Kerala, ‘God’s Own Country’, and the land of my ancestors saw the worst floods in a century recently. Even as I write, armed forces, NGOs, volunteers and civil administration are toiling day and night to bring succour to the affected. The operations will go on ceaselessly till the floodwaters recede and people return to their homes.

Former cricketer and Minister for Culture and Tourism of Punjab, Navjot Singh Sidhu, had to face the ire of many, for attending Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony.

Days after cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan emerged victorious, Sidhu said he had accepted an invitation to attend the former’s oath-taking event. Sidhu also said that he would raise issues pertaining to Punjab, especially the demand for the Kartarpur Corridor, which seeks to connect Dera Baba Nanak (a city in Punjab, India) with Darbar Sahib, Narowal (Kartarpur) (both are barely three kilometres from each other). Through this corridor, Sikhs can get visa-free access to the religious shrine for Sikhs at Kartarpur.

On 15 August 2018, a suicide attacker detonated his explosive vest in a classroom at the Mahwood Education Centre in Kabul, killing at least 40 students and injuring over 67\. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State (aka Daesh), provoking a flood of commentary about the Daesh rampage across Afghanistan.

While data from Afghanistan is fragmentary, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan estimates a total of 1,692 civilians killed in the country in the first half of 2018, an overwhelming majority by the Taliban, but there is little comparable hysteria about these killings.

Nor does much commentary emphasise the reality that Daesh in Afghanistan is, in fact, a breakaway faction of elements drawn from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s first address to the nation is being welcomed by all, even his opponents, because PM Khan hit almost all the right notes when he unveiled the plan for his five-year rule. From alleviating poverty to tackling a failing economy to addressing education woes, Khan appears to understand many of the issues Pakistan faces today.

Kerala is battling the worst flood in its history. Thirty five out of the 42 dams in the state are overflowing. The biggest of them, the Idukki reservoir, is releasing more than 5 lakh litres of water per second. The rivers Periyar and Chalakkudi are swollen, inundating low-lying areas of Ernakulam district.

They all have the same DNA. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Subramanian Swamy. Lal Krishna Advani and Narendra Modi. Now forgotten, but founder of the Jan Sangh, Balraj Madhok and Nanaji Deshmukh. Now sidelined, but once media-savvy Murli Manohar Joshi, and KN Govindacharya. Their DNA is shaped by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Yet they represent more than fifty shades of saffron.

Veteran journalist Kumar Ketkar explains.

In Part 1 of this investigation we look at how over 20 private rehab centres are running unlicensed and simultaneously flout norms. In the following one we will expose how corruption unravels in Punjab's licensing body.

The Supreme Court ignored its own past judgments to say evidence of an affair is enough to prove abetment of suicide. This could set a dangerous new precedent, and isn't the first time Justices Banumathi and Saran have passed a problematic judgment on abetment of suicide.

पहले रोमांस और फिर शादी, जिंदगी में इससे खूबसूरत चीज शायद और कुछ नहीं. अगर आप भी इस खूबसूरती को अपनी जिंदगी में उतारने जा रहे हैं, तो सबसे पहले हमारी मुबारकबाद कबूल कीजिए.