What Does a Record-Breaking 96% Decline in FDI Reveal About the Economy, Politics, and Society? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGCcNyLo4xM  The Wire  May 23, 2025
इस वीडियो में द वायर के फाउंडिंग एडिटर और आर्थिक मामलों के जानकार MK वेणु से FDI में 96% की रिकॉर्ड तोड़ गिरावट पर बात की गई है। रिजर्व बैंक ऑफ़ इंडिया के ताजा आंकड़ों के मुताबिक फाइनेंशियल ईयर 2025 में नेट FDI में तकरीबन 96% की गिरावट दर्ज गई है। अब यह 353 मिलियन डॉलर हो चुका है। एमके वेणु का कहना है कि ऐसा इसीलिए हुआ है क्योंकि भारत का कंज्यूमर क्लास बहुत छोटा है। बहुत बड़ी आबादी के जेब में पैसा नहीं है। नफरत और सांप्रदायिकता में भारत का समाज डूब रहा है। अर्थव्यवस्था बदहाल हो रही है। इन सब का नतीजा यह निकला है कि ना तो विदेश की तरफ से इन्वेस्टमेंट की चाहत बढ़ रही है और ना ही देश की बड़ी-बड़ी कंपनियां भारत में इन्वेस्टमेंट करना चाहती हैं।

Hours After Harvard Sues, Court Blocks Trump’s Move to Ban Enrollment of Foreign Students https://www.chronicle.com/article/trump-administration-revokes-harvards-ability-to-enroll-international-students
By Karin Fischer May 22, 2025

 ‘Indian diplomacy failed to convince world of Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism’: Pawan K Varma  May 23, 2025  ‘The fact that the international community, by and large, failed to acknowledge India as a victim of state-sponsored terrorism through Pakistan, shows that Indian diplomacy has not been successful in the recent India-Pakistan conflict,’ says former diplomat & Rajya Sabha MP, Pawan K Varma. He further asserts that the government needs to be more transparent about how the ceasefire with Pakistan was reached. “However, the UPA's policy of restraint was a complete failure, and riskier than the NDA policy of strategic retaliation.”

 Chaos in China-Pakistan: Republic of Balochistan Declared Independence after India-Pakistan War https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qBtb3qbiJE
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https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJ6hEWRpO9u/?igsh=ZHY5ZWk3eXlycGgx  BBC interview

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/may/20/radical-translation-of-heart-lamp-by-banu-mushtaq-wins-international-booker-prize Ambika Mod read from ‘Heart Lamp’ | The Booker Prize https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2XZ8R2U_k4

- https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0cSlg4d3NZc

Absurd Case Against Ali Khan Mahmudabad & Perils Of Chilling Effect  https://www.livelaw.in/articles/absurd-case-against-ali-khan-mahmudabad-perils-of-chilling-effect-292967 Kalpana Kannabiran 22 May 2025  Televised interviews with the complainant-chairperson sadly exposed a total lack of comprehension on her part, of the post – rendering her complaint malicious and false. Despite this, the Hon'ble Supreme Court, while granting interim bail has directed the constitution of a Special Investigation Team by the Director General of Police, Haryana, consisting of senior police officers to determine the 'meaning of the words' in the post; ordered surrender of his passport; and barred him from posting content on social media. While it is a relief to have him released from custody, the wide-ranging powers placed in the very same police establishment that arrested him is a cause for concern.

JD: I wonder what kind of petition can individual or an organisation like pucl file to tell the supreme court that it is failing in its duty to protect fundamental right if it is not able to protect us from such 'chilling effects' on our fundamental rights.

SS:  This subject judgement is at least partly comparable with Supreme Court judgement on June 24 2022 ordering probe against Teesta Setalvad charging her with falsifying evidence in the Zakia Jafri case just out of the blue!

Here also the Court, virtually suo moto, visions "dog whistle" and orders constitution of an SIT to conduct an open-ended probe. This is too ominous.
Calls for a broad-based national campaign.

Rethinking Learning Spaces   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca7usGiXzD0 | Pranith Simha | TEDxDantewada Reimagining learning spaces and empowering communities is key to transforming public education. Alternative approaches can create inclusive, democratic learning for tribal children. Pranith Simha is the Founder & Executive Director of Bachpan Banao, a grassroots organization revitalizing public education in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh. A dropout from IISER Pune, he found his calling in education through Disha, a student initiative for slum children. Since 2012, he has led transformative programs like Padhe Dantewada-Likhe Dantewada and Sapno Ki Shala, an alternative school promoting democratic learning. His latest work focuses on youth-led children’s libraries that foster creativity and safety. 

Marathi actor's wife, two others face charges after recitation of Faiz Ahmed Faiz's ‘Hum Dekhenge’  https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/marathi-actors-wife-two-others-face-charges-after-recitation-of-faiz-ahmed-faizs-hum-dekhenge-101747752959037.html  According to a complainant Dattatraya Shirke cited by PTI, the The speaker allegedly said during the recitation, “Jo song ke medium se ye satta hila thi, usi tarah se hamare desh mein bhi takht hilane ki pratha hai. Aaj hum jis daur mein ji rahe hain, ye daur fasciswad ka hai. Ye daur tanasahi ka hai”.

An FIR was registered at the Sitabuldi police station against Pushpa Sathidar and two others associated with the memorial programme under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 152 (endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India), 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 353 (statements conducing to public mischief) and 3 (5), which concerns common intention...

..According to Shirke, the speech and recitation of the poem, equated India's government with fascist regimes and also called for political upheaval. The police have launched a probe into the event, collecting digital video evidence of the event and recording statements of those who had attended the memorial programme.

The Supreme Court’s Order in Mahmudabad’s Case  https://indconlawphil.wordpress.com/2025/05/21/how-to-read-a-sentence-the-supreme-courts-order-in-mahmudabads-case/  Gautam Bhatia  One might expect that such a far-reaching order – that effaces two Article 19 rights (freedom of expression and freedom of movement) – would be supported by equally strong reasoning...The Court says that it is setting up this SIT “to holistically understand the complexity of the phraseology employed and for proper appreciation of some of the expressions used in these two online posts.” ...

Does the Constitution proscribe “unpatriotic” speech? Let us look at the constitutional text: specifically, Article 19(2). It immediately becomes clear that the Constitution does not proscribe unpatriotic speech, no matter what our personal views on the subject...

...I must therefore respectfully suggest that the Supreme Court’s order may not be entirely correct in law. The reasons for the constitution of the SIT are puzzling. The gag order is outside the Court’s jurisdiction. The confiscation of the passport appears excessive. In the meantime, it is reported that Mahmudabad’s laptop has been confiscated, and one therefore hopes that the Court’s order does not become an excuse for a roving and fishing enquiry by the police, going beyond the remit of the FIR.