Modi U-Turn on Lateral Entry Recruitment, Vaishnaw's Shallow Defence of Policy Vindicates Opposition; J&K's Unfree Media

Protest forces cancellation of Israeli film festival in Mumbai, Mollywood's dismal score on gender front, trends in Hindu migration worldwide, UP police slammed by court for dodgy conversion case

A newsletter from The Wire | Founded by Sushant Singh, MK Venu, Sidharth Bhatia, Pratik Kanjilal, Tanweer Alam, Siddharth Varadarajan and Seema Chishti | Contributing writer: Kalrav Joshi, with additional inputs by Anirudh SK 

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Snapshot of the day

August 20, 2024

Siddharth Varadarajan

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh may be sticking to the claim that audio recordings submitted to the Justice Lamba Commission of Inquiry as evidence of his alleged complicity in the ethnic violence in the state are “doctored” but the Opposition has said it is finally time for the Modi-led government in Delhi to “wake up” and sack the controversial leader.

The Manipur Tapes were covered in detail by Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty yesterday. (Read parts one, two and three.)

The Manipur government has sought to deter the rest of the media from covering the tapes’ explosive contents by threatening to prosecute “anybody… without exception” who disseminates them in any form.

India’s diplomatic credibility faces a critical test as Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares for a hastily arranged visit to Kyiv on August 23 —  “the first by a senior Indian leader since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022 and the first by an Indian premier since Ukraine became independent in 1991. The visit is a somewhat crude attempt to balance ties with Washington and Moscow. Timing is clearly not Modi’s strong suit. He happened to be in Moscow hugging Vladimir Putin even as a