Left, Right & Centre

There are fresh details on the Tawang clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers after the publication of a detailed report in the Australian Strategic Policy Institute that shows the site where the clashes of December 9 happened. Also detail on how China has been able to get to the area because of Chinese road construction in the area. The India-China race to the boundary as both sides race to build infrastructure. What China has been doing is staggering. But India is catching up. Is it enough?

It is one of the most important stories out there - a growing confrontation between the government and the Supreme Court over how judges are appointed. Over the last few weeks, we have seen comments from the Law Minister and the Vice President, as the Rajya Sabha chair, taking direct aim at the collegium system of appointing judges and even what the role of the top court should be. Where will these standoff lead?

There is a global alarm as China witnesses a dramatic surge in Covid cases with some experts and The Economist predicting 1.5 million deaths in China alone. There are horrific reports on hospitals being overwhelmed. The big concern is whether this will spread to the rest of the world in the course of the next few weeks and months. How worried should we be?

He is one of the greatest thinkers of our times. After the best-selling 'Sapiens', Yuval Noah Harari is out with his latest book 'Unstoppable Us', which is for children. Harari says it is important to teach children how they can change the future, how humans have the most amazing superpowers and what they can do with it.

Nearly 10 days after the clash between Chinese and Indian troops at the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh, the opposition continues to press the government to allow a discussion in Parliament, which the government is refusing to do. Speaking in Lok Sabha, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar objected to Rahul Gandhi's use of the word "pitai (beating)" in the context of the clashes, saying our jawans are standing at 13,000 feet, defending our border, they do not deserve this word. As the political spat over this issue intensifies, the threat from China on the ground is all too real. High-resolution satellite imagery accessed by NDTV within days of the clashes in Tawang indicates that Beijing has positioned large numbers of drones and fighter aircraft at major Tibetan airbases, which are ranged against India's northeast.

A new survey has revealed a very dismal picture on the state of primary schools in Jharkhand especially after the pandemic. The survey of 138 primary and upper-primary schools in 16 districts of the state paints a dismal picture of the schools. Titled "Gloom in the Classroom', the survey was conducted by Gyan Vigyan Samiti Jharkhand and the report was prepared by economist Jean Dreze and researcher Paran Amitava.

The government has come in for a fresh attack from the opposition over China. AAP's Arvind Kejriwal says that the government is pushing a false narrative and the Congress is once again asking why the government is shying away from a discussion in Parliament. This on a day when the Delhi police starts aggressively tracking the AIIMS hacking which it suspects originated from China and Hong Kong. Meanwhile, 6000 attempts were made to hack into India's apex medical research body ICMR. And on December 9, a fresh attempt by China to transgress the LAC in the Tawang sector. From Borders to Cyberattacks - how should India deal with China? That's the question we are debating this evening on Left, Right and Centre.

The BJP has pulled out union ministers to take on the Congress's Rahul Gandhi over his statement that the "Modi government was sleeping" while  china was preparing for war. BJP leaders today came out in droves to accuse Rahul Gandhi of questioning the valour of the Army as he said Indian jawans were beaten up by China in Arunachal Pradesh. On LRC tonight, we look at the politicisation of the LAC border issue.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's new film 'Pathaan' has sparked a controversy after Madhya Pradesh minister Narottam Mishra took offence to Deepika Padukone's bikini in the song 'Besharam Rang' - and a day after the row, SRK attended the inauguration of Kolkata International Film Festival - where he said he'd "stay positive, no matter what" - while also remarking on the toxicity and divisiveness of social media. Meanwhile, Amitabh Bachchan brought up civil liberties, saying that questions are being raised on the freedom of expression. Is this Bollywood's way of pushing back against right-wing trolls that threaten to boycott their films?

Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan today joined Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan - prompting online outrage and BJP's ire - leading us to the question, should economists join political events?