Above the Fold: Top stories of the day
1. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology study found the Indian strain of swine flu to contain dangerous mutations.
2. Retail inflation in India went up for the third month in a row to 5.37% but industrial production has also been positive.
3. The oil leaks scandal has now extended to the finance and commerce ministries as well, with three arrests of those accused of selling confidential documents on Thursday.
4. Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said in an interview that India's Research and Analysis Wing conspired to unseat him. He doesn't blame prime minister Narendra Modi though.
5. A television channel in Tamil Nadu has been attacked with a homemade bomb by a Hindutva group for offending its religious sentiments.
The Big Story: Free to complain
The Delhi High Court on Thursday quashed the government's look-out circular against Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai, who was put on the no-fly list because she was going to testify before a British government panel about human rights abuses in India. The court insisted that the right to free speech by its very nature included the freedom to criticise and dissent.
“Criticism, by an individual, may not be palatable; even so, it cannot be muzzled," the court said in its order. The government had argued that Pillai's criticism would dent India's image abroad, going so far as to say that similar testimony is what resulted in the bad images and sanctions against countries like Iran and North Korea.
The High Court's order represents a huge victory for free speech at a time when the country is discussing things that could dent India's image abroad. Even though the court's decision is a severe reprimand to the ministry of home affairs, an anonymous official in the Economic Times tried to spin it as nevertheless serving its purpose of "sending a message" to activists that they are being watched.
The Big Scroll: Scroll.in on the day's biggest story
With the court having quashed the look-out notice, read how she encountered the illegitimate might of the Indian state.
Need-to-Know 1: Foreign Hand
The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed a bill to increase Foreign Direct Investment in the insurance sector from 26% to 49%, seven years after it was first introduced in Parliament. The bill should come as a reprieve to the capital-starved sector, while also giving the new government its first major legislative reform. It was passed with the support of several Opposition parties, including the Congress, but that doesn't mean life in the Rajya Sabha is going to get easier for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Need-to-Know 2: Marching Hand
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday marched along with top party leaders to former prime minister Manmohan Singh's house in a show of support, after Singh had been summoned by a special court for his alleged involvement in the coal block allocation scam. The decision to support Singh actually comes as a departure for a party famous for ditching its leaders who get into trouble. The party is also set to take the case to the Supreme Court. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was missing.
Politicking: Top political stories
1. More Aam Aadmi Party political stings are still emerging, with the latest suggesting Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal understands communal realpolitik.
2. The Kerala Assembly is a mess. The finance minister and top leaders stayed in the assembly on Thursday night so that they could deliver the budget on Friday, with the Opposition doing its utmost to prevent this.
3. The BJP is boycotting all meetings with its ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal over its treatment of an attack on a BJP worker.
4. A mega meet of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders and workers begins in Nagpur today.
Giggle
Punditry
1. Arvind Kejriwal is like Yudhishthira after the Ashwathhama incident, writes TK Arun in the Economic Times. His chariot now rolls on the ground like everyone else's.
2. Romila Thapar in the Hindu, says most hurt sentiments come from a desire to prevent people from thinking for themselves.
3. As Modi arrives in Colombo, India has a real chance to help Sri Lanka achieve national reconciliation, writes Siddharth Varadarajan in the Indian Express.
4. Swapan Dagupta in the Telegraph points to a new book that challenges the idea that Pakistan was a political accident.
5. Captains in cricket often allow individuals to pursue personal milestones to build a better unit, writes Sumit Mishra in Mint.
Don't Miss
The Hindu Right in Bengal has been pushing a reverse love jihad, getting Muslim women to convert to Hinduism after marrying Hindu men, reports Madhuparna Das.
1. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology study found the Indian strain of swine flu to contain dangerous mutations.
2. Retail inflation in India went up for the third month in a row to 5.37% but industrial production has also been positive.
3. The oil leaks scandal has now extended to the finance and commerce ministries as well, with three arrests of those accused of selling confidential documents on Thursday.
4. Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said in an interview that India's Research and Analysis Wing conspired to unseat him. He doesn't blame prime minister Narendra Modi though.
5. A television channel in Tamil Nadu has been attacked with a homemade bomb by a Hindutva group for offending its religious sentiments.
The Big Story: Free to complain
The Delhi High Court on Thursday quashed the government's look-out circular against Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai, who was put on the no-fly list because she was going to testify before a British government panel about human rights abuses in India. The court insisted that the right to free speech by its very nature included the freedom to criticise and dissent.
“Criticism, by an individual, may not be palatable; even so, it cannot be muzzled," the court said in its order. The government had argued that Pillai's criticism would dent India's image abroad, going so far as to say that similar testimony is what resulted in the bad images and sanctions against countries like Iran and North Korea.
The High Court's order represents a huge victory for free speech at a time when the country is discussing things that could dent India's image abroad. Even though the court's decision is a severe reprimand to the ministry of home affairs, an anonymous official in the Economic Times tried to spin it as nevertheless serving its purpose of "sending a message" to activists that they are being watched.
The Big Scroll: Scroll.in on the day's biggest story
With the court having quashed the look-out notice, read how she encountered the illegitimate might of the Indian state.
Need-to-Know 1: Foreign Hand
The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed a bill to increase Foreign Direct Investment in the insurance sector from 26% to 49%, seven years after it was first introduced in Parliament. The bill should come as a reprieve to the capital-starved sector, while also giving the new government its first major legislative reform. It was passed with the support of several Opposition parties, including the Congress, but that doesn't mean life in the Rajya Sabha is going to get easier for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Need-to-Know 2: Marching Hand
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday marched along with top party leaders to former prime minister Manmohan Singh's house in a show of support, after Singh had been summoned by a special court for his alleged involvement in the coal block allocation scam. The decision to support Singh actually comes as a departure for a party famous for ditching its leaders who get into trouble. The party is also set to take the case to the Supreme Court. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was missing.
Politicking: Top political stories
1. More Aam Aadmi Party political stings are still emerging, with the latest suggesting Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal understands communal realpolitik.
2. The Kerala Assembly is a mess. The finance minister and top leaders stayed in the assembly on Thursday night so that they could deliver the budget on Friday, with the Opposition doing its utmost to prevent this.
3. The BJP is boycotting all meetings with its ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal over its treatment of an attack on a BJP worker.
4. A mega meet of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders and workers begins in Nagpur today.
Giggle
AAP is like a tree. Arvind Kejriwal is the trunk. Everybody else leaves.
— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) March 11, 2015Punditry
1. Arvind Kejriwal is like Yudhishthira after the Ashwathhama incident, writes TK Arun in the Economic Times. His chariot now rolls on the ground like everyone else's.
2. Romila Thapar in the Hindu, says most hurt sentiments come from a desire to prevent people from thinking for themselves.
3. As Modi arrives in Colombo, India has a real chance to help Sri Lanka achieve national reconciliation, writes Siddharth Varadarajan in the Indian Express.
4. Swapan Dagupta in the Telegraph points to a new book that challenges the idea that Pakistan was a political accident.
5. Captains in cricket often allow individuals to pursue personal milestones to build a better unit, writes Sumit Mishra in Mint.
Don't Miss
The Hindu Right in Bengal has been pushing a reverse love jihad, getting Muslim women to convert to Hinduism after marrying Hindu men, reports Madhuparna Das.
"The din over the ‘ghar wapsi’ reconversion campaign in the north and west may have dropped many decibels after Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined “the undeniable right” of an individual’s choice of religion. But in the east, the RSS and its affiliates are experimenting with another conversion programme — where, instead of hounding a Hindu-Muslim couple, they are actively facilitating their union. The only condition: the bride, in this case, is a Muslim who becomes a Hindu after a “suddhikaran” (purification) programme."
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