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  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
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The Country Definitely Needs Prayers

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2018-05-23 08:42:19

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
The Archbishop of Delhi is right. The country is in the midst of a “turbulent political atmosphere.” The home minister Rajnath Singh is also right. India or its government does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of his or her religion or sect. Confused? If both are right, then who is wrong and how is the political atmosphere of the country “turbulent”?

The Archbishop is right because even though the government is not against the minorities (it cannot be, even if it wishes to be, because there are enough safeguards in the Constitution and other laws to prevent that), the atmosphere of intolerance ushered in by those close to the dominant party ruling the country is palpable and cannot be brushed under the carpet.

The home minister is right in saying that the government does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of religion. No one can accuse this government of that. There is simply no evidence that the government, for instance, has removed all Muslims and Christians from government offices or even stopped hiring them further. But does that answer the Archbishop’s charge of “turbulent political atmosphere”?

The government rightly accuses Pakistan of waging a proxy war against India. At the same time, it is blind to the proxy war being waged against the minorities by either members of Hindutva outfits or people close to them. If the cross-border proxy war is threatening the integrity of the country, the in-house proxy war is threatening to tear it apart in a similar way. Hate is such a demon that it has the power to devour even the person who starts it all. That is why now even the Dalits (who obviously are Hindus but were never made to feel one of us) are being regularly targeted, beaten and killed. The government is not realizing what harm will befall the country by the free hand it has given to these miscreants.

The minorities are under pressure and are a scared lot. Questions are being raised about their eating and sartorial habits. They are being made to feel strangers in their own land and the Muslims among them are being asked to leave for Pakistan. The “us and them” divide was never stronger than it is now. Of course the government is not doing it. But the government is not stopping it either. This is highly deplorable. Leaving aside the political overtones, all right thinking Indians should support the Archbishop’s call for prayers to bring the country back on track.

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