Worries about the Arunachal border
Satellite images accessed by NDTV show that China has constructed a brand-new village with 100-odd homes within Indian territory. Now, Beijing always controlled this area (despite what the official maps say), but had maintained a minimal presence until now. Since late last year, the local BJP MLA has been warning of Chinese incursions in the area:
''Construction is still going on. China has entered more than 60-70 kms inside the upper Subansiri district if you follow the path along the river. They are constructing a road along the river known locally as the Lensi as it flows in the direction of the Subansiri river.''
The government responded to the NDTV exclusive, saying:
“In response, our government too has stepped up border infrastructure, including the construction of roads, bridges, etc, which has provided much-needed connectivity to the local population along the border.”
Point to note: Experts have been sounding the alarm about Beijing’s plans for months:
“China has been using a strategy of settling Han Chinese and Tibetan members of the Communist Party along the India border to strengthen its territorial claims and escalate border intrusions. Like it used fishermen in the South China Sea, China uses civilian resources—herders and grazers—as the tip of the spear to intrude into Indian-patrolled Himalayan areas.”
Supreme Court ducks on farmer rally
The union government asked the Court to issue an order banning the kisan rally in Delhi planned for Republic Day. The justices—who eagerly stepped in to suspend the laws, and form a mediation committee—decided instead to pass:
“Mr Attorney-General, you must understand that intervention of this court has unfortunately been misunderstood. Who will come to the city and who will be allowed is not something for us to see… Invoke all your powers to see whether farmers can be allowed in the city. Who can be allowed and who cannot be allowed are matters of law and order which is to be dealt by police.”
The Telegraph has more.
Inauguration Day: A quick update
- The thousands of military troops who will guard the ceremony and its attendees are being vetted by the FBI. The reason: there are serious fears of an “insider attack”: “We’re continually going through the process, and taking second, third looks at every one of the individuals assigned to this operation.”
- An NGO is suing Apple to force it to remove Telegram from its App Store. The reason: The platform is hugely popular among rightwing groups—and even more so since Apple took down the rightwing platform Parler after the riots in Washington. The lawsuit may not succeed but it signals the consequences of the precedent set by the tech ban on Parler. The Washington Post has more.
- The New Yorker has an excellent essay on what lessons India and Gandhi can offer Americans in the wake of the insurrection.
Phones are gonna get pricier
The government is planning to hike import duties by 5-10% on more than 50 items in the upcoming union budget. The aim of this atmanirbhar plan: additional revenue of about $2.8 billion. On the list of items: phones, electronic components—but also furniture and electric vehicles. So yeah, Ikea may not be quite so affordable either. (The Telegraph)
Indians heart Instagram
Move over, Facebook. Indians of all ages—and across the country—are flocking to its hipper cousin. A new survey measuring how we spend time online shows:
- More of us watch videos (51%) and we do it more often—spending six hours more a week watching videos compared to 2018.
- Everyone loves social media, especially post-millennials who spend the most time on it.
- The biggest hit is Instagram: “The share of those who visit the site regularly rose 10 percentage points over the past two years to 72%, driven largely by users from Tier-3 cities and towns.”
- And the greatest rise is amongst the olds: 54% pre-millennials are now active on Instagram compared to 36% in 2018.
But Indians don’t heart Hike: The ‘made in India’ messaging app has shut shop, and the company will instead focus on its two other products: the gaming platform Rush and social media app Vibe. (Mint)
In other social media news: Women selling second-hand clothes online—on Facebook, Insta, eBay etc.—are being harassed with requests for sex and "worn" garments. According to one seller: “During lockdown, the messages have gotten really creepy… They always want to know how many times it has been worn and if it is dirty." Worse: many women didn’t report such incidents because they were "embarrassed", "ashamed" or "didn't want to risk losing their accounts.” (BBC News)
Nepal sets a new record
A team of Sherpas has become the first to climb the 8000-metre K2—the world’s second tallest mountain—in the height of winter. Point to note: the peak is only 200 metres shorter than Mt Everest, and was considered impossible to climb during the colder months. Also this:
“In the world of high altitude climbing, so long dominated by western climbers and expeditions who have relied on Sherpas to assist them, the ascent—and by such a large team—marks an extraordinary achievement for Nepali mountaineering.”
All of which makes this photo shared by Nirmal Purja—a former Gurkha and UK special forces member—really special:
Why do women quit work?
The ‘leaky pipeline’ among affluent, educated Indian women—i.e. the decision to abandon their careers—has long been a subject of research and debate. There have been plenty of theories, but here’s a new one that makes a lot of sense: educated mothers quit in order to rear children for success:
“[M]any graduate and postgraduate women stay home to concentrate on preparing their children for competitive exams and professional courses. Many mothers routinely accompany their children to Kota or other hubs of coaching centres, and many working women in government service take the so-called two-year “childcare leave" during children’s class 10 and 12 exams. Thus, it is the social goal of family mobility that seems to be the driving factor for educated married women staying out of the labour force.”
A related good read: Should women be compensated for “unpaid domestic and care work”? According to this fascinating Hindustan Times op-ed, Indian courts certainly think so, and have been far ahead on this issue than most of us may know.
Who’s a smart monkey?
Researchers have discovered that monkeys deliberately steal high-value items from humans—to hold them hostage and barter them for food. And the older they are, the better they are at differentiating between how much you value a hat versus a camera or a phone. Also, this:
"Finally, the researchers decided to take a look at the 'most skilful [sic] and selective individuals,' or the subadult and adult monkeys. In terms of quantity, both groups of monkeys waited to be offered more food rewards before giving back the item when they deemed it to have high value. Adult monkeys were even pickier when it came to quality though, and rejected more of their least-preferred types of food rewards when holding a higher-valued item."
A passenger in hiding
Aditya Singh flew from Los Angeles into Chicago’s O’Hare airport—and promptly went into hiding in its security zone. And he lived there for three months without being detected—until Saturday. He has now been arrested, and is facing charges. The reason for this bizarre airport Airbnb maneuver: He was “scared to go home due to COVID.” Home, FYI, is in California where the numbers are skyrocketing. (Chicago Tribune)
