Above the fold: Top stories of the day
1. Reacting to India’s unofficial blockade, Nepal has blocked Indian TV channels.
2. In an endeavour to snuff out the Patel agitation, the media was not allowed to go inside the Gujarat High Court to report on the case where Hardik Patel alleges he was abducted by the Gujarat police.
3. India emerges a top destination for foreign direct investment, beating US, China.
4. Acquitted in the 2006 Mumbai blasts case after nine years in near solitary confinement, Wahid Shaikh has lost faith in the system.
5. Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan cut the benchmark repo rate by 50 basis points.
The Big Story: Holy cow
A 50-year-old man was lynched in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, near Delhi by a mob that suspected that he had brought home beef to cook.
The Indian Express reports that an announcement was made at a local temple on Monday night that Mohammad Akhlaq and his family were secretly eating beef. Whipped up by this, a mob made their way to Akhlaq’s house where they dragged him and his son out and beat them with bricks. Akhlaq died as a result of the assault while his son is severely injured.
Akhlaq’s daughter, Sajida, alleged that the mob also tried to molest her and hit her grandmother on her face.
Sajida denied that there was any beef in the house. The meat in the refrigerator was mutton, she said.
This lynching occurs on a backdrop of an increased politicisation around the issue of meat. In March, the Maharashtra and Haryana Bharatiya Janata Party governments passed draconian laws around cow slaughter with harsh penalties. Earlier this month, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court directed the government to strictly enforce a dormant law that banned the sale of beef in the state.
The Big Scroll: Scroll.in on the day’s biggest story
Beef in India is a highly politicised issue, exploited to the hilt by politicians. This, even as Hindu religious taboos and bans against beef grievously affect many sections of the population. As a result, areas like Kashmir have seen strong protests against attempts by the state to control food habits.
Politicking & Policying
1. Modi’s meeting with Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas in New York raised hopes of some movement in the case of 39 Indians kidnapped by the Islamic State in Iraq.
2. The Bharatiya Janata Party, fighting charges that it is pro upper caste, announced that their Bihar chief minister will not be from the upper castes.
3. Delhi High Court will today hear a plea for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe against Rajasthan chief minister, Vasundhra Raje.
Punditry
1. AK Bhattacharya, writing in the Business Standard, highlights Suresh Prabhu’s great performance as railway minister.
2. Rajasthan and Haryana’s moves to make education qualifications a criteria to contest elections points to a clear elitist bias, says Brinda Karat in the Indian Express.
3. In the Hindu, Hasan Saroor comments on the embarrassing spectacle that the modern Hajj has become.
4. In the Telegraph, SL Rao questions whether there is any difference between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party when it comes to economic policy.
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1. Reacting to India’s unofficial blockade, Nepal has blocked Indian TV channels.
2. In an endeavour to snuff out the Patel agitation, the media was not allowed to go inside the Gujarat High Court to report on the case where Hardik Patel alleges he was abducted by the Gujarat police.
3. India emerges a top destination for foreign direct investment, beating US, China.
4. Acquitted in the 2006 Mumbai blasts case after nine years in near solitary confinement, Wahid Shaikh has lost faith in the system.
5. Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan cut the benchmark repo rate by 50 basis points.
The Big Story: Holy cow
A 50-year-old man was lynched in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, near Delhi by a mob that suspected that he had brought home beef to cook.
The Indian Express reports that an announcement was made at a local temple on Monday night that Mohammad Akhlaq and his family were secretly eating beef. Whipped up by this, a mob made their way to Akhlaq’s house where they dragged him and his son out and beat them with bricks. Akhlaq died as a result of the assault while his son is severely injured.
Akhlaq’s daughter, Sajida, alleged that the mob also tried to molest her and hit her grandmother on her face.
Sajida denied that there was any beef in the house. The meat in the refrigerator was mutton, she said.
This lynching occurs on a backdrop of an increased politicisation around the issue of meat. In March, the Maharashtra and Haryana Bharatiya Janata Party governments passed draconian laws around cow slaughter with harsh penalties. Earlier this month, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court directed the government to strictly enforce a dormant law that banned the sale of beef in the state.
The Big Scroll: Scroll.in on the day’s biggest story
Beef in India is a highly politicised issue, exploited to the hilt by politicians. This, even as Hindu religious taboos and bans against beef grievously affect many sections of the population. As a result, areas like Kashmir have seen strong protests against attempts by the state to control food habits.
Politicking & Policying
1. Modi’s meeting with Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas in New York raised hopes of some movement in the case of 39 Indians kidnapped by the Islamic State in Iraq.
2. The Bharatiya Janata Party, fighting charges that it is pro upper caste, announced that their Bihar chief minister will not be from the upper castes.
3. Delhi High Court will today hear a plea for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe against Rajasthan chief minister, Vasundhra Raje.
Punditry
1. AK Bhattacharya, writing in the Business Standard, highlights Suresh Prabhu’s great performance as railway minister.
2. Rajasthan and Haryana’s moves to make education qualifications a criteria to contest elections points to a clear elitist bias, says Brinda Karat in the Indian Express.
3. In the Hindu, Hasan Saroor comments on the embarrassing spectacle that the modern Hajj has become.
4. In the Telegraph, SL Rao questions whether there is any difference between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party when it comes to economic policy.