11th floor of a ground + upper 12 floored building at Baptista Road, Shanta Bhavan Building, Church Road, Near St. Xavier School, Vileparle (W).

Six people were reported injured, of whom two were… pic.twitter.com/y1MM03fcWK

— ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2026

The fire was reported at around 10 pm and was brought under control by about 1 am. It was confined to electrical wiring and installations, an air conditioner, household articles, furniture, a false ceiling and kitchen utensils, covering an area of around 4,000 square feet.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

After a United States federal judge formally dismissed criminal charges in a securities fraud case against billionaire Gautam Adani, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of compromising India’s interests and said that the country was “paying a huge price”.

In a social media post, Gandhi shared the screenshot of a media report on the US court approving the US Justice Department’s proposal to dismiss the charges against Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani.

“There is much more to this than meets the eye,” Gandhi wrote. He further added that a “compromised PM was forced to sell India’s interest”.

Before dismissing the case, Judge Nicholas Garaufis had asked prosecutors to explain why they wanted to drop it.

On Monday, the judge criticised senior US Justice Department official Trent McCotter’s conduct as “highly unusual” in the case. He remarked that the official decided to drop charges largely in collaboration with defense counsel and “seemingly without input from the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] and SEC [Securities Exchange Commission] agents”.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is the main federal law enforcement agency in the US. The primary role of the Securities Exchange Commission is to enforce laws against market manipulation.

In a court filing on July 4, McCotter said the case was primarily foreign, hard to prove and not in line with the department’s current priorities.

Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and six others had been indicted in November 2024 in the final weeks of Joe Biden’s presidency by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn, New York.

US prosecutors had charged the billionaire with agreeing to bribe Indian government officials so that a subsidiary of his Adani Group could win approval to develop a solar energy plant. The prosecutors also alleged that the defendants made misleading statements about its anti-corruption practices while raising funds from US and international investors.

Gautam Adani had denied wrongdoing. In a social media post early on Tuesday, he said that he welcomed the “court’s decision with humility and deep respect for the judicial process”.

Written by Anamika Pathak. Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

India is examining the implications of a joint defence agreement signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday.

Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the government was assessing the agreement from the perspective of India’s “national security as well as considerations of regional, peace and stability”.

“India remains fully committed to safeguarding its national interests,” Jaiswal said at a media briefing. “…[India] will take all necessary measures in this regard.”

The three countries signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on Friday. The pact aims to strengthen “collective deterrence” and states that an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be considered an attack against all.

The agreement had come against the backdrop of heightened tensions in West Asia amid conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States.

The pact brings together three Sunni Muslim-majority countries. Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s largest oil exporters and home to Islam’s holiest sites. Pakistan is the only nuclear-armed Muslim-majority country, while Türkiye has the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s second-largest military.

On Tuesday, Jaiswal also said India was also closely following developments in the West Asia conflict.

Written by Anamika Pathak. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

Also read: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt emerge as new bloc amid Iran war

The foreign ministry on Tuesday said that maintaining peace and tranquillity at the Line of Actual Control between India and China is of utmost importance, and that the “state of the border affairs” will affect bilateral ties in general.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made the remarks at a media briefing in response to a question about reports of a fresh standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh.

The standoff was first reported in early July in the remote Taksin area of Upper Subansiri district, the Hindustan Times quoted unidentified sources as saying. There were several face-offs between Indian and Chinese troops in July, which became more serious towards the end of the month. The Army and the Union government have not yet commented on the reports.

While Jaiswal did not comment specifically on the reported standoff, he said that India had raised the importance of maintaining peace along the Line of Actual Control at the 36th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs in New Delhi on August 6.

“In matters relating to the border areas between India and China, we have always emphasised in discussions with the Chinese side that we consider these issues as most serious and that the maintenance of peace and tranquility in these areas is of the utmost importance.” he said. “We have also stated that the state of the border affairs will reflect on the state of our larger bilateral ties.”

Border tensions between India and China escalated in June 2020 when a violent face-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers took place in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley along the Line of Actual Control. It led to the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers. Beijing said that the clash left four of its soldiers dead.

Following the military face-off, both countries deployed thousands of soldiers along with heavy artillery in the region. China and India held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks to resolve their border standoff.

In July 2025, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that relations between India and China were “steadily improving” and called for the continued normalisation of bilateral ties.

Arunachal Pradesh integral part of India: MEA

On Tuesday, Jaiswal also rejected China’s objections to India’s recent move to assign standard names to 27 locations and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh.

“Arunachal Pradesh is an inalienable and integral part of India,” he said, adding that nothing could change this “indisputable reality”.

On August 7, the Union home ministry had issued standard names for 27 locations and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh, including some in areas claimed by China.

China has for long sought to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh. Beijing lays territorial claims over a large portion of Arunachal Pradesh, claiming that it is “South Tibet”. China refers to Arunachal Pradesh as Zangnan. India has rejected China’s claims.

The developments came a month before the upcoming BRICS Summit, where Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi.

The BRICS grouping comprises India, Brazil, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

Written by Tanya Shrivastava. Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

Also read:

• Interview: From Trump to West Asia, India’s diplomatic troubles go back to post-Galwan failure

In the afternoon of July 20, a blast resounded through a tunnel being constructed in Sikkim’s Namchi district. Workers said that the force of the blast threw them around two metres, and that almost immediately, they could smell gas.

The explosion took place in the head-race tunnel of the 500-MW Teesta VI hydropower project being constructed by NHPC, a public enterprise. Such tunnels are the main channels that route water from a river, and lead it to turbines to generate power, before channeling the water back to the river.

The explosion occurred after a “sudden burst of suspected methane gas trapped inside the rocks which led to an explosion generating dense fumes and toxic gases”, the company said in a press release.

While some workers on site escaped the explosion, 25 others were trapped after it triggered a rockfall and blocked the tunnel’s opening. Rescue operations began immediately and concluded on the third day. There were no survivors.

The company’s press release stated that it was carrying out a “detailed investigation” to “ascertain the cause of the incident”.

But while findings of the investigation are yet to be released, company documents that Scroll has examined show that NHPC had been aware of the presence of methane on the site since at least January.

A document prepared by the company shows that in January, the site saw a “sudden leakage of flammable methane gas” during excavation work, as a result of which several workers “sustained burn injuries”.

Despite this, another document prepared by the company indicates that in July, the company did not have adequate infrastructure to manage the presence of methane in the tunnel. Just ten days before the accident, NHPC had floated a tender for firms and experts to provide a range of services, including management of methane through measures such as detecting and monitoring the gas, and providing ventilation.

Moreover, in June, it also issued a tender for two “methanometers-cum-toximeters” for the same tunnel. According to the company’s own safety manual, the devices are used to detect methane levels in the atmosphere, and thus allows personnel to ensure that there is no risk of explosion.

The same month they also invited bids for the service of calibrating this equipment “on a quarterly basis for 2 years at Teesta 6”. The total value of these two tenders was estimated at Rs 3 lakh.

Experts said that these documents indicated that the company was aware of the risks of methane leaks, and yet continued with work at the site. “If they are issuing tenders just ten days before the accident happened, it means that they knew that there were methane pockets,” said Soumya Dutta, a visiting senior fellow at Delhi’s Impact and Policy Research Institute, who works on energy, climate and hydropower projects. “But after issuing the tender, they carried on the work carelessly. It should have paused till they made the tunnel safe.”

He added that even if the company had procured methanometers, “these need to be procured and put in operation and workers need to be trained before the tunnelling work is done”.

Pravin Sharma, who stood as an independent candidate from the Yangthang assembly constituency in Gyalshing district in the 2024 state election, echoed these criticisms. “If this infrastructure was present, then the possibility of all those trapped surviving could have been high,” said Sharma, who is also a social worker. “Was there early gas detection facilities or not? Was there constant monitoring and ventilation and the staff trained for such incidents?”

A geological challenge for two decades

Construction for the Teesta VI hydropower project began in 2005, and was at first carried out by Lanco Teesta Hydro Power.

It was originally envisioned to be operational by 2012, but the eastern Himalayas threw up several challenges for the project, hampering the timeline. In 2009, for instance, a “flammable gas” was detected while the tunnel was being excavated, which then “burst into flame”, The Hindu reported. In 2011, an earthquake blocked ongoing work.

“The eastern Himalaya geography is conducive for methane pockets,” said Vikram Gupta, a professor of engineering geology in Sikkim University. He explained that the region was abundant with “the Gondwana sequence of rock”, which contain shale and coal seams – these seams naturally lead to the creation and trapping of methane. He added “We do not find many traces of them in western Himalayas.”. Dutta noted that the young Himalayas also have weak, sheared and highly fractured rocks, and that construction or excavation of rocks here can expose these methane pockets.

Due to constant delays in construction and mounting expenses, Lanco failed to repay debts to banks. By 2018, the company went bankrupt and became insolvent. Construction had also been stalled for four years at this point. In 2019, NHPC took over the partially constructed project.

In 2023, the project also suffered immense damage when the South Lohnak lake burst and caused a glacial lake outburst flood downstream.

Since then, geological challenges have persisted, delaying the construction further. It is now expected to be completed in 2028.

In the expression of interest that NHPC floated in July, the company said in the last few months, the progress of excavation had been “drastically hampered due to severe, adverse geological conditions”. It noted that apart from problems such as unstable rocks and soil, rock that easily fractured upon excavation, and the constant seepage of water, it also struggled because of “the presence of methane gas” at the site.

Because of these constraints, only about 44% of the head race tunnel work has been completed. Even the Central Electricity Authority, which oversees power projects in the country reiterated the company’s observations, noting that one of the reasons for this delay was “poor geology” in the head race tunnel.

Gupta recounted that he had visited the site around a month ago. “We could very easily smell that gas,” he said. “On the day of the accident, it is possible that a methane chamber suddenly leaked. If it had slowly oozed the way it was doing anyway, it would not have been an issue.”

Gupta said that at meetings he was present at, NHPC officials had spoken about the presence of methane at the site. “But, perhaps they did not expect that the gas would create a blast of this extent,” he said.

An inspection, and recommendations

After the January methane leak, work at the tunnel had temporarily stopped. In March, an inspection team from the CSIR-Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research in Dhanbad visited the site, to determine how construction could be resumed.

After four days of monitoring, they concluded that unpressurised methane that was released from pockets could be safely managed under strict safety guidelines. The team recommended keeping methane levels below 1%, ensuring that the points at the site with active gas pockets had ventilation ducts within 15 metres and exhaust fans within 25 metres, and using suction pumps to extract the gas from the rock cavities from which they were released. They also suggested that every fresh excavation should be followed by a one-hour “gas dilution observation period”, during which any work that generated heat or flames was prohibited.

“Ventilation fans are crucial,” said Dutta. He explained that the presence of methane alone did not necessarily suggest that a blast was likely to occur – rather, the concentration of the gas in the air needed to cross its “lower flammability limit”, the point at which it can catch fire when it comes into contact with a flame or spark.

The NHPC safety document notes that “The explosibility of methane gas is between 5 to 15 percent” and that the “percentage of Methane required for maximum explosive violence is 10 percent”. It recommends the use of methanometers to continuously monitor these levels.

“The ventilation must be placed and designed in a way to ensure that methane and other flammable gases do not reach concentrations beyond the flammability limit,” explained Dutta. He noted that in tunneling activities, apart from methane, it was also crucial to measure levels of oxygen, carbon monoxide, methane and hydrogen sulphide.

He added, “The big question is also if there were enough ventilation fans, and were they working?”

Scroll emailed NHPC to ask whether the inspection team’s recommendations were implemented – we also sought responses to criticisms that the company did not have the necessary equipment and infrastructure and place to protect workers, despite knowing about the risks at the site. This story will be updated if the company responds.

Gupta, the geologist, explained that another hydropower project, Rammam Stage III, is being constructed by the National Thermal Power Corporation on the Sikkim-West Bengal border, just around 30 km from Teesta VI. He noted that the site had similar geological conditions, and that methane was present in it – but the company had stopped all welding and other fire-related activities to avoid such accidents. “They are not even using blasting to excavate the tunnel,” he said. “They are manually constructing it.”

Construction work during rainy season

A notification issued in May by the Namchi district collector’s office pointed to other safety risks that projects like Teesta VI faced. The notification stated that “all new earth excavation activities” including digging, levelling and quarrying were “prohibited with immediate effect” in the interest of “public safety and disaster risk reduction”. It stated that carrying out such work in the monsoons posed “serious risks including soil erosion, landslides, flooding, water logging, damage to public infrastructure, and threat to human life and property”.

The state has been issuing such notices during monsoons, which usually last up till September, for the past few years.

An official at the district office who asked not to be named told Scroll that this notice did not apply to construction for the hydropower project, since the notice stated that “only new construction cannot be taken up. Ongoing constructions can continue.”

The notice ordered that in case of ongoing public work, “adequate protective and safety measures” had to be ensured.

“There is no clarity what these protective and safety measures should be,” said the social worker and politician Sharma. “The possibility of disasters is not only in new excavations. Even ongoing projects include excavation, and the disaster risk is high.”

He added, “When the topography is the same, then having a ban on new construction while letting ongoing ones continue seems like discrimination.”

Dutta explained that tunneling does not necessarily need to stop its work during monsoons, but that constant monitoring was needed of moisture and water levels in the rocks and soil, and that measures needed to be put in place to drain out water quickly if needed. He added, “If their monitoring shows that cracks are forming, then they must halt the tunneling.”