Rezang La Battle Monument Removed During Disengagement in Ladakh; Kerala Governor Violating Sanctity of Own Post by Withholding Assent for Bills

Phogat to return awards, blast near Israeli embassy, new criminal codes sow confusion, bills that sailed through Parliament, Cummins roots for Khawaja, is it ‘Centre’ or ‘Union’ ― what’s in a name?

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

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Snapshot of the day

December 27, 2023 

Pratik Kanjilal

India’s two-time Wrestling World Championships medallist Vinesh Phogat has announced her decision to return her Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and Arjuna award. Phogat has been at the forefront of a year-long protest against former Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Phogat referred to the decision of Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia to withdraw from their career and return their honours, and said she now felt revulsed by her own awards. “I remember the year 2016, when [Malik] won an Olympic medal and the government made her the brand ambassador of its ‘beti bachao, beti padhao’ [save the girl by educating her] scheme,” she wrote, adding that this decision had sparked celebration among women wrestlers. “Mr Prime Minister, I