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Researched by: Rachel John, Aarthi Ramnath & Anannya Parekh

Splainer is hiring: A key role in the newsroom

We are hiring for the key position of a News Editor to join our brilliantly talented editorial team.  This is a ‘teaching’ newsroom—where learning new things is a big part of the job. We also pride ourselves on a warm, friendly work culture. But, but, but: This is not an average newsroom gig with a boiler-plate desk job. What we’re looking for:

• Someone with 1.5 to 2 years of experience in a newsroom or related field. This is not an entry level position.
• Excellent research skills are a must—especially the ability to break down complex jargon into accessible language.
• Someone who is interested in—and has some knowledge of—hard news issues in politics, economy and law. This job isn’t for someone who prefers culture/lifestyle topics. 
• A person who enjoys juggling a couple of different roles. Example: working closely with the production team that creates our awesome videos. Or managing relationships with content partners. 
• Willingness to work in a startup environment where we all do a bit of everything—and are eager to take initiative and responsibility.
• A knowledge of and love for splainer is a huge plus—since we’re not the usual news product.

Please note there is a six-month probation period and the pay will be industry standard. We are an equal opportunity employer and work remotely. But we prefer someone based out of Bangalore–to lend a hand with video shoots and events. Please send your resumes and cover letter—telling us why you want this job—to talktous@splainer.in. We will reach out to you if you’re shortlisted.

Arvind Kejriwal arrest: The latest update

The context: Last week, the Enforcement Directorate arrested the Delhi Chief Minister—fulfilling his repeated warnings that the government plans to throw him in jail before the elections. Kejriwal is accused of corruption and money laundering in connection with the Delhi government’s liquor policy. In sum: AAP took money from liquor companies in exchange for favourable excise tax rules (explained in greater length in this Big Story). 

What happened now: After a Delhi court sent Kejriwal to ED’s custody until March 28, a lower court denied his application for bail. His legal team moved Delhi High Court for an urgent hearing on Sunday—but was denied. Since this is AAP, there was full drama—including this confrontation between the police and interim CM Atishi:

A damning electoral bond connection: The State Bank of India finally released the unique numbers that connect the buyer of an electoral bond with the party who received it. It showed ‘well-timed’ donations by Aurobindo Pharma—owned by PV Ram Prasad Reddy. He is the daddy of a card-carrying member of the “South Block”—Sarath Chandra Reddy. 

Aap chronology samajhiye, as Amit-ji would say. First, Reddy Junior is arrested by the ED on November 11, 2022. Four days later, Aurobindo Pharma gave electoral bonds worth Rs 50 million (5 crore) to BJP. Meh, that’s just small change, right?

Here’s where it gets interesting. In May 2023, Reddy’s bail plea comes up for a hearing. And the Enforcement Directorate does not oppose it—which is astonishing. Soon after his release—on June 2—Reddy becomes an approver—and helps make the case against Kejriwal & Co. Then on November 8, Aurobindo Pharma donates another Rs 250 million (25 crore) to the BJP.  End of story—and we presume, Reddy baba’s troubles. (Scroll)

Protests in Delhi: The party also claims that the union government has blocked its Delhi offices. AAP supporters hit the city streets in protest—and the INDIA alliance also announced that they will be holding a “maha rally” on March 31 in solidarity with Kejriwal. 

A very good related watch: This clip that tells you why AAP supporters are worth their weight in gold. (More on this gentleman here): 

Election season: The latest high/lowlights

Kangana Ranaut gets the ticket: She has officially become part of the BJP establishment. She got a ticket to run from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh. The other celluloid pick: Arun Govil who played Ram in the iconic ‘Ramayana’ TV series. Not so lucky: Varun Gandhi and former Army chief VK Singh—though Varun’s mom Maneka got a ticket. In a classic case of Ranaut overkill, she tweeted: “My beloved Bharat and Bhartiya Janta’s own party, Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) has always had my unconditional support.” (The Telegraph) 

Meanwhile over at Congress: The party embarrassed itself—again—by giving a ticket to a known Congress- and Rahul Gandhi-hater. Sunil Sharma was on the list to run from Jaipur—but is a member of the right-leaning group Jaipur Dialogues. After being called out by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor—and other leading lights on X—the party dumped Sharma. We are personally entertained by both the faux pas and Sharma’s insults—who once said of Tharoor: “Shashi Tharoor is just Rahul Gandhi with a thesaurus he stole from a library on his way out!”

Another appalling Congress pick: Choudhary Lal Singh—who has been fielded from the Udhampur seat in Jammu. The former BJP minister was forced to resign after he came out in support of the accused in the horrific rape and murder of an 8-year-old Muslim girl in 2018 (explained here). (The Print) 

Maha trouble in Maha? The Ajit Pawar-Eknath Shinde jodi is showing signs of marital strife. Pawar threatened to quit the alliance if Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde blocked his wife Sunetra Pawar from getting a ticket for the family seat in Baramati. It is one of the many jhagdas over seat-sharing that is gumming up the works. (The Telegraph) 

Reminder: The BJP ousted the ruling Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP alliance when they won over Sharad Pawar’s powerful nephew and his loyal MLAs. It was never going to be easy given the notorious rivalry between Shinde and Pawar. 

Meanwhile in Odisha: The ruling Biju Janata Dal is openly celebrating the breakdown in negotiations with the BJP—to be part of the NDA alliance. So are their rivals in the BJP. It will be interesting to see the BJP aim for its ‘char sau paar’ target without key allies—such as BJD and Akali Dali. (The Hindu)

War on Gaza: The latest update 

Yet another veto: The US proposal for a ceasefire was vetoed by Russia and China in the Security Council. The reason: The draft proposal tied the ceasefire to the return of Israeli hostages:

The opening wording on an immediate ceasefire was complex, even convoluted. It urged the UN to “determine the imperative for an immediate and sustained ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides, allow for the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance, and alleviate humanitarian suffering”. It thereby supported “diplomatic efforts to secure such a ceasefire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages”

Even so, the proposal managed to secure the support of 11 out of 15 members. (The Guardian)

Reminder: The US has vetoed three previous ceasefire proposals—which has left it isolated at the UN. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken talked up this ceasefire proposal as sending a “strong signal”—but no one knows what it says because of the convoluted effort not to blame Israel for deaths in Gaza.   

A massive land grab: Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that the country had seized 10 square kilometres (3.8 square miles) of Palestinian territory in the West Bank. This is the largest usurpation of land since the 1993 Oslo Accords. The area seized also includes parts of Jordan Valley. Why this matters:

“If Israel confiscates land around Jerusalem, all the way to the Dead Sea, there will be no future for a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem,” said Hamza Zubiedat, a land rights activist for the Ramallah-based Ma’an Development Center. “This is where a Palestinian capital was supposed to be located, according to the American and European talks.”

Also: this move divides the West Bank in two—separating the north from the south of the enclave. See a map of the annexed territories below. (Washington Post)

An important read: New York Times (splainer gift link) looks at the hidden death toll from Gaza—the thousands of people still buried under debris in the strip.

Allahabad High Court strikes down madarsa law

The context: Minority institutions in Uttar Pradesh operate as part of the state Education Department. Madarsas specifically are under the aegis of the state’s Minority Welfare Department—as per the Madarsa Act. They receive state grants to provide a “nearly free education” to minors. 

What happened now: The Allahabad High Court declared the Madarsa Act, “unconstitutional.” According to the ruling, the state funding violated “the principle of secularism”:

After going through the madrasa syllabi, the court said that students are required to study Islam and its doctrines to progress to the next class and that modern subjects are either included or offered as optional, and that they have the choice to study just one optional subject.

The UP Madarsa Board offered this defence:

It is unfortunate that our lawyers couldn’t explain to the court that the government grant given to madrasas is not for religious education. The grant is for the promotion of oriental languages like Arabic, Farsi and Sanskrit. For this, the Arabic and Farsi Board as well as Sanskrit Board are also there. If the teachings are in Arabic and Farsi, then it is natural that there are some Islamic teachings. Same is for the Sanskrit Board where Vedas are taught.

Also a concern: the schooling—which the court described as neither ‘quality’ nor ‘universal’ in nature. The ruling jeopardises 10,000 madarsa teachers and over 2.6 million students—who the court says should be sent to regular schools. Indian Express  has more on the crackdown on Islamic educational institutions in Uttar Pradesh.

Two key stories on visas

One: Canada has announced further cuts to its immigration program—under pressure from a rising flood of international students and workers. It is reducing the number of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) businesses can hire—from 30% to 20% of their workforce. TFWs make up 6.2% (more than 2.5 million) of the country’s total population. Canada plans to cut that number to 5% over the next three years. Point to note: There were 26,495 Indian TFWs in 2023. (Bloomberg News via Mint)

Two: UK universities are collapsing because of “a looming loss” of overseas students.  The reasons for this imminent drop:

An economic crisis in Nigeria that has led to a collapse in applications has been blamed by some universities for tipping them into the red, while Indian students are also being deterred as the government cracks down on visas.

The numbers are expected to drop by 37% this coming year—which is catastrophic for UK institutions. Since there are strict caps on what they can charge domestic students, they typically make up the shortfall with foreign student fees. That number had jumped 60% over the past four years to 560,000. Declining foreign admissions represents a serious loss of revenue.

The fallout: Many colleges are facing bankruptcies—others are slashing courses and teaching staff. That is not good for anyone planning to study in the UK:

Universities have to think hard about what they want to protect and make choices about divesting themselves of things that are not core to the institution. There will be less choice for students. A lot of institutions have introduced lots of modules so that students can pick and choose. That’s expensive, so it may be that you go back to more generic courses. Fundamentally, either you have to increase income, or you reduce quality or volume.”

Times UK has more but is paywalled.

Two things to see

One: Kate Middleton finally made a public appearance—in a video that announced she has cancer. She was waiting to first make peace with it—and tell her three kids—before sharing it with the world. Everyone feels really, really rotten now—so they’re blaming the Palace for their wild conspiracies. A related good read: New York Times looks at how the princess regained control of her narrative through this video. (CNN)

Two: The IPL kicked off this weekend. It was satisfyingly eventful—with RCB being walloped by the Chennai Super Kings—who scored a six-wicket win. Our fave moment: The bromance between Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni.

Not so pleasant: The crowds booing former captain Hardik Pandya—who led the Mumbai Indians against the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. Adding to the misery: Pandya’s replacement—Shubman Gill—opened his captain’s record with a six-run victory. See the booing below. (The Telegraph)