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The widely telecasted inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi abundantly displayed the nefarious designs held close by the ruling regime for this country. The invocation of Hindu symbols and ritualistic practices by the PM in an official function of the State gave a de facto official status to the majority and majoritarian religion in the country. These developments throw open numerous questions regarding religion-its scope and effect, State- its role and function and most primarily the relationship between State and religion particularly in a multi-religious, multi-cultural country.

The year gone by 2021 was a year full of travails but ended with a triumph for the people.

Ayodhya: The temple city is gearing up to present a new look with the construction of Ram Janambhoomi Mandir and the redevelopment of Ayodhya Junction (railway station).

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi is a rare clerical voice in Pakistan. A prominent religious scholar and former member of the state-appointed Council of Islamic Ideology that ensures that legislation conforms with Islamic law, Ghamidi calls a spade a spade in a country in which that can have dire consequences.

Over three years ago, in March 2018, Bikram Singh Majithia, former Shiromani Akali Dal minister and brother-in-law of its party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, had made headlines for extracting a public apology from Aam Admi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, whom he had taken to court for accusing him of drug trafficking. Today, he is back on the front pages of newspapers in election-bound Punjab with police issuing a lookout against him after booking him under Narcotic Drugs Act.

The year 2021 is bidding adieu and the media is replete with year-ender analysis, features, and podcasts to look back at the year that it was. Two such articles in the crypto space are worth a mention today.

One outlier media in the republic is broadcasting its intent—turn the cash and gold haul from the innards of perfume manufacturer Piyush Jain’s Kanpur-Kannauj homes into a poll plank for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections; for, it is by far the best current issue to battle it out for the right to rule. It is ‘Alibaba and the 40 Thieves’ and slave-girl Morgiana to the rescue.

Chief Justice NV Ramana’s ‘Vijayawada speech’ in the form of Sri Lavu Venkateswarlu Endowment Lecture has been noted for his exposition of how popular majority is being used these days to embark on arbitrary actions by the government. Of course, the CJI was speaking in general terms, but it is obvious that his indignation has been caused by the prevailing situation in which the Modi government’s actions have been called into question one after another. He was particularly harsh at the tendency to denounce judicial review of executive actions as judicial overreach, which has been a hallmark of the Modi dispensation.
But CJI Ramana also raised some other challenges his predecessor not too long ago had to face in the chequered history of Indian judiciary. Chief among these is about domain expertise, which courts in an earlier era did not have to contend with. The rapid development of science and technology has seen how judges fall short in terms of expertise to deal with newer and newer problems. The new world of internet is, in fact, an ocean of unknown quantities, with problems such as dark web, identify theft, fraudulent online transactions, defamatory content, hate speech etc.

The Election Commission of India is what? Can’t be a caged parrot. That is the CBI! The Enforcement Directorate is to ‘harass’ the Opposition. A la the Income Tax Department. Ask Akhilesh Yadav. He will see red, having set his red cap on becoming 2nd time CM of UP—that is, if the IT Department will let him.

During a discussion in the Constituent Assembly on June 16, 1949 on Article 289 of the draft Constitution (the corresponding Article of the Indian Constitution is Article 324) on the Election Commission, Dr B.R. Ambedkar admitted that there is nothing “to provide against nomination of an unfit person to the post of the Chief Election Commissioner or the other Election Commissioner.” He was candid enough to concede that “there is no provision in the Constitution to prevent either a fool or knave or a person who is likely to be under the thumb of the Executive”. He proceeded further to say that, “I do want to confess that this is a very important question and it has given me a great deal of headache and I have no doubt about it that it is going to give this House a great deal of headache.”