5 stories you must read today, October 16: From EC rejecting Muslim exclusion in Bihar to Kohli’s cryptic message ahead of ODI return and more

The Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Thursday that allegations that Muslims were disproportionately excluded from the final list in Bihar after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) were “communal”. The EC, in an affidavit, also told the Supreme Court that the voters’ list drawn up at the end of the SIR exercise was “accurate”. Petitioners who challenged the SIR in Bihar had alleged that there was disproportionate exclusion of Muslims in the final voters’ list. The petitioners also urged the bench hearing the petitions to direct the Election Commission to publish the names of those added to or deleted from the main list. Read more

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that a large Mahakal mandir will be built in Siliguri. During her visit to flood-hit North Bengal, Banerjee visited the Mahakal Mandir in Darjeeling, offered prayers to Lord Shiva, and announced: “A large Mahakal temple will come up near the proposed convention centre in Siliguri. For this, a trust needs to be formed.” Banerjee said that land for the temple will be provided by the state government. Read more

A thick layer of haze blanketed Delhi-NCR Thursday morning as calm winds and rising ground-level ozone pushed air quality deeper into the ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ range. The increased air pollution level is consistent with the post-monsoon transition, when dropping temperatures, high humidity, and low wind speeds combine to trap pollutants near the surface. An increase in stubble burning cases in neighbouring states, along with festive-season traffic and firecracker use, has also added to the city’s pollution load. Read more

Brown University President Christina Paxson on Wednesday said she had refused to sign her Ivy League school onto a Trump administration memo. In a letter addressed to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Paxson said accepting the memo’s terms “would restrict academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown’s governance” and that it would directly go against an agreement that Brown signed with the administration in July. Brown University is the second school to refuse to sign the offer letter sent to nine elite universities, laying out detailed policies they should follow to get preferential consideration for federal funding. Read more

Ahead of his return to the Indian ODI team this week in Australia, Virat Kohli has raised eyebrows with a cryptic social media post, with some speculating over his playing future. “The only time you truly fail is when you decide to give up,” Kohli said in a social media post on Thursday. Kohli last played an ODI for India in the Champions Trophy 2025 in the United Arab Emirates, where he was India’s second-highest run-scorer in the tournament. Read more