Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Aakriti Anand & Raghav Bikhchandani
Supreme Court upholds section 6A of the Citizenship Act in Assam
Say hello to the NRC: The National Register of Citizens is a list of Indian citizens that was first created in 1951—and was mostly neglected. However, Assam experienced a massive wave of migration after the Bangladesh War in 1971—which in turn led to a prolonged and violent agitation aimed at deporting all “foreigners” from the state. It led to the signing of the 1985 Assam Peace Accord—which agreed to identify and deport all “foreigners” residing in the state.
About Section 6A: A special section was inserted in India’s citizenship laws—Citizenship Act 1955—to ensure implementation of the Accord:
- Migrants who entered Assam from Bangladesh before January 1, 1966 are deemed to be Indian citizens.
- Those who arrived between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971 will be given citizenship based on the fulfilment of specific procedures and conditions.
- But all those who entered Assam after March 25, 1971 are ineligible for citizenship.
The Supreme Court petition: Petitioners challenged the constitutionality of Section 6A—saying it legalised mass immigration to Assam. The reason: It has a different cutoff date for citizenship than Articles 6 and 7 of the Constitution: They award citizenship to those who were living in India at the “commencement of the Constitution”—that is January 26, 1950. Hence, the petitions demanded the cutoff date be pushed back to 1951—anyone who came in afterwards would be declared ineligible.
The ruling: The Court upheld Section 6A—and the 1971 cutoff date. The verdict was near-unanimous—with a single dissent. Activists have argued that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)—by making Muslim migrants ineligible for citizenship simply because they’re Muslim—“explicitly and blatantly seeks to enshrine religious discrimination into law.”
The justices seemed to agree:
“Our reading of the Constitution and precedents is that fraternity requires people of different backgrounds and social circumstances to ‘live and let live’,” stated the majority view by Justice Surya Kant… citizenship cannot be interpreted in “a negative manner that selectively applies it to a particular segment while labelling another faction as ‘illegal immigrants’.”
But, but, but: The Court also explicitly refused to address the legality of CAA in a footnote: “[W]e are not dealing with these provisions given that neither of the parties relied upon these provisions over the course of the proceedings before us.” The ruling also said that it was the “framers’ intention to afford Parliament nearly unrestricted flexibility in crafting laws pertaining to citizenship”—which seems to give a free pass to the government.
Reminder: The Court has not ruled on petitions challenging the legality of CAA as yet.
Reading list: Check out Indian Express for analysis—while The Hindu and The Telegraph have the deets of the ruling. For more context, here’s our Big Story on CAA, NRC and India redefining what citizenship means.
Middle East Madness: Hamas chief is dead
Israel claims to have “eliminated” Yahya Sinwar—and the mastermind behind the horrific October 7 attacks. Tel Aviv says it is a turning point in the war on Gaza:
Foreign Minister Israel Katz called Mr. Sinwar’s killing a “military and moral achievement for the Israeli Army”. The assassination of Sinwar will create the possibility to immediately release the hostages and to bring a change that will lead to a new reality in Gaza — without Hamas and without Iranian control,” he said in a statement.
FYI: The Guardian’s Julian Borger says the killing was mainly a bit of luck: “Yahya Sinwar appears to have been killed by regular soldiers who had stumbled into him and had no idea whom they had killed.”
What this means for Hamas: The BBC correspondent in Gaza—Rushdi Abualouf—says it is “the biggest strategic loss for Hamas so far.” Reminder: Israel has also taken out its military chief Ismail Haniyeh. Sinwar is likely to be replaced by his brother Mohammed—who may find himself severely short of recruits:
Hamas will portray Sinwar as a martyr and look to frame his death in a way that will inspire new volunteers. That he appears to have died fighting on a frontline, with a weapon in his hand, will help this. But whatever the propaganda, the elimination of such a respected leader is unlikely to boost recruitment, and Hamas sorely needs new manpower in Gaza where it has taken heavy casualties.
What this means for the war: Israel is triumphant—and Bibi feels untouchable. This is bad news for Gaza:
Israeli officials have made clear their military control and operations will continue in Gaza for as long as they deem them necessary... On Thursday, Benny Ganz, an opposition parliamentarian, praised Sinwar’s death as an “important achievement” but insisted that Israel’s military “will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip for years to come”.
And it is bad news for Lebanon—and more broadly, the Middle East:
Israel has already switched its focus to the battle against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and more broadly against Iran across the region… The killing of Sinwar will further boost the confidence of Israeli military, intelligence and political officials who have already been greatly encouraged by their recent successes. Much of Israel’s strategic thinking is dominated by the need to restore what it sees as deterrence necessary to its survival, and to permanently weaken Iran.
Point to note: Israeli strikes killed 27 people and injured 185 over the last 24 hours in Lebanon. The targets included a UN peacekeeping post. Israel also struck Syria yesterday—allegedly targeting a “weapons depot”. And the Americans took out Houthis in Yemen—using stealth bombers—which was a first. Expect lots more of the same—even as Washington ‘warns’ Tel Aviv to stop bombing Lebanon.
For more: The Guardian has the best analysis—while The Hindu has more on Sinwar.
The Pannun plot: US names the RAW mastermind
The context: In November 2023, the US Department of Justice filed charges against an Indian government official—named CC-1 in the filing at the time—for orchestrating a plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun—an NRI Khalistani leader—amid Modi-ji’s state visit to the US in June 2023. New Delhi was left scrambling to deal with the diplomatic debacle, soon after its lafda with Canada over the killing of another Khalistani leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar (explained in this Big Story).
What happened now: In a new bombshell indictment, federal prosecutors have named the Indian RAW official who stands accused of plotting to kill Pannun.
The RAW official is: 39-year-old Vikas Yadav. He was employed by New Delhi’s Cabinet Secretariat which houses the RAW, and previously served in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). He is the second person to be named in connection with the Pannun case after 53-year-old Nikhil Gupta. Reminder: Gupta was arrested in Czechia last year and extradited to the US.
The charges: The US has charged Yadav and Gupta with three counts: “murder-for-hire (maximum penalty of 10 years in prison), conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire (maximum penalty of 10 years in prison), and conspiracy to commit money laundering (maximum penalty of 20 years in prison).” Also this detail:
Running into 18 pages, the indictment that was unsealed Thursday posts a pictures of Yadav in a military dress and also gives a picture of two persons exchanging dollars in a car in New York, which federal prosecutors said were the money being paid to the alleged killer by a person on behalf of Gupta and Yadav to assassinate the Sikh Separatist leader in New York.
But, but, but: Yadav “remains at large”, the Department of Justice added.
PTI via The Telegraph and The Print have lots more. You can also go through the DOJ’s indictment here. This Big Story has more on the alleged plot to kill Pannun.
The Victoria’s Secret comeback was a bit meh
The context: The “self-proclaimed arbiter of sexy” has been struggling financially for decades. The icing on the cake: the fall of ex-CEO Leslie H Wexner—accused of sexual exploitation of a young woman—along with his buddy Jeffrey Epstein. The brand cancelled its iconic fashion show in 2019—and went back to the drawing board for a “rebrand.”
What happened now: The Victoria Secret fashion show returned to the runway after six years—and was live-streamed on Amazon Prime. There was plenty of nostalgia: former Victoria Secret Angels including Tyra Banks, Adriana Lima, Kate Moss, and the Hadid sisters—wearing the brand’s signature wings.
The Hadid sisters sizzling in red:
Even more nostalgic: A performance by Cher, no less! Watch the entire bit here.
And Tyra Banks coming out of retirement in all her glory to close the show:
As for the new: Alex Consani and Valentina Sampaio became the first transgender models to walk the ramp—as did plus-size model Ashley Graham. In all, the ‘rebrand’ showcased 50 models from 25 countries—ranging in age, body size, and background.
The main takeaway: The live-stream received backlash for its “boring” production, fake crowd noise, and crap catwalk performances. CNN has a full review of the show. NBC News offers a shorter version of the highlights.
Life, a novella: How our brain ‘sees’ one day
A new study has uncovered a very cool and surprising fact. Our brain divides all the activities we do in a day into chapters—sort of like a book:
The moment a person steps off the street and into a restaurant—to take just one example—the brain mentally starts a new “chapter” of the day, a change that causes a big shift in brain activity. Shifts like this happen all day long, as people encounter new environments, like going out for lunch, attending their kid’s soccer game, or settling in for a night of watching TV.
What’s even cooler: When asked to take a different perspective on the same set of events, our brain changes the ‘chapters’:
For instance, when participants listened to a story about a marriage proposal at a restaurant, their prefrontal cortex typically grouped the story around the progression of the proposal, leading up to the hopeful “yes.” However, when participants were asked to focus on other aspects – such as the couple’s dinner orders – their brains began dividing the experience into new chapters based on those details.
Earth.com has loads more on this intriguing bit of research.
Why you gotta walk this way?
We all know walking is good for your health. A new study suggests that we may burn more calories if we do it in “short bursts”—of 10 to 30 seconds at a time. We use up 20% to 60% more energy than walking in an unbroken stretch, over the same distance. Sounds weird, but here’s why it works better: The body needs more energy at the start of each walk—to get going and warm the body up. (The Guardian)
what caught our eye
business & tech
- Another day, another round of layoffs at Meta—specifically WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reality Labs. Reminder: Zuckerberg had declared 2023 to be the “year of efficiency”. Also: Meta has fired dozens of employees for misusing the company’s food credit system to buy household items instead of in-office meals.
- Months after facing heavy criticism for supplying baby food with added sugar content to developing countries, Nestle has launched 14 variants of refined sugar-free Cerelac.
- Byju Raveendran—the bankrupt founder of the once giant edtech startup—wants to start another edtech venture, and says his investors share the blame for the Byju’s debacle. See our Big Story for more context on the Byju’s sh*tshow.
- Elon Musk-related court battles keep on coming—this time, SpaceX has sued the California Coastal Commission (CCC) after the government agency rejected a proposal to increase SpaceX’s launches from the California coastline to 50 per year.
- Bloomberg via Mint has a good read on how major Indian companies have big investment plans but their spending may not trickle down to the 600 million-strong Indian workforce.
- “Praxis”—a project that seeks to create privately owned cities as an urban planning alternative like crypto is for money—just secured $525 million in new funding from…a crypto investment firm. Go figure.
sports & entertainment
- India cricket fans, look away—thanks to the Kiwi seam-and-swing battery in helpful conditions in Bengaluru, India were bowled out for just 46, their lowest ever men’s Test total at home!
- Bangladesh’s best-ever cricketer Shakib Al Hasan is retiring from Tests. But, but, but: he may not even show up for what’s scheduled to be his final game as it will take place in Dhaka, amid widespread protests against him and other Sheikh Hasina loyalists. Our August 6 headlines edition on the civil unrest in Bangladesh has more context.
- It’s not just Amazon Prime Video, now Netflix is also expected to insert more ads into its content and increase subscription prices in 2025.
as for the rest
- Doctors in the UK have discovered that a recently deceased man had…three penises?!?!?! Indeed, it’s a condition called triphallia and was first discovered in a three-month-old Iraqi boy in 2020. Gizmodo has more bizarre details.
- Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud—who leaves his position next month—has recommended Sanjiv Khanna as his successor.
- Returning to Bangladesh and Sheikh Hasina, the country’s International Crimes Tribunal has issued an arrest warrant against the ousted ex-PM. Indian Express looks at the likelihood of Hasina’s extradition from New Delhi, her last known whereabouts.
- According to a new report, imposing a ‘jet-setter’ tax on Europe’s frequent flyers could slow global warming and raise €64 billion ($69 billion) at no extra cost to passengers.
- Taxpayers, say hello to Form 12BAA—a new tool aiming to simplify tax filing for employees with sources of income other than their salaries.
- In the largest single payment settlement of its kind, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has agreed to pay $880 million to over 1,300 people who allege that they were sexually abused as children by Catholic clergy.
- The recent wave of hoax bomb threats disrupting Indian flights has increased to 20. But, but, but: intelligence agencies say they’ve traced the sources to IP addresses in London and Germany.
- A new study has revealed that popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic could also be useful in treating opioid overdose and alcohol use disorders.
- Standing desks may not be the antidote to bad sitting postures as advertised—new research suggests they may increase the risk of other health conditions like swollen veins and blood clots in the legs.
Three things to see
One: Earlier this week, people got a rare glimpse of the ‘Comet of the Century’—the Comet A3. Rarer still: the comet had a front tail of dust and gas—though it “is something of an optical illusion”. Gizmodo explains the cool reason why.
Two: A dog climbed up the Great Pyramid of Giza—which is 455 feet tall. Hey, the rules only ban humans—not fur babies. Watch him bounce his way down here. (Indian Express)
Three: ‘Dune’ fans, brace yourselves! The trailer for the prequel series ‘Dune: Prophecy’ just dropped. It takes place 10,000 years before the events of the film franchise—and follows the origin and rise of those creepy Bene Gesserit sisters. Also: a-blink-and-you’ll-miss-it glimpse of hamaari Tabu. The show releases on November 17. (Variety)
feel good place
One: Man, dog, photobooth. Best vintage pics ever! (Context here.)
Two: Fred Astaire’s best dance partner. Nope, it wasn’t Ginger.
Three: Hide & seek king!
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