The Latest: Top stories of the day
1. The Jat quota agitation has turned into inter-caste violence, with four non-Jats killed and shops burnt.
2. Addressing Parliament at the start of the budget session, President Pranab Mukherjee warns that the House is a place for debate, not disruption.
3. Three die in protests demanding separate statehood in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district.
4. The Syrian government has agreed to accept a ceasefire deal that does not cover the Islamic State and the al Qaeda's Nusra Front.
The Big Story: Midnight surrender
At midnight on Tuesday, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, students of Jawaharlal Nehru University accused of sedition, surrendered to the Delhi Police. They are likely to be presented before a magistrate's court on Wednesday. In a statement, JNU Students Union vice president Shehla Rashid said that "they have placed their faith in the law and we hope they will be released soon".
The law, or the system that upholds it, has not inspired much faith over the last couple of weeks. Shortly after controversy over allegedly seditious slogans broke out, JNU students appeared on news channels to explain their case in public. This would suggest they were people exercising their right to dissent instead of dangerous anti-nationals hatching a conspiracy to incite violence. They were, however, booked under the antiquated sedition law. Next, the Delhi Police chose to raid the JNU campus, spreading panic among students, and arrest Kanhaiya Kumar, president of the JNU students union.
Since then, the case against Kumar has seen one disturbing development after the other. The public has been treated to the spectacle of people who were apparently lawyers and politicians getting violent outside the Patiala House Court, not once but twice, beating up students, professors and journalists. The second time, despite a Supreme Court order to maintain the peace. Kumar, who was being brought in for his court hearing, was beaten up by the marauding lawyers. It has also emerged that the video footage on which the police was building its case may have been doctored by the media and a sting operation suggests that Kumar has been subjected to custodial violence. Meanwhile, his bail plea keeps getting postponed as Delhi Police commissioner BS Bassi tries to make up his mind about whether to oppose it or not. Elsewhere, reports emerged that the police were harassing journalists who have been covering the JNU case.
Over the last couple of weeks, the rule of law seems to have become subject to whim or coercion. This is the system to which Khalid and Bhattacharya now trust themselves. It is to be hoped that it will operate more credibly than before.
The Big Scroll: Scroll.in on the big story of the day
Shoaib Daniyal visited JNU after the six students accused of sedition reappeared on campus.
Rohan Venkataramakrishnan examines Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi's flip flops on JNU student Kanhaiya Kumar's bail plea.
Politicking and policying
1. At the march in memory of Rohith Vemula on Tuesday, the call for a "Rohith Act" to end casteism on campus.
2. The Uttat Pradesh assembly summons staff of two television channels over the Muzaffarnagar sting operation.
3. Sanjay Dutt will walk out of prison with Rs 450 as salary.
4. The People's Democratic Party is reportedly worried about cadres in south Kashmir joining militancy.
Punditry
1. Nationalism without liberalism is a monster, argues Nitin Pai in the Hindu.
2. In the Indian Express, Priya Pillai says she is committed to the future of her country, even if it means being branded anti-national.
3. In the Business Standard, Subir Roy asks whether the government is fully in control of its economic agenda.
Don't Miss...
Jean Dreze on the "bullet train syndrome":
If you have money, the Indian Railways is great fun, bullet or no bullet. But the lesser mortal who travels without reservation is exactly where she was 35 years ago: she has to queue for up to an hour in agonising heat to buy a ticket, there is no functional board to tell her where or when the train is likely to arrive, the enquiry counter is jammed, and more often than not the train is so packed that boarding it is a feat of acrobatics.
Crowding in unreserved coaches has reached crisis proportions. Three decades ago, it was possible to travel unreserved on most routes and have a reasonably pleasant journey. That is still possible on some routes, especially in south and western India. But in north India, unreserved travel has become a relentless nightmare. Passenger traffic has shot up, but the number of unreserved coaches has barely increased even as numerous priority trains were launched. On the more crowded routes, the boarding of unreserved coaches is now policed by constables with lathis – it is a pathetic sight to see people being herded like cattle into coaches that are already jam-packed.
