Lots and lots of FIRs in Hathras
The UP police has filed 21 FIRs against a variety of identified and unidentified people across the state. None of them are related to the rape and killing of the victim.
The charges: include “inciting caste and communal tension,” sedition, criminal conspiracy and promoting enmity. One alleges an “international plot” to defame the Yogi government. The sheer range and variety of charges is notable.
The accused: The six main FIRs do not name the accused—but Times of India claims they include a politician and journalist. The ‘international plot’ FIR may be linked to a website that shared information on how to protest safely—mostly taken from other Black Lives Matter protest sites. Three other FIRs charge 680 people including Bhim Army chief Chandrashekar Azad of violating Section 144 rules. Thirteen target social media posts.
What this means: We called this one in our big story yesterday. And it’s worth repeating. The UP government’s gameplan is to suppress the evidence to ‘disprove’ the rape charge; use that to slap charges of inciting caste violence on the victim’s family and some journalists—deploying every law in the book. This keeps the upper caste votes secure and sends the intended message—apni aukat mein raho—to all others, be it Dalits or the media. And it uses a playbook that has already worked very well against anti-CAA protesters.
In related news: The United Nations expressed concern over Hathras—which was not kindly received by New Delhi. Sanitation workers in Agra remained on strike in solidarity with the victim and her family—which fittingly has left 2,200 tonnes of garbage on the streets. FIR-free Dalit Lives Matter protests are being staged in other parts of the world—including Berlin, Toronto etc. Quint has photos.
A Nobel prize for discovery of a virus
Two Americans and a Brit—Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles Rice—have jointly won the most prestigious prize for medicine for their discovery of the Hepatitis C virus—which is the primary source of liver disease. Their work helped rapid development of rapid antiviral drugs that have saved millions of lives. (ABC News)
Reliance breaks up with Sony
Mukesh-bhai has called off the proposed merger between his entertainment company Viacom 18 and Sony Pictures. The reason: the deal would have turned Reliance into a minority stakeholder. Reliance wants to bet big on digital content and create India’s #1 streaming platform. Our prediction: Coming soon, new rules that make life very unhappy for nasty phoren platforms like Disney+ Hotstar and Netflix. (Bloomberg Quint)
Permanent jobs begone!
Private sector employees are now vulnerable to being fired at will thanks to the new labour laws passed by the government (explained here). They allow employers to turn existing permanent jobs into fixed-term contracts—which carry zero compensation if those contracts are cancelled. Business Standard reports that a clause that prohibited changing the status of existing employees has been quietly eliminated. Also missing: any limit on the number of times such contracts can be renewed before they have to be turned into permanent jobs—unlike China or Vietnam, where they can only be renewed twice.
The great pandemic: A quick update
- According to the World Health Organisation, at least 10% of the world population has been infected—which is 760 million and 20X the official number.
- India numbers continue to fall, but at least two states—Kerala and Chattisgarh—are experiencing big spikes in their daily count.
- A “technical glitch”—“caused by the ill-thought-out use of Microsoft's Excel software”—resulted in nearly 16,000 cases going unreported in Britain.
- Paris is shutting down its bars for two weeks in response to rising cases among 20-30 year olds.
- The indelible ink used to stamp incoming international passengers may be tainted—and is being changed after a Congress party leader complained of pain and itchiness.
- The lockdown—and restrictions on entry of domestic help—has triggered skyrocketing sales of dishwashing machines. Flipkart reports a 230% spike in demand, and in many places, they are now out of stock.
- Two good Covid reads: BBC News explains why Feluda—a cheap and highly accurate Indian rapid test—is a gamechanger. Reuters offers a moving tribute to 30 people lost to Covid, and their loved ones who mourn their loss.
Ola may be kicked out of London
City authorities have decided that the company is not “fit and proper” to operate in the city. The reason: a crap safety record which includes allowing unlicensed drivers to operate more than 1,000 trips (and then hiding that fact). Ola has 21 days to appeal the decision. (Reuters)
Netflix’s bad boys get a break
The series ‘Bad Boys Billionaires’ chronicles the lives of the infamously rich: Vijay Mallya, Sahara's Subrata Roy, Satyam scam-accused Ramalinga Raju and Nirav Modi. Some of the ‘bad boys’ were unhappy and sued to stop Netflix from streaming the series. Roy initially secured a court injunction which was lifted yesterday. But Raju’s case is still to be heard. The other two are far too busy absconding abroad. The result: three of the four episodes are now available for your viewing pleasure. (Mint)
Google gives Indian apps a break
The company recently tightened its rules, and demanded a 30% commission on all paid apps in its Play Store. Companies around the world have until September 2021 to comply. But due to increasing pressure from Indian companies like Paytm—which is now waging a ‘nationalist’ campaign against Google—it has extended that deadline until April 2022. A kinder, gentler Google now wants to be “mindful of local needs and concerns” of Indian startups, and plans to set up “listening sessions” to feel their pain. (Reuters)
Twitter readies a new misinformation tool
It’s called ‘Birdwatch’ and will likely be rolled out some time this year—though not before the US elections. The key feature allows you to attach a ‘note’ to a tweet that flags it as misleading, and explains why. These notes can be public or private. Birdwatch also collects a lot more information when you flag a tweet for being abusive, misleading etc. The Verge has more, including screenshots.
An unexpected visitor from Thailand
Birdwatchers in Rajasthan were very surprised to spot a Thai black kite for the very first time. It has travelled over 4,000 km to feast at a carcass dumping site near Bikaner. Why this is a big surprise:
“Black kites are a non-migratory species of wild bird and do not cross any country’s borders for food. Moreover, raptors from Southeast Asia do not come to Rajasthan as it is not on their flyway. Rajasthan hosts raptors from Central Asia. The new pattern indicates that an open dumping site is preferred by raptors.”
Proud Boys have been hijacked
Proud Boys are a nasty Trump-loving white supremacist group. So it is truly delicious that LGBTQ took over their hashtag and turned into a celebration of queer love. It all started with the greatest living gay icon (ok, we’re biased) George Takei who tweeted: "What if gay guys took pictures of themselves making out with each other or doing very gay things, then tagged themselves with #ProudBoys?" The rest is glorious social media history. BBC News has more details. See the contribution of the Canadian forces below:
