Above the Fold: Top stories of the day
1. The death toll in Nepal has crossed 5,000, with more than 8,000 injured, after Saturday's devastating earthquake. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said the toll could touch 10,000.
2. The country issued a desperate call for aid with more than 1.4 million expected to soon need food and medical supplies.
3. The Trinamool Congress registered a landslide win in West Bengal's municipal polls, grabbing 71 of 92 civic bodies.
The Big Story: Turning Nepal into a Great Game
India and China have fought over territory in Nepal before, by proxy, in terms of investment and assisting the government with things like infrastructure. In the aftermath of the massive earthquake in the Himalayan country, both New Delhi and Beijing immediately swung into action and sent large teams to help out the Nepali authorities. But the presence of both has brought up rivalry storylines and prompted India's press to offer a chest-thumping approach.
Sample the headlines: "Nepal earthquake: India scores on aid diplomacy, China lags," said the Times of India. Wrote the Hindustan Times, "India’s rescue teams at home in Nepal while Chinese struggle with language." And of course, social media was abuzz with patriots insisting India was doing a better job than others.
The reality is a little different. India and China's big teams have been bumping into each other in Nepal, and neither side has had an easy time helping, as is to be expected after a disaster of this magnitude. The Indian Express reported on Nepali authorities getting impatient with the slow approach of the Indian rescue teams, which appear to be holding things up at the airport. None of which is to suggest that India isn't doing a great deal, or that aid diplomacy is not a thing. But the blatantly triumphal approach might end up backfiring.
The Big Scroll:
India, Pakistan, US and China: the world is working together to help Nepal after the quake. Read the science behind the Nepal earthquake. And here's why Nepal couldn't do much even though it was warned over and over about a devastating earthquake
Politicking & Policying
1. The government has told the Supreme Court that only a 11-judge bench could revive the collegium approach to judicial appointments. The current case on the National Judicial Appointments Bill is being heard by a five-judge constitutional bench.
2. The Opposition in Delhi has called for the resignation of Delhi's law minister after it turned out that the Aam Aadmi Party leader's law degree was fake.
3. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's image makeover continues, with a train trip to meet farmers in Punjab, and a padyatra planned for Vidharbha.
4. India and Afghanistan's joint statement for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's visit this week failed to include mention of any strategic ties.
5. The government wants to build a west-to-east road called the Bharat Mala, that will extend from Gujarat to Mizoram at a cost of around Rs 14,000 crore.
Giggle
Punditry
1. Stop harping on how much we are helping, writes Shiv Shankar Mukherjee in the Times of India, saying it is India's responsibility to assist Nepal.
2. Vanita Kohli-Khandekar in the Business Standard says India's newspapers are shooting themselves in the foot by denouncing the Indian Readership Survey.
3. The Transgender Bill is a huge step forward, but there are glaring gaps in the legislation that could benefit from consulting with the community, writes Danish Sheikh in the Indian Express.
Don't Miss
Sridala Swami writes of how she learnt to write poetry by watching movies.
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1. The death toll in Nepal has crossed 5,000, with more than 8,000 injured, after Saturday's devastating earthquake. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said the toll could touch 10,000.
2. The country issued a desperate call for aid with more than 1.4 million expected to soon need food and medical supplies.
3. The Trinamool Congress registered a landslide win in West Bengal's municipal polls, grabbing 71 of 92 civic bodies.
The Big Story: Turning Nepal into a Great Game
India and China have fought over territory in Nepal before, by proxy, in terms of investment and assisting the government with things like infrastructure. In the aftermath of the massive earthquake in the Himalayan country, both New Delhi and Beijing immediately swung into action and sent large teams to help out the Nepali authorities. But the presence of both has brought up rivalry storylines and prompted India's press to offer a chest-thumping approach.
Sample the headlines: "Nepal earthquake: India scores on aid diplomacy, China lags," said the Times of India. Wrote the Hindustan Times, "India’s rescue teams at home in Nepal while Chinese struggle with language." And of course, social media was abuzz with patriots insisting India was doing a better job than others.
#Kantipur & #AnnaPost quoting Nepal Army sources say that #India's rescue/relief mission in #Nepal over-hyped, publicity stunt #NepalQuake
— Damakant Jayshi (@damakant) April 29, 2015The reality is a little different. India and China's big teams have been bumping into each other in Nepal, and neither side has had an easy time helping, as is to be expected after a disaster of this magnitude. The Indian Express reported on Nepali authorities getting impatient with the slow approach of the Indian rescue teams, which appear to be holding things up at the airport. None of which is to suggest that India isn't doing a great deal, or that aid diplomacy is not a thing. But the blatantly triumphal approach might end up backfiring.
The Big Scroll:
India, Pakistan, US and China: the world is working together to help Nepal after the quake. Read the science behind the Nepal earthquake. And here's why Nepal couldn't do much even though it was warned over and over about a devastating earthquake
Politicking & Policying
1. The government has told the Supreme Court that only a 11-judge bench could revive the collegium approach to judicial appointments. The current case on the National Judicial Appointments Bill is being heard by a five-judge constitutional bench.
2. The Opposition in Delhi has called for the resignation of Delhi's law minister after it turned out that the Aam Aadmi Party leader's law degree was fake.
3. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's image makeover continues, with a train trip to meet farmers in Punjab, and a padyatra planned for Vidharbha.
4. India and Afghanistan's joint statement for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's visit this week failed to include mention of any strategic ties.
5. The government wants to build a west-to-east road called the Bharat Mala, that will extend from Gujarat to Mizoram at a cost of around Rs 14,000 crore.
Giggle
#NepalEarthquake #NepalQuake #NepalWatch #NepalQuakeRelief #NEPALhelp. My #cartoon pic.twitter.com/rjVY1ZPkDl
— MANJUL (@MANJULtoons) April 28, 2015Punditry
1. Stop harping on how much we are helping, writes Shiv Shankar Mukherjee in the Times of India, saying it is India's responsibility to assist Nepal.
2. Vanita Kohli-Khandekar in the Business Standard says India's newspapers are shooting themselves in the foot by denouncing the Indian Readership Survey.
3. The Transgender Bill is a huge step forward, but there are glaring gaps in the legislation that could benefit from consulting with the community, writes Danish Sheikh in the Indian Express.
Don't Miss
Sridala Swami writes of how she learnt to write poetry by watching movies.
Was it the opening sequence of entangled bodies covered in – what? – sand? sweat? Was it the words that I listened to with a sense of shocked recognition (what had I recognised?) and then scrambled to copy in the dark, my notes a mess of overwritten lines with the odd phrase shining out of the page? Was it that curious dream-like state I was to become accustomed to, of hearing the words in one language and reading them in the subtitles in another and somehow putting them together in my head into a seamless experience of the film?