The Latest: Top stories of the day
1. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley claims the government is still hoping to pass the Goods and Services Tax Bill and the proposed bankruptcy law in the second half of the Budget session.
2. Vijay Mallya, against whom a non-bailable warrant has been issued in a cheating case, has said that the time is not right for him to return.
3. Indian boxer and Olympic bronze medalist Vijender Singh notched up his fourth successive knockout win beating Hungary's Alexander Horvath in Liverpool.
The Big Story: Short changed
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is not a monolith, something those outside the right-wing organisation that sets the tone for the Bharatiya Janata Party and the broader religious right often fail to see. While its internal debates over the nature of Hindutva and its approach to the Indian state might have often been seen as academic exercises, they never were ‒ and now matter more than ever.
The RSS is the BJP's guiding light and, as its influence over governance across the country increases, it has become even more important to pay attention to discussions within the organisation. That is why last week's Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, the highest decision-making body in the RSS, goes beyond the shift from the iconic khaki shorts to long pants.
The body also passed a number of resolutions, among those backing the entry of women into temples, calling on the government to increase its expenditure on education and the social sector, insisting that affluent groups should not be demanding reservations and, of course, calling for further investigations into alleged anti-national behaviour on campuses.
Despite the national conversation about nationalism, the last bit is actually the most boilerplate. The other resolutions tell us much more about the organisation's approach to change. This is especially true right now, with most indicators suggesting the run-up to next year's Uttar Pradesh elections will be violent with a down economy and rural distress doing nothing to help it.
Amid all this, the RSS support for women entering temples and its position on quotas are important indicators and a reminder that, despite its constant call to return to a glorious past, that the organisation isn't entirely opposed to progress. Even the move from shorts to pants was explained as a way of sending the message that the RSS is not "rigid."
How this translates this into action is another matter altogether, especially when the focus has remained on a violent, divisive nationalism, but the decisions alone are noteworthy. The shorts may have made the headlines, but when it comes to the RSS, we need to be looking beyond the khaki.
Politicking & Policying
1. The Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court DY Chandrachud called on the judiciary to promote dialogue and protect dissent at a function marking the court's 150th anniversary.
2. The Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded an apology from Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad after he likened the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to the Islamic State.
3. Now that Captain Vijaykanth is going it alone in the Tamil Nadu elections, chief minister J Jayalalithaa and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam treasurer Stalin are busy meeting leaders of smaller parties in potential alliance talks.
4. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad has filed a police complaint against Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Nivedita Menon, after she said that India was illegally occupying Kashmir.
5. The Left in Kerala will field both warring party stalwarts Pinarayi Vijayan and VS Achuthanandan, despite the struggle between the two for leadership of the Left Democratic Front.
6. The BJP tie-up with the Asom Gana Parishad has led to a revolt within the parties, ahead of elections in Assam.
Punditry
1. Ellen Barry and Hari Kumar in the New York Times write on how the killing of a tribal in the Andamans tests India's protection of aboriginal culture.
2. Greg Earl in the Financial Review says it is time for Australia to treat India like a neighbour rather than a distant relative.
3. Rahul Verma in the Hindu writes of the paradox of the Left having to struggle to prove its relevance, despite the widespread poverty and injustice in the country.
Don't Miss
Sharib Ali explains why the acquittal of alleged terrorist Abdul Karim Tunda in four cases telss you everything you need to know about Delhi Police's Special Cell.
Tunda’s guilt is yet to be established, and it is possible that he may spend the rest of his life as an undertrial. But what the cases in Delhi show is that the Special Cell named him in as many cases as it could, filed a few chargesheets which did not even have the basic evidence to run a trial, and kept him in prison as an undertrial for more than three years. Going by the records, it does not seem that the Cell was even seeking a conviction. All it wanted was the process as punishment.
