Controversies

Name Game Erupts Over Delhi’s Aurangzeb Road

Lazy populism once again took centre stage with the renaming of Aurangzeb Road in the capital as APJ Abdul Kalam Marg, in memory of the 83-year-old former president who died in July. However, the choice of road has been objected to by Muslim groups and politicians who claim it to be the result of an anti-Muslim political agenda. read more

Mumbai Police Still Clueless Over Moral Policing Raids

The Mumbai police have not exactly covered themselves with glory with their recent moral policing raids. First they booked several couples for alleged indecent behaviour. Following a public outcry, the police decided to order an inquiry. But the officer leading the inquiry found himself transferred out of Mumbai on a ‘punishment posting’. Then, barely 24 hours later, the state government cancelled his transfer. Does anyone in charge know what they are doing? read more

Maharashtra to Derecognize Madrasas Not Teaching English, Maths, Science

The Maharashtra government has sparked a controversy by declaring that madrasas, or Islamic seminaries, that do not teach primary subjects such as English and mathematics would be considered "non-schools" and their students "out-of-school" children. Muslim leaders and opposition parties have criticised the move as discriminatory and unconstitutional. read more

Section 377: Swamy Calls Homosexuality a “Genetic Disorder”

Since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court judgement last month that legalized same-sex marriages in that country, there has been some introspection in India about Section 377 that continues to criminalize “unnatural sex”. However, in the past few days this debate has descended into farce, with BJP leader Subramanian Swamy claiming his party’s position is that “homosexuality is a genetic disorder”. read more

Lalit Modi Row Threatens Govt’s Clean Image

The opposition’s attempt to attack the NDA government over the growing scandal surrounding absconding cricket entrepreneur Lalit Modi seems to be a blatant attempt to embarrass Prime Minister Narendra Modi. That Modi himself has not spoken about the row is not helping matters, with his silence encouraging the vocal voices in the Congress party and AAP. read more

IIT Madras Drops Ban on Students Group

IIT Madras has decided to revoke its controversial ban on the Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle (APSC), a Dalit students group. The decision was taken on Sunday evening at a meeting of the IIT director and APSC leaders. read more

Maggi Case Widens, Complaint Filed Against Nestle and Bollywood Stars

Nestle India is at the centre of a controversy over its Maggi brand of instant noodles, with food safety inspectors in Uttar Pradesh filing a criminal complaint over the high levels of lead they allegedly found in some packets. Nestle disputes the findings, but the authorities have warned that the Bollywood stars who endorse the product may also face legal action. read more

AAP Govt Wants Confrontation So It Can Demand Statehood for Delhi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has chosen to attack Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and spark a constitutional crisis in Delhi, so that AAP can use the controversy to demand full statehood. Delhi is different from other states as its the national capital - its Lieutenant Governor therefore has more executive powers than the Governor of a state. But Kejriwal is adamant that the L-G's constitutional powers should be handed over to his ministers. read more

Thank you Salman, We Now Know How Rotten Our Justice System Is

In which country in the world would a hit-and-run case take 13 years to pronounce judgement? Answer: India read more

Marital Rape Not a Crime, Says Govt

It isn’t a crime for a man to rape his wife in India as marriage is treated as sacred here, according to Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary. He was replying to a question by DMK's K Kanimozhi, who cited a UN estimate that 75 per cent of married women in India are subjected to forced sex within their marriages. read more

Delhi Law Minister’s Law Degree Is Fake, Says University

In a major embarrassment for the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi, Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar’s law degree is allegedly "fabricated and doesn't exist in the university's record", Tilak Manjhi Bhagalpur University told the Delhi High Court. Tomar had reportedly enrolled as a lawyer on the basis of this degree. read more

Ford Foundation a Security Threat?

The government has surprised many in India and abroad by putting the U.S.-based Ford Foundation, one of the world's largest charitable funds, onto its security watchlist. The home affairs ministry is probing the foundation’s funding of a local organisation in Gujarat run by activist Teesta Setalvad, a long-time critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. read more

Kalyan Jewellers Pulls ‘Racist’ Ad of Aishwarya

In another victory for social media, Kalyan Jewellers has withdrawn its advertisement featuring Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with a dark-skinned boy holding a parasol over her. The advert was slammed by activists and on social media for being racist and promoting child slavery. read more

Battle for Open Internet Scores With Flipkart U-Turn

Around 300,000 emails in support of net neutrality have already been sent to TRAI since Saturday. This is the biggest response to any consultation paper that the regulator has ever floated. Meanwhile, Flipkart has pulled out of its reported tie-up with Airtel's service Airtel Zero after the e-commerce company faced significant backlash on social media this past week. read more

MPs and Their Conflicts of Interest

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it clear that MPs who have a conflict of interest should avoid becoming members of parliamentary committees. This follows a committee shooting down the government’s proposal to increase the size of pictorial warnings on cigarette and beedi packets – it was later revealed that panel member BJP MP Shyama Charan Gupta has a beedi business with an annual turnover of over Rs 200 crore ($32 million). read more

‘Idiotic’ Police Survey of Rahul Gandhi Raises Congress Hackles and Threatens Bills in Parliament

It may well have been a series of clumsy security questions by a few low-ranking policemen, but the three visits of Delhi’s finest to Rahul Gandhi’s home in early March to ask security personnel questions about the opposition leader has been described as 'snooping'. The government denied this and described the security inquiry as routine, of a type faced by BJP leaders in the past. read more