- Former Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who died on Saturday, set the line for the Bharatiya Janata Party spokespersons for nearly two decades. Despite being the Opposition leader, he helped the United Progressive Alliance government in 2008 on the Indo-US nuclear deal, writes Liz Mathew in Indian Express.
- Despite being a senior minister and wielding great influence in the ruling BJP, Arun Jaitley was open to people disagreeing with his views, says Arghya Sengupta in this tribute in The Wire. Whether as lawyer or politician, the law was his first love.
- Arun Jaitley often brought up his participation in the Bofors investigation involving Rajiv Gandhi to burnish his credentials. But did he do enough to probe the defence scam that brought the Gandhi government down? Praveen Donthi in the Caravan says he may have not.
- Jaitley’s elevation to the top brass of the Delhi Cricket Association sent out positive signals; selectors were given the freedom to “fearlessly” pick the team purely on merit, writes Vijay Lokapally in The Hindu.
- Two years ago, a nine-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court declared that privacy was a fundamental right. But the promise that this judgement held out has not been fulfilled, argues Apar Gupta in Indian Express.
- Indian Administrative Service officer Kannan Gopinathan has submitted his resignation from the civil service in protest of how the Centre has dealt with Jammu and Kashmir. “Over the past few days, I have been really perturbed by what is happening in the country, wherein a large section of our population have had their fundamental rights suspended,” he told The Hindu. “There has been a lack of response to it.”
- After a month, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has exceeded Tory expectations, writes Katy Balls in the Guardian. But now, the hard part begins. The prime minister has been wooing the public, but the return of parliament could bring him crashing back down to earth.
- Judiciary is the sentinel that guards the fortress of personal liberty against a rampaging government, writes Gautam Bhatia in Mumbai Mirror. “But its actions in plea moved by Kashmiri civil servant Shah Faesal does not inspire confidence.”
- Contrary to the American Bar Association’s principles of public defense, which call for defense lawyers to be independent of the judiciary, judges in most Texas counties decide which lawyers get cases, how much they are paid, and whether their motions, reports Neena Satija in Texas Monthly.
- Jofra Archer, the Barbados-born pace sensation, who turned out for England this World Cup, wasn’t boasting when in one of his tweets, a couple of years ago, he had advised batsmen facing him to carry an extra helmet in their kit bags. Austin Coutinho writes in Firstpost on the young fast bowler who is causing ripples in international cricket.
Reading
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1
India’s cyber-scam epidemic is part of a multibillion global industry. This series traces a full arc
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2
February nonfiction: Six new books that take deep dives into Indian history
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3
‘The Secret of the Shiledars’ review: An amateurish hunt for Shivaji’s hidden treasure
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4
Budget 2025 key takeaways: No income tax till Rs 12 lakh, healthcare for gig workers and more
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5
Mumbai’s architecture is losing its poetry
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6
Rona Wilson interview: ‘My arrest was a warning to others who stand against the abuse of power’
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7
Slow Lane: The message from Kumbh
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8
Pope Francis’s autobiography: We’ve never known so much about the pontiff before
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9
Ads selling illegal wildlife products, animal parts thrive online in Vietnam
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10
Budget 2025: No income tax payable on income up to Rs 12 lakh under new regime