A Delhi court on Friday discharged the 23 persons accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the liquor policy case, including Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, Bar and Bench reported.

There was no overarching conspiracy or criminal intent in the excise policy, the Rouse Avenue Courts was quoted as saying.

Among the 21 other persons discharged in the case was former Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha, Live Law reported.

The court criticised the CBI for implicating Kejriwal and Sisodia without any cogent material. It said that the chargesheet had several gaps not supported by any witnesses or statements, Live Law reported.

The bench said that it will recommend a departmental inquiry against the CBI officials who made a public servant the accused number one in the case.

Kejriwal spent around five months in jail in two separate periods. He was finally released in September 2024 after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the CBI case, having already received interim bail in the ED case. Sisodia was in jail for around 17 months before securing bail.

The CBI will approach the Delhi High Court against the verdict, ANI quoted unidentified agency officials as saying.

Following the ruling, Kejriwal on Friday said that truth had emerged victorious.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah “together planned the biggest political conspiracy to finish” the Aam Aadmi Party, Kejriwal alleged.

“The sitting chief minister was dragged out of his house and put in jail,” he told reporters.

आज सत्य की जीत हुई 🙏

BJP के बनाये शराब घोटाले की आज कोर्ट ने सच्चाई बता दी। आम आदमी पार्टी को खत्म करने के लिए प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी और अमित शाह ने आजाद भारत का सबसे बड़ा षड्यंत्र रचा।

लेकिन आज कोर्ट ने कह दिया अरविंद केजरीवाल, मनीष सिसोदिया और AAP भ्रष्ट नहीं हैं। मैंने… pic.twitter.com/AATQKVvQl9

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) February 27, 2026

Sisodia said that despite “all the attempts by Modi ji’s entire party and all their agencies to prove us dishonest” it has been proven that he and Kejriwal are “staunchly honest”.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sudhanshu Trivedi said at a press conference on Friday that the court had acquitted Kejriwal due to the lack of evidence, and said that this was a “technical matter”.

“The CBI will take the next step on this case,” he said. “As far as our party is concerned, we will give a structured response after studying the judgement in detail. One must think – if the charges were baseless, then how were the charges framed?”

Kejriwal’s arrest

Kejriwal, the Delhi chief minister at the time, had been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in March 2024.

In July 2024, the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in the case. However, he remained in jail as he had been arrested by the CBI in the same case in June 2024.

He was eventually released from jail in September 2024 after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the case filed by the CBI.

The allegations

The CBI had alleged irregularities in the Delhi government’s liquor excise policy, which has since been scrapped. Based on the CBI case, the Enforcement Directorate also launched an investigation into allegations of money-laundering.

The policy came into effect in November 2021. It was withdrawn in July 2022 with Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommending an investigation into the alleged irregularities of the policy.

The two central agencies have alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party government at the time modified the liquor policy by increasing the commission for wholesalers from 5% to 12%. This allegedly facilitated the receipt of bribes from wholesalers who had a substantial market share and turnover.

The party had denied the allegations.

Sisodia, who was the Delhi deputy chief minister at the time, was arrested in February 2023 by the CBI on charges of corruption in connection with the case. A month later, he was arrested by the ED in the same case.

He was granted bail nearly 17 months later in August 2024.

India’s gross domestic product growth slowed to 7.8% in the October-December quarter of the 2025-’26 financial year, down from 8.4% in the previous quarter, data released by the Centre on Friday showed.

The figures were released alongside the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation revising the base year of national accounts to 2022-’23 from 2011-’12.

The government said that the revision expands data sources and improves estimation methods to better reflect changes in the economy.

The revision follows an assessment by the International Monetary Fund in November. The international financial institution had given India’s national accounts a “C” rating while also flagging the outdated base year.

For the financial year ending in March, the government said that it expects the economy to grow by 7.6%, compared to the 7.4% growth forecast under the old data series, the National Statistics Office said on Friday.

Under the news series, the real gross domestic product is projected at Rs 322.5 lakh crore in 2025-’26, up from Rs 299.8 lakh crore in 2024-’25.

Nominal gross domestic product is estimated to grow by 8.6% in the upcoming financial year.

Real GDP measures the value of goods and services produced in the economy after adjusting for inflation. It shows how much actual output has increased.

Nominal GDP measures the value of goods and services at current market prices, without adjusting for inflation. It shows both growth in output and changes in prices.

With these projections, India remains the fastest-growing major economy globally, Reuters reported.

While presenting the Budget for 2026-’27 earlier this month, the government had estimated nominal growth for the next financial year at 10% under the old base year.

India has faced economic uncertainty due to tariffs introduced by United States President Donald Trump, which have weighed on exports, Reuters reported.

In April, Trump imposed the tariffs on dozens of countries, including India, claiming high tariffs the countries imposed on US goods. The levies were eventually reduced once bilateral trade deals had been agreed to, including in the case of India.

On February 2, New Delhi and Washington had agreed on a framework for the deal.

Under the agreement, US tariffs on Indian goods would have been reduced to 18% from a combined rate of 50%.

On February 20, after the Supreme Court struck down his tariffs, Trump imposed a temporary 10% tariff on goods imported into the US, citing his authority under the 1974 Trade Act.

The new tariff is for a maximum of 150 days, unless the US Congress approves an extension. This left the status of recent trade deals with other countries, including India, unclear.

On February 21, Trump said that he was also increasing the global tariffs to the “fully allowed, and legally tested” level of 15% from 10% with immediate effect.

However, it is unclear as to when the increased tariff rate would take effect as only the original 10% rate announced by the White House came into force on Tuesday.

A Delhi court on Friday discharged of corruption charges Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, Telangana Jagruthi founder K Kavitha, and 20 others accused by the Central Investigation Bureau in the liquor policy case.

In its 598-page order, the court criticised the central agency for its handling of the investigation and flagged several lapses, reported Live Law.

It said that Kejriwal and Sisodia were implicated without any cogent material and that there was no overarching conspiracy or criminal intent behind the excise policy.

Here’s what the court said in its judgement:

1. Special Judge Jitendra Singh of Rouse Avenue Courts noted that the case against Kejriwal was based on the statements of only one approver, Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy. The judge said that the statement was allegedly made in front of 10 to 12 witnesses, but “they have either not been examined or, if examined, have not been cited as witnesses in the charge-sheet”. This raises serious “concerns regarding the completeness and fairness of the investigation”, added the court.

2. It said that the investigation did not begin with the identification of a specific crime and evidence. Instead, the agencies kept widening their scope, appearing to implicate more persons without fresh incriminating material at each stage. “This appears to be based on a preconceived assumption,” said the court.

3. Regarding Sisodia, the judge said that the CBI had failed to establish any prima facie case against the former deputy chief minister. The attempt to link him to the alleged monetary transactions was based on “inference, not admissible proof”, Bar and Bench quoted the judge as saying. “If such a practice is permitted to pass without judicial scrutiny, it carries the grave potential of setting an unhealthy precedent,” Live Law quoted the judgement as stating.

4. The judge also said that the use of the term “South Group” by investigating agencies was not a “legally cognisable classification”. It was arbitrary and unwarranted, the judge added. “It is equally significant that no comparable regional descriptor has been employed for the remaining accused persons,” Bar and Bench quoted him as saying. “The prosecution narrative does not speak of any ‘North Group’ or similar categorisation.” The investigating agencies had alleged that a so-called South Group, of which Kavitha was allegedly a part, paid Rs 100 crore to AAP leaders in exchange for favours related to the policy through a businessman.

5. The court said that investigations by the CBI or the Enforcement Directorate cannot be allowed to enter the “political arena” on allegations of excessive electoral spending by a political party, reported Live Law. Permitting this would lead to the “criminalisation of electoral competition” and arm the executive with “coercive instruments capable of influencing political outcomes”, it added. The judge said that this would erode the level-playing that is “at the heart of free and fair elections”.

6. The judge further noted that once liberty is curtailed, it cannot be meaningfully restored by a subsequent acquittal. The passage of time cannot compensate for the loss of liberty because of pre-trial detention, he added. “The balance between the power of the investigating agency and the right to life and personal liberty is not a matter of legislative grace, but a constitutional command,” the court observed. “Any failure to maintain this balance is likely to undermine both the rule of law and public confidence in the administration of criminal justice.”

7. The court also said that the Enforcement Directorate making arrests and filing prosecution complaints in money laundering cases before the facts of a case are examined in the court “reveals a disturbing inversion of the statutory scheme”, Bar and Bench reported. The judge noted that once a person is charged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, they are required to meet stringent conditions for bail. “This results in a situation where an individual is deprived of personal liberty on the strength of an allegation whose legal sustainability remains uncertain,” the legal news outlet quoted him as saying.

The CBI has filed an appeal in the Delhi High Court against the verdict, PTI quoted unidentified officials as saying.

While Kejriwal spent around five months in jail in the case, Sisodia was imprisoned for 17 months.

Kejriwal, the Delhi chief minister at the time, had been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in March 2024.

In July 2024, the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in the case. However, he remained in jail as he had been arrested by the CBI in the same case in June 2024.

He was eventually released from jail in September 2024 after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the case filed by the CBI.

After a Delhi court discharged former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and 22 others accused in the liquor policy case, the Congress on Friday said that the proceedings against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “convenient allies” will “quietly fizzle out” ahead of elections in Gujarat and Punjab.

Assembly elections in both the states are expected to be held in 2027.

Congress leader Pawan Khera claimed that it was a “predictable script” of the “shape-shifting serpent” BJP.

The Opposition leader added: “It has only one obsessive goal, to defeat the Congress and create a Congress-free India.”

He also accused the ruling party of “turning vendetta into governance and using investigative agencies like electoral tools”.

Earlier in the day, a Delhi court discharged of corruption charges 23 persons accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the liquor policy case, including Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia.

The Rouse Avenue Courts held that there was no overarching conspiracy or criminal intent in the excise policy. The court also criticised the CBI for implicating Kejriwal and Sisodia without any cogent material.

भाजपा कोई राजनीतिक दल नहीं है। वह एक इच्छाधारी नाग है जिसके पास रूप बदलने की शक्ति है।

उसका एक ही जुनूनी लक्ष्य है: कांग्रेस को हराना और कांग्रेस मुक्त भारत बनाना। इस लक्ष्य के लिए वह किसी भी स्तर तक गिर सकती है।

12 वर्षों तक उन्होंने तृणमूल कांग्रेस के खिलाफ ज़हर उगला। और अब?… https://t.co/ESrq6mZhcd

— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) February 27, 2026

After Friday’s ruling, several Opposition parties accused the BJP of using central investigative agencies to target their leaders.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav called the court ruling a “moral death sentence” for the BJP.

“Today, in Delhi, both truth and justice stand alongside…Kejriwal,” Yadav said. “An accusation can never be so big as to obscure the truth…BJP supporters will be filled with shame.”

आज दिल्ली के लोकप्रिय पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री श्री अरविंद केजरीवाल जी के साथ सत्य और न्याय दोनों खड़े हैं। आरोप कभी इतना बड़ा नहीं हो सकता कि वो सच को आच्छादित कर ले। आज हर ईमानदार आशा भरी साँस लेगा और भाजपा के समर्थक शर्म के मारे घोर आत्म-लज्जित हो रहे होंगे। भाजपा ने दिल्ली के…

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) February 27, 2026

Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale congratulated Kejriwal and Sisodia, while alleging the case was politically motivated with an aim of defaming Opposition leaders.

“Yet again, BJP’s shameless tactic of using CBI and [Enforcement Directorate] as their political tools stands exposed,” Gokhale said. “The [Prime Minister Narendra Modi-Home Minister Amit Shah government] will soon fall apart just like these fake cases.”

A fake fabricated case was filed by the BJP to defame Opposition leaders who were arrested & mistreated in order to break their will & tarnish their reputation.

Yet again, BJP’s shameless tactic of using CBI & ED as their political tools stands exposed. The Modi-Shah Govt will… https://t.co/WiB9SJjtpV

— Saket Gokhale MP (@SaketGokhale) February 27, 2026

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also hailed Kerjiwal and Sisodia “for standing firm through it all and letting the truth speak for itself”.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief urged the BJP-led government not to “mortgage the integrity of investigating agencies for short-term politics”.

The Union BJP government must not mortgage the integrity of investigating agencies for short-term politics. Have some shame.

Well done, my respected friend Thiru. @ArvindKejriwal, and Thiru. @msisodia, for standing firm through it all and letting the truth speak for itself.… https://t.co/7ZysntLs2j

— M.K.Stalin - தமிழ்நாட்டை தலைகுனிய விடமாட்டேன் (@mkstalin) February 27, 2026

The BJP leaders, however, said that the matter could still face further legal scrutiny. In a press conference, party leader Sudhanshu Trivedi said that the court had acquitted Kejriwal due to lack of evidence, and said that this was a “technical matter”.

“The CBI will take the next step on this case,” he said. “As far as our party is concerned, we will give a structured response after studying the judgement in detail. One must think – if the charges were baseless, then how were the charges framed?”

The party’s media cell chief, Amit Malviya also said that “whether this judgement withstands scrutiny in higher courts remains to be seen”.

Also read: Lapses in probe, no proof: What court said while acquitting Kejriwal, Sisodia in excise policy case

In January, thousands of Muslim voters in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, began receiving phone calls from booth level officers responsible for the updation of the electoral roll as part of the special intensive revision being carried out by the Election Commission of India.

The voters were informed that someone had filed an objection against their inclusion in the voter list. In many cases, the targeted voters had been living at the same address for decades. Many were from families whose presence in Indore dated back generations.

Who then had filed objections against them and why? And what does this have to do with the Bharatiya Janata Party?

Watch our ground report to find out.

A Delhi court discharged Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, and 21 others accused by the Central Investigation Bureau in the liquor policy case. There was no overarching conspiracy or criminal intent in the policy, the court held.

It criticised the CBI for implicating Kejriwal and Sisodia without any cogent material, and said that the chargesheet had several gaps not supported by witnesses or statements. The bench said that it will recommend a departmental inquiry against the agency officials who made a public servant the accused number one in the case.

Reacting to this, the Congress said that the proceedings against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “convenient allies” will “quietly fizzle out” ahead of the elections in Gujarat and Punjab expected to take place next year. On the other hand, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav described the ruling as a “moral death sentence” for the BJP. Read on.

Lapses in probe, no proof: What court said while acquitting Kejriwal, Sisodia in excise policy case

Staying an order by a single-judge bench, the Kerala High Court allowed the release of the film The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas had stayed the release of the film on Thursday, observing that it could disturb communal harmony.

On Friday, the court asked how the judge had drawn such serious conclusions about the film’s effect without watching it. The makers of the film had contended that halting the release of a movie already cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification was an extreme step that should not have been taken. Read on.

A Delhi court granted bail to 14 students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University who were arrested on Thursday after they tried to march to the Union education ministry. The students had planned the march to demand that Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit resign for her allegedly casteist remarks.

The students are seeking Pandit’s resignation for saying in an interview to The Sunday Guardian that progress for Dalits was not possible “by being permanently a victim of playing the victim card”.

More than 50 students had been detained during the march. Read on.

Tamil Nadu’s former chief minister and expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader O Panneerselvam joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Assembly elections in the state are expected to be held in April or May.

DMK chief and Chief Minister MK Stalin said that he welcomes Panneerselvam “with open arms”. The former chief minister was expelled from the AIADMK in 2022 after a leadership tussle with Edappadi K Palaniswami, who is the state’s Opposition leader. Read on.

The Supreme Court declined to entertain the West Bengal government’s objections to the Election Commission training judges who have been deployed to decide on claims and objections during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in the state. A bench said that the commission’s training module cannot override the court’s order and that the judicial officers must be trusted.

The court added that it was not out of place for the poll panel to coordinate with the judges, since they had been given tasks that were different from their usual work. Read on.

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One in four water samples collected from India’s household tap connections did not meet microbiological standards, according to a 2024 assessment of the Jal Jeevan Mission. While 76% of samples passed laboratory tests, 24% did not, according to the Ministry of Jal Shakti’s national report.

Three in four households report that they do not use any treatment method before consuming water. This means, millions of Indian families are receiving low quality water, which they consume without any treatment or filtration, making them prone to several infections and conditions. Despite this, 92.4% of surveyed households reported satisfaction with the quality of tap water.

Public institutions recorded lower pass rates than households: 73% water samples collected from schools, anganwadis and health facilities passed microbiological quality tests. This means children, pregnant women and new mothers, and care-seeking Indians are drinking substandard water.

But monitoring remains weak: Field Test Kits, used for basic on-site water testing, were absent in 73% villages. This low penetration of test kits means communities can't know their water is failing.

As long as the water looks, tastes and smells clean, people tend to assume it is safe for consumption – an assumption that was found in long-term studies in countries such as Norway, Canada, and over the years in Indian states.

As of January 28, 2026, about 158 million rural households (81.6%) had tap water supply under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the government told Lok Sabha earlier this month.

Some 98% households had connections, 87% reported the connections were functional, 84% said they received regular supply and 80% reported receiving adequate quantities of water (defined as more than 55 litres per person per day).

“Jal Jeevan Mission has focused more on infrastructure-related work. But creating sustainable drinking water sources in villages is very important. Many schemes come and go, but if the main source is not reliable, they will not sustain,” said Prashant Borawake, coordinator at Pani Panchayat, a community-based water management initiative based in Pune.

The assessment draws on data collected between July and October 2024 across sampled villages in 761 districts spanning 34 states and Union territories. Twelve households were surveyed in each village, along with all public institutions, including schools, anganwadi centres and health facilities.

Unsafe water

The World Health Organization has stated that contaminated drinking water and inadequate sanitation are linked to diseases including cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio.

Disaggregated results show that irrespective of the institution type, public facilities saw poor water quality: About 73.3% of samples from schools passed microbiological parameters, compared with 72.5% in anganwadi centres and 72.0% in health centres.

Public institutions often depend on the same village water supply systems as households. “Schools, anganwadis, and health centres are getting water from the same sources as households. So the quality concerns may be similar,” Borawake.

Maintenance, manpower and monitoring gaps

Village-level institutional mechanisms remain uneven, according to the functionality report. About 55% villages reported having a Village Water & Sanitation Committee or Pani Samiti.

Gram Panchayats or their sub-committees, called Village Water & Sanitation Committee or Pani Samitis, are responsible for planning and managing village water supply systems under the Jal Jeevan Mission.

Skilled manpower for operation and maintenance was available in 58.1% of villages, indicating that over four in ten villages lacked trained personnel to keep the system up and running. “Not having skilled manpower affects functionality. Sometimes water does not come on time, and sometimes it does not come at all because maintenance work is pending. In such cases, villagers depend on other sources like wells,” said Borawake.

Only 26.8% of villages reported levying user charges for water service delivery.

Water quality monitoring infrastructure showed gaps. Test kits were available in 27.2% of villages, while 70.3% villages had chlorination mechanisms.

However, Borawake noted limitations: “In villages, mostly chlorination happens, but this is not enough. Chlorination mainly addresses biological contamination. There are also chemicals in the water, and that cleaning often does not happen. So, the number of samples not meeting standards could actually be higher.”

He also pointed to concerns around testing processes. “When it comes to water quality testing, it should ideally be done by a third party. There should be an independent agency that goes to villages and tests the water, rather than only officials from the mission,” Borawake added.

IndiaSpend reported earlier this month, following the Union Budget 2026-’27, that infrastructure-heavy social sector schemes, including household tap water programmes, continue to see underutilisation of allocated funds.

Broken pipes, pump failures

Among households reporting non-availability of a working tap connection, infrastructure-related failures accounted for the largest share of disruptions, according to the assessment.

Damage to pipe networks was the most frequently reported reason, cited by 32% of affected households. Pump failures accounted for 30% of cases.

IndiaSpend reported from rural Maharashtra in January 2025 that households in several villages continued to face irregular water supply under the Jal Jeevan Mission, with some residents reporting expenditures on private water sources despite having tap connections.

A 2024 study noted that the creation of tap connections does not always ensure regular water flow, citing factors such as project delays, operational gaps and local system constraints. The study also highlighted the role of community participation, user behaviour and socioeconomic equity in sustaining rural water supply services.

Among households adopting treatment methods, boiling was the most commonly reported practice (13.2%), followed by straining through a cloth (11.2%).

State variations

Household-level microbiological water quality outcomes varied across states and Union Territories, according to the assessment.

Pass rates ranged from 99.0% in Ladakh to 31.1% in Tripura. Several large states reported pass rates below the national average of 76%, including Uttar Pradesh (66.4%), Madhya Pradesh (63.3%), Kerala (56.4%), and Gujarat (47.3%).

IndiaSpend reported from Tripura in December 2025 that despite high reported tap water coverage under the Jal Jeevan Mission, several hill villages continued to face dry or irregularly supplied taps, with many households relying on springs for daily water needs.

IndiaSpend reached out to the Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, asking about measures to address microbiological contamination, factors affecting functionality benchmarks, and steps planned to expand field test kit availability. We will update this story when we receive a response.

Vijay Jadhav is a journalist at IndiaSpend. He holds a postgraduate degree in journalism from the Department of Communication and Journalism, Savitribai Phule Pune University.

This article first appeared on IndiaSpend, a data-driven and public-interest journalism non-profit.

Tamil Nadu’s former chief minister and expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader O Panneerselvam on Friday joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Chennai, months ahead of the state Assembly election

DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said he welcomes Panneerselvam “with open arms”.

Panneerselvam’s son P Ravindranath Kumar also joined the DMK on Friday, ANI reported.

The former chief minister was expelled from the AIADMK in 2022 after a leadership tussle with Edappadi K Palaniswami, who is the leader of the Opposition in Tamil Nadu.

After joining the DMK, Panneerselvam alleged that Palaniswami “is keen on making sure no leaders from the south become strong”, ANI reported.

“EPS is behaving as a dictator, and he has created an AIADMK which cannot get victory hereafter,” he further alleged.

Panneerselvam thanked Stalin for inducting him into the DMK and said he has joined the party “with absolute joy”, ANI reported.

On July 11, 2022, Panneerselvam was also removed as the AIADMK’s treasurer for “anti-party activities”. The expulsion took place minutes after the party’s general council elected Palaniswami as the interim general secretary.

The general council had also abolished the party’s dual leadership model and appointed Palaniswami as the “single supreme leader”.

Panneerselvam was formerly the coordinator of the AIADMK and Palaniswami was the joint coordinator.

The two positions of coordinator and joint coordinator were created during a general council meeting on September 12, 2017, after the party gave the honorary title of “eternal general secretary” to the late former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

The Panneerselvam-led camp had opposed the move to remove the posts, saying it would amount to a betrayal of Jayalalithaa.

The Kerala High Court on Friday allowed the release of the film The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond, lifting a stay ordered a day earlier by a single-judge bench, Bar and Bench reported.

A division bench of Justices SA Dharmadhikari and PV Balakrishnan set aside the order of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, who stayed the release on Thursday, observing that the film could disturb communal harmony.

It was hearing urgent arguments in a petition moved by the film’s producer, Vipul Amrutlal Shah, hours after the stay order, Live Law reported.

The film The Kerala Story 2 - Goes Beyond allegedly depicts women from various states being lured into relationships with Muslim men and coerced into religious conversion. The teaser released on February 17 includes a scene in which a Hindu woman is forced to consume beef.

The makers of the film had earlier argued before the court that the content shown in the teaser was not a part of the movie.

On Thursday, Thomas said that on a preliminary reading, the Central Board of Film Certification ignored guidelines for clearing films and asked it to re-examine the matter.

On Friday, the division bench questioned how the single judge had drawn serious conclusions about the film’s impact without watching it, The News Minute reported.

“Merely on the basis of a few clippings and without viewing the movie, the findings of the learned single judge that the guidelines for certification have not been borne in mind by the CBFC while granting certification cannot be countenanced,” Bar and Bench quoted the judges as saying.

In their petition, the filmmakers had argued that halting the release of a film that had already been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification was an extreme step that should be taken only in exceptional circumstances, Live Law reported.

The counsel for the filmmakers had added that last-minute stays on film releases suppress free speech through economic harm rather than direct censorship. “Such a commercial disruption would destroy a person,” Live Law quoted the lawyer as having said.

The matter has been posted for further hearing after two weeks.

A day after the teaser was released, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had criticised the film on social media, alleging that it was “aimed at sowing hatred against Kerala and insulting our secular tradition”.

“It is the responsibility of each of us to prove that the secular foundation of Kerala will not be destroyed by false propaganda,” Vijayan had said on social media.

The Delhi High Court on Friday stayed the quashing of disciplinary proceedings against Sameer Wankhede, the former zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau in Mumbai, in connection with the 2021 Cordelia cruise drugs case, reported Live Law.

Wankhede is accused of demanding Rs 25 crore as a bribe in the case related to the alleged seizure of drugs on the Cordelia cruise ship, following which actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested in 2021.

While some media reports claim that Wankhede sought the bribe for not framing Aryan Khan, some suggest he sought it from the owners of the Cordelia ship.

On January 19, the Central Administrative Tribunal quashed a charge memorandum against Wankhede, holding that there were several procedural lapses in the action.

It held that the action was an act of “retaliation” and “personal vendetta”, Live Law reported.

The August 19 memorandum had alleged that, despite not being attached to the Narcotics Control Bureau, Wankhede had attempted to access confidential information and influence the course of the investigation, according to Hindustan Times.

On Friday, a High Court bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Amit Mahajan allowed the Centre’s petition challenging the January order.

The 2021 Cordelia cruise case

On October 2, 2021, Aryan Khan was arrested along with his friend Arbaaz Merchant, model Munmun Dhamecha and others after a raid on Cordelia cruise ship off the coast of Mumbai.

The agency had claimed to recover several narcotic substances from the ship.

On October 28, 2021, the Bombay High Court granted bail to Aryan Khan and others, noting that he was not found in possession of drugs and that there was no evidence of a conspiracy.

In May 2022, the Narcotics Control Bureau cleared Khan of charges in the case as it did not find corroborative evidence against him.

Soon after, Wankhede was transferred to the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services in Chennai.

A Special Investigation Team was also set up to look into allegations of impropriety in the case by officers of the anti-drug agency.

In October 2022, the Special Investigation Team said it has found several irregularities in the investigation and also revealed that “selective treatment” was meted out when naming some persons as accused in the case.

A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to 14 students of Jawaharlal Nehru University who were arrested a day earlier after they tried to march to the Union Ministry of Education, reported Hindustan Times.

The students had planned a march to the ministry to demand that Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit resign for her allegedly casteist remarks, The Hindu reported.

More than 50 students had reportedly been detained. Among those arrested were three office bearers of the JNU Students Association – President Aditi Mishra, Vice President Gopika and Joint Secretary Danis – and a former union president, Nitish Kumar.

The students are seeking Pandit’s resignation for saying in an interview to The Sunday Guardian that progress for Dalits was not possible “by being permanently a victim of playing the victim card”.

On Thursday, the protesters also questioned the rustication of five JNU students’ union office-bearers earlier this month for allegedly damaging surveillance equipment at the Ambedkar Library, The Indian Express reported.

The demonstrators also demanded a Rohith Act to prevent caste-based discrimination on campuses.

The clashes took place between the protesting students and the police during the march.

While the police alleged that they were assaulted by the demonstrators, the students accused the authorities of using excessive force against them, PTI reported.

The police filed a first information report under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to voluntarily obstructing a public servant, voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from performing their duty and assault or use of criminal force to prevent a public servant from carrying out official work.

The students also alleged that several of them were injured because of excessive force used against them, PTI reported.

A video by the Students Federation of India, the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), showed security personnel clashing with protesters and dragging some of them away.

Delhi Police beating and detaining JNU students for raising their rightful demand for the Rohith Act pic.twitter.com/xDPRnpATeJ

— SFI JNU Unit (@sfijnuunit) February 26, 2026

The police said that the students had given a call for a “Long March” from the JNU campus to the education ministry, PTI reported. It said that the university administration had told the protesters that permission had not been given for demonstrations outside the campus, and had urged them to stay within the institute’s premises.

The police alleged that despite this, about 400 to 500 students gathered on campus and started the march. The protesters moved out of the main gate around 3.20 pm and tried to go to the ministry, PTI reported.

The police stopped the demonstrators at the North Gate of the campus and then pushed them inside the university premises.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association said it strongly condemned the use of force against the students and demanded that those detained be immediately released, The Indian Express reported.

The association alleged that female students were among those injured and that “even the laws prohibiting male policemen from acting against women were brazenly flouted”. It also said that it was concerned about the whereabouts of those detained.

“There are several women among them and they have been taken to unconfirmed locations that are far away from the campus,” the teachers’ association said, according to The Indian Express.

On the other hand, the administration of the university said it was “deplorable” that a “woman OBC vice chancellor was attacked on false allegations, only to divert from the issue of violence and vandalism of public property”.

The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain the West Bengal government’s objections to the Election Commission training judges who have been deployed to decide on claims and objections during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in the state, Live Law reported.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi said that the commission’s training module cannot override the court’s order and that the judicial officers must be trusted.

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

The court had noted that claims and objections about the voter rolls were required to be adjudicated in a quasi-judicial process by electoral registration officers. It had requested the Calcutta High Court to allow district judges with “impeccable integrity” to help with deciding on objections in the “logical discrepancy” category, such as mismatches in parents’ names or low age gap with parents.

Four days later, it also allowed judges from Odisha and Jharkhand to be deployed for the purpose.

The state’s draft electoral rolls were published on December 16. They showed that more than 58 lakh voters were removed after being marked dead, shifted or absent.

On Friday, lawyer Kapil Sibal, representing the petitioners, verbally mentioned the matter before the bench and objected to the Election Commission giving a training module to the judges, specifying the documents that can be accepted, Live Law reported.

Sibal said that as per the Supreme Court’s order, the chief justice of the Calcutta High Court was to decide on the modalities.

The court, however, said that it was not out of place for the poll panel to coordinate with the judges, since they had been given tasks that were different from their usual work.

“Please do not make small excuses to stall the process,” Kant told Sibal, according to Bar and Bench. “This has to end. Let judicial officers work. They will work independently.”

Sibal then alleged that the Election Commission was not accepting proofs of identity that were earlier permitted by court order. “They are saying domicile certificate by SDO [sub-divisional officer] will not be accepted [as identity proof for voters],” he told the court, according to Bar and Bench.

To this, Bagchi said that if the concerns are valid, the court would address them.

As residents of several parts of Goa have been protesting against a provision of the Town Planning Act that opens green zones up for construction, many in the state capital have been up in arms against another development: the imminent arrival of a new 112-metre-long casino ship on the Mandovi river.

The casino ship, which is likely to reach Goa by the end of February, will be anchored in Verem Bay in the Mandovi river, opposite central Panjim.

Goa is already home to six offshore casinos and 18 casinos in five-star hotels on land. Since at least 2008, Panjim residents and civil society groups have protested against the casinos, and documented how the ships and related infrastructure has polluted the Mandovi river with sewage and effluents, affecting marine ecology. Residents have also said noise from the casinos late into the night disrupts their lives.

As of January, three of the six offshore vessels in the Mandovi are owned by casino and gaming company Delta Corp – MV Royale Floatel, with a capacity of 70 passengers, MV Horseshoe, branded as “Deltin Royale” which can accommodate 390 passengers, and MV “Deltin JAQK” with a capacity of 384.

The new vessel, with a capacity of 2,000 passengers, has been referred to as a “replacement” for MV Royale Floatel, shows correspondence between Delta Corp and the Goa government, obtained by activist Sudip Tamhankar under the Right to Information Act.

All correspondence from the Delta Pleasure Cruise Company is signed by “Authorised Signatory”, with no name or designation.

The Goa government has repeatedly said that the number of casinos is not being increased. But the capacity of the new vessel is more than all five existing offshore casinos put together.

Since early February, work to install mooring buoys and anchors to stabilise the massive ship is underway despite protests from residents on both banks of the Mandovi river.

Hundreds turned up in support at a public meeting in Panjim against casinos on February 17. Presentations by activists and academicians demonstrated, with evidence and data, how the casino industry affects Goa’s water and cities along the river.

Also endorsing the campaign against casinos is the “Enough is Enough” movement started by retired Justice Ferdino Rebello.

The movement’s 10-point charter seeks to prevent “further ecological and environmental degradation” of Goa and to “protect the state’s culture and ethos”.

One of the points of the charter is the removal of casinos from the Mandovi river in six months. Citizens are also urgently exploring legal options against the new casino ship.

Soon after, on February 23, protesters from across Goa gathered outside the home of Goa minister Vishwajit Rane in Dona Paula and demanded the scrapping of Section 39(a) of the Goa Town Planning Act, which residents say will divert more land towards commercial activities. Rane is the state’s town planning minister. A few days earlier, on February 21, Rane had criticised the protests against casinos saying that removing them could affect Panjim economically and socially.

But the protests across the state signal growing anger among Goa’s residents over how the ecological and social resources are being rapidly consumed by tourism and commercial activities, affecting the lives and health of ordinary citizens.

In Panjim, for instance, the casino industry has visibly transformed the city – for the worse. Casino workers have taken over large areas of Panjim’s heritage ward Sao Tome and the riverfront. The 24x7 nature of the industry results in hundreds of workers entering the city, parking their vehicles and heading to work on the ships or at the land offices.

Cars operated by the casinos pick up customers and drop them to their complimentary hotels, occupying the limited parking spaces.

Large hoardings and blindingly bright LED signage dot the skyline, inviting tourists to gamble on the ships or hotel facilities. Even police barricades and streetlight signs are covered with casino branding. Unlike tobacco and alcohol, advertising gambling does not seem to come with any warnings. In fact, even children’s birthday parties are offered at offshore casinos, in an attempt to whitewash casinos and gambling as a “family entertainment” activity.

Scroll emailed Dilip Vaidya, the company secretary and compliance officer for Delta Corp, asking how the company will address concerns raised by the citizens about sound and light pollution by the new casino ship, and how effluent and sewage discharge into the Mandovi river will be managed. This report will be updated if he responds.

Octavio Rodrigues, the captain of ports of the Goa government, told Scroll that he has yet to receive certificates on the fitness and service condition of the new vessel, after which he will inform the state home department. Concerns about pollution and related problems will have to be taken up with the pollution control board and the home department, he said.

Scroll texted Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who handles the Home Department, and Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte. This report will be updated if they respond.

Panjim protests

Activists such as Sudip Tamhankar, and the residents of Reis-Magos, where the new vessel is likely to be anchored, have opposed the offshore casino since as early as 2019. For several years now, Tamhankar has been approaching the National Green Tribunal and the judiciary to draw attention to the effects of the casino industry in Goa.

The documents obtained by Tamhankar through the RTI show that on November 17, 2020, the Goa government granted Delta Pleasure Cruise Company Private Limited “in-principle no-objection approval” for the “brand new vessel”. Registered as PNJ-1008, the new vessel, which is 112 metres long and 28 metres wide, was built at the Hangarkatta Udupi port at an estimated cost of Rs 120 crore.

An indemnity bond of just Rs 100, signed by “Authorised signatory” and notarised by a local notary, states that all risks are of the owners – which absolves the government of any responsibility in case of any accidents or mishaps.

Other necessary permissions and no-objection certificates for the new vessel were issued by the Goa government between 2019-2024. Like most projects, these approvals went mostly unnoticed until the work actually began.

In the first week of February, Panjim residents spotted barges with cranes in the Mandovi river working in one of the last remaining free spaces between existing casino jetties and the controversial new Santa Monica jetty terminal. Residents, including this writer, tried to find out more, but apart from videos documenting the barge activity, no information was available.

On February 4, videos by activists surfaced, claiming that the work was for a new casino ship. This writer contacted local activists Patricia Pinto and Sabina Martins. We called an informal meeting with residents of the heritage wards of Sao Tome, Fontainhas and other parts of Panjim on February 7 to conduct a public inspection of the work. We saw that six mooring buoys had been installed, lending credence to the rumours about a new vessel in the river.

The group, Ponnjekars against casinos, decided to meet Mayor Rohit Monseratte, the head of the Corporation of the City of Panaji. During the meeting on February 9, citizens said that the new casino ship must not be allowed into the Mandovi river due to the overwhelming burden caused by existing vessels.

They asked the civic body to pass a resolution against allowing the ship into the city. But Monseratte said that the civic body has no jurisdiction over the Mandovi and “what happens in the river has nothing to do with the corporation”.

In the presence of the media, Monserrate invited the citizens’ group to attend a meeting of the Corporation of the City of Panaji at 11 am on February 12 and discuss the resolution drafted by us. But that meeting never took place

Instead, when citizens arrived at the civic body’s office, they were met by police present in the building. At 11 am, the delegation went up to the conference hall only to find out that there was a meeting about to start but for vendors at the approaching pre-Lenten Carnival.

Since the Mayor had invited us, we decided to wait until we were informed otherwise. Citizens, including 102-year-old freedom fighter Libia Lobo Sardessai, waited at the office for several hours. The peaceful gathering suddenly turned violent when the police bodily dragged away Valmiki Naik, the Goa president of the Aam Aadmi Party and a member of the group, creating a furore.

Over the next 48 hours, the mayor, while speaking to the media, accused the citizens of lying, and alleged that the timing of the citizens’ protest was suspicious – elections to the Panjim civic body have been announced for March 11. He also claimed that he had informed “two people” that the meeting wasn’t happening.

But that morning, when citizens were gathering at the civic body building, Deputy Mayor Sanjeev Naik, before leaving the premises, told the press that he was not aware of any meeting.

Panjim citizens still tried to reach out to ministers and politicians.

Letters and representations have been given to Panjim member of legislative assembly Antanasio Monserrate, the Captain of Ports, and other bodies that grant casino operation permits. Digambar Kamat, Goa’s minister of ports, said he would get an appointment to raise these concerns with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who is also minister for home, the department that issues the casino licence.

In the meantime, work in the Mandovi river continues at a rapid pace, despite attempts by villagers to stop it.

Marine Tetris

Accommodating the new vessel in Mandovi waters is like playing a dangerous game of marine Tetris, shows an examination of the documents obtained under the RTI and information received from the Captain of Ports, Panaji.

On October 14, 2022, the Goa government issued a no-objection certificate to Delta Pleasure Cruise Company to replace the MV Royale Floatel with a new ship. In the certificate, the government proposed shifting various vessels around Panjim port to accommodate the new casino mega-ship.

The only available space wide and deep enough for the new ship is the Verem Bay. Until late January, the Deltin Royale was anchored at that spot, leaving little space for two ships. The villagers of Reis Magos, where both ships would have been anchored, protested and refused to give permission, saying that it would kill fish and clams that they collect in the area.

Now, to make space for the mega-casino, two existing casino ships will be moved in stages, which will include dredging of the Mandovi river on the Panjim side, to accommodate the re-shuffling.

On February 12, just before dawn, the Deltin Royale was shifted to a new location closer to the New Patto bridge, allowing for the work at Verem-Reis Magos to commence, according to a notice issued by the Captain of Ports Department as well as the observations of the citizens’ group.

This, in itself, has created a whole new set of problems for residents along the river: there is loud music from the open deck of the Deltin Royale, the glare of LED lighting from the ship, which is docked barely 100m from the river bank, bright lighting which is streaming into homes throughout the night, and the added nuisance of more tourists, many coming to take selfies with the casino ship.

Having restarted the fight against casinos in earnest, residents hope to finally galvanise the state government and society into cleaning up the casino industry’s mess.

In her presentation at the citizens’ meeting on February 17, advocate Albertina Almeida said that in law, according to the principle of Res Extra Commercium businesses, goods, or activities, which are inherently harmful or against public policy, are excluded from legal commerce. So why is the government continuing with casinos when they cannot be justified, she asked.

Sewage in the Mandovi river and the rotting fish are a sign of the river dying while renting out its water has become a lucrative business. Elsa Fernandes, an environmental architect, said during the citizens’ meeting that the Mandovi river is an important asset of the state capital. “The governance of that cannot be that we put that asset on rent,” she said.

The people’s movement across Goa is gaining strength with fresh agitations against illegalities and the destruction of natural resources. The fight against casinos is just one such effort to restore some balance against what has been irrevocably lost. As centenarian Libia Lobo Sardessai said “We want to eat fish, not casino dirt.”

Chryselle D’Silva Dias is a journalist based in Goa. Her handle on Instagram is @missfrangipani.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday questioned the Narendra Modi government about the police action against members of his party’s youth wing, saying that peaceful protest is not a crime.

Gandhi was commenting on the arrests of Indian Youth Congress President Uday Bhanu Chib and former national spokesperson Bhudev Sharma in connection with a protest at India AI Impact Summit on February 20.

“Modi ji, this is not North Korea, it is India,” the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha remarked on social media. “When those in power start seeing themselves as the nation and dissent as the enemy – that is when democracy dies.”

Gandhi remarked that the world’s largest democracy was being “pushed in a direction where dissent is labelled as treason and asking questions is called a conspiracy”.

“Think about it – no matter the issue, if you raise your voice against those in power through constitutional means, then batons, lawsuits and jail are almost a certainty,” the Congress leader remarked.

Gandhi referred to past crackdowns on protests against exam paper leaks, agitations by women wrestlers who accused Bharatiya Janata Party leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment and a protest by the Unnao rape complaint against bail to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar.

“What kind of democracy is this, where a compromised PM fears questions?” the Congress leader asked. “Where crushing dissent is becoming the nature of governance?”

Gandhi further remarked: “Peaceful protest is not a crime – it is the soul of democracy. Asking questions is not democracy’s weakness – it is its strength. Democracy grows stronger when the government listens to criticism, responds and remains accountable.”

Youth Congress protest

Members of the Indian Youth Congress had held a protest during the artificial intelligence summit in Delhi on February 20, shouting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and holding placards alleging that he was “compromised”.

The Delhi Police, which reports to the Union home ministry, has filed a case against the protesters, accusing them of rioting and promoting enmity between groups. It has alleged that the protest was an attempt to disrupt the high-profile event at Bharat Mandapam.

On Thursday, a confrontation took place between police personnel from Delhi and Himachal Pradesh on the Chandigarh-Shimla highway when three Youth Congress members were arrested in connection with the protest.

The two police forces accused each other of obstructing their investigations. The police in Congress-governed Himachal Pradesh filed a first information report against several Delhi Police personnel, accusing them of kidnapping the members of the ruling party’s youth wing.

Gandhi has been claiming since February 3 that Modi has been “compromised”, adding that he has “sold out” the “sweat and blood” of the country’s farmers by buckling under pressure from the United States to finalise a trade deal.

Former Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Ajai Lamba has resigned as the chairperson of the commission of inquiry probing the Manipur violence, a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Thursday.

The Union government has appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan as the new chairperson with effect from Saturday, the notification added.

Ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities broke out in May 2023. Since then, at least 260 persons have been killed and more than 59,000 displaced. There were periodic upticks in violence in 2024 and 2025.

Lamba was appointed to head the panel to look into the violence on June 3, 2023. The reasons for his resignation were not immediately known.

The home ministry notification said that the terms of reference and other conditions of the commission remain unchanged.

Retired Indian Administrative Service officer Himanshu Shekhar Das and former Indian Police Service officer Aloka Prabhakar will continue as members of the commission, which is headquartered in Imphal.

The panel’s terms of reference include investigating the “causes and spread” of the violence, and the sequence of events leading to the clashes, Deccan Herald reported. It will also look into any “lapses or dereliction” of duty by authorities or individuals, and assess the adequacy of administrative measures taken to prevent and respond to the unrest.

The commission is scheduled to submit its report by May 20. It was initially given six months from its first sitting to complete the inquiry, but the deadline was extended three times.

The Supreme Court on Thursday extended the interim stay it had earlier imposed on mining activities in the Aravallis, Bar and Bench reported.

The court said that it will seek the opinion of experts on whether mining can be permitted in the region and, if so, to what extent, Live Law reported. It added that the status quo must be maintained until preliminary issues are addressed after the constitution of an expert committee.

The bench also asked the Union government to suggest names of environmental experts who could be included in a committee to re-examine the definition of the Aravalli Hills, Bar and Bench reported.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi was hearing a suo moto case initiated over concerns that a recent change in the definition of the Aravalli Hills could open the door to unregulated mining and environmental damage.

The 700-km Aravalli mountain range stretches diagonally from southwest Gujarat, through Rajasthan, to Delhi and Haryana. Its highest point is Guru Shikhar in Mount Abu, which rises to an elevation of 1,722 metres.

Under the Union government’s new Aravalli Hills definition that had been accepted by the court in November, an Aravalli hill is any landform that rises at least 100 metres above the surrounding terrain. An Aravalli range is formed by two or more such hills located within 500 metres of each other, including the land between them.

While the court in November accepted recommendations prohibiting mining in core or inviolate areas, it declined to impose a complete ban, observing that such a move could lead to illegal mining and criminalisation.

The new definition, however, sparked widespread protest and criticism.

Environmentalists warned that defining the Aravallis solely by their height could leave many lower, scrub-covered but ecologically important hills vulnerable to mining and construction. Experts also said that these smaller hills were crucial for preventing desertification, recharging groundwater and supporting local livelihoods.

Amid the criticism about redefining the mountain range, the Union Environment Ministry on December 24 directed state governments not to grant new mining leases in the Aravalli Hills.

Days later, the court also took suo moto cognisance of the matter amid the concerns and put on hold its own November order that accepted a new definition of the Aravalli Hills. It also ordered that a new committee be set up to conduct a survey and study the hills.

The matter was listed for further hearing at a later date for orders on the formation of the expert committee.

Also read: The slow destruction of Delhi’s forgotten spine

Climate change added an average of 30 extra days of harmful heat annually to India’s coffee-growing regions between 2021 and 2025, according to new data from Climate Central, an independent group of scientists and communicators who research and report on climate change and its impacts.

India recorded about 118 days per year (between 2021 and 2025) above 30 degrees celsius, the temperature threshold beyond which the heat harms the coffee plants. Roughly 30 of those days were driven by climate change, the analysis shows.

It arrived at this by modelling the number of days each year that would have recorded maximum temperatures below 30 degrees celsius in a world without carbon pollution but were pushed over the threshold due to carbon pollution, representing the coffee-harming days attributable to climate change.

India accounts for 3.5% of global coffee production. State-level data highlights the impacts in key coffee regions of the country. Kerala experienced an annual average of 65 additional extreme-heat days linked to climate change. Tamil Nadu saw 43 extra days each year, while Karnataka, India’s largest coffee-producing state, recorded 32 additional harmful-heat days annually. Parts of the northeast also showed rising heat stress, with Tripura recording 47 extra days and Telangana 44.

Temperatures above 30 degrees celsius reduce yields, affect bean quality and increase plant stress, particularly for arabica coffee, which is more heat-sensitive than robusta. India grows both varieties, though primarily robusta, largely across the Western Ghats.

Farmers say these changes are already visible. Sohan Shetty, who manages biodiversity-rich shaded organic coffee farms in the Western Ghats, said, “We are seeing two significant changes: increased temperatures and erratic rainfall. We see a reduction in soil moisture, even in shade grown coffee. This creates stress for coffee plants, which in turn triggers blossoms with erratic rains. So, it’s quite common to see planters halting harvesting because a part of their plants has blossomed. We have had our coffee fruit drying up in the plants faster because of increased temperatures.”

In Kodagu, Karnataka, growers are tracking the shifts closely. Akshay Dashrath, Co-Founder and Grower at the South India Coffee Company, said, “At Mooleh Manay, our farm, climate change isn’t something we’re predicting, it’s something we’re measuring every day. Our on-ground sensors show longer stretches of high daytime temperatures, warmer nights, and faster soil moisture loss than what coffee here has historically depended on.”

The India findings reflect a broader global pattern. Climate Central analysed temperature data from 2021 to 2025 across 25 major coffee-producing countries, which together account for 97% of global production. All 25 experienced additional days of coffee-harming heat because of climate change.

On average, countries saw about 47 extra harmful-heat days annually. The top five producers – Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia and Ethiopia – experienced an average of 57 additional harmful-heat days per year.

Researchers warn that rising heat, shifting rainfall and shrinking suitable land could reshape coffee cultivation in the coming decades.

This article was first published on Mongabay.

The women employees of digital news outlet Newslaundry on Thursday told the Delhi High Court that they will not withdraw the defamation suit against commentator Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, Bar and Bench reported.

Justice Vikas Mahajan listed the matter before the joint registrar for further proceedings. The case was listed for further hearing on May 19.

In May, nine employees of Newslaundry filed a defamation suit against Iyer-Mitra, seeking a public apology and Rs 2 crore in damages from Iyer-Mitra, a columnist at pro-Bharatiya Janata Party outlet OpIndia.

They had stated that Iyer-Mitra, through a series of social media posts, had “falsely and maliciously” targeted the news outlet’s women employees using derogatory language and slurs.

The complainants had argued that Iyer-Mitra’s posts were made “knowingly and deliberately” with the intent to harm the dignity and reputation of the employees.

Iyer-Mitra’s comments are “not an aspect of free speech or journalistic criticism”, the employees had said.

“They are sexist slurs aimed at humiliating women professionals,” they had added. “They directly attack their dignity and right to work without fear or sexual harassment.”

The nine staff members who have filed the defamation plea are: Manisha Pande, Ishita Pradeep, Suhasini Biswas, Sumedha Mittal, Tista Roy Chowdhury, Tasneem Fatia, Priya Jain, Jayashree Arunachalam and Priyali Dhingra, Live Law reported. Newslaundry is also one of the plaintiffs in the suit.

On May 21, Iyer-Mitra told the court that he would take down social media posts in which he made the allegedly sexually abusive remarks.

On May 26, advocate Percival Billimoria, representing Iyer-Mitra, informed the court that the posts in question had been taken down.

However, advocate Bani Dixit, appearing for the Newslaundry journalists, had argued at the time that there was “absolutely no remorse”, adding that Iyer-Mitra was still engaging with the post and “writing poetically”.

The court had then issued a summons to Iyer-Mitra.

The Supreme Court banned the publication and re-printing of a Class 8 social science textbook that included a section on “corruption in the judiciary”. The bench also directed the Union government and state education departments to ensure that all copies of the book, printed or digital, are removed from public access.

The Union government apologised to the court and said that the National Council of Educational Research and Training, which published the book, had withdrawn it.

The bench also issued a contempt of court notice to the Department of School Education and NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklan. It told the NCERT director to submit the names of those who were involved in preparing the chapter in question. Read on.

The Gauhati High Court sought the response of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to petitions seeking action against him for alleged hate speech against Muslims. A bench observed that the speeches allegedly made by the Bharatiya Janata Party leader and cited by the petitioners reflected a “fissiparous tendency”.

The bench has also issued notice to the Centre and the Assam government, seeking their response in the matter. In the past month, Sarma has made a series of remarks targeting Bengali-origin Muslims in Assam. The BJP leader had said that it was his job to “make them suffer”. Read on.

The Kerala High Court stayed the release of the film The Kerala Story 2 – Goes Beyond. The bench noted that the film, which was slated to be released on Friday, could disturb communal harmony.

On a preliminary reading, the Central Board of Film Certification ignored guidelines for clearing films, said the court, asking it to re-examine the matter. The film allegedly depicts women from various states being lured into relationships with Muslim men and coerced into religious conversion. Read on.

The Student Council of Azim Premji University described the police complaint against those who had planned to hold an event relating to Kashmir as “an asymmetry in outcomes”. This came after the university authorities filed a police complaint against Spark Reading Circle APU, saying that permission was not sought or granted for the event to discuss the February 1991 Kunan Poshpora incident.

While organising an event on the campus without administrative approval may amount to a violation of protocol, such lapses should be handled by internal bodies and not through an FIR, said the council.

The General Student Body of the university stated that the “series of unexpected and unacceptable reactions from the university administration has fostered a sense of fear and mistrust among the students”. Read on.

The Congress criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in the Israeli Parliament, claiming that it “diminished India’s moral standing”. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh described it as an “unabashed defence” of Modi’s host, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Modi on Wednesday told the Israeli Parliament that New Delhi stood with Israel “firmly, with full conviction, in this moment and beyond”.

Ramesh referred to an article written by Eitay Mack, an Israeli lawyer and human rights activist, which said that Modi “acted and spoke like the leader of a minor state visiting a global power, desperate to curry favour”. The lawyer had “exposed the sham of the prime minister’s…address to the Knesset”, said Ramesh. Read on.

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The Gauhati High Court on Thursday sought Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s response to petitions seeking action against him for alleged hate speech against Muslims, Bar and Bench reported.

A division bench of Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury verbally observed that the speeches allegedly made by the Bharatiya Janata Party leader and cited by the petitioners reflected a “fissiparous tendency”, Live Law reported.

In addition to Sarma, the bench has also issued notice to the Centre and the Assam government, seeking their response in the matter.

In the past month, Sarma has made a series of remarks targeting Bengali-origin Muslims in Assam, calling them “Miyas”. The BJP leader had said that it was his job to “make them suffer”.

In Assam, “Miya” is a derogatory word used to refer to undocumented immigrants and is exclusively directed at Muslims of Bengali origin. They are often accused of being undocumented migrants from Bangladesh.

Once a pejorative in Assam, from the common use of the honorific “Miya” among South Asian Muslims, the term has now been reappropriated by the community as a self-descriptor to refer to Muslims who migrated to Assam from Bengal during the colonial era.

Petitions against Sarma have been filed by the Congress, Assamese scholar Hiren Gohain, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and others.

On Thursday, Advocate CU Singh, representing some of the petitioners, argued before the High Court that Sarma had been engaging in “dog whistling” by claiming that Miya Muslims should not be allowed to vote in Assam, Bar and Bench reported.

The BJP leader has also said that he would “steal” the community’s votes and that many Muslim voters would be deleted from the electoral list, the advocate added.

Elections in Assam are scheduled to be held in March or April.

Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, for one of the petitioners, noted that “a constitutional authority…has acted repetitively, habitually…by using words of a vituperative campaign of hate”, Bar and Bench reported.

Singhvi also referred to a now-deleted social media post by the BJP’s Assam unit, containing a video depicting Sarma symbolically firing at images of two Muslim men at point-blank range.

“Gun pointing, visibly religious emblematic image, another graphic image,” Bar and Bench quoted Singhvi as saying. “This is reprehensible and inexcusable by anyone, but there can be degrees when one takes an oath, or when I take a public office.”

The petitioners also alleged that the Assam Police had not registered a suo moto first information report despite public videos of the alleged hate speeches, Live Law reported.

Such inaction fostered a “climate of impunity”, the petitions added.

The petitions have sought an independent probe by a Special Investigation Team against the chief minister under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to promoting enmity between groups, imputations prejudicial to national integration and statements conducing to public mischief, Live Law reported.

The matter was listed for further hearing in April.

Earlier in February, the Supreme Court had declined to entertain the petitions seeking that a first information report be filed against Sarma for hate speech against Muslims.

The bench had told the petitioners to approach the Gauhati High Court. It had also asked the High Court to hear the matter on priority.

Also Read: Has the Supreme Court gone soft on hate speech?

The Delhi High Court on Monday issued summons to commentator Abhijit Iyer-Mitra in a defamation case filed by women employees of digital news outlet Newslaundry for making sexually abusive remarks about them, Live Law reported.

On May 21, Iyer-Mitra took down the remarks he had posted on social media between February and April after the High Court reprimanded him.

On Monday, the court briefly put the matter on hold to allow the plaintiffs’ lawyer to confirm whether they wanted to go ahead with the case. Once the lawyer said that they did, the court formally issued a summons to the commentator, Live Law said.

The court was hearing the defamation suit filed by nine employees of Newslaundry seeking a public apology and Rs 2 crore in damages from Iyer-Mitra, a columnist at pro-Bharatiya Janata Party outlet OpIndia.

The nine staff members that have filed the defamation plea are: Manisha Pande, Ishita Pradeep, Suhasini Biswas, Sumedha Mittal, Tista Roy Chowdhury, Tasneem Fatia, Priya Jain, Jayashree Arunachalam and Priyali Dhingra, Live Law said. Newslaundry is also one of the plaintiffs in the suit.

During the hearing on Monday, advocate Percival Billimoria, representing Iyer-Mitra, informed the court that the posts in question had been taken down.

However, advocate Bani Dixit, appearing for the Newslaundry journalists, argued that there was “absolutely no remorse”, adding that Iyer-Mitra was still engaging with the post and “writing poetically”.

Billimoria also urged the court to dismiss the defamation suit with costs and called for an investigation into Newslaundry, Bar and Bench reported. However, the court made it clear that the matter at hand was limited to Iyer-Mitra’s social media posts. “We are only confined to the posts. If you have any other grievance, please take it up elsewhere,” the High Court said.

Billimoria also criticised the news platform, calling it “one of the most insidious news channels” and accused it of making comments about the Prime Minister's relationship with his Italian counterpart.

The court responded, “You must understand where the Laxman Rekha lies. When a post becomes defamatory, they have the right to return to court.”

During the earlier hearing, the Delhi High Court had refused to hear Iyer-Mitra until he took down the social media posts in question.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav warned that he would order a first information report against Iyer-Mitra if he fails to remove the posts.

Case against Iyer-Mitra

In its suit, Newslaundry has said that Iyer-Mitra, through a series of social media posts, had “falsely and maliciously” targeted the news outlet’s women employees using derogatory language and slurs.

The complainants argued that Iyer-Mitra’s posts were made “knowingly and deliberately” with the intent to harm the dignity and reputation of the employees.

Iyer-Mitra’s comments are “not an aspect of free speech or journalistic criticism”, said the employees.

“They are sexist slurs aimed at humiliating women professionals,” they added. “They directly attack their dignity and right to work without fear or sexual harassment.”

The Kerala High Court on Thursday stayed the release of the film The Kerala Story 2 - Goes Beyond, observing that it could disturb communal harmony, Live Law reported. The film was slated to be released on Friday.

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas said that on a preliminary reading, the Central Board of Film Certification ignored guidelines for clearing films and asked it to re-examine the matter.

“The very content in the teaser itself, which is conceded to be part of the movie, has the prima facie potential to distort the public perception and disturb communal harmony,” Live Law quoted the bench as saying.

The film The Kerala Story 2 - Goes Beyond allegedly depicts women from various states being lured into relationships with Muslim men and coerced into religious conversion. The teaser released on February 17 includes a scene in which a Hindu woman is forced to consume beef.

The makers of the film had earlier argued before the court that the content shown in the teaser is not part of the movie.

On Thursday, in response to three petitions challenging the censor certificate granted to the film, the High Court said that the dissemination of content that could disturb law and order and undermine social harmony cannot be said to constitute freedom of speech, Live Law reported.

On Tuesday, the bench had said that it would watch the film before deciding on the petitions. Thomas had said that since the film claims to be based on true events, the concerns raised by the petitioners regarding misrepresentation and the possibility of inciting communal tensions appeared justified.

“Kerala is so secular,” the judge had said at the time. “It lives with total harmony, but have you considered this when something is portrayed as happening all over the state…There is a wrong indication and can even incite passion and that is when the censor board comes in picture.”

A day after the teaser was released, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had criticised the film on social media, alleging that it was “aimed at sowing hatred against Kerala and insulting our secular tradition”.

“It is the responsibility of each of us to prove that the secular foundation of Kerala will not be destroyed by false propaganda,” Vijayan had said on social media.

Azim Premji University has filed a police complaint against students who had planned to hold an event relating to Kashmir on Tuesday at the institution’s campus in Bengaluru, reported The News Minute on Thursday.

The event was being conducted by a group called Spark Reading Circle APU to discuss the Kunan Poshpora incident, which pertains to allegations of mass rape by security personnel in two villages of Kashmir in February 1991.

Describing the event as an “anti-national activity”, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad held a protest on Tuesday. Members of the group allegedly smeared the university’s signage with black ink, entered the campus and spray-painted signboards and walls. They also allegedly assaulted security guards and students.

Eighteen members of the group were taken into police custody later that day.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad is the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which is the parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Later on Tuesday, Azim Premji University Registrar Rishikesh BS filed a police complaint against Spark Reading Circle APU, saying that permission was not sought or granted for the event, reported The News Minute.

University protocol mandates approval for organising programmes on campus, The Hindu quoted the registrar as saying.

The university authorities also claimed that the Spark Reading Circle APU is not registered with the institution.

They added that “unknown individuals were misusing” the university’s name to “circulate content that could incite enmity between groups”, reported the newspaper.

A first information report has been registered based on the complaint, reported The Hindu.

On Thursday, the Student Council of Azim Premji University described the police complaint against the students as an “asymmetry in outcomes”.

It said that while organising an event on the campus without administrative approval may amount to a violation of protocol, such lapses should be handled by internal bodies and not through an FIR.

“What concerns us most is the asymmetry in outcomes that has followed the events of the past few days,” the council added. “Those who entered this campus uninvited, caused physical harm to members of our community and damaged university property have been granted bail and face bailable charges.”

On the other hand, the university students who organised a peaceful gathering are subjected to non-bailable charges, said the council.

Responding to such engagement with a criminal FIR undermines the institution’s commitment to intellectual freedom, it added.

Hours later, the General Student Body of the university stated that it condemns the action of the university authorities.

“The series of unexpected and unacceptable reactions from the university administration has fostered a sense of fear and mistrust among the students,” said the General Student Body.

It added that the “absence of any transparency or clear communication on the part of the authorities regarding next steps” has led to a “grave sense of upset and concerns regarding safety among students”.

“This move by the administration of branding students as criminals goes against the very foundation of what we are taught to strive for – a just, equitable, humane and sustainable society – which are framed as the university’s values,” said the student body.

Ahead of their protest, the ABVP had in a press release condemned the “anti-national, Kashmir separatist events and sessions against the Indian Army”.

In a memorandum addressed to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, it had also sought strict action against the student group that organised the event and the university administration for allowing it.

The Congress on Thursday criticised the speech delivered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Israeli Parliament a day earlier, claiming that it “diminished India’s moral standing”.

In a social media post, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh described the speech as an “unabashed defence” of Modi’s host, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Wednesday, the Indian prime minister told the Israeli Parliament that New Delhi stood with Israel “firmly, with full conviction, in this moment and beyond”. He made the comment while expressing India’s condolences for the deaths of 1,200 persons, mostly Israelis, during the attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023.

“We feel your pain” and “share your grief”, Modi told the Knesset.

On Thursday, Ramesh referred to an article written by Eitay Mack, an Israeli lawyer and human rights activist, in The Wire on Wednesday.

In his article, Mack said that the Indian prime minister “acted and spoke like the leader of a minor state visiting a global power, desperate to curry favour”. He added that Modi “humiliated” himself and India.

Referring to the article, the Congress MP said that the lawyer had “exposed the sham of the prime minister’s…address to the Knesset yesterday that diminished India’s moral standing”.

He also said that during his speech, Modi had drawn “attention to the fact that India recognised the new state of Israel on the day he was born”.

The Rajya Sabha MP quoted remarks made by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the formation of Israel in a letter to physicist Albert Einstein.

Nehru had written that he had “paid a good deal of attention to this problem of Palestine” and read books and pamphlets on the subject issued on either side.

He had added that “unless men are big enough on either side, which is just and generally agreeable to the parties concerned”, there was no “effective solution for the present”.

The speech on Wednesday by Modi came during the Indian prime minister’s first visit to Israel since Hamas’ October 2023 incursion into southern Israel and the Israeli military offensive in Gaza.

Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on besieged Gaza since October 2023, leaving more than 70,000 persons dead.

In September, a commission of inquiry set up by the United Nations said that Israelcommitted genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s foreign ministry had rejected the report, describing it as “distorted and false”.

Modi told the Israeli Parliament that the Gaza Peace Initiative, endorsed by the United Nations Security Council, offers a pathway for regional stability.

He reiterated New Delhi’s “firm support” for the peace plan led by United States President Donald Trump.

The US has invited India, among about 60 countries, to join Trump’s Board of Peace on Gaza. Washington has described the board as a global initiative to resolve conflicts, initially focusing on Gaza.

While New Delhi has not joined the initiative, it attended the inaugural meeting of the board on February 19 as an observer country.

The Board of Peace for Gaza will be part of the second phase of a US-backed ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hamas. A UN Security Council resolution in November authorised the Board of Peace to oversee Gaza at least until the end of 2027.

India’s longstanding position has been to support a two-state solution for establishing a sovereign, viable and independent state of Palestine within recognised and mutually agreed borders, living alongside Israel in peace.

Also read:

• For India’s Hindutva base, Israel is less an ally and more a model

• Why India waited two years before recognising Israel

• India’s discernible shift away from Palestine

A confrontation took place between police personnel from Delhi and Himachal Pradesh on the Chandigarh-Shimla highway on Thursday in connection with the arrests of three Indian Youth Congress members for a protest at the India AI Impact Summit, The Indian Express reported.

The two police forces accused each other of obstructing their investigations.

The police in Congress-governed Himachal Pradesh filed a first information report against several Delhi Police personnel, accusing them of kidnapping the members of the ruling party’s youth wing, according to the newspaper.

The Delhi Police team was stopped several times while taking the three arrested persons to the national capital, The Indian Express reported.

Members of the Indian Youth Congress had held a protest during the artificial intelligence summit in Delhi on February 20, shouting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and holding placards alleging that he was “compromised”.

The Delhi Police, which reports to the Union home ministry, has filed a case against the protesters, accusing them of rioting and promoting enmity between groups.

On Wednesday evening, the Delhi Police arrested three Indian Youth Congress members – Saurabh, Siddharth and Arbaz – from a hotel in the Chirgaon area of the Shimla district, PTI reported. The Delhi Police sought to produce them before a local court for transit remand, but officials from Himachal Pradesh allegedly prevented them from doing so.

“At the court, our team was informed that court staff were not available for the legal process,” The Indian Express quoted an unidentified Delhi Police officer as saying. “The local [Himachal] police kept the Delhi Police officers confined for hours. They were asked to show a copy of the FIR [against the accused] and permission from a court to carry out the operation.”

The Delhi Police team was reportedly allowed to leave in the evening, but was again stopped at the Shoghi police post on the Chandigarh-Shimla highway. An unidentified member of the Delhi Police team was quoted as saying by The Indian Express that they were told that they had been booked on kidnapping charges, and were detained.

While the Delhi Police claimed that they had obtained transit remand, their counterparts from Himachal Pradesh claimed that no documentation was presented and the arrests were illegal. The authorities in Himachal Pradesh alleged that the procedure was not followed as the local police had not been informed before making the arrests.

Videos posted on social media showed the police personnel arguing and filming each other during the confrontation.

Drama Follows Youth Congress Workers' Arrest, Cops File Case Against Cops https://t.co/B7RsyEM6yR@ghazalimohammad shares details with @SehgalRahesha pic.twitter.com/nf2Jp6UauV

— NDTV (@ndtv) February 25, 2026

The Shimla Police was quoted as saying by PTI: “A case has been registered against 15-20 unknown people in plain clothes for forcibly taking three people staying in a resort in Rohru. They also took the CCTV installed in the resort with them and did not give any receipt.”

Naresh Chauhan, the principal advisor (media) to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, said that a procedure must be followed when the police from one state travel to another state to arrest a person,” PTI reported.

“This order has been given to the Delhi Police by the High Court,” the news agency quoted him as saying. “Despite this, the Delhi Police did not inform Himachal Police and continued with their action. Shimla Police opposed it because the action being taken was illegal and unwarranted.”

Chauhan said that the matter eventually went to court after the Himachal Pradesh Police’s intervention. “…The accused have been taken into remand and they are finally undergoing medical,” he said, according to PTI.

VIDEO | Shimla, Himachal Pradesh: On Delhi Police arresting IYC workers accused of protesting at AI Summit from Shimla, Naresh Chauhan, media advisor to the Chief Minister, says, "Rules and law should be followed, that is the correct way. Any state police, if they are going to… pic.twitter.com/zP2ljLHJ2N

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 26, 2026

Allegations against Youth Congress workers

The Delhi Police has alleged that the Youth Congress’ protest was part of a “larger conspiracy” and has claimed it was inspired by Nepal’s recent Gen-Z-led agitation. According to the Delhi Police, the demonstration was a pre-planned attempt to disrupt the high-profile event at Bharat Mandapam.

The five-day India AI Impact Summit was promoted as a major gathering on artificial intelligence in the Global South, attended by 20 world leaders, technology executives and exhibitors from 30 countries.

The Supreme Court on Thursday banned the publication and re-printing of the National Council of Educational Research and Training’s new Class 8 social science textbook, which included a section on “corruption in the judiciary”, reported Live Law.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi told the Union government and state education departments to ensure that all copies of the book, printed or digital, are removed from public access, according to Bar and Bench.

The NCERT is an educational body that advises the Union government on school syllabi.

A chapter on “The role of the judiciary in our society” in the new Class 8 social science book had listed “corruption at various levels of the judiciary” as among the challenges that the judicial system faces, reported The Indian Express on Wednesday.

Later in the day, the Supreme Court said that it had taken suo moto cognisance of the matter. “I will not allow anyone on earth to taint the integrity of the institution and defame the institution,” the chief justice said.

Here’s more on this:

• Appearing for the Union government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Thursday apologised to the Supreme Court and said that the NCERT had withdrawn the Class 8 social science textbook, reported Bar and Bench.

• However, the bench said that the press release issued by the NCERT did not have a “single word of apology”, according to Live Law. It directed the NCERT, in coordination with the Centre and state government to ensure that “all copies of the book currently in circulation, whether held in storage, retail outlets, or educational institutions, are seized and removed from public access”. It also said that classes should not be held based on the book.

• The court issued a contempt of court notice to the Department of School Education and NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklan. It told the NCERT director to submit the names of those who were involved in preparing the chapter in question. The director was also told to furnish the minutes of the meeting where the chapter was discussed and finalised.

• The bench also objected to the NCERT director’s reply when the row about the chapter broke out, describing it as “contemptuous and reckless”.

• There appeared to be a “calculated move to undermine the institutional authority and demean dignity of the institution”, said the bench. It added that the chapter was allowed to be published "unchecked" and that “it eroded the stature of the judiciary”, reported Live Law.

• The court said that it might constitute a panel to fix responsibility after receiving compliance reports from the NCERT, the Centre and state governments.

The book, which had been available for sale on Monday, stated that despite a code of conduct that governs judges and a mechanism for receiving complaints, citizens “do experience corruption at various levels of the judiciary”.

The older version of the book only described the role of the judiciary, the structure of the courts and access to them, according to The Indian Express. It did not mention corruption, but had a paragraph about delays in hearings.

The family of Manipur Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Vungzagin Valte, who died on February 20, nearly three years after being assaulted by a mob, said that it will not bury his body until the Union government agrees to its demands, The Hindu reported.

The family has sought a separate district for the Zomi tribe, to which Valte belonged, and an inquiry by the National Investigation Agency into his death.

Valte was assaulted by a mob, allegedly comprising members of the Meitei community, on May 4, 2023. The attack took place at Nagamapal in Imphal when the MLA was returning from a meeting with N Biren Singh, the chief minister at the time, a day after ethnic violence broke out in the state.

Valte received medical treatment for nearly three years but died at a hospital in Gurugram on February 20.

The BJP MLA’s body was flown from Delhi to Aizawl at the request of his family, The Hindu reported. It was later taken to his home in Manipur’s Churachandpur district by road on Tuesday. After the body arrived at his home, Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh paid their respects to the legislator.

Governor of Manipur today visited Churachandpur District to pay tribute to late MLA Vungzagin Valte, laying a wreath and a shawl in solemn remembrance.

The Governor met the bereaved family and conveyed his heartfelt condolences, praying for the eternal peace of the departed soul… pic.twitter.com/HEsjKcIf3V

— LOK BHAVAN MANIPUR (@LokBhavManipur) February 24, 2026

However, Valte’s son, Joseph, was quoted as saying by The Hindu that the family gave a list of demands to Bhalla, and said the burial would not take place till they were met.

Valte’s body was on Wednesday moved to the morgue of the Churachandpur Medical College. An unidentified official was quoted as saying by The Indian Express that the institute received a request for a post-mortem from the Imphal West Police.

“Before that, the family was still deciding whether they wanted a post-mortem done,” the official was quoted as saying. “The main concern they expressed is that since they are asking for urgent higher investigation into this matter, they want to make sure that all possible evidence required by investigators is taken before burying the body.”

The Zomi Council, an influential body of the community, said it wanted to press the government to speed up the process of dealing with the question of a separate administration for the community.

The council’s Information and Publicity Secretary Mary Jones Vung told The Indian Express that it would first hold consultations with its frontal organisations and, if required, with the tribal councils of constituent tribes before deciding on the next steps.

“We will consult on how we want to raise this with the government, and after that, we will take the initiative for the burial service with the family,” she said.

While Valte was undergoing treatment, he had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 13, 2025, alleging that he had been attacked by “Meitei militia [Arambai Tenggol]”, The Hindu reported. He said that the attack had left him severely injured and paralysed.

Valte had said in the letter that despite the seriousness of the attack, no special inquiry, whether by the Central Bureau of Investigation or by the National Investigation Agency, had been launched.

The Supreme Court recently observed that it is constitutionally impermissible for anyone, whether state or non-state actors, to vilify or denigrate any community through speeches, memes, cartoons or visual art.

Justice Ujjal Bhuyan stressed that this is “particularly true for public figures occupying high constitutional office”, saying that they must not target any community on the basis of religion, language, caste or region.

The bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Bhuyan on February 19 closed a public interest litigation against the title of the movie Ghooskhor Pandat after the filmmakers agreed to change the name. The petitioner had alleged that the title defamed the Brahmin community.

The use of the word “pandat”, associated with the Brahmin community and also meaning a priest, with “ghooskhor”, a term for someone who accepts bribes, had led to objections against the film.

Bhuyan, in his separate judgement in the case, said that although no adjudication was strictly required once the title was withdrawn, it was necessary to restate “that freedom of speech and expression is sacrosanct and that the said right should not be ordinarily interfered with”.

Referring to the Preamble, he said that fraternity is one of the Constitution’s foundational objectives and forms part of its guiding philosophy

Bhuyan also noted that every citizen has a fundamental duty to promote harmony and a spirit of common brotherhood transcending religious, linguistic and regional diversities.

He referred to the Constitution Bench decision concerning Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, which described fraternity as a concept intended to cultivate a sense of brotherhood amongst all individuals within society.

Against this backdrop, the judge stated: “It is constitutionally impermissible for anybody, be it the State or non-state actors, through any medium, such as speeches, memes, cartoons or visual arts, to vilify and denigrate any community.”

During the hearing, the bench had questioned the film’s title, observing that it appeared to denigrate a section of society.

However, the court also underscored that once a film has been certified by the Central Board of Film Certification, courts should be circumspect in considering any interference with its exhibition.

Bhuyan referred in particular to the caution expressed in the Imran Pratapgadhi versus State of Gujarat case – that courts must not be seen to regulate or stifle the freedom of speech and expression.

He cited the observation in that judgment that a 75-year-old Republic should not be so fragile as to feel threatened by a poem or a comic show, adding, “this would equally apply to the title of a movie as well”.

The observations come in the backdrop of the Supreme Court declining to entertain petitions under Article 32 seeking registration of a hate speech first information report against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for his series of remarks targeting Bengali-origin Muslims in Assam, calling them “Miyas”.

Also read: Has the Supreme Court gone soft on hate speech?

The Canadian government believes that India is no longer linked to alleged violent crimes in Canada, Global News quoted an unidentified senior official in Ottawa as saying on Wednesday.

The comment came ahead of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to India on Friday.

The official, who did not want to be identified, said that there had been “very robust diplomatic engagement” between the two countries, including discussions between the national security advisers, and that Ottawa was confident that the alleged activity was “not continuing”, The Toronto Star reported.

“I really don’t think we’d be taking this trip if we thought these kind[s] of activities would continue,” he said.

Carney’s visit comes amid a thaw in diplomatic relations between India and Canada.

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

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

New Delhi has rejected Canada’s allegations.

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

The comments made by the Canadian official on Wednesday came days after Ottawa sought to withhold sensitive evidence in the Nijjar murder case from being disclosed in open court, contending that it could be “injurious to international relations and national security”, Global News reported on February 19.

The trial in the case is not expected to begin before August, The New Indian Express quoted a spokesperson for the British Columbia Prosecution Service as saying on Saturday.

The comment also came after the two countries on February 8 said they had agreed on a work plan to guide cooperation on national security and law enforcement.

Ottawa had previously accused India of foreign interference.

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

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

In March 2025, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service had claimed that India, China, Russia and Pakistan could try to interfere in the Canadian general election that was scheduled to be held in April 2025.

In July, a report by the country’s Security Intelligence Service accused India of being a perpetrator of foreign interference and espionage.

Lucknow University has barred six students from the campus after days of protests by two groups against the fencing of the Lal Baradari monument and allegations that namaz was being offered near the site, reported The Indian Express on Tuesday. Seven students were also issued show-cause notices.

Aryan Mishra, the vice president of the National Students’ Union of India’s Uttar Pradesh unit, claimed that the university fenced the structure on Saturday, according to The Telegraph.

The National Students’ Union of India is the Congress’ student wing.

A group of unidentified students were quoted as saying by The Indian Express that a hall inside the structure was used as a mosque. They alleged that the structure was fenced to stop students and residents of the area from offering namaz during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan, which began on February 18.

On Sunday, a group of Muslim students offered namaz near the structure, with members of the National Students’ Union of India protecting them, said Mishra.

The authorities at the university claimed on Monday that the fencing was erected as a safety measure because the structure is in a dilapidated condition, reported The Indian Express. They also denied claims by students that a hall inside Lal Baradari had been used as a mosque.

However, on Tuesday, tensions escalated on campus after members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad shouted “Jai Shri Ram”, staged a sit-in outside the structure, recited the Hanuman Chalisa and demanded that the spot where namaz was offered be purified, reported The Telegraph.

The Hanuman Chalisa is a Hindu devotional hymn dedicated to the deity Hanuman.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad is the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which is the parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Some of the ABVP members were detained by the police, reported the Hindustan Times.

Chitvan Kumar, the station house officer of Hasanganj police station, told The Indian Express that 13 students had been directed to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 each, along with two sureties of the same amount.

“It has been brought on record that students allegedly made deliberate attempts to obstruct construction work being carried out at Lal Baradari within the university premises,” the newspaper quoted the notice issued to them as saying.

It added that they staged a protest by sitting on a road inside the campus, shouted slogans and attempted to offer namaz at a public place, “thereby creating a situation with the potential to disturb public order and disrupt communal harmony, resulting in tension”.

“In view of the above, there exists a strong likelihood that the respondents may engage in acts in the future that could lead to a breach of public peace,” the notice said, according to The Indian Express. “Accordingly, a request has been made to summon them and bind them down with substantial sureties.”

Two events that unfolded within days of each other tell a story that India has long preferred not to hear. At the BAFTA awards in London on Sunday, filmmaker Lakshmipriya Devi accepted the prize for Best Children’s and Family Film for her coming-of-age film Boong.

In that moment of triumph, she turned the spotlight not towards herself but towards her burning home state of Manipur and offered prayers for peace. India celebrated.

But back in India a few days before, three young women from Arunachal Pradesh in South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar had been subjected to racial slurs, humiliation and public intimidation by their neighbours. A video of Friday’s incident circulated widely: a couple confronting the women, demanding to know who they are, what they do and accusing them of working in a massage parlour.

These events are not unrelated. Lakshmipriya Devi’s recognition was real and deserved, but it was also conditional. She was welcomed into the national conversation through cinema, through something mainland India could consume and applaud.

The three women in Malviya Nagar had no such entry ticket. They were young, preparing for the civil exams, they lived in rented accommodation, they existed in the city without the shield of fame or achievement. The city met them with its assumption women from North East India living in South Delhi must work in a massage parlour.

The people who confronted the women seemed to suggest that they were simply stating a fact.

The treatment that individuals from the North East face outside the region is often called “discrimination” or “prejudice”. But these words suggest that the problem is the consequence of individual attitudes. It presumes that such ignorance about the region will one day be corrected by education.

Harsh Singh and his wife, Ruby Jain, have been booked in a case of alleged racial abuse against three women from Arunachal Pradesh who live in their building.#ArunachalPradesh #Delhi #NorthEast #DelhiPolice https://t.co/rYK8SBoQ3x

— The Telegraph (@ttindia) February 25, 2026

But the Malviya Nagar incident reflected something deeper. It was the result of the combined weight of race, gender, and caste – as forces that work together to push certain people to the edges of society.

Over the decades, Indians from the North East have been treated as lesser citizens, with a foreign quality that is acceptable to mock. The racial slurs now recognised as illegal capture this phenomenon precisely: they reduce a person to a single physical feature and say, this is all you are.

In the Malviya Nagar incident, gender and race were fused. The massage parlour slur that follows women from the North East across the country is not simply a racial insult: it implies that these women fall outside the idea of respectability, a category that society reserves for upper-caste, Hindu women who conform to norms of domesticity, modesty and a visible family structure.

Caste enters this picture not always visibly, but structurally. Indian society has long placed certain groups as being outside the circle of social protection. Women from the North East, alongside Dalit women, Muslim women, and migrant women, are frequently assigned such a position.

In Hyderabad, when I walk into restaurants, apartment complexes, malls, museums I am met with a particular line of questioning. Where are you from? Do you work at a restaurant? Are you a waiter? It sounds casual, but there is nothing neutral about it. It is the city trying to decide who I am based on my appearance – to put me in my place.

Living with such categorisation is exhausting. It requires constant self-assertion, insisting on one’s own complexities and of refusing the small boxes that others try to fit you into.

What happened in Malviya Nagar was extreme but it was not unusual. It was an escalation of attitudes that are ordinary.

Lakshmipriya Devi accepts the #EEBAFTAs Children’s and Family Film award for Boong 💫 🗻 pic.twitter.com/TFBnBmDVSx

— BAFTA (@BAFTA) February 22, 2026

We cannot celebrate Lakshmipriya Devi’s prayer for Manipur without considering the three young women being humiliated on a Delhi street. Belonging cannot be afforded only to those who win international awards. It has to exist on the streets and in neighbourhoods across India.

The accusation faced by the three women from Arunachal – you work in a massage parlour – is as political as any speech from a podium. It tells us plainly who India thinks belongs to the country – and who it does not.

We are all, in our own ways, asking to be seen as we are, not as what this country has decided to make of us.

Prithiraj Borah is an assistant professor of sociology in the department of law at NALSAR, University of Law, Hyderabad. His email address is prithiraj.borah@nalsar.ac.in.

The National Investigation Agency on Wednesday said it has arrested two more persons in connection with the November 10 blast near Delhi’s Red Fort.

This took the total arrests in the case to 11.

The two men are Zameer Ahmad Ahangar from Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal and Tufail Ahmad Bhat from Srinagar. The agency has alleged that they supplied weapons to the prime accused in the case.

The blast near the Red Fort metro station left at least 11 persons dead and several injured. Umar Un Nabi, a doctor, was believed to have been driving the car that exploded. Two days after the explosion, the Union government described it as a “terrorist incident”.

TWO MORE TERROR OPERATIVES NABBED IN DELHI BOMB BLAST CASE, TOTAL ARRESTS GO UP TO 11 pic.twitter.com/lbfkCcilkL

— NIA India (@NIA_India) February 25, 2026

The National Investigation Agency, which is investigating the case, said its probe had found that Ahangar and Bhat were active overground workers of banned terror organisation Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.

Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind was formed in Kashmir in 2017 when some militants broke away from Hizbul Mujahideen – the largest indigenous militant organisation in Kashmir – and claimed that they were affiliated to terror group Al Qaeda.

The agency stated that it had established through examination of evidence the involvement of the two men not only in the Delhi blast case but also in other alleged terror conspiracies.

It further alleged that the two “were engaged in the collection of arms and ammunition, intended for use against” India.

On December 18, the investigating agency had arrested Yasir Ahmad Dar, a resident of Shopian in Jammu and Kashmir. He was arrested in Delhi. Dar has been accused of being an “active participant in the conspiracy” behind the blast and of taking an oath for “carrying out self-sacrificial operations”.

Prior to that, on December 9, the agency arrested Bilal Naseer Malla from Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla, alleging that he harboured and provided logistical support to Nabi. He was also accused of destroying evidence related to the terror attack.

On November 26, another man identified as Soyab from Dhauj was arrested from Haryana’s Faridabad. He too was accused of harbouring and providing logistical support to Nabi.

On November 20, four other persons were arrested. They were identified as Muzammil Shakeel Ganai from Pulwama, Adeel Ahmed Rather from Anantnag, Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay from Shopian and Shaheen Saeed from Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow.

On November 17, the NIA arrested Jasir Bilal Wani alias Danish from Srinagar. Wani, a resident of Qazigund in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district was accused of providing technical support “by modifying drones and attempting to make rockets ahead of the deadly car bomb blast”.

The first arrest was made a day prior, on November 16, when the agency arrested an alleged aide to Nabi, identified as Amir Rashid Ali. The agency alleged that the Hyundai i20 car used in the blast was registered in Ali’s name.

Hours before the blast, the police said that it had cracked an “inter-state and transnational terror module” in Faridabad and Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur.

The police had said at the time that it recovered 2,900 kg of improvised explosive device-making material in raids in several states.

India stands with Israel “firmly, with full conviction, in this moment and beyond”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the Israeli Parliament on Wednesday.

Modi made the comment while expressing New Delhi’s condolences for the deaths of 1,200 persons, mostly Israelis, during the attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023.

“We feel your pain” and “share your grief”, the prime minister told the Knesset.

He added that like Israel, India has a “consistent and uncompromising policy of zero tolerance for terrorism, with no double standards”.

The remarks came during Modi’s first visit to Israel since Hamas’ October 2023 incursion into southern Israel and the Israeli military offensive in Gaza.

Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on besieged Gaza since October 2023, leaving more than 70,000 persons dead.

In September, a commission of inquiry set up by the United Nations said that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s foreign ministry had rejected the report, describing it as “distorted and false”.

On Wednesday, Modi said that “there is great admiration” in India for Israel’s “resolve, courage and achievements”, adding that “long before we related to each other as modern states, we were linked by ties that go back more than 2,000 years”.

Modi said that India and Israel had committed to expanding trade, strengthening investment flows and promoting joint development of infrastructure.

The Gaza Peace Initiative, endorsed by the United Nations Security Council, offers a pathway for regional stability, the prime minister said.

Modi reiterated New Delhi’s “firm support” for the peace plan led by United States President Donald Trump.

“We believe that it holds the promise of a just and durable peace for all the people of the region, including by addressing the Palestine issue,” Modi added.

India’s longstanding position has been to support a two-state solution for establishing a sovereign, viable and independent state of Palestine within recognised and mutually agreed borders, living alongside Israel in peace.

On January 31, Modi had reiterated to a delegation of Arab foreign ministers India’s support for the people of Palestine, adding that New Delhi welcomed the ongoing peace efforts, including the Gaza peace plan.

The US has invited India, among about 60 countries, to join Trump’s Board of Peace on Gaza. Washington has described the board as a global initiative to resolve conflicts, initially focusing on Gaza.

While New Delhi has not joined the initiative, it attended the inaugural meeting of the board on February 19 as an observer country.

The Board of Peace for Gaza will be part of the second phase of a US-backed ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hamas. A UN Security Council resolution in November authorised the Board of Peace to oversee Gaza at least until the end of 2027.

Also read:

• For India’s Hindutva base, Israel is less an ally and more a model
• Why India waited two years before recognising Israel
• India’s discernible shift away from Palestine

Nearly every house in Chutvahi village bears a number – painted on the wall by the security forces in bold English letters.

“These numbers are used to identify us,” said Bhima Kosa, a resident of the village deep inside Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district.

“I’m from number 12,” he added, with a laugh, prompting chuckles from others around him. “I am from 36,” joined in another as the laughter grew louder.

The laughter faded as the conversation moved to the purpose of the house-numbering exercise.

“If a villager is stopped in the forest or at the market [by the security forces], they are asked to spell out their number,” Kosa said. “If they can’t remember – especially old people – they are taken to the [security] camp.”

Over the last two years, as Scroll has reported previously, security camps manned by central paramilitary forces have mushroomed in the forested blocks of Bijapur and Sukma districts. Considered the last strongholds of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), these areas are now slipping into the state’s control as security forces race to meet the March 31 deadline set by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to end the Maoist insurgency.

The security offensive has come with heightened surveillance, say the Adivasi people living in forest villages like Chutvahi and neighbouring Bhattiguda.

“Each house is marked, numbered, and photographed,” said a resident of Bhattiguda. “A photograph of each member [of a family], including that of the children, has been taken to keep a record in the camp.”

Adivasi residents said a person detained for not being able to recall their house number was held at the nearest security camp until a family member or someone from the village confirmed the number. The name was checked against a list before the villager was released.

The process “usually takes about an hour”, said Madvi Kosa, part of the group of Chutvahi residents who had gathered under a mahua tree to speak to me.

But why were the numbers painted in such large lettering, I asked, as I looked upon a house wall bearing the number 35.

“D-rone se dikhna chahiye na” – it should be visible from the drone – a man offered an explanation.

With security drones routinely flying over the village from morning until evening, many residents believe their homes are being closely monitored – particularly to track their movements as well as those of their visitors. Often, said the residents of Chutvahi, security personnel show up at their doorstep shortly after they have visitors, asking questions about who came and why.

Almost on cue, my conversation with the villagers was disrupted – a contingent of CRPF personnel showed up in Chutvahi, asking me to identify myself. After I did so, the personnel left.

Chutwahi camp commandant, Inspector S R Patel, who I spoke to later, denied that individual houses were being surveilled through drones. “Only numbers written on the roof of a house can be seen [by drone cameras], not those written on the walls,” he said.

The police superintendent of Bijapur district, Dr Jitendra Yadav, however, said that “close surveillance of interior villages” like Chutvahi was necessary. Many of these villages, which were located along Talperu river in Bijapur’s Usur block, had been under the Maoist shadow for four decades, he said. Police intelligence reports had confirmed the movement of Maoist cadres in some of these villages, necessitating vigil, he added.

Legal experts questioned this. “Mass and indiscriminate surveillance of a civilian population would amount to an infringement on the right to privacy, which has been recognised by the Supreme Court as a fundamental right,” noted Shalini Gera, an advocate at Chhattisgarh High Court.

The lawyer who is also associated with People’s Union for Civil Liberties commented that the police will need “cogent and strong reasons to do so, usually with judicial or legislative oversight”.

“Treating everyone as a suspect upturns the principle of presumed innocence, which is the cornerstone of our criminal jurisprudence,” Gera said.

Drones in the air

Chutvahi is not the only village where residents fear drone surveillance.

Rakesh Madvi from Raigudam village in Sukma district, who had come to meet his cousin in Chutvahi, after dodging several security camps, said: “Our entire village of 104 houses have been boldly numbered for drones to capture and identify the houses.”

One morning, he said, they were shocked to find security personnel in the village, asking for their smartphones, and questioning them about what they had been watching the previous evening. “Koi Naxali video dekh rahe the” – you were watching Maoist video content – Madvi recalled the personnel telling them.

“Drone surveillance is now a new normal,” Madvi concluded.

Not far from Chutvahi, in Tumirguda village, Joga Madvi said the surveillance has made it harder for them to visit friends and relatives.

Months ago, when he visited his sister in Perampalli village, also in Usur block, he woke up to CRPF personnel at the doorstep asking about who he was and why he was visiting her.

He showed them his Aadhaar card. But they were not convinced. He then got the security personnel to speak on phone with a doctor from a field hospital, run by the CRPF. The doctor, who had treated him a few weeks ago, confirmed that he was from Tumirguda.

Once the CRPF personnel left, Joga returned to his village immediately.

“Our family is spread across all of Bastar,” he said. Earlier, they could visit anyone, anytime. “But now, if a family member from another village comes to our home, we have to inform the camp.”

Mudam Pale, another resident of Chutvahi, said: “If there is a wedding at home, we must inform the camp in advance and provide a list of guests who will be attending.”

Pale added that the security forces had warned them against “moving from one place to another, especially after sunset.”

Fifty-five-year-old Sodi Raja was busy pounding seasonal torra seeds when one of the village residents pointed at him and said he had been slapped twice by security personnel – simply for walking past their camp drunk.

In one of these instances, Raja had been returning from a wedding in Manjapara in Chutvahi around 8 pm, his young son explained.

Did the camp personnel call out to him, I asked.

“They said something in Hindi – I couldn’t understand,” said Sodi Raja in Gondi, lifting his head briefly from his work before returning to pounding the torra seeds.

Not just weddings, all social events – births and deaths – that bring people from nearby hamlets or villages must also be notified to the camp, residents said. The restrictions extended to even emergencies.

“If someone falls ill, we call the gunia [healer] from a nearby hamlet, especially for snake bites and insect stings,” said Kosa. “How can they stop even that? What if someone dies?”

Festivals, work trips under scrutiny

Caught in the security net, residents added, were local festivals, integral to Adivasi community life.

Even though Chutvahi is now administratively part of Tarrem gram panchayat, its residents continue to hold their annual fair or karsad in Gundam, where their devgudi or village shrine is located. The administrative shift made no difference to the fair.

However, ever since the security camps have been established, the village residents have had to notify their pandums or agricultural festivals by submitting information on the number of people assembling in the village, as well as the list of extended family members coming from other hamlets and villages.

Every year, the village celebrates four major pandums – the first in April, just before mahua flowers blossom, the second in May before sorting seeds for the monsoon crop, the third in August before sowing the seeds, and finally, in October-November, after the crop is harvested.

Each festival brings the entire village together in an open ground – to cook and feast, to dance through the night, with mahua liquor flowing freely. Young boys and girls dance and sing in chorus, their arms wrapped around each other’s waists, swaying in rhythm. The celebrations continue until the first light of dawn, marking a collective moment of joy.

The village residents clarified that the security forces do not disturb them during the festivals. “But they stand at a distance observing us,” Linga said.

This, itself, feels like an intrusion, they said.

Restrictions under the Maoists

In contrast, the villagers pointed out that the Maoists allowed them full freedom for cultural and social events, including community hunting.

They did, however, face some restrictions under the Maoists, the village residents were quick to add.

They could not go from one village to another without a stated purpose – if they did, they were viewed with suspicion, they said.

Villagers in Chutvahi recalled that in May 2024, two months after a security camp was established nearby, the Maoists abducted and killed two brothers – Joga Madvi and Hunga Madvi – on the suspicion that they were providing information to the police. No jan adalat – people’s court – was held. Neither did their family file a complaint with the police.

While the Maoists had not barred children from enrolling in government schools and colleges in nearby towns, they were expected to stay back in the village during their annual holidays.

“I lost one whole year of my education as one Maoist leader banned my visits outside the village,” said a young man resentfully who recently passed out of high school.

The Maoists had also placed restrictions on the use of mobile phones – presumably to prevent information leaking to the police. They also regulated the number of days that villagers could go to Andhra and Telangana for seasonal labour.

With the paddy harvest done, the residents of Chutvahi and other forest villages told me that they were preparing to go to neighbouring Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for “coolie” work or seasonal manual labour – like they do every year. Typically, villagers head out in groups which can be anywhere between 20- and 90-people strong.

However, the difference was that now they had been asked to register at the nearest security camp before leaving for their work destinations.

Manish Asam, the sarpanch of Kondapalli, said the practice began in 2024, when a security camp was established near their village. It was the responsibility of the village head to share the details of those heading out for coolie work, as well as informing the camp once they had returned, he added.

Such restrictions were inhibiting Adivasi life, said Prakash Thakur, the president of Sarva Adivasi Samaj, a community organisation in Bastar. “The Adivasi way of life is communitarian,” he said. “The use of security camps to monitor our villages amounts to a curtailment of our freedom and an infringement of our fundamental rights.”

“It is almost like all village residents are being declared to be Maoist,” he added.

All photographs by Malini Subramaniam.

The committee appointed by the Lok Sabha Speaker to investigate corruption charges against Justice Yashwant Varma has been reconstituted, according to a notification issued by the secretary-general of the house on February 25.

One of the three members of the committee, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava is set to retire on March 6. He has been replaced with Bombay High Court Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar.

The inquiry committee had been appointed by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in August last year after 152 MPs from both the ruling coalition and the Opposition had moved an impeachment motion against Justice Varma, a judge in the Delhi High Court at that time.

Unaccounted cash was allegedly recovered at Varma’s official residence in Delhi when emergency services responded to a fire there on March 14. The judge said he was in Bhopal when the cash was discovered and claimed that it did not belong to him or his family. The controversy prompted his transfer to the Allahabad High Court.

While admitting the motion to impeach Justice Varma, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had stated in the house that the committee would submit its report at the earliest. But the investigation was delayed since Justice Varma challenged the legality of the inquiry committee in the Supreme Court.

On January 16, the court rejected his petition. Days later, Justice Varma appeared before the committee to defend himself. Since then, the committee met several times to examine other witnesses connected to the matter.

However, with Justice Shrivastava retiring on March 6, the committee now stands reconstituted. It is not clear whether the reconstituted committee will investigate the matter afresh or take on record the depositions made so far.

The Supreme Court objected to the National Council of Educational Research and Training’s new Class 8 social science textbook that includes a section on “corruption in the judiciary”. Stating that he would “not allow anybody to defame the institution”, Chief Justice Surya Kant said that he had taken suo moto cognisance of the matter.

A chapter on “The role of the judiciary in our society” in the new Class 8 social science book listed “corruption at various levels of the judiciary” among the challenges that the judicial system faces. However, on Wednesday there were reports that the new textbook has been withdrawn from sale. Read on.

The Supreme Court stayed criminal proceedings initiated by the Enforcement Directorate against Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader is accused of wilfully refusing to appear before the agency despite several summonses in an alleged land scam case.

A bench was hearing a petition filed by Soren challenging the Jharkhand High Court’s January 15 order refusing to quash the proceedings. The bench also issued notice to the probe agency, asking it to respond within four weeks. Read on.

With 129 killings, 2025 was the deadliest year for journalists since 1992, when the Committee to Protect Journalists began collecting the data, the global media watchdog said. Israel was responsible for two-thirds, or 89, of all killings of journalists, it added.

Journalists were also killed in countries not at war, including India, because of the “continued failure of government leaders to protect the press”, the organisation said. The Committee to Protect Journalists pointed to the murder of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar, who ran the YouTube channel Bastar Junction, on January 1, 2025.

Chandrakar was murdered allegedly for reporting on alleged irregularities in a road construction project in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district. His body was found in a septic tank on the property of the road contractor. Read on.

The Supreme Court clarified that Class 10 admit cards issued by the West Bengal education board can serve as verification documents during the special intensive revision of voter rolls, but only if submitted along with the pass certificate. A day earlier, a bench had said that Aadhaar cards, Class 10 admit cards and pass certificates would be considered as proof of eligibility during the voter roll revision.

The clarification came after an advocate raised concerns about whether admit cards could be accepted as standalone identity documents. Read on.

India was among 51 countries that abstained from voting on a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly that called for an “immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine. It supported Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.

The resolution also called for the exchange of prisoners of war and the return of civilians forcibly transferred or deported, including children. Read on.

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A statue of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was pulled down by unidentified persons in Assam’s Cachar district using an excavator, PTI quoted the police as saying on Wednesday.

The incident reportedly took place on Monday night at Pailapool market in the Lakhipur police station area.

A person has been detained and the excavator used to bring down the 10-foot-tall statue has been seized, the police said.

“We have not found any eyewitness to the incident,” Lakhipur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Sankar Dayal told PTI. “It was on a CCTV footage that some unknown miscreants were seen demolishing the statue with the help of an excavator.”

We strongly condemn the cowardly and outrageous act of vandalism of Pandit Nehru’s statue at Lakhipur in Cachar district, Assam. The statue was brazenly vandalized using an excavator.

Assam Chief Minister’s close aide, @iKaushikRai, is the MLA from Lakhipur.

We want to know:… pic.twitter.com/T9K3ljttIz

— Assam Congress (@INCAssam) February 25, 2026

Congress’ Silchar president Sajal Acherjee alleged that the act was a planned move “done to create tension among the people ahead of the elections”, PTI reported.

Assembly elections in the state are expected to be held in March or April.

Congress leader Pradeep Kumar said that the statue was installed in 2000 in front of the Nehru College, the Hindustan Times reported.

The party’s Assam unit sought “strict and exemplary action against the perpetrators”.

The Congress has long accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government of attempting to wipe out the legacy of Nehru, the first prime minister of the country.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday clarified that Class 10 admit cards issued by the West Bengal education board can only be used as verification documents during the special intensive revision of voter rolls in the state if they are submitted with the pass certificate, Bar and Bench reported.

On Tuesday, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said that Aadhaar cards, admit cards from Class 10 and passing certificates would be considered as eligibility proof during the voter roll revision.

The clarification on Wednesday came after an advocate raised concerns about whether admit cards could be allowed as a standalone identity document, according to PTI.

“Judges from West Bengal [who have been engaged to expedite the voter roll revision exercise] are fully aware of the data available in the Class 10 admit card,” the court said. “That is why we said it will help the Election Commission and anyone verifying the document.”

West Bengal is among the 12 states and Union Territories where the special intensive revision of electoral rolls is underway.

The state’s draft electoral rolls were published on December 16. They showed that more than 58 lakh voters were removed after being marked dead, shifted or absent.

The deletion from the draft roll is provisional and citizens can file claims and objections against the removal of their names.

On February 10, the Election Commission extended the deadline for hearing responses to the notices to February 14. The date for publishing the final voter list had also been moved to February 28.

The Assembly elections in the state are expected to be held in April or May.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court allowed judges from Odisha and Jharkhand to also be deployed to decide on the claims and objections raised during the process.

With 129 killings, 2025 was the deadliest year for journalists since 1992, when the Committee to Protect Journalists began collecting the data, the global media watchdog said in its annual report on Wednesday.

Israel was responsible for two-thirds, or 89, of all killings of journalists, the organisation stated. It added that this was the second consecutive year of record press fatalities due to Israel’s continued targeting of journalists.

Journalists were also killed in countries not at war, including India, because of the “continued failure of government leaders to protect the press”, the organisation said.

The Committee to Protect Journalists pointed to the murder of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar, who ran the YouTube channel Bastar Junction, on January 1, 2025.

Chandrakar was murdered allegedly for reporting on alleged irregularities in a road construction project in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district. His body was found in a septic tank on the property of the road contractor.

“Journalists are being killed in record numbers at a time when access to information is more important than ever,” said Jodie Ginsberg, the chief executive of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

She added: “Attacks on the media are a leading indicator of attacks on other freedoms, and much more needs to be done to prevent these killings and punish the perpetrators. We are all at risk when journalists are killed for reporting the news.”

In the report, the organisation noted that the number of conflicts worldwide is at the highest level since World War 2. This has also increased the risks for journalists, “both because of the dangers inherent in conflict reporting – and because, increasingly, journalists are deliberately targeted”, it said.

The report pointed out that in Sudan, nine journalists and media workers were killed in 2025, an increase from six in 2024 and one in 2023 as the civil war in the country entered its third year.

In Ukraine, four journalists were killed by Russian military drones, the highest annual number of press fatalities in the war since 2022, it added.

“Within the context of rising conflict worldwide, Israel’s disregard for the lives of journalists – and the international laws intended to protect them – is, however, unparalleled,” the report stated.

It added: “With much contemporaneous evidence now destroyed, the true number of Palestinian journalists in Gaza who were deliberately targeted by Israel may never be known.”

The report came almost two months after the International Federation of Journalists said that 533 journalists had been imprisoned for their work during 2025.

In a report on December 31, the federation said that the Asia-Pacific region had the largest share of journalists who had been jailed. Of the 277 journalists jailed in the region, 143 were in China and 49 in Myanmar.

In 2024, the federation had documented 122 deaths of journalists and 516 having been imprisoned.

Also read: A murderous milestone for journalism in year of media expansion but much less freedom

The Supreme Court on Wednesday objected to the National Council of Educational Research and Training’s new Class 8 social science textbook, which includes a section on “corruption in the judiciary”, reported Live Law.

Stating that he would “not allow anybody to defame the institution”, Chief Justice Surya Kant told the court that he had taken suo moto cognisance of the matter, according to Bar and Bench.

A chapter on “The role of the judiciary in our society” in the new Class 8 social science book listed “corruption at various levels of the judiciary” as among the challenges that the judicial system faces, reported The Indian Express.

On Wednesday, however, the newspaper quoted unidentified officials in the ministry as saying that the new textbook has been withdrawn from sale.

The staff at the publication division book counter at the NCERT campus in Delhi said on Wednesday that the book was no longer available, reported The Indian Express.

The book, which had been available for sale on Monday, stated that despite a code of conduct that governs judges and a mechanism for receiving complaints, citizens “do experience corruption at various levels of the judiciary”.

“For the poor and the disadvantaged, this can worsen the issue of access to justice,” the newspaper quoted the chapter as saying. “Hence, efforts are constantly being made at the State and Union levels to build faith and increase transparency in the judicial system.”

The older version of the book only described the role of the judiciary, the structure of the courts and access to them, according to The Indian Express. It did not mention corruption, but had a paragraph about the delay in hearings.

On Wednesday, advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned the matter before the Supreme Court, saying they were “deeply disturbed”, reported Live Law.

The chief justice said that he was aware of the matter and “perturbed” by it.

“This is definitely concerning the entire institution,” said Kant. “The bar and the bench are perturbed. Every stakeholder in the system is really perturbed. I am receiving a lot of calls and messages.”

He added that he had taken suo moto of the matter.

“I will not allow anyone on earth to taint the integrity of the institution and defame the institution,” Kant was quoted as saying by Live Law. “At any cost, I will not permit it. Whosoever high it may be, the law will take its course. I know how to deal with it.”

The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed criminal proceedings initiated by the Enforcement Directorate against Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is accused of wilfully refusing to appear before the agency despite multiple summonses in an alleged land scam, Live Law reported.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a petition filed by Soren challenging the Jharkhand High Court’s January 15 order refusing to quash the proceedings, PTI reported.

On Wednesday, the bench temporarily halted the proceedings and issued notice to the probe agency, asking it to respond within four weeks, ANI reported.

The central agency had filed a complaint against Soren before the MP-MLA court in Ranchi, alleging that he failed to appear despite multiple summonses issued to him in connection with the alleged land scam.

The Enforcement Directorate alleged that ten summonses were issued to Soren, but he appeared only twice.

Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the case on January 31, 2024. This was shortly after he resigned as the chief minister after being questioned by the central law enforcement agency.

He was granted bail by the High Court on June 28, 2024 following which he became the chief minister again.

The case

The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that a “racket of land mafia” in Jharkhand was involved in tampering with official land records in Ranchi and Kolkata. Some of the land acquired through the forgery had illegally come into Soren’s possession, the agency alleged.

The chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate on March 30 named Soren, Bhanu Pratap Prasad, Raj Kumar Pahan, Hilariyas Kachhap and Binod Singh as the accused persons in the alleged land scam. The central agency has also attached 8.86 acres of land allegedly owned by Soren.

The prime accused in the case is Prasad, a former Jharkhand revenue department official and custodian of government records.

According to the Enforcement Directorate, Prasad was part of a syndicate that acquired properties using illegal means, including by using force and falsifying government records.

Prasad “hatched conspiracies” with Soren, among others, to take over properties, the central agency claimed. It claimed that details regarding the illegal acquiring and possession of properties were found on Prasad’s phone.

The central agency alleged that Soren acquired the land located at Baragain Anchal at Bariyatu Road in Ranchi through the proceeds of crime stemming from money-laundering. The agency also accused Soren of misusing his power and concealing evidence in the case after he was issued the first summons for questioning on August 7.

The chief minister denied the Enforcement Directorate’s allegations, claiming that he has no link to the property and no relation with Prasad.

The Union Health Ministry is set to launch a nationwide Human Papillomavirus vaccination campaign for girls aged 14 years, later in February, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday quoting unidentified officials.

The vaccination will be voluntary and free of cost, The Hindu reported.

During the first 90 days after the launch of the campaign, girls aged 14 years will be able to get the HPV vaccine at government health centres, The Indian Express reported. Following this period, girls in the same age group will be able to book a vaccination slot at their nearest health and wellness centre using the U-win portal.

Every year, 1.1 crore girls who turn 14 will be eligible for the vaccine.

“The decision to introduce the vaccine at the age of 14 years was taken because evidence suggests it is the age at which immunisation results in the strongest and longest protection,” unidentified officials told the newspaper.

The vaccination programme will use a single shot of Gardasil, a quadrivalent HPV vaccine, that provides protection against HPV types 16 and 18, which cause cervical cancer, PTI reported. It will also protect against types 6 and 11, which tend to cause genital warts and rarely cause cancer

According to The Hindu, India has secured vaccine supplies via a partnership with Gavi, the global Vaccine Alliance.

“The procurement follows stringent quality and cold chain standards, enabling the government to provide the vaccine free of cost to eligible girls across all states and Union Territories,’’ an unidentified official told the newspaper

Cervical cancer remains the second most common cancer among Indian women with around 80,000 new cases and over 42,000 deaths reported every year, The Hindu reported.

In April, the health ministry began training frontline workers after an announcement in the interim Budget in February 2024 that the government would encourage vaccination against HPV for girls between the ages of nine and 14.

Also read:

• India’s HPV vaccination efforts must be expanded to include boys
• Cervical cancer kills one woman every seven minutes in India – but screening rates are abysmally low

A court in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday acquitted 37 individuals in connection with the killing of eight persons during the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, citing a lack of evidence, PTI reported.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Manjula Bhalotiya observed that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against the 37 persons accused in the case beyond reasonable doubt.

During the proceedings, the counsel for the government had said that a complaint had been filed by a man named Imran against 110 persons, according to the news agency.

In his complaint, Imran had claimed that a mob armed with sharp-edged weapons attacked houses belonging to members of the Muslim community in Kutba village on September 8, 2013. Several houses were also set on fire and properties were looted during the incident, the complainant had alleged.

Communal violence had erupted in Muzaffarnagar in September 2013 after Bharatiya Janata Party 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.

Eighteen members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad were taken into custody on Tuesday after they organised a protest against an event relating to Kashmir at the Azim Premji University in Bengaluru and allegedly vandalised property, The Indian Express reported.

The ABVP, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, alleged that the university facilitated an event organised by a student group that depicted the Indian Army in a poor light, The Hindu reported. The students’ group described the event as an “anti-national activity”.

The RSS is the parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The event was being conducted to discuss the Kunan Poshpora incident, The New Indian Express reported. It pertains to allegations of mass rape by security personnel in two villages of Kashmir in February 1991.

Azim Premji University said in a statement that it had “not authorised any event of this nature”, ANI reported.

Ahead of their protest, the ABVP had in a press release condemned the “anti-national, Kashmir separatist events and sessions against the Indian Army”, The Indian Express reported.

“Azim Premji University has been a centre for sessions against the sovereignty and integrity of our nation, Kashmir separatism and against the armed forces of our nation,” the newspaper quoted the ABVP as having alleged.

During the protest, ABVP members allegedly smeared the university’s signage with black ink, The Indian Express reported. Some of them entered the campus and spray-painted signboards and walls, after which security personnel intervened.

An unidentified student from the university told The Hindu that another student who tried to question why the group was vandalising the property was hit by the ABVP members. The student was taken to hospital, the newspaper reported.

The ABVP, in a memorandum addressed to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, further sought strict action against the student group that organised the event and the university administration for allowing it.

In its statement, the university said that 20 persons had forced their way into the campus at about 6 pm on Tuesday. “They shouted slogans, vandalised some of the property, and assaulted a few of our security guards and students,” ANI quoted the institute as saying.

The university said that the incident was reported to the police and the persons were taken into custody.

“Those who had forced their entry into our campus were protesting about an event that they claimed was going to be held on our campus,” the statement said, adding that the event had not been authorised.

It added that the university followed strict procedures before any event was held on campus, according to ANI.

“This event which was allegedly planned by a small group of students did not happen at all,” it said. “We strongly condemn the ruckus and violence that was unleashed on our campus by this external group of people.”

Following the incident, students of the university held a protest against the ABVP’s actions and urged the government to act against them, The Hindu reported.

Confirming the detention of the 18 ABVP members, Superintendent of Police (Bengaluru Rural district) Chandrakanth MV told The Indian Express that the police had not been informed about the protest.

“As soon as we came to know, we rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “They should have submitted a written intimation and informed the local police before the protest. Citizens cannot take the law into their own hands.”

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that the Union government has not considered repeated requests made by her government to change the name of the state to “Bangla”, The Hindu reported.

The comment came hours after the Union Cabinet approved the renaming of Kerala as “Keralam”. It said it had done so in response to a request made by the Kerala Assembly through a resolution in June 2024.

The Trinamool Congress chief claimed that an “understanding” between the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre and Kerala’s ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) had helped the state get a new name, PTI reported.

In a video message, Banerjee asked why West Bengal had to “sit in Y-Z for so long?”, The Hindu reported. She was referring to West Bengal beginning with W, which places the name toward the end of the alphabetical order.

The Trinamool Congress government in the state has long pushed for the change, arguing that West Bengal is at a disadvantage in meetings where states speak in alphabetical order. Officials have complained that they get little time to present their views.

“When the boys and girls of our state go for exams, they have to sit on the back bench,” The Hindu quoted Banerjee as saying on Tuesday. “Whenever I go somewhere as the chief minister, I am given the last chance to be given this name in alphabetical order.”

The chief minister said that the West Bengal government had passed resolutions in the Legislative Assembly two to three times seeking to rename the state, PTI reported.

In 2011, the Trinamool Congress government proposed renaming the state “Paschim Banga”, but the Union government rejected it. The CPI(M)-led Opposition at the time had supported the move.

In August 2016, the Assembly passed a resolution to rename the state as “Bangla” in Bengali, “Bengal” in English, and “Bangal” in Hindi, but the Union government did not clear it. In July 2018, another resolution was passed in the Assembly to change the name to “Bangla” in all three languages.

A state can be renamed only through a bill introduced in Parliament with the president’s recommendation and passed by both Houses.

On Tuesday, Banerjee said that she wanted to “name the state ‘Bangla’ considering Bengal’s culture, civilization, mind power, thought, philosophy”, The Hindu reported. The reason why the Union government does not rename West Bengal is because they are “anti-Bangla”, she alleged.

“They disrespect Bengali scholars,” the newspaper quoted her as saying. “They use the word Bengali to get votes during elections. But they are anti-Bangla…”

Congratulating the residents of Kerala on the name change, Banerjee noted that the names of several states had been changed once such proposals were endorsed by their state governments, PTI reported.

“They [Kerala government] got it [name change] because today an alliance between the BJP and the CPI(M) is being formed in Kerala,” The Hindu quoted the chief minister as having alleged. “Today’s incident is proof of that.”

In February 2025, Trinamool Congress MP Ritabrata Banerjee had urged the Rajya Sabha to rename West Bengal as “Bangla”, arguing that the name better reflects the state’s history and culture.

Also read: Mamata Banerjee's plan to drop 'West' from the state's name is a blow to Bengali identity

Union Commerce Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that negotiations between India and the United States on the interim trade deal will resume “as soon as there is more clarity” on the changes in tariffs announced by Washington, PTI reported.

Goyal’s remarks at an event in Delhi came as India and the US on Sunday decided to reschedule a three-day meeting that was supposed to begin on Monday between officials to finalise the legal text of the agreement.

The meeting was postponed after the US Supreme Court on Friday struck down global tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, ruling in a 6:3 verdict that he had exceeded his authority.

The judges said that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act that Trump had invoked “does not authorise the president to impose tariffs”.

In April, Trump imposed the tariffs on dozens of countries, including India, claiming high tariffs the countries imposed on US goods.

The levies were eventually reduced once bilateral trade deals had been agreed to, including in the case of India.

On February 2, New Delhi and Washington had agreed on a framework for the deal.

Under the agreement, US tariffs on Indian goods would have been reduced to 18% from a combined rate of 50%. The earlier rate of 50% had included a punitive levy of 25% imposed in August over India’s purchase of Russian oil.

After the Supreme Court struck down his tariffs, Trump on Friday described the move as “ridiculous, poorly written and extraordinarily anti-American”. Soon after the ruling on Friday, he also imposed a temporary 10% tariff on goods imported into the US, citing his authority under the 1974 Trade Act.

The new tariff are for a maximum of 150 days, unless the US Congress approves an extension. This left the status of recent trade deals with other countries, including India, unclear.

Additionally, Trump on Saturday said that he was also increasing the global tariffs to the “fully allowed, and legally tested” level of 15% from 10% with immediate effect.

However, it is unclear as to when the increased tariff rate would take effect as only the original 10% rate announced by the White House on Friday came into force on Tuesday.

On Saturday, Trump further warned that additional tariffs would follow.

With respect to India, the US president had said on Friday that “nothing changes” and that the levies on the country will continue. “They’ll be paying tariffs and we will not be paying tariffs,” he told reporters at the White House.

On Saturday, India’s commerce ministry said that it was studying developments in the US on tariffs and their implications for India.

India was among 51 countries that abstained from voting on a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, which called for an “immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, triggering the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

The resolution was introduced by Kyiv in the General Assembly on Tuesday on the fourth anniversary of the start of the conflict.

It was adopted by the 193-member Assembly.

While 107 nations voted in favour of the resolution, 12 voted against it.

Apart from India, the 50 member states that abstained from the resolution included Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

The resolution reiterated support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.

It called for the exchange of prisoners of war and the return of civilians forcibly transferred or deported, including children.

The document also expressed concern at the continued and intensified attacks by Russia against civilians, civilian objects and critical energy infrastructure, and the deterioration of the humanitarian situation, PTI reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly said that India is not neutral in the matter, but “on the side of peace”, underlining New Delhi’s support to end the conflict in Ukraine.

I am grateful to each of the 107 countries that stood with Ukraine today in defense of life at the @UN.

The General Assembly adopted our resolution in support of a lasting peace, with clear calls for a full ceasefire and the return of our people.

These are the right and… pic.twitter.com/s5tmD1Bymm

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 24, 2026

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media that he was grateful to the 107 countries that supported the resolution.

“These are the right and necessary steps,” Zelenskyy said. “And we will keep working actively to achieve peace, together with our partners.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the war as a violation of international law and a threat to global peace.

“This devastating war is a stain on our collective consciousness & remains a threat to regional & international peace & security,” he said on social media. “The longer the war continues, the deadlier it becomes.”

The general secretary said that civilians bore the brunt of the conflict.

He added that 2025 witnessed the largest number of civilians killed in Ukraine.

“This is simply unacceptable,” Guterres said. “I reiterate my call for an immediate, full & unconditional ceasefire as a first step towards a just, lasting & comprehensive peace.”

He added: “For peace to be just, it must be in line with international law, respecting Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty & territorial integrity.”

India’s dominant Hindutva ideology and its advocates do more than support Israel. They study it, absorb it and increasingly seek to reproduce Israel’s logic at home in India.

On February 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Tel Aviv for a two-day state visit during which he will hold talks with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel is a friend in a hostile world but also a state that has already answered the questions Hindutva is asking: how to rule a population that is imagined as permanently disloyal, how to make exclusion look like governance, how to normalise extraordinary violence without suspending democracy and how to turn fear into a stable political system.

This is evident from how Gaza is perceived in India, through mockery and jokes about bombed homes, open admiration for the flattening neighbourhoods, and dead children. It reflects a political culture that has already learned to enjoy punishment and sees in Israel a confirmation that such actions can be sustained and defended without consequence.

Gaza’s health ministry estimates that as of February 16, the total death toll is 72,063 since the start of Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip on October 10, 2023. Two years later, as of October, children made up at least 20,000 of the dead.

Thank you, my friend, Prime Minister Netanyahu.

I fully agree with you on the bond between India and Israel as well as the diverse nature of our bilateral relations. India deeply values the enduring friendship with Israel, built on trust, innovation and a shared commitment to… https://t.co/snGra7RB3g

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 22, 2026

At the heart of Hindutva and its support base’s admiration for Israel is the settler logic, the belief that land must be secured before people can be managed, and that once the space is “purified”, politics will follow.

In India, this has been evident through the series of experiments carried out across states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, testing how much dispossession can be normalised. Bulldozers demolitions in Uttar Pradesh wrecked Muslim homes, broadcasting the warning repeatedly until it ceased to be shocking.

In Uttarakhand, exclusion has been woven into everyday administration. The Association for Protection of Civil Rights and national newspapers have documented a pattern of targeted policing, sealing of mosques, action against madrassas, harassment of Muslim traders, and the encouragement of vigilante intimidation, all justified in the language of cultural protection and public order.

The presence of Muslims has been recast as a blemish, an impurity even, in an Uttarakhand which is being imagined as a religiously pure terrain. A Muslim running a shop or naming a business with a name deemed to be Hindu becomes suspect.

In Odisha, vendors have been beaten and forced to chant religious slogans. In Jharkhand, a Muslim worker was found dead, allegedly after he was called a “Bangladeshi”. In Madhya Pradesh, Muslim families have been subjected to social boycotts, destroying the lives and livelihoods of long-time residents.

The videos of many such similar incidents have been circulated on social media, and reported by the news media. Yet, this violence passes by, as if it is regrettable but understandable, like being Muslim is itself the crime.

At the same time, Indian citizenship is being redefined, by hollowing it out.

The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, the National Register of Citizens in Assam and mechanisms such as the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists have demanded that Muslims, especially, repeatedly prove their belonging even as others inherit it unquestioned.

Names disappear from rolls while documents are endlessly scrutinised, and exclusion is presented as a technical error rather than deliberate attempts to remove the names of Muslim voters.

In the Palestinian territories, the administration similarly operates through so-called neutral permits, registries and verification systems, which United Nations experts – one as recently as January – have described as apartheid-like.

In India, this is most explicit in Assam. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma speaks openly about harassing, discriminating against and forcing Miya Muslims, of Bengali origin, out of India. Sarma’s rhetoric has normalised the idea that at least in Assam, Muslims are not equal citizens of India. Once again, his statements are digested with ease rather than being condemned as incitement.

The Israel model

Israel demonstrates that a state can treat a minority as an internal enemy while retaining international legitimacy, that it can operate under a permanent emergency without declaring one, that courts can function, elections can continue and global alliances can deepen even as an entire population is managed through force, surveillance and bureaucratic delay.

This is the lesson Hindutva finds most compelling: that democracy need not be dismantled to be hollowed out. The mockery of Gaza fits seamlessly into India’s continuum in which lynching videos are shared proudly, bulldozer demolitions are celebrated publicly and rape threats are issued as political warnings.

In Rwanda, radio stations broadcast hate speech, mocking the Tutsi minority as “cockroaches” to be exterminated, and an “infestation”. In Nazi Germany, anti-semitic cartoons preceded the legal ghettoisation and social and economic boycott of Jews.

India is now deep in this phase.

What makes this moment dangerous is that India will continue becoming what it claims it is not, proceeding slowly enough until each step feels defensible, each injustice is procedural and every silence is reasonable.

The assault on Gaza shows how such systems can be perfected and made to function like normal. Hindutva’s interest in Israel is in learning this method. Once normalised, time will do the rest.

Ismail Salahuddin is a researcher and columnist based in Delhi and Kolkata. His work explores Muslim identity, communal politics, caste and the politics of knowledge. He studies social exclusion and inclusive policy at Jamia Millia Islamia. His X handle is @IsmailJnu and his Instagram handle is @inkandinsurrection.

Jagdish Hansda has faint memories of the village where he grew up.

“Back then, there used to be nothing here except us Adivasis, our fields, jungles and wildlife,” said Hansda, who is now in his late seventies. The village, Jhinjirguttu, was in what was then Bihar, and now falls within Jharkhand. “Some Mulvasi communities also used to live among us,” Hansda added, referring to lower caste communities native to the region.

The village of Hansda’s childhood does not exist today because in the late 1950s, the Bihar government displaced its residents to set up the Chandrapura Thermal Power Station, now situated in Jharkhand’s Bokaro district. The power station is spread over 1,800 acres of land in Chandrapura, of which around 1,200 acres was acquired from locals.

On the evening of December 13, I met Jagdish and his peers at a tea stall in Chandrapura town. A thin smog hung around us as we sipped our tea. In the backdrop, a red-and-white chimney of the Chandrapura Thermal Power Station loomed over us, intermittently blinking red lights in the dark.

“We were displaced in 1959,” Hansda said. “I remember hordes of villagers left the area in vast numbers because they were terrified.”

He recounted that the villagers would say, “Sarkar aa rahi hai” – the government is coming. “Eventually when the plant came, we all got scattered here and there,” he said.

Today, Hansda lives in an informal settlement that bears the same name as his original home, and where many other displaced families were also resettled. But unlike the idyllic village surrounded with lush green fields that he remembers, present day Jhinjirguttu is a small settlement of makeshift houses covered in fly ash.

Stories like Hansda’s are common across Bokaro. The construction of the Chandrapura plant began in 1959, and by 1964 two of its units were operational. It was one of the first major coal-fired thermal power plant built in independent India, and was constructed by the Damodar Valley Corporation, or DVC – a multi-purpose river valley project established by the Indian government in 1948.

Now, according to its 2024-’25 annual report, the corporation has a total of six thermal plants, three hydel stations and multiple solar power projects, which have a combined capacity of 6,715 MW. It provides power to eight states. In the same year, it also provided 844.56 million gallons of water per day to domestic and industrial users in Jharkhand and West Bengal.

In his doctoral research on the corporation, published in 1969, the social scientist TN Bhalla noted that it rehabilitated people under the Land Acquisition Act of 1894. Under the act, people who gave up land for a project could either opt to receive cash compensation, or another patch of land, along with a new house if they lost a house in the acquisition process. However, owing to budgetary constraints, the company could only offer the displaced people wasteland, or land that was far from their villages. Bhalla noted that in order to ensure that the acquisition process went ahead smoothly, the company encouraged people to opt for cash compensation instead of land.

This is reflected in a company report published in 1966, which states that none of the displaced families of Chandrapura “asked for land for land or house for house”, and that they were thus all compensated in cash.

The accounts of Hansda and others in Chandrapura suggest that this process was far from fair.

Hansda noted that Adivasis who were displaced were not asked for informed consent, which would have entailed allowing them to first consider various options and weigh their risks. “Our ancestors were poor and unlettered, the DVC officials did not explain the consequences of what was going to happen,” Hansda said. “They were just given cash, and that too a small sum which was not enough to go buy land elsewhere.”

In many instances, he noted, the money was transferred from the company to the state government treasury, but not further to the displaced people. “My own grandfather told us that the money was with the treasury and that we should try to obtain the money in the future,” he said. “But my parents didn’t know how to get it and time just went by.”

By 2017, the first set of thermal power units that were set up in the 1960s were retired. In February 2025, the corporation announced that it would set up a new 1600-MW supercritical thermal power plant in collaboration with Coal India in Chandrapura. “The third set of power plants are going to be built,” said social worker Arshal Marandi, whose grandparents were displaced for the plant in the 1960s. “But we, the Adivasis who were originally displaced for CTPS, have still not received what we are owed.”

The Damodar Valley Corporation is a government corporation that was founded in 1948, under the aegis of the ministry of power. In setting it up, Indian leaders drew inspiration from the Tennessee Valley Authority in the United States, which aimed to reduce floods in the Tennessee river valley, as well as generate power for the country.

The company’s dams and plants were some of the largest projects that the government championed in independent India. Jawaharlal Nehru called them “temples of modern India” that were essential for national development after Independence. Such projects, he said, would help “lead the country forward”, as well as “make it strong” and “remove the poverty of its people”.

The corporation’s main objectives were to aid with controlling floods on the Damodar river, as well as to generate power for the country and provide water for irrigation in the Damodar valley region. These aims were enshrined in the Damodar Valley Corporation Act, 1948. The act also mentions other objectives, such as “the promotion of public health and the agricultural, industrial, economic and general well-being in the Damodar Valley and its area of operation”, and “the promotion of afforestation and control of soil erosion”.

At the outset itself, community leaders argued that it was imperative that the project benefit the Adivasi communities who would be most affected by it.

On February 14, 1948, the act was discussed in the Constituent Assembly debates. Speaking on behalf of the Adivasis who were to be displaced, Jaipal Singh Munda noted that the corporation’s projects were going to be “big and bold” and a “model for future river projects throughout India”. But, he argued, displaced Adivasis deserved more than just land and homes. “It is no good saying that we are going to give them better houses,” he said.

“What is really important is, are you going to give them their self-respect? Are you going to give them a modus vivendi: whereby they will be able to contribute as men of honour, compatriots having a place of honour in the national life of India?”

Decades later, most people Scroll spoke to on the ground noted that the communities had been excluded from and even oppressed by the project. In fact, the corporation has also been met with fierce resistance right from the early years of its functioning. Hansda explained that over the decades, people have protested several times against it, with demands such as for jobs, and basic facilities like roads, water and electricity.

In the mid-1970s, in response to this pressure, the company drew up a “displaced panel”: a list of 701 people who had been displaced by the construction of two dams and two power stations, and who would be entitled to employment with the company. But, according to government data, until the mid-1990s, only 64 people from that list had been provided employment.

In parallel, in 1992, a group of 91 people, 87 of whom were not on the list, and who had been displaced by multiple projects of the corporation, including the Chandrapura Thermal Power Station, approached the Kolkata High Court demanding jobs with the company. The Kolkata High Court ruled in favour of the displaced persons, but the company challenged this ruling in the Supreme Court.

The apex court dismissed the case in 1992, and ordered the company to provide employment for all petitioners.

In December 2011, in answer to a question in the Lok Sabha about updates in the matter, KC Venugopal, then the minister of state for power, stated that apart from the initial 64 who had been given jobs, after the 1992 Supreme Court judgement, the company had employed another 129. Further, he stated that another 44 on the list were “awaiting employment”, while 458 candidates had been paid a sum Rs 3 lakh in lieu of being given employment.

But activists argued that these officially recorded numbers were misleading. “There are many more people who were displaced and never received compensation or jobs,” social worker Narayan Marandi said. “But they were too poor to fight out their case in the courts.”

Scroll emailed the Damodar Valley Corporation, seeking responses to criticisms that it had not fulfilled its obligations to local communities. This story will be updated if the company responds.

Today, Adivasis around the Chandrapur plant continue to lead a tenuous existence decades after their ancestors were displaced for it.

Around seven Adivasi hamlets lie on the outskirts of Chandrapura town and the power station.

Speaking to Arshal, I learnt that residents of four – Bhursabaad, Neer Pipradi, Rajabera and Burudih – were displaced from their original homes but that most had land neighbouring their villages on which they were able to resettle.

But when I met leaders and others from TSC basti, Jharnadih and Jhinjirguttu hamlets, they told me that when their homes were taken over, they did not have nearby land on which to resettle, and so had to move to entirely new locations. None of the residents had any government documents that stated that the land on which they had been resettled belonged to them.

Locals noted that the displaced people live with this uncertainty despite the fact that official housing for staff of the plant is commonly used by non-employees who had bribed officials of the corporation.

The Chandrapura plant is surrounded by the DVC Colony, a vast complex of housing quarters for staff belonging to various grades. Built in the 1960s, several quarters have become dilapidated over the years and have even been marked with notices that deem them unfit for habitation. But despite this, employees have been living in them.

In other instances, employees or their families did not vacate the quarters after they retired from the corporation.

“My father passed away some five years ago, but we continued to live here as it was convenient to travel to Bokaro from here,” said Xavier Herenj, a resident of one such dilapidated quarter.

He added, “Others who moved in here run shops or drive rickshaws and do other jobs around the plant.”

The company did not respond to Scroll’s request for comments on these claims about the use of official housing.

Arshal noted that though many such families had managed to find housing in these official quarters, “hardly any displaced Adivasis have been able to get space” in them. As he explained, most Adivasi hamlets lie on marginal land right next to the quarters.

Secure housing appears out of reach for even prominent members of these villages, who hold administrative posts.

A few metres away to the south of the thermal power station, a wide road climbs a small hill. On the left are the company’s administrative quarters, a row of mustard yellow buildings in a passable condition, neatly lined with trees.

Towards the right on sloping land lies Jharnadih, a large informal settlement with some mud houses, and many others made of concrete. Both areas fall under the Rangamati south panchayat. On December 12, I walked up the road to meet the social worker Narayan Marandi, who is also the mukhiya of the panchayat. I stopped at a tea stall to enquire about his whereabouts.

“The mukhiya of this panchayat is Adivasi, so he lives further ahead on the right in the basti,” one person told me. When I reached Narayan’s house, I saw that he was carrying out some refurbishments in his home – a somewhat contradictory decision given that his claim on the land remains tenuous.

The problem is not only one of ownership of land – in recent years, villagers have even struggled to access entitlements under government schemes that are intended to help them build houses.

Narayan noted that until the 1980s, Jharnadih’s residents were able to avail of the Indira Awaas Yojana, which provided grants for the construction of houses. More recently, in 2020, however, when several villagers sought to apply for funds to build houses – this time under the state’s Abua Awaas Yojana – their applications were rejected. They were asked to submit no objection certificates from the Damodar Valley Corporation in order to avail of the scheme. “It is impossible to get NOCs from the DVC. We have tried approaching officials but they do not have time for us,” said Narayan.

The difficulty in procuring all kinds of documentation leaves most villagers gripped with anxiety.

“The fact that we can’t get NOCs is a reminder that even though our ancestors contributed land for the thermal plant, today the land that we live on does not belong to us,” said Ramesh Soren, a resident of Jharnadih. “We can be displaced from it anytime.”

Villagers from Jhinjirguttu hamlet, too, find themselves in a similar situation. Their village was completely displaced in 1959, and the current settlement stands on government land for which the villagers have no papers. “If our ancestors were given enough money to buy more land, wouldn’t they have bought this land to settle on?” said Sanjay Hembrom, a resident.

Residents of the Adivasi hamlets also struggle without basic civic amenities like water and electricity. “Even the electricity and water have to be stolen,” said social worker Shashikant Hembrom.

This is despite the fact that the Damodar Valley Corporation has since the 1980s been running a “social obligation programme”, which later dovetailed with its corporate social responsibility initiatives.

In its 2021-’22 corporate social responsibility report, the company stated that it works with 52 villages around the Chandrapur plant, including the Adivasi hamlets. Its objectives included “uplifting the socio-economic conditions of the communities residing within a radius of 10 km from the major projects of DVC” and “striving to improve the standard of living” of those affected by the project.

But their efforts, residents said, have been arbitrary and inconsistent. Shashikant noted that the corporation had taken some steps, such as installing streetlights in some villages and distributing school bags and sports equipment. While it “makes a big show” of this work “for CSR publicity”, he argued, “ it won’t spend the same money on providing us with basic amenities”.

Residents of Bhursabad, which the company adopted in the 1980s under its social obligation programme, said that they too have received few benefits from the programme. “All that we got out of it was a signboard, nothing else,” said Arshal. “I heard they made a pucca road back then, which hasn’t been repaired in forty years. All the roads here are terrible and they have been that way for years. It was only when I visited Ranchi for my bachelor’s that I got to see a fresh pucca road.”

After years of agitation by the villagers, Arshal recounted, the corporation installed a few public taps around five years ago – but, he noted, water is only supplied for a few hours every day, in a slow drip. Thus, most people use wells or go further outside the village to use hand pumps. “Just a few metres away lies the staff quarters which receive regular electricity and water supply, but they haven’t extended that service to us,” he said.

In Jharnadih, Ramesh Soren recalled that the corporation had put up electric poles in the settlement several years ago, but that it later disconnected the power supply. Since then, villagers have been compelled to steal electricity from nearby power lines.

Shashikant, a resident of Burudih, recalled that the corporation had installed a water tank with a tubewell some years ago, as part of its corporate social responsibility activities. But the tubewell had ceased to function in a few years, after which villagers were left to fend for themselves.

“Many of our people have to take jerry cans and go to public hand pumps every day to fetch water,” he said.

Arshal recently joined a local committee that works with the corporation’s corporate social responsibility wing for Chandrapura. “I am the first local Adivasi on that team,” he said. “In so many years, they had no Adivasi on board. Who was representing our needs?”

Sanjay Hembrom noted that even as Adivasi communities in the region struggle for their basic rights and entitlements, at the highest levels, the government had already begun the process of assessing the feasibility of moving away from dependence on coal energy and ensuring a “just transition” for those who depended on the sector.

In 2022, the Jharkhand government set up a Just Transition task force to assess local communities’ dependence on coal and draw up a plan for reducing it, and moving the state towards more sustainable fuels. In 2024, a group of researchers from the Centre of Financial Accountability, Delhi, conducted a study in Chandrapura, which aimed to assess strategies to reduce local communities’ dependence on coal, as well as on the plant as a source of a livelihood. The study is yet to be published.

On the ground, despite their decades of struggle and deprivation, many Adivasis in Chandrapura welcomed the upcoming thermal plant. “There is a saying here – as long as the plant remains, the people will survive,” said Sanjay Murmu, a resident of Jharnadih.

This was despite the fact that, as researchers observed, many Adivasis had never been properly absorbed into the coal economy – rather they remained in its fringes. “In all the Adivasi villages we visited, we found that people from the first generation of the displaced were given small jobs when the plant was coming up, but they were never made proper staff or employees at the plant,” said researcher Deepmala Patel.

Indeed, those Scroll spoke to also explained the livelihoods of Adivasis in the region were still linked with the plant, albeit at its margins. Locals pointed out that many Adivasis ran small stalls, drove rickshaws, or worked as labourers to load coal and clean fly ash. Others, researchers said, steal coal or pick up the coal fallen near railway tracks to sell it.

“All our land was taken up by the plant, the displacement turned Adivasi farmers into wage labourers,” said Ramesh Soren, the resident from Jharnadih.

In Neer Pipradi, a hamlet right next to the plant, villagers still retained some land to cultivate, but the fly ash from the plant often covered their crops. “We grow some paddy and vegetables,” said resident Anup Murmu. “It’s alright for us to eat but not good enough to sell in the market.”

Residents of Adivasi hamlets also said that when they tried to claim what is due to them, they were often met with anti-Adivasi discrimination by officials of the corporation.

“The DVC doesn’t treat us well. If they realise that we’re Adivasi when we go to their office, they talk down to us and ignore our demands,” said Sanjay Hembrom. “In so many years the impacted locals haven’t received jobs but outsiders have come in to get jobs.”

Researchers observed that companies often followed this tactic to prevent resistance from locals. “Companies get outsiders to settle near their plants, but they don’t empower the locals as they could unite against them and cause problems,” said Patel.

The power station, villagers noted, had also wiped out socio-cultural Adivasi markers in Chandrapura, such as sacred groves and water sources. Yet, they said, the corporation used Adivasi culture when it served them. “Inside the plant you will find several decorative paintings of Adivasis and Adivasi art. Adivasis are also called to dance for DVC events,” said Shashikant. “But nobody makes an effort to improve the condition of Adivasis still living here who were displaced for the plant.”

On a winter morning in Pune’s Erandwane-Karve Nagar, I was startled awake by the piercing call of a cuckoo. It was my first morning at a friend’s place and the cuckoo’s calling rang out clearly in the silent neighbourhood. I was shocked.

In the Pune in which I grew up, one could hear the mornings well before the sun rose: women bustling to the public water taps to fill their steel and brass pots; the clattering of women washing utensils; women and men rushing to line up at the public toilets.

Over the years, there have been competing sounds: vehicles honking, vendors calling, water tankers rumbling in narrow lanes, the growl of idle engines, men revving their motorcycles and scooters to warm up the engines, school buses honking to alert parents and children, stray dogs barking.

But when I stepped into the balcony of my friend’s home, a cup of tea in hand, the street and adjoining park were silent. Coconut palms and mango trees rose above compound walls. Sunlight fell gently across tiled roofs and roof tops, shining into the kitchen through wall-size, eastern mesh-covered windows. It felt heavenly.

Then there was a shrieking in the skies with a flash of green: parrots, bright green, flying in the morning light. One swung from a vine, its claws gripping thin twigs while another cackled and darted away as an eagle swooped by. They belonged. I had not known parrots lived like this in Pune. At least, they did not in the Pune I lived in.

Two cities in one

I grew up in Yerawada, a locality once on the eastern fringes of the city which has now expanded far beyond it. My childhood memories are thick with loud arguments, stray dogs and pigs, garbage fermenting near the public toilet and everyone rushing to get to work – cooking, cleaning, sweeping the streets, daily-wage labour, offices and hospitals, laundry, and managing small stores that were an extension of the home, a curtain dividing the two.

Greenery was sparse, like the sole banyan tree on a parapet where men hung out, played cards, or chatted and there were no parks within walking distance. The skyline was cut by electric wires and wooden poles.

I was familiar with crows and sparrows. Parrots lived only in cages, trained to repeat phrases adults taught them. Elders would chant, laughing, “Mitthu pappi de, pappi de.” Why did they want the parrot to kiss them? It never occurred to me that parrots needed tall trees or quiet streets and stretches of air to survive. There was none in Yerawada.

The Erandwane neighborhood where I spent three days felt like a different city. Even the name, Erandwane, is important: it means a forest of castor plants. Streets and houses are laid out in a grid. Bungalows lie behind gates. Some of these bungalows have been replaced by five-storey apartments but the trees stand tall – coconut, mango, neem – older than the redevelopment that surrounds them. Bougainvillea and other flowery vines and ornamental trees spill over the compound walls.

Outside housing societies are the surnames of residents: Sane, Oak, Deshpande, Joshi, Bapat, Sahasrabuddhe, Pendharkar, Talpade, Tambe. These names appear across Pune’s older, established localities, educational institutions and professional networks, signalling how land, property and power are inherited.

Residents also advertise their small businesses and accomplishments as lawyers, doctors, architects. Well-fed dogs – pedigree breeds like dobermans – pace the compounds. At the entrance of each society, a security guard keeps watch, questioning and noting details of visitors in a register.

The orderliness of the neighborhood is intentional, inherited, acquired, and much more durable than the new architecture.

Each housing society has a park. Some bear signs: “for residents only”, even restricting entry to fixed hours. They are thoughtfully equipped with trimmed lawns, walking paths, benches facing inwards, a pond with fish and wooden bridge, an open gym, a play area for children and toilets. The toilets stink, an overpowering smell that was out of place for the otherwise orderly, flowery garden. Big parks, like the Sambhaji Garden in the city’s central Deccan Gymkhana area, had such facilities, but it is rare for a neighborhood park.

Urban geographies

Urban geography tells a story that predates IT hubs and gated communities. The greenery, parks and wider roads are a result of how land was historically allocated and who continues to have access and legal claims to it. It reflects how powerfully the high-caste, high class habitus operates, reinforcing social inequality and caste hierarchy in urban Pune.

Pune’s neighborhoods such as Karve Nagar were developed when land was available in large parcels and high-caste, high-class families, with social capital and institutional power, owned the land. Redevelopment has replaced many bungalows with spacious apartment blocks, but the underlying layout – space, canopy, infrastructure – is intact.

Areas like Yerawada’s slum settlements, on the margins of the city, emerged through the necessity to serve the sprawling army and government facilities. The Khadki cantonment and ammunition factory and the centre of the Bombay Sappers regiment occupy a large portion of the area. Close to it are the Yerawada jail premises, and colleges and schools.

Open spaces were never a part of planning because the residents of Yerawada were excluded from the formal vision of urban development and life. Residents lived in the city without ever belonging to it. Open land was claimed for storage, construction, and survival. The landscape was marked by public toilets and open defecation.

Living in the ‘next IT hub’

Recently, my family shifted to a new apartment in Charholi, beyond the airport to the city’s northern part, an area developers described as Pune’s “next IT hub”. Here, I encountered yet another version of the city.

Taxi drivers recall visiting the area as children when it was largely farmland. Today, farmland has thinned into rows of concrete blocks. Apartments, clinics, hospitals, supermarkets, laundry shops and gyms appear almost overnight. They gleam of development, with hoardings promising a plush lifestyle as rural Charholi is consumed by the expanse of urbanisation.

But this shine is dulled by garbage heaps along the streets and fallow land of dwindling farms.

In Charholi, buildings are packed tightly, leaving narrow strips of concrete between parked vehicles and compound walls. My family’s building is surrounded by parked vehicles. There is a tiny, blue-tiled swimming pool strewn with plastic and other detritus. In the corner is a recreation hall, locked because of some “incident” in the past, which nobody explained.

Residents of Pimpri Chinchwad's Charholi have taken to the streets in protest against the proposed Development Plan (DP) and Town Planning (TP) schemes. In a dramatic turn of events, locals gathered and set fire to the official plans, voicing their opposition to the plans which… pic.twitter.com/I5zOuwqNbN

— Pune Mirror (@ThePuneMirror) May 17, 2025

Aspirational low-class and low-middle-class residents have occupied the new apartments but there is no regular water supply. Though the builder has installed water filters in every apartment, residents do not trust this filter. As a result, they buy water at grocery stores and kiosks. This is the first time I have bought drinking water in fifty-two years, that is since 1974, when I began to live in Pune and then regularly visit the city. I continue to be stunned.

Water tankers arrive every day, grinding through narrow lanes and apartment gates. Their engines announce scarcity long before dawn. Fine dust from the nearby mall and building construction sites floats in the air, coating all surfaces in our home: the floor, utensils and even clothes. Sunlight shines into the west-facing balcony briefly, as if by accident. In winter, the flat is cold and dim.

Walking in Charholi means dodging vehicles, dogs, puddles of water left behind by leaking tankers, water dripping from balconies, sewer stench and overflow and leftover food thrown from balconies to feed the stray dogs and cats. Some residents wake up at 5am to walk before the traffic thickens. Others walk beside fields that will soon be converted into more towers.

Caste, class, capital in urban India

From the balcony in Erandwane, I wondered how many versions of one city coexist without knowing one another. Municipal policies certainly play a role but cities are equally shaped by the long shadows of caste, class and capital.

In Karve Nagar, redevelopment aligns with administrative power to make the locality a preserve of the privileged high-caste, high-class. An inherited advantage is converted into the environmental and infrastructural comfort of wide streets and tree cover, while other localities are relegated to noise, dust and scarcity.

Charholi’s contrast with Erandwane shows how land is valued depending on who historically possessed it. Land is carved up, put to full use and walled up. Unlike Erandwane, there are no old compounds nor tree canopies to preserve. New Charholi reinforces the older logic of development where speed and profit eclipse urban ecology and environmental planning.

I was struck by the total absence of parrots in Yerawada and Charholi.

Silence feels normal in Erandwane but improbable in Charholi. Like Yerawada, the noise in Charholi is constant. I hear everything: the drilling and hammering of construction work, heavy traffic, phone conversations, arguments, laughter, abhang/kirtan songs, movie songs, and unbearable, blasting loud music during events.

But more than the silence of Erandwane, it is perhaps the calling of birds that I wish for more.

Shailaja Paik is Charles Phelps Taft Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Cincinnati, USA. She is also a MacArthur “genius” fellow and the Founding Executive Director of the Institute for Just Futures.