Parley by The Hindu

India’s parliamentary democracy is going through a phase of intense confrontation between the dominant ruling party and a weakened but belligerent Opposition. Is this situation a consequence of the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system, where a party with the the highest votes gets the seat even if it doesn't win a majority? Here we address this question. Guests: E. Sridharan, Academic Director and Ch...

The public education system is the primary option for millions of students in India. These institutions have become more important as the pandemic takes a toll on the economy, putting fee-charging schools beyond the reach of many and forcing thousands to move to government schools. The Patna High Court recently asked for data on how many IAS and IPS officers have enrolled their wards in government...

After 20 years of fighting, the U.S. is set to end its military operations in Afghanistan by August 31. Since May 1, when U.S. troops started withdrawing from Afghanistan, the Taliban have made rapid territorial gains in the country. They have taken control of dozens of northern districts and several of the country’s key border crossings, mounting pressure on the Ashraf Ghani government. Here we d...

In June, the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry came out with a list of proposed amendments to the Consumer Protection Act of 2019. These include appointment of a Chief Compliance Officer and a Resident Grievance Officer, provisions of fall back liability, registration of e-commerce entities and seeking an end to flash sales. The Centre claims that these amendments try to rein in unfair trade practic...

Since the nationwide lockdown announced by the Prime Minister in March 2020, the Indian economy has faced its worst contraction in history. Yet, the country’s stock indices, the Sensex and the Nifty, have almost doubled in price from the low that they hit in April 2020. Many analysts and even the Reserve Bank of India now believe that stocks are in a bubble. Here we discuss the current state of In...

The option provided in the Constitution should be used with honesty, not just to tinker with politics. The sudden exit of Tirath Singh Rawat as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, a development the Bharatiya Janata Party sought to explain in terms of a constitutional roadblock to being elected as a legislator with in six months, has led to thickening speculation about the fate of West Bengal’s Mamata B...

The CBSE has prepared a tabulation scheme to determine the marks that students of Class 12 will be awarded in this pandemic year, upon completion of schooling. How reliable is such a scheme against the backdrop of the digital divide, and can it be improved? Here we discuss the road ahead for assessing students. Guests: Uday Gaonkar, a teacher in a rural school in Karnataka’s public system who has...

In 2016-18, four women from Kerala accompanied their husbands to join the Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan's Khorasan Province. Their husbands were killed in different attacks and the women are now lodged in an Afghanistan prison. Authorities in Afghanistan want to return the women to India, but the Indian government has not indicated what it proposes to do in this matter. Sources say security ag...

Last week, the Government of India prohibited retired officials of security and intelligence organisations from publishing anything about their work or organisation without prior clearance from the head of the organisation. Serving civil servants are barred from expressing their personal opinion on policy matters and criticising the government. But once they retire, many of them take part in publi...

Last week, WhatsApp decided to legally challenge one of India’s new Information Technology rules which requires messaging platforms to help investigative agencies in identifying the originator of problematic messages. WhatsApp reckons this would break end-to-end encryption and undermine people’s right to privacy. The government responded saying it is committed to ensuring the right of privacy for...

The 11-day fighting between Hamas and Israel, coupled with protests across the Palestinian territories and Israeli cities, have turned the spotlight once again on the Palestine question. The internationally accepted solution to this crisis is the so-called two-state solution. This would mean that an independent, sovereign Palestine state and an independent, sovereign Israeli state would coexist in...

As the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and the State-level lockdowns batter the economy, Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das this week noted that the impact of the second wave is likely to be less severe than the first one. He said that businesses and people have started to adapt to lockdowns and that the hit to demand would be much lower this time. Here we discuss the two COVID-19...

As the second wave of the pandemic rages across India, the country’s overcrowded prisons are in danger of becoming major hotspots for the spread of the disease. Dozens of political prisoners, mainly civil rights activists, continue to languish in prison indefinitely with no possibility of their trials commencing any time soon. Here we discuss the issue of overcrowded prisons during the pandemic. G...

The Central government has transferred the responsibility of vaccinating people in the 18-44 age group to the States, and opened up vaccine pricing to market forces, at a time when discussions around the world are about an intellectual property (IP) waiver for COVID-19 vaccines and providing free vaccines. Here we discuss India’s vaccination policy and its challenges. Guests: K.M. Gopakumar, a is...

India is witnessing a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with record numbers of new cases and deaths every day. At the same time, States holding Assembly elections have seen mass rallies by political parties. In most such rallies, especially in West Bengal, which still has two phases to go and where campaigning is still on, COVID-19 protocols such as masking and physical distancing are blatantl...

After daily new COVID-19 cases peaked on September 16, 2020, during the first wave, new cases and deaths in India began to increase from the third week of February 2021, marking the beginning of the second wave. The rise in daily cases and deaths has been steep since April 1. On April 14, India reported nearly 2 lakh cases. The seven-day average test positivity rate has also been climbing. Here we...

Australia’s new News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code will force platforms like Facebook and Google to pay local media outlets and publishers to link their content in news feeds or search results. The Australian law is being seen as one of the early shots fired in the coming battle by countries to regulate tech giants to take back some of the control they have on global commun...

Producers of entertainment content, especially stand-up comedians, are increasingly becoming the target of legal action. To take just two examples, while Kunal Kamra is facing contempt proceedings for remarks about the Supreme Court, fellow comedian Munawar Faruqui had to spend more than a month in jail on vague charges before getting bail. Are Indians so lacking in humour that their first respons...

Last month, a United States Trade Representative investigation report found India’s Digital Services Tax to be discriminatory. It said the tax is “inconsistent with prevailing principles of international taxation”, and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce. India has denied these charges. The bone of contention is a 2% tax that India has charged since April 2020 on revenues from digital services, app...

With the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting the academic year 2020-21, for the first-time, students of class X and XII are set to face board examinations based on knowledge gained almost entirely from virtual teaching. Here we discuss the challenges in conducting board examinations now. Guests: K. Devarajan, a former Director of Government Examinations, Tamil Nadu; Chandra Bhushan Sharma, Professor, Sch...

On January 19, precisely a month after being bowled out for its lowest Test score of 36 against Australia, India bounced back to script one of the more memorable series triumphs in cricketing hiistory. Dealing with injuries and insult in varying degrees, the squad fought gallantly to beat the odds and a full-strength opponent to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The series-clinching three-wicket...

On January 12, the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of three controversial farm laws passed recently, and ordered the constitution of a committee of experts to negotiate between the farmers’ bodies and the Government of India. Rather than deliberating on the constitutionality of the three laws, the court appears to be trying to move both the parties towards a political settlement, thereby w...

Disinformation, or “fake news” in common parlance, is a malaise born amid the infodemic of the social media age. In the last few years, it has been used as an effective weapon to polarise communities and upset democratic processes. As we begin 2021, we discuss the current state of the malady. Guests: Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and Professor...

The Special Marriage Act (SMA), 1954 is seen as a progressive law enacted to help inter-faith couples. But with States such as Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh framing laws that target inter-faith marriage, the procedural requirements of the SMA — such as the need to give prior notice, and allowance for ‘objections’ — seem to be undermining its original intent by opening the doors to violent moral...

The number of coding and programming bootcamps that are being offered by educational technology (Ed Tech) companies for children as young as four or five years has increased exponentially in recent times. Ed Tech companies argue that careers in the 21st century will be based on technology, for which children should get a head start. There have also been ringing endorsements from celebrities for th...