Daily Briefing: India’s stake in the West Asia conflict, Status quo in J-K; and more

🚨Big Story:

What was once a sprawling farmhouse of a wealthy realtor in south Delhi has now turned into the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s Gurugram Zonal office. A staff of almost 100 occupies the once private bedrooms and living room. The central lawn serves as a parking lot for seized cars. If this isn’t odd in itself, there’s another catch. The Union Bank is challenging the ED’s use of the property, which has been mired in litigation.

⚡Only in Express:

With Israel and Iran on the brink of war, where do things stand for India? The stakes are high as India has been investing in strategic and lucrative relationships in West Asia. While it has not offered to take on the role of a mediator as yet, India has been a friend to both Israel and Palestine – from where the conflict stems. Here’s a comprehensive overview on what role India could play amid the ongoing tensions.

📰From the front page:

Consent matters: Courts have been debating questions around marital rape for long now. Specifically, its legal existence. With the matter now in Supreme Court, the Centre for the first time has spelt out its stand. The government has said that a husband certainly does not have a fundamental right to violate the consent of the wife. It, however, argued that terming such a violation as “rape” is “excessively harsh and therefore, disproportionate”.

Status quo: In 2023, the government was mulling the withdrawal of troops from the Valley, leaving the Army at the Line of Control (LOC). Where do things stand now? Well, the incoming Director General of Military Operations says the counter-infiltration effort on the LOC and the counter-terrorism in the Valley should be “maintained and sustained“.

A win-win: The United Kingdoms has said it would cede sovereignty of Chagos Islands — an archipelago of 58 islands in the Indian Ocean — to Mauritius. However, it will still keep control of the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia. While the deal does away with Britain’s control over its last African colony, the status of the strategically important base, for the first time in 50 years, will be legally secure.

Further, the agreement strikes a balance. This is particularly significant given that Mauritius has long claimed that the UK illegally occupies Chagos, raising matter many times in international fora.

Must Read

“Moving to ‘One Nation, One Election’ (ONOE) will be constitutionally cumbersome”

In his take on simultaneous elections, columnist Pratap Bhanu Mehta  – coming from a “somewhat more of an agnostic view” – writes why arguments both for and against it are flawed.

An ‘unlikely nursery’: It was a mother’s failed dream that led to Kerala’s Wayanad getting its first district women’s cricket team. K M Elsamma, a just retired physical education teacher, decided to turn things around after her daughter failed multiple selection trials due to lack of real opportunities. Today, two of three state cricketers who represented India are from the district and so is Sajana Sajeevan, part of India’s squad for the Women’s World Cup.

A conspicuous absence: In poll-bound Haryana, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal’s now desolate childhood home in Bhiwani symbolises the party’s electoral plight in the state. Even as the AAP looks for a win, the battle seems to be mainly between the incumbent BJP and the challenger Congress. Several local residents say “he doesn’t have a hold here because he doesn’t visit.”

And Finally…

Resume ready?: The Union government on Thursday opened up a portal for India’s top 500 companies to participate in the Prime Minister’s Internship scheme over five years. In the pilot phase kick-off, about 111 companies — including Mahindra & Mahindra, Max Life Insurance, and Alembic Pharma — signed up, listing 1,077 internships. Starting October 12, eligible candidates can register and around one lakh youth are expected to be enrolled by early December.

🎧 Tune into the latest episode of our 3 things podcast, where we discuss the money laundering case against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and why it is more complex than it appears. We also unpack the technical ‘glitches’ during IIT admissions, through the story of Atul Kumar and how the top court helped him regain his IIT Dhanbad seat.

That’s all for today. 

Until tomorrow,

Sonal Gupta and Vibha B Madhava

Business As Usual by E P Unny