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  Scrutiny of the 2024 election campaign and representation in the 18th Lok Sabha shows a targeting of and a discrimination against the Muslim community November 1888, Lord Dufferin (1826-1902) wrote, ‘Muslims of British India, a nation of 50 million reigned supreme from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin’. In contemporary India, the Muslim demographic has swelled to more than fourfold since Lord Dufferin’s era. It now surpasses the combined populations of Britain and France. Despite this, Indian Muslims find themselves standing helplessly at the heart of a violent triangle marked by lynching, bulldozer justice, and riots under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime, particularly since 2014. Notably, a majority of Muslims have collectively exhaled in relief at the outcome of the 2024 general election. The BJP has been deprived of a majority of its own, a departure from the verdicts of the 2014 and 2019 general elections. Consequently, India has reverted to a coalition era. A mix of opt...

  Court on climate right and how India can enforce India is still developing, what the country needs is a law that enables progress toward low-carbon and climate-resilient development  recent judgment in  M.K. Ranjitsinh and Ors. vs Union of India & Ors . court has read into the Constitution of India the right to ‘be free from the adverse effects of climate change’  identifying both the right to life and the right to equality as its sources.  A new right around climate   Great Indian Bustard and transmission line work The issue before the Court was whether and how electricity transmission lines can be built through the habitat of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard.  The government claimed   that a previous court order protecting the bird’s habitat had affected the country’s renewable energy potential.  Modifying this order, the Court prioritised transmission infrastructure to enable accelerated development of renewable energy...

  India’s higher education system The National Testing Agency-University Grants Commission-Vice Chancellor nexus needs to be examined राष्ट्रीय परीक्षण एजेंसी-विश्वविद्यालय अनुदान आयोग-कुलपति गठजोड़ की जांच की जानी चाहिए   2022-23 was marked by unprecedented delays   in admissions to all university programmes because of the introduction of the National Testing Agency (NTA)-run Common University Entrance Test (CUET) regime for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.  A CUET for PhD admissions   had also been envisaged by the NTA for 2022-23, but that plan was summarily dropped in mid-September Reason was serious internal critique by teachers and students of the blind ceding of this core aspect of university autonomy were left in the lurch. One such university was Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU )  1  whose tied with the NTA is indicative of all that Central universities have suffered in this NTA regime.  2  JNU, India’s second-ranked uni...

  Zika surveillance means we might never fully understand its spread A recent case of Zika virus infection in Pune   has renewed concerns about India’s preparedness for diagnosing emerging infectious diseases.  After experiencing symptoms like fever and rashes, the 46-year-old doctor was hospitalised and diagnosed with Zika virus infection after his samples were sent for testing to the apex virology institute.  Subsequent testing of his family members revealed that his 15-year-old daughter was also infected.  This is not the first time  Zika has been identified in India. Cases have been identified in multiple States in India in the past, with larger outbreaks occurring in Kerala and Uttar Pradesh as recently as 2021. About Zika virus is a mosquito-borne pathogen belonging to the flavivirus family of viruses which also includes dengue.  symptoms of Zika  could be mild and indistinguishable from other infectious diseases including dengue.  Howe...

inStem’s fabric offers protection from pesticides  Farmers get repeatedly exposed to the insecticide due to frequent usage, and this can cause chronic toxicity and severe adverse health effects. The animal study results show promise that the fabric containing the small molecules can prevent chronic toxicity in farmers, he says.   anti-insecticide fabric    Researchers at the Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (inStem), in Bengaluru have developed an anti-insecticide fabric that effectively neutralises organophosphate-based pesticides .   a gel for topical dermal application  In an earlier work published about six years ago, the team had developed a gel for topical dermal application to deactivate the pesticides.  But considering that compliance might be poor, the researchers looked at another alternative that is as effective in deactivating the insecticide but at the same time does not reduce compliance. PROCESS  When este...

  Specific PET scan for TB for more effective treatment  positron emission tomography (PET)  A more accurate way to scan for tuberculosis has been developed by researcher based in the U.K. and the U.S. using positron emission tomography (PET).  a new  FDT  radiotracer which is taken up by live TB bacteria in the body. Radiotracers are radioactive compounds which give off radiation that can be detected by scanners and turned into a 3D image.  The new radiotracer, called FDT, enables PET scans to be used for the first time to accurately pinpoint when and where the disease is still active in a patient’s lungs. The researchers have put the new radiotracer through extensive pre-clinical trials with no adverse effects and it is now ready to go into Phase I trials in humans. The study has been published inthe journal Nature Communications . Currently, two methods exist for TB diagnosis: testing for the TB bacteria in a patient’s sputum using smear microscopy ...

  There is no evidence that the Prime Minister has come to terms with the electoral outcome or has reflected on the message sent to him by voters इस बात का कोई सबूत नहीं है कि प्रधानमंत्री चुनावी नतीजों से सहमत हो गए हैं या उन्होंने मतदाताओं द्वारा उन्हें भेजे गए संदेश पर विचार किया है How was the election for BJP ? The verdict negated not only such pretensions, but it was also an unequivocal rejection of the politics of divisiveness, discord and hatred, a repudiation of both the substance and style of governance of Mr. Narendra Modi. some old and new issue  The first few days of the 18th Lok Sabha have, sadly, been far from encouraging. Any hope that we might see a changed attitude has been dashed. Any hope that a new spirit of mutual respect and accommodation, let alone camaraderie would be fostered, has been belied.   post of Speaker issue  I would like to remind readers what the INDIA bloc parties told the Prime Minister when his emissaries sought unanimity for t...