Above the Fold: Top stories of the day
1. Fears of an interest rate hike in the US saw India's markets crash, with the Sensex falling more than 600 points.
2. India takes on Ireland in its final group stage match of the cricket World Cup, with a chance to face Bangladesh in the quarters.
3. Germany's ambassador to India has rebuked a professor from Leipzig University who refused an internship to an Indian student because of the country's "rape problem".
4. BBC documentary filmmaker Leslee Udwin has denied all claims of having paid money to interview subjects in her controversial film, India's Daughter.
The Big Story: Contemplating Divorce
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the People's Democratic Party always knew an alliance would be rocky. Their joint mandate came from almost opposing forces across Jammu and Kashmir and the hope was that each would temper the other. Still, it took more than two months to come to an agreement before the government was formed.
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi disowned the first major decision of the new government ‒ to release separatist leader Masarat Alam ‒ and said that the state government had not kept the Centre in the loop. While the BJP had prepared to be hit by PDP-created storms, and vice versa, this incident has given the Opposition another stick with which to beat the government in Parliament. It also threatens the strong nationalist image the BJP has always sought to project.
The government is contemplating other ways of responding, such as getting the National Investigation Agency to arrest Alam. But, with the J&K government reportedly considering releasing more prisoners, the BJP-PDP alliance is decidedly on the rocks.
The Big Scroll: Scroll.in on the day's biggest story.
Outrage about Masarat Alam's release should be a reminder: What about the draconian law that keeps thousands of Kashmiris in jail without trial?
Need-to-Know 1: Odd Couples
The PM met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and reached out to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik as the BJP seeks to cobble together some support on the Land Acquisition legislation that has united much of the Opposition and even some of the ruling alliance's parties. The meeting with Banerjee wasn't all that positive, though, since her chief demand of a debt waiver for the state did not get a positive response.
Need to Know 2: Cruise Control
Modi sets off today on a three-nation tour in the Indian Ocean, touching Sri Lanka, the Seychelles and Mauritius. The main focus will be on Colombo, as the new government receives an Indian prime minister for the first time in more than two decades. But the other countries are important too: India is hoping to build a maritime strategy that can rival China's.
Politicking: Top political stories
1. The government has refused to release correspondence between former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi during the 2002 riots, citing "third party" objections.
2. Haryana's new government has begun an investigation into the release of around 16,000 acres by the previous administration.
3. While the entire political structure in Bihar is being rocked, the Congress continues its infighting.
4. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's two weeks of leave are up, but he's nowhere to be seen.
Giggle
Punditry: The best commentary
1. Everyone's tired of India's Daughter pieces by now but Sanjay Hegde in the Hindu points out that it hasn't actually been banned.
2. The government's fiscal responsibilities are as important as the central bank's inflation target, writes Rathin Roy in the Business Standard.
3. The Murty Classical Library could do for Indian classics what the Loeb Classical Library did for Homer and Virgil, says Phiroze Vasunia on NDTV.com.
4. Kanwal Sibal in the Mail Today writes that the world still sees Pakistan as a victim of India's lack of initiative.
Don't Miss
Shoaib Daniyal reports on the growing popularity of a Salafi conservative preacher among Indian Muslims.
We welcome your comments at
letters@scroll.in.
1. Fears of an interest rate hike in the US saw India's markets crash, with the Sensex falling more than 600 points.
2. India takes on Ireland in its final group stage match of the cricket World Cup, with a chance to face Bangladesh in the quarters.
3. Germany's ambassador to India has rebuked a professor from Leipzig University who refused an internship to an Indian student because of the country's "rape problem".
4. BBC documentary filmmaker Leslee Udwin has denied all claims of having paid money to interview subjects in her controversial film, India's Daughter.
The Big Story: Contemplating Divorce
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the People's Democratic Party always knew an alliance would be rocky. Their joint mandate came from almost opposing forces across Jammu and Kashmir and the hope was that each would temper the other. Still, it took more than two months to come to an agreement before the government was formed.
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi disowned the first major decision of the new government ‒ to release separatist leader Masarat Alam ‒ and said that the state government had not kept the Centre in the loop. While the BJP had prepared to be hit by PDP-created storms, and vice versa, this incident has given the Opposition another stick with which to beat the government in Parliament. It also threatens the strong nationalist image the BJP has always sought to project.
The government is contemplating other ways of responding, such as getting the National Investigation Agency to arrest Alam. But, with the J&K government reportedly considering releasing more prisoners, the BJP-PDP alliance is decidedly on the rocks.
The Big Scroll: Scroll.in on the day's biggest story.
Outrage about Masarat Alam's release should be a reminder: What about the draconian law that keeps thousands of Kashmiris in jail without trial?
Need-to-Know 1: Odd Couples
The PM met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and reached out to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik as the BJP seeks to cobble together some support on the Land Acquisition legislation that has united much of the Opposition and even some of the ruling alliance's parties. The meeting with Banerjee wasn't all that positive, though, since her chief demand of a debt waiver for the state did not get a positive response.
Need to Know 2: Cruise Control
Modi sets off today on a three-nation tour in the Indian Ocean, touching Sri Lanka, the Seychelles and Mauritius. The main focus will be on Colombo, as the new government receives an Indian prime minister for the first time in more than two decades. But the other countries are important too: India is hoping to build a maritime strategy that can rival China's.
Politicking: Top political stories
1. The government has refused to release correspondence between former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi during the 2002 riots, citing "third party" objections.
2. Haryana's new government has begun an investigation into the release of around 16,000 acres by the previous administration.
3. While the entire political structure in Bihar is being rocked, the Congress continues its infighting.
4. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's two weeks of leave are up, but he's nowhere to be seen.
Giggle
Today's cartoon @ETPolitics @EconomicTimes pic.twitter.com/iekMV034IH
— R Prasad (@rprasad66) March 9, 2015Punditry: The best commentary
1. Everyone's tired of India's Daughter pieces by now but Sanjay Hegde in the Hindu points out that it hasn't actually been banned.
2. The government's fiscal responsibilities are as important as the central bank's inflation target, writes Rathin Roy in the Business Standard.
3. The Murty Classical Library could do for Indian classics what the Loeb Classical Library did for Homer and Virgil, says Phiroze Vasunia on NDTV.com.
4. Kanwal Sibal in the Mail Today writes that the world still sees Pakistan as a victim of India's lack of initiative.
Don't Miss
Shoaib Daniyal reports on the growing popularity of a Salafi conservative preacher among Indian Muslims.
"Naik enjoys massive popularity amongst India’s English-speaking Muslims. Having left the Urdu-chhaap (Urdu speaking) mullah, railing against the evils of not keeping a beard, behind, the middle-class Muslim switches on his television set and allows Naik’s Salafism to stream into his living room."