Category: Editorial

Title: Cripple and scuttle: On vacancies in Information Commissions

Nearly two decades after the passage of the Right to Information Act, it is quite apparent that governments, at least sections of it, are uncomfortable with the idea of transparency and empowerment associated with it. Amendments to dilute its efficacy and attempts to defeat it by delaying or denying information have been quite common for years. Another way to scuttle the law is to cripple the functioning of information commissions at the central and State levels. The issue has surfaced again, with the Supreme Court of India questioning the large number of vacancies in the central and some State Information Commissions. These commissions hear appeals from members of the public who have been denied access to information or have failed to elicit a response from designated information officers in various departments and institutions. A Division Bench has taken note of the fact that there are eight vacancies in the posts of Information Commissioners in the Central Information Commission (CIC), while 23,000 appeals are pending before it. In fact, some State-level Information Commissions are almost defunct for want of members to hear the public. Any court is bound to ask, as the Court has now done, how an institution can be of any use if it does not have persons to perform the required duties under the law.

The Court has sought to impart some urgency to the matter by directing the Department of Personnel and Training to spell out in two weeks the timelines for completing the selection process and notifying the appointments of the eight Information Commissioners in the CIC. It has also asked for details about the search committee and the list of applicants for the posts. Similarly, States that have initiated the appointment process but without any definite timeline have been asked to complete the process within a specified time. However, this may not be enough to bring about a revival in the fulfilment of the original purpose of the Act. Besides filling up vacancies, not all governments have complied with a Court verdict of 2019 that called for proactive efforts to fill up vacancies in time by advertising them early. The CIC’s post was stripped of its autonomy some years ago when the government removed the fixed five-year tenure and made it open-ended. Not much has been done to appoint candidates from various walks of life, as retired civil servants continue to be chosen, a point noted by the Bench in the latest hearing. It is inevitable that a large number of vacancies will result in a huge backlog and ultimately discourage the people from seeking information. It is difficult not to conclude that this is what those in power want.

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Title: ​  Strong setback: On the Maoist movement and anti-Maoist operations

When an insurgent organisation is faced with a precipice, it has two options — it can either go down with a fight and pull some of its adversaries across the cliff or it can see the futility of its aims and give up the fight for good. Ideologically motivated insurgent organisations rarely choose the second option, especially those that are engaged in decades of conflict. Even those organisations such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that gave up violent insurgency and entered into an armistice find it difficult to convince factions or cadres who are committed to the violence as a means of not just rebellion but also of their existence. Since the merger of various Naxalite currents into the party in the early 2000s, the Communist Party of India (Maoist) has rarely ventured to speak of peace and ending the violent conflict except for tactical reasons. Its ideology not just talks of the utilisation of violence for its aims but also makes it central to its existence. The dastardly killing of eight security personnel and a civilian driver in an improvised explosive device blast in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Monday (January 6, 2025) might seem like a sign that the potency of the CPI(Maoist) in inflicting such acts remains, and, therefore, the Maoists are a dangerous insurgent force. While there is a grain of truth to that, especially in the Abujmarh jungles and adjoining areas of the Bastar region in the State, it is also accurate to suggest that these are acts of a flailing outfit struggling to retain what was the only bastion for the left extremist organisation.

The deaths of the security personnel, who belonged to the District Reserve Guard and Bastar Fighters of the Chhattisgarh Police, are certainly a setback to the anti-Maoist operations that have picked up pace and resulted in significant deaths of Maoist cadres and other tribal people caught in the conflict. In 2024, an estimated 296 insurgents died in the operations while security forces lost 24 people and there were 80 civilian deaths. To suffer eight casualties early in 2025 is a major blow and one of the severest losses for the security forces in recent years. The heavy use of explosives and the camouflaged nature of the planted IEDs suggest that the Maoists had planned this attack for a long time; the last such IED blast was in April 2023 in Dantewada. The knee-jerk reaction to this incident will be the security forces intensifying their operations to identify the culprits, potentially targeting innocent civilians. While stepping up the security campaign is inevitable considering the fact that the Maoists have refused to abjure violence, the security personnel and the government should not get carried away in retaliation and target civilians as this would play right into the hands of Maoist propaganda about state repression. As tempting as it is to wipe out the Maoist movement through military means, as the Union Home Minister has promised, it is still prudent to use civil society actors to work out a ceasefire agreement and utilise it to end the conflict.

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Title: ​  Down, but not out: On the Border-Gavaskar Trophy

A decade-long dominance wound to a close at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the second-biggest silverware in terms of stature after the Ashes in cricket, and the biggest on the basis of viewership, has been India’s preserve since 2015. Australia last won the title in the 2014-15 home series and after that India claimed the trophy on four occasions. This winning streak ended once the fifth Test concluded at Sydney with Pat Cummins and his men winning by six wickets and seizing the series at 3-1. The margin could hint at a vast gap in ability between the two squads. But it was anything but that and India had its moments and could have finished on the victor’s podium. This was a series where the batters played second fiddle to excellent speedsters. It is no surprise that when Jasprit Bumrah, the most dominant among them, got injured and could not bowl during the Australian second innings chase in the last Test, the host prospered. Bumrah began the series as captain, a position he returned to once the regular skipper, the out-of-form Rohit Sharma, opted out at the climax. And Bumrah, with 32 wickets, led the charts. Again with a resilient bat, he even helped India avoid the follow-on at Brisbane’s Gabba.

A transition is upon the Indian Test unit, especially after failing to qualify for the ICC World Test Championship final. Having eased out Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane and now dealing with R. Ashwin’s retirement mid-series, the selectors and coach Gautam Gambhir need to look at the future of Virat Kohli, Rohit and Ravindra Jadeja. These players were India’s core in Tests, but a change is inevitable. Tours Down Under often force a flux. Dilip Vengsarkar retired after the 1991-92 tour, Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman followed suit after their 2011-12 visit. In the current sojourn, despite scoring a ton in the first Test at Perth, Kohli’s overall yield of 190 at 23.75 was poor. Rohit’s numbers are even worse as he scored 3, 6, 10, 3 and 9. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s runs, K.L. Rahul’s initial consistency, newcomer Nitish Kumar Reddy’s hundred at Melbourne, and the odd lower-order resistance, bailed out India but that was not enough. India lost due to batting ineptitude, a frailty that affected Australia too before its middle-order found a second-wind through Steve Smith, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne. Mohammed Siraj toiled hard but beyond him, Bumrah did not have much support from the bowling ranks. This was a series on which Cummins, through 25 wickets and 159 runs, imposed his will. India will need to find younger heroes, especially batters who are adept at playing both spin and pace, at home and abroad, in Tests and limited overs.

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Title: ​ ​ No secret affair: on the  draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025

The draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, is a long overdue advance in the direction of enforcing the fundamental right to informational privacy for Indians, affirmed by the Supreme Court of India in the landmark case, Justice K.S. Puttaswamy vs. Union of India (2017). The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, which these draft rules seek to enforce, was passed in Parliament over a year ago. This seven-year wait has most likely not been without costs for the privacy of the data of Indians, as it coincided with a period that saw a rapid growth in digitisation. The proposed rules offer direction on how online services will be required to: communicate the purposes of their data collection to users; safeguard children’s data online; establish the Data Protection Board of India (DPBI); set the standards for government agencies to follow to be exempt from the Act’s provisions, and spell out the procedures to be observed if personal data is breached by a data fiduciary. The concerns regarding the proposed DPBI’s institutional design have not been resolved by these proposed Rules, and it may not be realistic to expect such an outcome from subordinate legislation.

It is regrettable that the government continues to cloak the rule-making process of a critical policy such as this in secrecy. Since the Justice B.N. Srikrishna committee was convened to draft the first Bill for data protection, the government has consistently declined to place recommendations from stakeholders in the public domain, and has foreclosed such disclosure for these draft rules as well. For legislation where the stakes are high for individual users as well as for large technology firms, an open deliberative process is essential. It can only be facilitated when industry associations and the general public can find equal footing by being equal participants with transparency into each other’s viewpoints during the consultation process. In the short and medium term, it is essential for the government to proceed with these principles in mind, while never departing from the key aims of any data protection law: minimising data collection, promoting disclosures, penalising neglect in protecting user data, and discouraging surveillance practices, both by the private sector and the government. This process must also play out in a timely fashion, as Indians have been waiting far too long to finally obtain the rights that were affirmed for them in 2017. Else, people’s confidence in the government’s seriousness about protecting their data from government agencies as well as private enterprises would be shaken.

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Title: ​ ​ Cost and benefit: On Bangladesh, India and Sheikh Hasina 

Amidst signs that New Delhi and Dhaka are trying to resolve other issues that have marred their ties in the last few months, the issue of Bangladesh’s demand that India extradite Sheikh Hasina remains intractable, with neither side budging. In December, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was able to convey during his Dhaka visit, that India remains a friend. He also reaffirmed the continuity in ties in trade, energy, infrastructure and connectivity; the two sides appear to have calmed the situation at the border as well. Finally, the government indicated to a parliamentary committee that while Ms. Hasina remains in Delhi as India’s guest, it had no truck with her political pronouncements and messages targeting Mr. Yunus. The situation seemed to shift last week, as Bangladesh sent New Delhi a “note verbale” or diplomatic missive demanding Ms. Hasina’s extradition to face trial for cases that include corruption, and a Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal charge that she had perpetrated ‘crimes against humanity’ in ordering a police crackdown on student protesters. The India-Bangladesh extradition treaty of 2013, amended in 2016, sets out the course of procedures quite clearly, which needs to be pursued through a more formal representation from Bangladesh to India. The note verbale appears to be meant only to assuage domestic political constituencies, while India’s External Affairs Ministry’s response — not rejecting it outright — seems to be a non-escalatory way of dealing with the situation.

While the legalities of the request can be the subject of protracted negotiations, it is important to ensure that the issue does not hold India-Bangladesh relations hostage. The Yunus government must understand that the history of India’s relationship with Ms. Hasina and her family is forged in the sacrifices made in both countries for the liberation of Bangladesh. The assassination of her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and members of her family in 1975, and her first exile in India, strengthened the bond. It is futile to expect that India would simply hand Ms. Hasina over, when she has sought refuge here, and no amount of coercive pressure could force an Indian government to comply. The decision to shelter the Dalai Lama in 1959, for example, has not wavered despite Chinese pressure. Furthermore, bringing Ms. Hasina to account is not the mandate of the interim regime, and should be pursued by a government duly elected by the Bangladeshi people. In Delhi, there must be a recognition that the actions of Ms. Hasina’s government have scarred the nation. The fact that she is making political statements with ease from Indian soil is likely to embitter ties and New Delhi must conduct a full cost-benefit analysis of how helpful these statements are. Given the consequences of a tense border and geopolitical turmoil, both countries must learn to deal with the issue diplomatically — in a separate silo from other aspects of their important relationship.

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Title: ​ ​Learning lessons: on the air crash in South Korea 

The grim footage of a Boeing 737-800 sliding across the runway at Muan airport, to end as a fireball extinguishing 179 lives, will forever be a reminder of an air crash that holds important lessons for everyone from airport authorities to aviation regulators to airline pilots. Jeju Air flight 7C2216, on a scheduled flight from Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi airport, was on approach to Muan international airport in South Korea’s southwestern corner after air traffic control cleared its landing on the single runway. There was also a caution of bird activity. The airfield’s environs — an oceanic setting, with also some wetland — are known to host a variety of avian life. The airport uses non-lethal and lethal bird scare techniques during operating hours. From that point on, the aircraft transitioned from what seemed a stable approach to a phase of multiple issues, with “mayday, mayday, mayday, bird hit” being one such call by the crew who were in apparent distress. The go around and subsequent landing have led aviation experts to raise questions about the responses by the crew and also that of air traffic control. The touchdown, with the landing gear up, had the crippled craft hurtling on its fuselage and engines, and impacting a concrete structure at the runway end housing crucial ground-based landing aids. In focus is the ‘unusual concrete wall’, which the Korean authorities have said is ‘found in other airports in Korea’, and was built according to the country’s code. Whether this follows ICAO’s Annex 14 (Standards – Aerodrome) will need investigation. Some accident investigators have called this the key factor that trumped operational safety, overwhelming the ‘flapless gearless’ landing.

The accident, South Korea’s worst in decades, comes amidst a political crisis. However, the new acting President, Choi Sang-mok, seems to be steering the response with a task force in place and the authorities having been instructed to review aviation operations and inspect airline fleets. The Ministry of Transport’s highlighting of several issues would need a thorough probe, especially with representatives from the U.S.’s NTSB, the FAA, and the aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, on board. Boeing will again find the spotlight back on its workhorse, the 737. While the accident is the first for Jeju Air, a popular 41-jet budget airline, air safety in South Korea is generally considered to be of industry best practice. Every accident has its lessons, and for India too, with air travel on the rise, there must be a thorough review of every aspect of crew training as well as of runway safety at its 157 operational airports.

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Title: ​ ​Queen’s gambit: on Koneru Humpy’s chess win

There was almost a sense of inevitability to the World rapid chess championship that concluded in New York on Sunday (India time). Given the astonishing year that India has had in chess, it was as if there had to be an Indian champion, and Koneru Humpy ensured there was one. The 37-year-old from Vijayawada won the women’s World rapid championship after defeating Indonesia’s Irene Sukandar in the final round. This is the second World rapid title for Humpy, which she won first in 2019. This is even more remarkable as she had been seeded 10th and had to face several younger rivals. Chess is getting younger and younger. D. Gukesh proved it just a fortnight ago in Singapore, when he became the youngest world champion in history at 18. Gukesh’s victory came in the classical variety of chess, while Humpy’s was in a format of much shorter time control. The fact that it has not been her favourite format — which remains classical — makes her success even more special. Ironically, she has never won the classical World championship, though she has come close in the past. The latest triumph should inspire her to mount another challenge for the trophy that matters the most.

Humpy’s success is only the latest reminder about India’s stature as the superpower in international chess. In September this year, India’s men’s and women’s teams emerged as champions at the Chess Olympiad, in which just about every country took part. Only the former Soviet Union and China have claimed a twin gold at the Olympiad before. India is now to world chess what the Soviet Union was for decades. The country may still have to go a long way before it could rival the popularity that chess enjoyed in the USSR during its golden days but India is churning out world beaters with remarkable consistency. An active chess federation despite the internal quibbles, a familiar tale for Indian sport, huge parental support, increasing interest from the corporate sector and the availability of Grandmasters as coaches across the country have all contributed to the Indian chess revolution, which was begun by five-time World champion Viswanathan Anand. But for India to retain its position as the global giant in the mind game, more has to be done. Except for a few States such as Tamil Nadu, chess still does not get the recognition it deserves. Recently, Tania Sachdev, a member of the victorious Indian women’s team at the Olympiad, had to go public about the lack of support for chess from the Delhi government.

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Title: ​ Pushed through: On mega projects

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagging off work on the Ken-Betwa river interlinking project signalled that the national government is unbothered by the wide-ranging opposition to it. At a budgeted cost of ₹44,605 crore, the project will draw supposedly “excess” water away from the Ken river basin towards the Betwa river basin and thereon to farmland and human settlements. When the Union Cabinet approved the project in 2021, the National Green Tribunal was still deliberating a challenge to its green clearance. This was typical of the state’s tendency to pardon businesses found in violation of environmental laws after they had made considerable investments. The government itself has ignored critical comments from experts, including members of an empowered committee appointed by the Supreme Court, and bypassed due process. The law has strict terms for allowing hydroelectric power projects in ecologically sensitive areas — the Daudhan Dam will be erected inside the Panna Tiger Reserve — but there is little evidence of such scrutiny. Work on the dam will destroy lakhs of trees and destabilise fragile ecosystems. The government has also refused to release hydrological data of the basins claiming they are sensitive by virtue of being subsets of the international Ganga basin.

That a river interlink will water fields and quench thirst is irrefutable, but for how long? Various studies have asserted that the Ken and the Betwa basins suffer floods and droughts together, that the subcontinent’s rainfall and sedimentation patterns stand to be altered, and that the Betwa basin can be replenished more affordably by maintaining environmental flows and bolstering natural storage. The government’s principal claim is that the Ken and the Betwa basins are respectively water-surplus and water-deficient. This is disingenuous: the Betwa basin is water-deficient strictly because it hosts several lakh hectares of irrigated cropland. Should the demand in the Ken basin increase, both areas will suffer. Experts have instead suggested that the project is a ploy to pacify the electorate in Bundelkhand — as its approval months ahead of State polls in Uttar Pradesh also suggested — and/or to improve water supply to reservoirs in the lower Betwa thanks to other upstream blockades. The project seems more the product of political expediency and self-image than current ecological sense. The more resources the government sinks into it, the more unlikely changing or reversing course will become in the face of adverse developments. When they come to pass, the responsibility and costs of mitigating the adverse consequences of this and other projects, including the recently launched Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal link, will fall to the people.

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