Opposition Parties Cripple Parliament With Protests Over Bihar SIR; Indian Company Delivers $1.4 Mn in Arms Export to Russia; US Missions’ Student Visa Processing Ability Further Reduced, says Govt
Don’t Bother With Gaza, Focus on Indian Issues, Bombay HC Tells CPM, Will the State Take a Step Back in Bihar, Trump Asks Big Tech to Stop Hiring From Overseas, Names India
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 Sidharth Bhatia for today’s Cable
Snapshot of the day
July 25, 2025
Sidharth Bhatia
Opposition protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar crippled Parliament at both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for the fifth straight day Friday with one Member of Parliament (MP) declaring that Union home minister Amit Shah should resign if so many illegal immigrants have infiltrated into India. “This is happening for the first time in the history of independent India,” said Trinamool Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra. “The chief election commissioner is speaking like a BJP spokesperson. If the central government thinks that 56 lakh people have infiltrated Bihar, then what was the home ministry doing? It’s the responsibility of the home minister, and he should resign”. The 56 lakh figure is what the Election Commission has claimed as the number of bogus voters it has already weeded out in Bihar.
The EC has likewise cited a number of other figures in response to challenges against the SIR, such as the number of people in Bihar who own passports, birth certificates or caste certificates – documents that would make residents eligible for inclusion in the revised voter roll. But its affidavit in the Supreme Court indicates that the commission obtained these figures from the Bihar government well after it announced the SIR, suggesting it started the exercise without this data, Ayush Tiwari points out. Its affidavit contains some other curiosities too, such as a higher estimate of residence certificates issued between 2011 and 2025 than Bihar's projected population; an admission that it is following revised procedure for the SIR; and a new rationale for conducting the exercise which it did not cite on June 24.
Outside of court too the EC has been countering criticism of the SIR, through WhatsApp messages selectively shared with journalists. Sravasti Dasgupta reports that in one such missive the commission asked if it should capitulate to fear and misinformation and “allow fake votes to be cast in the name of deceased voters, migrated voters or those voters who have registered in two places”, or list “fake votes or foreign voters”. Isn't its endeavour to prepare an authentic list “in an efficient way not the edifice of an impartial election and a strong democracy?” it asked. It has similarly challenged Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi's allegation of cheating sanctioned by the commission in a Karnataka seat.
The Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking directions to the Union government to conduct the delimitation process in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, reports LiveLaw. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh rejected the petitioner’s argument that holding the exercise only in Jammu and Kashmir last year and not in the southern states was “arbitrary or violative of the Constitution”. On Thursday, the apex court stated that allowing the delimitation process in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana “will open floodgates for all states to approach seeking parity”. The bench also said that the provisions dealing with delimitation in states were different from Union Territories. “Union Territories are regulated by parliamentary legislation,” the bench added.
An Indian company delivered $1.4 million worth of military explosives to Russia last December, ignoring US warnings on potential sanctions, reports Reuters, citing data from Indian customs. New Delhi has maintained a neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, calling for a peaceful solution while fostering an economic relationship with Moscow. Among the Russian companies listed as recipients of the explosive substance octogen, also known as HMX, is Promsintez, an explosives producer that has ties to the Russian military, a Ukrainian Security Service official told Reuters. According to the Pentagon's Defense Technical Information Center and related defense research programs, octogen is commonly used in missile and torpedo warheads, rocket engines, explosive shells, and plastic explosives for advanced military systems.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday questioned the Centre’s decision to exclude West Bengal from a Rajya Sabha response detailing state-wise pending liabilities under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Calling the omission “extraordinary, unprecedented, and unacceptable,” on X, Ramesh pointed to a starred question raised by Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’ Brien in the Upper House regarding pending funds under the rural employment scheme. O’ Brien’s sought to know whether the number of households registered under MGNREGA rose by 8.6% between the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 even as average days of employment per household fell by 7.1% and average workdays per person dropped by 43%.
Alessandro des Dorides, the CEO of India’s second-biggest refiner Nayara Energy, partly owned by Russian oil major Rosneft, has resigned after the European Union (EU) imposed sanctions on it as part of its sanctions package against Russia, reports Reuters, citing sources. After a board meeting on Wednesday, the Mumbai-based Nayara has appointed company veteran Sergey Denisov as chief executive to replace Dorides.
Earlier this year, a major security breach hit the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), resulting in the loss of critical data, according to The Indian Express. The cyberattack compromised not only ICAR’s main website but also its primary server in Delhi and a replication server in Hyderabad. The damage, which reportedly occurred in April, wiped out key information related to recruitment, finances, scientific research, and administrative operations. In response, a six-member committee was hastily constituted to investigate the breach and recommend preventive measures. Ironically, months later – and with the committee’s report due on July 31 – not a single meeting has been held. If ICAR were researching crop failures the way it is handling cyber failures, the country sure would be importing wheat from Mars by now.
In response to a question raised by BJP MP Jai Prakash in the Lok Sabha regarding the aftermath of the Air India Flight 171 crash, the government has acknowledged a “minor increase in sick leaves reported by pilots.” While not characterised as mass absenteeism, this uptick has followed a period of turbulence within Air India’s operations. The airline currently has a workforce of approximately 3,500 pilots and over 100 Air India pilots reported sick four days after the Air India plane crash, reports The Telegraph. In its reply, the government referred to a February 2023 medical circular issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) which outlines mental health guidelines for both flight crew and Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCOs), aiming to strengthen psychological support systems through regular assessments and guidance for airlines and DGCA-empanelled medical examiners.
However, concerns over regulatory compliance have intensified. According to sources cited by news agencies including PTI, the DGCA recently issued four show cause notices for 29 violations to Air India. These notices pertain to violations related to cabin crew rest norms, training regulations, and operational procedures. The action reportedly follows voluntary disclosures made by the airline to the regulator, raising questions about systemic issues in crew management and training oversight.
Beneath the surface, a broader concern persists across India’s aviation sector – the mental health of pilots. Despite increasing awareness post-pandemic, a significant number of pilots remain reluctant to seek help for psychological challenges such as burnout, depression, or anxiety. The reluctance stems not only from social stigma but also from a deeper fear that disclosing such issues could lead to loss of medical certification, grounding, or diminished income potential. This underlying issue has gained urgency after the June 12 crash, spotlighting the psychological toll of high-stakes flying and the need for reform in how mental health is addressed within aviation.
Meanwhile, half of the positions at the DGCA – the country’s aviation watchdog – are vacant, the government has revealed in a Lok Sabha response. There are 823 vacancies in the directorate at the moment, out of 1644 positions – a neat 50%.
Weeks after former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar referred to the inclusion of ‘secularism’ and ‘socialism’ in the Constitution’s Preamble during the Emergency as an “ulcer” and a distortion of the essence of “Sanatana”, the Union government on Friday has clarified that it has “no current plan or intention” to reconsider or remove these terms, the Rajya Sabha. The House was also told that the government has not “formally” initiated any legal or constitutional process to remove the two words from the Preamble of the Constitution. In a written reply, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said while there may be discussions or debates in certain public or political circles, “no formal decision or proposal has been announced by the government” regarding amendments to these terms.
Post the sudden resignation of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, the election for the next one will take place only after the ongoing monsoon session. This is because of the “procedure involved”. There is no mandatory deadline fixed for holding the election, as per the Constitution, except that it should be held “as soon as possible.”
In a move that signals a significant thaw in decades of frosty ties, Pakistan and Bangladesh have agreed to grant visa-free entry to holders of diplomatic and official passports. The development, announced on Wednesday following a high-level meeting in Dhaka, is likely to be watched closely by New Delhi, which has deep strategic stakes in the region.
Additional security requirements brought in by the Trump Administration earlier this month to issue student visas to the United States “have further reduced the capacity of the US embassy and consulates in India to process visas”, the ministry for external affairs has told the Parliament. “However, student visa appointments are now open,” said the ministry. In a written reply to Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji, minister of state for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, also said, “US embassy is working to open a limited number of additional student visa appointments through the end of August in recognition of the urgent need for these appointments before the start of the new academic year.” The ministry said that the US embassy has conveyed to it that it “is developing a student visa fact sheet with FAQs (frequently asked questions) that should help reduce uncertainty around this issue.”
For private hospitals, patients are just like ATMs, said the Allahabad High Court, while “refusing to quash proceedings in a medical negligence case against a doctor.” These strong words were used by Justice Prashant Kumar in a case involving Dr Ashok Kumar, owner of a nursing home who had admitted a pregnant woman for surgery though no anesthetist was available. The anesthetist came later, by which time the “foetus was found dead.”
The Gujarat government ordered 48 schoolteachers in Rajkot’s Jasdan taluka to drop their chalk and pick up ladles – all to serve food to VVIPs at a temple fair. With the state already short of 12,500 teachers, the circular asked educators to manage catering duties at the Ghela Somnath temple during Shravan month. After public outrage and a grilling by the opposition, the order was hastily withdrawn. Education Minister Kuber Dindor called it an “error” – apparently confusing classrooms with community kitchens. Teachers can now “volunteer” for temple duty, but not be forced.
Only four out of 11 Indian satellites of the navigation system are working
Meanwhile, India’s domestic satellite navigation system, NAVIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), hangs in the balance. Government statistics reveal that of the 11 satellites, only four are still working. Of these, two have crossed or are reaching the end of their planned life. One has partially malfunctioned. NAVIC, created by ISRO to be used in military and civilian applications, is India’s equivalent of GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, and Galileo. But the close to non-existent condition of its fleet raises grave concerns for India’s strategic abilities. With critical failures already documented, the requirement for emergency satellite replacements has never been higher.
Bombay HC chides CPI(M) for Gaza solidarity, ignores double standard on foreign protests
In looking to protest what is happening in Gaza the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is being insufficiently patriotic, said the Bombay high court today, advising the “short-sighted” party to instead take up local issues “like garbage dumping, pollution, sewerage, flooding”. A bench comprising Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Gautam Ankhad said, as quoted by Sahyaja MS:
“Our country has enough issues. We don't want anything like this. I am sorry to say, you are all short-sighted. You are looking at issues in Gaza and Palestine. Look at your own country. Be patriots. This is not patriotism…”
The court also reminded the CPM that its foreign policy stance differs from that of the Union government. At any rate it rejected its petition filed against the Mumbai police's denial of permission for a pro-Gaza protest at the Azad Maidan on the grounds that it was not the original applicant before the police. Meanwhile, one wonders why this court nor any other issued such clarion calls for patriotism when people came out on the streets to protest occurrences in Bangladesh – i.e. when they did not “look at your own country”.
Trump asks big tech to stop hiring overseas, names India
United States President Donald Trump has called out the US technology companies for hiring workers from India and setting up factories in China, urging them to focus on the US for future business activities. At an AI Summit in Washington, Trump lashed out at what he called the tech industry’s “globalist mindset,” and claimed that some of the top tech companies have made profits using American freedom but have invested heavily outside the country.
However, this is “not the first time Trump has targeted India over tech outsourcing”, says Moneycontrol. In May, he warned Apple that it would face steep tariffs if it continued manufacturing iPhones outside the US. The latest remarks only multiply the pressure on India’s tech sector, already weighed down by fewer job opportunities in India and rising unemployment rates for the educated.
The Long Cable
India's democracy on a precipice: will the state take a step back in Bihar?
Badri Raina
When the Constitution of India granted the right of universal adult franchise to citizens, it did not, unlike the American system, require Indians above eighteen years of age to register suo moto as voters.
The task of ensuring that every Indian above the age of eighteen cast her/his vote was entrusted to the Election Commission of India by putting together a voter's list through house to house enumeration.
The periodic renewal of voter's lists has thus been carried out ever since the first election of 1952, ensuring that the injunction to "free and fair" elections (held by a thirteen-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in 1973 to be a founding element of the 'basic structure' of the Constitution, unamendable by parliament) were effected.
Those renewals, clearly, took care that no dead persons remained on the list, nor newly eligible citizens excluded from exercising their all-important fundamental right to express their choice in government formation.
The Special Intensive Revision now underway on behalf of the Election Commission has, unprecedentedly and without warrant, chosen to dub all previous electoral rolls from 2003 onwards as apocryphal and not to be referenced in its rough-shod drive to formulate a wholly new voter's list for the forthcoming elections to the Bihar Legislative Assembly.
Contravening the constitutional provision, the Commission has cavalierly sought recourse to the American system by asking citizens to fill out forms justifying their status as voters.
And it has done so not by simply getting forms filled with proof of identity and location, and returning proper receipt of such forms taken from citizens, but by asking them to provide from a choice of some eleven documents to support their applications.
In a recent hearing, the Supreme Court has underscored the constitutional point that the Election Commission of India has no remit to determine the citizenship of Indians--a job that belongs to the ministry of Home Affairs.
The Commission argues that since only citizens can legally be allowed to vote, it must know who are valid citizens and who are not.
Remarkably, the documents it has sought from likely voters do not constitute any proof of citizenship.
The Commission has refused to accept such documents as the Aadhar Card (once sold by the state as the be-all and end-all of authentic Indianness, complete with elaborate biometric imprints), its own Voter Identification Card, and the ubiquitous Ration Card (through which the Modi government gives freebies to some 83 crore Indians) as valid documents for its questionable determinations, despite the top court's suggestion that it do so.
Comically enough, the documents it has sought all require an Aadhar Card proof for their making and bestowal.
Dystopia, anyone?
At the time of writing, speculation has it that some 5 million or more Biharis stand to be excluded from the new voter's list, although the Commission has not thought it fit yet to speak to these matters openly in its own voice.
Its agents argue that Indians have the right to contest their exclusion in the month too come--a procedure not very ideally suited to a grossly impoverished Bihar, with barely any road access available in the hinterlands.
Coming alive to the enormity of the departure that the Commission has sought to make from all previous practices, the political opposition which represents some 60 % of the electorate, is up in revolt at the gumption of the EC to play sixes and sevens with citizen's 'basic right' to the expression of democratic choice--one that the poorest Indian cherishes as the greatest gift of the constitutional regime to her/him, however misery-ridden their livelihood circumstances,
Thus the questions:
--will the Supreme Court in its next hearing on the matter on July 28 retrieve the Republic from a looming catastrophe?
--will the Election Commission see right and retrace its deleterious course of action?
--will the protesting opposition tire itself out in the face of a recalcitrance never seen before in Independent India?
--or will it stand its ground to the point of actually boycotting the next election to come in Bihar, and perhaps elections thereafter?
Should the boycott happen, how may the world evaluate the commitment of the Modi-dispensation to democracy in India? Especially since the ruling BJP seems to be the only political faction endorsing the Commission's course of action?
(Badri Raina taught at Delhi University.)
Reportedly
A four-term BJP MP known for his rabid tongue and anti-opposition tirade, told a senior opposition leader why the US President is angry with PM Modi. As per the rabble rousing MP, he had met Trump’s son and other people close to him and picked up that the US president holds a grouse that Modi did not visit him when he visited the US last September. Trump had in fact announced during the campaign that Modi would be visiting him at his place. In the end, Modi didn’t and Trump has not forgotten that slight. At least this is what this BJP MP is telling others.
Pen vs sword
Deep dive
In 2023, the boundary of a glacial lake in Sikkim gave way, leading to massive flooding in the state and in West Bengal. Two years later, locals are deeply dissatisfied with the government’s response to the tragedy. Vaishnavi Rathore spoke to families who remain in relief camps.
Prime number: Rs 1.68 crore
South Africa has finished auctioning the mansions of the three Indian-origin Gupta brothers who were the focal point of the country's ‘state capture’ scandal that brought down Jacob Zuma's government. Although two homes belonging to Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta valued at 22 million rand and 37 million rand each failed to sell – perhaps due to the stigma associated with the trio – their contents were sold for a total of 160,000 rand. A third mansion believed to have been used by staffers was sold for 3.3 million rand, bringing the total to 3.46 million rand or Rs 1.68 crore.Opeds you don’t want to miss
Using the phrase ‘urban Naxal’ as a distraction, Maharashtra's Special Public Security Bill plainly endangers “the common language of democratic mobilisation”. But it isn't just the state's NDA establishment whose hands are dirty, says Suhas Palshikar: “In its abject muteness, the opposition in Maharashtra has shown that it is following in the footsteps of the loyal opposition in Gujarat”.
While the Modi government clings to a domestic narrative of strength against China at the border, the ground realities are inconveniently stark. The Sino-India border is neither normal nor dispute-free, writes Sushant Singh. “With borders compromised and leverage gone, New Delhi is now outmanoeuvred, dependent and unable to resist China’s supremacy in word or deed. This is not strength; it is submission”.
The free trade agreement with the UK will allow a number of British HFSS or high fat, sugar and salt products to enter India at cheap prices. On top of this, India has weak advertising regulations and lacks an informative warning label system, Chandrakant Lahariya and Arun Gupta point out. But it isn't too late yet – there are still a number of potential safeguards that stakeholders can implement, they write.
Mediaeval Indian history is more complex and nuanced than it is often made to seem. Against this backdrop, what would be an effective way to teach the subject to one's students? History professor Chanthu S describes his effort to “create a space where critical consciousness, aesthetic imagination and inner awakening can lead to meaningful and creative engagement with the past”.
After the shock resignation of Jagdeep Dhankar from the V-P’s post, ‘outsiders’ are likely to not get sensitive assignments, writes Bharat Bhushan. “It will impact the fate of other lateral entrants to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from other parties”, he writes. Dhankar had done the political rounds-from a “small-time acolyte in Devi Lal’s Durbar” to the Congress and then the BJP, which first sent him to West Bengal as the Governor and then made him the Vice-President. It showed he was “ambitious,” he says. “Dhankhar has certainly spoiled the political pitch further for dissenters in the BJP”.
Listen up
We often think of the '50s as a golden age of Hindi cinema – in terms of stories, music and film-making – but why exactly is that? Speaking to Sidharth Bhatia, film scholar Rachel Dwyer says that we “saw several great directors working, the rise of major stars, playback singing being normalised and the stories too, which were usually about a hero looking to find a place in this new world, really spoke to people in a very direct way, and not just people in India, of course, but people across the world”.
Watch out
Sushant Singh and Hartosh Singh Bal discuss the achievements of the only constant senior figure in Modi’s 11 years, Ajit Doval, arguing that his imprint on India’s internal security and foreign policy is unmistakable but an appraisal shows him in poor light.
Over and out
“Conductor Maria Badstue, soprano Chery Bains, tenor Alok Kumar, and the musicians of the South Asian Symphony Orchestra are getting ready to bring you an evening of gorgeous music, intensity, drama, and emotion, " says an announcement by SASO. These musicians will present ‘Peace Notes: An Evening at the Opera” on August 2 and August 3.
SASO consists mainly of musicians and opera singers from around South Asian countries. The selection will be from classical arias from Carmen (Georges Bizet, 1875), La Traviata (Giuseppe Verdi, 1853), and Roméo et Juliette (Charles Gounod, 1867). All the thre are of Indian origin. On August 4, in a workshop on Musical Leadership and Listening, along with Bains and Kumar, will be pianist Soundarie David Rodrigo, who is of Sri Lankan origin. The evening has been sponsored by Adani Power, Bajaj Group Charitable Trusts, Serum Institute of India and Pheroza Godrej.
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.