ThePrint

ThePrintAM: What is behind row over new NHRC chief?

 What is behind row over new NHRC chief?

CutTheClutter: As Rushdie’s Satanic Verses breaks ban, backstory on how I got blamed for it, and a movie in Karachi

Banned in India till recently, Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses has hit the bookshelves in Khan Market. In Episode 1579 of CutTheClutter, ThePrint Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta looks back at his involvement in publishing Madhu Jain's review of the book, leading to protests by Syed Shahabuddin, ban on the book and shows of revenge movie International Gorillay in Pakistan.

ThePrintPod: Bangladesh, Myanmar pose new security threats for India—domestic politics isn’t helping either

What is behind the row over reservation policy in Kashmir?

What is behind the row over reservation policy in Kashmir?

CutTheClutter: Popcorn GST, bureaucratic complexity & why our govt must downsize like Trump’s DOGE or Javier Milei

The controversy over the new GST formula for popcorn based on flavours highlights the growing complexity of India's tax system and that the country is moving further away from minimum governance. In Ep 1578 of #CutTheClutter, Editor-in-chief Shekhar Gupta discusses why simplifying GST is crucial to reforms in India's tax system.

ThePrintPod: Can ONOE work? It has one good argument going for it, and that’s enough

ONOE will ensure that elected central and state governments have at least 4.5 years to focus on doing the right things instead of frittering away time worrying about re-elections.

'Reciprocity' will define Trump 2.0—trade ties with India will be 'increasingly' transactional

Donald Trump has once again emphasised that reciprocity will be the cornerstone of his administration’s trade policy—a sentiment his commerce secretary pick Howard Lutnick recently echoed. The United States’ ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, also reiterated that India has the “highest tariffs” among major economies. These repeated assertions have understandably caused speculation in New Delhi, given that Washington is among its largest trading partners and a country with which it enjoys a very high trade surplus. 
 
Read the column here

ThePrintAM

SecurityCode: South Korea’s attempted coup shows even robust democracies can be brought down by authoritarian rulers

Twenty four years ago, thousands of students were massacred in the Korean city of Gwanju by the country’s military regime—its own, unknown Tiananmen Square. The failure of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s bid to reimpose martial rule is being cast as proof of how robust democracy has since become in the country. The truth, however, is that it proves how fragile rights and freedoms can be, if voters don’t choose their leaders wisely.

PureScience: Scientists warn of unprecedented, dangerous mirror life research

A group of scientists have come together and warned of risks to life from potential mirror life research, asking funding agencies and labs across the world to cease work immediately. In ThePrint #̦PureScience, Sandhya Ramesh explains why. Sources and further reading: - PAPER: Confronting risks of mirror life, Adamala et al. 2024: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads9158 Subscribe to the Pure Science Telegram Channel https://t.me/PureScienceWithSandhyaRamesh