News and Views

In his tenure so far, Justice Misra has been on benches that have decided a whole range of important issues, leaving us enough clues for what to expect during his term as CJI.

Leaving aside the prosaic texts of most of his judgments because of his bombastic and often hilariously incorrect use of the English language, the substance of these judicial pronouncements do not portend much good for Indian citizens.

Here’s why.

It is risky to see political developments in black and white, ignoring the greys. What is being overlooked in the euphoria – or call it a sense of relief – at the merger of the two factions of the AIADMK is the extreme unease among many party old-timers. They are dismayed at the manner in which the running of the AIADMK has almost been outsourced to the BJP. Some others put it more harshly, terming it a hostile takeover.

“Delhi wants the body of the AIADMK without its head,'' is how an AIADMK MP who belongs to the Edappadi Palaniswami camp described the situation in the party to a fellow journalist in Delhi.

Leaders in Chennai point out how the Modi-fication of the AIADMK helps only the BJP and the rump group led by O Panneerselvam.

Congress should learn some lessons from Ahmed Patel’s close shave in the Gujarat Rajya Sabha election.

Late last month, the 91-member Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M), its highest policy-making body, took careful aim – and shot itself in the foot. It refused to allow CPI-M stalwart Sitaram Yechury to contest (and possibly, win) a third term in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s Parliament. What could be the repercussions? Abheek Barman explains.

The Maharashtra Education Board cuts down chapters on Mughal history to just a few paragraphs in the new history textbooks for Class VII students. Choosing instead to make Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the Marathas the focal point of the book.

How safe is your Aadhaar data?

It’s a question which has come up again after the recent arrest of a software engineer in Bengaluru, for allegedly hacking and accessing Aadhaar data through a eKYC verification mobile app.

This Android app (now removed from the Play Store) has been reportedly downloaded by 1 lakh users. But worry not – we’ve got you covered with a few steps and guidelines that ensure your Aadhaar data is safe, and you aren’t tricked into sharing confidential details with anyone.

Bajaj Auto and Triumph Motorcycles UK have announced a global partnership. This non-equity tie-up between Bajaj and Triumph will enable the former to build a range of mid-capacity motorcycles, building on the collective strengths of both companies.

Here's a little tribute to Kishore Kumar on his birth anniversary.

Flipkart reportedly made a bid of $950 million to finally get their hands on Snapdeal. But long discussions failed to get the deal through for Binny Bansal and Co. Many experts believe that Flipkart could have absorbed Snapdeal’s existing e-commerce capability, giving them the push to fight of Amazon’s challenge in India.

But when you look at the numbers being discussed, it shows a different story. A detailed report from Kalagato suggests that Snapdeal was going nowhere with its business strategy amid falling user base, app downloads and transaction volume. So folks at Flipkart might not be losing sleep over the failed transaction after all.

Before I entered politics myself, one of my more frequent laments had been about the abdication by the Indian educated professional classes of our political responsibility for our own destiny. The decision by the Congress Party to entrust me with the setting up of a Professionals’ Congress, to involve such people in our party, confronts that problem head-on.