Is Uttar Pradesh’s Crackdown on ‘I Love Muhammad’ Just and Wise?
NB, News Briefings, October 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, October 2025 Vishal Arora

Is Uttar Pradesh’s Crackdown on ‘I Love Muhammad’ Just and Wise?

Uttar Pradesh has launched a series of criminal and administrative actions after banners reading “I Love Muhammad” appeared during a Milad-un-Nabi procession in Kanpur. Following complaints that the banners had been placed in new locations and that some other posters were allegedly removed, police registered FIRs, made arrests and moved to demolish properties linked to those accused. The government’s response raises serious concerns about proportionality, neutrality and wisdom in governance.

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Why Do Officials Stay Silent on NCRB Suicide Data?
NB, News Briefings, October 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, October 2025 Vishal Arora

Why Do Officials Stay Silent on NCRB Suicide Data?

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has released its 2023 suicide statistics, once again through a quiet website upload with no official briefing, no explanation from any ministry, and no space for scrutiny. This silence demands questioning, as it blocks civil society and the press from holding departments accountable for mounting human tragedies.

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Today’s India Fails Mahatma Gandhi’s Test of Governance
NB, News Briefings, October 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, October 2025 Vishal Arora

Today’s India Fails Mahatma Gandhi’s Test of Governance

Gandhi, whose 156th birth anniversary we observe today, offered a moral compass for public life in one of his final written messages. If applied now, it exposes a persistent wrong at the heart of India’s politics and society. He wrote: “Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self [ego] becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny?”

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Punjab’s Anti-Sacrilege Bill Could Trigger Repression, Violence: Former Civil Servants
NB, News Briefings, October 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, October 2025 Vishal Arora

Punjab’s Anti-Sacrilege Bill Could Trigger Repression, Violence: Former Civil Servants

A group of 79 retired civil servants has raised alarm over a draft law in Punjab that seeks to criminalise sacrilege, warning that it could open the door to repression, religious strife, and misuse of power. In a joint letter, they urged the state’s legislature to scrap the proposed Punjab Prevention of Offences Against Holy Scriptures Act, 2025 entirely.

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Once in a Generation, Rats Return to Mizoram’s Fields
NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora

Once in a Generation, Rats Return to Mizoram’s Fields

In parts of Mizoram, farmers are experiencing a surge in rodent numbers that is damaging their crops. Large groups of rats have been entering fields and eating rice, soybeans and other produce. Many of these farmers practise jhum cultivation, which means clearing forest patches and growing crops there for one or two seasons. Rats are entering these farms, eating produce before harvest, and causing heavy financial losses for families who depend on a single yearly crop for food and income.

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What a Televised Death Threat Against Rahul Gandhi Says About India’s Political Decline
NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora

What a Televised Death Threat Against Rahul Gandhi Says About India’s Political Decline

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson has reportedly issued a death threat to Rahul Gandhi during a debate on television. The Union Home Ministry has allegedly taken no immediate action even after the opposition Congress party wrote to the Home Minister. The incident marks a sharp decline in the country’s political standards.

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BJP Sought Deletion of 80,000 Muslim Voters in One Constituency: The Reporters’ Collective
NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora

BJP Sought Deletion of 80,000 Muslim Voters in One Constituency: The Reporters’ Collective

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sought the removal of nearly 80,000 Muslim voters from Bihar’s Dhaka constituency electoral roll by claiming they were not Indian citizens, according to an investigative report by The Reporters’ Collective. The claim was made through formal submissions to election authorities during the state’s Summary Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.

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Nepal’s Gen Z Didn’t Topple the Government, But They Deserve Credit for It

Nepal’s Gen Z Didn’t Topple the Government, But They Deserve Credit for It

Closer attention to what happened in Nepal suggests that the government did not fall solely because of the Gen Z protests, but because of the chain of events they triggered. It is crucial for Gen Z movements elsewhere to understand the role Nepal’s youth played in the change, so that their hopes are not misplaced and their decisions not misguided. The story also carries lessons for governments around the world.

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Four Killed in Ladakh Protests After Years of Unanswered Calls for Rights
NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora

Four Killed in Ladakh Protests After Years of Unanswered Calls for Rights

Four young people were killed and dozens injured in Leh after police opened fire on youth-led protests during a hunger strike on Dept. 24, demanding statehood and constitutional protection for Ladakh, which sits at India’s Himalayan frontier, bordering China. The violence shows a serious failure of governance, where the central government’s refusal to meaningfully engage with six years of peaceful demands has now led to the breakdown of non-violent civic mobilisation.

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$100,000 US Visa Fee Could Block Indian Talent. What Comes Next?
NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora

$100,000 US Visa Fee Could Block Indian Talent. What Comes Next?

The U.S. has introduced a $100,000 fee for every H-1B visa, making it far too costly for most companies to hire Indian professionals. This puts at risk the kinds of jobs that once built careers, brought in foreign income and helped Indian firms deliver global projects.  So, what we see here is that India has spent years building a workforce geared for international jobs, yet access to those jobs still depends on rules set by other countries. Could India have done more to prepare for this?

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Supreme Court to Review UAPA Bail Denials in Delhi Riots Case
NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora

Supreme Court to Review UAPA Bail Denials in Delhi Riots Case

The Supreme Court has agreed to examine whether several individuals accused in the 2020 Delhi riots “conspiracy” case, including Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid, who have been in jail for over three years, should be granted bail. The Court will examine how the right to liberty should be upheld in the face of serious criminal allegations, especially under laws like the UAPA that impose strict limits on bail.

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Uttar Pradesh’s Ban on Caste-Based Gatherings Could Silence the Marginalised
NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora

Uttar Pradesh’s Ban on Caste-Based Gatherings Could Silence the Marginalised

The Uttar Pradesh government has issued a directive banning caste-based political rallies, describing it as a step to preserve national unity and public order. However, the measure restricts democratic rights for communities that depend on public assembly to resist caste discrimination. It also represents a significant expansion of state power in ways that appear aligned with political interests.

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Indian States Are Drowning in Debt, Says CAG Report
NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora

Indian States Are Drowning in Debt, Says CAG Report

A report released by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) shows that India’s states have accumulated around 60 trillion (60 lakh crore) rupees in debt by 2022–23, more than three times what they owed a decade ago. It shows that many states are no longer borrowing mainly for development, but are now depending on loans just to fund their basic governance.

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Manipur: Assam Rifles Ambush Raises Questions on AFSPA Rollback Strategy

Manipur: Assam Rifles Ambush Raises Questions on AFSPA Rollback Strategy

Two soldiers from the Assam Rifles were killed and five others injured in an ambush by armed attackers on Sept. 19 as their convoy was passing through a crowded area in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, which had recently lost its designation under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). The incident has exposed serious flaws in how security laws have been withdrawn from conflict-hit parts of the state.

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Nepal’s Gen Z Must Move from ‘Nepo Kid’ to ‘Every Kid Matters’

Nepal’s Gen Z Must Move from ‘Nepo Kid’ to ‘Every Kid Matters’

Nepal’s Gen Z recently led nationwide protests sparked by a ban on social media but driven by anger at corruption, nepotism and authoritarianism. The slogan “Nepo Kid” helped mobilise young people to reject inherited privilege and dynastic politics. Now that the government has been overthrown, the movement cannot remain defined only by what it opposes. It must advance a constructive agenda. One way forward is to move from “Nepo Kid” to “Every Kid Matters,” making inclusion a central demand. It is essential because the contrast between elite children and ordinary children will remain hollow unless the inequalities among ordinary children are addressed first.

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Inside India’s Hidden Digital Market of Incest, Child Porn, Misogyny

Inside India’s Hidden Digital Market of Incest, Child Porn, Misogyny

On Sept. 10, an Instagram conversation with a young boy led me into a disturbing digital ecosystem where violent sexual content circulates freely. I now fear that a generation of boys may grow up normalising harmful sexual behaviour and misogyny.

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Can Nepal Break Its Cycle of Revolutions?

Can Nepal Break Its Cycle of Revolutions?

Nepal has recently toppled its government, the fourth such event since 1950. What matters now is recognising that these recurring storms are not caused by failed politicians alone. They come from a “state” that remains unreformed, no matter who holds power. Nepal can end its cycle of revolutions only by reforming the institutions that have blocked reform, protected the powerful and outlasted every elected government.

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Nepal’s Rulers Paid for Seeking a Monopoly Over ‘Illegitimate’ Violence

Nepal’s Rulers Paid for Seeking a Monopoly Over ‘Illegitimate’ Violence

A government does not survive by force alone, but by the public’s acceptance that it has the right to use force in the first place. Nepal’s government seemed unaware of this basic principle. The little trust that remained, already hanging by a thread, gave way completely on September 8, when police used brutal violence against young protesters. By the time ambulances began arriving with school and college students bleeding from bullet wounds to their heads and chests, the state’s claim to legitimacy was in free fall.

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Nepal’s Gen Z Show People Hold Power Above the Constitution

Nepal’s Gen Z Show People Hold Power Above the Constitution

In Nepal, a Gen Z movement recently brought down the government and demanded that Sushila Karki, a former Chief Justice of the country, be appointed interim Prime Minister. Although the Constitution bars anyone who has held that office from becoming head of government, the state agreed. This agreement demonstrated a core idea in political theory that the people, not the written text, are the true source of authority. It also stands as a warning to governments everywhere.

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Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 Partially Stayed by Supreme Court
NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora NB, News Briefings, September 2025 Vishal Arora

Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 Partially Stayed by Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked certain parts of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, a law that governs how Muslim religious and charitable properties are managed in India. The Court’s interim order, delivered on Sept. 14, comes in response to widespread legal challenges from political leaders and Muslim organisations. The judges noted that it is rare for courts to pause the implementation of a law passed by Parliament, and such action is taken only when there is a strong legal basis.

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