1. Winter Session: Tactical Shift in Congress’ Plan to Woo India Inc
In a tactical shift, the Congress has decided not to allow the winter session of the Parliament, to begin on Thursday, result in a complete washout, as was the case with the monsoon session.
During the last session, the Grand Old Party blocked the proceedings over Lalitgate and Vyapam scam, derailing key reform legislation such as the GST, Real Estate and Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation bill.
2. 1970 Bangladesh War Trials: Justice, Revenge, History and Acrimony
On December 16, 1971 Pakistan surrendered to India. But before the victory, there was a civil war and a genocide, the ripples of which are being felt both within and outside Bangladesh even today.
In the 1970 Pakistan elections, the pro-Bangladesh Awami League, with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as its leader, emerged as the single largest party. The military and political establishment in Islamabad did not respect the verdict and a brutal regime of oppression followed.
3. While We Obsess Over Aamir Khan, Colonel Natt Fights for His Life
India has once again chosen to go berserk over controversial statements made by a celebrity. Support and criticism for Aamir Khan are splattered all over our social media newsfeeds.
Amid this controversy, a Lieutenant Colonel’s fight for his life is going unnoticed. On 22 November, a gun battle ensued in Manigah forests of Kupwara district, Jammu & Kashmir and Lt Col KS Natt of 160 Territorial Army was shot in the face.
4. A Few Kilos of Wheat and Rice: Compensation for a Rape Victim
Despite the widespread outrage that followed after the December 2012 gangrape of a paramedic student in Delhi, little seems to have changed as far as crimes against women are concerned.
In a recent instance, a certain quantity of food grain and a paltry sum of Rs 20,000 was deemed to be sufficient to compensate a rape victim in Uttar Pradesh. While such extreme examples highlight India’s patriarchal mindset, it also shows how the law can easily be bypassed to suit one’s convenience.
5. War Crimes Executions: Hasina Govt’s Way of Decimating Opposition
Bangladesh erupted with joy when two war criminals were hanged on Sunday, but many across the world including the likes of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called for stopping the executions.
Now, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has joined the chorus, calling for a moratorium on death sentences in Bangladesh.
6. How it Would be to Have ‘Kafka in Ayodhya’
The holy land of Ayodhya holds a special status and has been at the centre of the biggest dispute of the country for decades now. From time to time this long-drawn dispute stirs up the social and political atmosphere of the country but seldom have we moved in the direction of a resolution.
From communal discourse to the judiciary, from the bureaucracy to social and political analysis, this ancient land seems to be caught up in a gridlock of judgement and hatred.
Sounds like a Kafkaesque situation, doesn’t it?
7. Nagpur Test: Ashwin & Jadeja Strike, South Africa 11/2 at Stumps
It’s been a long lull after the Bengaluru storm but we finally have Virat Kohli’s team back on our television sets.
The Indian skipper won the toss and elected to bat first. The team sees two changes – Rohit Sharma and Amit Mishra in, Varun Aaron and Stuart Binny are out.
8. Why Does India Still Not Have a Real True-Blue Compact SUV?
The Indian automobile market has witnessed the launch of a whole bunch of compact-SUVs/soft-roaders in recent times. While the going is great and such products make immense sense for our diverse market, they aren’t exactly SUVs in the truest sense – predominantly because they happen to be missing some essential elements that would effectively allow them to traverse over the roughest terrain.
It won’t hurt if a manufacturer actually brings in an affordable compact SUV that can deliver on all these accounts and that such a product will find enough takers, writes Vikram Gour.
9. Bigg Boss Day 45: Priya and Mandana Target Rimi Sen
Just when everybody thought Rimi Sen is finally showing some interest in a task, she does something which becomes the reason for her team to lose. Resulting in Rimi becoming the target of the wild cats in the house, Priya and Mandana.
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