Daily Briefing: Debate over court vacations; ‘book not maoist in any way,’ says Kobad Ghandy

1) The Supreme Court and Centre are yet again at loggerheads over appointments to the Higher Judiciary. But this time the debate has gone beyond the Collegium system of appointments and its alternatives.

This week, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju criticised the judiciary for taking long vacations even as pending cases rise to record levels every year. A day later, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said that the Supreme Court will not have a vacation bench when it breaks next week for its annual winter vacation. “There will be no benches available from tomorrow till January 2, 2023,” he said.

We explain the concept of court vacations and the arguments for and against them. 

2) In Maharashtra, a political firestorm is raging over the Maharashtra government’s decision to cancel a literary award given to the Marathi translation of Kobad Ghandy’s book Fractured Freedom: Prison Memoir and Thoughts.  In an interview with The Indian Express, Ghandy spoke out against the “social media campaign” against him, saying it is “full of lies and distortions”.

3) In our opinion section today, Avijit Pathak writes about the recent suicides in education hub Kota: “As teachers, we must introspect about our failures. As parents, we ought to ask uncomfortable questions about the values of success we inculcate. And as citizens, we must make the political class accountable for its failure to address the aspirations of youngsters.”

4) This week, Shubhra Gupta reviews the highly-anticipated second instalment of the Avatar film franchise: “Avatar 2 is just stunning in the parts it skims along the water, dives deep, rolls around joyously, keeping up with the incredible creatures who live in the deep.” (3.5 ⭐)

5) Britain has for long struggled in determining how to best represent its Empire to its own people. In the 19th century there was much propaganda around the Empire inside classrooms. By the 1980s, Empire had become a dirty word. At present, although it is mentioned as a non-statutory topic in the national curriculum, it is hardly ever taught. Adrija Roychowdhury from our research desk looks at UK curriculum over the years and breaks down why the history of the British Empire is not taught enough in schools. 

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Until next time, 

Rahel Philipose