Introduced by the University Grants Commission to combat casteism on university campuses, the regulations have been challenged by students in Uttar Pradesh from the "general classes”, i.e. those not covered by quotas, for their ambiguous language and the risk of generating new forms of exclusion. The Supreme Court has stayed their application, calling for a review. Meanwhile, existing protections remain in place.
Maharashtra's deputy chief minister was 66 when the plane crashed after taking off from Mumbai. Everybody on board, Pawar’s staff and the crew, perished. The cause of the crash is not yet known. The nephew of Sharad Pawar and a key figure in the Nationalist Congress Party's split, Ajit Pawar led his party in an alliance with Narendra Modi's BJP. Condolences are being expressed by political leaders. The Catholic Church also expressed its closeness to the family and the people of Maharashtra.
After years of negotiations, the conclusion of a comprehensive trade agreement has been announced, which reduces tariffs, facilitates trade and investment, and strengthens strategic cooperation, including in the areas of security and defence. The deal follows increased tensions with the United States and competition with China. For New Delhi, the move reinforces the idea of India at the centre of the economic and geopolitical balance between the West and the Global South.
One of India's highest honours was bestowed upon the Mumbai neonatologist who drastically cut infant mortality. Founder of India's first milk bank, she also put her work in the service of women in the city slums. Many times, “I have felt God holding my hands,” she said, and “‘This is what you have to do’.”
Activists from the extremist group Vishwa Hindu Parishad demonstrated in front of Holy Cross Convent School in Dharmanagar, demanding that a Hindu puja be celebrated on campus, forcing the school administration to call the police and suspend classes. The principal denounces a climate of growing intimidation. The bishop of Agartala tells AsiaNews: “These kinds of requests and accusations are unfounded and are a way to create divisions.”
Tribal leaders slam the authorities for pressuring them to sign “surrender certificates” and lose their ancestral lands hit by the 2004 tsunami. At the heart of the dispute is the Great Nicobar Island Development Project, a plan of nearly US$ 9 billion that includes a port, an airport, and a power plant. The Nicobarese and Shompen peoples are demanding to right to return to their original villages, while environmentalists and scientists warn that the plan poses risks to biodiversity and is threatened by seismic activity.
