1. In Bihar, Law Takes its Own Course: Now Nitish MLA Put Behind Bars
“Na kisi se dosti, na kisi se dushmani, kanoon apna kaam karega. (Law will take its own course in my regime, irrespective of friendship or enemity).” This is exactly what Nitish Kumar said soon after his victory when the media lent its voice to BJP’s apprehension of the ‘return of jungle raj’ in Bihar.
One month down the line, Nitish has proved he won’t meddle in legal matters and allow the law to take its own course even if the case is related to his own party’s lawmaker or someone from his alliance partner, the RJD.
On Monday, a Janata Dal (United) MLA, Ramesh Singh Kushwaha, who won the Assembly elections in November from Ziradei in Siwan, was sent to jail in a murder case.
2. Bangladesh’s Unfinished Revolution: Despair to Hope and Justice
44 years after the liberation of Bangladesh, Sumi Khan writes about the fight for language, culture and identity among Bengali Muslims, war crime trials and remembering the hope that Bangladesh was born out of, on this day of victory.
3. Before, After Shakur Basti: No Place For Poor in World Class Delhi
Among Indian cities, Delhi has a very chequered history of city planning where the vision for a better city, such as the Master Plan Delhi 2021’s vision of a “global metropolis and a world class city”, is seen as a way to rid it of urban poverty and free up space for development.
Of course the city must improve its infrastructure – such as what the railways is proposing in the Shakur Basti squatter land. But unfortunately the social costs of such development is almost always borne by the urban poor and adequate compensation or rehabilitation is never factored in the development plan beyond tokenism.
4. #NoMoreNirbhaya: Reactions to The Quint’s Investigative Report
The Quint’s investigative report on Delhi’s cab drivers has had social media talking about the attitude of cabbies towards female passengers. Shot on hidden camera, our reporter went undercover to reveal the mindset of an average cabbie in the national capital region.
5. Nirbhaya’s Parents Unhappy About Offering Convict Money and Means
On the third anniversary of the brutal rape of Jyoti Singh, dubbed Nirbhaya by the Indian media, her parents say that they feel no sense of closure. The juvenile convict is set to walk free by December 20 and the Delhi government’s department of Women and Child Development is planning to give the juvenile a one-time financial grant of Rs 10,000 and a sewing machine to enable him to pursue tailoring as a means of supporting himself.
Read why Nirbhaya’s parents are unhappy about offering convict money and means.
6. Looming Threat: India Can Ignore ISIS Spectre At Its Own Peril
At times a smugness is palpable among our counterterrorism (CT) officials that India is safe from the menacing march of Islamic State (IS) as they feel that it is mainly an Arab Sunni phenomenon directed against the West. They feel confident that they can check its poisonous propaganda by merely monitoring social media.
Vappala Balachandra writes on the looming threat of ISIS in the Indian subcontinent.
7. The Tale Of Two Indian Silicon Valley Kings Pichai and Nadella
Sundar Pichai visits India for the first time after becoming the CEO of Google. But he is not the only Indian-origin CEO heading a multi-billion dollar technology company in Silicon Valley. Satya Nadella gives him company as the CEO of Microsoft and he also made a trip to India earlier this year.
8. Zap It or Freeze It: The Truth Behind the Bizarre Weight Loss Ads
They are hard to miss. Creeping from the sides, jiggling and wiggling for your attention, promising to vacuum, zap or chill your fat and give you a body like Giselle Bundchen without diet or exercise.
These crudely designed web and print advertisements which claim a cream inspired by lobster hormones or a magical pill to strip calories to newer techniques that “freeze” stubborn fat, always seemed unconvincingly weird and obvious scams to me, like one of those Nigerian prince scams.
So Nikita Mishra decided to dig in these marketing campaigns.
9. Exclusive: Kajol On Varun-Kriti, SRK and Gender Equality in Films
Rohit Khilnani interviewed Dilwale’s lead actress Kajol for The Quint and got her spilling the beans about a ton of things- working with Varun Dhawan & Kriti Sanon, her evergreen chemistry with Shah Rukh and also gender equality in Bollywood.
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