The Latest: Top stories of the day
1. An advocacy group has alleged that the police and army violated laws in its handling of a sexual harassment case in Handwara, Jammu and Kashmir, which has left the Valley tense.
2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a village self-governance campaign, which is aimed at communicating information about the Centre's schemes in rural areas.
3. The government rejigged the board of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, putting a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh insider in charge of the organisation.
The Big Story: Mercury rising
Odisha. Telangana. Andhra Pradesh. Marathwada. Vidarbha. Pockets of Karnataka. The list of areas where the authorities have officially recognised a heatwave gets longer by the day. Already 30 people have been declared dead because of the heat in Odisha, with scores more having been declared dead in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
And it is just the start of the summer. The Indian Meteorological Department may have offered up encouraging news in the form of a monsoon forecast that predicted an above-average rainy season. But the rains are still not expected over much of the subcontinent until the end of June. Which means at least two more months of excruciating heat and thirst.
Last year, a similar situation – compounded by deficient rains – saw more than 1,400 people officially declared dead because of heatwaves and exposed a country that is not equipped to handle heat emergencies. Increasingly, research suggests that these will no longer be emergencies, but the norm: By 2050, the temperatures that are currently endangering lives in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will be prevalent all over the country.
Coupled with conflict over water, this means India is going to be an exceedingly difficult place to survive in for those who cannot protect themselves from the elements. Governments have begun to recognise this and a few cities have worked on heat action plans, but like most planning in India, the work is limited and in many cases half-baked. Which means many people will still continue to die simply because of the weather, a situation that should be considered outrageous and yet is simply commonplace.
The Big Scroll
Read Nayantara Narayanan's Meltdown 2016 series, which tracks heat and water stress across India this summer.
Politicking & Policying
1. Former United Progressive Alliance law minister HR Bharadwaj has claimed that he was "eased out" of the Congress because he didn't toe the line on the 2G spectrum scandal and an attempt to dismiss the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh.
2. The education secretary reportedly expressed serious reservations about officially recognising a private school board, after Ramdev's Patanjali Yogapeeth proposed that it set up a Vedic Education Board to formulate curriculum and conduct exams for gurukul-style schools.
3. Political parties all tried to outdo each other in celebrating the legacy of Dr BR Ambedkar on his 125th birth anniversary, with Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati swearing off memorials.
4. The Kerala Director General of Police objected to visits by Modi and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi to the site of the Kollam tragedy within hours of the explosion.
Punditry
1. Sudeep Chakravarti in Mint writes of how anyone who seeks to tell the truth in Chhattisgarh will be treated as an adversary.
2. MR Madhavan in the Indian Express says the Lok Sabha speaker needs to create a consultative mechanism that will help certify pieces of legislation as money bills.
3. A leader in the Business Standard praises the beginnings of a national agriculture market, but calls on states to ensure that the effort actually takes root.
4. Pratap Bhanu Mehta in the Indian Express says the constant invocation of judicial overreach ignores the dereliction of duty by the executive, which often leaves policymaking to the courts.
Don't Miss
Pamela D'Mello writes of the persistent rumour in Goa that the Aam Aadmi Party is colluding with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"It is not uncommon to hear activists or opposition leaders whisper suspicions of the saffron party’s influence on AAP Goa. Some, like RTI activist Aires Rodrigues, have openly said so.
As evidence, Rodrigues notes that AAP launched its outreach programme from minority Catholic-dominated areas of Benaulim in South Goa. During the 2014 general election, it was the presence of multiple minority candidates that allowed the BJP to win the seat for the first time."
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