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The Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey in the National Herald money-laundering case. The chargesheet, filed on April 9, will be heard by a special court on April 25.

It follows the directorate’s move to seize properties worth Rs 661 crore linked to the case. The assets, located in Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow, were attached in 2023 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Sonia and Rahul Gandhi each hold a 38% stake in Young Indian, the company accused of acquiring the National Herald’s publisher using Congress funds. In April 2008, the National Herald, which was founded and edited by Jawaharlal Nehru before he became India’s first prime minister, suspended operations as it had incurred a debt of over Rs 90 crore.

The Congress has described the case as a “political vendetta”, denying any wrongdoing and accusing the Modi government of misusing investigative agencies. Read on.

Georgia has become the first US state to introduce a bill that seeks to recognise “Hinduphobia” and anti-Hindu hate. The draft legislation, tabled on April 4 by Republican Senator Shawn Still, proposes to include anti-Hindu bias under existing anti-discrimination laws and has bipartisan support.

The Coalition of Hindus of North America called it a “historic move”, saying the bill would help law enforcement respond to anti-Hindu incidents. But critics, including Hindus for Human Rights, argue that systemic “Hinduphobia” is not comparable to Islamophobia or anti-Semitism. They warned against conflating criticism of caste or Hindutva with hate. Read on.

Hindutva is increasingly influencing the Hindu diaspora – and extending Indian politics overseas

The Trump administration has frozen over $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard University after it refused to comply with sweeping federal demands on campus governance and antisemitism. The move came hours after Harvard rejected proposals to alter its hiring, admissions and student oversight policies.

Harvard President Alan Garber said the demands infringed on constitutional rights and amounted to government overreach. The White House has argued that universities have allowed antisemitism to flourish during protests against Israel’s war on Gaza and US support for it. It had asked Harvard to report “hostile” students to authorities, ban face masks on campus and end diversity initiatives.

Harvard is the seventh elite university to face funding cuts under Trump’s administration. Read on.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has announced a high-level committee to review laws and policies governing Centre-state relations, amid disputes with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government. Headed by former Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph, the panel will examine the erosion of state powers, including the shift of key subjects like education and health to the Concurrent List.

The committee aims to recommend ways to restore state rights and promote federalism. Stalin warned that central policies, including the denial of funds under the Samagra Shiksha scheme, were penalising states like Tamil Nadu for resisting policies that threaten linguistic and cultural diversity. Read on.

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