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Journalism of Courage
Good morning,
By late Sunday night, the Mumbai Indians seemed to have one foot firmly planted in the Indian Premier League (IPL) final with a 200+ score on the board. The match had already been delayed for two hours and 45 minutes after the toss as the skies opened up over Ahmedabad. In the event of a washout, the Punjab Kings (PBKS) would have been a shoo-in for the finals. But, they didn’t need a miracle of nature. More drama was yet to unfold. In the second half of the match, the PBKS skipper, Shreyas Iyer, strode out like a man on a mission, unleashing three boundaries and four sixes. The Iyer special sealed the franchise’s ticket to their first-ever IPL final since 2014. With their duel set against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, one thing’s for sure: come tomorrow, the league will crown a new champion.
India has ramped up its crackdown on illegal immigration ever since the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent Operation Sindoor. As part of its efforts, over 2,000 illegal immigrants have been “pushed back” into Bangladesh, per government sources. A similar number of immigrants have shown up near the India-Bangladesh border to cross over voluntarily.
The action: Gujarat accounts for nearly half of the migrants who have been “pushed back”, followed by Delhi, Haryana, Assam, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The illegal immigrants are rounded up, ferried to the borders in Indian Air Force aircraft and handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF). They are kept in makeshift camps, provided food and Bangladeshi currency, and pushed back into the country after a few hours of detention.
The politics: Illegal immigration has been a hot-button issue in Indian politics, particularly in Northeastern states, where people’s movements across the porous borders predate the Partition. Officials suggest that the push-back process has been going smoothly. Barring those who came to India decades ago, most are willing to go back. However, a majority of them are poor labourers with no means for a legal fight. This newspaper has even reported on instances of people being left in no-man’s land or those deported erroneously. The Indian Express’s editorial today calls for due process to ensure lasting security.
Cricketer Kuldeep Yadav is feeling the pinch of a senior-less Team India. After Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement mid-tour in Australia last year and Ravindra Jadeja getting on in years, Yadav has suddenly been thrust into the role of India’s lead spinner in overseas conditions. The retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli came as another shocker for Yadav. “You want your senior players to stay for big series such as this. The responsibility is taken by the seniors and the youngsters feel free,” he said. Read all that Yadav had to say at the latest Idea Exchange session as he gears up for the upcoming India-England test series.
Awaited: The Adani Group-Maharashtra government special purpose vehicle has sought several key exemptions for the Dharavi redevelopment project, which are pending approval. These include land transfers, waivers on tax and staircase/open space premium, and regulatory relaxations.
Top up: The demand for work under the Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) peaked during the Covid pandemic. Since then, it has seen a steady decline, and so has the Centre’s fund release. However, the Ministry of Rural Development has now sought an outlay of Rs 5.23 lakh crore for the next five years, marking a 12 per cent hike from the previous five financial years.
The Gaza crisis: Last week, visuals of hungry Gazans rushing to aid sites, which resulted in several deaths and injuries, put the world’s lens on the US-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Critics, including United Nations organisations, have accused GHF of not following humanitarian principles. Jonathan Fowler of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) discusses the cause, scale and effect of the “human-made” hunger crisis in the embattled Strip.
In retrospect: The assassination of a Union Minister, a member of the Congress party, is back in the spotlight. Lalit Narayan Mishra, a Railway Minister in the Indira Gandhi Cabinet, was killed in a bomb blast in Samastipur in January 1975. Now, Ashwini Kumar Choubey of the BJP has demanded that the Centre set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe into his death. Here’s a recap of the probes into Mishra’s killing, what they found, and why his family members are not convinced.
Under water: The monsoon dumps a deluge of water on our city roads, flooding them in a yearly ritual. Columnist Ashvani Kumar Gosain examines the problems plaguing our urban centres, where drainage systems have failed to keep up with the climate change challenge.
For over two decades, 25 artworks by the maestro M F Husain were hidden away in the vaults of a private bank in Mumbai. These canvases, painted by Husain at Pundole’s gallery and a friend’s Dubai apartment, were kept at the bank as part of the proceeds in an alleged loan default case against Swarup Srivastava, the original owner. For the first time, these little-known Husains are set to be showcased in India at the Pundole gallery’s June 12 auction.
Before you go, don’t forget to tune in to the latest ‘3 Things’ podcast episode. Today’s lineup: CBSE’s ‘mother tongue first’ policy, custom gene-editing, and the Chief of Defence Staff’s remarks on India’s losses in Operation Sindoor.
That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta
