Chinese View of Post-Pahalgam Tension; BJP Minister Wants 'Jobs for Hindus'; Terrorists 'Killed Hindus as Tactic to Divide Indians on Communal Lines' Says Ex-Army Officer
As BJP bows to caste census, how will the clash between social justice politics and Hindutva play out?, Noted Tamil writer Jeyarani accuses 'Seeing Red' director of plagiarism
A newsletter from The Wire | Founded by Tanweer Alam, Sidharth Bhatia, Pratik Kanjilal, Seema Chishti, Sushant Singh, MK Venu, and Siddharth Varadarajan | Contributing writer: Kalrav Joshi, with additional inputs by Anirudh SK
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Over to Siddharth Varadarajan for today’s Cable
Snapshot of the day
May 2, 2025
Siddharth Varadarajan
The Congress has demanded that the Narendra Modi government should bring in a Constitutional amendment to remove the 50% cap on reservations, even as it targeted the Prime Minister for being “the master of giving headlines without deadline”, Congress’ communications chief Jairam Ramesh said, asking about the detailed plan for the caste census.
The Modi government’s U-turn on the question of a caste census has left the BJP in various parts of the country scrambling to figure out talking points. In Uttar Pradesh, where Yogi Adityanath had taken a strident stand against the idea of a caste census earlier this year, Samajwadi leader Akhilesh Yadav is mocking the chief minister by circulating a clip of his words comparing the proposal to ‘treason’. In Karnataka, the party’s unit has clearly not got the memo, as it described the Congress government’s planned caste census “a political ploy to divide society.” In other words, if Modiji counts caste, that’s great, but if you do, then we will fight you.
India has been ranked 151st out of 180 nations in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Friday. While this marks a slight improvement from its 159th position in 2024 and 161st in 2023, the country continues to fall within the index’s most critical category: “very serious”. The RSF, a nonprofit that has assessed global press conditions since 2002, attributes India’s low standing in part to the increasing concentration of media ownership among politically connected individuals — posing a significant threat to media diversity. The report said that in many countries, including India, the concentration of media ownership in the hands of political magnates threatens media plurality and consolidates control in a few hands. In Lebanon (132), India, Armenia (34) and Bulgaria (70), many outlets owe their survival to conditional financing from individuals close to the political or business worlds, the report noted.
In South Asia, India trails behind neighbours like Nepal (90th), Maldives (104th), Sri Lanka (139th), and Bangladesh (149th), though it ranks ahead of Bhutan (152nd), Pakistan (158th), Myanmar (169th), Afghanistan (175th), and China (178th).
Lt Gen Muhammad Asim Malik has been appointed as Pakistan’s new National Security Adviser. This is the first time a serving ISI chief has been asked to concurrently hold the key job, and a clear signal of military dominance in Pakistan’s policy vis-à-vis India.
Officials in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have ordered religious seminaries to shut down for ten days citing a heatwave, but an official told Reutersthat “right now we are facing two kinds of heat – one from the weather and the other from Modi”. He said security officials fear that India will target these seminaries as part of its anticipated retaliation for Pahalgam by calling them militant training centres.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Broadcasting Association announced that it has stopped playing Indian songs on FM radio stations. The country’s information minister said the association’s “patriotic” decision “is highly appreciated and reflects the collective sentiment of the entire nation”, reports PTI.
Ordinary Pakistanis are sharing humorous memes mocking the idea of war with India but Salman Masood reports that the insouciance and tough talk are merely a ‘coping mechanism’ and a ‘distraction’. There are misgivings about the economic fallout and about how conflict would affect an already uneven relationship between the all-powerful military and civilian leaders.
The US is sending mixed signals to India as the latter draws up plans to respond to the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Secretary of State Mark Rubio has urged ‘restraint’, Defence Secretary Pete Hesgeth apparently backed India’s ‘right to self-defence’, and now Vice President JD Vance has said, “Our hope here is that India responds to this terrorist attack in a way that doesn’t lead to a broader regional conflict.”
How is China looking at the unfolding crisis between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack? Officially, its line is similar to Washington’s under Trump and that of the European Union: that India should not go down the military route. But a recent op-ed by Chinese scholar Lin Minwang provides some insight into the underlying view from Beijing. Here is a summary of the original Chinese article:
“Compared with the Uri terrorist attack in 2016 and the Pulwama terrorist attack in 2019, the main difficulty for India to "make a big move" this time is that it has "no justification". The first two terrorist attacks directly targeted India's military and paramilitary forces. It seems difficult to do so without professional forces to support the terrorists in all aspects… However, this shooting incident targeted ordinary tourists, so it is more like the Indian government's dereliction of duty in security.”
“Secondly, attributing the shooting incident to Pakistan's support for terrorism is in line with the speculation and expectations of many Indians, but conceals the essence of the Kashmir issue – which is the widespread and intractable resentment of Indian Kashmiris towards India. This is also the reason why India's military action against Pakistan is unjustified.”
“Despite Modi's occasional displays of strength, he has been posting photos of the National Security Council discussing countermeasures on social media. Obviously, the Indian government is using the media and public opinion to shape the narrative and influence public opinion.”
“Modi’s directive giving the military top brass full freedom of action to decide how, when and where to respond means that any major action that could lead to a hot war has been ruled out.”
“India is likely to take small-scale, low-intensity military action against Pakistan; it must be high-profile in order to meet domestic political needs but no major power will support the ‘deliberate suppression of Pakistan’.”
The article ends with a veiled threat of China acting to defend its military ally in the event that matters get out of hand:
“More importantly, not far from Indian-controlled Kashmir, Chinese troops have been stationed there since 2020, which can actually balance and promote peace in the area. After all, India needs to take China's feelings and interests into consideration.”
Sushant Singh writes on the “road not taken” by Modi in Kashmir which “risks reinforcing the very grievances that fuel militancy. Conversely, the attack has exposed fissures in the militants support base, offering a chance to isolate extremists through grassroots engagement.” He says that it also requires “Modi to confront his own political base. Hindutva ideology, which frames Kashmir as a civilisational battleground, thrives on confrontation with Muslims. The Pahalgam attack has exposed the limits of such militarisation. Let alone the claims of return to normalcy, the Modi government’s approach towards Kashmir has eroded its moral authority as governing a democracy. Lasting stability in Kashmir hinges on political inclusion, not suppression”.
The Financial Times editorialises on the ‘deadly standoff’:
“If New Delhi is determined to respond militarily, any strikes should be carefully calibrated. Targeting terrorist sites, rather than the Pakistani military itself, would send a robust message while still keeping off-ramps open. But as much as possible, New Delhi should explore non-military options.”
In a stunning act of valour, Surat Police thwarted a clandestine conspiracy – an intellectual discussion about Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. The closed-door event, ‘Godse ne Gandhi ko kyon mara’ (Why did Godse kill Gandhi), the newly translated Gujarati version based on the Hindi book ‘Usne Gandhi ko kyon mara’ by poet and author Ashok Kumar Pandey, was unceremoniously cancelled because, shockingly, no one thought to ask the police for permission to talk about history. Inspector H. K. Solanki heroically warned that a recorded speech might “go viral,” potentially inciting the public with … facts. With just hours to spare, police intervened, saving society from the perils of informed discourse. Apparently, discussions on Gandhi’s death are fine – as long as no one actually hears them. Free speech, it turns out, is welcome in Gujarat, provided it never leaves the room. Or enter one to begin with.
Dancer and activist Mallika Sarabhai, the chancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed to be University for Art and Culture, has publicly accused the Left-led Kerala government of curbing her freedom of expression in her academic role. The remarks come as protests by Asha workers intensify across Kerala over the demand for enhanced wages and better working conditions, an agitation Sarabhai has been backing. According to Sarabhai, she has suddenly been asked not to attend the online inauguration of the Thrissur wing of the protests. She, however, has not revealed who asked her to stay away from the protests.
The Bongaon police have arrested two men, identified as members of the Hindutva organisation Sanatani Ekta Manch, for allegedly attempting to incite communal tension by placing a Pakistani national flag on the wall of a public toilet near a railway station in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district. The flag was spotted late on Wednesday near Akaipur station. The Bongaon police revealed that the culprits confessed to the act and had planned to write ‘Hindustan Murdabad’ and ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ on the wall to incite communal unrest in the area.
India is one of those countries which face the highest burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), as microbes like bacteria become resistant to various medicines due to their injudicious use. Once traditional antibiotics fail to perform the function that they are supposed to, only a few antibiotics are left to replace them, and they are hard to access. In India, only 7.8% of such patients, who developed drug-resistant infections, could access antibiotics to treat their illness, according to a recently published study. This paper published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases assessed the access to antibiotics to drug-resistant infections in eight out of 51 low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). These included: Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan and South Africa.
Lalita Ramdas, educationist and widow of the 13th admiral of the Indian Navy, has hailed as “the perfect Fauji wife” Himanshi Narwal, whose husband, Lt Vinay Narwal, was among those terrorists gunned down in Kashmir. On Thursday, which would have been the young Indian Navy lieutenant’s 27th birthday, Himanshi had appealed for peace and communal harmony in a remarkable display of poise and maturity that drew the wrath and abuse of many right-wingers on social media. “This is a personal tribute from possibly one of the oldest Navy daughters/wives alive today… to the newest and youngest among the special fraternity of Naval wives,” wrote Lalita Ramdas, whose father was Admiral Ram Dass Katari. “I am so proud of you as I watch the clip of your words to the press, over and over again. Your extraordinary strength, composure and conviction when you speak out against hate and targeting of Muslims and Kashmiris after the horrific killing of so many innocent men in Pahalgam on the 22nd is truly remarkable. And so badly needed in our times,” Lalita wrote.
Prime Minister Modi officially commissioned the Vizhinjam port in Kerala today. He was accompanied by, among others, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. Modi took a jibe at the Congress by saying that Tharoor’s presence “will take away the sleep of many”. Here’s why his dig was fundamentally misplaced.
A Nepali student of the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Odisha was found hanging in her dorm room yesterday. Nepal’s foreign minister has condoled her death and asked for an independent and impartial investigation. Less than three months ago, another Nepali student at the institute also died by suicide on campus. After some of her fellow Nepali students protested alleging that the institute did not probe her claims of harassment by her partner, KIIT’s administration evicted (and later called back) all of its Nepali students.
The Modi government’s new restrictions on transhipment of Bangladeshi global exports—especially textiles—through Indian territory has raised alarm bells in Dhaka and prompted calls for retaliatory measures that may affect India’s ability to cheaply ship supplies to the north-east region via Bangladesh, reports Anbarasan Ethirajan.
The United States has approved a potential $131 million foreign military sale to India aimed at significantly enhancing its maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific, a move seen as deepening defence ties amid rising strategic challenges in the region. Announced by the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on Wednesday, the deal includes the delivery of advanced SeaVision software, designed to enhance real-time maritime surveillance, along with technical training, analytic support, and other logistics services.
How to make jokes in the face of state repression"? Read Shahid Tantray’s interview with standup comedian Kunal Kamra here. “The journalist should challenge what comes in the way of their Article 19 freedom to work, and I should challenge what the government is doing with satire”.
Why did the terrorists at Pahalgam target Hindus? Brigadier Deep Bhagat (Retd) explains in simple terms:
Custodial death or encounter? Kashmiri family disputes police account of Altaf Lali’s Killing
The official narrative is that 29-year-old Altaf Lali from Kashmir’s Bandipora was arrested with an AK-47, following which he guided a police party to a forested hideout where he was killed in firing between cops and militants. But his family suspects that Lali, who was among the hundreds of alleged ‘overground’ militant workers detained after the Pahalgam terror attack, was killed in police custody. Many people had protested his death by blocking a key thoroughfare, following which the police used force to break up the crowd. Fellow villagers say at least three people were detained for sharing photos or videos of the protest. Meanwhile, Lali’s wife grapples with the reality that her family’s sole breadwinner is now gone. Jehangir Ali reports.
Zoho suspends $700 million chip plan, leaving India’s hopes in limbo
Indian software firm Zoho has put a hold on its ambitious $700 million plan to enter the semiconductor manufacturing sector, delivering another blow to India’s aspirations of becoming a global chipmaking hub. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Zoho, valued at around $12 billion, suspended its plans after a year-long search failed to secure the technical collaboration required for such a complex venture. The company had planned to invest $400 million in setting up a semiconductor plant in Karnataka’s Mysuru region, which was expected to generate 460 jobs.
The development follows reports that Gautam Adani’s group has also paused discussions with Israel’s Tower Semiconductor for a separate $10 billion chip project.
Maharashtra minister inaugurates job platform for Hindus only
Maharashtra minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha has inaugurated a digital employment platform named “Call Hindu Jobs”, whose objective is to provide jobs to Hindus and skilled human resources to businessmen from the community. The portal has been developed by Vishal Durafe, a member of the Hindu Jagran Manch and former state leader of the BJP’s youth wing, reports Manasi Phadke. Responding to a question about whether it was appropriate for government representatives to promote initiatives that cater to only Hindus, Lodha said there was nothing wrong “if someone decides to do some constructive work only for the Hindu community”, reports Deccan Herald.
The Long Cable
As BJP Bows to Caste Census, How Will the Clash Between Social Justice Politics and Hindutva Play Out?
Zoya Hasan and Avishek Jha
After nearly eleven years of political dominance built on Hindu consolidation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken a surprising turn by agreeing to a caste census—an idea long resisted by its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The decision marks a major victory for the Congress party and the wider Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which had centred their 2024 campaign around caste-based enumeration as a tool for social justice.
The Modi government’s announcement to include caste enumeration in the nationwide census represents a shift in the BJP-RSS axis’s ideological stance. It also lays bare the contradictions in their position on caste politics. While the RSS has long advocated for Hindu unity over caste divisions, this move acknowledges the persistent relevance of caste-based mobilisation in Indian politics.
Historically, caste data collection in India began under British colonial rule in the late 19th century. The last full-scale caste census occurred in 1931, identifying over 4,000 castes. Post-Independence, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru discontinued caste enumeration (except for SCs and STs), believing it would hinder the building of a casteless, unified nation. Yet caste remained central to governance, policy, and political mobilisation.
The 1980 Mandal Commission, based on 1931 data, recommended 27% reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), which V. P. Singh implemented in 1990. Despite fierce resistance from upper-caste groups and right-wing parties, this move transformed Indian politics by making caste a key factor in electoral arithmetic. In 2011, the UPA government conducted a socio-economic survey, but the caste data was never released—officially due to errors, though political hesitation played a role.
The call for a caste census was rejuvenated by socialist leaders like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav, and by Kanshi Ram’s slogan, "Jiski jitni sankhya bhaari, uski utni hissedari"—demanding representation proportionate to population. In recent years, the Bihar caste survey conducted by the Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandhan government reignited the debate nationally. The survey, published in 2023 before Nitish’s defection to the BJP’s camp, revealed that OBCs and Extremely Backward Classes made up 63% of Bihar’s population.
Interestingly, the BJP initially challenged the Bihar caste survey in court. Modi remained silent when an all-party delegation from Bihar met him in 2021 to press for a national caste count. The BJP and RSS had dismissed the idea of a caste census as ‘divisive’. Modi derided it as an “urban Naxal” idea, and RSS commentary warned that such surveys were attempts to "fracture Hindu society.”
But the issue persisted as a cornerstone of the Opposition’s campaign. Rahul Gandhi’s embrace of a caste census began with the Bharat Jodo Yatra and intensified during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in 2024. He framed the demand as part of a broader quest for social and economic justice, often repeating: "Gine nahi jaoge toh sune nahi jaoge. Bahut hui vinti, ab INDIA karega ginti". His messaging resonated. Congress leaders adopted #GintiKaro in their social media bios, and the party’s most circulated campaign video focused on caste-based discrimination and data.
Rahul Gandhi's speeches in Parliament after becoming Leader of Opposition kept the issue front and centre. Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Tejaswi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supported him, with Akhilesh coining the term PDA (Pichde, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) to mobilise backwards, Dalits, and minorities together.
The BJP, facing heat from this united front, shifted gears. With the 2024 election results showing a significant drop—from 303 to 240 seats—particularly in states with large OBC populations, the party needed to recapture the social justice narrative. Its decision to greenlight the caste census, after years of public resistance, reflects the electoral pressure exerted by a reinvigorated Opposition.
This shift, however, may unsettle the BJP’s traditional upper-caste base. For over a decade, the party had balanced upper-caste dominance with strategic inclusion of non-dominant OBCs, through ministerial representation, local leadership, and appropriation of backward caste icons. The caste census could realign power structures in ways that challenge this delicate balance.
For the RSS and BJP, which have long projected a vision of Hindu unity superseding caste identities, the caste census represents an ideological compromise. It also risks validating the Opposition's claim that caste-based inequality is foundational to Indian society, and that affirmative action must be expanded.
For Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, this moment is especially significant. The party, long dominated by upper-caste leaders, has historically struggled to build a backward-caste base. Many Congress leaders were lukewarm to the caste census idea; in Karnataka, the state government delayed publishing its caste report amid internal dissent. Yet Rahul Gandhi’s persistence has now positioned the Congress as a credible advocate for social justice.
In his press conference following the Cabinet’s announcement, Rahul Gandhi demanded clarity on the timeline and a budget for the census exercise, and proposed two follow-up measures: removal of the 50% reservation cap and implementation of Article 15(5) of the Constitution, which enables reservations in private, unaided, non-minority educational institutions.
This opens the door for a new political era: one where the axis of competition shifts from religious polarisation to demands for equity and representation. If the Opposition sustains its focus on caste justice, it could reshape national politics, fostering a broader democratisation of power.
The question remains: can the BJP and RSS control the political consequences of caste data once it is released? And will the Congress and its allies be able to institutionalise this momentum into long-term support from marginalised communities?
Either way, the Modi government's approval of a caste census has ushered in a paradigm shift. What was once dismissed as divisive is now at the centre of national political discourse. The road ahead is uncertain—but its direction has unmistakably changed.
(Zoya Hasan is professor emerita with the Centre for Political Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Avishek Jha is a doctoral candidate at the University of Melbourne.)
Reportedly
First Narendra Modi canceled his participation in the May 9 parade in Moscow to mark the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. Now, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who was nominated to take his place, has also bailed out, nominating his deputy. Does this mean whatever ‘kinetic’ action the Indian military has planned against targets in Pakistan will happen before that date? Or is this part of Indian psy-ops, the keep Rawalpindi on tenterhooks: i.e. to step up the pressure and make the Pakistani military assume action is imminent, only to do something much later?
Deep dive
Looking for an account of the Indian caste census journey? Pavan Korada looks back on where it started and what lies ahead.
Prime number: >Rs 5,000 crore
If Pakistan’s ban on overflight by Indian aircraft lasts for a year, Air India estimates it will have to bear more than Rs 5,000 crore in additional costs due to having to fly longer routes and deploying more crew, it has said in a letter to the Union government. The (now) private airline has asked the government to compensate it until the ban ends, to liaise with Chinese authorities for overflight clearances and for permission to take on board extra pilots for flights to North America. Meanwhile the government met with Indian carriers to work on potential solutions to the airspace closure. Aditya Kalra and Abhijith Ganapavaram report.Air India, incidentally, is not the only Indian airline affected. Indigo, which has begun flights to Uzbekistan, Georgia and Kazakhstan, has had to cancel flights.Opeds you don’t want to miss
The time is not right for a major offensive against Pakistan because “the element of surprise has been lost and Pakistan has mobilised its armed forces,” says Lieutenant General (retired) HS Panag. He concludes that it could instead be “prudent to keep Pakistan on tenterhooks for a prolonged period. Let it ‘cry wolf’ until the day of reckoning, which must come like a thunderbolt”.
On the other hand, Lieutenant General (retired) Harwant Singh cautions against any kind of military action across the border. Anything along the lines of a ‘surgical strike’ will not deter Pakistan from inflicting a ‘thousand cuts’ on India, while “enhanced action” could spawn a war-like situation or war itself. Delhi’s diplomatic measures – including pausing the Indus Waters Treaty – and a strengthening of the border are the way to go, he writes.
Nayeema Ahmed Mahjoor writes about the ‘Loyalty Test For Kashmir’, in particular the silencing of dissent. “If mainstream media has already stifled the voices of Kashmiris, should social media discussions be encouraged or suppressed to prevent an eruption of dissent?” she asks. The answer is already clear. A tweet from a Pakistani policy-oriented website where the piece originally appeared has been banned by the Indian government:
The collective punishment being handed out in Kashmir and the violence that Kashmiris have faced in the rest of India undermine the rule of law as well as the idea that things have been normal in Jammu and Kashmir. Zulfikar Majid appeals:
“The young Kashmiri who gave his life to save tourists showed us what courage and patriotism look like. We would do well to honour his sacrifice – not with brickbats, but with empathy, justice, and the unwavering belief that Kashmiris are not a problem to be solved – they are a people to be heard, respected, and protected.”
Even though it had attacked Rahul Gandhi for supporting a caste census, much of the mainstream media is now lauding the government for announcing one. But on a broader note, observes Vir Sanghvi, we the public
“never debate the arguments for and against any decision on most major public platforms … when the government changes its mind, so does the media. We do not feel any obligation to explain this turnaround. Instead, we pretend that we have always felt this way.”
The health of the body politic of a liberal democracy is measured by its capacity to withstand the jibe, the jest, and the inconvenient truth spoken aloud. It is clear that Indian democracy is sick, writes Rohin Bhatt of the case filed against ‘Dr Medusa’.
Porsche’s troubles may matter more to India than Tesla’s promise, writes Andy Mukherjee. Sending Volkswagen a $1.4 billion tax bill for the advantage it took of loopholes in India’s tariff policy while rolling out the red carpet for Elon Musk is bad publicity. Especially given the impending cuts in tariff rates and the long-term prospects of India emerging as an export hub for VW.
Listen up
Pahalgam has put paid to the idea that terrorism disappeared from Kashmir after Article 370 was read down, but in its wake we must also recall that the Modi government’s tourism push in the Union territory ‘alienated’ locals by masking the “ugliness of the Kashmiris being economically disempowered”, Anuradha Bhasin tells Sidharth Bhatia.
Watch out
Indhu Rubasingham, a Briton of Sri Lankan Tamil descent, has become the first woman of colour to lead the UK’s National Theatre in its over-60-year history. She speaks with Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy about “art, diversity and censorship and taking on her 'dream job'.”
Over and out
In a world where butter chicken is everywhere, can this cliched Indian dish really become the talking point for a new Indian restaurant? Bobby Ghosh reviews Adda, a new Indian restaurant in Manhattan that chefs Roni Mazumdar and Chintan Pandya just opened, and samples the butter chicken:
“The marinated chicken is smoked at the table in a jerry-rigged mini-smoker; diners have the choice of two kinds of wood chips. Then they pick from three kinds of butter—infused with smoked chilies, pickled tomatoes or fenugreek-coriander—to complete the dish.”
The journalist and author Jeyarani has accused Seeing Red director Shalini Vijayakumar of plagiarising her short story, ‘Sevaralli Poocharam’, and of distorting and appropriating her narrative and presenting it through a Brahminical lens. The short film was selected for the MAMI festival and has been favourably received by reviewers presumably unaware of the original work. Jeyarani wants an apology from the director for the unauthorised and inappropriate use of her work and for Seeing Red to be pulled from all platforms, including MAMI.
That’s it for today. We’ll be back with you on Monday, on a device near you. If The India Cable was forwarded to you by a friend (perhaps a common friend!) book your own copy by SUBSCRIBING HERE.