Author: AshutoshBaluni

Following the refusal of villagers to buy from a Dalit shop, the collector of a district in Gujarat transferred all ration cards to a neighbouring village in a worrying incident of potential caste discrimination. Conflicting accountsWhat the order saidThe Dalit compromiseKanti’s accountVillagers suspect “conspiracy” Conflicting accounts Kanosan village, with a population of 2,000, in the Saraswati tehsil of the Patan district in Gujarat, is dominated by the Thakor, or non-Dalit, community, and for around 18 months, the majority of the villagers have refused to buy essentials from the government-allocated fair price shop (FPS) owned by Kanti Parmar, who happens to…

Kulbhushan Upmanyu, a Himachali agriculturist and a critical figure in the Chipko movement, has called for another mass movement in the state. “Himalaya Niti”What Upmanyu & Co. have been up toA flashback to the Chipko movement “Himalaya Niti” Way before his name would become gospel in Indian environmentalists circles, somewhere in the 1980s, Sunderlal Bahuguna was on a journey—the Kashmir-Kohima Chipko padayatra—to advocate for the protection of the Himalayan region. While history books and feature articles might have largely focused on Bahuguna, there was a man in his late thirties marching right beside him. Kulbushan Upmanyu, now 74, has voiced…

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of being involved in the murder of a pro-Khalistan Sikh leader on Monday, sparking a row between the two nations. What are the allegationsIndian govt’s reactionDeemed as “Khalistani terrorist” by NIA, beloved to Canadian SikhsIndia-Canada ties on rapid decline What are the allegations Trudeau, while speaking to the House of Commons on Monday, claimed that Canadian security agencies have been attempting to link “agents of the government of India” to the June murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh community leader designated as a “Khalistani terrorist” by India, in the Surrey suburb…

A landslide caused by heavy rainfall claimed 17 lives in Congo on Sunday, with several other countries also reeling from climate change-induced floods. Overnight disaster”Humanitarian crisis” in Congo and nearby countriesCongo joins Libya as latest to be hit by floodsLack of consensus whether climate change behind Overnight disaster Following several days of torrential downpour, the Democratic Republic of Congo was rocked again with a landslide demolishing houses built along the Congo river in the northern city of Lisala in Mongala Province, according to Matthieu Mole, head of Forces Vives, a civil society organisation. Witnesses saw houses built on the foot…

In the wake of a new outbreak of the Nipah virus in Kerala, experts have suggested that other states might not be detecting deaths and infections as much as Kerala. Kerala shuts shop, braces for 4th outbreak in 5 yearsFrom under their nosesNewer symptoms found, possible Nipah virus mutationCould urbanisation be a factor? Kerala shuts shop, braces for 4th outbreak in 5 years Two years from when it last rocked the nation, the Nipah virus has resurfaced in the Kozhikode district in Kerala, having already infected six people and claimed two lives since the early reports on August 30. Authorities…

With climate change stoking record heat waves across the globe, questions have been raised over the safety of players when the US hosts the FIFA World Cup in 2026. “One player is going to die”How climate change has battered the USPast instances of climate change impacting sports “One player is going to die” As the climate change situation has been growing dire in recent years, the world has been witness to a summer of record-breaking temperatures, devastating wildfires and an ever-worsening air pollution situation, particularly in the US. This year, only 4% of the 318 million-strong US population were living…

INDIA, the opposition alliance, released a blacklist of 14 TV anchors that they would boycott on grounds of peddling hateful content on Thursday. Who’s in the blacklist?I.N.D.I.A wants to shut “markets of hatred”Reactions to boycott, “Emergency 2.0” Who’s in the blacklist? The INDIA coordination committee organised a meeting on Wednesday to deliberate on several matters ranging from sharing seats in elections, to drawing up a blacklist of TV anchors to boycott, with the latter being released on Thursday. The Alliance, which holds power in 11 states, declared that no representative would feature on shows helmed by the 14 anchors, while…

Recent studies have pointed to a link between climate change and mosquitos, with the latter thriving under warmer temperatures. 14 times more dengue cases than ‘96Link between mosquitoes and climate changeNot just you, mosquitoes getting thirstier 14 times more dengue cases than ‘96 Every inch of the country that is touched by a ray of sunlight is inhabited by mosquitos, and this is no poetic exaggeration. Ladakh, an area populated by rocky mountain passes that serve as walls against any threat, couldn’t keep dengue out with the recently-christened Union Territory registering its first two cases in 2022. Thus the final…

Igor Stimac, head coach for the Indian football team, has revealed that he selected players for matches after suggestions from an astrologer recommended by the Indian football federation, Data science who?How the arrangement was madeIndian football team on a tightrope Data science who? In an interview with the Indian Express, Stimac disclosed that Bhupesh Sharma, an astrologer from Delhi-NCR, has been present as an advisor behind some managerial decisions like choosing which players to start a match with and which to place as substitutes.  As the Indian Express learnt, there are an estimated 100 messages between Stimac and Sharma between…

Luis Rubiales has stepped down as the president of Spain’s football federation after mounting pressure following the incident at the Women’s World Cup final. “I can’t continue my work”Official statement to the Spain’s football federationNearly 20 days after the World Cup, it’s over “I can’t continue my work” The disgraced leader of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) drew the public’s ire when he grabbed Spanish midfielder, Jenni Hermoso, and kissed her during the medal presentation ceremony of the FIFA Women’s World Cup final in Sydney on 20th August. While Rubiales’ immediate remarks appeared to downplay the situation, lambasting those…