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4 days ago | 
indianexpress.com | Kumar Kartikeya
Before this week, I had never heard of Sharmistha Panoli. A law student from Pune, she was unknown to the wider public until her recent arrest by the Kolkata Police over an Instagram story about Operation Sindoor. But in the span of a few days, she has become the latest symbol of how speech, particularly on sensitive religious or political themes, is being policed with alarming ease in India.
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3 weeks ago | 
indianexpress.com | Kumar Kartikeya
This week, the Supreme Court of India has set aside a Delhi High Court order that directed the Wikimedia Foundation to take down content hosted on Wikipedia. This decision reasserts the boundaries of judicial intervention in matters of speech. The judgment in Wikipedia Foundation Inc. v.
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1 month ago | 
indianexpress.com | Kumar Kartikeya
On April 24, 1973, the Supreme Court of India handed down a judgment that changed the constitutional fabric of the nation. In Kesavananda Bharati v State of Kerala, the SC held that while Parliament has vast powers to amend the Constitution, it cannot alter its “basic structure.” Among the principles placed beyond legislative reach was the independence of the judiciary. India’s judiciary is caught in a prolonged tug-of-war with the executive over the power to appoint judges.
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1 month ago | 
deccanherald.com | Kumar Kartikeya
When the Governor becomes a wilful obstructionistThe governor was never meant to act as an alternative power centre, let alone as an extension of the Union executive.
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2 months ago | 
indianexpress.com | Kumar Kartikeya
As the new academic year begins, a fresh concern looms over students and parents, one that cannot be dismissed lightly. The Union Government has introduced the APAAR ID (Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry) and the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC), insisting that these initiatives are voluntary. In practice, states have strongly pushed schools and colleges to implement the system, creating indirect pressure on students to register.
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Feb 8, 2025 | 
news.abplive.com | Sayantan Ghosh |Anuttama Banerji |Nayanima Basu |Kumar Kartikeya
The 2025 Delhi assembly election has delivered a resounding victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — a result few predicted until months ago. When former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal resigned and plunged into election mode, most believed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would retain its stronghold. After all, the BJP lacked both a credible local face and a robust organisational structure in Delhi.
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Feb 8, 2025 | 
news.abplive.com | Anuttama Banerji |Nayanima Basu |Kumar Kartikeya |Iryna Soroka
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) — a regional grouping comprising Australia, India, Japan and the United States of America — met in January 2025 for its Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue. This meeting came close on the heels of the Quad Leaders’ Summit that was held in September 2024, along the sidelines of the United Nations’ General Assembly (UNGA), at Wilmington, Delaware, in the United States.
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Nov 10, 2024 | 
thequint.com | Kumar Kartikeya |Kamya Wahal
Recent judgments resolve questions about the regulatory overlap between the powers of the Union and the states. Within a union of states, it is important to maintain an order of fiscal federalism. This is not achieved very often. Recently, some states have raised concerns about discrimination by the Union in the disbursement of funds.
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Oct 22, 2024 | 
news.abplive.com | Kumar Kartikeya |Sayantan Ghosh |Lakshmana Venkat Kuchi |Shabnoor Rahman
The importance of Uniform Civil Code in India cannot be overstated. During the Constituent Assembly debates, about 76 years ago, the then Article 35 — which mentioned the Uniform Civil Code — was discussed on November 23, 1948. The debate ended with an authoritative statement by Dr B.R. Ambedkar, who said, “We have in this country a uniform code of laws covering almost every aspect of human relationship.
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Sep 22, 2024 | 
deccanherald.com | Kumar Kartikeya
A Niti Aayog report in 2020-21 said there were almost 7.7 million gig workers in India, which is estimated to reach around 23.5 million by 2029-2030. The steep rise in the workforce has led to many concerns surrounding the employment status of these workers. After 2007, app-based delivery models saw a major boom in the country, which led to a huge growth in the gig economy as well as the number of gig workers. Gig employment is currently unregulated.
